Philippi

Good morning. Today's Old Testament reading is from Isaiah chapter 56, verse 1 to 8.

Isaiah 56:1–8

Isaiah chapter 56, verse 1 to 8.

Isaiah 56:1–8

This is what the Lord says.

Maintain justice and do what is right.

For my salvation is close at hand, and my righteousness will soon be revealed.

Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast,

who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.

Let no foreigner who has bind himself to the Lord say,

The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.

And let not any eunuch complain, I am only a dry tree.

For this is what the Lord says.

To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleads me, and hold fast to my covenant,

to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters.

I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.

And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to serve him, to love the name of the Lord, and to worship him,

all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it, and who hold fast to my covenant,

these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar,

for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.

The sovereign Lord declares,

He who gathers the exiles of Israel, I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.

Hi, my name is Derek and I'm one of the members here at Brunsfield,

and it's been my privilege this morning to have been asked to read from God's Word,

from the New Testament in the Book of Acts, chapter 16, verses 11 to 40.

Acts 16:11–40

From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace,

and the next day we went to Naples, and from there we travelled to Philippi,

a Roman colony and leading city of that district of Macedonia,

and we stayed there several days.

On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river where we expected to find a place of prayer.

We sat down and began to speak to the women there who had gathered there.

One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia,

a dealer in purple cloth.

She was a worshipper of God.

The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message.

When she and her members of her household were baptised,

she invited us to her home.

If you consider me a believer in the Lord, she said,

come and stay at my house.

And she persuaded us.

Once when we were going to the place of prayer,

we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she had predicted the future.

She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.

She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting,

These men are the servants of the Most High God

who are telling you the way to be saved.

She kept us up for many days.

Finally, Paul became so annoyed that he turned round and said to the spirit,

In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her.

At that moment, the spirit left her.

When her owners realised that their hope of making money was gone,

they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace

to face the authorities.

They brought them before the magistrates and said,

These men are Jews and are throwing our city into an uproar

by advocating customs,

unlawful for us Romans to accept or practise.

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas

and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.

After they had been severely flogged,

they were thrown into prison

and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.

When he received these orders,

he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stalks.

About midnight,

Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God

and the other prisoners were listening to them.

Suddenly, there was a violent earthquake

that the foundations of the prison were shaken.

At once all the prison doors flew open

and everyone's chains came loose.

The jailer woke up

and when he saw the prison doors open,

he drew his sword and was about to kill himself

because he thought the prisoners had escaped.

But Paul shouted,

Don't harm yourself.

We are all here.

The jailer called for lights,

rushed in and felt trembling

before Paul and Silas.

He then brought them out and asked,

Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

They replied,

Believe in the Lord Jesus

and you will be saved,

you and your household.

Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him

and all the others in his house.

At that hour of the night,

the jailer took them and washed their wounds.

Then immediately,

all his household were baptized.

The jailer brought them into his house

and set a meal before them.

He was filled with joy

because he had come to believe in God,

he and his whole household.

Then it was daylight.

The magistrates sent their officers

to the jailer with the order,

Release those men.

The jailer told Paul,

The magistrates have ordered

that you and Silas be released.

Now you can leave.

Go in peace.

Now,

but Paul said to the officers,

They beat us publicly without a trial,

even though we are Roman citizens,

and threw us into prison.

And now,

do they want

to get rid of us quietly?

No,

let them come themselves

and escort us out.

The officers reported this

to the magistrates.

When they heard that Paul and Silas

were Roman citizens,

they were alarmed.

They came to appease them

and escorted them

from the prison,

requesting them to leave the city.

After Paul and Silas

came out of the prison,

they went to Lydia's house,

where they met with the brothers

and sisters

and encouraged them.

Then they left.

Amen.

Well,

good morning,

folks.

It's lovely to have you with us.

Let me invite you

to grab a Bible

if you have one there

and come with me

to the book of Acts

and to chapter 16.

This is where we're going to be

over the next little while.

We're going to be thinking about

and seeing

what happened

when the gospel

that is the good news of Jesus

when that message

hit Europe.

So to get us into this today,

let me just ask you

a question.

What do

a bull,

an electric fence,

and an expensive lawyer

have in common?

Okay,

it's going to be really painful

if any of them

charge you.

Okay,

so one day,

I really hope that joke

gets a laugh,

but not today.

But see,

while we're on the topic

of things that people

have in common,

let me ask you

another question.

What do

a businesswoman,

a slave girl,

and a prison guard

have in common?

Now,

that sounds a bit like

it's the beginning

of another joke,

and just before you turn off,

let me tell you

that it's not.

Actually,

it's the riddle

that's at the heart

of our passage

in Acts chapter 16,

Acts 16 · chapter mention

because this is what

we're going to see today.

We're going to meet

three very different people.

Three very different people,

and we're going to hear

their three different stories

about how each of their lives

has been transformed

by the one same Savior.

So these three different people

are miles apart

in terms of who they are,

in terms of what they do,

and in terms of how life

has turned out for each of them.

You could not pick

three more different individuals.

And we meet them all

in Acts chapter 16.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

So as you're turning there,

let me just bring you up to speed

with where we are

in the book of Acts.

Because the gospel,

that is the good news

of the crucified,

risen, reigning,

and one day returning

glorious Jesus,

has been taken

into the world

by the twelve apostles.

And despite some pretty

severe opposition

at times,

every so often

in the book of Acts,

Luke gives us

the repeated phrase,

the word of the Lord

continued

to multiply.

The word of the Lord

continued to multiply.

So in other words,

nothing is going to stop

the momentum

of this message

as God,

through the power

of His Holy Spirit,

is deeply convicting

men and women

of their sin,

of their need of God,

and at the same time

is pointing them

and drawing them

to the message

of Jesus,

the one in whom

is found forgiveness

and newness

of life.

And people are

becoming Christians

in their thousands.

And one of these

people

is this man

named Paul.

This former

persecutor

of Christians

who is stopped

in his tracks

by the risen Jesus

as he is on his way

to make sure

that Christians

are put in jail.

He encounters

the risen Jesus

and his life

is transformed.

And this former

persecutor

becomes a preacher.

And he's got a heart

to take

the news of Jesus

to the peoples

of the nations

who have yet

to hear

about him.

So this is where

we are in Acts

Acts 16 · chapter mention

chapter 16.

16.

So this guy

Paul guided

by the Holy

Spirit

has made

his way

to Europe.

And he's made

his way

to this city

called

Philippi.

And so it's in

this Roman

and in this

prestigious city

that God

births

a church.

So here's

what I want

you to imagine.

Imagine these

guys are having

their first

ever church

meeting.

Right, we'll

stick with theme

and we'll call it

Philippi Evangelical

Church.

Here they are

having their

first meeting,

right?

Someone's brought

the quiche.

Someone else

has brought

the schlore.

Someone else

has brought

their guitar

complete with

rainbow strap

and is handing

around the lyrics

of Shine

Jesus Shine.

And once the

novelty of that

awkward icebreaker

game has worn

off, somebody

turns and

addresses the

room and

says, you

know what,

why don't we

go around the

room?

Why don't each

of us tell us

why you are

here?

Why don't each

of you tell us

why it is and

how it is that

you came to

know Jesus as

your saviour?

And since we've

got a bit of

manners here,

why don't we do

the ladies come

first?

Kind of thing.

And so, but what

about you, Lydia?

Lydia, how did

you come to

trust Jesus?

And so here,

verses 11 to

15 in the text,

is the story of

a lady who heard

something different.

You see, here's,

and come with me,

here's what Luke

tells us about

Lydia, verse 14.

She's originally

from this place

just down the road

called Thyatira.

And she's most

likely probably in

Philippi on

business.

And do you notice

how she's not

just in any

old business?

She is a

seller of

purple goods.

And what we

need to understand

is that purple

was the

rare,

expensive,

and sought-after

dye of the

day.

Right?

So put that

together in

modern-day terms.

Lydia's working

for the first

century equivalent

of Ralph Lauren

here.

She is the

Karen Brady

of her day.

She's used to

hanging out with

and connecting

with the well-to-do,

and all the while

she's rocking a

stylish gilie like

there's no tomorrow.

I mean, Lydia,

as we meet her

here, Lydia,

the lady's got

class.

And she's also

a worshipper of

God.

You see,

Luke tells us

that.

Which means

that even though

she's not a

Jew,

she recognizes

and she

worships

the gods

that the

Jews

worship.

She's a

God-fearer.

This is

Lydia.

And Paul and

his traveling

companions,

they meet Lydia

at this place

of prayer

down by the

river.

And what do

they do?

They simply

share the

gospel with

her.

And I love

how

gentle

what happens

next is.

Because as

they were

telling her,

her eyes

are opened

and her

heart lights

up because

what they

were saying

is everything

that she'd

been searching

for.

Because they

told her

about Jesus.

Now, just

before we get

the impression

that Paul's

rocked up here

and delivered

the ultimate

two ways to

live demonstration,

see what Luke

tells us about

what's really

going on behind

the scenes.

What's

happened here?

Well,

the Lord

opened her

heart to

respond to

Paul's message.

See, this is

Jesus.

Jesus is on

the move.

Jesus took

the key and

unlocked the

door of her

heart.

He opened the

curtains into

her dark

heart and

light came

flooding in.

And just like

that, Lydia

got it.

Silently,

gently, but

boy, did

she get it.

And the

thing is, how

many of us

have stories

just like

that?

Right?

There was no

dramatic

moment.

There was no

angelic

encounter.

I mean,

Netflix didn't

ring us up and

ask if they

could make a

documentary about

our journey to

faith because it

would be the

most boring

documentary ever.

But make no

mistake that

every single

person who

decides to

follow Jesus

is an

example of

a miracle

of mercy.

Because there's

nothing unspectacular,

is there, about

God taking a

spiritually dead

person and

breathing into

them life.

I love what

happens next.

What does Lydia

do?

Does she say,

that's great,

and she moves

on with her

life?

No, she gets

involved in

gospel work.

Do you see

it?

And so Lydia

starts using

the things that

she has, which

will have been

many, and she

becomes a patron

for gospel work.

I love that.

Many of you will

know my

predecessor here,

John Gemmel.

He now works for

an organization

down in London

called the

Proclamation

Trust.

And really, it's a

Bible school that's

training people how

to handle the

Bible, and it's

just sending them

out into the

world.

And the vision

for the

Proclamation

Trust came

from a man

called Dick

Lucas.

Many of you

might have

heard of him,

and Dick

Lucas, he had

the vision for

the Proclamation

Trust, but he

lacked the

contacts and the

money to make it

a reality.

And he met a

wealthy Christian

businesswoman

rather, called

Ronnie Wilcox,

and he shared

with them the

vision.

And instantly,

Ronnie Wilcox

bought into the

vision, and he

gave Dick

Lucas the seed

money to start

the Proclamation

Trust.

And now they

reckon that 1,500

people have come

through that

course, and the

vast majority of

them are still

working somewhere

in the UK.

Isn't that

fantastic?

You see, Lydia

plays that role

here in

Philippi.

She gets

involved in

gospel work.

She becomes a

gospel patron.

In fact, she's

most likely the

one who's hosting

this little church

as it meets.

I love that.

That's something

that some of you

as you're watching

this might want

to consider.

We all need to

consider it.

How can we use

what the Lord

has given us

for his work?

So this is

Lydia.

Right, we're

back in this

first church

meeting of

Philippi Evangelical

Church.

Lydia's finished

her story and

she tags to

her right.

And we move

from a lady who

heard something

different to a

girl, and this

is verses 16 to

24, a girl who

received something

different.

Because you see,

if Lydia is a

woman who in a

sense has got

everything going

for her, she's

got everything

she'd ever

need.

Well, here is a

girl who's at

the other end

of the spectrum

who has absolutely

nothing going for

her.

Here is this

slave girl.

In fact, do you

notice in the text

that she's a

double slave?

Do you see that?

Because not only

are her owners

treating her like

property, which is

frightening in

itself to think

about what that

might have meant

for this young

woman.

woman, she's

also demon

possessed.

And you take

those two things

together and join

them, and that is

a situation that

should break our

hearts.

And what this

slave girl has

done for days,

do you see it?

She's followed

Paul and Silas

around, and she

just shouted at

them the whole

time.

And it seems

that verse 18,

that Paul gets to

the point where

he's had enough.

Now, the word

that we get in

verse 18 there

is annoyed.

It says Paul was

greatly annoyed.

And we hear that

and we think to

ourselves, yeah, I

know what that

means to be

annoyed.

When that person

cuts me up in the

bypass, that is

annoying.

When my internet

connection cuts out

on the vital part of

that Zoom call, that

is annoying.

Is that what Paul is

feeling?

Well, do you see

the word in Greek,

it carries with it a

lot more of the

sense that when

Paul looked at

this girl and he

considered her

situation, that he

was deeply grieved in

his soul.

Because he looked at

this slave girl and

he thought to

himself, that is

not right.

That is not how it

should be.

And incredibly

through Paul, the

risen Jesus frees

this girl from her

double bondage.

Do you see it?

And do you see as

well in the text how

there's a hope

reversal?

How at the

beginning of this

episode, her

owners, they've got

all the hope of

making the money

here because they

can exploit this

girl.

But now at the

end of the story,

verse 19, they

recognize their hope

has gone.

Who's got the hope

now?

This slave girl has

the hope.

Now listen, it's not

explicit in the text

that she became a

Christian.

But I think the

fact not only that

Luke has recorded

this event, but

the fact that he

has sandwiched it

between Lydia and

the jailer who

will come on to

meet in just a

second, the way

that he's structured

that, I think we

can read that as if

she did.

And this girl with

nothing going for

her, we're not even

told here she's got

any kind of family

who would look after

her, she's welcomed

in to this family

of faith.

And just think on

that, right?

I love what that

tells us about the

God of the Bible.

Because here is a

slave girl who

probably spent her

life every evening

crying herself to

sleep, thinking to

herself, does anybody

care?

Does anybody know?

Does anybody see?

Well, what does this

tell you?

It tells you that God

sees.

And God knows.

And God cares.

And I love this in the

context of the book of

Acts.

What's this telling us?

It's telling us that

God cares about the

thousands.

And God cares about

the individuals.

Here is a girl who in

many respects to the

world is unseen.

And yet to the God of

the Bible, she is loved

and known.

Do you know what?

She's a girl who's

received something

different.

What has she received?

Well, through God's

people, she has received

the compassion of

Christ.

You know, one of my

fellow pastors in

Edinburgh, and one of

the guys I've got the

utmost respect for is a

man called Mez

McConnell.

And he ministers down at

Nidrae Community Church,

just down the road,

really around the corner

from where we live.

And his story of coming

to faith reminded me

this week of the slave

girls.

And he wrote his story

about how he came to

faith, and he simply

called it, Is

anybody out there?

I'll let you read it

and journey with him

in his story, but such

a big part of him

coming to faith was the

fact that when he was

in prison, some

Christians that he knew,

they didn't give up on

him, but actually they

kept on visiting him

and chatting to him

about Jesus.

And when Mez

eventually got released

because he had nowhere

to go and to save him

sliding back into old

patterns, these

Christians invited him

to come and live

with him, with them

rather.

And slowly but surely

Mez's life as he

heard the gospel

from these Christians

and as he saw

their lives, began

to make a massive

impact on his own.

And he gave his life

to Jesus.

And now the guy

runs a network

of church planters

targeting planting

churches in some of

the most deprived

areas, not just of

Scotland, but of the

world.

So there's a guy

who encountered

the compassion of

Christ through the

Lord's people.

And that's the slave

girl's story about how

she came to meet

Jesus.

So we're back at our

first church meeting,

right?

And after the slave

girls told her story,

she tags to her right

as well.

And we move

finally from a girl

who received something

different to a man,

and this is verses

25 to 40, a man

who saw something

different.

Because you know,

you see in the text,

there was a real cost

to the freedom of that

slave girl for Paul and

Silas.

It didn't go unnoticed.

The locals, what do

they do?

They've kicked off and

these two men have

ended up being flogged

and put in jail.

And the jailer,

do you see, he makes

sure that, boys, you

are going nowhere fast.

And so here is this

jailer.

He's our third person

on the scene here.

Now he's probably an

ex-Roman soldier who's

now been given a gig

looking after this jail

as a kind of easing you

into retirement kind of

thing.

And what does that

mean?

Well, it means that this

guy is an ex-Roman

soldier.

It means that he had

seen some serious

stuff in his life.

And given his new

job in this jail, he'll

have seen and heard

some serious characters

in his life as well.

Now he's probably, I'd

imagine he's a hardened

guy, right?

He's the kind of guy

that watches Ross Kemp

on gangs.

He's the kind of guy

that wears the tattoos.

And he's probably the

kind of guy that says,

religion, not for me,

thanks.

Don't do that emotional

stuff.

I don't do that kind of

stuff.

But do you know what?

He's seen a lot of

stuff in his life, but

he's seen nothing.

He's seen like what he's

about to see this night.

And everything about this

scene is strange if you've

got it there, okay?

Notice three really

strange things that we get

in the text.

Here's the first thing from

the jailer's perspective.

Firstly, what's strange is

that he hears Paul and

Silas.

He hears them.

Now remember these two

men, their wounds are still

fresh and raw.

And what are they doing?

Are they crying?

Are they complaining?

What are they doing?

Verse 25, they're singing.

And they're not singing

always look on the bright

side of life.

They're in there.

What they're doing is

they're belting out,

kumbaya, my Lord.

And it's clearly that loud

because the jailer, do you

notice, and the prisoners

can all hear them.

Now there is an episode of

Songs of Praise I'd love to

see, wouldn't you?

The prison cell sessions.

That's what I'd call it.

But that is so weird

that these men are singing.

And second weird thing is

that there's an earthquake.

Reminds you a little bit,

doesn't it, of the earthquake

that happened just after

Jesus had risen.

In other words, this is no

natural disaster.

This is God's doing.

God is moving in this moment.

But what happens in this

earthquake is that all the

doors of the jail and all the

chains of the prisoners fall

off.

Do you see that?

Imagine you're a prisoner

in this evening.

I mean, this is a goal

against the run of play.

Here is freedom on a plate

with a knife and fork

and a serviette.

Your freedom is there.

Take it.

And the jailer goes to take

his own life.

That's what you would have

done as a Roman soldier

to save your dignity,

probably to save your bosses

from doing it.

That's the second weird thing.

The third weird thing,

get this, verse 28,

with their freedom right there

on a plate, they can have it.

What does he say?

He says, we are all still here.

Right?

Did you get that?

We are all still here.

So not just Paul and Silas,

but all the prisoners have stayed.

Are you kidding me?

They have stayed?

So rather than take their freedom,

what's going on here

is that they were so captivated

by what was going on

with Paul and Silas

that they chose to hang around

to see how this one played out.

They picked that over their freedom.

I mean, man alive, that's weird.

So the jailer puts all these

three things together.

The strange scene.

And he runs and he pleads.

Probably he's maybe even heard

about Paul and Silas

and what they're doing

in Philippi in the city.

And he runs, verse 31,

what does he say?

What must I do to be saved?

There is the Holy Spirit

bringing this deep sense

of conviction to this man

that he is not right with God,

that he's seen something here.

What does he say?

Tell me more.

Tell me how.

Tell me what this is all about.

And they spoke the word

of the Lord to him.

They told him about Jesus.

And just like that,

this man gave his life to Christ

and experienced the forgiveness

and the newness of life

that is found in him.

And he runs and tells his family.

Do you see it?

And his family come to faith as well.

They are baptized.

Praise the Lord.

What a wonderful scene.

Here's a thought for you.

Do you know,

I was reflecting on it this week.

I don't think the jailer

was converted here

because he saw a massive earthquake.

Right?

I'm sure he's maybe seen

some pretty spectacular stuff

in his life.

But I don't think

it was the earthquake.

Do you know what?

I think he came to know Jesus initially

because he saw

how God's people

reacted differently.

Looking at Paul and Silas

thinking,

what are they doing?

I cannot figure them out.

But you know what?

Boy,

is it compellingly attractive.

You see,

Paul and Silas,

I love this

and I find this

so challenging this week.

Do you see their utter confidence

in God's sovereignty?

In other words,

it might look like

utter chaos to us.

It might look to us

like the gospel

has run out of gas.

But do you know what?

We can trust

that God is our good father

and he is fulfilling

his good purposes

in this

and every single moment.

In other words,

Aslan

is on

the move.

We are here

for a reason.

So let's keep trusting.

Let's keep speaking.

And let's see

what he

is

doing.

Such is their confidence

in the sovereignty

of God.

Friends,

do you know what?

Let me encourage us

as a church

to take hold

of that mindset

just now.

As we live

distinctly

different lives

during this

time of COVID-19

in the way

that we speak

in the way

that we act

in the way

that we love

in the way

that we pray

all of these things

testifying

to the fact

that we trust

and love

the God

of the gospel.

Because how many

of us have a story

just like the jailers

in that respect?

We saw

something different

as we looked

at Christians,

that they had

something

that we didn't,

that there was

something that was

true for them

that wasn't true

for us

and that made

us want

to find

out more.

And if that's

you here today,

maybe you've

tuned into this,

maybe you've

clicked on the link

as you found it

on Facebook

or something

like that,

we'd love to

get in touch

with you.

I know there's

some details

at the bottom

there if you

click on the

link you'll be

able to get

in touch,

we'd love to

be able to

connect,

maybe that's

you today,

maybe you want

to find out

more,

who is this

Jesus?

But just as

we close,

what do a

businesswoman,

a slave girl

and a prison

officer have

in common?

These three

different people,

we've heard

their three

different stories

about how each

of their lives

was transformed

by the one

same

saviour,

the one who

can change

any and

every heart

no matter

how unlikely

we think

that is.

And do you

know what,

see what's

true for

Philippi

Evangelical

Church here?

It is true

for every

church across

the world

and it is

also true

for Brunsfield

Evangelical

Church.

I know we

are a church

of very

different people,

all with

very different

stories,

but of how

we all came

to know

the one

true king.

And we're

going to hear

one of those

stories now

as one of

our members

tells us

how she

came to

know Jesus

as her

king.

Good morning

everyone,

my name is

Simona and

I'm one of

the members

here at

Brunsfield

Evangelical

Church and

today I'm

going to

tell you the

story of

how I met

Jesus.

I've always

believed in

God's existence

but never

thought he

would care

much about

what was

happening in

my life.

When I was

15, a

friend of mine,

who now is

my husband,

told me

about Jesus.

He said

that Jesus

saved him,

that Jesus

loved him

and cared

for him

and he

wanted to

share that

with me

to help

me understand

what it

would look

like to

believe in

a God

who is

not only

a distant

creator

but a

personal

saviour.

So we

started to

read the

Bible

together

and the

more I

knew about

God,

the more

I wanted

to know

and I've

learned a

few important

things about

God reading

the Bible,

that God

is perfect

and I

am not,

that there

are only

two places

where we

end up

once we

die,

with God

or without

God and

I am not

able to

earn a

place with

God because

I am not

perfect,

so I need

another way

in.

And the

Bible says

that this

way in

is Jesus.

He is the

only one

that loves

me enough

and is

willing to

cover for

all my

imperfections

so that I

can be

with God.

All this

was quite

clear in

my mind

but it

took years

to actually

understand that

with my

heart and

to realise

how real

and tangible

God's

presence was

in my

life.

God knows

me in a

way that

no one

else does

and yet

he loves

me.

I am

his child

and he

cares for

me.

And he

always cared

for me

even when

I couldn't

see it.

I know

that even

when things

seem out

of control

God is

in control.

And having

Jesus as my

saviour gives

me peace

because I

know that

dying on

the cross

and rising

again he

has done

all that

needed to

be done

so that I

can be

sure that

once I

die I

will be

with God.

I am

not special.

I don't

deserve what

Jesus did

for me and

I keep

messing up

but it's

a gift and

I decided to

accept it.

And the

beauty of

this gift is

that it's

not just

for some

people but

it's for

all who

want to

accept it.

God

and so if

you're

watching this

today and

you'd love to

find out more

about this

Jesus it would

be our

privilege to

be able to

tell you about

him and pray

with you.

We'd love to

connect with

you.

You'll find an

email address at

the bottom of

this YouTube

service.

You'll also find

all our details

on the website

so let me

encourage you to

connect with

us.

It'd be wonderful

to meet you

that way.

But just as we

finish let me

lead us in a

very short

prayer.

Father thank

you that you

are the

good God

of the

gospel

that can

transform

each and

any life.

And maybe

for some of

us tuning

in today

maybe even

for the

first time

may we know

the truth

as we

encounter

your son

Jesus

who said

I am the

way

and the

truth

and the

life.

So Father

thank you

for this

time.

We pray

these things

in Jesus'

precious name.

Amen.