Through the letter box, Worship Service, Sunday 26 April

Worship
If you’re familiar with the melody of this wonderful modern hymn by Stuart Townend, please be at liberty to sing it, otherwise take time to meditate on the rich meaning of the words & the amazing hope about which it speaks: the sure & certain hope we have in Jesus!

In Christ Alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought & storm.
What heights of love,
What depths of peace,
When fears are stilled,
When striving cease!
My comforter, my all in all,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.

Bible Reading: John 20:24-29

Sermon on the Mat: It’s all in the believing, not in the seeing
Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach here with your finger & see My hands & put out your hand & place it in My side. Do not be unbelieving but stop doubting & believe!’ v 27

When tried & trusted friends tell you the greatest news ever told. That the One person you love most in all the world, the person you thought was long since dead & buried, is very much alive & well & doing the rounds of some of His favourite people & you point blank refuse to believe them, you’ve got a problem haven’t you?

A problem which God in His infinite love & mercy is ever willing & ever able to help resolve. As Thomas, doubting Thomas to those who knew him best, was soon about to find out. The day that he insisted on an audience with the King, battle scars & gaping wounds into the bargain!

How good & how gracious of Jesus, who knew everything there was to know about Thomas, (even as He knows everything there is to know about us), to accommodate Thomas’ unbelief in the way that He did. To show up for a second time in exactly the same place where he’d met the others, not, take note, to prove to him, by means visible & tangible, that what the others had said to him was the absolute bona fide truth but to teach him that genuine faith, faith of the truly legitimate, liberating & enduring kind, is anchored not in the things we can see, but in the things we cannot see!

Here’s how St. Augustine puts it – ‘Faith is to believe what you do not see. The reward of this faith is to see what you believe!’

Or as Martin Luther King Jr. states – ‘Faith is to take the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.’

How willing & ready are you to take that first & necessary step in order to see what God’s tried & tested word declares to be true?

Perhaps you can relate to the sentiments & concerns expressed in the following extract from C.S. Lewis,’ ‘The Silver Chair?’ An extract which encourages us to press ahead in trust, in order to experience for ourselves, the true path of life –
“‘Are you not thirsty?’ said the Lion.
‘I am dying of thirst,’ said Jill.
‘Then drink,’ said the Lion.
‘May I — could I — would you mind going away while I do?’ said Jill.
The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience.

The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic. ‘Will you promise not to — do anything to me, if I do come?’ said Jill.
‘I make no promise,’ said the Lion.
Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer. ‘Do you eat girls?’ she said.
‘I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms,’ said the Lion. It didn’t say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it.
‘I daren’t come and drink,’ said Jill.
‘Then you will die of thirst,’ said the Lion.
‘Oh dear!’ said Jill, coming another step nearer. ‘I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.’
‘There is no other stream,’ said the Lion.”

And there is no other answer to the world than Jesus, as you will come to see for yourself when you take that first, albeit tentative step towards Him & thereafter, from a place of ever growing faith, continue stepping forward!

Prayer of blessing

The embrace of the Father be the comfort you desire.
The name of the Son be the One on whom you rely.
The presence of the Spirit bBe with you every hour.
The three in One be the focus of all you are. Amen.

Please pray for

• The World Health Organization – that it would help governments fight the virus effectively by issuing wise advice & accurate analysis.
• Church leaders to be bold in proclaiming Christ with wisdom & compassion & in leading the church to respond with love.
• Business leaders to put in place policies that help the country – by slowing down the virus’ spread, by helping provide the medical resources that are needed & by being productive even in difficult economic times.