Through the letter box, Worship Service, Sunday 17 May

Worship
Please sing or meditate on the words of this familiar hymn as an expression of your gratitude to God for His unabating love for & friendship towards you.

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins & griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear –
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials & temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness –
Take it to the Lord in prayer!

Are we weak & heavy laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Saviour, still our refuge!
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take & shield thee,
Thou will find a solace there.

Sermon on the Mat: Jesus, our place of true & perfect rest
‘Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary & carry heavy burdens & I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you because I am humble & gentle at heart & you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear & the burden I give you is light.’ Matthew 11:28-30. NLT.

As we survey the landscape of present day living, with it’s many & complex challenges, the one thing, surely, we need more than ever, is rest! Rest from the worries, griefs, fears & concerns of everyday life. Worries, griefs, fears & concerns that are common to us all. Matters of the heart & mind, only God has the power to resolve. If we will but allow Him to. We who mean far more to Him than we could ever possibly think or imagine. As Pastor Max Lucado puts it –

‘If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring & a sunrise every morning… Face it, friend. He is crazy about you!’  Zephaniah 3:17.

Anyone who’s that crazy about us is not likely to fall short of meeting our need for true & lasting rest, are they? Especially when the person in question is God. Here’s what the prophet Isaiah has to say on the subject of His unique ability to always come up trumps for us & never more so than when the proverbial chips of our lives have worn us to a frazzle & we’ve no idea which way to turn –

‘Have you never heard? Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of His understanding.
He gives power to the weak & strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak & tired & young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will sore high on wings like eagles.
They will run & not grow weary.
They will walk & not faint.’       Isaiah 40:28-31. NLT.

We need to come to Him for rest, don’t we? To avail ourselves of the ‘much’ He longs to give to us. Not because we must but because we may. Not because we’re strong but because, in reality, we know we’re weak. Not because we have the answers but because we know a man who does. Not because any virtue of our own gives us a right to come but because, as the Anglican Communion states, ‘it is Your nature always to have mercy & on that mercy we depend!’

How will that mercy express itself when, finally, we arrive at the feet of Jesus, ‘bone weary’ & heavy laden? Daunted by the prospect of a future, uncertain & unknown. A future that appears to offer little by way of real & enduring hope? Put simply, it will express itself in an exchange of burdens. I.e. The careful lifting of your burdens onto His shoulders & the gentle placing of His burdens onto yours. Burdens that are light & easy, not because they don’t carry any responsibility with them but because they serve to reveal who really is in charge of His world & therefore in whose tried & tested hands our destiny ultimately & assuredly lies!

Prayer
Quieten us, quieten us Lord:
Ease us from the intense busy-ness that assails us.
Quieten us, quieten us, O Lord:
Draw us away from the incessant noise.
Still us, still us, O God:
Help us to yield up the need to chatter.
Still us, still us, O God:
Let us be immersed in your deep stillness.

Then Lord,
When our hearts, our souls, our minds & our spirits are at rest,
Open us to hear your voice of calm.
And Lord,In that deep stillness of eternity,
Bestow on us your heavenly balm. Amen.

Please pray for

• For those doctors, nurses & other health professionals as they come under pressure & strain – that they would be kept free from illness.
• For all those whose work or study is hit by the crisis – that we would be fair to all who are affected & look after those whose livelihoods are threatened.
• For children now being educated at home – that this period would helpfully supplement their school education & that a fair solution to exams & qualifications would be found & followed.