Following in Word & Prayer

Thank you, Barbara. Can I also encourage you to get the St Paul's app open? There is two points

to today's message and it would be great if you had it open. If you haven't got the St Paul's app,

you might need to get a pen out and a piece of paper to jot down a bunch of stuff, just even

Bible references in order to be able to follow through with them and check them out a little

bit later. The Appalachian Trail is the longest continuing walking track in the world. It

stretches for three and a half thousand kilometres up the east coast of the United States of America

and each year around about 2,000 bright-eyed keen bushwalkers set out to tackle this trail

and yet unfortunately very few make it. Half of those who seek to tackle it don't even make it

a third of the way. I mean, when I say even make it a third of the way, it's a thousand kilometres,

so it's still a fair way. But one in ten drop out in the very first week. There have been cases where

people have travelled halfway around the world, spent a small fortune in order to walk this trail

and lasted only three days. They turn up, it would seem, expecting some kind of a stroll

through the woods, sun shining, birds singing, squirrels playing, that kind of stuff.

And instead, they have those things, they do get those things, but they also get rocks to scramble

over, mountains to climb, rain, hypothermia, ticks, bears, blisters, physical and emotional exhaustion,

plus snakes. A whole heap of dangers and issues along the way. When you set off on a challenging

journey, such as the Appalachian Trail, you need the right equipment, you need the right resources,

you need the right supplies, but also the right perspective on what this journey is going to be

like if in fact you are to reach the destination. Now, if you were here last week, as we kicked off

our vision series, we discovered that the Christian fundamentally is what they are, is they are a

follower of Jesus Christ, the Lord and the Saviour of all of humanity. A Christian, they are a disciple,

they are a follower of Jesus, who we learn from him, we sit at his feet, we listen to his teaching,

we obey his teaching, we submit to his teaching and we become like him in all of life. That is,

his character becomes our character, his priorities, our priorities, his journey becomes our journey.

And we saw last week that the foundation of that relationship with Jesus is the gospel. It's the good

news that Jesus himself has absorbed God's punishment for our sin because we've chosen to walk a different

trail in life, chose to determine a different path for ourselves in life and rejected our creator God.

Jesus went to the cross, he died our death, he paid our debt and turned God's anger away from us

and has set us free to live a life we were created to live in the very first place and that is following

him. He's brought us back onto the path. Christian discipleship is a lifelong journey of following Jesus.

It's not a trip to the train station, it is a lifelong journey of following Jesus. And if you're going to

follow well and keep following him until the journey's end, we need the resources that God gives us. That is,

he doesn't sacrificially and generously and graciously get us back on the trail and then says,

well, there you go, just walk that path there. He gives us all the resources by his mercy day in,

day out to continue to walk the path with him. And so over the next three weeks, we're going to focus

on those resources and they are the Bible, prayer, the Holy Spirit and companions for the journey,

the church. And through these resources, our merciful heavenly father equips us and sustains us to follow

Jesus to the journey's end. Now, my aim today is to look briefly, even though it might not appear to be

brief, but it will be brief given the massive topic that it is on both Bible and prayer. Spend most of my

time on the Bible because we did a whole series on prayer this time last year. But I will also,

we're planning on doing a whole series on the Bible sometime probably this year as well. But so we'll

give a taste of a Bible, then we'll move into prayer. Okay. So first of all, if you've got the St.

Paul's app open, you'll see there the title God Absolutely Speaks. Now we exist in a culture,

in a society here in Australia, as does the Western world that asserts there is no objective and absolute

truth that must be understood, accepted and submitted to. That is the finite individual is the determiner

of ultimate truth. They become ultimate truth determiners. All claims to any form of absolute

ultimate universal truth in our culture is seen as bondage. That is, you must get rid of it if you want to

have any sense of freedom. That is, there's a connection and our culture's right. There is a connection between

something that is true and something that has authority over your life. It is binding for you. If something is

universally true, then it is universally binding. You cannot escape it. So even our secular society understands that.

So what I want us to see this morning, what I want us to become awakened to, is the authority of God's word over our

life is binding, but in fact leads to freedom, not bondage. Freedom. Salvation. Biblical truth leads to salvation and

freedom. Jesus himself said, the truth will set you free. So let's take a moment, see that connection.

And you might want to take notes because I'll move quick in through this stuff. Psalm 119, 155 to 160, which

Barbara just read out for us. Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek out your decrees.

Your compassion is great, O Lord. Preserve my life according to your laws. Many are the foes who persecute me,

but I have not turned from your statutes. I look on the faithless with loathing, for they do not obey

your word. See how I love your precepts. Preserve my life, O Lord, according to your love. All your words

are true. All your righteous laws are eternal. Now what those verses are saying there is,

is that God communicates. It's saying, uses terms, decrees, laws, statutes, words, precepts.

Then in verse 160, what it says here, when God speaks, what he speaks is true, it's righteous,

it's eternal. The word all that begins at verse 160 is translated in Exodus 30. It's usually two other

places, this particular word in the Old Testament, Exodus 30 and Numbers chapter 1. And in both Exodus

Numbers 1 · chapter mention

30 and Numbers 1, it's not translated as all, it's translated as census.

So what it's saying here is, if you took a census of the entire word of God, did a survey, investigated

the facts, the conclusion is that the sum total of the word of God is true. It's truth.

But the second half of verse 160, it says, all your righteous laws are eternal. It's not

just the sum truth, sum total of it is truth, but there might be a few areas in between here

and there, but collectively it's okay. It's not saying that, it's saying all the individual

parts are also truth. The census would reveal that the whole and the parts are all true.

When God speaks, what he speaks is truth, not an opinion, not ideas, it's truth. Truth is

what he communicates and he can only communicate and only ever communicate what is true, what

what is right, what is eternal. The reason why God speaks truth, ultimate truth, and is the overruling

and final authority on all things is because the one who speaks is true. He is ultimate reality.

There is no one, no thing equal to him. There's nothing beyond him, nothing higher than he is. As Romans 11 says,

from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. This is the God who exists

from everlasting. From everlasting. Reality is created. It is determined and defined by this God. There is no

reality before this God. We are told at the beginning of the Bible that all is void and formless

when this God. When this God existed. No beginning, no end. He stands outside of all that he has created. The God of the Bible never had a beginning.

He's never ending. He's never ending. Never becoming. Never improving. Simply and absolutely there to be dealt with on his terms or not at all.

The one who never had a beginning. The one who never had a beginning, but always was and is and will be, creates and defines all things

because he created all things from nothing. When God speaks, he doesn't interpret history. He's not his opinion on history.

It's not his view or viewpoint on history. He creates history when he speaks.

It's not his spin on how things works. When he says, when he speaks, it happens. Let there be light and there was light. If I said, let there be light,

I have to walk over to the light switches and turn them on. My words in and of themselves do not have creative authority.

They need actions to back them up. And if my actions do not back them up,

it's called a lie. It's called hypocritical. But God, when he speaks, it happens.

And so this simply means that what matters above all things is this God.

He created all that is. He sustains all everything that is. He directs the cause of all that is

because from him and through him and to him are all things for his glory forever.

Reality is created. It's determined. It's defined by an infinite God who is true.

Now, truth is a communication of ultimate reality.

That's what truth is. It's a communication of ultimate reality.

Or it's a display of ultimate reality.

The one who is ultimately true, infinite and unapproachable,

has come to us and revealed himself to us.

Psalm 19, 100 psalms before, says,

The heavens declare the glory of God.

The skies proclaim the work of his hands.

The created universe is God's text message

to all of humanity throughout history to say,

I'm here.

Without me speaking, without me doing, without me acting,

you would have no idea that I exist.

You could not discover yourself, me for yourself.

I have to do something.

So here's the first thing I'm going to do, creation.

It's my text message to say I'm here.

That something bigger is here.

It's why prayer is so universal across all cultures throughout history,

because we know something is there.

I read this devotion with one of my girls the other day,

Indescribable.

And it's talking about the verse from Genesis 1, 3,

Let There Be Light.

And at the end of the devotion, it says,

God's universe is so big that it can't be measured in,

this is American, right?

Feet and inches or even miles.

We have to use a bigger ruler.

It's called a light year.

A light year is, you guessed it,

how far light travels in an entire year,

which is 5.88 trillion miles a year.

Our own Milky Way galaxy that the Earth exists in,

our solar system exists in,

is 100,000 light years wide.

And scientists speculate that's just one galaxy

out of billions of galaxies that our God created.

There was that pause.

There was that pause at the end of me reading that.

And she turned to me and said,

Wow.

God is big, isn't he?

Yeah, but I don't know how big.

Just marvel.

Marvel.

Marvel.

The created order is God's text message to say,

I'm here.

But the Bible tells us the place where reality,

the way things actually are,

and the representation of that reality,

the communication of that reality,

the move from textbook to Facebook,

here I am,

you can now look at me,

is the person of Jesus Christ.

God reveals himself most profoundly in the person of Jesus.

Firstly,

because Jesus speaks the truth.

Jesus says this in John 18,

John 18:37

verse 37,

For this I came into the world to testify to the truth,

to testify to the way things actually are.

Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.

You want to know reality?

Jesus says,

You listen to me.

And Jesus is saying there,

he speaks truth,

came to testify to truth.

But he also says something even more profound.

In John 14, verse 6,

John 14:6

I am the way,

I am the truth.

Not that I just speak truth,

but I am the truth.

And the most ultimate reason

why Jesus Christ would say,

I am the truth,

is because he is ultimate reality.

He is God.

Which, when you go to the beginning of John's gospel,

that's exactly what is affirmed there.

John chapter 1,

John 1 · chapter mention

In the beginning was the word.

In the beginning was the communication of God,

the word.

He existed before anything was made.

And the word was with God.

And the word was God.

And then in verse 2,

we are told,

He was with God in the beginning.

And through him,

that is through the word,

all things were made.

Without him,

nothing was made that has been made.

And then,

down in verse 14,

of John chapter 1,

John 1 · chapter mention

we read something there,

which is just startling to us.

The word,

who is God,

existed with God,

became flesh,

and made his dwelling amongst us.

We have seen his glory,

the glory of the one and only,

who came from the Father,

full of grace and truth.

And so the question is,

who's John talking about?

Who is this word,

who is God,

who existed before creation,

who created everything,

and who is,

full of grace and truth?

So you read on a little bit further.

John chapter 1,

John 1:15

verse 15.

John testifies concerning him.

He cried out,

saying,

this was he of whom I said,

he who comes after me,

has surpassed me,

because he was before me.

From the fullness of his grace,

we have all received one blessing after another,

for the law was given through Moses,

but grace and truth

came through Jesus Christ.

So Jesus doesn't just speak God's word.

He doesn't just speak the truth.

He is the word of God.

He is the truth.

He is God.

And so the place where God,

ultimate reality,

the way things actually are,

and God's communication of that ultimate reality,

come together most profoundly,

is in the person of Jesus Christ.

Christ.

He is both God

and the communication of God.

And we go,

yeah,

but Steve,

Jesus was 2,000 years ago.

That was great for,

you know,

those dudes who were there

when he was there.

How do we grasp this Jesus?

How do we see this Jesus?

How do we connect?

How does he speak to us

and we experience him?

Luke 24,

as Jesus has walked along the road to Emmaus,

he showed the disciples

how the whole Old Testament pointed to him.

The Bible,

as the word of God,

is where we have God revealing

the way things actually are.

He says,

the whole scriptures is what he's saying,

point to me.

Everything that God has communicated

throughout history

has pointed to me.

The 66 books of the Bible

with Jesus at the center

is truth

and therefore the authority

by which all things are measured.

The Bible is where God speaks,

what is real,

what is absolute,

what is true,

the way things actually are.

The Bible is the way God,

the ultimate and all important reality

in cross all of human history

reveals himself to us

with clarity and authority

to this day.

So if God is more important

than anything,

then the Bible is more important

than anything but God.

And what we need to embrace

as God's people,

what we need to be confident in

is that the whole word of God

is true

with the Lord Jesus

as the center of that truth.

The God who made everything,

the God who controls everything,

the God who has a purpose

for everything,

this God has spoken

throughout history

and it is all recorded for us.

Everything that we need to know

for life and salvation

is recorded for us

in the Bible.

2 Timothy 3

that was just read out to us

by Barbara,

all scripture,

the whole Bible

is God breathed

breathed

and is useful

for teaching,

rebuking,

correcting and training

in righteousness.

In what our God

has revealed

to us,

we are not left

without a knowledge

of his will.

We are not left

without a knowledge

of him

at work

in his world.

We are not left

without wisdom.

We are not left

without a revelation

of the way of salvation.

But also,

I will unpack this

a little bit next week,

with the presence

of the Holy Spirit

working through

the word of God,

the Bible,

we also have

God's active presence

in this world

now.

Not just,

here is a

guidebook,

here is a handover

new card,

there is the manual

if something goes wrong

for you,

but God himself

walking with us

on the journey.

that is,

that is

just priceless.

If we could awaken

our hearts

and our minds

the confidence

to the confidence

that this is so,

just imagine

how we would

navigate our lives,

how we would

live our lives.

Just imagine

how we would

navigate the complexity

of this life

of this world,

which is our vision

for our next generation,

that they would,

they're getting

millions and millions

of options,

of identities

and options

to live in life

in this world.

And to say

that there's

one firm foundation,

just imagine

how we would navigate

the complexity

of this life.

Just,

God has not

left us

without a way

to measure

every single

thing that we face

every single day.

The Bible speaks

about everything

we face

every day.

Everything we face

is either,

is touched

by the Bible,

it is either

directly touched

because it is

in the Bible

or it's

indirectly touched

because the Bible

shapes every category

by which we approach it.

Every criteria

which we deal

with it.

The Bible

will be the sun

in the solar system

of all of our learning.

It gives light,

perspective,

meaning.

Its truth

needs to permeate

everything.

All ideas

will be judged

by this book.

This book

must be known first

and it must be known

better than all

other books

and ideas

and information.

this absolute

God

absolutely speaks.

But

when he speaks

what he reveals

is he absolutely

listens too.

There's one more

step we need

to take here.

See,

it's one thing

to say

that God

is ultimate

reality

and God

has revealed

ultimate reality

by speaking

to us

but that

does not

mean in any

way

that we

can have

any form

of relationship

with this

creator God.

It just

means

that

ultimate

reality

has

communicated

ultimate

truth.

Except

there's one

thing

that is

absolutely

essential

that this

God

does reveal

to us

about himself

in the

Bible

and that

is

that

fundamentally

in his

very

nature

he

is

a

God

of

ultimate

love

relationships.

The nature

of God

becomes

explicit

for us

at the

end of

Matthew's

gospel

Matthew

Matthew 28:19

28

verse 19

this is

where

Jesus

sends

his

disciples

into the

world

and he

says

I

call

you

to

baptize

people

in the

name

of the

Father

the

Son

and the

Holy

Spirit.

Now he

doesn't

say

I

baptize

you

and call

you

to

baptize

people

in the

names

of the

Father

Son

and Holy

Spirit

but in

the

name

of the

Father

Son

and Holy

Spirit.

That

is

they

have

a

single

name.

That

is

the

Father

Son

and Holy

Spirit

all

share

one

divine

nature.

They

are all

one

being.

There

is

only

one

God

not

three

gods

but they

are

distinctly

the

Father

Son

and Holy

Spirit.

They

are

all

equally

God.

They

are

three

persons

of the

Godhead.

Three

persons

within the

unity of

God's

being

who

are

equally

divine

who

know

and love

one

another

and who

from

all

of

eternity

from

everlasting

that way

to

everlasting

that way

have

poured

love

into

each

other.

And

from

all

of

eternity

they

have

worked

for

our

salvation.

God

himself

by

himself

before

he

made

a

single

thing

has

always

within

himself

had a

perfect

relationship.

God

is

infinitely

profoundly

happy

filled

with

perfect

joy.

The

fierce

happiness

of

dynamic

love

relationships.

God

would

have

spoken

and

created

the

universe

and

created

humanity

was not in

order to

extract cosmic

love and joy

out of us

for himself

because he

already had

that

but in

fact was to

share it

with us.

The

God

of the

Bible

calls

us

into

that

relationship

to

converse

with him

to know

him

to relate

to him

because

it's

what we

were made

to do.

It's a

relationship

that God

himself

delights

in

and to

share the

joy that

he has

in

himself.

What we

discover

is that

the New

Testament

particularly

is the

character

of God's

fatherhood.

It becomes

so prominent

and so

clear for

us.

Galatians

Galatians 4:4–6

4 verses

4 to 6

puts it

very succinctly.

God sent

his son

born of a

woman born

under the

law to

redeem those

under the

law that

we might

receive

adoption to

sonship

because you

are his

sons.

God sent

the spirit

of his

son into

our hearts

the spirit

who calls

out

Abba

father.

See what

you're saying

there?

This God

is not just

an all

powerful being

but this

God

has made

it possible

for us

to call

him father.

He has

adopted us

and being

adopted is

not just a

legal event.

To be

adopted into

a new

family means

a revolution

in how you

live your

life day

by day.

In Jesus

believers are

personally

established

into

the

ultimate

reality

relationship.

In

John 17

23

is a

remarkable

verse

where

Jesus

prays to

his

father

for his

followers

for us.

He says

that the

world will

know that

you sent

me

and have

loved

them

even

as you

have loved

me.

As you

have loved

me so

we have

loved

them.

To be

adopted

means that

now God

loves us

as he has

done all

along with

Jesus.

He loves

us as if

we have

lived as

Jesus has

lived.

And that

means that

this God

who has

revealed

himself is

a God

that we

can run

to.

He calls

us his

sons and

we call

him our

father and

we run

to him

not with

fear and

trepidation

because he

has embraced

us.

We have

the most

intimate and

unbreakable

relationship

because with

the God

of this

universe

he has

made

everything

possible

that we

might be

called his

children.

We have

direct

access

to ultimate

reality

and unless

he revealed

himself and

made it

possible we

would not be

able to do

that.

We are

blind and

in the

darkness.

So prayer

for the

Christian is

offered on

the basis

of God's

free saving

grace and

his steadfast

endless

fatherly love

for us.

How is

such access

and freedom

possible to

ultimate

reality?

Well

mark this

the only

time

in all

of the

gospels

in all

four

gospels

that Jesus

Christ

the son

of God

who existed

forever with

his father

in the

spirit

prays

to

God

but never

calls him

father

is on the

cross.

it's the

only time

every

other

time

he says

I'm going

to teach

you how

to pray

father

in heaven.

His

prayer on

the cross

was my

God

my

God

why

have

you

forsaken

me?

The

father

turned his

face away.

Jesus

lost his

relationship

with the

father for

that moment

on the

cross so

that we

can have

a

relationship

with

God

ultimate

reality

and call

him

father.

Jesus

was

forgotten

so that

we

would

be

remembered

forever

from everlasting

to everlasting.

Jesus

Christ

bore all

the eternal

punishment

that our

sins

deserve.

The

sin

of

living

life

and becoming

determiners

of what

reality

is

sin

is

that

is

the

cost

of

prayer

for

us.

Jesus

paid

the

price

so

that

God

could

be

our

father

and

we

would

have

direct

access

to

him

unhindered

access

to

him.

So

to be

a

Christian

without

prayer

and if

this is

a rebuke

then take

it

to be

a

Christian

without

prayer

is

no

more

possible

than

to be

alive

without

breathing.

Prayer

for the

Christian

is a

unique

gift

from

God.

Christianity

declares

that through

the Bible

and the

work of

God's

spirit

in our

lives

our

understanding

of

ultimate

reality

becomes

unclouded.

True

knowledge

of God

is

nothing

more

very

simply

as a

gift

from

God.

It's

not

because

Christians

are

more

clever.

Without

God

first

speaking

to

us

we

would

have

no

way

of

speaking

to

him.

This

is

the

gift

and

the

wonder

of

the

Bible

and

prayer

for

the

Christian.

Prayer

is

not

plunging

into

the

abyss

of

the

unknown.

And

so

these

two

resources

of

Bible

and

prayer

are

just

gifts.

wonderful

gifts

for us

as we

navigate

life

in a

complex

world.

Gifts

from God

that we

might

fellowship

with the

personal

God

who is

ultimate

reality

and defines

all things

as we

follow the

Lord Jesus

Christ

as truth.

you

see we

only

know

who

we're

praying

to

first

of

all

and

foremost

is

because

we

learned

it

in

the

Bible

and

we

know

how

we

should

be

praying

only

by

getting

our

vocabulary

from

the

Bible

our

prayers

should

arise

out

of

immersion

in

the

Bible

what

we

discover

is

that

the

God

of

the

Bible

is

both

simple

and

complex

he's

majestic

and

tender

he's

holy

and

forgiving

he's

loving

personable

and

mysterious

at the

same

time

he

has

given

us

everything

we

need

for

life

and

for

salvation

but

he

has

not

given

us

everything

there

is

still

mystery

what

we

discover

is

the

God

of

the

Bible

is

as

I

said

simple

and

complex

loving

personable

and

mysterious

and

therefore

as

we

listen

we

study

we

think

we

reflect

we

pondered

this

God

in

this

Bible

our

response

to

him

in

our

hearts

and

our

minds

is

therefore

going

to

be

varied

it

may

be

one

of

shame

it

may

be

one

of

joy

it

may

be

one

of

confusion

or

of

appeal

our

prayer

can

never

be

primarily

confessions

or

praise

or

appeals

it

cannot

be

mainly

one

type

of

expression

or

the

other

some

prayers

in

the

Bible

are

like

intimate

conversations

with a

friend

others

like

an

appeal

to

a

great

monarch

and

others

akin

to

a

wrestling

match

in

every

case

the

nature

of

prayer

is

determined

by

the

character

of

God

who's

revealed

himself

who

is

at

all

the

same

time

our

friend

our

father

our

lover

our

shepherd

our

creator

and

our

king

we pray

in

response

to

God

himself

and

only

if

we

respond

to

his

word

will

our

own

prayer

life

be

rich

and

varied

the

more

we

clearly

grasp

who

this

God

is

the

more

our

prayer

is

shaped

and

determined

accordingly

but

friends

be

patient

this

journey

may

be

slow

as

slow

as

a

child

learning

to

speak

and

read

it

takes

discipline

consistency

a

child

does

not

learn

to

speak

and

to

read

without

effort

and

those

that

do

and

do

well

they

learn

to

navigate

life

better

than

those

that

don't

the

Bible

and

prayer

are

God's

gift

God's

gift

from

a

loving

heavenly

father

for

this

journey

so

don't

neglect

them

personal

time

communing

with

God

in

his

word

and

prayer

are

essential

for

the

life

of

discipline

of

discipleship

in

fact

I

would

say

it's

essential

for

life

full

stop

can

I

say

listening

to a

sermon

once

a

week

online

at

church

is

like

eating

food

once

a

week

and

thinking

that

that

will

sustain

you

a

research

project

on

personal

Bible

reading

revealed

that

it

made

virtually

no

difference

in

your

growth

as

a

disciple

of

following

Jesus

unless

you

were

doing

more

than

four

a

week

four

week

times

of

commuting

with

God

and

that's

why

in

our

strategic

plan

you'll

notice

that

strategic

priority

number

one

not that

they're

all

necessarily

ordered

but I

want to

make

the point

this

one

they're

not

ordered

in

terms

of

you know

which

is

the

most

important

priority

but

strategic

priority

number

one

is

for

70%

of

this

church

practicing

a

daily

devotional

life

of

more

than

four

a

week

now

my

goal

this

year

is to

read

the

New

Testament

and

Psalms

twice

and the

rest of

the

Old

Testament

once

and my

intention

not just

this year

but my

intention

is to

do that

throughout

all of

follow 25

and the

reason I'm

saying that

is because

I heard

from someone

his name

was mentioned

earlier

Tim Keller

that it

takes at

least five

years of

that sort

of discipline

before you

start to

grapple with

and grasp

the enormity

and the

scope

of scripture

five years

of discipline

so why

don't you

join me

on that

one

the reason

I'm doing

it is

because I

want to

navigate

life

well

I want

my life

to be

aligned

with the

things

the way

things

actually

are

and when

they are

it's for

my joy

I want

to know

the God

who simply

is

other

members of

my family

are aiming

to read

the whole

Bible

in the

entire

year

they're

doing

a

read

journal

what's

your

plan

to take

up

God's

gracious

gift

of

Bible

and

prayer

this

year

out

on the

table

out there

I just want to mention a couple of resources

out on the table out there

you'll see this little booklet

getting into the Bible

it's just a really

really simple

book to grasp

how to interpret the Bible

how to understand the Bible

and how to get into the Bible

they're free

and I've got lots more

so you know

take them

you're sitting here going

not really sure what you said about that Steve

I'm a bit of a skeptic

well there's a great book for you

Doubters Guide to the Bible

this is my copy

so if you want to

it can be a boomerang

but I won't be offended if you take it

and digest it entirely

it'd be totally

that's totally fine

I'm going to stick it out there

you want to sneak it in your bag

and walk out

with it

or if you're someone online

and you want to get a copy of this

then please send us an email

so please take that up

if you're somebody who's not convinced

for what I said

also James has put together

as at least a starting point for us

a set of devotions

for this whole follow series

whatever it is

that you want to do

can I just encourage you

speak to the staff

to your community group leader

they would be delighted

to speak to you

about this

and how to get going

on this journey

in God's word

and prayer

this year

let's pray

gracious God

wow

it was

over

480 years ago

now

that

William

Tyndall

was

strangled

he was tied

to a stake

and he was burnt

to death

all because

the consuming passion

of his life

was you

and to have you

accessible

in the common language

of all people

so that we might

this morning

here

in 2021

have the Bible

in our language

sitting on our laps

Lord

we owe him

a debt

but gracious God