The God of All Comfort

We're going to begin our worship by singing to God's praise in Psalm 46a.

This is in the Sing Psalms version, Psalm 46a, page 59 of the psalm books.

We're going to sing from verse 1 to verse 7, the tune is Stroudwater.

God is our refuge and our strength, our ever-present aid.

Therefore, though the earth gives way, we will not be afraid.

We'll sing from verse 1 to 7, we stand to sing to God's praise.

We will not be afraid.

Though mountains fall into the sea, though waters come and roar, we will not fear.

Though mountains sway, as waves engulf the shore.

I'll rip our clothes to sing's delight, the city of our God.

God is within us, holy place.

The holy place in which the Lord, Messiah, says aboard.

God is within us, holy place.

The city will not yield.

God is within us, holy place.

For God will come, that ring of day, to be her help and shield.

The nations are in despair.

The kingdoms disappear.

God speaks, and at His mighty voice, the whole earth melts with fear.

The Lord Almighty is with us, to strength and glad sustain.

For Jacob's blood, our strong defence, and war shall remain.

Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer.

Let us pray.

Our Father in heaven, we thank you as we come, singing praise to you for these words that remind us that you are a God who is a refuge, a strength for us, that you are one who is almighty and always with us.

And we pray to know that today as we gather here, as we come from the youngest to the oldest, as we come, gathering under the name of Jesus, gathering to worship you, to praise you.

Help us to know that you are with us.

Help us to know your presence.

Help us to know through your word that you are speaking to us, that we would learn more and more about you.

And we pray for all our young ones.

We pray for them as they go out in a moment to the tweenies and the Sunday school and the Bible class.

Thank you for each one of them and for all who help with teaching.

And we just pray that you will be with them, Lord, that you will bless them and be near to them in that time that they share together.

And also through the week, Lord, in our schools and in our communities as families and as children in our communities, Lord, we pray for your blessing and peace to be upon us day after day.

Guide us, help us, help us to know that you are with us.

Help those who are going away from home in these coming days for the first time or returning to studies.

Bless them and keep them as they go away, as they continue their studies elsewhere, Lord, that they would know that you are with them, that you are for them.

So, Lord, be with us, bless us, guide us and help us as we ask all things in that name above every name, the name of Jesus, our Lord and our Savior, for his sake and for his glory.

Amen.

Well, we word to the young ones before you go out.

We're just going to think about what we're going to be looking at in the service this morning.

We're going to be thinking about a word that we find in the Bible quite often and especially where we're going to look at later on.

We're going to be reading in 2 Corinthians.

It's a word that keeps coming up in chapter one there.

And it's a word you're probably familiar with, comfort.

What does comfort mean?

What does comfort mean?

What do you think of when you think of comfort?

It's maybe the place that you sleep, your bed.

It's a comfortable place.

It's a place that you like.

Sometimes a place that you don't want to get out of because it's such a comfortable place.

It might be comfortable clothes.

Maybe, like many people, you just like to get out of a suit and a tie like this or out of something that you're wearing coming to church.

You like to just put on your pajamas again when you get home because you're nice and comfortable in that clothes.

There's lots of different things that make us comfortable.

But what about when we come into church?

What about when we come and learn together around God's word?

Are we comfortable there?

Well, God wants us to be comfortable.

God wants us to know that he is with us.

That's what we were singing in that psalm in verse 7.

The Lord Almighty is with us.

And it's amazing how he has promised to be with us.

As we're thinking of that word comfort, in the Gospel of John, where Jesus was with his disciples, his close friends, and he was telling them that he had to go away from them, he says, I'm not going to leave you alone, though.

And what he says is, I am going to give you a comforter.

A comforter.

And what did he mean?

Well, he meant the Holy Spirit.

He was like, you know, it's not.

And it's like something we cannot see, and yet we know it's there.

For example, think about yesterday, and how windy it was yesterday.

And you're seeing maybe the trees shaking around or something that's been sitting outside.

It's not tied down, and starts blowing around.

What's moving it?

What's moving the trees?

You can't see it, but it's the wind.

It's the wind that's moving it, even up here.

Sometimes I show you what's in the pool, but you never believe this.

But look at this.

What does this do?

It's a fan, isn't it?

So when I'm getting hot and bothered up here, I can switch on the fan and it'll cool me down.

But you couldn't see the wind that it moves, but it's still there.

You know it's there because you feel it on you.

And that's the way that God reminds us that he is with us.

The Holy Spirit is described as a wind, a mighty wind.

We can't see him, but we know he's there as we trust in him.

So even as we come together today, we come worshipping Jesus.

We come looking to God, but we come remembering the Holy Spirit is with us and in us when we trust in Jesus.

That's the promise that he will give us his comforter, his Holy Spirit.

So as we come together here, we can see it's a place of peace, a place of comfort, a place to come away from the busyness of everything else that is going on and just come and know that God is with us.

That he gives us his comfort and his comforter, the Holy Spirit.

And so we look to him to be with us today and every day.

We might not see him, but he helps us to know that he is there in every situation of every day.

He is our great comforter.

Well, we're going to say the Lord's Prayer together now.

Let's pray.

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.

Amen.

We're going to sing again now.

We're going to sing in Psalm 9, in the Sing Psalms version.

Psalm 9.

This is on page 9 of the psalm books.

And the young ones can go out to the Sunday school at this time.

Psalm 9.

We're going to sing from verse 7 down to verse 12.

The Lord forever reigns on high.

His throne for judgment stands.

He'll judge the world in righteousness with justice.

Rule the lands.

We'll sing from verse 7 down to verse 12.

And the tune is done firmly.

And we stand to sing.

The Lord forever reigns on high.

The Lord forever reigns on high.

His throne for judgment stands.

He'll judge the world in righteousness with justice through the lands.

The Lord will be a hiding place for those who are oppressed.

And he will be a strong defense for those who have oppressed.

All those who know your name, O Lord, in you their trust will place.

For you do not abandon those who seek your gracious face.

Sing praises to the Lord who sits.

In Zion on his throne.

Among the nations of the world.

Se ones Smith-

Any news emblens

The vessels of the world to appear.

He never will ignore.

We'll turn together now to read God's word in 2 Corinthians chapter 1.

2 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

2 Corinthians chapter 1.

2 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

We read from the beginning down to verse 11.

You'll find this around page 1160 in the Church Bibles.

2 Corinthians chapter 1 at verse 1.

2 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

and Timothy our brother,

to the church of God that is at Corinth,

with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia,

grace to you and peace from God our Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

who comforts us in all our affliction,

so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction,

with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings,

so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation,

and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort,

which you experience when you patiently endure

the same sufferings that we suffer.

Our hope for you is unshaken,

for we know that as you share in our sufferings,

you will also share in our comfort.

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers,

of the affliction we experienced in Asia.

For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength

that we despaired of life itself.

Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death,

but that was to make us rely not on ourselves,

but on God who raises the dead.

He delivered us from such a deadly peril,

and he will deliver us.

On him we have set our hope

that he will deliver us again.

You also must help us by prayer,

so that many will give thanks on our behalf

for the blessing granted us

through the prayers of many.

And so on.

And may God bless that reading of his word.

Let's again bow our heads in a word of prayer.

Let us pray.

Lord, our gracious God,

we do thank you for this day.

We thank you for the reminder of it,

that it is the first day of the week,

and that we begin it looking to you.

We are reminded of it,

the very power of the resurrection on this day.

For on the first day of the week,

Jesus rose from the grave.

And we thank you that we come today to worship him

as our Lord and as our God,

as our risen saviour.

We do pray, Lord,

that together we would know

that power of the resurrection in our hearts

and in our souls,

that power that gives life to us,

that power that keeps us

and sustains us day by day,

the power of your grace

that is all-sufficient,

and the power of your word

that is a power unto salvation.

We pray that as your word is proclaimed,

as your word is preached this day,

not just here,

but far and wide,

that it will be accompanied

by that mighty power of the Holy Spirit,

that mighty rushing wind,

as it's described in the book of Acts,

that power that is there

to quicken our hearts and our souls,

to remind us of the wonder of your grace

and the precious nature of your love,

your steadfast love towards us,

that love that is unchanging and unchangeable,

that love that is so demonstrated

in your giving your Son, Jesus Christ,

and that as we look to him,

as we look to the cross,

as we look to all that he has done for us,

remembering that he is risen,

but that in order to rise,

he had to go down,

and that he came under the power of death himself,

in order that we might know

the power of life through him.

And so bless us, Lord,

bless your word to us,

remember us as your people,

remember us as a congregation

and as a church here.

We thank you, Lord,

that we have that promise

of your presence with us,

and we pray to know that day after day,

that we would depend upon it

for all our different needs,

not just as we worship you together here,

but as we go away from here,

as we go into the day ahead

and even into the week ahead,

that we would go rejoicing in you,

acknowledging you as Lord and God,

and knowing that you are with us,

that that might be your help.

In every circumstance,

we find ourselves,

even in the days ahead.

We thank you that you are God,

and there is no other.

Remember our homes and our families,

remember our communities.

We pray, Lord,

for your peace to be over us.

We pray for your help

in the many different situations

that we see around us,

people going through times of ill health,

people going through times of grief and sorrow,

people going through times of anxiety and worries,

perhaps over work or lack of it,

debt and anxiety for the future

of what might come.

But Lord,

we thank you that you are

the God of all comforts,

and we pray that

we would know that power

and presence in our midst

as a people,

that we would know your Holy Spirit

working around us

in the many lives that we see,

the lives of your people

who have already trusted in you,

that you would strengthen

and encourage our faith,

and the lives of those

who have not yet trusted,

those who are still,

as the word describes

finding themselves

in the darkness of this world,

that they would see

the wonder of the light of the gospel

and the glory of the face of Jesus Christ,

that you would draw them to yourself.

Remember your church far and wide,

O Lord.

We thank you for the way you build your church,

the way we are assured

that your kingdom comes with power.

And we do pray for the ministry of your word,

and we pray today especially for

the beginning of a new ministry

in North Uist,

giving thanks for the induction yesterday

of Reverend David Ferguson,

remembering him as he preaches,

even at this time,

as the first service

and as a minister of the congregation there.

May your blessing be with him

and all the people

who are gathered there as well.

And we thank you for David,

for Catherine,

and for young Duncan.

We thank you for

the way you have guided them

and led them

into that place.

And we pray that they will know

your nearness,

your presence with them

each day,

in each moment of it.

We do pray for the wider church as well.

We pray for you to raise up

those who administer the gospel

as we hear of vacancies

and upcoming vacancies so often,

as we see the great needs around us,

as the harvest is so great

in our cities,

in our towns,

in our villages,

Lord.

We long for days of salvation.

And we know that

the word needs to go out,

that your word

is that power to salvation.

And so we pray for those

who would come

and hear your call

and be obedient to it

and to respond,

saying,

here am I,

send me.

And all the fears

and anxieties

you might have in that,

Lord,

we can depend on you.

And so we pray for people,

men,

to be raised up

to proclaim the wonders

of your gospel

and for men and women,

boys and girls,

to be encouraged

in sharing the gospel

of being lights

in this world

in which we live.

Remember our nation,

Lord,

as we pray for our leadership

over us

in all the difficulties

and trials

and experience

that they have at this time.

Lord,

we pray for your wisdom

and government over us.

We pray for your blessing

to be poured out upon them,

that we will be led

by a people

who know the power

of the Holy Spirit,

the power that you have

to transform

and to change a nation

from a decline

to delight

and to delight in the Lord.

So hear our prayers

for our people,

for our nations

of the world,

for the gospel cause

far and wide

and for your people

near and far,

that you would remember us,

Lord,

that you would do us good,

that you would make

your face to shine upon us,

that we might rejoice

in you.

So hear our prayers.

Continue with us,

pardoning all our sins

as we confess them

anew before you

this day,

our shortcomings,

our omissions,

all that we do,

though,

Lord,

that is against your will.

We pray to know

forgiveness

and your mercy upon us.

So hear us now

and continue with us

and we ask all

in the name of Jesus,

our Lord and Saviour,

for his sake

and for his glory.

Amen.

Before we turn back

to look at

2 Corinthians chapter 1,

2 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

we'll sing again

to God's praise.

And we sing in Psalm 121

in the Scottish Psalter,

page 416.

Psalm 121,

we can sing

the whole of this psalm.

I to the hills

will lift mine eyes

from whence doth come

my need.

My safety cometh

from the Lord

who heaven and earth

hath made.

The tune is French

and we stand to sing

the whole of this psalm,

Psalm 121.

I to the hills

will lift mine eyes

from whence doth come

my name.

My safety cometh

from the Lord

through heaven

and earth

hath made.

Thy food

till naught

lets thine

nor will

be

the

blood

that he keeps.

Beholding

that

gives

Esgiel

his

slumber

sod

or

sleeves

The

Lord

he keeps

the

Lord

thy

shade

On

thy

right

hand

doth

stay

The

moon

by

night

they

shall

not

not

smite

nor

yet

the

sun

by

day

The

Lord

shall

keep

thy

soul

it

shall

preserve

thee

from

all

hell

As

forth

thy

going

out

and

then

on

thee

on

ever

will

we

can

turn

back

to

our

reading

in

2nd

Corinthians

chapter

1

and

we're

going

to

read

at

verse

3

these

two

verses

verse

3

and

4

and

that

will

be

our

focus

this

morning

together

blessed

be the

God

and

Father

of

our

Lord

Jesus

Christ

the

Father

of

Marsha

and

God

of

all

comfort

who

comforts

us

in

all

our

affliction

so that

we may

be able

to

comfort

those

who

are

in

any

affliction

with

a

comfort

with

which

we

ourselves

are

comforted

by

God

as

you

read

through

this

section

of

2nd

Corinthians

these

opening

verses

of

this

chapter

of

this

letter

second

letter

Paul

is

writing

to

the

church

in

Corinth

you

quite

quickly

begin

to

see

the

point

that

he

is

going

to

be

making

in

this

section

by

that

word

that

keeps

appearing

in

all

its

different

forms

and

the

word

is

comfort

comfort

and

comforted

it

just

comes

up

again

and

again

in

one

form

or

another

it

is

there

ten

times

in

verse

three

through

to

verse

seven

and

it's

just

keeping

appearing

there

and

this

is

one

of

the

great

passages

of

scripture

where

you

see

God's

divine

comfort

for

his

people

it's

not

about

telling

others

to go

and

comfort

somebody

it's

a

reminder

that

God

the

father

is

the

father

of

all

comfort

and

that

is

he

that

is

doing

the

comforting

and

maybe

when

you

hear

the

word

comfort

and

help

and

comfort

in

a

time

of

need

an

immediate

response

is to

think

of a

time

of

bereavement

and the

sorrow

and sadness

that that

brings

and of

course

it is

a time

when we

need

comfort

and a

time

when God

is able

to offer

comfort

but this

passage

and what

he is

saying

to the

church

at

Corinth

is not

just

for a

time

of bereavement

although that

comes into

it

it is

much

much

more

than

that

it is

such

a

wide

ranging

form

of

comfort

that

God

offers

to

his

people

and

it is

a

comfort

in

a

whole

host

of

experiences

that

God's

people

will

go

through

and

it is

a

reminder

of

the

wonder

of

God's

care

towards

his

people

the

mighty

God

is

with

us

that's

the

theme

from

the

Psalms

that we

have

sung

that we

can look

to

God

God

who

is

there

for

us

God

who

is

with

us

and

so

that

is

what

is

at

the

heart

of

this

passage

and

at

the

heart

of

this

passage

is

that

it's

about

salvation

in

God

as

well

it's

about

a

people

that

God

has

called

to

himself

as

you

see

in

this

section

he's

writing

to

God's

people

and

begins

with

that

in

the

opening

verses

Paul

an apostle

of

Christ

Jesus

by

the

will

of

God

and

Timothy

to

the

church

of

God

that

is

Corinth

to

the

people

of

God

who

are

at

Corinth

and

so

it

begins

by

outlining

that

in order

to

know

and

experience

this

comfort

we

have

to

be

a

people

who

know

and

experience

the

salvation

of

God

who

put

our

trust

in

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

and

so

there's

these

two

things

going

side

by

side

because

we

know

in

our

day

to

day

experiences

we

know

for

ourselves

that

we

go

through

experiences

where

we

need

a

sense

of

comfort

for

our

hearts

and

for

our

souls

and

we

often

ask

where

can

we

go

where

can

we

find

this

comfort

or

we

think

of

others

around

us

going

through

different

experiences

and

you

long

for

them

to

be

comforted

you

know

that

they're

looking

for

comfort

where

can

they

go

where

can

we

direct

them

to

well

we

can

direct

them

to

what

this

passage

explains

to

us

blessed

be

the

God

and

Father

of

our

Lord

Jesus

Christ

the

Father

of

mercies

and

God

of

all

comfort

that

there

is

the

Lord

who

is

with

us

there

are

times

in

our

life

when

we

maybe

think

of

a

place

where

we

can

go

and

we

just

find

a

sense

of

peace

and

a

sense

of

comfort

there

you

might

have

a

place

that

you

enjoy

going

yourself

it

might

be

just

a

room

in

the

house

where

you

feel

like

you

just

want

to

get

away

from

everything

I

just

want

to

have

my

quiet

time

I

just

want

to

have

a

sense

of

just

being

by

myself

as it

were

or

it

might

be

a

place

outside

that

you

go

to

a

place

that

you

enjoy

just

being

there

because

it's

away

from

everything

and

everyone

and

you're

just

wanting

to

find

a

sense

of

solace

there

a

sense

of

peace

but

where

can

we

ultimately

go

to

find

that

comfort

that

peace

to

a

place

and

above

all

to

a

person

as

we

think

of

Paul

writing

this

letter

to

the

church

at

Corinth

to

a

people

who

are

going

through

as

we

will

see

all

kinds

of

afflictions

there

are

people

who

have

come

to

experience

the

wonder

of

the

grace

of

God

through

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

it's

always

there

before

us

here

blessed

be

the

God

and

Father

of

our

Lord

Jesus

Christ

Jesus

Christ

is

there

at

the

heart

of

it

all

he

is

the

one

that

we

are

to

look

to

he

is

the

one

that

we

are

to

see

as

the

place

of

all

comfort

we

have

God

the

Father

we

have

God

the

Son

and

as

we

see

here

to

the

comfort

of

the

Holy

Spirit

where

do

we

see

it

we

see

God's

love

to

us

at

the

cross

we

see

that

God

wants

us

to

have

peace

and

comfort

through

him

and

so

he

has

given

us

his

Son

and

so

now

we

can

come

to

God

our

Father

through

our

Lord

Jesus

Christ

and

know

the

comfort

of

the

Holy

Spirit

in

our

hearts

so

in

these

two

verses

verse

three

and

four

there's

three

things

we

want

to

draw

out

of

these

verses

in

regards

to

the

way

that

Paul

speaks

about

comfort

and

these

three

things

the

first

thing

is

we

need

comfort

we

as

a

people

are

a

people

who

need

comfort

the

second

thing

is

that

we

receive

comfort

and

then

the

third

thing

that

we'll

see

is

that

we

are

then

able

to

share

our

comfort

with

others

to

offer

comfort

to

others

so

there's

these

three

things

in

these

verses

and

the

first

thing

is

we

need

comfort

Paul

writing

to the

Christian

community

here

in

Corinth

he's

writing

to them

as it

says

here

as an

apostle

chosen

an

apostle

of

Jesus

Christ

chosen

by

the

will

of

God

it

says

in

verse

one

he's

writing

through

the

will

of

God

and

this

is

the

will

of

God

for

the

church

at

Corinth

for

the

people

at

Corinth

that

they

would

hear

this

message

that

God

has

given

to

Paul

and

it's

the

will

of

God

that

we

would

hear

this

message

ourselves

today

it is

the

will

of

God

that

we

are

gathered

here

today

to

hear

this

wonderful

message

of

comfort

that

God

still

speaks

to

his

church

to

his

people

and

our

comfort

as we

see

begins

with

faith

faith

is

believing

in

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

and

that's

what

Paul

begins

by

saying

here

grace

and

peace

from

God

our

Father

and

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

grace

and

peace

they're

the

foundations

of

our

faith

our

faith

is

by

grace

through

God

the

grace

of

God

and

the

peace

of

God

through

Christ

Jesus

our

Lord

so

faith

is

at

the

heart

of

this

and

in

the

midst

of

our

faith

our

afflictions

are

not

hidden

from

God

blessed

in

verse

3

blessed

be the

God

and

Father

of

our

Lord

Jesus

Christ

the

Father

of

mercies

and

God

of

all

comfort

why is

he saying

these

things

well he's

saying

them

because

in

verse

4

who

comforts

us

in

all

our

affliction

he is

saying

these

things

because

he knows

the

experience

of

his

people

he knows

what's

happening

in

Corinth

he knows

what's

happening

in their

lives

he knows

all the

different

challenges

that they

are facing

because

of their

faith

because

of their

faith

in the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

and

he knows

that they

need

comfort

in these

afflictions

because

affliction

itself

has

behind

them

meaning

of being

pressed

down

upon

that

their

circumstances

that

everything

that they

are going

through

is weighing

heavy

upon

them

that is

what is

happening

to the

people

of God

in

Corinth

their

faith

is bringing

trials

into their

lives

trials

that they

haven't

had

when they

weren't

believing

in the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

but now

that they

have

come

to

faith

those

around

them

who

are

opposed

to

them

are

bringing

them

affliction

upon

affliction

of all

kinds

of

different

things

there's

no

hiding

place

from

it

for

them

in

the

same

way

as

there

isn't

for

us

the

afflictions

that

come

in

life

even

as

believers

even

in

our

faith

there are

struggles

there are

challenges

that will

always

come

our

way

and we

can feel

a great

burden

we can

feel

pressed

down

and we

feel

a longing

for

comfort

just

imagine

as

you're

feeling

unwell