BROADWAY URC – 27TH JUNE 2021
DIFFERING VOICES
CALL TO WORSHIP –
I wait eagerly for the Lord’s help,
I wait for the Lord more eagerly than watchmen wait for the dawn,
Trust in the Lord because his love is constant,
And he is always willing to save. Psalm 130
Dear Friends,
I was reminded how our small experiences can give us an insight into some of the bigger problems people confront when I was reflecting on Refugee Day last Sunday. It cannot compare with the suffering of refugees and asylum seekers risking their lives to find sanctuary and hope for the future, but one of my trivial grievances made me feel like a spiritual refugee seeking a new home.
We’re not all in the same boat!
Mark 4: 35-41
If ever you are caught in a storm at sea remember there are others in boats far less seaworthy than your own. We can be on the same ocean, in the same storm, but in very different boats! Feeling a little queasy on a large passenger ship on the ocean, or a ferry crossing the North sea, is not the same as being in an overcrowded dinghy being overwhelmed by the waves. We are all in the same boat is not a phrase I agree with — but I do want to help people into my boat. Or jump in with them and help them safely reach the shore.
Dear Friends,
The Church is like a garden that has grown with seeds and weeds side by side — and both are valuable to God!
Last Friday we considered how the Earth is heaven’s Garden and God is the Gardener, preparing, sowing, pruning and so pleased with the goodness that grows. When the Gardener’s will is grown from the earth as in heaven the work will be done and God will take a rest!
Earth is heaven’s Garden!
Reading: Mark 4: 26-34
It might not be a new thought, but it was new to me during the week, and I hope it will be as encouraging for you as it is to me. The thought was that, “The earth is heaven’s garden and God is the Gardener…”
Dear Friends,
As I was leaning on “My Gate” in prayer during the week a voice whispered in my head that in times of darkness we all need more of GOD — Goodness Overcomes Darkness. God said let there be light and there was light and it was good so let it be what you receive!
Dear Friends,
Matthew 22: 34-40
That was the week that was when we raised nearly £2,500 for Christian Aid and we need another like it to show our nearer neighbours how much they are loved!
Our neighbours are far and near, but the ones who are next door need to know they are loved as much as those from a distance know they are loved!
Hope!
Introduction
Hope is not just a word – to Christians it conveys so much that sustains us from day to day. In the midst of uncertainty and a lack of clarity that might surround us, we have a Hope that is absolutely certain and unshakable. That hope lies in the life, death and resurrection of our living Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Living Hope and he is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Without him in our lives we have no hope for the future, with him in our lives we have every hope for the future.
Dear Friends,
A sign outside a shop in Broadway said that “good friends help you find what you have lost —your smiles, your hopes, your courage!”
I must admit, some people have made me lose my temper, lose my faith (in humanity), lose hope for the future, lose my sense of humour and lose my direction, but a phone call or encounter with a friend has restored sanity. Oh yes, forgot to mention, I have lost my head and some people have questioned whether I have ever found that!
Dear Friends,
The best way to describe Trinity Sunday — the celebration of Father, Son and Spirit — is to recall how someone in the village thought the people at the church up the road didn’t only know their bible or read it, but live it!
That’s fine for people who have faith and believe that if they believe in the Father and the Son they can receive the Spirit, but last night I heard a voice telling me to think again and not limit God to believers.