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APC 29th Nov 2020 Advent 1 “Hope” PART 1 Welcome and Introduction Good morning everyone and welcome to our Sunday Morning worship. Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent means “Coming”. The Advent season includes the 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas morning. During these 4 weeks candles are lit to remind us of God’s promise to send Jesus, the light of the world. This year we will be reflecting on the 4 traditional themes of Advent- Hope, Love, Joy and Peace. On Christmas morning we will light a fifth candle to remind us of the wonderful day of Jesus’ birth- when God took on human flesh and lived among us. As well as these things, traditionally Advent has also been a time to focus on another promise of God- the promise that His Son Jesus Christ will come to earth from heaven a Second time as the King and Judge of all the earth. Therefore advent is a time for us to ask ourselves questions like- “If Jesus came today would I be ready?” and “How can I be ready for Jesus’ Second coming?” But first let’s take a moment to pause and to talk to our heavenly Father, let’s pray… Opening Prayer Father God, we praise you once more for this advent season, for its mood of expectation, its message of hope, its call to prepare ourselves, its spirit of confidence and trust. God made flesh Hear our prayer We praise you for the way you have spoken in the fulfilment of ancient prophecies, in promises yet to be realized, and in the living presence of Christ made known through His Holy Spirit God made flesh Hear our prayer Touch our lives again at this time, as we remember the coming of Jesus, as we anticipate His coming again, and as we strive to serve Him better here and now. God made flesh Hear our prayer Grant that through this season we shall be renewed in hope and strengthened in faith, trusting more completely in the future you hold. May our confidence be deepened in your eternal love and purpose, despite all that seems to work against it. And may we be ready to welcome Christ in the assurance that as He came so shall He come again. God made flesh Hear our prayer Join me as we say the Lord’s Prayer thoughtfully and sincerely together… Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us, And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil, For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, For ever and ever, AMEN. Introduction to Kids Video / Candle Lighting If you haven’t already got your children beside you then I’d like to give you a moment to pause the service and to invite them to join you as I show them our advent wreath and as we watch someone they know very well light our first Advent candle… It’s great to see you boys and girls and I really hope to see you again in church very, very soon. This year we’ve planned an amazing fun Advent program for you where you will get to watch some really cool animations about the Christmas story and you’ll get to do some colouring and cutting and sticking to make your very own Advent wreath. Today is the beginning of a very special season in the Christian church. We call this season Advent. Advent means ‘coming’. So each Sunday from now to Christmas we will be thinking about how God’s Son Jesus came from heaven to earth at Christmas. We will also be remembering that one day Jesus will come back again to make the world perfect again. To help us think about these things each Sunday we will light a special candle. Today’s candle is a purple one. Purple is the colour of a King’s robe. It reminds us that Jesus is the King of the world. This first candle is called the Prophet Candle because it reminds us how many years ago people called Prophets encouraged people with the Hope that one day God would send Jesus into the world…Watch this little video clip as Xander and his daddy Marcus tell us what the prophet said, and Xander will light our first candle…. (END Part 1) Video Marcus and Xander read and light the Advent Candle PART 2 Marcus and Xander thank you so much for that lovely reading and well done Xander for lighting the candle so well. And look – as if by magic the candle behind me is now lit! We look forward to hearing more readings and watching each of you, the youngest members of our church family lighting our candles each Sunday. I’m really hoping I will be able to see you in church next week but I’ll have to wait and see what our Taoiseach says. But don’t worry I’ll let you know in plenty of time. You know this Christmas is going to be a bit different for all of us because of the Covid 19. But we know that Santy will still be coming and we will still be able to see our family and have a lovely Christmas dinner. Next week I’ll show you the first animation about the story of how God sent Jesus into the world on the very first Christmas. For most of the people in that story Christmas was a very different time for them too. In fact we will discover that all of the people in the story were not at home for Christmas that year. Why did they have to leave their homes? Where did they have to go in such a hurry? And what amazing gift did they find when they got to where they were going? You’ll have to tune in or come to church to find out! I hope you have a really, really good week in school. And if you haven’t already done so, don’t forget to get your letter or your email off to Santy. Bye for now! Bible Reading Psalm 46 1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.[c] 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. 8 Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields[d] with fire. 10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Reflection Advent- “The light of Hope” This last week has brought an array of mixed emotions, but none more so than the hesitant, yet exciting expectation that restrictions are going to be eased and we’re going to be able to enjoy some sort of Christmas. For me personally, I just can’t wait to get back to church and see you all. Speaking to you through a camera or even on the phone is just not the same. I’m so looking forward to seeing my dad and Erin and the rest of our wider family circle up in Belfast. We could describe these giddy feelings of anticipation in many ways but perhaps the best is “Hope.” Having hope in life or something to look forward to, is one of the most essential parts of human existence. Without it our souls simply shrivel up and eventually die. Advent is a season of Hope as we take time to reflect on the fulfilment of God’s promises in Jesus. The theme of this Hope runs right throughout the bible from Genesis to Revelation. In the Old Testament there are two Hebrew words for Hope. The first is ‘Yakhal’ which means “to wait for.” It is used in story of Noah and the Ark. As the floodwaters recede we are told that Noah had to ‘Yakhal’ – to ‘wait’ or ‘hope’ patiently for weeks. The waves of this pandemic will eventually subside. Recent news of a vaccine has been like a rainbow on our horizon. But in the meantime we too must wait and trust the Lord. The other Hebrew word for Hope used in scripture is ‘Qavah’ which also means ‘to wait’. It is related to the Hebrew word ‘Qav’ which means cord. When you pull a cord tight you produce a state of tension and expectation until it is released. This is what biblical hope is like. The prophet Isaiah compares God to a farmer who plants a vineyard and then ‘Qavahs’ for good grapes. So biblical hope is about waiting with tense expectation, but as Christians what are we waiting for? During the period of Israel’s prophets, the nation was sinking into self-destruction. At the time Isaiah said this, “At this moment the Lord is hiding His face from Israel so I will ‘Qavah’ for Him.” The only hope Isaiah had in those dark days was to Hope in God Himself. This same word appears over 40 times in the Psalms and almost without exception what people are waiting for is God. For example in Psalm 33 the psalmist writes… 18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love. 20 We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. 21 In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. 22 May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you. Psalm 33:18, 20-22 So biblical hope is different from optimism. We are all optimistic about the next few weeks because we are choosing to see how various government decisions will work out to give us more flexibility and freedom. But the Hope we find in the bible isn’t focused on circumstances at all. In fact people of faith in the bible often choose to have hope even when there is no evidence that things will improve. Hosea was a prophet who lived in a dark period when Israel was being oppressed by foreign Empires. Hosea, could see the evidence of creation in the world around him. He had grown up listening to stories and celebrating the festivals that commemorated the day when God had miraculously delivered His people out of slavery in Egypt. Despite the circumstances Hosea’s faith enabled him to Hope in God when he said, “God can turn this valley of trouble into a door of Hope.” So biblical Hope is very much about waiting for God and trusting in Him. It focuses on His character, His promises, and the evidence of what He has been able to achieve in the past. This enables us to look forward and know that a better day is coming. It was exactly the same for the earliest Christians. When Jesus died on the cross they gave up Hope. But when He rose from the dead this opened up a whole new door of hope. In time they would understand what Jesus had been trying to teach them all along- that through His life, death and resurrection they could be set free from their slavery to sin in the present and be liberated from death in the future. The Greek word that they used to describe this tense expectation is the word, ‘Elpis’. Peter says that Jesus’ resurrection opens up a living hope that enables us to become new and better human beings. On several occasions St Paul describes the good news about Jesus as the ‘Hope of glory’. So we see that in both the Old and New Testaments hope is based on a person – God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Through His life, death and resurrection we are able to be set free and empowered to live in a better way now and when Christ returns we will be able to live perfectly forever. But the last thing I want to mention is that interestingly this great hope in Jesus is not just for humans. The apostles taught that what happened to Jesus at His resurrection is a foretaste of what God has planned for the entire universe. In Paul’s words, “It’s a hope that creation itself will be liberated from slavery to corruption into the freedom when God’s children are glorified.” You know if there’s one stark lesson from this terrible pandemic it’s that this world is broken. It’s full of disease, conflict and suffering. It’s crying out to be healed, to be rescued! That’s why Christ came – not only to reconcile us to Himself but to set in motion the wheels of God’s rescue plan for the entire universe. That’s what we look forward to this Advent. Not only do we remember that Jesus came as a baby in a manger but we Hope with anticipation that He will come again as King to put everything right. On that day we will have no more pain, no more suffering, no more death and no more pandemics. We know that this will happen because history proves that He has risen form the dead. We have also seen the evidence in our own lives of how He can change us and help us when we pray. So despite the darkness and the restrictions today we choose to hope in Christ and pray, “Even so, come Lord Jesus, come….” Let us pray… Prayers Lord Jesus Christ, at this time of goodwill among all, we pray for peace in our world – an end to division and discord, hatred and hostility, death and destruction. Prince of Peace Hear our Prayer Lord Jesus, we speak of peace but in our hearts we do not believe it possible. When we look at our world we see little hope of an end to its troubles. We are sceptical, uncertain, filled with doubts, cautious about expressing any optimism. Even where there are signs of hope and moves towards reconciliation, we know it will take many years before we dare believe it is really possible. But we pray in this Advent Season, renew our ability to look forward, rekindle our belief in the future, and restore our capacity to hope for better things. Prince of Peace Hear our Prayer Help us as we remember your coming, as we serve you now, and as we look forward to your coming again – to anticipate your Kingdom through the service we offer and the lives that we live. Prince of Peace Hear our Prayer Teach us to work for that day when your throne will be established, your justice prevail, and the earth will be filled with the knowledge of you as the waters cover the sea. Prince of Peace Hear our Prayer Take a moment now to bring your own prayers for one or two people to God… All these prayers we offer in the name of Jesus Christ, the hope of all the nations, Amen. Closing Words It’s been a joy and privilege to share with you again today. Thanks again for logging on. Do tune in again this Wednesday as we continue with our new Midweek series called, “Mind your head.” For the purposes of giving Dave time to upload this recording to our website and Facebook page, I’m recording this on Friday morning. As such, we still await government advice this evening as to what church services will be permitted in December. As a leadership we met on Wednesday evening and put a few tentative plans in place. If all goes well, we hope to be open for church as soon as we are permitted. We are hoping that will be Sunday 6th of December. We are planning to have communion on the 13th December. Then on Sunday 20th we will be having a Carol Service. On Christmas Morning we will be having two services to facilitate as many people who wish to attend – one at 9.30am and one at 10.45. This will allow for deep cleaning in between the services. Then there will be a Sunday service on the 27th December led by Aleida. We’ll be sending you out a request to let us know if you hope to attend a service on Christmas morning and if you have friends or family members who will be joining you. Once we have done that we will allocate everyone a time and space so that we are all socially distanced. Don’t forget as always, once church services do start up again, they will be at our normal time of 10am and you need to book your place by Friday evening at the latest. Alison and the choir have been busy behind the scenes preparing some beautiful advent and Christmas carols which we will be sharing online and there will be some live solos and duets in our services. We’ll have a number of families lighting our advent candles and all ages sharing in our readings. It promises to be a very special time for our whole church family so do please plan to attend if you feel able. Arklow Presbyterian Church has a longstanding relationship with Springboard. This year because of Covid restrictions Springboard are unable to receive and deliver the Christmas hampers that we provide for struggling families. But we would still like to support them as a church by giving them a donation. I know there are many good causes that we have been announcing in recent weeks. Please don’t feel guilty or pressurized that you have to support all of these. But if you have supported Springboard in the past and would like to do so again, then you can transfer a donation directly into the church bank account using the details on our website. Simply mark it for the “Springboard Appeal”. Alternatively you can contact our treasurer Aleida van der Flier to arrange a payment mechanism that is more suitable for you. If you haven’t already seen it, I also want to bring your attention to our Moderator’s call to pray this weekend on our Facebook page. Let me encourage you to watch that short video clip and above all to take some time today to pray. In a moment I will lead you in a Benediction after which I will invite you as always, to say the grace together… Benediction Be people of hope. Let hope live in your heart and share the hope of Christ with all you meet. Share hope by noticing someone else’s humanity. Share hope by listening to someone’s story. Share hope by praying for our world. In this Advent season, we need to see, feel, and share hope. As you go out into the wonder of God’s creations, share hope with those you meet. And… May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and for evermore, Amen.”
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APC 25th Nov 2020 “Mind your Head!” (Part 1) Welcome and Introduction Good morning everyone and welcome to our Midweek worship. Today I want to begin our new Wednesday Morning Series for Advent called, “Mind your Head!” But first let’s take a moment to pause and to talk to our heavenly Father, let’s pray… Opening Prayer Eternal God, ruler over space and time, Lord of history, before all, in all and beyond all, we worship you and acknowledge you, recognising afresh that your ways are not our ways, nor your thoughts our thoughts. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. Forgive us for sometimes losing sight of that fact, presuming we know better than you, even expecting you to do our bidding rather than we do yours. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. Teach us that you are beyond our greatest imagining, higher than our loftiest dreams; and that you do things in your own time and way. Help us to wait patiently, trusting in your wisdom and purpose. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. When our prayers do not seem to be answered, our ambitions remain unfulfilled ad our faith appears to be in vain, save us from premature judgements. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. Teach us that it is often at such times as these – especially at such times as these – that we need to believe in you and your timing. Give us grace to accept our part in your scheme of things, and leave the rest to you. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Join me as we say the Lord’s Prayer thoughtfully and sincerely together… Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us, And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil, For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, For ever and ever, AMEN. Bible Reading Psalm 42 For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah. 1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One[d] with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng. 5 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. 6 My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. 7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. 8 By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me-- a prayer to the God of my life. 9 I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” 10 My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 11 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Reflection “Mind your head!” (Part 1) Being 5 foot 8 I’ve never really had to concern myself much with bumping my head. The same cannot be said for our two boys who have definitely inherited their height genes from Emma’s side of the family. They are both 6 foot tall which has many benefits. But one of the drawbacks is that I find myself having to warn them occasionally as they move around the house – “Mind your head.” Whether it’s walking through a doorway, rummaging in the roof space, entering the shed or working with an open cupboard, when you’re six foot tall, you definitely have to “Mind your head”. As this Pandemic has continued and the novelty of the earliest restrictions have subsided, I am discovering that most of us are finding it very difficult psychologically and emotionally at the moment. There are people I know who are suffering from depression who have never struggled with it before. So I thought it would be appropriate over the period of Advent on Wednesday mornings to write a few reflections addressing how we might find help with our emotions during this time. For whether we are 5 or 6 foot tall, in the current climate, all of us need to, “Mind our Head.” If you feel yourself struggling emotionally at the moment then certainly in the first instance I would encourage you not to ignore those feelings but to share them with your spouse, a family member or a close friend or even arrange to come and chat to me. If talking things out in this way doesn’t seem to be helping, then undoubtedly your local GP will also be a huge source of help. There are also a number of excellent websites, books and leaflets explaining the symptoms of depression and offering wise advice on practical steps we can take to help ourselves. Some of these include having a structure to our day. Talking to someone we trust about our problems and feelings. Getting up and going to bed at the same time. Getting out into the fresh air each day and taking regular exercise. Avoiding or reducing our alcohol consumption. Eating more healthily. Doing something we enjoy each day even if it’s just running a bath, listening to music, watching a TV show or buying a carry out coffee. But as well as learning from online articles or books, particularly as people who view life from a faith perspective, we can also learn some valuable lessons about coping with depression by reading the bible. For example, when we read the story of Elijah we discover that at one point he becomes utterly depressed after his life is threatened by the wicked Queen Jezebel. It is fascinating to note how God sends him an angel who tells Elijah to rest for a few days and cooks him a few good meals. For many of us, like Elijah, a few days break from the busyness and pressures of life may be all that we need to recharge our batteries and overcome our blues. But this morning I want us to look at someone in the bible whose experience of depression was significantly more serious than this. I hope that as we listen to their story, expressed in a poem; that we will learn a few things that will help us to cope in our own times of darkness. I trust that these lessons will also help us to be more sensitive to those we know who are battling with depression. The person I want us to look at this morning is the man or woman who wrote Psalm 42 and 43. In actual fact, these two Psalms are part of the same poem. In many Hebrew manuscripts we find them joined together. But what fascinates me most about this poem is that it is clearly written by someone with a very strong faith and yet at the same time they are obviously someone who is experiencing a deep depression. The reason I say that is because the whole poem is really a prayer to God. God’s name is mentioned 22 times in the space of 16 verses! Yet if you look closely at the words the writer uses, it is clear that this is the prayer of someone who is struggling with a deep depression. In verse 3 of psalm 42 we discover that they have been crying and have lost their appetite. In verses 5 of both Psalms we find that they are constantly tired. In v 6 and 7 they describe themselves as emotionally disturbed. This runs so deep that it even expresses itself in verse 10 of Psalm 42 as physical pain. They describe themselves as feeling completely overwhelmed, as if they are being enclosed by something called “Deep”. This is the word the Jews used to describe the ‘Chaos’ that existed before God created the world. The Psalmist says that they feel like the battered rocks beneath a waterfall. If they were alive today they might have said, “My life is in complete chaos, I’m drowning, everything seems to be on top of me.” They also complain of feeling deeply lonely and rejected. All of these things point to one complaint. This individual is clearly suffering from what would be described today as ‘clinical depression’. There is a great reassurance in that isn’t there? For there are super-spiritual people out there who would tell us that Christians should never be depressed. This attitude can even be found in the hymn writer who wrote, “We should never be discouraged, take it to the Lord in prayer.” But that simply isn’t true. Throughout the bible and throughout the history of Christianity there have always been and will always be, fine Christian people who have been discouraged and who have also struggled with depression. The hymn writer William Cowper and the famous preacher Charles Spurgeon are just two examples. So let me say it very clearly this morning, on the authority of scripture and the testimony of history, faithful Christians can and do suffer from depression. To my mind the hymn writer should have edited his words to, “Even when we are discouraged, take it to the Lord in prayer!” That’s exactly what the writer of Psalm 42 and 43 was doing. They were deeply depressed but because they had a strong faith they put pen to paper and brought all of their emotions and feelings to God in prayer. But what was is it that had caused the writer of these Psalms to become depressed? Well the first thing we discover is that he has become physically isolated. The title of this Psalm tells us that the writer was one of the ‘Sons of Korah’. This was a group of people who had special responsibility for leading music in the temple of Jerusalem. For some reason, the Psalmist was now a long way from the city in the North of the country near Mount Hermon. To put it simply, this had made the Psalmist homesick. He longed to be back home in familiar surroundings with his best friends doing what he loved to do- singing in the choir! That’s why he writes in 42 v 4 “These things I remember as I pour out my soul, how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.” The second thing we notice is that the Psalmist was socially isolated. It may well be that he was where he was because he was a refugee forced to flee his country after Israel had been attacked and defeated by their enemies the Babylonians. He may even have been a political prisoner. We just don’t know. But what we do know is that many people around him were mocking him because of his faith. “Where’s your God now?” they were saying. The Psalmist describes this persecution in 42 v 9 and 10 when he writes, “Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy? My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me saying, ‘Where is your God?” It was only natural in that environment for the Psalmist to feel lonely and isolated and for that to cause him to feel deeply sad. In life, there are many reasons why people get seriously depressed. For most people it isn’t just one factor but a complex web of factors. Those may include our genetic makeup, our natural temperament, our upbringing, as well as the circumstances that we are experiencing in the present. Given the right combination of factors none of us are immune from experiencing a bout of serious depression or even contemplating suicide. We’ve all experienced times like the Psalmist. We can remember how we felt the first time we went away from home or on that first night in Boarding school. We can recall how difficult that first term at University was or even how much we miss being back home where we were brought up and where everything is familiar to us. All of us need roots and when those roots are severed, any of us can feel isolated. We can think of times when people have bullied us or made life difficult for us in work, at a club or in the community. All of us need to feel accepted and welcome. When people turn against us we can feel lonely. For all of us, like this Psalmist, if the combination of factors is right or the pressure severely intense for long enough, we too can experience a deep sense of depression. During this Pandemic we have all been physically and socially isolated. We have all felt the outside threat of this virus and the anxiety that has created in our society. This is especially acute for those of us working on the front line or who have elderly parents. We have not been able to enjoy the things that give us such pleasure in life and we have been denied the freedoms to do what we choose or go where we want. We understand why these restrictions have been necessary, but that doesn’t make them any easier to live with. It is not surprising then that most of us are struggling emotionally at the moment and why many of us are even deeply depressed. Reflection Are you feeling deeply discouraged or even depressed at the moment? Despite how unpleasant it is, be kind to yourself and take comfort in the knowledge that it’s not your fault, and you’re not alone. It is a very natural reaction to the pressures we have been under. The last thing that I want you to see today from this passage is that not only is it natural for certain circumstances and pressures to make us feel discouraged, but it is also natural for them to make us feel that God is far away. In the same way that a teenager may express their depression by feeling that their parents have let them down or like a husband may express his depression by feeling distant from his wife, so too when a Christian is depressed they will naturally feel that God has abandoned them. The Psalmist expresses this feeling in verses 1 and 2 when he says, “As the deer pants for streams of water so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” I mention these things simply for this reason. When as Christians we get depressed, it is all too easy to automatically blame ourselves and to think that it is our fault that God seems to have left us. Granted, if we live in deliberate sin then our sense of guilt may be very real and may cause us to be depressed. The frist step towards healing in this case will be to confess our sins and to turn away from them. But the truth is that in 9 cases out of ten, when a Christian is depressed it is not because they have done something wrong. It is simply a natural reaction to the circumstances they are facing coupled with their natural temperament. And the reason they feel that God is far away is not because He is far away but simply because that is how their depression makes them feel. You know it’s the same for many of us. Not only has the physical and social isolation and the fear for our health during this pandemic caused us to feel depressed, but it has also caused us to ask questions of God and to wonder if He cares or if He has abandoned us completely. To be honest, I don’t have any easy answers to some of the questions this Pandemic raises, but what I do know for certain is that God is good. Whatever battles between good and evil that are at play in the heavenly realms over the current circumstances, I am convinced that God loves us very, very much. However much we may feel otherwise, He has not abandoned us… Let me finish by reading you a poem that is familiar to many of us but which illustrates the truth of how many of us are feeling at the moment better than anything else I know… The poem is called “Footprints in the Sand.” “One night I dreamed a dream. As I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, One belonging to me and one to my Lord. After the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that at many times along the path of my life, especially at the very lowest and saddest times, there was only one set of footprints. This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it. "Lord, you said once I decided to follow you, You'd walk with me all the way. But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me." He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you Never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you." Let us pray… Prayer Loving God, we thank you for the ways you speak to us, through scripture, prayer and worship, through the fellowship of your people and the daily experiences of life. Loving God, open our hearts to all you would say to us. We thank you for the ways you have spoken to your people across the ages, the ways you speak to us today and the ways you will continue to speak in the days ahead. Loving God, open our hearts to all you would say to us. But today we ask for your help in those times when you seem to be silent, those days when we do not hear your voice no matter how we listen for it, those times when we feel ourselves to be alone and far from you. Give us courage then to ask if we have closed our hearts and minds to what you would say, or if there is something in our lives creating a barrier between us, preventing us from getting close to you. Loving God, open our hearts to all you would say to us. But help us also to understand when there are times when you expect us to get on with our discipleship without you always directing us, without your instructions be spelled out step by step. Help us to see that your silence may not be of our faithlessness or your displeasure, but rather of your love, offering us the opportunity to grow towards Christian maturity. Loving God, open our hearts to all you would say to us. And when we do not hear you speak help us to remember all those times you have spoken unmistakably, to us and to others and let those moments sustain and direct us until your word comes again in your own time and in your own way. Loving God, open our hearts to all you would say to us. Take a moment in silence now to bring your own prayers for one or two people to God… All these we offer in the name of Christ, Amen. Closing Words It’s been a joy and privilege to share with you again today. Thanks again for logging on. I do hope you found this morning’s service an encouragement. Do tune in again this Sunday as we light our first candle and reflect on the Hope of Advent. We await government advice as to what church services will be permitted in December. But recent comments by our Taoiseach have given us hope that church will be open for services during Christmas week. There is talk in the media of the possibility of services being allowed even earlier but we’ll have to wait and see. As a leadership we are meeting this evening to plan for that. We’ll let you know what we are proposing in the coming days. In a moment, I will lead you in a Benediction after which I will invite you as always, to say the grace together… Benediction Go now and let the Lord steer you in the way of truth. Be on your guard so that you will not be caught up in the trivialities and anxieties of the world. Be alert at all times and pray for strength to escape the traps that would keep you from God. And may God make you increase in love for one another; May Christ Jesus teach you how to live in God’s ways; and may the Holy Spirit strengthen your hearts in holiness, as you ready yourselves for the coming of the Lord. And May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and for evermore, Amen.” APC 22nd Nov 2020 “For Thine is the Kingdom, power and glory forever, Amen.” Welcome and Introduction Good morning everyone and welcome to our Sunday Morning worship. Today we will be concluding our thoughts on The Lord’s Prayer as we reflect on what it will mean for us to pray, “For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever, Amen.” But first let’s take a moment to pause and to talk to our heavenly Father, let’s pray… Opening Prayer Loving God, we are glad to come and worship you, glad to sit in your presence and give you the honour due to your name. Praise and glory, thanksgiving and worship are yours by right. You are greater than our highest thoughts, mightier than we can ever comprehend, before all, in all and beyond all. Praise and honour, thanksgiving and worship are yours by right. So we come acknowledging your greatness, marvelling at your power, bowing at your authority, rejoicing in your love, celebrating your blessings and praising you for all the mercy you have shown to us throughout our lives. Praise and glory, thanksgiving and worship are yours by right. Accept now our songs of praise, our words of prayer, the thoughts of our hearts, this act of worship. Praise and glory, thanksgiving and worship are yours by right. Loving God, we are here before you in the name of Christ. Receive our worship. Receive our faith. Receive ourselves. And help us to receive all you would give us through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. Join me as we say the Lord’s Prayer thoughtfully and sincerely together… Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us, And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil, For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, For ever and ever, AMEN. Introduction to Kids Video Next Sunday is the beginning of a very special season in the Christian church. We call this season Advent. To help our children understand a little bit more about what this means in a moment I’m going to play a short video in which some young people explain how we use a decoration in church to celebrate Advent. So if your kids aren’t beside you right now, why not pause the recording, and call them in to watch the kids on the Superbook Show explain the advent wreath. And at the end of this video I’ve a few words to say to the children so don’t let them rush away. (END Part 1) Kid’s Video The Superbook Show – Advent Wreath https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXwv7JEZa6Y PART 2 Kid’s Talk Summary Hey boys and girls. I hope you enjoyed finding out about the Advent wreath. Maybe you could get your mam or dad to help you make an Advent wreath and then you can light a candle every Sunday leading up to Christmas. Next week I’ll have my advent wreath behind me here and each week we will light a candle and think about why it is so brilliant that God’s Son, Jesus came to earth. I’ve put a link on the church website and Facebook page to instructions of how to build your own Advent wreath. I’ve also put a link to a colouring sheet of an Advent wreath. So if your mam or dad hasn’t printed it off yet now’s the time to gently ask them to pause this recording and go and print it for you. Hope you’ve enjoyed today. Don’t forget to tune in again next Sunday. Bye for now… Colouring Sheet Link https://www.fun365.orientaltrading.com/download/advent-wreath-free-printable-coloring-page Advent Wreath Craft Ideas https://ministryspark.com/10-simple-advent-wreath-ideas/ Reflection “For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, forever Amen.” Do you ever talk to God? Do you ever just tell him how it is or ask Him to help someone in your family? The older I get the more I realize I don’t pray enough. The more I realize I need God’s guidance and help. I think this Pandemic too has caused all of us to realize our fragility. I think it has forced many of us to pray again in ways that we haven’t done for years because when times are good it’s easy for all of us to forget about God or to feel that we can manage on our own. That’s why I felt it was a good time for all of us to think about the Lord’s Prayer together over these last few weeks. I hope you have enjoyed this series. I hope it has encouraged you to continue to pray or to begin to talk again to God. It’s always an encouragement to me to know that the people who spent 3 years as the closest friends of Jesus still had to ask Him “Lord, will you teach us how to pray?” Today we come to the concluding part of this series. In actual fact, if we go by what we find in the gospels we have already come to the end of the Lords’ Prayer. Yet for many of us praying “deliver us from evil” is not the end of the Lord’s Prayer as we know it, for we have been brought up in school or in church to finish with these words “For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever, Amen.” They are known as a Doxology or ‘Praise’ to God. So why do we say this phrase if it’s not actually part of most of the original biblical manuscripts? Well, the simplest answer is we say it because it is something that the earliest Christians said when they prayed together. We say it because even though these words may or may not have come from the lips of Jesus, they are all true and they are all a wonderful reminder of everything else that is contained within the Lord’s Prayer. In essence, they are the perfect conclusion to the Prayer of our Lord. Many people believe that these words are a reference to the words spoken by King David in the book of Chronicles in the Old Testament. There, David was publicly reminding the people of Israel that even though he was their elected representative, that Almighty God was their real King. Ultimately He was the one they should trust in and look to. So we read in 1 Chronicles 29 v 10-13 King David praying this prayer…. “Praise be to you, LORD, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honour come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.” David’s prayer can easily be summarized in the words, “For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever…” What wonderful words to end any prayer we say with. But what do we mean when we end the Lord’s Prayer with these words each Sunday? Well let’s take each thought and reflect on them for a few minutes. 1 For Thine is the Kingdom The first is “Lord yours is the Kingdom” or “Lord you are the King” If Brexit, the most recent elections here and in America, and this global Pandemic have taught us one thing it is this- life is uncertain. Many are fearfully wondering “How could all this have happened and what will our future look like?” In all of our anxiety, there is something that it’s easy to forget. Something which I have yet to read in our newspapers or hear on the television or radio and it’s simply this- God is still the King. He is still in control! The recent election results here or in America did not take God by surprise. Neither did the outbreak of this Pandemic. That’s not to say that God is of one political persuasion or that he enjoys watching us suffering. Neither is it to imply that we take our hands off the wheel of life and refuse to vote or campaign or strive intellectually and practically for a better world. It is simply saying that despite all our best efforts and no matter what happens in the circumstances of life, God is still King. He is still on the throne and He will allow what He allows for His own eternal purposes and plans and ultimately for what will be our long term greatest good. For example, when nations turn away from God and do not acknowledge Him as King they may inherit rulers who will bring calamity to their country. This is why we must pray for our political leaders and our nations, asking that God will guide them and overrule in situations and give us what is best for us and not just what we deserve. God is King! He is in complete control. He made the universe. Everything in this universe belongs to God and that includes us! Everything we have ultimately comes from Him. God is the King of our lives. He is King of our schools. He is King of our government. He is King of the Organisations we work for. He is King of our Families, He is King of His church. You know it is so easy for all of us to forget that and to be consumed with anxiety. It is also easy to forget that and become proud. Promotion can be one of the most difficult things to handle well. But let me remind you as our world politics have reminded us so clearly recently that Pride comes before a fall. God will not allow us to take the praise and honour that belongs to Him for too long. He will not allow us to take credit for our own little Empires in business, education, sport, science, technology or in family life without any reference or deep gratitude to Him. So often we speak of our time, our money, our talents, our achievements and our dreams. But ultimately none of these things would be possible without our Creator. He is the one who made us, who gives us our talents, who ultimately provides us with our daily breath. It is God who can give us a job or take it away in the blink of an eye. It is God who can raise people up and bring them down just as quickly. Therefore when we pray every week, “Yours is the Kingdom” we are reminding ourselves that God is King, He’s in charge, we are not. Yes God is loving. Yes He is kind. Yes He is fair, but he is also King. He doesn’t owe us anything! And we owe Him everything. To pray “Yours is the Kingdom” brings us great comfort in the knowledge that despite our confusion God is still in control. It is also a reminder to “Stop snapping our fingers at God and demanding that He answer us.” So let me ask you as I’ve asked myself this week, “Is God the captain of your soul?” “Do you seek the praise of people or the pleasure of the Master?” “Do you humbly and regularly thank God for all that he gives you?” “Do you seek His wisdom and guidance?” “Do you love His Word and bow to His authority in your life?” Praying “Yours is the Kingdom” helps us to put first things first and resist the temptation to think of ourselves as too important. The second phrase in the doxology we say at the end of the Lord’s Prayer is “Thine is the power.” 2 Thine is the power To pray “Thine is the power” reminds us of the important truth that not only is God the King, He is almighty and all powerful. Just think for a moment of the universe in which we live. Its vastness, its complexity, its intricate order, its stunning beauty, its tremendous power and potential. All of these things are signposts to the one who made it. Not some unknown ‘Architect of the Universe’ but the one true God, the Great and awesome three in One God, who has revealed Himself to the world in the person of His Son Jesus Christ! God is real. He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Nothing is impossible for Him who made us, for Him whom we belong to and for Him who we will all one day meet face to face. To pray “Thine is the power” is again a humbling experience for it reminds us that as gentle and loving as Aslan is His roar is fierce and powerful. But perhaps the greatest miracle of all that this phrase reminds us of is this- the power of God that made the universe and raised our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead is the same power that is available to us on a daily basis through the person of God’s Holy Spirit who lives within us if we have repented and trusted in Jesus Christ. In other words, if you have sincerely asked God to forgive you for your sins and you believe sincerely that Jesus Christ died on the cross for you then God has not only forgiven you completely but He has placed the Spirit of Jesus Christ inside you! That means that the power of God is available to you every moment of every day. Power to overcome your fear of failure, power to say no to the temptations or addictions which before were too strong for you to resist, power to accomplish a task that you normally would not contemplate, power to speak out for the marginalized or on a moral issue, power to change the lives of others for the better, power to keep going despite deep personal loss, or chronic illness or ongoing difficulties. Power to be patient even in the midst of a Pandemic. Through the Holy Spirit who lives within us God’s power is available to us to help us and enable us to be a help to others. There are many reasons why we often do not experience God’s power in our lives as we should. The first may be that we are not yet true Christians. If that is the case then we must come to Jesus, confessing our sins and asking Him to forgive us and to give us the gift of His Spirit. Another reason may be our unbelief. We forget that God has placed His inheritance within us. We fail to trust that God is able to do anything. We are warned in scripture not to grieve God’s Spirit or to quench His Spirit. God’s Spirit is described as a dove in scripture. That means He is sensitive. He is easily offended. He will never leave us, but to experience His presence and power on a consistent basis we need to keep short accounts with God. We need to be honest with God about the attitudes and actions or speech in our lives that is wrong. We must confess these things with a sincere desire to change or to put right what is wrong. We need to keep praying and keep asking God to fill us with His Spirit to keep giving us the power to change from the inside out. We need to rely less on our own wisdom, our own strength and our own abilities and instead cry out for God to give us the power and help that we need for every situation. We need to pray, pray and pray asking God to come in power in our services to change us and guide us and motivate us and use us. We need to pray for other people and ask God to move in their hearts and lives too. Let me encourage you to pray for yourself, for your families and for our church services before log on each week. If you do that and you are prepared to respond to what God teaches you I promise you that we will see a great revival in this place, in our lives and in the lives of many people…Why do I say that? Because “Thine is power!....” There is nothing greater than the power of God. Nothing in all the world, no intellectual arguments, not even the evil one himself can resist the power of Almighty God when He comes unhindered in our lives…Let us pray for revival…. 3 Thine is the glory The third phrase in the doxology we say at the end of the Lord’s Prayer is “Thine is the glory.” The word for “Glory” in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word “kabodh” which literally translated means ‘a heaviness’. When someone who is extremely famous or an expert in a particular field we call them a “heavyweight”. When they enter a room, people go quiet. When they speak people listen. This is something of what the glory of God implies. God is so mighty, so wise, so powerful, so perfect, that there is a gravitas, a glory about Him that at times can almost be touched and tasted. In the Old Testament in the book of Chronicles we read that when the glory or heavy presence of the Lord filled the temple the priests could not perform their duties. They were overcome, awestruck and unable to do anything but bow down in wonder and humility. In the New Testament the word for glory is the word ‘Doxa’ from which we get the phrase “Doxology.” A Doxology is a sentence ascribing praise and honour and thanks to God. The root meaning of ‘Doxa’ is actually “Opinion”. God being God, He has an opinion on everything. He decides what is right and what is wrong. We don’t. God’s opinions, His guidelines for healthy and happy living are wise and perfect. If we followed them completely we would live in perfect harmony with God and with one another. Since God knows His ways are the best for us He is a jealous God. He loves us and is jealous that His ways are followed for our good. That means that He deserves to receive all the credit. We should take His opinions seriously and give Him the praise, honour and thanks that He deserves. This is what it means to give God the glory. It means to respect His greatness, to respect His opinions, to give Him the place He deserves in our affections and also in our willingness to obey Him in everything. Once we start ignoring Him, taking credit for ourselves or following the wisdom of others we rob God of His glory. To pray ‘Thine be the glory’ is to remind ourselves that God is a heavyweight, His opinions are the final and only authority in every matter. In praying this prayer we are saying, “Lord, help us to give you the respect and honour you deserve not only with our lips but also with our lives.” Let me ask you, do you give God the credit He deserves in your life? Do you bow to His authority and respect His opinion? Do you long for His opinion to be respected by others? Do you seek the limelight and the applause of others or do you seek to direct attention away from yourself to the Lord? Let me conclude… Conclusion: As we enter the season of Advent what better way than to reflect on the doxology we say together at the conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer, “For Thine is the Kingdom the power and the glory.” Advent means “Coming”. It is the season that leads us not only to reflect on the first coming of God into our world in the person of Jesus Christ. It is also the season when we reflect that this same Jesus will come again, maybe today, to judge the living and the dead and to wrap up this old world and replace it with a beautiful and perfect new heaven and new earth. In that new heaven and that new earth all the billions of people who have ever loved God will live happily forever, enjoying all that is good, freed from every sickness and pain and tears and suffering. There the words of this doxology will become a final reality, for the King will rule over His Kingdom, His power will have accomplished His great plan of redemption and we will be eternally grateful and continually praise Him for His greatness and His mercy in allowing us to share in His Kingdom. So we pray “Come Lord Jesus Come for Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever, Amen.” Let us pray… Prayers Lord, we can feel ourselves growing weary as the level 5 restrictions continue. So we pray for ourselves and everyone who is feeling the strain at this time. Lord give us comfort, strength and perseverance. We pray especially for government leaders throughout the world who must be wondering how to balance caring for the physical, emotional, social and economic well-being of whole countries at this time. Father give them great wisdom and grant us all patience with each other in these days. We ask that you will continue to strengthen all those working on front lines, especially those in the health care settings. We pray that you will give wisdom and resilience to all teachers in our schools and to our children. We pray for college students struggling to cope with the pressures of online studies and the difficulties created by restrictions. Help them to persevere and provide them with every support educationally and emotionally. We pray for people in residential care settings unable to see their loved ones regularly face to face. Father grant them all the grace they need to understand, to accept and still to feel loved and cared for. Give family members the grace they need and the creativity to know how to care and show their love in different yet meaningful ways. We pray for all who are concerned about their jobs and businesses. Lord may the necessary finances be found to keep people supported at this time. We thank you for all those working behind the scenes to create vaccines. We thank you for the positive signs in recent days that these may be successful in helping us fight the spread of this disease. Lord, we continue to ask that soon a vaccine program will be able to be rolled out across the world and that through that, this virus will be able to be brought under control. Lord we ask that in your mercy you might allow this virus to burn itself out and that very soon we will be able to return to living and working in the freedom that we normally enjoy. Lord we pray that infection rates will begin to drop again so that restrictions can be reduced during December and allow us to enjoy this Advent and Christmas season. Lord we ask that in your mercy we might even be permitted to meet together again in church during this period. Lord, keep us safe, and help us to persevere in keeping one another safe. We remember all those who have lost their lives through this illness and all those who mourn. We think especially of Deon’s father in hospital and ask that you will provide him with everything that he needs to be comfortable and at peace. May he know how much you love Him and the assurance of all that you have promised. Give great comfort and strength to his wife and all the family at this time. Lord we thank you for the eternal hope that we have in Christ. May that hope bring us all great comfort in this Advent season. Lord give us the grace and wisdom to allow the stresses and strains that we feel to cause us to lean even closer into you. Help us to talk to you more often and with a greater honesty and sincerity. Help us to resist the temptation to doubt you and give us the faith to believe that you are still in control. Grant that our faith will stay strong and even grow deeper during these dark and difficult days. We thank you that a day will come when life will return to normality and we thank you that when you return, all sickness, disease, suffering and sorrow will be removed forever. Take a moment now to bring your own prayers for one or two people to God… All these prayers we offer in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. Closing Words It’s been a joy and privilege to share with you again today. Thanks again for logging on. I do hope if you haven’t already done so this year that you will consider supporting our United Appeal. You can make an online donation to the church bank account using the details on the church website. Just mark it as for United Appeal. Alternatively you can contact our church treasurer Aleida and arrange to pay in a method which is more suitable for you. Do tune in again this Wednesday as we begin our reflections on the hope of Advent. We await government advice at the end of this month as to what church services will be permitted in December. But recent comments by our Taoiseach have given us hope that church will be open for services during Christmas week. As a leadership we are meeting this week to plan for that. We’ll let you know what we are proposing in the coming days. Do continue to pray that if we return to Level 3 that the restrictions on church services might be lifted so that we can enjoy our Christmas season as a worshipping community. In a moment I will lead you in a Benediction after which I will invite you as always, to say the grace together…But before I do please stay tuned in after that, as Alison and some of her friends sing the most beautiful blessing to candlelight. It’s a wonderful reminder that even in the midst of our darkness the light of Christ shines… Benediction Know that even in the midst of darkness the Light of Christ will guide you and keep you from falling. So as you go about your week, allow the light of Christ to shine from you and light the way for others…And May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and for evermore, Amen.” Song Alison’s Choir “The Lord Bless you and keep you” Click the links below for the colouring in sheets and craft ideas linkAPC 18th Nov 2020 “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” (Part 2) Welcome and Introduction Good morning everyone and welcome to our Midweek worship. Today we will be thinking a little more about what it will mean for us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” But first let’s take a moment to pause and to talk to our heavenly Father, let’s pray… Opening Prayer Almighty and loving God, we want to bring you our praise today, we want to offer you worship, we want to open our hearts to you and tell you how much you mean to us. We want to proclaim your name in a way that does justice to your greatness. Lord, hear our prayer. Eternal and all powerful God, we are hungry to feel your presence, to hear you voice, to know your will, to learn more of you, to experience your power and to offer you a commitment that does justice to your love. Lord, hear our prayer. Gracious and all-forgiving God, help us then to acknowledge our faults, to confess our sins, to recognise our many weaknesses, to see the blind spots in our lives and to be a people who do justice to your mercy. Lord, hear our prayer. Great and all-transforming God, enable us to serve you more faithfully, love you more deeply, know you more fully, obey you more completely and live in a way that does justice to your renewing power. Lord, hear our prayer. Everlasting God, you know what we are and you know what we want to be. Hear our prayer, receive our worship and so help us become the people you would have us be to the glory of your name, Amen. Join me as we say the Lord’s Prayer thoughtfully and sincerely together… Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us, And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil, For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, For ever and ever, AMEN. Bible Readings Genesis 39 v 1-10 Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” 8 But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. James 1 v 12-15 12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. 13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Reflection “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Last Wednesday we began our reflections on the fifth request in the Lord’s Prayer – “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” We saw how Jesus overcame temptation in the wilderness by quoting scripture to Satan. We reminded ourselves how memorising scripture enables the Holy Spirit to bring them to our mind, empowering us to resist temptations. A second piece of advice that God gives us in the bible for how we can overcome temptation is the reminder that we need to be aware of the way our enemy works and which direction his threats are likely to come from.
In modern day sport, most coaching teams will analyse the opposition players and the strategies that the opposition team employ in order to exploit their weaknesses. In cricket this will involve setting more catchers on one side of a batsman and encouraging the bowler to pitch the ball continuously in a certain area of the pitch. In a similar way, one of the ways reading the bible helps us is that it enables us to understand all the different tactics that the devil is likely to use to try and trip us up, so that we can be ready for any eventuality. Sometimes, the devil is mentioned specifically in scripture but more often than not, we see how he operates in the stories we read about real people who loved God, who were tempted just like us and who at times like us gave in to those temptations. When we look at these stories and place them alongside specific biblical teaching about Satan, we discover that the devil attacks us from two main directions. He tempts us from the outside and he tempts us from the inside. The first direction is the most obvious. The devil attacks us from outside influences - like the colleague at work who turns to us over lunch and says, “Angela is such an idiot, although that’s not surprising from where she’s from. I can’t stand her…” The school or college friend who hands you the cigarette or a tablet and says, “Go on, just try it, one’s not going to do you any harm.” The loving family member who in all sincerity says, “But there’s really no prospects in going out to Africa to be a missionary, sure you can serve God just as well at home and be far better paid in the process.” The pop up advertisement on your computer screen inviting you to an adult site. Since we know that the devil will tempt us from outside influences, it’s essential that we are always on our guard. It’s important that we watch out for temptation and that we don’t put ourselves in situations that we may not be able to resist. It’s essential that we are careful about what we watch, what we read and what we listen to. We must never be too proud and think, “I would never do that” or “that would never happen to me!” As the old proverb says, “Pride comes before a fall!” or as St Paul puts it in his letter to the Corinthians, “Let those who think they are on safe ground be careful in case they have a fall!” Just like when we prepare to go on holiday, so too we need to try and be prepared for every eventuality. Sometimes, like the time Joseph ran away from Potiphar’s wife, this may even mean that we have to actually remove ourselves from a particular situation, if not permanently, then perhaps for a time. That’s why a recovering alcoholic can never go into a bar. We might find that we have to avoid a certain shop if we’ve discovered that we can’t control our desire to buy new shoes. We might find that we need to avoid going down a certain isle in the supermarket until we have been able to lose the weight the doctor says. We might find that we need to curtail a particular association. Outside temptation comes in all sorts of ways. What’s important is that we look out for it and we take the necessary steps to resist its attraction. We must resist the temptation of proudly thinking that because we are Christians we are invincible. We must never be so foolish to think that we can put our fingers in the fire and pray not to get burned. Sometimes the only way for us to overcome temptation may be to remove ourselves from a particular situation altogether. Reflection Can I ask you – What are the particular temptations that you face from the outside world and where do they come from? How can reflecting on them help you to resist? But there’s another way that the devil tempts us and because it is hidden, we are often unaware of it, and as a result it is much more difficult to anticipate and resist. St. James tells us about this in his letter. He says that the devil tempts us from within because of the sinful nature of our hearts. He writes, “Each one is tempted when by their own evil desire, they are dragged away and enticed.” What I think that means is this- When we become a Christian, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us. In that sense, the devil is removed from the throne of our lives and Jesus Christ comes to reign and take control. We become ‘new creatures’ in Christ with new motives and a new power to obey God that we never had before. That is fantastic. But what we sometimes fail to remember is that our sinful nature is not completely removed and the devil does not completely go away. Rather, like a defeated enemy, the devil adopts guerrilla warfare tactics and he uses the remaining sinful nature that is within us to tempt us to do or say or think what is wrong. In other words, we must never forget that we have a hidden enemy within us. That is why Jeremiah could say, “The heart is deceitful and deceptively wicked who can know it?” The truth is, we don’t know our own hearts. There are recesses of sin and intrigues of our being that we are simply not even aware of. That is why we are still sometimes surprised by something we say, or by something we do or by thoughts that enter our minds. James also tells us that this sinful nature that remains within us works through our desires. That means that we can be tempted without any outside influence, even in those times when we think we are safe. Isn’t that what many of the monks found in the 16th Century? In an attempt to live pure lives many of them hid themselves away from the influences of the outside world. But even those who lived lives of complete isolation discovered that they could not escape the enemy that lay within. This doesn’t mean that all desires are wrong. Many of our desires are good and God often gives us the desires of our hearts. But it does mean that we need to watch our desires and to be careful about our inner strengths and weaknesses. These are all things by which we can be tempted to disobey God even when there is no outside influence. Think for a moment of the particular temptations that you are vulnerable to. Now think about how often those temptations arise simply because of your inner desires or your natural strengths or weaknesses. I love cricket. Growing up I wanted to be a professional cricketer. I practiced for hours and I had the privilege of playing cricket at a high level. But I reached a point in my life when I realised that cricket was more important to me than God. The only way I could resist that temptation was to practice less and accept the fact that meant I could not play at such a high standard. I’m not saying you can’t play sport professionally and remain true to God. Many people have done so and continue to. I’m simply giving you another example of how our inner desires if left unchecked can easily lead us away from God. If we are going to overcome temptation, we need to remember that the devil will not only tempt us from outside but he will also tempt us from within. Reflection Can I ask you, what are your inner desires that may be perfectly good but that at times if left unchecked can lead you away from God? Contemplating the often hidden power of temptation brings us nicely to my final point- If we are going to resist temptation not only do we need to read and memorise scripture, not only do we need to be aware of the devil’s tactics, above all we need to pray for God’s deliverance. 3 We need to pray for God’s help This is why I believe Jesus teaches us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” I don’t think Jesus is telling us here to pray, “Lord, don’t let it happen!” That’s because we have already seen that temptation and testing can be a way of strengthening our faith and character. It was through the many trials and temptations that Joseph faced that God prepared him for the day when eventually he would have the responsibility of being the Prime minister of Egypt. Rather, I think what Jesus is encouraging us to pray is, “When temptation comes, help me to recognise it and overcome it.” You know, learning to pray that prayer every day is probably the most important lesson we can learn about how we can overcome temptation. That’s because at the end of the day, whether we realise it or not, the devil is real and he is a much more powerful force than we are. We cannot and we dare not try to resist him in our own strength. I’ll never forget the day that a bush caught fire outside a friend’s house. We tried our best to beat it out but the weather had been dry for weeks and no sooner had we extinguished one bit than another piece of hedge caught light. Eventually in a mad panic, my friend ran into the neighbour’s house to get help. Thankfully with more assistance we were eventually able to beat out all the flames. Overcoming the temptations of the enemy on our own is like trying to put out a forest fire. We just can’t do it. Eventually we will be overcome. The only way we can consistently resist, is to call in reinforcements. That means we must take time regularly to pray and ask God to give us His strength and His ability to overcome temptation. We must ask God to search our hearts as we read His word and to show us whole areas of our lives that we are blind to. We must allow God to show us our weaknesses and strengths because these are often the places where we are most vulnerable to attack. And wherever or whenever the temptation comes, we must send up a silent prayer for God’s strength and courage to resist. The great news is that God will hear that prayer. He will answer and He will give us the ability to overcome. The other great news is that even if we’ve failed to memorise scripture, even if we’ve forgotten to keep watch outside and within, even if we’ve neglected the place of prayer and as a result we have fallen and fallen badly, God never folds His arms and says, “I told you so!” Rather, he stands with open arms just waiting for us to come back. So if you’re listening today and all this brings back memories of something you’ve said or done which you feel has ruined your reputation or ruined your relationship with God, then resist the temptation to listen to the devil any longer. When he tells you that there’s no way back, he is lying! They say that those who never make mistakes, never make anything! Come back to God! Confess whatever it was at the foot of the cross and know that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses you from all sins that we repent of, no matter what they are, or no matter what the consequences have been for us or for others! You may have had a major fall, but God doesn’t want you to lie there forever! Get up and go on! The years you have left may be the greatest yet for God and for His glory. Conclusion Temptation- it’s something we will always face. It’s something that has the potential to strengthen us or to cause us great harm. It’s something that God has provided ways for us to overcome. One of those ways is learning scripture so that the Holy Spirit can bring it to our minds when temptation comes. Another is bible stories which teach us how the devil works. We need to remember that he attacks us from two directions, both outside and from within. The third way is perhaps the most important. Jesus teaches us to pray regularly for God’s strength to say “No!” That’s a prayer we must pray for the devil is stronger than we are. Only with God’s help can we resist his advances. And lastly, we’ve been reminded that even if we’ve given in and fallen badly, God forgives us when we repent, sets us back on our feet and whispers in our ear, “I love you, now go out and make me proud.” Prayer Lord Jesus, you call us as you called the first disciples to follow you – not simply to believe, not merely to declare our faith and confess you as Lord, but to keep on following wherever you lead. Lord Jesus, help us! Help us follow you eagerly, faithfully, devotedly, seeing where you are at work and staying close to you. Lord Jesus, help us! Help us to follow in your footsteps, pursuing the way of love, and accepting the road of sacrifice. Lord Jesus, help us! Help us to follow after you, letting your presence fill our hearts, and trusting you so completely that your love shines through us. Lord Jesus, help us! Help us to follow through the life of discipleship, not allowing ourselves to become distracted, or to lose heart so that we wander away from you, but keeping faith to the end. Lord Jesus, help us! Lord Jesus, you call us as you call all your people to follow you. Teach us what that means, and by your grace help us to respond and be followers of your way. Lord Jesus, help us! For we ask it in your name, Amen. Closing Words It’s been a joy and privilege to share with you again today. Thanks again for logging on. I do hope if you haven’t already done so this year that you will consider supporting our United Appeal. You can make an online donation to the church bank account using the details on the church website. Just mark it as for United Appeal. Alternatively you can contact our church treasurer Aleida and arrange to pay in a method which is more suitable for you. Do tune in again this Sunday as we conclude our series on the Lord’s Prayer by reflecting on the Doxology - “For thine is the Kingdom the power and the glory, forever and ever, Amen.” I don’t know what’s going to happen in December but please do continue to pray that if we return to Level 3 that the restrictions on church services might be lifted so that we can enjoy our Christmas season as a worshipping community. Most people I talk to are finding this second near lockdown much more difficult than the first so please do look out for each other and pick up the phone and encourage one another. It seems that good progress is being made with vaccines so there will be better days in the near future. At the same time we are deeply conscious of all those who have lost loved ones to this horrible virus, so please do continue to follow guidelines for safe living and pray especially for all those who have been bereaved. For now, let me lead you in a Benediction after which I will invite you as always, to say the grace together… Benediction Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! And… May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and for evermore, Amen.” APC 15th November 2020 United Appeal Sunday – ‘The Grace of Giving’ PART 1 Welcome and Introduction Good morning everyone and welcome to our Sunday morning worship. Today I want to focus our attention on what we call our ‘United Appeal’. This is our denomination’s way of raising financial support for hundreds of outreach activities within our Presbyterian church in Ireland and across the world. Just to let you know in advance this morning’s service doesn’t have a kids address as such but there is a video of the clubs half way through and a song from last years cancelled Holiday Club at the end. Your kids might really enjoy watching these and seeing who they can recognise. In a moment I want to play a little video clip to help you understand the breadth of the activities supported by the United Appeal. But before I do, let’s take a moment and let’s commit our time together to God. Let’s pray… Opening Prayer Living God, we praise you for your love shown to us in Jesus- your love that goes on seeking us out, caring, guiding, protecting, forgiving, despite our inconsistent love for you. Teach us to respond by loving you and loving others. Living God forgive us when our faith is so weak. When at times we care so little about you, so little about others and so much about ourselves. Forgive us when we have turned the Christian faith into something we receive rather than something we share. Teach us to respond by loving you and loving others. Living God help us to live more truly as your people. Give us a due sense of our responsibility towards others – the poor, the hungry, the sick, the homeless, the oppressed, the lonely, the weak, the sorrowful, those who have never heard the good news about Jesus. Teach us to respond by loving you and loving others. Help us to recognise our responsibility towards you and the world you have given us, so that in everything we say and think and do, we may live for your glory and work for your Kingdom. Help us now through this time of worship to understand more of the work supported by United Appeal and show us what part we can play in keeping this outreach going. Lord, teach us to respond by loving you and loving others, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen Join me as we say the Lord’s Prayer thoughtfully and sincerely together… Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us, And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil, For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, For ever and ever, AMEN. VIDEO UNITED APPEAL PART 2 Reflection (1) United Appeal - The Grace of Giving As you can see from the video there are so many outreach and training projects supported by United Appeal each year. The annual budget for this is around 3 million. To reach this goal every congregation is given a target of honour depending on their size. Our target here in Arklow is Euros 2200. As a church we have always made a principle of meeting this target every year. To help us to do that we are asking all of us to be as generous as we can to our United Appeal Fund. Any shortfall will be made up from our Congregational Funds. Technically you can give to this Appeal at any point in the year but we normally set aside one Sunday each year to bring the work of this Appeal to our attention. That’s what we are doing today. For us the work of United Appeal is particularly close to our hearts because it is through this central fund that we have had the privilege of having Philip and Susan and Amy with us here in Arklow over 20 years. What a blessing they have been to us and to so many in our community. In a few minutes I want to share a video that was made a couple of years ago to promote the work of United Appeal. You’ll recognise a few familiar faces and a few familiar places! But first, I want to share a few thoughts from scripture about a similar appeal made many years ago, which demonstrates why we should be generous towards the work of God. We find these ‘principles of giving’ embedded in part of the letter that St Paul wrote to a Christian church situated in the affluent city of Corinth. To help you understand these principles let me give you a little background to the context of Paul’s letter. During his missionary travels Paul found that because of severe persecution the Christians in Jerusalem were facing extreme poverty. Naturally he wanted to help. So he coordinated a collection from other churches. Sensibly he started with the more wealthy churches like Corinth. So Paul wrote to the Corinthian congregation and asked them to set up a weekly collection. He promised that sometime later he would give letters of recommendation to a few of the Corinthian congregation who would then carry their gift safely to the church in Jerusalem. That’s why in Chapter 16 of the First letter to the Corinthians Paul writes, “Now about the collection of God’s people. Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up so that when I come no collections will have to be made. Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.” It seems that initially the Corinthian church had responded positively to Paul’s ‘Jerusalem Appeal’ by making an early donation and by promising to give more in future. But 11 months later, when it’s coming close to the time for Paul to visit Corinth and finalise the distribution of the collection, it appears that the Corinthians fund-raising is flagging. That’s why Paul writes in 2 Cor 8: 10, “Here is my advice about what is best in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.” As well as reminding them of their earlier promise, Paul also tries to motivate the wealthy congregation in Corinth to give generously by telling them of the generosity of the much poorer Macedonian churches in areas of Northern Greece like Philippi and Thessalonica. That’s why, in his letter to the Corinthians he writes, “Brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and extreme poverty has welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.” Church history records that many Christians in these areas were fined, made redundant or had property dispossessed because of their faith. Despite this persecution and their resultant poverty, the Christians in these Macedonian churches had made a joyful and sacrificial response to Paul’s Jerusalem Appeal. It seems that because they knew what it was like to suffer, their hearts were stirred to help their Jerusalem brothers and sisters even though they could barely afford to do so. Paul uses this example of the sacrificial giving of the Macedonian church to motivate the Corinthian church to fulfil what they had pledged to give to the Jerusalem Fund. In effect, what Paul is saying here to the wealthy church in Corinth is, “Come on now. You promised to give generously over the course of a year to the Jerusalem Appeal Fund. You started well, but you’re letting things slip! Take a leaf out of your brothers and sisters up North! They can hardly afford to put bread on their tables yet they have given beyond their means to the fund. If God has motivated them to be so generous, then surely you can meet your target!” You know there are many lessons here for us in the unfolding story described in this small section of Paul’s letter. The first is this-
You see, ultimately Paul didn’t want the Corinthians to be motivated by the fear of being outdone by another congregation. He didn’t want them just to give because they felt they have to. Rather, Paul wants their giving to be the natural response of a loving heart which truly understands and appreciates the goodness of God. And so he writes, “I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you, through His poverty, may become rich.” In a nutshell what Paul is saying to the Corinthians is, “Think about all that God has given you! Even though Jesus is the King of Heaven, even though all the riches of heaven and earth have been His before time began, He decided to give that all up. He did that so that He could take on your humanity completely. He did that ultimately so that He could go to the cross and die for your sins. That way God could forgive you and you could be brought back into a loving and intimate relationship with Him- a relationship that will last forever.iHim If God has been this generous to you, how can you not put your hand in your pocket for your poor brothers and sisters in Jerusalem?!” The lesson for us is this- If we want to become people who are more and more generous then we need to spend more time thinking about the cross! That’s where we see God’s love and generosity most clearly displayed! That’s where our hearts will be warmed and melted and our hands opened to share with the needs of others. As you prayerfully consider our United Appeal and your general support for our church finances this year this year, let me encourage you to take time every day over the next 3 weeks to pray to God and to think about the Lord Jesus. I honestly believe that if we gaze at our Saviour long enough, then God will open our hearts and fill them with a Spirit of true Christian generosity. The second lesson we can learn from this correspondence is- 2 Christian generosity is sacrificial, enthusiastic and truly spiritual: I don’t know if you’ve ever heard the story about the conversation between a pig and a cow in the local supermarket. Each was trying to prove that their breed was the most generous. The cow pointed to all the milk on the shelves and said, “Look at all the milk we provide every day for people. There’s no way you pigs can beat that!” With a twinkle in his eye and admittedly a hint of sadness, the pig pointed to a shelf full of bacon. “Take a look at that” he replied. “Your milk only represents a contribution. What I give equates to a real sacrifice!” In setting before the Corinthians the example of the Macedonian Christians and the example of Jesus, Paul was reminding them and us that true Christian generosity is sacrificial. Let me ask you as I’ve asked myself, “Does our giving to God simply represent a small contribution of what we earn or is it sacrificial? Do we give according to our means, or beyond our means?” True Christian generosity is by nature sacrificial. But as well as being sacrificial, Paul’s says that it is to be enthusiastic. Paul says the Macedonians literally begged him to take what little money they had and give it to the Christians in Jerusalem. The gospel writers tell us that Jesus willingly endured death on the cross, despite knowing that the full anger of God the Father would be poured out on Him there for our sins. Let me ask you as I’ve asked myself, “When we give our time or our money to the service of others do we do so grudgingly or simply out of a sense of duty, or do we do it out of love because we know that is how God has treated us?” True Christian generosity is by nature willing and enthusiastic. In addition to being sacrificial and enthusiastic, in setting before the Corinthians the example of the Macedonian Christians and the example of Jesus, Paul was reminding them and us that real Christian generosity is also truly spiritual. Paul says the Macedonians gave themselves first to the Lord and then to the apostles’ Appeal. Both of these statements remind us of a very important principle. Christian giving is not an act of charity. It is an act of worship to Holy God. True Christian giving flows out as our response to God because of his goodness to us in all that He gives us every day. True Christian giving flows out as our response to the generosity of God in sending His only Son to be our Saviour. That’s why Christian giving is an act of worship. That’s why the offering is part of our Sunday services every week. That’s why we have collections for different things throughout the course of the Year. So when we give, in essence we don’t just give to provide a building to allow us to have services, to pay the gas bill, to enable outreach, to sustain a minister or to provide for those in need. First and foremost we give to say ‘thank you’ to God for all that He does and has done for us. True Christian giving is an act of worship. The question for each of us is “What does our giving say about our love for God?” We are so thankful to God for the generosity of people to the United Appeal because through this fund we have been privileged to have Philip and Susan and Amy here as part of our church family for over 20 years... The work that they have done among young people has been exceptional and has given our church a great standing in the community as a place where people can experience the love of God. More importantly it has blessed thousands of children young people and adults through the years and enabled them to understand that God loves them. So it was fantastic when recently they were chosen to showcase the work of United Appeal through this little video. Sit back and enjoy and see who you can spot… United Appeal Video (Philip and Nathan and the Clubs) PART 3 So far, from St Paul’s advice to the wealthy Corinthians we have learned that our Christian giving is a natural response to the grace and generosity of God to us. As such our giving, should be a joyful, sacrificial and enthusiastic act of worship. But when it comes down to it practically, what might that look like for each of us? I think for most of us, deciding how to balance the books and still be generous to God is not easy. God expects us to care properly for ourselves, our families and our homes. That means we have many things to buy and many bills to pay. Add to that our responsibilities for government taxes and National Insurance, the odd night out, funding our favourite hobby or facilitating a holiday and for many of us it can be a struggle just to make end’s meat. So how can we enjoy our lives and still be generous towards God without feeling guilty? Thankfully in his letter to the Corinthians St Paul gives us some good principles by which to help us decide how we should respond to God’s gracious goodness to us. So he writes, “Here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one doesn’t have.” Here Paul reminds us that our Christian giving should be proportionate to our disposable income. 3 Christian Giving should be proportionate But what sort of portion of our household income should we be aiming for? Well, in his letter, St. Paul steers clear of stipulating an exact figure. However, when we place Paul’s letter alongside the rest of the scripture some guiding principles begin to emerge. In Matthew’s gospel in his rebuke of the religious leaders it seems clear that Jesus endorses the Old Testament practice of Tithing. In Chapter 23, verse 23 He says, “Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices- mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law- justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” So it seems that the Old Testament principle of giving a tenth of one’s disposable income (that is our income after tax) seems to be a good initial guide as to how much we should aim to give. However, this should not be the only consideration when we are giving. That’s because a person who is on a low wage and who gives 10% of their income will be giving sacrificially. If you give 3,000 Euros and only have 27,000 Euros left to pay your yearly bills with 4 children then you may well be struggling just to make ends-meat! If that’s your situation then I don’t believe God expects you to give a tenth if you really can’t afford it. So a tenth is simply a guideline to aim for. Having said that, people who have a much larger disposable income- say 60,000 Euros a year after tax, would be giving 6,000 Euros a year to God if they tithed. This would leave them with 54,000 Euros left to live on which is twice what the person on a low income has left. Therefore the person with a much larger disposable income may well need to think about giving more than 10% of their income to God and His work if their giving is in any way to be considered a sacrificial, generous, self-giving act of worship. So, whilst not wanting to be dogmatic about this or to make it a rule, I would say that the bible encourages us to give as close to a tenth of our disposable income to the work of God as we can afford. If that amount is easy for us to afford, then we should seriously and prayerfully consider being even more generous. If we live within our means and barely have anything left to spare, then God doesn’t expect us to give a tenth if we really can’t afford it. Ultimately, what we give is between us and the Lord, but in light of how generous He has been towards us we should all aim to be generous towards His work in our world. In light of His mercy and grace, He will not put demands upon us that make life impossible. 4 Generous Giving will be blessed by God: Like a wise coach sending his team out for the second half, Paul concludes his advice to the Corinthians by giving them a positive vision of the victory that will accompany their obedience. He writes “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each person should give what they have decided in their heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for the Lord loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever. Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us our generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” Here Paul motivates the Corinthians by reminding them of the law of harvest… We reap what we sow. If we are generous in what we give to others God will reward that generosity with spiritual blessing. If we are generous in what we give to others God will also be able to trust us in various ways with more because we have proved our faithfulness. How exactly God will bless us when we are generous we cannot be certain. Just because we give more doesn’t mean that God will necessarily make us more wealthy, or heal us of chronic illness. But one thing is certain- to neglect generous giving to God’s work is not only to rob God of what is rightly His but also to rob ourselves of God’s blessing. When the OT prophet Malachi rebuked the neglect of God’s people in these matters he also brought this promise from the Lord, “Bring this whole tithe into the storehouse…test me in this says the Lord Almighty and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” I want to encourage you this morning to give generously to the work of the United Appeal and to our General Congregational Funds. Covid 19 has been particularly hard on the weekly income of many churches because of our inability to meet each Sunday and the inability to rent out premises to community groups and societies. We have been no exception to this. So let me encourage you to reflect on the biblical principles we have been considering today and to prayerfully plan your giving to our church and to God’s work in this world. Because if you do, God will fling open the windows of heaven and pour out his blessing upon us. How exactly that will happen I can’t tell you. But what I can assure you is that if we are obedient to God in this, He will bless us and above all, glory and thanksgiving will be brought to his name by the people who have been touched by our Christian generosity. Let us pray…. Prayer God we want to thank you for the concept of the United Appeal and how it brings us together as Presbyterian congregations throughout the world. We want to ask your blessing upon every person and every project that is supported through this Central Fund. God we pray that despite the difficulties caused by Covid 19 that you would encourage your people to be generous and that through their kindness all the targets of honour might be met to enable all of this work to continue. We thank you especially for Philip and Susan and Amy. Thank you for their faithfulness to you, to our church family and to this community. Thank you for their hard work and for sustaining them through happy times and difficult times. We pray that very soon the clubs and the coffee Doc will be able to resume and that this year’s Holiday Club will be able to go ahead. We pray that you will bless Susan in her work in the Montessori school and that you will help Amy in all her studies at University. We pray that you will sustain Philip in these days of waiting and continue to show us how we might encourage and support them in every way. We pray that you will continue to sustain and provide for us as a church community and that very soon we will be able to meet and serve you together again. Lord help us to keep outwardly focused in all that we do and to remember that your love and the good news about Jesus is for sharing. All these things we pray in His precious name, Amen. Closing Words It’s been a joy and privilege to share with you again today. Thanks again for logging on. I do hope if you haven’t already done so this year that you will consider supporting our United Appeal. You can make an online donation to the church bank account using the details on the church website. Just mark it as for United Appeal. Alternatively you can contact our church treasurer Aleida and arrange to pay in a method which is more suitable for you. Do tune in again this Wednesday when we will be reflecting further on what it means for us to pray, “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” A big thank you again to everyone who supported the Babushka shoe box appeal and to Erika for volunteering to take the parcels to Dublin for collection. Don’t forget the Team Hope Shoe Boxes for children are to be done online this year. I don’t know what’s going to happen in December but please do continue to pray that if we return to Level 3 that the restrictions on church services might be lifted so that we can enjoy our Christmas season as a worshipping community. In a moment I will lead you in a Benediction after which I will invite you as always, to say the grace together…But before I do please stay tuned in after that as a few of our younger Holiday club members play us out with a song that was recorded for the 2019 holiday club that was cancelled because of Covid. The song is called, “Made for this..” Benediction As you have come to worship, so go now to serve, showing the truth in your lives of what you have declared with your lips, in the name of Christ. And… May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and for evermore, Amen.” HBC SONG “Made for this”  A huge big thank you to everyone in our church family for your generous support of the Babushka Box appeal. I am bringing the boxes and donations to the charity today, and together we have made a difference in the lives of impoverished elderly people in Belarus. I cannot begin to thank you enough. Erika. Welcome and Introduction Good morning everyone and welcome to our Midweek worship. Today we will be thinking a little more about what it will mean for us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” But first let’s take a moment to pause and to talk to our heavenly Father, let’s pray… Opening Prayer Lord of heaven and earth, of all that is and has been and will be- forgive us for trusting in our own strength rather than yours. Forgive us for thinking our way is best, for claiming honour that is rightly yours, for seeking our ends rather than your Kingdom, for putting our confidence in things which have no power to save or satisfy. Forgive us for trusting in our own strength rather than yours. Forgive us for the people we have let down, the circumstances we have despaired of, the opportunities we have wasted, all because we have trusted our judgement, before yours. Forgive us for trusting in our own strength rather than yours. Forgive us even during these difficult days of restricted living that we have tried to sort out our own problems or cope with our own emotions and fears rather than sharing them with you and seeking your wisdom and comfort. Forgive us for trusting in our own strength rather than yours. Lord, teach us that when we feel most weak and helpless, you are at your strongest, that what the world counts powerless is often most powerful. Save us from closing our lives to your mighty presence. Forgive us for trusting in our own strength rather than yours. Give us renewed faith, greater trust and deeper confidence in all that you are able to do. Teach us to trust in your strength and to put that into practice by talking to you much more regularly about every detail of our lives, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. Join me as we say the Lord’s Prayer thoughtfully and sincerely together… Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us, And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil, For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, For ever and ever, AMEN. Reflection “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil…” “I know I shouldn’t say this but…” “Officer, it was only a short text and I never took my eyes off the road…” “Sure they’ll never miss a few reams of paper…” “Why don’t you just call in sick?...” “Go on, just tell them you’re 18!...” “This is God’s fault, I’m not going to church anymore…” Whether it’s gossip, texting while driving, stealing office stationery, taking a day off work, buying alcohol when you are under age or giving up on God because of some painful experience, life is full of temptations. Temptation is normal; it’s not something we can avoid. It’s also probably true that the more seriously we start to follow Christ, the greater our temptations will become. That’s because when the Holy Spirit comes to live within us, He makes us more sensitive to what is right and what is wrong. It’s also really important to realise that temptation is something that we’ll have to face on a regular basis until we reach heaven. Sometimes when we have resisted a particular temptation we think, “Great, thank you Lord, I’ll not have to face that again!” But the reality is that even when we’ve resisted one temptation, there will always be another one waiting for us around the corner. It’s also important to remember that temptation can be potentially serious. Yielding to certain temptations can damage our reputation, it can destroy our relationships, it can lead to serious injury, it can cost someone their job, it can result in a court appearance or a prison sentence. Even when no-one else but us knows that we have given in to a particular temptation, this still has the potential of grieving God and slowly but surely causing us to drift away from His presence and blessing. Temptation is a serious business; it is not something to be treated lightly. That’s the bad news if you like. But the good news is that it is perfectly o.k. to be tempted! Temptation isn’t wrong no matter how strong it feels or how difficult it might be to say, “No!” But perhaps the most encouraging news of all is that God has promised to provide everything that we need to be able to resist temptation no matter when or how it comes. That’s why St. Paul encouraged the Christians living in the notoriously wicked city of Corinth with these words, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to all people. And God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide you with a way out so that you can stand up under it.” One of the main ways that God has given us to overcome temptation is prayer. Last week we reflected on the fourth phrase in the Lord’s Prayer – “Forgive us or sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” It’s often when we have just finished confessing our sins that we are reminded of how weak and vulnerable we are. I think that’s why immediately after praying for forgiveness, Jesus teaches us to pray to God, “And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil”. It’s when we are at our humblest that we are most likely to realise our need of God to overcome temptation. It is not easy to understand exactly what Jesus is saying in this phrase. Throughout church history bible scholars have wondered why we would ask God not to lead us into temptation when the bible quite clearly teaches us that it is the devil, not God, who tempts us. Some have tried to find a solution by pointing out the reality that the same Greek word used for temptation is more often translated as ‘tested’. Scripture shows that God often tests us to cause the muscles of our faith to grow. But if testing is a good thing, then why would Jesus encourage us to pray that God would not test us? I’ve spent many hours this week trying to find an answer to these questions and to be totally honest with you I haven’t been able to find one that is completely satisfactory. There is mystery here. But what I can do is give you the best explanation I can as to what I think Jesus means when he teaches us to pray, “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Whatever else this means, Jesus is not saying that God tempts us. The bible is very clear that God never tempts us. It is the enemy of God, a beautiful angel called, “Satan” who tempts us to ignore God and to do what is wrong. Having said that, it is also true to say that just as God allowed the devil to test Job and just as the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, so God may allow the devil to tempt us in order that our faith and character may be strengthened just as steal is hardened in the fire. But even when God allows this in our lives, we must always remember that it is the devil who does the tempting, not God and it is God who provides the way of escape. But what do these ways of escape look like and how can we apply them in our daily lives? Well today and next Wednesday I want to spend some time explaining in what practical ways we can receive the help of God to overcome temptations, to maintain our faith under trials and difficulties and to overcome the attempts of the evil one to hinder the work of God in our lives. Where I’d like to begin is with the temptation of Christ Himself. The strategy that Jesus used when He was tempted during His 40 days of spiritual reflection in the wilderness was to recall Holy Scripture that he had memorised.
If this method of memorising scripture worked for Jesus, then you can be sure that it will pay dividends for us. That’s why I want to encourage you to keep reading your bible and your Word for Today. That’s why I want to encourage you to keep making listening to our online reflections a priority in your week. That’s why when we’re back in church that you keep coming each week. That’s why I want to encourage you to buy and read good Christian books. The more we read the bible, the more its message will stick in our minds. Then when we are tempted, the Holy Spirit will be able to bring to our mind a few verses or a passage of scripture which will empower us to resist that temptation. Let me give you a few examples of how I have found this to work in my own life: There is a verse in Proverbs that says, “A quiet word turns away wrath.” On a number of occasions that verse has come into my mind and stopped me from overreacting when someone has spoken aggressively to me. Last week we looked at the verse, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” Over the years there have been many times when I’ve found myself thinking angry thoughts about someone. But as we have prayed these words in church every week, God has said to me loud and clearly on many occasions- “Michael if you want me to forgive you then you have got to let go of those thoughts.” In the middle of services, even as I’ve led others in saying the Lord’s Prayer, I have done that and I gradually felt the anger inside me disappear. It was the voice of God in Holy Scripture that gave me the power to resist the temptation to continue thinking those thoughts about someone else. There are times in all of our lives when we think, “I couldn’t do that. I don’t have enough experience. I’m just not clever enough.” In those times we are tempted to give up or not to take risks for the sake of the Kingdom of God. There are lots of times in my life when God has asked me to do something and I’ve felt exactly like that. At those times, a particular phrase from Psalm 18 has given me the courage to give it a go. The reason these words have stuck in my mind is because I learned them in German from a good friend who lived there for a year. They are, “Mit meinem Gott kann Ich uber mauern springen,” which translated means, “With my God I can leap over a high wall.” Over the years this verse has given me courage to do things that I would have never thought possible. Even during the last period of time when we were in church, I found that reading Paul’s description of love every week helped me to memorise that passage. So often it comes to mind and helps me to treat other people the way God would want when I feel myself tempted to be impatient or unkind or to be jealous or proud. These are just a few examples of how learning bible verses will allow the Holy Spirit to bring it into our minds and enable us to respond like Jesus in our moments of temptation. This is one escape route against temptation that God has provided for us. The question for us this morning is, “What steps am I taking to familiarise myself with the bible so that the Holy Spirit can bring it to my mind?” Prayer for others Lord we pray for many situations of temptation that people face particularly at this time. We think especially of those who are tempted to give up on life because they see no hope in the future. Lord deliver them from this lie and enable them to find all the help and encouragement they need. We pray for all of us who are tempted to break the rules of restriction or wearing our face coverings or keeping our distance. Help us to persevere and reward us for our efforts by seeing the infection rates reducing. We pray for people who are tempted to take drugs to escape the difficulties of life. We pray for women who are tempted to sell themselves because they see no other way of providing for themselves or their children. We pray for people who are tempted to steal because they are finding it difficult to find employment. We pray for people who are tempted to work too hard and who are near the point of physical and emotional burnout. We pray for people who are tempted to give up their faith in you because of a particularly painful experience or difficult circumstances. We pray for people who are tempted to give up on their marriages rather than seek professional support. We pray for people who are tempted to stay in abusive situations rather than having the courage to seek help and refuge. Lord with these prayers we also remember those who are sick and those who continue to grieve. Lord, show us how we can be supportive to anyone facing any of these situations and give wisdom to our government so that they will do all they can to provide the necessary services to bring help and hope to everyone who is tempted to despair or to make bad choices because they see no other way. Finally we take a few moments to pray for ourselves and for our own particular temptations…. Lord help us to admit our weaknesses and to be careful that we don’t allow our strengths to cause us to fall. Lord give us the strength to resist temptations that would cause us harm, or bring hurt to others. Give us courage to face our trials and give us the faith to keep on trusting you even at times when it is hard to believe. We offer all these prayers in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. Closing Words It’s been a joy and privilege to share with you again today. Thanks again for logging on. I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s reflection. Please do spend some time in quiet over the next couple of days and ask yourself, what are my greatest trials and temptations?” Once you’ve become aware of what these are, spend some time talking to God about them and asking Him for strength to resist temptation and the courage to carry on. This Sunday we will have a focus on the United Appeal which is our denominations main way of supporting outreach in various forms throughout Ireland and in other parts of the world. We are so grateful to God that over the past 20 years the United Appeal has allowed us to have Philip and Susan and Amy here as part of our church family. So on Sunday I want us to spend some time reflecting back over the years of some of wonderful outreach work they have enabled us to do and all the lives that have been touched by the love that they have shown people. Thanks to everyone who has taken time to package a Babushka Shoe Box and thank you to Erika for delivering them to Dublin on our behalf. Don’t forget you can still give a Shoe Box to a needy Child through the Team Hope Shoe Box Appeal which is online this year. As the days get shorter and the nights get longer and the challenges of Covid continue I’m conscious that this is a very difficult time for us all. If you are feeling particularly low, then please do reach out and let me know. I’ll be more than happy to meet and pray with you in a safe and socially distanced way. And let’s keep a special eye out for each other whether that means just picking up the phones and seeing how someone is. But for now, let me lead you in a Benediction after which I invite you as always, to say the grace together… Benediction Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak …And May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and for evermore, Amen.” APC 8th November 2020 “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” (Part 2) PART 1 Welcome and Introduction Good morning everyone and welcome to our Sunday morning worship. Thank you to those of you who have contributed so generously to the Harvest Appeal. From initial contributions we were able to give each charity 700 Euros. Since then other donations have come in and as of Thursday this week the total received was up to 2200 Euros. If you would still like to give but haven’t yet, please do feel free to do so this week. Then we will divide the remaining balance between the two Charities and post them each another cheque. Today we will be thinking a little more about what it will mean for us to pray, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us” But first let’s take a moment to pause and to talk to our heavenly Father, let’s pray… Opening Prayer Living and loving God, once more we bring you our praise and our worship. We acknowledge you as our God. We recognise your greatness and power. We marvel at your love and compassion. We come before you with awe and wonder. You are Lord of heaven and earth, of space and time, of this world and all of the universe, of life and death. Living and loving God, draw near to us and help us draw near to you. Come to us through your Holy Spirit and help us to open our hearts to the risen Christ. Speak to us through the worship we offer today and through it, deepen our faith. Living God we praise you that there is so much that speaks to us of your love and purpose – so much in our lives, in our daily experience, in the world around us, in the vastness of the universe, in the fellowship we share with one another and in the relationship we enjoy with you, through which you teach and guide and challenge us. Forgive us that sometimes we do not hear your voice and that often we do not want to hear. Forgive us that sometimes we refuse to listen and that often we are closed to anything but our own words. So today open our hearts to all the ways you are at work. Open our eyes so that we may glimpse your purpose more fully. Open our ears so that we may hear your voice more clearly. Open our minds to receive your truth more completely. Help us to see everything that points to your activity in our lives, in our fellowship, in your church and in the world. And speak through us as we work and witness for you, that others may come to know you for themselves. Amen. Join me as we say the Lord’s Prayer thoughtfully and sincerely together… Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us, And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil, For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, For ever and ever, AMEN. Introduction to Kids Video I do hope your children have been enjoying watching Douglas the puppet over the last couple of weeks teaching them a little about what it means to talk to God. This is the part of the service especially for them, although I know many of us as adults really enjoy it too. So if your kids aren’t beside you right now, why not pause the recording, and call them in to watch a puppet called Douglas explain what it means to forgive…And at the end of this video I’ve a few words to say to the children so don’t let them rush away. (END Part 1) Kid’s Video Douglas Talks “Forgiveness” Link https://www.worshiphousekids.com/kids-church-videos/44427/douglas-talks-forgiveness PART 2 Kid’s Talk Summary Hey boys and girls. I hope you enjoyed listening to Douglas as much as I did. We all say and do things that hurt other people. So it’s important to say sorry and it’s important to forgive. The good news is if we pray and ask God He will help us to say sorry and to forgive. Isn’t it so great to be able to talk to God? I’ve put a link to a colouring sheet on the church website about praying for forgiveness for you. So if your mam or dad hasn’t printed it off yet now’s the time to gently ask them to pause this recording and go and print it for you. Hope you’ve enjoyed today. Don’t forget to tune in again next Sunday. Bye for now… Colouring Sheet Link http://www.supercoloring.com/coloring-pages/christianity-bible/lords-prayer (Sheet Number 4 - ‘Forgive us our debts’) Bible Reading Luke 23 v 32 - 43 32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”[a] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” 38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews. 39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[b]” 43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Reflection “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” “Dear Charles, I realise this letter may come as a shock to you. However I sincerely hope you will give it your utmost consideration. While it is not easy for me to write this letter, I also understand that it is possibly not easy for you to read. I will start by introducing myself. My name is Richard Moore and I live in Derry Northern Ireland. 33 years ago on 4th May 1972 I think we came across each other for the first time. I was 10 years old then. Whilst on my way home from school I was shot and blinded by a rubber bullet. I am glad to say that I have never allowed this experience to hinder me or make me feel bitter in any way. As you are probably aware by now, not only from the first two paragraphs of this letter, but from the person who so kindly has delivered it into your hand, it is my understanding that you are the soldier that fired the rubber bullet…” This is an extract taken from the book “Can I give him my eyes?”- the question Richard’s father asked when doctors broke the news to him that they could not save his son’s sight. It describes the moving story of Richard Moore shot and blinded by a British soldier during the height of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Years later, in an extraordinary turn of events, Richard eventually meets and befriends the soldier who shot him. It is stories like these that are at the very heart of what it means to be Christian. Christianity is about God’s Mission to enable us to find forgiveness and reconciliation with Himself. But it is also about God’s mission through Christ to bring Jew and Gentile together in Palestine, Protestant and Catholic together in Ireland, Hutu and Tutsi together in Africa, Republican and Democrat in America. That is why Jesus teaches us every day to pray “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” On Wednesday we reflected on the first part of this verse “Forgive us our sins.” We reminded ourselves that we all say and think and do things that fall below the standards of God. We acknowledged that at times we can all be too proud to admit our failures, either to God or to each other. But we came to the conclusion that ultimately it is in our best interests to be honest and to regularly confess our sins to God. It’s only when we do this that the leaves of sin can be swept spiritually from our lives allowing the living streams of the Holy Spirit’s presence and power to flow. That was difficult enough, but today we are faced with an even greater challenge, and in my experience, for most of us, this is the greatest challenge in the Christian life – to forgive those who have sinned against us and deeply hurt us, even when they don’t deserve it, even if they haven’t said they are sorry and even when we would still consider them to be our enemies. There is no greater ask in life, but this is what it will mean for us to take the Lord’s Prayer honestly upon our lips each week. This is what it will cost to call ourselves, “Christian.” For in this one sentence, Jesus not only teaches us to ask God to forgive us, but to ask in such a way that demands that we must also forgive others. So He says, when you pray say, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” What we are actually praying when we use these words is, “God forgive me in the same way that I forgive others.” What that means is, we must somehow forgive others no matter what they have done to us, because if we don’t, and we take this prayer on our lips, we are actually asking God not to forgive us. This is an extremely hard teaching of Jesus because the reality is that it is not always easy to forgive. In certain circumstances the journey of forgiveness may be a long one. We may even need the help of professional counsellors to explore the depths of hurt that someone else has caused before we are even at a point of contemplating the possibility of forgiveness. But even in circumstances where an innocent child has been blinded by the actions of an adult, when someone finds the grace and courage to make the first move, the journey of forgiveness and reconciliation can begin. So it was that the British soldier who shot Richard Moore responded to his letter and months later the blinded man sat in the Hilton hotel in Edinburgh waiting…He writes, “At about 11.50, I heard footsteps approach the area where I was sitting and a mature, cultured British voice said, “Hello Richard, it’s Charles. I stood up to shake his hand. “Hello Charles. Good to meet you. Thanks very much for coming to see me.” The 33 year wait was over… Richard Moore writes about that first meeting with the soldier who shot him and blinded him for life…He says… “The best way to describe the conversation with Charles is that it was like being on a first date… Eventually I broached the subject of the elephant in the room.” Charles explained that he did mean to fire the bullet and felt justified because it was an attempt to get those who were rioting to ‘bugger off’. “The truth is”, he said, “I did mean to fire it. I just never meant to cause the damage that I did.” Richard goes on to explain how the two men talked frankly and honestly about their feelings. How they went for lunch. How Charles guided him to the restaurant, even to the bathroom and insisted on driving him back to the airport. He recalls how a few weeks later when he was in Newcastle on business that Charles and his wife invited him to stay at their home. Eventually Charles agreed to take part in a documentary about Richard’s life. Since that first meeting, Richard and Charles have become good friends. The truth is if we want God to forgive us then we must be willing to forgive other people, even those who have hurt us deeply. The reason we must do this is because every time God forgives us that’s what He is doing. The reality is that every time we break God’s laws the only thing we deserve is judgement. The fact that God chooses to be merciful to us is out of the goodness and mercy of his heart. None of us deserve God’s forgiveness. He will grant it freely to us when we ask for it sincerely, but that’s despite the fact that we have grieved His heart and even though we don’t deserve it. If that’s how God treats us and if that’s how we wish to be treated by God then we must be willing to do the same for those who hurt us. None of this is easy, and none of this means that perpetrators of certain crimes should have reduced judicial sentences. Nevertheless, because God has forgiven us in Christ, despite the fact that we don’t deserve it, Jesus demands that by His grace we come to the point of letting go of those who have hurt us. Some may argue that we don’t have to forgive or that we can’t forgive unless someone is really sorry. But this is not the Jesus way. Who was sorry when they beat and mocked our Lord? Who was sorry when they gambled for his clothes? Who was sorry when they nailed Him naked to the cross? No one. And what was His response? Instead of waiting for them to apologise, Jesus prayed, “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they’re doing.” So too it may seem unfair that we must forgive others even when they do not apologise but that was what Jesus did and that’s what he asks us to do. Ultimately when we forgive, it is for our own good. When we let go and give that person over to God we are set free from the anger and bitterness and hatred that lies within. Somehow, by God’s grace we must find the strength and courage to accept that God is the one to whom final judgement belongs. Even if we never see justice this side of heaven we can be sure that the God of all the earth will do what is right. Even when we have found it in our hearts to forgive and to place someone into the hands of God, there is still a final step on the journey that God challenges us to be willing to make. This last part of the journey is perhaps the most difficult of all. It’s to desire that those who have hurt us will truly repent and find God’s forgiveness. And it is to contemplate the possibility of reconciliation. In particular cases these aspects of forgiveness may only seem possible well down the line. It was 33 years after being blinded that Richard Moore had the desire and the courage to meet and seek reconciliation with the soldier who had fired the rubber bullet. But the point is he eventually took that first step and God did what in our minds seemed impossible. Richard concludes his book with these words, “I’ve come to realise that it doesn’t matter if you’re Protestant or Catholic, Unionist or Nationalist, British or Irish, the suffering is the same. And if we’re to build a true and lasting peace in Northern Ireland, then one of the challenges will be to deal with the hurts of the past and try to ensure that they are not handed on to the next generation.” If Richard Moore can give forgiveness and find reconciliation in such a painful situation, then by God’s grace so can we. So can I ask you? Is there someone that you need to approach gently to explain the hurt that they have caused you? Is there someone that deep down you need to forgive? Is there someone that you haven’t spoken to for years? Jesus says to us this morning- “Be courageous, take the first step”. Even if the words ‘sorry’ never come, reconciliation may still be possible and forgiveness will set you free. Conclusion Every time we say the Lord’s Prayer we ask God, “Forgive us in the same way that we forgive others.” If we don’t forgive we are literally asking God not to forgive us. If we refuse to forgive it shows that the grace of God has yet to penetrate our own hearts. No matter how long the road or how difficult the journey, by God’s grace we need to come to a point of forgiveness, for only then can we truly receive the forgiveness of God. If you are finding it hard to forgive then let me encourage you to go to the cross. Think about everything that God has forgiven you in Christ and let His grace melt your heart in such a way that you are able to forgive those who have crucified you. Let’s pray… Prayers for others Loving God, there are times when we look at people’s lives and we find it hard to believe things can ever change for the better. We see them racked by illness, weighed down by anxiety, tormented by depression, crippled by debt, broken by alcohol, destroyed by drugs, scarred by bereavement, shattered through unemployment and we wonder what their prospects really are, what hope we can realistically offer them, what help we can possibly give. Transforming God, may your light shine where there is darkness. We pray for such people known to us now- family, friends, church members, work colleagues, neighbours, acquaintances, as well as the countless people unknown to us each struggling under their own particular burdens. Transforming God, may your light shine where there is darkness. We pray for our world- for those many people who face suffering, injustice, hardship and death. Transforming God, may your light shine where there is darkness. Reach out to all who are in despair we pray, all who long for change but see only hopelessness stretching before them. Touch their lives and bring help, hope, healing and wholeness. Transforming God, may your light shine where there is darkness. Loving God it is hard sometimes to believe that those around us, still less the world around, can ever change for the better. We see countries broken by war, people consumed by hatred, thousands living in fear, nations turned against nation, multitudes made homeless by disaster, continents facing famine and again we wonder what the prospects really are, what hope anyone can offer, what help can possibly be given. Transforming God, may your light shine where there is darkness. Help us to see beneath the surface, recognising you are at work and that things can change. Help us to see beyond appearances, recognising you are a God able to transform even the most hopeless of situations. Give to us and to all people the assurance that there is no one and no situation unable to be transformed by your power. Transforming God, may your light shine where there is darkness. We pray particularly for this Covid 19 virus. Please help all of us to continue to do what we can to reduce its spread. Please keep our hearts and minds from anxiety and depression. Please enable the number of infections to rapidly decline over these next few weeks. Please give great wisdom and success to those people who are currently trialling vaccines and grant that very soon one will be found that will give us immunity to this virus. Lord, in your mercy, long term please cause this virus to burn itself out so that this will not be something that we will have to navigate in the future. Take a moment now to pray for one or two people you know who need God’s help at this time…. All this we ask in the name of the our Lord Jesus, the King of Kings, Amen. CLOSING WORDS It’s been a joy and privilege to share with you again today. Thanks again for logging on. I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s reflection. Please do spend some time in quiet over the next couple of days and ask yourself, what will it mean for me to pray, “Father forgive me for my sins in the same way that I forgive….(PAUSE)…?” Unfortunately with the new restrictions we are unable to meet for church services for the immediate future. Until then I will continue to post reflections every Sunday and Wednesday to keep us encouraged and in spiritually good shape. This Wednesday we will spend some time reflecting on what it means for us to pray, “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil” and next Sunday we will have a focus on the United Appeal which is our denominations main way of supporting outreach in various forms throughout Ireland and in other parts of the world. If you missed all the information about this year’s Shoe Box Appeals then please tune in to the service on Wednesday earlier this week. Thank you to those people who have already made Babushka Shoe Boxes and who have placed them in the church for collection. The deadline for the Babushka shoe boxes is technically the 10th of November but Erika Ravenscroft has kindly agreed to deliver shoe boxes on our behalf to Dublin on the 14th. So if you would like to send a Babushka Box the good news is there is still time. Please just drop the box into the foyer of the church some morning this week or alternatively you can drop it off at the manse some evening. As the days get shorter and the nights get longer and the challenges of Covid continue I’m conscious that this is a very difficult time for us all. If you are feeling particularly low, then please do reach out and let me know. I’ll be more than happy to meet and pray with you in a safe and socially distanced way. And let’s keep a special eye out for each other whether that means just picking up the phones and seeing how someone is. But for now, let me lead you in a Benediction after which I invite you as always, to say the grace together… Benediction As you have come to worship, so go now to serve, showing the truth in your lives of what we have declared with our lips. May we forgive as Christ continues to forgive us, and may we do all we can to be reconciled with everyone. And so… May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and for evermore, Amen.” APC Wed 4th Nov 2020 “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us….” Welcome and Introduction Good morning everyone and welcome to our Wednesday morning worship. Today we will be thinking about what it will mean for us to pray, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” But first let’s take a moment to pause and to talk to our heavenly Father, let’s pray… Opening Prayer Gracious God, Lord of all, we thank you that we can come to you in prayer, that for all your greatness and wonder and holiness we can speak with you as to a friend. Hear now our prayer. We thank you that we can open our hearts to you, that we can pour out our innermost souls and share our deepest thoughts, in the knowledge that you are there always ready to listen and to understand, Hear now our prayer. So now once more we lay our lives before you, open to your gaze – the bad as well as the good, the doubt as well as the faith, the sorrow as well as the joy, the despair as well as the hope. Hear now our prayer. We bring the anger as well as the peace, the hatred as well as the love, the confusion as well as the certainty, the fear as well as the trust. Hear now our prayer. Gracious God we bring these, not with pride or any sense of arrogance, but honestly, recognising that you know us through and through. Hear now our prayer. Help us to be truthful to ourselves and truthful to you and so may we discover the renewing love which only you can offer- a love that fees us to live as you would have us live and allows us to be the people you would have us be! Hear now our prayer. In the name of Christ… Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us, And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil, For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, For ever and ever, AMEN. Reflection “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us….” What could be more important than our relationship with God? Actually nothing. That’s because our friendship with God is the stream from which every other part of our life flows. Who we are, how we think, what we say and what we believe can all be transformed for good through our regular times of prayer. At this time of year one of the things we notice are all of the leaves. As they turn yellow and red and brown they paint a spectacular picture in our gardens, in the fields and along the roadside. But in the wrong place, in the wrong amount, they can cause real trouble. That’s especially true if they clog up a drain. Often leaves and debris blown down in a storm can cause a mountain stream to become blocked. This can have devastating consequences for the waterways further downstream. If the source of freshwater is prevented from reaching pools and rivers they can quickly become stagnant and are no longer good for drinking or for sustaining animal and plant life. You know, sometimes it can be the same in our relationship with God. Over time things that we say or do or think, or even things we should have done or said but didn’t, can gather in our hearts and lives like leaves in a stream. The trouble is, like the falling leaves, this can happen without us even realising it, until one day our friendship with God seems like a distant memory or we do or say something that has significantly negative consequences – all because we have allowed the source of the Holy Spirit’s life-giving streams to become blocked by our failure to keep short accounts with God. That’s why this week’s reflections on the Lord’s Prayer are perhaps the most important reflections in this whole series. The lessons that we will learn today and on Sunday, if we put them into practice, have the potential to transform our existence and the influence we will have on the people around us for good. For today and on Sunday we will be reflecting on these words that Jesus says we should pray, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” You see the leaves in my analogy are the sins in our lives. Things that we say or think or do, or things that we have failed to say or think or do. Things that are contrary to the way that God, in His wisdom, would want us to live. Just as leaves can block a stream, so too our sins block the flow of God’s Spirit in our lives. If we are to restore the Holy Spirit’s transforming stream in our lives, we must have the leaves of sin regularly lifted or swept away. The only person that can do this is God. But if this is to become a reality in our lives on a regular basis, the very first thing we must do is to be humble enough to admit that we have a problem. We must be willing to acknowledge and confess our sins regularly to God and to each other. In our modern society that is not something that is as easy to do as it sounds. The reality is that in today’s world admitting failure or problems is often perceived as a sign of weakness. Unfortunately this view spills over into our religious life. We don’t like to think of ourselves as sinners, as people who have disobeyed and offended God. It’s easier for us to point out the faults in others rather than spending time examining our own lives. We’re also tempted to think more about the sins of others because if we’re honest, it makes us feel that little bit better about ourselves. But as far as God is concerned, admitting our own weakness and failures is the very beginning of spiritual progress. So why are we sometimes too proud to admit to God and to each other that we have done wrong? Well, one of the reasons may be because we have a wrong view of what sin is. We agree that the burglar, the murderer, the child abuser and the adulterer are sinners but when we think about ourselves we say, “Well I’m not like that. I live a decent, ordinary, respectable life. I try my best to do what’s right and not to harm anyone.” As a result, we think sin doesn’t really have anything to do with us and in our day to day lives, we never feel the need to ask God’s forgiveness or apologise to anyone else. But how does the bible view sin? Well the NT actually has 5 different words for sin- Hamartia- This is a shooting word which means ‘to miss the target’. This means that sin is the failure to be all that we could be. In light of that let us ask ourselves, how good a student, son, daughter, wife, husband, employer, minister are we? Can we say that we have always been what we should have been? If not, then God says that we have sinned. Parabasis- This means ‘to step across’. So sin is stepping across the line between right and wrong. Let us ask ourselves honestly, are we never slightly dishonest, by word or by our silence do we ever evade the whole truth? Are we always kind? Are we never selfish? Do we never utter a harsh word? Do we never have a wrong attitude or thought? None of us can claim to have always remained on the right side. All of us have sinned and do sin. Paraptoma- This describes a slip you would make on an icy road. These sins are not as deliberate E.g. a word slipping out. The momentary loss of self-control. Forgetting to do something. The very best of us has slipped into sin when for a second we were off our guard. Anomia- This is lawlessness. It is to know what is right but to deliberately do what is wrong. If we’re honest at times this also describes all of us. When we see signs like “Do not enter!” or “Don’t walk on the grass!” it’s human nature to feel a great urge welling up within us to say “No, I’m going to see what’s behind that door” or “one or two little steps won’t hurt.” Even if you can say you’ve never broken the Ten Commandments can you say that you’ve never even wanted to break them? Opheilema- This is a failure to pay what you owe. None of us can claim that we have perfectly done all that we should to other people and to God. Such perfection does not exist. In his sermon on the mount Jesus tells us that if we are angry about someone when we shouldn’t be or when we lust after someone we are sinning. So we can commit sin as much in our inner lives and attitudes just as in our outward words and actions. When we consider all of this there is only one conclusion that we can come to. As Paul says in Romans 3: 23 ‘All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.’ Whether we like it or not, we have all inherited a human nature which means that like a bowling ball we all have an inbuilt weight or bias. No matter how straight we try to walk, at some point either in our actions our speech our thoughts or our attitudes we stray from what we know to be right. We may not stray as much as some others, we may not end up in the gutter, but nevertheless we are sinners and because of that on a daily basis we sin. It’s really important for us to think deeply about this and then to accept and acknowledge this truth about ourselves for several reasons. For one, it prevents us from being self-righteous. At the end of the day, whatever our eircode, we are no better or no worse than anyone else when we measure ourselves against God’s perfect standards. Knowing this and believing it will prevent us from arrogance. It will also enable us to develop a compassionate heart that seeks to reach out to those who have fallen into sin with serious consequences. We will care, because we realise ‘but for God’s grace it could have easily been us’. Accepting that we all make mistakes, that at times we will let each other down and that we will say things on occasions that we shouldn’t, will also help us to be realistic about life. This in turn can prevent us from becoming disillusioned. When that happens it’s all too easy for us to give up on our relationships, to hop from job to job or to move from one church to another in an effort to find a perfection that God has not promised us this side of heaven. But above all it’s only when we regularly bow our heads and confess our sins to God that He can sweep the leaves away and allow the stream of the Holy Spirit to flow unhindered in our lives. When we do this we will experience the Holy Spirit’s presence in fresh and living ways, guiding us, gifting us, inspiring us and empowering us to live lives that are kind and good and that will cause people to want to know about this Jesus whom we talk about. It’s only when we take our sins seriously and realise their potential to prevent the grace of God flowing in our lives that we will begin to experience God’s presence and power in our lives. It’s only as we get on our knees regularly and ask God to show us our sin and confess it sincerely that will enable Him to sweep our sins away and allow the Spirit’s stream to flow. So let me ask you as I’ve asked myself this week… Do you feel the Lord’s presence and power in your life? Have you checked your spiritual drains? What leaves and debris do you need to ask God to clear away? Let us pray… Prayer Mighty God, we thank you that we can come now before you that you are here waiting to meet with us and speak to us. We thank you that though we have no claim on your love, and no right to expect any mercy you are always reaching out to us eager to forgive and forget. Gracious God, open our hearts to your love. We thank you that though we repeatedly fail you, and though we resist your will, you go on wiping the slate clean, offering us a new beginning, a fresh start. Gracious God, open our hearts to your love. We thank you that you love and care about each one of us, that for all our faults and weaknesses you accept us just as we are. Poor though our faith may be, you are always ready to guide, to help and to bless. Gracious God, open our hearts to your love. Mighty God. Help us to open our lives to you, to be honest with you, ourselves and others. Help us to see ourselves as we really are, the good and the bad, the strength and the weaknesses, the lovely and the unlovely. Help us to recognise our sins and to confess them, throwing ourselves upon your mercy. Gracious God, open our hearts to your love. And so may we receive the cleansing, the renewal and the forgiveness you long to show us. Gracious God, open our hearts to your love. In the name of Christ, Amen. Closing Words It’s been a joy and privilege to share with you again today. Thanks again for logging on. I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s reflection. Please do spend some time in quiet over the next couple of days and ask yourself, what will it mean for me to pray, “Forgive me for my sins.” Do join us again on Sunday morning as we will be reflecting on what it will mean for us to forgive those who sin against us and how that will impact on our prayers asking God to forgive us. If you missed all the information about this year’s Shoe Box Appeals then please tune in to the service last Wednesday. Don’t forget the deadline for the Babushka shoe boxes is the 10th of November and there is an email address and phone number to call on the bottom of the leaflet to arrange delivery or collection of your box. A PDF of the leaflet can be found on our Website or Facebook page or you can email me for the details. As the days get shorter and the nights get longer and the challenges of Covid continue I’m conscious that this is a very difficult time for us all. If you are feeling particularly low, then please do reach out and let me know. I’ll be more than happy to meet and pray with you in a safe and socially distanced way. And let’s keep a special eye out for each other whether that means just picking up the phones and seeing how someone is. But for now, let me lead you in a Benediction after which I invite you as always, to say the grace together… Benediction To God who is always forgiving, always loving, always offering a new beginning, be honour and glory, praise and thanksgiving this day and forever And May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and for evermore, Amen.” |
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