Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/ubc/sermons/60826/victims-of-an-urban-myth/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] Thank you. [0:30] Thank you. [1:00] Thank you. [1:30] Thank you. [2:00] Thank you. [2:30] Thank you. [3:00] Thank you. [3:30] Thank you. [4:00] Thank you. [4:30] Thank you. [5:00] Thank you. [5:30] Thank you. [6:00] Thank you. [6:30] Thank you. [7:00] Thank you. [7:30] Thank you. [7:59] Thank you. [8:29] Thank you. [8:59] Thank you. [9:29] Thank you. [9:59] Thank you. [10:29] Thank you. [10:59] Thank you. [11:29] Thank you. [11:59] Thank you. [12:29] Thank you. [12:59] Thank you. [13:29] Thank you. [13:59] Thank you. [14:59] And our first song. [15:29] And declare that we're going to say, Thank you. [16:29] Thank you. [16:59] Thank you. [17:29] Thank you. [17:59] Thank you. [18:29] We will stand, Thank you. [19:29] We will fix, We will sing. [20:29] Do you say, the message, God, we have God, on our side. [22:29] We will sing, We will do, we will do, And we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, we will do, well done thank you right we are going to sing but have a quick sit okay so i think you're warmed up now i hope you feel as encouraged as you do feel energized now in a moment we're going to sing again and the children will then be going to their different groups during their next song but before you go a word of encouragement to our children you may not feel like a superhero you may not feel like a gladiator but you have god on your side and you can go and be amazing as you go to your groups in a moment you are going to hear about jesus you're going to learn through the bible and grow in your knowledge of him personally and then you are going to be encouraged encouraged to tell other people about your lord and savior and as we stay and as we look at two peter together we too are going to have that same challenge peter wanted to tell people about jesus and encouraged us to do the same he wants us to tell people about what jesus has done do you know peter when he wrote this book didn't have much longer to live and so it was so important that he got the message across know the truth and share the truth he had such confidence in where he was going and you know when we have that relationship with our lord jesus we have that same confidence don't we yeah so in a minute we're going to sing about the confidence and boldness we have in our faith but first let's pray for the children and the young people father we lift all of the children and young people to you please help them to focus their hearts and minds this morning as they gather in their various groups let your holy spirit inspire them to listen attentively guide them by your everlasting light [26:36] open their hearts and minds as they hear your word and father embolden them in their relationship with you and encourage them to speak to others of you for we ask this in the name of jesus amen and so we're going to stand and sing again by grace alone boldly i approach the throne and children young people it's time for you to go to your groups by grace alone somehow i stand where even angels fear to tread by redeeming love before the throne of god above the전 [28:19] And tempts me to despair I hear the voice that is clear The great I am, the Lord is here Oh, praise the one who fights for me And shields my soul eternally Holy, I applaud your throne Blame as now I'm running home By your hand I come Welcome to the Lord Into the arms of majesty Behold the bright and blessed sun [29:27] For beauty than this world has formed My priest is a mess of my son His perfect, spotless righteousness A thousand years, a thousand times Are not enough to sing his praise And may I approach your throne I miss now I'm running home By your blood I come Welcome to the arms of majesty [30:31] This is the arms of majesty And the전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전-l전- Your condemnation Oh, praise the Lord Praise the Lord Help me to answer all my sins When I approach your throne [31:32] Bring this now unknowing home By your blood I come Welcome to your Into the arms of majesty Good morning, everybody. [32:01] I am Sheena and I am the deacon for community. Our role in community ministry is to meet community needs, but it's also to build relationships with other organizations in the town and to support them as they carry out God's mission in High Wycombe. [32:18] And today I'm really excited to be able to introduce you to Growing Hope High Wycombe. Many of you will not be aware of Growing Hope because they're a relatively new charity. It's a charity that provides free therapy for children and young people with additional needs, but they do it in partnership with local churches across the UK. [32:35] I know the girl who founded it, Naomi Graham, who was at school with my daughters, and I can just say she's a wonderful girl. And she's done an incredibly amazing work in this charity, as you're going to hear now. [32:46] And it's my great delight to welcome Rosalyn Basket, who is the clinical manager, and Heather Morley, a trustee. And I'll let them tell you more. Thank you. [32:57] Is that all right? Yes, so as Sheena said, I'm Rosalyn Basket. I'm the clinic manager and speech-to-knowledge therapist at Growing Hope High Wycombe. And this is Heather Morley, who's one of our trustees at Growing Hope High Wycombe. [33:11] We also have Jackie here today, who is another trustee, who's now waving at you. So thank you so much for having us along today. And we'll tell you a bit more about Growing Hope High Wycombe. [33:23] So Growing Hope High Wycombe brings hope for children through free therapy. We grow hope for families, where hope has been lost through isolation and rejection. [33:34] And we share hope in Jesus, where he brings hope, even in the most difficult of situations. So Growing Hope is a charity that provides free therapy for children and young people with additional needs, in partnership with local churches. [33:49] Currently, in High Wycombe, we have speech-to-language therapy. We have occupational therapy. We have art therapy. And we have a music therapist. And we've just started running challenging behaviour workshops as well. [34:02] And over the last year, we were able to directly support just under 100 children through therapy sessions. But this doesn't include all the parents and carers that have been supported, as well as their siblings. [34:13] Another thing we run are parent groups. These are called When Dreams Change. And they support parents to talk about their experience of having a child of additional needs, or grandparents or carers. [34:27] And we've, as I said, we've started behaviour workshops. And we also have online parent-carer sessions. And we also run sibling groups to support siblings of children with additional needs. [34:40] So we support children in the High Wycombe area. But there's other clinics around the country supporting other children in their local areas as well. Next slide. [34:51] Thank you. So Growing Hope is a Christian charity. Our clinic is based at St. James' Church in Downley. But we are supported by many churches across High Wycombe, including yourselves. [35:03] And thank you so much for all the support you have given to us as well. We believe we are created to be in community. And church is a place where everyone can be seen, heard, and can belong. [35:13] Children and families of all faiths and of none are welcome. And as part of the sessions, whether they're therapy sessions or sessions with parents, we offer to pray with families at the end if they would like prayer. [35:28] And we also invite them along to church if that's something they would like to do. We've also set up a messy church at St. James' where some of the families who've been accessing the clinics have come along and been able to get involved with that. [35:44] So why are we needed? Well, there's often a two-year waiting list for families to receive therapy support. Our waiting lists are much smaller than two years. [35:54] There was one family who came along who were told that they had to wait three years for their three-year-old child to get support. And that's really not acceptable. We know that 54% of parents are experiencing a delay in getting therapy support and waiting lists are only getting longer. [36:14] And there's also a mental health crisis. The Department of Education suggests that currently just under 1.5 million children within the educational system in the UK have special educational needs. [36:27] That's an increase of 77,000 from 2021. But that doesn't include the children who aren't currently in school. We're now going to watch a short video about a child who came along to therapy sessions. [36:42] He was five years old when he came along. He wasn't currently in school because the school had said that they couldn't meet his needs and he wasn't getting support anywhere else. He was five years old when he was a child. [36:56] He was a child like Elijah. He was very stressful. And like me, now I'm on my own. So I'm so happy to found a growing hope. And I'm so happy. [37:06] I don't know what will I do without a growing hope. Elijah is diagnosed with autism and hyperactive behavior. [37:18] I was so terrified and I was so stressed because I didn't know how to help my child. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to deal with an autistic child. [37:30] I'm going to Kingshire and one of the children passed me to Growing Hope. And then I contact them. [37:40] I call them and they say, we have a music therapy session. It's going to start soon. Would you like your son to come? I say, yes, why not? So Elijah joined Growing Hope and we come every Tuesday in the morning. [37:56] Elijah loves this place. Louise played the guitar. Elijah loves guitar. Now we know how to play the drums. And then like you can see him play. [38:10] So when it's time to go home, he doesn't want to go home. Always refuse to go home. There's a change. There's a massive change for Elijah. [38:21] For me to come here is not only for Elijah. Even myself, I love him. He's helped me as well. He's healing with the anxiety and the stress. So this was very helpful for most of us. [38:34] I really thank Growing Hope for their massive, massive support. All the shame we've been doing to my son and myself. I'm so happy. [38:44] Thank you so much. God bless you. Thank you. [38:59] Thank you. So if we have a next slide. There's a last slide. The one. That's the one. Thank you. Thank you. So the first thing I want to say is I want to say a big, enormous thank you for everything that you guys have done for us already. [39:16] And we are immensely grateful for all the support that we get in the community. And we are also supportive and very happy to see anyone who could benefit from our services. [39:28] And please come and talk to us about that later. So if you are minded to do something yourself as an individual or collectively, we have some suggestions. [39:42] One thing that would be immensely helpful to us would be if you could pray for us. That's probably the most important thing you could do for us. Please pray for us and all the families who have accessed our support who are currently getting help or are waiting. [40:00] Even when we intervene to try and reduce waiting list times, nonetheless, we ourselves have some waiting lists ourselves. But we're just trying to do our best. [40:11] And so the more prayer support we get, the more we will be helped in that. The second thing is you might think about spending a few hours a week, perhaps, or a month as a volunteer. So, for example, we are currently looking for people who could help us write grant applications. [40:27] We have a small fundraising committee to do this. And if you have experience in this area or if you don't have experience in this area but you'd like to learn how to do this, because it's a useful thing, please come and talk to us. [40:39] And we can focus you to do a few hours a week of something that could make a real difference to us. Thirdly, if you just actually prefer a party to anything else, and I wouldn't blame you for that, then we have a barn dance coming up on Saturday the 16th of March at St Andrew's Church in Hatter's Lane, which is not so far from here. [41:01] I'm not sure about straw bales, but we've got a great band and some food and all that coming along. And it's a children as well event. So it starts at, I think, 6.30 in the evening, doesn't it? It goes on to about 10.30 at night. [41:13] So we're planning a great due. So, again, please come to that. It will be great fun and a great way of sharing in community with people from different churches in High Wycombe. If you are minded to throw a fundraising event for us, anything from a game of bridge to a ball and anything in between, please do so. [41:36] We'd love to be supported in that way. Maybe run a marathon or something. Well, maybe not. That's maybe not everyone's cup of tea. We can't do this work, obviously, without financial backing. [41:48] If you wanted to make a financial donation, however small, we have QR codes downstairs. When we go in for coffee, there's a table on the left with some leaflets. [42:00] Please pick up a leaflet or come to us and ask for a leaflet. Feel free to do that really fun thing, which is to scan the QR code and take it through to somewhere where you sign away your life. That's fine if you would like to do that. [42:12] But also, a couple of pounds is great, too. So, equally, if you were minded to give us some donation, however small, and on a monthly basis, that is even more useful, because then we can plan for it, as you, I'm sure, understand. [42:27] So, you can come to the Growing Hope website, www.growinghope.org.uk, or just Google Growing Hope and come through to the Wycombe one if you want to see us, what we do specifically in Wycombe. [42:40] And you can hear more about our work. Please talk to us later after the service, and we can also get you onto a list to send you emails with updates about what's going on, with no other commitments, obviously. [42:53] Anyway, thank you so much for listening. We'll finish it there. If anyone's got any questions, please ask us later. And we've got these leaflets that are downstairs, so please come and grab one and learn a bit more. [43:06] Thank you very much. Thank you. [43:40] Thank you. [44:10] Thank you. Thank you. [44:42] And we'll see you both. [45:11] And we'll see you both. in the human will. But prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. [45:59] Wonderful. Thank you, Sam. Shall we pray together as we come to God's word? Father, thank you that we have your word in our hands. Please take our lives into your hands and speak into them. And we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. [46:21] Well, please have that passage open in front of you. In those red Bibles, it's page 1222. It'd be great if you could follow along. The whole message of the Bible can be summed up like this. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. God, our creator, made us to be good, but we decided to turn against him in rebellion and bring his judgment on us. But because of his great love for us, God has made a way for us to be reconciled, to be brought back to God, to be forgiven. Jesus came into the world as a baby. He lived a perfect life. He was tried as a criminal and executed. But after three days, God raised him from the grave. Jesus ascended into heaven where he reigns as king of the world. And one day he will come back in glory, bringing salvation to his friends and condemnation to his enemies. And the call of this message is simple. Put your trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and he will become your substitute. He will bear your punishment on the cross and you will receive all the benefits of Jesus. This is the Christian message. This is good news. [47:55] And I don't know if you've ever discussed this with someone before, but you might find that questions come up. Maybe some of these questions I'm about to ask are your questions. Questions like, well, why should I believe a story like that? Wasn't Christianity just invented as a way to get people to behave better? [48:17] Or maybe they'll ask, this was written 2,000 years ago. Surely you can't believe that Jesus is coming back. Or maybe they ask questions like these. You know, my friend is a Muslim and they believe in their faith just as strongly as you believe in yours. How can you say that you're right and that they're wrong? [48:38] It seems a bit arrogant to say that your religion is the only true one. You know, or maybe they say, you know, I know people who say they're Christians and they don't believe in that message at all. These are all really big questions. And the original Christians who were receiving this letter, they were getting similar questions put to them. There were false teachers going around claiming to be Christians, but denying Jesus's teachings. And Peter writes this letter to shore up these Christians. So they'll be prepared to withstand false teachers and false teaching. [49:21] And the first thing he tells us in this passage is that the Christian message is one to remember. It's one to remember. Can we have the next slide, please? You might have noticed that today's passage begins with a so in verse 12. So we need to cast our minds back to what we heard in verses 5 to 11 that Roger preached to us last week. Peter has been reminding these Christians to live godly lives as they wait in verse 11 for that rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Future promise is something that we as Christians need to hold on to. [50:07] And in Peter's day, there were false teachers who were sowing seeds of blood about this promise. They were teaching that Jesus is not coming back. And because Jesus isn't coming back, there is no day of judgment. [50:22] And because there's no day of judgment, hey, we can live however we like. But look at what Peter says in verse 12. Strange, isn't it? [50:49] Why is Peter wasting ink telling his listeners things they already know? Maybe it's because as human beings, sometimes they can forget what God has said. [51:05] Or maybe it's because of these false teachers who are trying to persuade them that the opposite is true and to pull them away from following Jesus. Either way, these Christians need reminding of God's promises. [51:21] And so do we, don't we? And see as well, Peter knows that he's going to die soon. And he wants these Christians even more intently to remember Jesus, even after he's dead. [51:36] This is Peter's final letter before his death. And Peter doesn't want people to remember him. Do you notice? He wants people to remember Jesus. Peter wasn't a follower of Jesus for his own personal gain. [51:51] He wanted all the glory to go to Jesus. And that's because our greatest need as human beings is to know Jesus, to be reminded of the goodness of the gospel message and to hold on to it. [52:07] But Peter doesn't just tell them what to believe and then be done with it. In verse 16, he starts to give them reasons to believe their message. And the first is that it's a message that we witnessed. [52:22] It's a message we witnessed. Peter's expecting someone to ask him, Peter, why should I believe you? And he's ready to give an answer for the hope that he has. [52:34] He has two big reasons that he reminds us of. And the first one is that they saw Jesus' majesty. These are two reasons to believe that Jesus is coming back. We saw his majesty. [52:47] Verse 16, we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power. But we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. [52:59] Peter saw Jesus' majesty. The story he's pointing us to is of the transfiguration. This is when Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a high mountain and his clothes became dazzlingly white. [53:20] See, when Jesus came to earth, he came in meekness and he came in humility. But at the same time, this same Jesus is the creator of the universe. [53:32] He's the radiance of God's glory, Hebrews tells us. He's the Lord of glory who promised that one day he would come a second time in his Father's glory with the holy angels. [53:44] That's Mark 8, 38. The transfiguration is the only time during Jesus' first coming when we see that glimpse of the glorious splendor that he'll return in when he comes a second time. [54:00] In Isaiah 60, verse 2, Isaiah prophesies this about Jesus. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over all the peoples. [54:12] But the Lord rises over you and his glory appears over you. And it's similar to the vision of Jesus that John saw in Revelation 1, verse 16. [54:25] He says that his face, Jesus' face, was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. And if the eyewitness testimony isn't enough, Peter also heard God the Father speak. [54:40] Look at verse 17. He hears God saying, this is my son whom I love. With him I'm well pleased. Peter gives us his evidence. [54:53] And notice he's not speaking about hearsay. He's speaking about things that he and his friends saw and heard. The testimony of multiple eyewitnesses. [55:05] Now, this kind of evidence was trusted in the Old Testament law. It was trusted in Peter's day. And it's trusted today. And this is the evidence that we have that Jesus will return. [55:20] And it's good to note as well that other religions don't claim anything near this level of evidence. Some of them see evidence as irrelevant. Such as the Greek gods, for example. [55:33] The Greek gods are meant to be seen as these sort of mythical ideal beings. So a bit like how we see superheroes today. And so they don't look at evidence claims. Other religions claim miracles that, to be honest, are not very impressive. [55:51] In Islam, for example, the greatest miracle claimed is the existence of the Quran itself. Which, in my opinion, is not very impressive or persuasive. [56:01] Other religions make big claims, but they can't provide good evidence for them. For example, in Mormonism, there's this miraculous discovery of some golden plates claimed. [56:15] That's the greatest miracle in Mormonism. Yet, that claim, those plates were not revealed to the public and still have never been. There's no eyewitness testimony. [56:27] Or, there are some other religions that don't care about what's true at all. There's a very trendy religion going around today which says, All that matters is what I believe. [56:40] It doesn't matter if it matches reality or not. You know, it's my truth. And I'm going to be happy with just that. But, the Christian testimony is eyewitness testimony. [56:54] And, it's a big reason why we can trust the Christian message. Did you know, the entire New Testament was written either by the eyewitnesses themselves or by people who sat under the watchful authority of those eyewitnesses? [57:12] The whole New Testament. For example, Mark was known to Peter and Paul personally. And we get hints that he interviewed Peter when he was writing the book of Mark. [57:26] In fact, if you look at verse 15 when Peter says that he's going to make every effort to remind his fellow Christians about Jesus after he dies, he's probably talking about Mark's gospel which is about to be written. [57:41] And, it's true, isn't it, how amazing it is that 2,000 years after the events, we're still able to learn about Jesus' life through the gospels, through those eyewitness accounts. [57:55] If you're here this morning and you're investigating the Christian faith, may I recommend the Gospel of Mark to you? You can read it in just over an hour. And, it talks all about Jesus' life from the eyewitness testimony of people who were there. [58:14] But, see as well, it's not just eyewitness testimony that Peter is able to point to. He also points us to prophecy. If we look at verse 19, he says, We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it. [58:34] The scriptures are a message from God. A message from God. Peter isn't just pointing to the eyewitness testimony about Jesus' majesty in the Bible, but also to the fulfillment of prophecy. [58:50] The New Testament has plenty of prophecy to Jesus' second coming, and so does the Old Testament. If you're doubting about the Old Testament, I'd recommend reading the last few chapters of Isaiah, from chapters 59 to 66. [59:06] It's all about Jesus' second coming, and it will warm your heart. If the prophecies about Jesus' first coming in the Old Testament came to pass, then we can trust that the prophecies of his second coming also will. [59:22] Peter is saying that we can rely on what the Bible tells us. So he says in verse 19 that we would do well to pay attention to it. [59:33] He says that the Bible is like a light shining in a dark place, and it will keep shining until the day Jesus, who he calls the morning star, will come back. [59:43] I remember going camping in a field once, and wandering around late at night, and I needed a torch to see my way around, because it was so dark. [59:56] But when the day came, I didn't need the torch anymore. And in the same way, right now, we see only by the light of the Bible. But when Jesus comes back, we will see everything. [60:11] C.S. Lewis said this. He said, I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen. Not only because I see it, but because by it, I see everything. [60:24] The Christian message is one of illumination. It's one of light, revealing what is true, not hiding it away. And why is that? [60:34] Well, it's because the message of the Bible is not just a human message. It's God's message. Have a look with me at verse 20. [60:46] Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. [61:03] This is one of the few places where the Bible talks about the Bible. So it's really handy if we understand what it's saying here. It's saying that God is the one who gives the message. [61:18] God gives the message. So when Moses, if it was Moses, writes Genesis, he does the writing. He ponders and he writes down what he knows. [61:29] But at the same time, it's God who provides the content. The writer doesn't just guess at what God has said. No, everything that is written there is God's word. [61:42] This is what Jesus believed. In Matthew 19, Jesus said this. He said, haven't you read that in the beginning, the creator made them male and female and said, for this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. [62:02] So I've got it on the screen there. Who is it that said it, according to Jesus? The author of Genesis wrote it, but who said it? [62:12] It's actually God who said the message. This is what we call as Christians the dual authorship of Scripture. [62:25] All of Scripture has a human author and a divine author at the same time. And this is what Peter is saying in verse 21. Look. [62:35] He says, For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. [62:48] On a sailing boat, when the sail goes up, the wind carries the boat along. And this is the picture that Peter uses to explain how the Bible was written. [63:02] The authors spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. So to bring this all together, this passage tells us four things about the Bible. [63:18] Firstly, it tells us that the Bible is there so that we can remember Jesus. So we can remember Jesus. Secondly, it tells us, he tells us that the Bible is eyewitness testimony. [63:30] Secondly, thirdly, that the Bible is illuminating. It brings light. And fourthly, that the Bible is God's message. So my question, are you ready to listen and receive the Bible as God's word? [63:50] Are you prepared to allow it to penetrate deeply, to have its say on every part of your life, even the bits that make you feel a bit uncomfortable? [64:02] Will you believe its message that Jesus offers forgiveness and restoration to anyone who would come to him? My friends, that the Bible is very clear about Jesus' second coming. [64:17] One day, Jesus will return, in glory and in judgment. Jesus says this in Matthew 25, when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. [64:34] All the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate the people, one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Are you ready for Jesus when he comes? [64:50] Do you know where you stand if he were to return tonight? Have you confessed your sins to him and asked him for his forgiveness? At the end of the Bible, the very last chapter, we're given an invitation to come. [65:07] Come to the only one who can save you and who can change you. And he promises that he will receive you. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. [65:23] Let's pray. Father God, thank you for giving us all these reminders of who Jesus is, of what he's done for us, and what he's going to do. [65:42] Thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to move men to record and write these things down to us. We're sorry for the times when we try and work things out on our own without going to you. [65:56] Please help us to do what, and follow what verse 19 says. Help us to pay attention to what you've said to us. Thank you that Jesus' second coming is not just a theory, but that he will return. [66:09] Please help us all to live in the light of Jesus' second coming. Please help us to turn from our sins daily and to put our trust in you. [66:21] Thank you for the promise of Jesus' return, and that he'll bring us everlasting life, and that we will be glorified with you. In Jesus' name, Amen. [66:41] Firstly, thank you to Tim for executing God's words so faithfully, and I'm sure we all also share in offering our love and congratulations on the news of your engagement to Becca. [66:52] Well done, Tim. Tim just said, didn't he, set us a challenge. Are we listening? [67:04] Are we letting this word penetrate our hearts and minds? Peter says in verse 19, pay close attention. [67:16] This was conceivably Peter's last chance to inform his people of what was important. His passion, his purpose, was not to have an easy life, a lazy life, as easy and as nice as that would be, but to be fervent in proclaiming Christ and the truth of his gospel. [67:38] So the question, the challenge Tim gave us, the challenge the passage presents us all this morning, how are we doing? How are our efforts going? [67:52] Brothers and sisters, we have a purpose. We have a calling. The results are not so as important as actually the obedience to follow and practice that call. [68:06] Do you know Peter warned us three times? Three times about complacency. He said, make every effort to increase our faith, to reflect on how we can improve and grow. [68:21] Peter wrote this letter so we could read it, reread it, revisit it. The purpose, to remind ourselves about what we need to do. [68:33] I wonder this morning, are you encouraged? Are you challenged? How is God speaking to you this morning? [68:47] In a moment, we're going to stand together and we are going to sing. Speak, O Lord. Renew our hearts and mind. [69:01] Help us grasp the heights of your plans for us. The truths unchanged from the dawn of time, the truths Peter spoke of, they have echoed down from eternity. [69:18] I wonder, how is God speaking to you this morning? Shall we stand and sing together? [69:30] Speak, O Lord.전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전전 To receive the fruit of your holy word Take your truth, plant it deep in us Shape and passion us in your likeness And the light of Christ might be seen today [70:32] In our hands of love and our deeds of faith Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us All your promises for your glory Teach us, Lord, full obedience Holy reverence, true humility Test our force and our attitude In the radiance of your purity Cause our faith to rise [71:32] Cause our eyes to see Your majestic hope and authority Words of power that can never fail Let their truth prevail over our name Speak, O Lord, and renew our might Help us cross the heart So fill the flesh with us Truth and change And lift all the time That will end all down through eternity And my grace will stand on your promises [72:36] And my faith will walk as you join us Speak, O Lord, as your child is built And the hour is spent with your glory Let's pray together The earth is the Lord's And everything in it The world And all who live in it Lord, as we think about your world today There's plenty to worry about With cruel wars And deadly persecutions Huge dangers for the planet Serious threats to our minds [73:38] Through disinformation And the rise of leaders Around the world Who pander to the worst in us Yet we know that the earth is yours, Lord And everything in it The world And all who live in it So we commit these issues to you And we ask you to build our faith In your purposes And for help to play our own part In seeking your kingdom Take your truth Plant it deep in us That the light of Christ Might be seen in our acts of love And our deeds of faith Lord, we want to thank you for Peter And the other apostles Who with burning passion Planted your truth deep In the early churches of their day Truth which was founded On the words of your prophets [74:38] We want to thank you for all Who seek to plant churches today That they too may seek to plant truth So that those churches will flourish And the light of Christ Will be seen in their loving And faithful acts Lord, we pray for all in our town Seeking to serve through loving acts We uphold Growing Hope Our plug-in The contact center The job club The one can trust Chosen The refugee partnership And Wickham Homeless Connection And others too Lord, renew our minds Help us to grasp the heights Of your plans for us Lord, in our own congregation [75:42] We are in a time of change Both exciting And a little bit scary So we pray for our church leadership For discernment To spot the important things In our plans And to focus on them We uphold our building project We pray for guidance For the project leaders For faith To overcome the obstacles That may arise And we pray for the builders themselves That in their dealings with us They may feel that they are touching The eternal Lord, we know you have another Greater building project Where you are reshaping us As a church And as individuals And we pray that we may glimpse Those plans that you have for us And strive towards them [76:43] We pray for our small groups For their leaders And their participants Where indeed our thoughts And our attitudes Can be tested In the radiance of your purity Lord, we pray for healing For those who face Health challenges Whom we name it in our hearts And we ask for peace And faith For their families We pray for support For all in their later years For time, wisdom And patience For their families Lord, we thank you For the welcome For the people Who have recently joined Our fellowship We pray we can give them A welcome And help them to hear Your call To make their own contribution [77:45] To the structure Of our living building Speak, O Lord Till your church is built And the earth is filled With your glory All these prayers And the unspoken prayers Of our hearts We offer In the powerful name Of Jesus Amen Peter says in verse 13 His ultimate purpose In his writing Was to stir us up To inspire the church To increase our zeal And our devotion to Christ And he intends To accomplish this By reminding us Of all these things Namely our calling To develop And lead A godly life [78:45] We need to consistently And constantly Be aroused By our Christian duties And exhorted To keep our eyes On Christ Because we can Encounter So many distractions So brothers and sisters So church of Christ Arise Put your armour on And hear that call Of Christ our captain We're going to stand And sing O church arise And put your armour on In the call of Christ our captain For now the weak [79:48] And say that they are strong In the strength that God has given We've shown the faith And bount of truth We'll stand against the devil's lies An army boy An army boy With battle Christ's love Which allows to those in darkness Our call to all To help the captive soul But to rage against the captive soul And hear the sword And the sword And the wounded one We'll fight with faith And failure When faced with trials On every side We know the outcome Is secure [80:50] And전 The conqueror has risen And as the snow is rolled away And Christ the earth has found the grave The spiritual arch continues till the day Every eye and heart shall see him So Spirit come, put strength in every side [81:52] Give grace for every adore That we may rather be thankful in the prize For the servant, good, and faithful The saints of all still find the way We tell in triumphs of his grace We hear the calls and hunger for the day When with Christ we stand in glory The saints of all still find the way We tell in triumphs of his grace We hear the calls and hunger for the day When with Christ we stand in glory Amen Do indeed. Please do take a seat. [82:53] I've only got one notice this morning. I understand that 127 of us are really excited about next weekend, our church weekend at home. [83:05] But just in case there's a couple thinking, Oh no, I haven't signed up yet. Is it too late? Fear not, my friends. Today is your last day. [83:16] And better still, if you think, Not quite sure, missed the link, Don't know how to do it. Jenny is going to be downstairs at the information point So she can help you sign up. [83:27] So please do join everyone else Eagerly anticipating what should be A really exciting weekend. We have John and Alison coming to talk to us Then we can have fellowship together over lunch And then there are activities that you can choose. [83:43] You can design it, something that you really like, Something you haven't tried before. So please, can I encourage you If you have not signed up, please do so. You can pop and see Jenny. [83:55] And please pray. Please pray for all of those Getting ready for the weekend ahead That it will be a real time of blessing and growth for us all. So to end, a blessing from 2 Peter 1. [84:10] Shall we pray? Heavenly Father, Thank you that in your grace and mercy You use disciples and prophets, Such as Simon Peter, To reveal your plans, Your truth, Your purposes, Through your word of truth. [84:31] As we go from this service And in the days ahead, Help us to love, Serve, Care for, Build up our brothers and sisters in Christ In a way that glorifies you As our Heavenly Father. [84:48] We pray that our lives Would be marked by increasing love. Increasing love for you. And increasing love for our brothers and sisters around us. [85:00] For we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. May God richly bless you all this week. Amen.