Worship
In the last book of the Bible, John has a vision of heaven and the end times. In Revelation 7:9-10 he says, ‘before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation… and they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”’
As you sing or read this worship song, imagine the multitudes of others who are also worshipping God. Join with them in singing your praises to our ever-loving God.
Faithful One, so unchanging
Ageless One, you’re my rock of peace
Lord of all I depend on you
I call out to you, again and again
I call out to you, again and again
You are my rock in times of trouble
You lift me up when I fall down
All through the storm
Your love is, the anchor
My hope is in You alone
Sermon on the Mat: Encourage one another
Hebrews 10:23-5 says, ‘Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another…’
God created us to be in fellowship with others and the ideal is that we meet together to worship and share our faith. It was clear from our survey results that the things people have missed most during lockdown are fellowship and singing. We can sing by ourselves. Some of us who are less tuneful might feel more confident singing when there’s no one but God to hear! But it isn’t the same. Our faith gets a boost from being part of a group of people united in worshipping God.
The writer to the Hebrews says we must ‘hold firm to the hope we profess.’ Keep a tight grip on our faith so that we don’t slip away. Or slide into bad habits. Yes, we can and should read the Bible and pray by ourselves, but it’s easy to forget to do so when there’s no one or nothing to remind us. We all benefit from a bit of encouragement.
Barnabas was an early Christian, working in the church in Antioch. The disciples gave him the nickname Barnabas, which means encouragement. Isn’t that a great nickname? To be known as someone who encourages others. Acts 11:23 says, ‘When Barnabas saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged [the church in Antioch] to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.’
Seeing other people worshipping God encourages us to do the same. Hearing how God is at work in people’s lives, sometimes dramatically, sometimes in small but still significant ways. Those stories inspire us to look for the hand of God in our lives. And sometimes we can spot how God is working in someone else and bless them up by sharing that.
We may not all be called Barnabas, but we all have a role in encouraging each other.
We hope to start meeting together soon. But whether we meet in person or not, we are still part of a community of believers stretching through time and place. Like a coal in a fire, our faith will quickly cool if we are removed from the flames and left by ourselves. Faith in isolation is hard. Faith burns and spreads best in community.
So in the same way as we continue to pray and worship God at home, we need to continue to build one another up. Who can you phone or meet up with this week? Not just to chat, although that is important. To share your faith and talk about what God is doing in your life. To ask how they are seeing God at work and how you can pray for them. To encourage and be encouraged.
Ask God who you can be a Barnabas to this week.
The well-known 17th century nun’s prayer gives some humorous advice on how we can best minister to one another. It ends with the request: ‘Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people. And give me, Lord, the grace to tell them so.’
In these uncertain times, can you bless someone by telling them what they mean to you? And encourage them by letting them know they are in your prayers.
Pray
Father we thank you that you created us in your likeness,
that we are better when we are in fellowship with others.
You know that we miss joining with others in worship of you.
Please help us to seek ways to maintain that fellowship,
to be encouragers of our fellow believers
and to share stories of how you are at work,
that we may all hold firm of our faith in your unfailing love.
In Jesus’ name, Amen
Please pray for –
- The government and those tasked with making decisions, that they will find the balance between preventing the virus from spreading and curtailing activity.
- Christ Church over the coming weeks and months as we support one another and look to the future.
- John and Anne-Marie as they prepare for retirement.
- One another, as we hold firm to our faith in God.