Worship
Please take time to consider the words of this beautiful song as you offer yourself in thankful praise to the living God.

Light of the world, You stepped down into darkness,
Opened my eyes, let me see
Beauty that made this heart adore You,
Hope of a life spent with You.

So here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You’re my God:
You’re altogether lovely, altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me.

King of all days, O so highly exalted,
Glorious in heaven above,
Humbly You came to the earth You created,
All for love’s sake became poor.

So here I am to worship …

And I’ll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross.
And I’ll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross.

So here I am to worship …

Sermon on the Mat: ‘There’s Light @ the end of the tunnel,’

‘In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God
And the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through Him
And nothing was created except through Him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
And His life brought light to everyone.
The Light shines in the darkness
And the darkness can never extinguish it.’ John 1:1-5. NLT.

‘A light @ the end of the tunnel.’ Isn’t that something we all need to see? To witness? To experience? Not only as it applies to the long awaited & much needed, Covid 19 vaccine roll out programme but also as it relates to the rest of life too? In particular those areas of day to day living where darkness, in all it’s many & varied guises, continues to hold sway! ‘A light @ the end of the tunnel.’

Truth to tell, God has long since given us one of those. A Light far greater, far brighter than any other light. A Light that the darkness, try as it may, can never destroy. In fact, quite the opposite. As Watchman Nee is quick to point out – ‘The devil abhors light & truth because these remove the ground of his working.’

Nb. ‘The ground of his working,’ (the ability to wreak havoc, wherever he goes), removed from far beneath his feet, long before Jesus made His appearance here on earth. Hence the reference in Revelation 13:8 to – ‘the lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made.’ NLT.

I.e. Before ever we needed saving, God saved us! Before ever the darkness needed to be overcome, God overcame it! It’s like the boxer who’s already beaten his opponent before he steps into the ring with him. A victory born out in the subsequent knockout blow that follows. The heavyweight champion of the world, Tyson Fury has a great knack in this department. God, much to our great relief, even more so! In this regard we would do well to heed Dwight L. Moody’s encouragement to – ‘Take your stand on the Rock of Ages. Let death, let the judgement come; the victory is Christ’s & yours through Him.’

Friends let me reassure you that better days are ahead for those who subscribe to Jesus’ claim to be the Light of the world. The one true Light at the end of a long dark tunnel. My youngest son, Tom, recently encouraged me to get back into writing poetry. Something I used to do many years ago, on a far more regular basis. The following poem was written as a result of the difficulties & challenges I’ve experienced, health wise, during the past three years. I hope you can see the positive note it endeavours to strike. The message of Hope it seeks to bring. I.e. That even in the midst of deepest darkness, the Light of Jesus shines ever more brightly & ever more true!

‘Still at last
Made calm
By a calamity of circumstance,
Divinely ruled
To hear the birds sing
Their daily chorus
Of celestial Hope
Ageless
Assured
Love’s long reach
Into the darkness
Of an endless dawn.’

Prayer.

Father,
I thank You that You are never overcome by darkness.
Even the darkest night is as bright as the brightest day to You.
Thank You that as I walk with You, learning to walk in Your ways,
Seeking Your divine presence in my life, moment by moment,
This darkness I presently feel will dissipate & the night around me
Will be like day once again.
Amen.

Please pray –

• For Tommy Walker who was recently transferred to Willow Mead Care Home, Hatfield Peverel. That, having defied the odds thus far, he’ll go on to make a full recovery from the various illnesses he has, in recent days, been subject to.
• That these days of darkness, fear & confusion would eventually give rise to a mighty, world wide ‘spiritual awakening!’ And that the global church of Jesus Christ would be ready for such a move of God’s Spirit upon His world.