Worship

Make this your prayer & song of dedication to God.

O Lord, You’re beautiful,
Your face is all I seek;
For when Your eyes are on this child,
Your grace abounds to me.

O Lord, please light the fire
That once burned bright & clear;
Replace the lamp of my first love
That burns with holy fear!

I want to take Your word
And shine it all around
But first help me just to live it, Lord!
And when I’m doing well,
Help me to never seek a crown,
For my reward is giving glory to You.

O Lord, You’re beautiful,
Your face is all I seek;
For when Your eyes are on this child,
Your grace abounds to me.

Sermon on the Mat

‘Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let us press on to know Him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early Spring.’ Hosea 6:3.

Friends, what better goal can there be at the start of 2021 than to go in search of God! The God who wants to be found & will be found by those determined enough to find Him. As Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of Jeremiah 29:13 makes clear – ‘When you come looking for Me, you’ll find Me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me & want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed!’ God’s Decree! MSG.

Do you remember playing hide & seek, as children? Do you recall the game’s key objective? The basis upon which you were deemed the winner? To remain hidden from view for sufficiently long enough that your friends eventually gave up on the idea of ever being able to find you. Which is the complete opposite of how God plays the game. How does God play the game? In such a way that there can be no mistaking His whereabouts, once we’ve set our hearts on discovering it! Which is the cast iron assurance that lies behind Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:7, where He unequivocally states – ‘Keep searching & you will find!’

When, at last, you find what you’ve been looking for, what will you come to realise & understand about the character & nature of the God you’ve been in search of?

Principally that He is inherently good! Not just some of the time but all of the time!

Here’s how 1 John 1:5 puts it – ‘This is the message (of God’s promised revelation) which we have heard from Him & now announce to you, that God is light (He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness) & in Him there is no darkness at all (no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection). AMP.

It’s the goodness of God that assures us of a better future to come. A future that is being out worked, even in the midst of a world that appears to be spiralling out of control. A world, let’s not forget, God has already overcome through the sacrifice of His Son, more than two thousand years ago. A sacrifice, our present difficulties & hardships, (Covid 19 into the bargain), can never undo. Why? Because they are rooted in the unalterable & unbreakable promises of a living & eternal hope. I.e. The sure & certain hope of Heaven. The place where all who are broken may enter & be made whole!

May the following poem by Minnie Louise Haskins, broadcast to the nation by King George VI, on Christmas Day, 1935, inspire us all to understand whose lead we should be following in the year that lies ahead. I.e. Who more than anyone or anything else we should be actively & wholeheartedly in pursuit of through 2021 & beyond.
‘I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.
And he replied, Go out into the darkness & put your hand
Into the Hand of God. That shall be better than light
And safer than a known way.
So I went forth & finding the Hand of God,
Trod gladly into the night.
And He led me towards the hills
And the breaking of the day
In the lone East.’

A New Year Prayer
Lord, You make all things new
You bring hope alive in our hearts
And cause our spirits to be born again.
Thank you for this New Year
For all the potential it holds.
Come & kindle in us
A mighty flame
So that in our time, many will see the wonders of God
And live forever to praise Your glorious name.
Amen.

Please pray for –

• Our daughter, Beth Callaghan (a mother of five), who is very unwell & in need of God’s healing touch.
• The roll out of the vaccines & priority given to those most in need of it.
• The church to rise to the challenge of rediscovering new, relevant & creative ways of making Jesus known.