4th August 2024 - Communion Service - Dave Food - A Good Neighbour

We're then going to do the notices, and then we're

going to have communion, and then we're going to come

back to worship, and in the midst of worship towards

the end of the so it's kind of space to

pray for one another too. So we start a new

theme in August. Our theme is being a good neighbor.

Anybody a neighbor, Hands up if you're a neighbor. Some

hands not going up. Okay, thank you. But we default

by our setting. When even I asked that question, am

I a neighbor? To where do I live? And who

lives on either side of me? It's our default setting.

What I want to encourage you to think this. I

want to encourage you to think this because your neighbor

is though somebody who's in proximity you. At any point

in time, you have a neighbor. Right now, most of

you do. Because someone's sitting next to you in a chair,

next to you. We're gone just patch them on the

shoulder or that they are.

They are real people. So Father, going to be out.

Of your word today, Father, I pray that you'd speak

to us. I just want to bring the heartbeat of

the throne room of heaven today. And so Father, help

us to grass so I can do something with it.

You can marange just and equip us for in Jesus's name.

Amen.

The first thing I want to say, you, Matthew, it

about us being salt and like. And then say, who

would put a lamp under a bowl? You know, if

you've got if you build a city, build it on

top of a hill so people can see it.

That's what Jesus said.

It's the stories he told us about So as Christians,

we're not meant to be hidden. Doesn't mean we have

to be out there and rah, but we were not

meant to be hidden. And I want to ask you

some questions this morning that I hope will provoke you

to think. Number one is are you seen by your neighbors?

I'm not asking have you spoken to them? I'm just

saying do they see you from time to time? Jury

and I when we first met at university, we lived

in an accommodation block and on the ground floor was

a guy who we never saw. The only evidence we

knew there was somebody living in there was pizza was

delivered to his door, never saw him go, never saw

him come. Yeah, I would honestly say I was not

a neighbor to him. I didn't know him, He didn't

know me. I wonder about our neighbors where we live,

where we work. Do they know us at least to

nod and smile at because that's the starting point.

Yeah.

One of the things that some of the church did

Joy Junction yesterday out on the high street, just being there.

The first thing is we're visible, We're saying we're here.

We had a whole bunch of people said, oh, I

didn't know there was a church over near the station. Well,

they wouldn't do because then number one, does this building

look like a church? So it's not got a cross

on top, it's not got a steeple, So people would say,

I don't know whether they're looking for a historic building church.

This is a historic building because God does things here

on a weekly basis. It makes it historic. It doesn't

have to have old bricks, it doesn't have to have

beautiful artwork, although it does have some good artwork on

the walls. It's a place where things happen. It's a

place where people create memories. It's a place where people

create testimonies. It's where God does work in you and

me and through us. And so we were out on

the high street yesterday and one of the things somebody

said to me as we were out there, and there

was a whole bunch of I said, so, Dave, what

do we do?

Interesting question. I didn't want. I didn't want to give

them a formula. I just talk.

And I'm using that as arbor because actually we were

being good neighbors because we were out there to people

saying can we help? Exactly the same I encourage you

to your neighbor.

Now.

One of the reasons why we sometimes don't offer help

to people is because we can look at what we

must know something about and we think, oh, that's a

big challenge. I can't help there, But do you know

what we can help because we can pry. So even

if somebody maybe using a headline, somebody needs one hundred

thousand pounds to get out of their debt situation, and

you walk up to this person, you know exactly who

they are, maybe maybe it's in the news, maybe the

company's going to be bust. You don't want to ask

how are you because you know what you're going to say,

and you don't want to ask, can I help? Because

you know what they're gonna say. Do you know what

the one thing I can do. I may not have

a hundred thousand pounds in back pocket, but I can

pray things can change. And so first, fun neighbors need

to be visible, they need to be seen. Good they seen,

and your people want children at Sunday school you're staying

in today. There is a real purpose to word. You

notice it's called a good neighbor. Sweet exchange, sweet exchange

of ideas, this sweet exchange of concepts. So what did

Jesus say in Matthew two thirty four to forty? But

then the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees

As they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer,

asked him a question, testing him and saying, teacher, which

is the greatest commandment in the law. And Jesus said

to him. Jesus said to him, you shall love the

Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul,

and with all your minds. This is the first and

greatest commandment. And the second is like it. You shall

love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang

all the laws of the prophets. Love your neighbor as

your say, Yeah, some of us actually aren't very good

at loving ourselves. We don't look after our health health wise.

Maybe we don't look after ourselves from a mental perspective.

So sometimes I want to say, I want the best

for myself and I want the best for my neighbors too,

So please do extrapolate this on the best that God

has for us. Love your neighbor to yourself. I had

a privilege of many many years ago. Often than I'd

find myself walking through the bush. And when I say

the bush, I mean the bush for anybody's been into

the jungle, I mean sometimes the path just disappeared. I

got lost many times. But on a number of occasions,

you're walking from one village to the next. Because I

was with the white man, I always active people. People

wouldn't missing white men, and so they'd always kind of

started cooking. And by this often when I walk from

one village to another, I'd have a group of people

by the time to the next village, and in many

times I would say, come and have something to eat

with us. Now, I will share this because sometimes I

think it's it's quite challenging, especially in our British culture.

And that's this.

They didn't say, come, we've got a feast already organized.

They were about to eat, and they weren't necessarily putting.

So one of the things in Papa Nei Guinea was

they love root vegetables and you didn't have knives and forks.

You picked them all up with your hand.

Potatoes, yams, maniot, all that stuff was cooked in hand

sized chunks. So for lunch there would have been a

lot of vegetables chopped up, put into a sorceman and cooked.

And so it's going to be ready at lunchtime.

And then so I'd walk into a village, I'd sit

down in the house wind the house.

Without walls, and we'd sit down and we'd eat.

And they hadn't cooked anything extra, because you couldn't add

anything extra quickly. This took time. I just said, come

and eat with us, and so I did.

I sat down.

Do you know what, I was really humbled. It took

me a few weeks to find this out. A number

of places I sat down and we were sitting there

and eating, and maybe the children and some of the

women were in a different house, and I thought I

hadn't realized was they were putting the food out to

bless me, and if I ate all the food, they

had nothing that truly truly humbled me. And maybe very

wise in okay, thank you very much, I've had enough now,

because otherwise I was eating their lunch. But do you

know what they were just trying to be good neighbors.

They were just trying to share what they had in

a simple way. And I want to poke and provoke

some of us because sometimes we'll say something like this,

something like this.

Will happen in your world.

You're having a conversation with someone, the conversations and where anythink, oh,

why don't you come around for coffee?

And then in the back of your head you think.

I know what the state of my house is right now,

so let me get the diary out. And you get

the diary out, you say about three weeks on Wednesday

and all because your house hasn't been dusted.

Church.

I want to say a couple of things that I

hope you remember. People are more important than polish. People

are more important than Polish. Just because you can run

your finger down the front of your TV or top

of something and you can leave a mark in the dust.

I'd say people are more important than polish. And second

thing is if you're having a good conversation, finish it.

I've been times when it's being really convenient. I think

I've shared this story to the front door. One day,

on the way to that train, i'd given myself fatra

time was catching the earlier train, just basically as I

wanted my drive.

I bumped into it. They haven't seen for a while.

And we were walking down the road toward again, passing away,

and we came to the end of Grange Road, doing

in a different direction, and I was heading towards and I.

Said, thanks very much bye. Do you know what?

What felt the Holy Spirit nudge me and go, David,

you could have finished that, you had time, you could

have caught the later train. Wouldn't have made a difference

at all. Do you know what I said? Lord, you're right,

sorry rushing that off, Sorry for doing these things. Neighbors

have neighbors talk?

Do you know of your neighbors?

I don't mean they're saying because their poster has been

put through your front door, accident and leaving it to themselves.

Do you know Barb or Harry pretty or whatever?

And David you know your name, because I think it's

important that we start to share the love of Christ

in as many as we can. So let's be visible,

let's talk. But then what do we talk about? So

I'm just going to give you an illustration from yesterday

just as an example, and it's this.

I said, Dave, what are we doing here? And how

do we do it?

I saw a gentleman walking along the street pushing a buggy. Robert,

I told you the story ready is I can to

hear it a second time. But I was pushing a

buggy gentleman from I would guess of African origin.

That's what my guess.

And so I said to him, Hi, how are you today?

That's the first thing I broke into his world. You know,

we don't say hello enough? Do we hedge down? If

you ever caught a train into London, everybody's got their

earphones in, nobody talks, and actually if somebody is talking,

everybody looks at them funny, saying what are you doing

talking on the train? Yeah, And we now have quiet carriages,

quiet carriage where you're not meant to be on the phone,

and those other things. So one of those things that

I just want to share my faith, and so how

do I.

Just identified ithim? Okay?

I said, hi, how are you? I broke into his world.

He looked, and I'm trying through much.

How are you? And I said I'm pretty good? Thank you.

You're in charge of the little one today, are you?

That's all?

That's all I could have observed. You're in charge. He said, yeah,

it's corresponsibility. I said, yes, you're right, it is my

responsibility looking after children.

He said, so what are you doing here?

Okay? And now he's asked a question. Now I said,

church High Street, just sharing love and life.

That's all I said.

And then he looked at the stand and he looked

at some of the Abba Father's house and they was

shut up hanging on a hanger. Are you gandon shirt?

He said, that's the country. So I didn't make the killission.

He made the case that's said, oh you're from your fander.

Now you said, no, got someone in who's from Ghana.

He went, oh okay, he said, but it looks it

looks like my own.

They're very similar.

We just got into a conversation and he was asking

me the questions. You know, all I think you need

to do is number one second thing star conversation and

thus be lead as far as you go. You don't

have to have shared the Gospel. And seven lessons on

how how to become a description in the first conversation

that you have. The main thing you want to achieve

in being a good neighbor, being a good winness is

to be able to have another conversation next time. If

the kind of conversation you have is so pokey and

provocative that people want to avoid you, then when they

come out that started kind of is here.

Okay, let me go. Do you ever want to keeping up?

Apparentes Hyacinth Bouquet, their neighbor used out the door and

check that she wasn't there, so they could get out

of their house without having a conversation. We don't body

the names. We don't want to be that. We need

to be able to speak up with others. And in

Proverbs the great things to courage to speak up for

those who cannot speak for themselves. And then also in

Proverbs chapter thirty one, it says this speak up and

judge fairly, defend the rights of the poor and the needing.

There are times when we need to press into doing

different things. We need to press into it with great confidence. Okay,

so who is your neighbor? Well, Jesus has asked this question,

and I'm not going to answer it today. I'm going

to leave that for one later on in the months.

But who is our neighbor? Well, two neighbors having a

conversation over a fence. But today is an opportunity. I

want to empower you and give you something so not chocolates,

not chocolates worth As originals. I'm going to give you

a sweet. Hope, would you come and give everybody a sweet?

Please do not eat it. I'm going to give you

a Worth's original. And there is some wisdom in this.

I'm giving you something that won't melt because we're in

the summer. If I gave you a chocolate and you

put it in your pocket, by the time you got home,

it would be melted. Please do take one, even if

you don't like a Worth's Original. I will come to this.

In a moment. But who is my neighbor? Well?

Do you know I'm giving you a gift because, like yesterday,

like today, like tomorrow, I want to give you a

reason to have a conversation. And this applies whether you

are six, eight, eighteen, sixty or eighty or any age

in between. This activity is for all of us and

it leads into next week. Next week we have an

all aged feast picnic. We're going to be outside, so

please do invite your friends. So I'm giving you a

suite and you're thinking, thank you, Dave, thank you so

much for giving me a sweet. Okay, if you want

to eat it, that's fine. But I'm going to ask

you to share your sweep with a neighbor. And I

don't mean break it in half and give half of yourself.

I mean give it away.

Thank you. Hope, have you got one good? Well done?

So everybody's got a sweep, so I'm going to ask

you to give it away. Okay, but you might think, oh, David,

I like these sweet Some of you may not like them.

You think I'm really happy to give this away. I

don't like works. But some of you are thinking, I

like these candies. I want to eat it.

Okay, but here's the bonus. If you give it to

a neighbor.

And I'm not necessarily talking about the people who live

next to or it might be the people you work with.

If you give it away and take a picture of

giving it to your neighbor and bring it next week.

I will give you two sweets next week. Now, for

the bright people amongst you, this runs for the whole

of August. This runs for the whole so I don't

have to bring a photo next week and maybe take

time to give away your sweep. But for those economists

amongst you, you're thinking, okay, I've got a sweet. If

I give it away, I get to next week, then

next week you can give one away, take another photo,

and you've got one for yourself and one for your neighbor.

I believe in God's economy. God's a god of generosity,

So all I'm asking you is to make yourself visible

to a neighbor, start a conversation and find a place.

I don't want to run up to a complete stranger

and go I've got a sweep for you, because they're

immediately going to think, okay, is it Why are you

giving me a sweet? So you've got to get the

conversation tool. It's logical to give a sweet. Now they'll

give you up a coked tips number one if you

want an excuse me as to why you're giving a

suite to what day you can blame me. Churchs for Sunday,

the church to give us what I thought to you,

and I need to give it to you. Very simple,

and what are we saying there?

I thought of you.

Okay, we give it away now. No further conversation happened. Okay.

But if they then say, well, why would church give

out sweets because we want to release the leather dental

care in the country. No, but but why am I

doing this? I believe my task as a church mes

to it. You look at the ministry and this is

really simple, basic enough. But I'm giving you something. If

already just bless someone giving them a sweet, fine now

said sweet? Exchange There is a possibility that you give

this to your neighbor and they go, thank you very much.

I don't like.

Oh if you want to, if you want to exchange

your sweet, come to church and we'll change this for sweet.

I'm putting some stuff in your hands just to start

to be a good neighbor.

So they don't like it, please encouragement.

You can come into the family feast, we can go

for the picnic together, or you could if you want,

just choose to eat the sweet.

It's up to you.

But I know there are stories in the Gospels. Jesus

talked about talents of one, five, and ten, And I'm

not giving you. I'm not offering you ten sweets. I

probably would create a dental problem, wouldn't it. But I

do want to get to a place where we press

into God and we start to be good neighbors. So

you are going away with a little bit of homework

that says, who is my neighbor? Does anybody know how

Jesus answered that question? What story did Jesus tell to

answer this question? Yes, absolutely, jil He answered it by

telling the story of the Good Samaritan. And we'll probably

unpack that later on in the month. But I'm not

asking you to walk down the street looking for someone

who's been beaten up and just your neighbor. Now here's

the thing. Why do we not do this? Why do

we not get to know our neighbors? Thank you Roy? Yeah,

because we're scared, or we're afraid, or maybe they've annoyed us,

maybe they plowed late, played loud music last night.

Those neighbors. If you ever live next door to students.

You'll know about some of the things that I'm talking about. Sometimes,

you know, they do things that are not normal for you.

They put the rubbish out at wrong times, they slam

car doors, they play music you don't like. In our

small group on Tuesday, talked about praying for those our enemies.

Now I'm not saying our neighbors are our enemies. Sometimes

it feels like when they're doing this and you're in

this and one of the number one disputes in the

d K isn't neighbors people arguing about fences, about plants,

about noise, about rubbish.

You know, one of the simple ways to minimize the

risk of falling out.

With your neighbor is to get them to know them.

And I'd encourage you to get to know your neighbors

before you have the problem. I've learned now that whenever students,

weve been the next door to us, because next door

to us.

As a student, it's just to go around and.

Say, hight to just introduce yourself, maybe even exchange telephone numbers,

just so that you've broken the ice, so that when

one of your castors gets delivered to the next door, you.

Know who they are.

You think, okay, I can go knock on the door

and pack the parcel. Yes, who is my name neighbor,

but do we know them? And how well do we

know them? I put a task in your hands, and

I'm going to keep it really simple today in Luke

twenty nine, verse ten, so chapter ten, verse twenty nine,

Thank you Jonathan. But he wanted to just himself, so

he asked Jesus, who is my neighbor?

And we know how Jesus answered that.

I'm going to ask you to find out who your

neighbor is this week by giving away a sweep. I

don't know how many more people will have here on

Sunday next week. Some may come. There were conversations that

happened yesterday with complete strangers. There were nails that were painting.

Was their bracelets were certainly made? Were there any nails painted.

In the end?

No? Okay, But there was chocolate giving away and there

was even some abber Father's house craft So so lots

of things happened. But we were Somebody might say, well,

how many abba Father's house crafts did we sell?

I would say that was not the point.

The point was just something visual that just kind of

catches people's attention. You know, we had people who genuinely

just stopped to look at the stuff and you start

a conversation and complete strangers gave us some money. Can't

be bad for Abberfather's house. So I don't know whether

you feel like a good neighbor, but I'm going to

pray right now. But God would help us to be

good neighbors. So let's close their eyes as I pray, Father,

I pay that Lord you'd help us in our conversations.

Whether I pray that you'd open doors where doors have

not been opened. Maybe we've missed neighbor neighbors are you

and we haven't got to know them yet, But I

pray that you'd open the opportunity.

Father, we'd step further the first phase. Hi, how are you? Father?

I pray that out of the roof conversation there would

be people who come with you a little better, who

drawn into your kingdom. We are a little closer to

the God who loved them, who sent your son and

only son, Jesus to die for them. And so, Father God,

I pray you'd help help us. You'd fill us with confidences,

fill us with a little boldness, that we'd start that

conversation and then see what you will do in Jesus' name. Amen,

Pretty simple, pretty sibilant them in this morning, so when

I move on, and do you pray