A Living Church

Well friends, good morning. A warm welcome to our service today. May the Lord bless us as together we seek to explore the good news of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

We welcome any visitors among us and those joining us online. May the Lord bless us and be near to us as together we worship Him this morning.

Well, my name is Colin McLeod and I'm ministering back and with James' recent retirement, the Presbytery have appointed me as your interim moderator.

In taking up this role, I count it as a real privilege and I will do everything I can to support Calamurdo and work alongside the Kirk Session and you as a congregation as we seek to work towards filling the vacancy of senior minister in the congregation.

I'll say a little bit more about that at the close of the service.

I've been asked just to highlight the bulletin sheet that's available today. It's full. I won't even attempt to go through it because it's like an essay.

Please do take your time to look through. There's lots of information on there. Upcoming meetings this week all are scheduled.

There's tea and coffee in the hall after the service this morning. All are very welcome.

On Monday the 15th of July, the Kirk Session will meet in Kennet Street Session room at 7pm. That's an important one to take note, please, Elders.

And then also there's a note here about the free breakfast at the free church.

If anyone would like to help with the annual free breakfast on Sunday the 21st of July, please email the church office, not the church officer, and get in touch with Peggy McLennan.

That's information for you.

Also, there was an update shared last night.

Sad news that an elder of the congregation, Charlie Finlayson, had passed away.

We remember very much the family, Catherine and Rury, and we commend them to the Lord that his peace and mercy would uphold them at this time in their sad loss.

We'll be gathered together this morning to worship the Lord.

And we begin by singing to his praise from Psalm 121.

Psalm 121.

Singing the psalm from the Psalter, page 416 in our Blue Psalm books.

And we'll sing this whole psalm to the tune French.

I to the hills will lift mine eyes.

From whence doth come mine aid.

My safety cometh from the Lord, who heaven and earth hath made.

Thy foot he'll not let slide, nor will he slumber that thee keeps.

Behold, he that keeps Israel, he slumbers not, nor sleeps.

Psalm 121.

We'll stand and sing together.

Amen.

I to the hills will lift my eyes.

From whence doth come my aid.

My safety cometh from the Lord, who heaven and earth hath made.

Thy foot he'll not let slide, nor will he slumber that thee keeps.

Behold, he that keeps Israel, he slumber that thee keeps.

Israel, he slumber that thee keeps.

The Lord, he keeps the Lord my shape.

On thy light and of stay.

The Lord, my life, thee shall not spite.

Nor yet the sun by day.

The Lord, my soul, he shall preserve me from all ill.

Henceforth thy going, our children.

God keep forever.

We'll bow in prayer together.

our lord and our god on this your day we bow before you and give you thanks for this opportunity

this privilege of singing praise to you the living god together and we ask you lord from

the outset of our time as we worship and sing praise as we bow in prayer as we bring to you

lord our petitions and as we express to you in prayer the things that are most upon our hearts

and minds we do so lord in humility and dependence we bow in reverence and awe and wonder and lord we

adore we worship we give thanks to you the living god creator sustainer ruler sovereign over all

that we can come to you in prayer what a privilege what a joy and what a blessing and so lord we ask

for your hand to be upon us today that you would come in among us and do us good that lord you would

bless to our hearts your word the gospel of god this good news of jesus christ and him crucified

we bless you for the hope of the gospel the promise of the gospel the life-giving life-changing impact

of the gospel upon hearts and lives and may that be so today may men and women and boys and girls be

encouraged by the word and may many who as yet remain unconvinced and unconverted be brought in repentance

and faith to jesus christ there to receive from him forgiveness and life everlasting we bless you for this

message of life that it is a message that resounds from and brings us to the lord jesus christ and in

his name we pray lord that you draw near to us that you would bless us renew us forgive us our sin cleanse

us and renew us and all that we ask is in jesus precious name amen

well i'm sure everybody boys and girls here if we were to total up the number of trips everyone in here

is made on the ferry it would be quite significant we've all been there haven't we many times

on the the ferry from you can probably hear remember that the names of the previous ferries going back

a number of years and now we have of course a lot seaforth i was on there the other day i want to

talk to you talk to you about this i was just on the ferry i think last week we're on there

sailing across the minch is like a pond beautiful it always is isn't it there's never a wind in the

minch so we tell the visitors and then there were dolphins sightings and the usual scramble to the

windows and taking pictures of the sea and as we were crossing over an announcement came on over

the tannoy from the captain saying that we're going to run a drill they're informing us as passengers

we're going to run a drill on the boat don't worry about it we're going to shut the restaurant while the

crew practice their drills at sea fair enough so we get to hear and see a drill being carried out

as a passenger quite interesting in fact more than interesting it was quite something and every

stage through the drill bing bong on the t on the tannoy on the pa the announcer would say crew to

stations bing bong crew to next station bing bong crew to the next and so we were able to follow

through what was actually happening and at one point we saw quite a few of the crew gather at this spot on

the ferry and they slid open the doors and there were hundreds of life jackets just stacked up

perfect okay everything i see of course is perfect everything is stowed away tied down lashed secured

perfect and it was just it was just just so nice to see that the precision the care and everything

that the crew were doing and that's what struck me and that's what i wanted to share with you

today the crew were practicing how to make sure everybody on the boat if they needed to

would be kept safe by them the crew that's what they were doing practicing what to do

in case of an emergency which is something none of us ever want to experience and those who have

experienced it well wow to go through something like that at sea and what was really good to see

was the crew going through all their practices so they would know what to do if there was a drama

and that's the thing we've just sung today a really well-known psalm 121 i to the hills will lift mine

eyes from whence hath come my made what a great question that is who's going to help me said the

psalmist as he looked to the strength and hills of the hills and looked at the created world around

him said who's going to help me if i get into a crisis or a drama my safety cometh from the lord

who heaven and earth hath made now that's quite something the psalm writer was caught up with god's

power and wonder the the amazing ability of god to say let there be and there was god is the creator of

all things and the psalmist was thankful for that but that's not what he was most thankful for it wasn't

that god was the maker of all things it was that god was his keeper that's what really thrilled the psalmist

thy foot he'll not let slide nor will he slumber that thee keeps behold he that keeps israel he does not

slumber he does not sleep six times in this short song of praise the psalm talks about god being the keeper

of his people what a wonderful thing that is just to think about for a few minutes today on a sunday

morning the lord thee keeps and then verse 7 the lord shall keep thy soul if you're a christian here today

that's your song you can say that the lord is not just your maker he is your keeper he is the keeper

of your soul and that crew drill on the lock sea forth a few nights ago seeing them practicing how

to make sure everyone would be kept safe on the boat if they were needed that reminded me of this

great reality in the psalm we've just sung together that when we put our trust in jesus when we ask the

lord into our hearts and confess our sin to him and ask him to forgive us and cleanse us and make us new

that's exactly what he does and then we speak of him not just as our maker but our keeper the lord

shall keep thy soul this boys and girls is not a message for old people it's not a message just for elders

or ministers or or church folk this is a message for you today for everyone on our island and in our country

that if we put our trust in jesus he will be our keeper and may he bless us as we look to him

but we're going to say together the words of the lord's prayer as is the congregation's custom and

the words are in the bulletin if you would like to use them we say together our father who 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 lead us not into temptation

but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever amen

well we'll sing again to god's praise from sing psalms in psalm 18 psalm 18 page 19 in our blue psalm

books and we're going to sing in psalm 18 from verse 1 to verse 6 to the tune duke street psalm 18 and

sing psalm singing from the beginning i love you lord you are my strength a fortress is the lord to me

my rock and my deliverer for refuge to my god i flee he is my stronghold and my shield the lord who

saves me by his might i'll call on him and give him praise i'm saved he puts my foes to flight psalm 18

from verse 1 to 6 we'll stand together

i love you lord you are my strength a fortress is the lord to me

my lord and my deliverer for refuge to my god i flee he is my stronghold and my shield the lord who saves me by his might

I'll count my shield, the Lord who saves me by His might.

I'll call on Him and give Him praise.

I've saved He puts my foes to fight.

A portal of death had tumbled me.

Destruction hit me like a wave.

Encircled by the stairs of death,

I faced the tethers of the cliff.

In my distress I called on God.

I cried unto the Lord for it.

He from His temple heard my voice.

He listened to the prayer I made.

Amen.

Amen.

We'll read together this morning from God's Word from the New Testament.

Two passages.

First of all, from the Acts of the Apostles in chapter 17.

The Acts of the Apostles.

We'll read in chapter 17.

And then we'll turn forward in our Bibles to read in 1 Thessalonians.

And the first chapter.

So first of all, Acts in chapter 17,

where we read of a part of what we call today the second missionary journey.

The gospel has been brought by the small missionary team to Europe.

Paul, Timothy and Silas, and at some point joined by Luke,

begin or continue to spread the good news of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Here in chapter 17 we read of what happened when they come to the ancient city of Thessalonica.

Thessalonica.

And when we'll read later the letter Paul would write to these new converts.

Chapter 17 in Acts.

Now, when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia,

they came to Thessalonica where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

And Paul went in as was his custom.

And on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the scriptures,

explaining and proving it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead,

saying, This Jesus whom I proclaim to you is the Christ.

Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas,

as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.

But the Jews were jealous.

And taking some wicked men of the rabble,

they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar,

and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.

And when they could not find them,

they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities,

shouting, These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also.

And Jason has received them,

and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar,

saying, There is another king, Jesus.

And the people in the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things.

And when they had taken money, a security from Jason,

and the rest, they let them go.

The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea.

And when they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue.

And when we turn forward to 1 Thessalonians,

we find in this passage a short, powerful pastoral letter,

written a year perhaps later, a number of months later,

as far as we can tell, while Paul was ministering in Corinth.

And he writes to the church that he was responsible for founding

to encourage them and to stabilize them in their faith

as they faced a difficult providence.

And so we read from chapter 1,

Paul, Silas, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians

and God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace to you and peace.

We give thanks to God always for all of you,

constantly mentioning you in our prayers,

remembering before our God and Father

your work of faith and labor of love

and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

For we know, brothers loved by God,

that he has chosen you

because our gospel came to you not only in word,

but also in power and in the Holy Spirit

and with full conviction.

You know what kind of men we prove to be among you for your sake.

And you became imitators of us and of the Lord,

for you received the word in much affliction

with the joy of the Holy Spirit,

so that you became an example

to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achia.

For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth

from you in Macedonia and Achia,

but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere,

so that we need not say anything.

For they themselves report concerning us

the kind of reception we had among you

and how you turned to God from idols

to serve the living and true God

and to wait for his Son from heaven,

whom he raised from the dead,

Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Amen.

May the Lord bless his word to our hearts,

to his name be all the praise.

Let's bow in prayer again for a moment together.

Our Lord and our God,

we bless and praise you this morning

that we have opened in our gathering your word.

And we bless you that we are led here

to the word that became flesh and dwelt among us,

to Jesus Christ the righteous,

who came to seek and to save the lost,

to call sinners to repentance.

And so we pray today, Lord,

for this time we are together,

that you would bless us and do us good,

that you would open our hearts

and grant us renewed insight

and understanding as to the truths of the gospel,

these wonderful doctrines of grace,

this message of life and forgiveness

and reconciliation in Jesus.

For we know that there is no condemnation

to those who are in Christ Jesus.

And we know that he has come to bring us to God,

to deliver us from the wrath to come.

What a message, what a hope and what a saviour.

And we pray, Lord, this morning

that this message would take root in our hearts and lives,

shaping us from the inside out,

leading us and motivating us

to be servants of the living God.

That we, as the Christians in Thessalonica,

it would show we have turned to God,

to serve him,

waiting for the appearing of Jesus Christ,

our saviour, your son.

So we pray, Lord, this day,

that your message of truth and love and peace

would be blessed to our hearts,

that as happened in Thessalonica,

the word would be blessed here

and it would come home to hearts

with power and much conviction,

blessed of the Holy Spirit,

that there would be joy,

joy in the proclamation of Christ,

joy in receiving Christ,

joy in knowing forgiveness of sin.

We pray, Lord, for your blessing on your word today,

that you would watch over

and bless the congregation here

at this time of change,

at this time of a new chapter,

beginning with the retirement of James,

with James and Donna

now moving away from the congregation.

Lord, we pray that your hand

would rest upon them and their family.

And we pray, Lord,

for the ongoing work of the gospel

here in the congregation.

We pray for Calamurdo

and the elders and deacons,

the Sunday school teachers,

all those who are on tea and coffee rotas,

creche rotas,

and who run holiday clubs.

The work goes on.

And for that, Lord, we praise and thank you

that the message of Christ crucified

will continue to go forth.

And we pray it would go forth

with great power and conviction

that men and women

and boys and girls in Stornoway

would come under the sound of the gospel

and commit themselves to the Lord,

that they would know that salvation

in their souls for themselves.

Lord, this we ask,

that your hand would be upon

the ongoing work of the ministry

here in the congregation.

We remember today, Lord,

the family of Charlie Finlayson.

We pray for Catherine and Rury,

and the wider family.

We pray, Lord,

that your hand would be upon them

at this time.

And as we reflect on Charlie

and his life and witness

and service in the congregation,

may that be a witness

that will continue to speak to many.

We thank you, Lord,

that there are so many

who down through the years

have served you faithfully

in similar ways.

And we pray that this great cloud

of witnesses would continue

to speak to us

and that we would draw from them

an example to follow,

a promise to claim,

a race to run,

a battle to fight.

And may we do so keeping the focus

on our Lord and Saviour,

Jesus Christ.

Lord, at this time as a nation,

we too are experiencing change.

We have a new government,

a new prime minister.

And Lord, we have been inundated

these past weeks

with promise and counter-promise,

claim and counter-claim,

manifesto and counter-manifesto.

Lord, we've heard it all before.

And yet we see change.

And at this time of change,

we remember Jesus Christ,

the same yesterday,

today and forever.

And we pray, Lord,

that the certainty of the gospel

would take root in hearts and lives

at this time of change.

We pray, Lord,

for our new government,

for the prime minister,

for the cabinet,

for the royal family.

And that as an establishment,

Lord,

there would be a sense

not just of importance,

but a sense of humility,

a sense of your goodness

and greatness,

and that the gospel of grace

would change hearts and lives.

We long for the day

when we will see men and women

taking their place

in the public square,

unashamed of the gospel,

serving Jesus Christ

as a bright,

shining witness

in that capacity.

So we pray for Christian MPs,

Christian MSPs,

and we pray,

and long, Lord,

for the day

where they would,

at the heart of government

and heart of the legislative process

in our land,

be hungering and thirsting

after righteousness,

and be a longing for

a knowledge of Christ

and him crucified,

and an experience

of personal salvation.

Remember us, Lord,

at this time as a nation,

and we pray that your hand

would be upon us

as this new chapter begins,

both here locally

and nationally.

Lord, we commend

all these things to you.

We come to you

as the King of kings

and Lord of lords.

We bring to your petitions

our cares, your concerns,

and we pray, Lord,

today for those

known to you,

perhaps not known to us,

but known to you,

who are finding things

difficult at this time.

We pray for those struggling.

We pray, Lord,

for those who are

finding life hard,

who are weighed down,

who are uncertain,

afraid,

lonely,

anxious,

broken.

Lord, we pray above all

that they might know

that underneath

are the everlasting arms.

May they know

Jesus Christ

and him crucified

by coming to him

in repentance and faith,

and may those

of your people

draw alongside them

and share a word

in season,

and bring, Lord,

that offer of life

and that promise

of peace of heart

and mind

that passes

all understanding.

Hear us, Lord,

in these things we pray.

Draw near to us.

Bless your word

to our hearts

this morning

for forgive our sin.

In Jesus' name

we ask it.

Amen.

We'll sing to God's praise

once more

from the Psalter

in Psalm 84.

Psalm 84,

we'll sing

from the beginning

of the Psalm,

page 338

in our blue Psalm books,

and we're singing

to the tune

Tramps and Hawkers.

Psalm 84,

from the beginning,

How lovely is

thy dwelling place,

O Lord of hosts,

to me the tabernacles

of thy grace,

how pleasant,

Lord, they be.

My thirsty soul

longs vehemently,

ye faints thy courts

to see.

My very heart and flesh

cry out,

O living God,

for thee.

We'll stand and sing

together.

Amen.

How lovely is

thy dwelling place,

O Lord of hosts,

to me.

The tabernacles

of thy grace,

how pleasant,

Lord, they be.

My thirsty soul

longs vehemently,

in things I go

to see.

My very heart

and flesh

cry out,

O living God,

for thee.

Behold,

the sparrow

findeth out,

and house

wherein to rest.

The swallow

also

for herself

hath purchased

said,

unless.

In thy

known altars

where she

stayed,

her young

what's forth

may bring.

O the

almighty

Lord of hosts,

through heart

thy God

and King.

O the

Lord of hosts,

my God

and King.

may in thy

house not dwell,

may ever

give me

praise.

Blessed

is the

one

whose strength

thy heart

in whose

heart

are

thy ways.

Who

passing

flood,

obey

God's

will,

heaven

to

Jacob

wells,

also

the

rain

that

falleth

down,

that

cools

with

water

fills.

angels.

There are

wonderful words

and we,

having sung them

together,

we turn to

the second

passage we

read this

morning in

1 Thessalonians.

1 Thessalonians,

letter of the

Apostle Paul to

this brand new

church that he

had planted as

part of his

journeying,

what we call

today the

second missionary

journey.

he's left

the city

by night

because of

the pressure

and opposition

of the world

around him

and now some

months later he

writes back to

them and this

is the record

we have before

us.

And I'd like us

to especially

notice perhaps

in verse 2,

we give thanks

to God always

for all of you,

constantly mentioning

you in our

prayers,

remembering before

our God and

Father your

work of faith,

your labour

of love,

your steadfastness

of hope in

our Lord

Jesus Christ.

I wonder what

it is you look

for in a

church.

It's a good

question, it's a

fair question.

I'm sure most

of us, if not

all, have at

some point been

on our travels

on holiday or

in a town or

city we're not

very familiar

with and we've

looked for a

church to go

along to and

I wonder in

doing so what

it is you would

look for.

What is it you

look for in a

church?

What is it you

would like to

see when you

walk in?

What is it you

would like to

experience as the

worship begins

and unfolds?

What would you

hope to feel

while you were

there?

And above all

perhaps, what

would you want

to hear from

the pulpit during

that worship

service?

That's the kind

of questions that

are in the

background to this

letter.

we know from

the Acts of

the Apostles

that Paul and

his small team

of co-workers

brought the

gospel to

mainland Europe

and he travelled

from Philippi to

Thessalonica to

Berea down to

Athens and

Corinth and

Ephesus and

overall it seems

scholars can

piece things

together.

They think it

was about a

three-year period

covering about

3,000 miles and

we know we

park the statistics

that what happened

above all was

the gospel of

grace took hold

in hearts and

lives.

Everywhere they

went there was

conversions, there

was blessing,

churches were

planted but no

sooner had the

light dispelled

the darkness

than very quickly

opposition came

and these new

churches that we

have the letters

to Galatians,

Ephesians,

the Philippians,

the Colossian

church, the

church here in

Thessalonica,

they were brand

new churches,

church plants in

pagan cities full

of darkness and

mysticism and

pluralism and

paganism,

emperor worship

was a thing and

if you didn't

take some

spice and

sprinkle it on

the altar and

say Caesar is

God, you'd be

instantly branded

as some kind of

lunatic, an

atheist, an

outcast, someone

to be watched, a

troublemaker, some

kind of insurgent.

So that was what

Christians had to

accept right from

the off.

And we read

through Acts

17 and we read

it for a purpose

because we read

there the

founding of this

church that Paul

is now writing

to, these words,

remembering before

our God and

Father your work

of faith, your

labour of love and

steadfastness of

hope in our Lord

Jesus Christ.

What do you look

for in a church?

This is what the

apostle Paul was

looking for.

And to see if

these things were

there, what he

did was he sent

Timothy back.

As we piece

things together in

the Acts of the

Apostles and we

read through this

letter, chapter 3

tells us we could

bear it no longer,

chapter 3, verse 1,

we were willing to

be left alone at

Athens and we sent

Timothy, our

brother and God's

co-worker in the

gospel of Christ,

why?

To establish and

exhort you in your

faith that no one

be moved by these

afflictions.

This church had

known the blessing

of God Almighty,

but also they had

already tasted the

enmity and opposition

and intolerance of

the world.

The apostle had to

leave Thessalonica

under the cover of

darkness.

That's what chapter

17 in Acts tells us.

There was such an

uproar and the

riot and the threat

and the threat of

violence was so real

in the air that the

brothers in chapter

17 and verse 10

sent Paul and Silas

away by night to

Berea.

They had arrived in

the daytime as far as

we can tell, but such

was the opposition and

enmity and hatred they'd

experienced that they

had to leave under the

cover of darkness.

They moved on to

Berea and then were

told that the Jewish

people in Thessalonica

heard he was at work

in Berea and they

came there and stirred

up the crowd as well.

So in Thessalonica

there was real danger

and violence and

threat and opposition.

Paul knew it.

And some months later

down in Corinth when he

could take it no longer,

chapter 3, we could

bear it no longer.

He couldn't take it

anymore.

He couldn't take the

worry, the anxiety, the

care he felt for these

people and so he sends

Timothy and he sends

Timothy to a very clear

mission.

Timothy, travel back up

these 300 or so miles to

Thessalonica and see if

the church has stood the

test.

See if they've survived.

See if they're growing.

Go and see if there's a

church of Jesus Christ in

Thessalonica.

So I'd like us to think

about this and what comes

out of this background

particularly in light of

these words here in

chapter 1 and verse 3.

And notice this morning

two things.

First of all, the

motivation behind this

letter being Paul's

loving concern.

There's a loving concern

here.

To such a degree that he

sends Timothy.

He sends his best.

He takes Timothy, his

right-hand man, and he

sends him on a perilous

mission on his own by the

look of it, back up the

Isthmus from Corinth in the

south, back up to the

north to Thessalonica.

Which was at the time the

provincial capital.

It was a city of around, as

far as we can tell, 200,000.

So the population of ancient

Thessalonica was just slightly

smaller than modern-day

Aberdeen.

It's a big ancient city.

And in that city, there's a

church.

There was a church.

And Timothy's mission is to

go back and see if the church

is still there.

That's the interesting

background and dynamic.

That's the canvas upon which

this letter is written.

So there's a loving concern

here, first of all.

We'll look at the loving

concern, and then we'll think

about the living church that

Timothy finds.

The loving concern that we see

in Paul is, first of all, it's

expressed in the language that

opens a letter to the church of

the Thessalonians.

He writes to them, identifying

them as to where they are, but

more importantly, who they are

and whose they are.

They are the church in God the

Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace to you and peace.

And then immediately, there's a

switch in the language.

We thank, we give thanks to God

always for all of you, constantly

mentioning you in our prayers,

remembering you before our God and

Father.

And so he talks about them being

the church of the Thessalonians

in God the Father, who is our God

and Father, through our Lord Jesus

Christ.

So by the end of verse 3, the

language of family is established.

There's a bond.

And this bond shows and is expressed

in Paul's loving concern.

He speaks of them as being one.

And with absolute certainty and

clarity of thought, as he pens this

letter down in Corinth, he reflects

on their standing in Christ and

their bond through Christ.

Faith has established a new reality.

And that reality is pouring out of

Paul's own heart.

We give thanks to God always for you,

constantly, re-mentioning you in

our prayers, remembering before our

God and Father.

He is so concerned for them.

He has such a love for them because

he was there when he brought the

gospel to them.

And what was the message?

Chapter 17 in Acts tells us the

emphasis Paul brought to ancient

Thessalonica.

We're told in chapter 17 that he

spent three Sabbath days, that's over

a period of three weeks as a minimum,

explaining and proving it was necessary

for the Christ to suffer and to rise

from the dead saying, this Jesus who

might proclaim to you is the Christ.

And so we have Paul emphasizing in a

matter of weeks the cross and the

resurrection, the death and life of

the Lord Jesus Christ and saying, this

Jesus who might proclaim to you is the

Christ.

He preached Christ crucified.

And what happened in response to this

message?

Some were persuaded, as did a great

many of devout Greeks and many of the

leading women of the city.

They were converted because Paul preached

Christ.

He kept the focus.

He was there to tell them not about who

he was and what he had achieved.

He didn't go there with a CV as many

traveling preachers and philosophers did in

his day.

Many made itinerant speakers, made their

living by holding public classes and

lectures.

They would be paid to perform orations

and give great declarations of

philosophy and mysticism and all sorts of

pluralism and paganism.

All sorts of things were rebounding

around the city at this time.

And many would have thought, oh, here's

just another itinerant speaker.

Here's another preacher.

I wonder what he's got to say.

And what he had to say was, this Jesus,

whom I proclaim to you is the Christ.

Paul's heart for these people is founded

in these words in these few short weeks.

As far as we can tell, he had a maximum of

just a couple of months, maybe eight weeks,

ten weeks with them before he had to flee

the city or leave the city, I should say,

by the cover of darkness.

Such was the threat and violence and

aggression that the church was now

experiencing.

And so his loving concern is genuine,

he's deep-rooted, he's praying for

and really concerned for his fellow believers.

And so it comes to the point down there

in Corinth a matter of months later,

he can't take the worry anymore,

he can't take the concern anymore.

He wants to know how they're doing

and so he sends Timothy.

He gives him his best.

And so Timothy is sent back to encourage,

he is sent back to encourage the people,

the languages, his co-work,

he's sent back to establish and exhort you

in your faith that no one be moved

by these afflictions for you yourselves.

No, we are destined for this.

He doesn't want any Christians sitting there

experiencing a difficult providence

or a hard time thinking,

well, why am I going through this?

Surely Christians are not meant to experience this.

And he knows that such is the heart

of the human heart that we fall over,

don't we, we struggle, we're weak,

we give in to temptation

and then we get into such a confiddle

and we think, well, things should go this way

and when they don't go that way,

we fall apart and think,

well, how can this be?

Where's God in all of this?

And Paul is writing to them to remind them.

And the language he uses is remarkable.

You yourselves know we are destined for this.

We should experience and anticipate difficulty,

hardship, challenge, unsettledness.

And so Paul's loving concern is that

they would be kept on track.

He knew they'd be experiencing affliction,

opposition and frustration.

It was all there and he knew

that they would be going through it.

He knew and was concerned for them

that in what they would be experiencing,

they would not be blown off course,

that they would not crumble

and that they would not collapse in themselves,

that they would not become obsessed

with the hardship they were going through.

And so he says, Timothy, go back

and minister to them, pastor to them,

look after them and see if the church

is standing fast.

And he writes, grace to you and peace.

What more could he hope for?

What more could we today wish for anyone

but grace and peace?

And there's a clear way we can apply all of this

at this point today.

We need to pause before thinking about the living church.

This loving concern that led to Timothy

being sent back on this mission to Thessalonica.

If we put ourselves in that position

and imagine Timothy coming here,

what would Timothy find?

What kind of church would Timothy find

if he joined us this morning?

We know what he'd be looking for.

He found it in Thessalonica.

He found a living church,

defined here in verse 3

as a church that was set apart

by their work of faith,

their labor of love and steadfastness of hope.

So here's our challenge

by way of application of all of this.

If Timothy was to come here,

what would he find?

Has he spent time moving in amongst you

in fellowship and worship and praise and prayer?

What would he find?

And then what report would he bring back

to the apostle of the church in Stornoway?

He'd been sent back to establish

and exhort them in their faith,

reminding them that they're not exempt

difficulty, hardship and setbacks.

How did you get on, Timothy?

What's the message?

What's the report?

Tell me about the church.

That's what happened in Corinth

when Timothy eventually caught up.

Perhaps it seems maybe it wasn't in Athens.

It was maybe either in Corinth

or maybe even in Ephesus.

Probably Corinth as we try and piece it together,

which isn't always that easy to do.

But the report he brought back

was crystal clear.

Whatever city he re-aligned himself with Paul,

whatever they were at that time,

he brought back a wonderful report.

A report that gladdened the heart.

Chapter 3, verse 6.

Timothy has come to us from you

and has brought us the good news

of your faith and love and reported.

You always remember us kindly

and long to see us

as we long to see you.

There was a description

a number of years ago I read

of the liner, the old liner,

the Queen Mary,

that eventually was retired

from the transatlantic crossing,

was bought by a multi-billionaire

over in America

and parked up and turned into

this five-star luxury hotel complex

as part of a massive retail park

there over in the States somewhere.

And after a number of years,

the ship was inspected.

From the outside,

the Queen Mary looked absolutely incredible,

colossal,

this vast luxury liner

that famed around the world

for the luxurious appointments

in the ship

as she crossed the Atlantic

in the 30s and the 40s.

But when the ship was inspected,

it was found to be

in utter disrepair.

There was all sorts of issues

and problems.

The ship had simply suffered

from neglect.

It had sat in that docking position

and her engines,

her systems below the waterline

were an absolute catastrophe

that was going to cost millions

to put right.

The ship had just suffered

from neglect.

And that's the kind of picture,

I think,

that we need to take hold of today,

that we would not suffer

from neglect

and that we would not neglect

the cause,

the work,

the ministry

that is to continue

here as a congregation

among you.

Your responsibility

and privilege

is to serve this community

in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

That work goes on.

And so we need to ensure

the focus remains,

that the temperature

remains high,

that the pulse

remains strong,

and that fellowship

and worship

and communion

go together.

Paul's love and concern

brings all this out

because that's what Timothy

found in ancient Thessalonica

and our challenge,

our responsibility

is that we would seek

to achieve the same

in our day and age,

in our setting.

So there's love and concern here.

Secondly, of course,

there's what Timothy found

when he got to Thessalonica.

He travelled that 300 or so miles

on his own by foot,

as far as we can tell,

back up to Thessalonica.

He went back to the site

where the church had been founded

and what he found there

gladdened his heart.

And he brought back to Paul

a message of joy

and thanksgiving.

Timothy in chapter 3

has come to you

and has brought us

the good news

of your faith and love.

Paul, he would have said,

the church has stood

the test of time.

The church has not been

hold beneath the waterline.

The church is good.

The church is solid.

The church is full of faith

and love and hope.

So what we find here

is a wonderful description

or definition, if you like,

of a living church.

A church defined by

her work of faith.

Faith regardless of the opposition.

There was love

even though there had been frustration.

There was hope

even though there had been persecution.

What is it that this language

tells us then of the living church?

Your work of faith,

your labour of love

and steadfastness of hope.

These things

are all productive.

There's nothing static.

There's nothing formal.

There's nothing dull.

There's no sense of routine here.

This is a dynamic

and dedicated

and determined picture

of a church.

Their faith is producing works.

Their love is producing labour.

And their hope

is producing steadfastness.

That's the phrasing goes on.

It's not that their work

is then going to lead them to faith.

It's the other way around.

Their faith is leading them to work.

Their love is motivating them

to labour.

And their hope

is leading them

to endure with steadfastness.

So then we see that

as one writer put it

very nicely,

he put it this way.

Theirs was the dynamic

outworking

of a life transforming principle.

It's quite something, isn't it?

Timothy found here

a dynamic outworking

of a life transforming principle.

What is that principle?

We find it again in Acts.

You may remember the story

of when the apostles

were arrested

and incarcerated

and the Sanhedrin

were gathering the next day

to bring them on trial.

But that night

an angel came in

and released them from prison

and said to them,

go into the temple

and tell the people

all the words

of this life.

Life.

This is what the gospel is.

It's life-giving.

It's life-changing.

It is the promise

of life in Christ Jesus.

Something Paul himself

never forgot.

If you look at 2 Timothy,

his final letter

written from a prison cell

in Rome

under the sentence of death,

in his first sentence

he speaks of the promise

of life in Christ Jesus.

Life-giving.

Life-transforming.

The gospel of grace

had done its work

in the hearts

of these brand new Christians.

And Timothy comes in among them

and finds things going well.

And he describes it for us here.

He defines it, if you like,

as a work of faith.

Their faith is active.

Their faith is producing

work amongst them.

Faithfulness.

What is this faithfulness?

Take up your cross daily

and come after me.

And it has a purpose,

a very clear purpose.

As we grow in grace,

as we develop our understanding,

as we become more mature

in the faith,

Paul had a very clear purpose in mind.

He sent Timothy

to exhort and encourage them.

Why?

And he charged them

to walk in a manner

worthy of God.

To walk in a manner

worthy of God.

Chapter 2 and verse 12.

What a description

of the Christian life that is.

Have a walk

that is worthy of God.

That, Christian friends,

is our responsibility.

Day in and day out.

Especially, perhaps,

at a time of change.

With James retiring

and a vacancy

of the senior minister post.

Now established.

What do we do?

What do you do?

You continue the work.

You show forth

the praises

of the one

who called you

from darkness

into his marvelous light.

And you seek in doing so

to have a walk

that is worthy of God.

And that walk

that will be worthy of God

will be defined

in the language

of verse 3

as a faith

that produces works,

a love

that produces

a labor,

and a hope

that produces

a steadfastness

in our Lord

Jesus Christ.

This labor of love

is an interesting phrase

to think about that

for a moment.

This labor,

it's a word

that speaks of

difficulty,

costly effort.

It's not just something

that's formality

or, oh, well,

it's my turn

on the rota.

Oh, well,

I better go

and pick up the phone

and phone that.

So I haven't seen them

in church for a while.

There isn't that kind

of sense of,

well, I think

I might do that.

No.

This labor of love

is costly.

It's effort.

It's endeavor.

And the emphasis

in the ancient Greek word

is actually

to labor

to the point

of exhaustion.

Do everything

you can.

That's what this love

is.

This love

that is driving

these young,

brand new Christians

in Thessalonica

is a love

that is the beating

heart of the church

of Christ on earth.

When we turn together

to read of this,

we can read in

1 Corinthians

in chapter 13,

a letter that Paul

would write

four or five years

after writing

to the Thessalonians.

And what does he say

of love?

Love is patient

and kind.

Love does not envy

or boast.

It is not arrogant

or rude.

It does not insist

on its own way.

It is not irritable

or resentful.

It does not rejoice

at wrongdoing

but rejoices

with the truth.

Love bears all things,

believes all things,

hopes all things,

endures all things.

Love never ends.

So now,

faith,

hope,

and love

abide.

But the greatest

of these

is love.

You can almost

imagine

Paul

listening to

Timothy's report

and saying,

yes,

Timothy,

that's amazing.

They're committed

in their faith.

Their faith is producing

works,

but is there love?

Is there love?

Do they love the Lord?

Do they love his cause?

Do they love his people?

Do they love the gospel

of grace that's changed them?

Yes,

yes,

Paul,

their love

is bringing them

to labor.

They're working together

almost to the point

of exhaustion.

That's what the love

of Christ,

when it takes hold

in hearts and lives,

can result in

and should result in.

So Paul's question,

there's faith,

Timothy,

oh,

that's wonderful.

Is there love?

And there was.

Your work of faith,

your labor of love,

and your steadfastness

of hope.

You see,

they loved so much,

they labored,

they worked,

they served together.

Notice that language

at the end

of chapter one.

You turn to God

from idols

to serve

the living

and true God.

Here am I,

Lord,

send me,

friends,

at a time of vacancy

as things progress

and come to an end.

Be sure to do

all you can.

If there's a gap,

offer yourself.

If there's a need,

see to it.

Don't think someone else

will do it.

If you can do it,

then do it.

Do your bit.

It's the purpose

and responsibility

of all

to do what they can

to the furtherance

of the gospel,

to the betterment

of the congregation.

Let there be

these marks,

this faith

that produces works.

This love

that produces

a labour

as we serve

the Lord Jesus Christ

here.

There's lastly

this,

a steadfastness

of hope.

That's a word

that speaks

of endurance

and my goodness

did they need

to endure.

There'd been hardness,

there'd been a riot,

there'd been beatings,

there'd been violence.

The missionaries

had had to leave

under the cover

of darkness.

Then the Thessalonian

Jewish people

heard that there was

the work of the gospel

was happening

down the road

in Berea.

So they'd get

on their horses

and they'd go down

there and stir up

the crowds in Berea.

Then they'd have

come home to Thessalonica.

What would they have

done when they came

back from Berea?

They'd have gone

hunting for Christians.

They'd have been

looking for the gospel.

They'd have been

looking to identify

believers in Christ

to give them

a hard time

and to persecute them

and continue

in their bitter

opposition to the gospel.

These people

needed

steadfastness

of hope

in our Lord

Jesus Christ

and such was

their hope

in him

that they endured.

They were steadfast.

In the New Testament

letters

we read of hope

58 times.

There's a reason

for that,

isn't there?

We have hope.

Hope in Christ.

It's quite interesting

how these last few weeks

as the election

has unfolded

that time and time again

we've been offered

hope and a new promise

and a new start

and a reset

and hope

and reignite

the flame of hope.

You're hearing

all these promises

they're tripping off

the tongues of politicians.

They're taking

the language

of the Bible.

They're taking

the language

of the New Testament

and they're turning

it into their

they're giving it

their particular

political colour

in order to sound

good.

And it does sound

good

because a message

of hope

is what we need.

But there is no hope

like the hope

that comes from

knowing the Lord

Jesus Christ

as your saviour

and friend.

And I would hope

and pray today

friends that

knowing him as such

has been your experience

and joy

and comfort.

And I hope

and pray that you

would think today

well if Timothy

came to visit

this church

and sat beside me

would he

would he

understand

that I'm a Christian?

Could I share

with Timothy

if he visited

the church here

that I have this

faith

and hope

and love?

Or would he find

you unconvinced

and unconverted

unmoved

uncertain

still

far off

in the darkness

refusing

to come

to Christ

refusing

to bow the knee

refusing

to acknowledge

him

as your Lord

and saviour

and friend.

I would hope

and pray

that today

friends

some of this

might resonate

with you.

John Bunyan

who

famous writer

wrote

Pilgrim's Progress

said this

he said that

faith is never

ill

when hope

is well.

What's our hope

today?

Jesus Christ

the same

yesterday

today

and forever

and we look

to him

for his grace

his mercy

and peace

for his blessing

for his sustaining

grace

for his grace

to serve

his grace

to follow

his grace

to reach out

his grace

to continue

the ministry

in this place

as a body

of believers

as a body

of people

gathered together

to serve

this community

in his name

and may he

bless you

as you do

so.

Thomas Chalmers

just to close

said this

the great

leader of the

free church

in the 19th

century

eminent

preacher

and theologian

scholar

said

simply this

that faith

that remained

in the head

but did not

warm the heart

and change lives

was of no use

to us.

Timothy

found the real

thing

when he went

back to

Thessalonica

he made

an assessment

and came

back to

Paul

and said

Paul

the church

has stood

what are they

like

Timothy

well

I found

them

and defined

them in

these ways

and as he

described them

Paul wrote

I could speak

of their work

of faith

their labour

of love

and steadfastness

of hope

in our Lord

Jesus Christ

where we know

brothers loved

of God

he has chosen

you because

our gospel

came to you

not only in

word

but also in

power

and in the

Holy Spirit

and with

full conviction

may that be

our portion

today and

ongoing

that the word

of the Lord

would come to

us in power

and in the

Holy Spirit

and with full

conviction

that we would

be a people

with a faith

that was dynamic

with a love

that is devoted

with a hope

that is determined

looking unto Jesus

us and may we

all today

be found

doing just

that

let's pray

for a moment

together

Lord our God

we pray for

your blessing

today

we pray Lord

that you would

be with us

at this time

that we might

take the word

of life

the promise

of life

and that we

might take

this our

saviour

into our

hearts and

lives by

acknowledging

him as

such

as the

King of

Kings

and Lord

of Lords

who in

his grace

and mercy

has seen

to it again

that we have

this opportunity

to worship

and we pray

while we are

on mercy's

ground

that we

would respond

accordingly

that we

would respond

in faith

that we

would serve

in love

that we

would endure

in hope

looking unto

Jesus

day by day

be with us

Lord in these

things we pray

for Jesus

sake

Amen

We'll turn

to sing

Psalms

and we'll

sing from

Psalm 57

Psalm 57

and we'll

sing from

verse 7

Psalm 57

page 75

in our

blue psalm

books

we'll sing

from verse 7

to the end

to the

tune

Dennis

Psalm 57

from sing

Psalms

from verse 7

my heart

is steadfast

Lord

with music

I will sing

awake my soul

wake

harp

and lyre

my song

the dawn

will bring

Psalm 57

Psalms 57:7–11

verses 7

to 11

we'll stand

to sing

and if you

just take

your seats

for a few

minutes

after the

benediction

that would