The Comforts of Home

And we'll read again from the beginning.

I'm going to look at verses 1 to 3.

They're very familiar words to us, I'm sure.

John 14, the first three verses.

Let not your hearts be troubled.

Believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father's house are many rooms.

If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself.

But where I am, you may be also.

So often when you visit folk in hospital, which is always a privilege to do,

many times they'll say to you, I really wish I was home.

I'm longing to get home.

Even if they appreciate as they do, many of them the care that's given.

But they will also find them often saying, I'd love to be home.

I don't know when I'll get back home, but I know I need to be in this place just now.

I'm thankful for the care I'm getting.

And I know that it's all towards my good and my improvement.

Something along those lines.

So you've got the longing to get home and the appreciation of the present circumstances,

which really are part of what's going on in life at the moment.

And that's so it is for the Christian as well.

There is a God-planted longing in the heart, a desire, a looking forward to home in heaven.

And yet at the same time, a realization through the teaching of God's word that this is a necessity for us now to go through this life as we are,

to have the providence of God as he has arranged it,

so that we'll come ultimately as Christians, as believers in Christ,

all we believe to come to be in heaven at last.

Jesus here, as you know, is addressing troubled disciples.

That's evident from the first few words of verse one.

Let not your hearts be troubled.

He's not saying to them there, don't begin to be troubled.

He's really saying, I know you're troubled, but don't let them be troubled.

Put your troubles aside.

Here is my antidote to your troubles.

Let not your hearts be troubled.

And what's troubling them is what he has told them previously,

that he is actually going to go back to the Father.

That he's no longer going to be physically with them.

That they're not going to have him here as they've had him over these years,

since he took them and made them his disciples.

And now he's been telling them that he is going away.

And what he says, in the previous chapter especially,

Jesus is saying there, where I'm going, you cannot follow me now,

but you will follow me afterwards.

So he's been teaching them about the necessity of his going.

And in fact, he's been saying to them,

it's actually for your good that I'm going.

Knowing himself, of course, what was going to follow

this time that he spent with them in the upper room, as it's called.

And that he would actually then go back to the Father,

having gone to the cross and risen from the dead.

And as we'll see, all of that is in his immediate future there,

as he's speaking to the disciples.

So he's addressing the troubled disciples

who are thinking of a future without Jesus.

And sadly, so many people in the world

don't even have a thought of life without Jesus.

They don't actually look into the future

and say to themselves,

how am I going to manage this without God?

We're living in a world where unbelief

is such a constant feature of our experience

as we meet with people.

And they don't actually have this perspective,

this outlook, this forward-looking,

whereby they know that they're going to be at last with Christ.

And they face the future without Jesus.

And it's always a remarkable thing

when we see people, either we visit them

or we see them in hospital or whatever,

and they face sometimes really critical issues

in their lives.

Perhaps even it's a bereavement as well

as a physical illness or whatever.

And it's always amazing when you actually see,

how are they able to cope?

You ask yourself, how can they manage life without God?

And of course, the answer to that is,

well, we once did as well.

Or at least we thought we did.

It's just part of our fallen condition.

But here are these disciples,

and they're troubled because they're thinking

of a future without Jesus.

So he's redirecting their thoughts.

He's redirecting their minds to these things

that he says here in this chapter,

in this beginning of this chapter to them here

as we're looking at it immediately.

So what he's saying really is,

not only are they not going to be without him,

though that will be the case physically,

but in fact, they are actually,

eventually and ultimately,

going to be taken by him to be with them.

Here they are thinking,

how can we possibly manage without him?

What are we going to do?

How can we go about the business of daily life

as people who believe in God,

as people are called by Christ to witness for him,

but he's not there.

And he's saying to them,

don't let your hearts be troubled.

I'm actually going to prepare a place for you,

and that's a place to which I will come back,

to which I will take you when I come back for you.

And it's interesting if you compare the first verse there,

and we always refer to these chapters

as the upper room addresses or discourses of the Lord,

which of course includes his own prayer in chapter 17.

But if you compare just now verse one of chapter 14,

and then let's go forward to the last verse of chapter 16.

Here we are at the beginning of chapter 14,

let not your hearts be troubled.

And here he is finishing chapter 16.

He's saying,

I have said these things to you,

so that in me you may have peace.

In the world you will have tribulation,

but take heart, I have overcome the world.

In other words, what you're finding is that

prior to his prayer,

as Jesus taught the disciples and addressed them

in what we find in these three chapters,

what you really find is he begins it

and he ends it with the same note

of redirecting them towards things

which will comfort them,

which will assure them,

which will give them the perspective

that he wants them to have

on a future that he has prepared for them.

And you might say that

everything in these three chapters

is directed really in the purpose of Christ,

and the purpose of God to you

and to me tonight as you read them,

that all actually,

all of these details

in these three chapters,

14, 15, 16,

are directed towards our assurance

and our comfort as Christians.

And isn't that a remarkable thing itself,

that all of the details

throughout these three chapters

are all channeled towards

what he says in 14 verse 1

and the end of chapter 16.

Let not your hearts be troubled.

And if you're troubled tonight,

as you often are,

and as I often am,

if there are things in the world

that cause you concern,

in your own life that cause you concern,

in your family that cause you concern,

in your friends over which you're concerned,

here is Jesus always redirecting our minds

to these things that he speaks of

to the disciples,

which really puts the present world

in perspective, doesn't it?

And which reminds us that

actually, ultimately,

that's what our mind should be focused on.

Not the immediate presence,

but what lies ahead,

the future that God has prepared

in this house

that he calls my father's house.

So here's their address to them,

his address to them.

What is he saying?

How is he actually,

how is he directing their minds

for their assurance and comfort?

Well, he's saying three things.

He's saying, first of all,

there is a place awaiting you.

There is a place awaiting you.

Let not your hearts be troubled.

In my father's house are many rooms.

If it were not so,

would I have told you

that I go to prepare a place for you.

Possible to translate these

in the older translations as well.

If it were not so,

would I not have told you?

Anyway, let's just stick with what it is.

If it were not so,

would I have told you

that I go to prepare a place for you?

Taking it in one sentence as question.

Here's the first thing he's saying to them.

Don't let your hearts be troubled.

There is a place awaiting you.

And the second thing he says,

connected with that,

is the place that awaits you

has been prepared

or will be prepared by me.

I go to prepare a place for you.

This place, my father's house,

that has many rooms,

I'm going to prepare that

as a place, as a residence,

as a dwelling place for you.

And thirdly,

he's saying,

not only is there a place for you,

and not only is it a place

prepared by me for you,

but I will come back for you.

I will come again,

and I will take you to myself

so that where I am,

you also will be.

And these are the three

great prongs

of his address here

in these opening verses,

where he brings this

great assurance

to our hearts tonight

as to how we face

the uncertainties of life,

the troubles of life.

How do we look beyond them,

and what do we see beyond them?

Well, we see,

as Jesus says here,

the Father's house.

So here's the first thing.

There is a place awaiting them,

and we can say as believers

there's a place awaiting us here.

But of course,

Jesus means heaven by this.

Nothing else.

It's pretty obvious

that's what he means.

In my Father's house

are many rooms.

He's talking about

life beyond this world.

He's talking about

where God is present

in a way that is different,

although it's connected with

the way that he's present

among his people.

Verse 23, for example,

you'll find as we read

through that,

Jesus saying,

if anyone loves me,

he will keep my word,

and my Father will love him,

and we will come to him

and make our home with him.

Wonderful words in themselves,

because he's talking there

about how he,

especially through

the Holy Spirit

and the Father,

will actually come

in the future

as he speaks to them

to make his home with them.

He's going to live in them.

He's going to come

by his Holy Spirit

to reside in their hearts.

He's going to make

a dwelling place

for himself

in their souls.

And now he's developing

that further,

and he's saying,

not only is that through,

but I'm going to prepare

a place for you

in my Father's house

where there are many rooms.

In other words,

we could say that,

of course,

God,

in a sense,

is present,

in a real sense,

is present everywhere.

There is nowhere

in the created universe

in which God is absent.

And he's present,

as we see,

with his people

in a special way.

You could say that,

verse 23,

we might call that

his gracious presence.

He's present graciously

in your heart,

graciously in the hearts

of his people.

But now he's talking

about God's glorious presence.

His glorious presence

as he is

in the Father's house.

That's how he directs them

against their troubles.

But he also says,

in my Father's house,

there are many rooms.

In those days,

as indeed today,

would be important

for somebody like a king

or a prince or ruler

to make sure

that those that were invited

as guests

to important functions,

if they were staying over,

obviously it would be

embarrassing for him

if he didn't have

enough rooms for them.

So they always made sure

that the places

they had and lived in

were either in the place

themselves or round about

and plenty of places

and rooms

in which guests

could actually live.

And what God is saying

is,

in my Father's house,

there are many rooms.

It is a residence,

it is a palace,

if you like,

where the king himself lives.

But in it,

he's made sure

that there is enough room

for the many,

many people

who will come to be saved

and come to actually

live there forevermore

with them.

In my Father's house,

there are many rooms.

And the reference to many

is really important

because all the way

through the Bible,

you find a reference

to the multitude

of God's people

that will be saved.

Go to Revelation chapter 7

Revelation 7 · chapter mention

and verse 9

and you'll find there

that the vision

that John saw

as he saw

a great multitude

gathered before the throne

which no one could number,

which no man could number.

It's humanly impossible

to number

those actually

who will occupy

the Father's house.

He knows them,

but what he says

is there are many rooms

because there will be

many residents.

Heaven is not

going to be

sparsely populated.

You're not going to have

a look,

to look around

and complain

that there's

all too few people

there with you.

There are many rooms,

he says,

and if it were not so,

if it were not so,

would I have told you

that I go to prepare

a place for you?

In other words,

he's saying,

I have told you,

I've told you

that this is the case.

Would I have told you

if this were not true?

You know,

in other words,

the assurance

of the disciples

is led towards

the truthfulness

of Jesus himself.

He's saying,

I would never have said

such a thing

if this were not

actually the case.

But seeing it is the case,

I have told you,

I've told you

so that your hearts

will not be troubled.

And I've told you

that in my Father's house,

there are many,

many rooms.

And you notice

he's also saying here,

believe in God,

believe also in me.

And personally,

I prefer the translation

that says,

you are believing on God

or you believe in God,

believe also in me.

What he's saying,

I think,

is you already believe

in God,

you already believe

in God

and his word

has been given to you.

That's Old Testament,

of course,

the time,

what he's saying now

is you believe in God,

believe also in me.

And in fact,

the words don't come out

in the translation

quite as forcefully,

but these words

in me also

are thrown into emphasis

so that you can really say

this is how it reads literally.

You believe in God,

in me also believe.

Because he's pointing out

the fact that

their belief

in God,

the Father,

well,

their belief in him

has to be on the same level.

And of course,

that itself

is part of the witness

of the Bible

to the deity,

the divinity,

the Godhood

of Christ himself.

He could never have said

such a thing

about the Father

and himself

being,

if you like,

part of the same foundation

on which

our faith rests

if he wasn't

on that same level

with him himself.

You believe in God,

believe also

in me.

And of course,

he's preparing them

in that

for all that they're

going to

be witnesses to

as they leave

this upper room,

as they go towards

his trial

and eventually

his crucifixion

and everything

that's involved in that.

He is saying to them here,

don't actually

take your eye

off this.

You believe in God,

believe also in me.

Let your faith

rest as surely

in me

as it rests

in God,

the Father.

There is a place

awaiting them

and it's a place

of which Jesus

speaks truthfully.

He could never do

anything else anyway.

But the fact

that he is himself

truth

is

a foundation

for them

to accept

every single

word that he's

saying to them.

So,

whatever

troubles your

heart tonight,

whatever

comes into

my mind

or your mind

from time to time,

from day to day,

whatever fears

may come your way

of whatever things

you might be

troubled about,

here is where

Jesus will always

take us.

Here is where

we need to be led

to,

to the

certainties

of heaven

above the

uncertainties

of earth.

Let not your

hearts

be troubled.

I go to

prepare

a place

for you.

There is a place

awaiting them,

he says,

in my

Father's house.

We could develop

that a bit further

but I want to move

on to what he says,

I go to prepare

a place for you.

The place,

the Father's house

that he's speaking

of,

is a place

that he is going

to prepare for them.

That's why he's

saying he's

leaving this world

and leaving this

world is the

means by which

this place

is going to be

prepared for them.

And what does he

mean by that?

First of all,

what's involved

in this question,

what's in these

words,

I go.

I go

to prepare

a place

for you.

Now you can see

these two words

in literally

half a second.

I go

or I'm going.

But what did

he mean?

What is involved

in his going

as he now

draws the disciples'

mind to the

necessity of his

going and how

that's all part

of what he's

saying about

the Father's

house?

Well,

you can see it

in a couple

of seconds

but within

these words

I go

stands

his crucifixion,

his resurrection,

his ascension

to heaven

and his coming

to be seated

at God's

right hand.

I am going

involves all

that.

You can see it

in a half

second but

look at all

that's contained

in it for

the Lord

himself.

In Luke

Luke 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9

and verse 31,

it's interesting

there on the

Mount of

Transfiguration

where Jesus

appeared in

glory with

Moses and

Elijah and

they were

speaking with

him about

something in

particular and

it's Luke

that actually

records this

for us,

not the other

disciples.

We have the

Transfiguration

but not these

words.

They spoke of

his departure,

you have it in

the ESV,

or decease

in the AV.

What did he

mean?

How could this

be the subject

of their

discussion,

of their

conversation,

in that glory

on the Mount

of Transfiguration?

How could that

particular thing

be at the

center of

their conversation?

Well, because

it meant the

going out of

Jesus.

That's why Luke

used the word

departure.

It's actually

in the Greek

text, it's

exodus, which

means a going

out.

That's what they

were actually

dealing with on

the Mount of

Transfiguration.

He was Jesus

transfigured so

that his glory

was made known.

His glory shone

through his

clothes.

He was

obviously for

those moments

dazzlingly

glorious.

And this

is what they

were speaking

about.

In the

middle of

that glory

was his

exodus.

In the

middle of

that glory

was his

passage out

of this

world through

death and

resurrection and

ascension.

All of that

is packed

into the

word

exodus.

And here

in the upper

room he's

saying, I

am going

to prepare a

place for

you.

I'm going

out.

I have

an exodus

through which

I'm going

to prepare

this place

for you.

Well, what

a going, what

an exodus,

what a

departure, what

a going

out.

And John,

especially in

his gospel,

is concerned

to show how

all of these

individual

aspects of

the Lord's

work and

the Lord's

experience are

essentially tied

together in

one great

event, his

going out,

his crucifixion.

his resurrection,

his ascension.

All of

these are

part of this

great exodus

that's going

out.

What is he

doing?

What's the

purpose of

it?

I am going

to prepare

a place

for you.

This must

be a really

special place

when it took

all of that

to prepare

it.

What is

heaven?

How can

you describe

heaven?

We can't

of course

adequately

by any

means,

but heaven

is the

place that

the departure,

the exodus,

the cross,

the resurrection,

the ascension

of Jesus

has prepared

for us.

And because

that's what's

prepared it,

it's bound

to be special

beyond any

words we can

actually use

in this

life.

It must

be simply

so exquisite

and so

beautiful and

so good

because this

is what

prepared it.

I am

going to

prepare a

place for

you.

And you

know that

place is

actually now

ready.

Nothing else

needs to be

done to the

place to make

it ready.

It was made

ready by his

going out,

by his going.

It was made

ready by all

of these steps

that are joined

together until

he took his

place at the

right hand of

the Father

on high.

Nothing more

needs to be

done.

Heaven is

ready.

It's all

prepared.

It's entire.

It's perfect.

It's complete.

All that's

required is

that God's

people will

come to

take their

place there.

But he has

already prepared

it.

It's all

there in

its pristine

condition

already.

And one

other thing

that's

important when

we think of

his going to

prepare a

place for

his people

and it is

this, that

the Bible

speaks about

Christ being

our forerunner.

In Hebrews

especially,

Hebrews chapter

Hebrews 6 · chapter mention

6 and

verse 20,

wherein he

says, the

forerunner has

entered for us,

this Jesus.

And what does

that passage

mean by

forerunner and

how is that

connected with

this passage

here in

John 14,

where the

forerunner,

the word

actually means

someone who

goes ahead

in order to

take possession

of it.

Someone who

goes ahead to

secure it for

you.

Somebody who

goes ahead to

live there

as one who

now possesses

it for his

people so

that they will

come to join

him when the

time comes.

He is the

forerunner.

And the fact

that he's

already there

as the

forerunner,

as the

one who

has gone

to secure

and to

make this

place secure

specially for

his people,

to make it

his possession

if you like

first, so

that they

then can

come to

join him

in the

possession

of it.

He has

gone as

the forerunner

to do

that.

And the

fact that

he has

already done

it and

that it's

already

secured

means for

sure that

that's really

what it's

about.

That it

secures your

place in

heaven.

Because this

has already

happened and

it's now

ready and

prepared.

There will

be no

squatters in

heaven.

evictions

either.

Every

single

individual

and all

of them

together

for whom

he died

and rose

again and

ascended to

heaven and

sat at the

right hand of

the father.

Every single

individual and

all of them

together for

which for

whom he

prepared this

place will

absolutely

and certainly

come to

occupy their

place there.

Don't be in

any doubts

about that.

And it's

not by your

own achievement.

It's not by

how great your

faith is.

It's not by

how diligent

you've been in

this life or

you want to

be as

diligent as

possible.

It's not in

fact by

anything you

do at all.

It's by all

that he has

done that

makes it

secure.

There is a

place awaiting

God's people.

The place

has been

prepared by

Jesus

himself.

And we

remember that

of course as

we come in

steadily towards

our communion

in just over

a week's

time when

those issues

will be

before us

as we

think about

Christ and

his death

and the

remembrance of

Jesus and

his death as

we do in

the Lord's

Supper.

Well all of

that really

remembers this

amazing fact

that he

went to the

cross and

he went

through

resurrection and

he went

back to

heaven to

prepare a

place for

us.

He took

our place

on the

cross but

he prepared

a place for

us in

heaven when

he reached.

In my

father's house

there are

many rooms

and I'm

going to

prepare a

place for

you.

But then

he says

thirdly if I

go and

prepare a

place for

you I

will come

again and

take you

will take

you to

myself but

where I am

there you

may also

be.

So there

is a place

awaiting us

there is

that place

has been

prepared by

Jesus and

thirdly Jesus

himself will

come to

take us

home.

Of course

we've already

mentioned verse

23 that he

has already

come and

taken up his

place in our

hearts by

his Holy

Spirit.

He has come

in that sense

and in fact

in these

verses in

chapter 14

the father is

mentioned as

well.

We will

come and

make out a

board with

him as

you look

into your

soul as

far as

possible through

the teaching

of God's

word as

you apply

this teaching

to your own

person to

your own

life tonight

here is

something that

constantly should

amaze you and

amaze me that

you have in

your heart not

just God but

the three

persons of

the God

head that

form the

one God

actually saying

about your

heart this is

where I've

made a home

for myself.

Your father

lives in you

through the

spirit.

Your saviour

Jesus lives

in you through

the spirit.

The spirit

has come to

take up

residence and

they have

come and

made their

home in

that in

your heart.

but this is

something in

addition to

that when

he's saying

I will come

again and

I will take

you to be

with myself

or to

myself but

where I am

there you may

be also.

That's really

taking us

into if you

like the

final step

of our

salvation where

Jesus will

come and

take all his

people together

together to

be with

him in

heaven.

And it's

interesting and

significant that

he's not

sending a

representative to

gather all his

people together.

It's not an

angel that's going

to come on the

last day and

appear to

God's people and

invite them to

come and join

Jesus in

heaven.

He will

come.

If I go to

prepare a place

for you I

will come

again.

That's why

your heart gets

excited at the

thought of

what's going

to happen at

the end of

your course

of the

world.

That's why

your heart

really takes

on an

additional

beat if you

like because

you know

what Jesus

means is I

will come

again.

I'll come

and take you

to be with

myself.

Not just in

the sense of

when you die

and leave this

world that he's

going to

welcome you

into heaven

while your

body remains

in this

world and

goes back to

the dust.

That of course

is true but

it's beyond

that as well.

I will come

and I will

take you to

be with

myself.

You and

your entire

redeemed

saved person

body and

soul together.

So that

where I am

there you

may be

also.

And it's

interesting that

he's saying

here that

I will take

you to

myself.

and again

these words

literally

are full

of beauty

and full

of power

because what

they say

what they

mean literally

or what it

is literally

translated

different ways

but again

in the Greek

text that we

have in the

New Testament

what really

Jesus literally

says is I

will take you

to be beside

me.

I will take

you to be

beside me.

so it's

going to be

close to

Jesus.

You find

people saying

well I

don't think

I'll be as

close to

Jesus at

all as

other people

that were

far better

Christians in

this life

than I am.

Whatever that

may be what

Jesus is saying

is nobody is

going to be

distant from

me because

heaven is a

place of

closeness,

a place of

intimate

fellowship with

the Lord and

with his

people together.

I will

come and I

will take

you to be

with myself,

to be beside

me so that

where I am

you will

also be.

And you

know we

take such a

great comfort

don't we

on the fact

that Jesus

is true to

his promise

that he will

be with us

throughout life,

that he will

actually be our

companion through

life, that his

presence will be

there, that

he has promised

to be with

his people all

their journey

through life

until we leave

this world.

And that's a

wonderfully comforting

truth in itself.

But our

ultimate comfort

will come from

being beside

him in heaven,

will come from

being with him

in his company

in heaven,

will come from

this what he's

saying here,

I will come and

I will take you

to be beside

myself, that

where I am

there you may

be also.

Yes, he's

with us on

the journey,

but ultimately

we're going to

be with him

in the place

of many rooms

in the

Father's house.

And that's

where our

comfort

ultimately

lies.

That Jesus

himself not

only has

prepared a

place and

that that

place is now

secure, but

will come

again and

take us

to be with

himself, to

be beside him,

to be alongside

of him.

And that

will never

again change.

You will

never not be

beside him

once you get

to heaven.

There is no

alternative to

being with

Christ if you're

in heaven.

You don't want

of course there

to be one,

but that's

really what he's

directing their

minds and

our minds

to tonight

for our

comfort in

this life,

but for

ultimate comfort

of course,

as it will

be the case

in heaven

itself.

And of

course you

remember in

chapter 17

as he finished

off his time

with the

disciples in

the prayer

that he uttered

there in the

upper room,

look what he

said in

verse 24,

father, I

desire that

they also

whom you

have given

me may

be with

me where

I am to

see my

glory that

you have

given me

because you

loved me

before the

foundation of

the world.

And again,

the translation

there is not

as good as it

was in the

older translation

where desire

is fine,

but it's not

quite strong

enough because

what Jesus

was saying

is father,

I will.

Father, I

will.

He's really

speaking there

with his own

authority as

the mediator,

as the saviour

of his people

and he's

saying,

father, this

is my will

for them.

This is what

my authority

requires for

them.

Of course, the

father isn't

against that,

but what he's

saying is now

that this has

been done for

them, now

that I have

in chapter 17

is really a

remarkable chapter

because it's

set as if

the cross

has now

passed.

I have

finished the

work which

you gave

me to do.

Now,

father, glorify

me with

yourself, with

the glory I

had with you

before the

world was.

This is how

he finishes it.

Father, those

whom you have

given me, I

will that they

be with me

where I am.

We will be

in heaven

by the grace

of God.

by the work

of preparation

that Jesus

has executed

and completed

for us.

But we will

not be there

without his

own authority.

We will be

there because

he has

willed it.

We will be

there because

the father

will answer

his prayer.

I will

that those

you have

given me

be with me

where I

am.

And so

tonight,

this world,

as he says

in chapter

16,

will be

full of

tribulation,

sorrow,

challenges,

difficulties,

disappointments,

pain, all

sorts of

things like

that.

But he

said,

take heart.

Don't let

your heart

be troubled.

You believe

in God,

believe also

in me.

Believe me

when I say

to you,

there's a

place prepared

for you.

I have

prepared it

for you.

And I

will come

again to

take you

to be beside

myself in

the place

that's ready

and waiting

for you.

Let's pray.

Our

father in

heaven,

we give

thanks that

you sent

your son

into this

world with

a specific

mission and

purpose to

prepare a

place for

his people

ultimately in

heaven.

heaven.

And we

thank you,

oh Lord,

for all that

went towards

that preparation,

a preparation

that we

cannot

ourselves

describe for

all that we

read in your

word of the

events in the

life of our

savior,

his death,

his resurrection

from the dead,

his ascension

to glory,

his session at

the right hand

of God,

his continuing

intercession for

his people.

We thank you,

Lord,

that all these

things are

true.

That they are

verities for

your people.

And we pray

that when this

world assaults

us, when our

own hearts,

Lord, produce

doubts in us,

when we find

ourselves instead

of taking you

at your word,

sometimes measuring

ourselves against

other people.

Lord, forgive us,

we pray, for

diverting our mind

from those things

that do give us

assurance and

certainty in what

you have gone to

prepare for us.

Help us especially,

Lord, to focus

upon your own

person, upon the

wonder and the

glory of your

person and on

the work that

you have done.

Bless us, we

pray, as we

anticipate shortly,

God willing, to

remember the

Lord's death once

again in the

Lord's Supper.

We ask, Lord,

that you'll prepare

us for that.

And we pray that

we may give

serious mind to

what we do as

we remember the

Lord's death in

coming to

partake of the

elements of the

supper of bread

and wine, which

represent the

Lord in his

death to us.

Bless those,

Lord, who have

not yet come to

sit at your

table.

We thank you

that there are

among us those

whose desire it

is to be there.

We pray that you

would help them to

focus on yourself

and to focus on

the fact that you

have made all the

preparation necessary

for them, not

only for heaven,

but to come to

have a foretaste

of heaven to

sit at the

Lord's Supper.

And so bless

them, we pray.

Bless those

tonight who have

illness to contend

with, those who

have bereavement

and sorrow.

Remember them,

Lord, we pray,

in all the

troubles that

accompany such

events in your

providence.

We pray for all

in the congregation

laid aside at

this time,

whether it be

mental illness,

mental health

issues, or

physically, we

ask that you

would continue

to bless them

and help us to

continue

pray for them.

Receive our

thanks, cleanse

us from all

our sin, for

Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Let's now

conclude our

service singing

in Psalm 23.

Psalm 23,

the Lord's my

shepherd, that's

in the Scottish

Psalter, the

Lord's my

shepherd, page

229.

Lord's my

shepherd, I'll

not want.

He makes me

down to lie

in pastures

green.

He leadeth me

the quiet

waters by.

And we

all know

how the

psalm finishes.

Goodness and

mercy all my

life shall

surely follow

me and in

God's house

forevermore.

The

Father's house,

my dwelling

place, shall

be.

Let's conclude

with these

verses.

The Lord's my

shepherd,

water,

love,

and watch

one.

He

makes me

down to

high.

In

pastures

gr только

dead, iw.

He

chained to

beat by

he

stone