Our loving Father in heaven, we come to you through Jesus, the one who is the Prince of Peace.
And we thank you for the peace that Jesus came to establish between us and yourself.
We recognise the need that we have as people for true and lasting peace.
Now we thank you for the good news, for the hope of forgiveness that we find in the Lord Jesus.
As we look around our world today, we remember with thankfulness the peace that we enjoy,
the peace that was secured for us by the bravery and the courage and the self-sacrifice of so many in previous generations.
We thank you for what they paid such a high price for.
We remember them with gratitude.
Lord, we pray for our service men and women engaged in different ways around the world today,
for those who are still risking their lives in order to keep peace or to establish peace.
We thank you for those who have been involved in supporting the NHS during this pandemic.
Lord, we thank you for those who give of themselves for the sake of others.
Lord, we also remember the work of army chaplains.
We remember in particular Colin McLeod in Leith and we thank you for his work that continues.
Lord, we pray that the hope of the Lord Jesus Christ would bring light and hope
to many of our service men and women.
Lord, thank you for the opportunity to remember.
Lord, we pray that peace would be something that you would continue to give to us,
that we would see peace break out among the nations as men and women and boys and girls
would turn to trust in the God of peace.
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Please have a seat.
So welcome to church this morning.
Welcome if you've been before.
Welcome if you're new.
It's good to be able to gather together.
Just a quick reminder of what's happening through this week.
So we have our online service again at 5.30.
Our beatitude tonight actually is blessed are the peacemakers for they'll be called sons of God.
And then on Monday we have prayer at 8.
We have our community groups meeting on Wednesdays.
And then next Saturday at 7.30 we have the tier fund big quiz.
So chance to enjoy some fun together for a good cause.
Check your email.
Check social media for information about that one.
Now as we gather together it's good to be able to welcome folks joining us online as well.
Now we pray that together we know God's presence and help.
As we begin to worship let me read from Psalm 95 our call to worship as we remember who our God is.
So in Psalm 95 at verse 6 we read
Come let us bow down in worship.
Let us kneel before the Lord our maker.
For he is our God.
And we are the people of his pasture.
The flock under his care.
So we are going to now sing for us here.
We'll sing in our hearts for folks at home.
You can sing out loud the hymn How Firm a Foundation.
How Firm a Foundation
You saints of the Lord
Is laid for your faith
In his excellent word
What more can he say
Than to you he has said
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled
Fear not
I am with you
O be not dismayed
For I am your God
And will still give you weight
I'll strengthen you
Help you
And cause you to stand
Upheld by my gracious
Omnibotent hand
When through the deep waters
I call you to go
The rivers of sorrow
Shall not overflow
For I will be with you
Your trouble
Your trouble to bliss
And sanctify to you
Your deepest distress
When through fiery trials
Your pathway shall lie
My grace all sufficient
Shall be your supply
The flame shall not harm you
I only desire
Your dross to consume
And your gall to be found
Now let's stand together
And let's call on God in prayer
Lord we thank you
Once again for gathering us together
To recognise you
As our maker
The sustainer of this universe
And the sustainer of our lives
And also to worship you
As the good shepherd
The one who promises to lead
And guide
And feed
And protect
Your people
Your church
We thank you for the love
That you have for us
Lord we thank you
That we've sung of Jesus
The strong foundation
Of our faith
Lord we do pray
That our lives
Would be built on him
That whether in joy
Or sorrow
We would know
The hope of Jesus
As our Lord and Saviour
The hope of glory
In our hearts
To give us strength
To endure
And to persevere
Lord we thank you
For Jesus
Our great high priest
And we thank you
For the sacrifice
That he made on the cross
When he gave himself
As the atoning sacrifice
For our sin
And we thank you
That Jesus continues
As our high priest in heaven
That he is always living
To intercede
To pray for us
To plead the cause
Of your people
On the basis
Of what he has
Done for us
There
At the cross
On Calvary
We thank you
That Jesus
Is the true temple
That he is
The meeting place
Between us
And God
We thank you
That you have
Revealed yourself
To us
In the Lord Jesus
We pray
That as we consider
Again his words
His prayer
For us
As the church
Today
That we would have
Joy
As we consider him
That we might
Worship him
Lord we pray
For our church
Today
We want to
Give you thanks
For being able
To welcome
A new member
In David Mays
We thank you
For the way
He has
Connected with us
Thank you
That he was
Helping do the tech
This morning
Thank you
For his
Commitment
To us
As a church
And we pray
That he would
Be encouraged
And that we
Would encourage
And love
Him
We pray
For others
Who are new
To the city
As well
Who are looking
To find
A spiritual
Home to belong
To
Those who are
Looking to find
Answers
Who are
Checking out
Christianity
We thank you
That we've been able
To welcome people
Despite restrictions
Lord we do pray
For people to find
A spiritual
Home
While in Edinburgh
We recognise
That you call us
Together
To live out
Our faith
We've all felt
The challenges
Of isolation
And so we pray
For unity
And for a sense
Of community
And fellowship
Here in this church
Lord we thank you
Again
For our junior
Church being back
We pray for the
Children who are
Here today
And for those
Who are at home
We pray for every
Family connected
With us
Lord we pray
That for each
One of them
They would have
A living
And a personal
Faith
In Jesus
As Lord
And Saviour
That you'd help us
To pray
For them
And for their
Parents
For those of us
Who are parents
We pray that you
Would give us
Wisdom
To know how to
Lead and guide
Our children
Through the challenges
That they face
We ask that you
Would give to our
Parents
Wisdom
To lead them
In the truth
And we pray too
For our
Young people
We ask
For them
We thank you
For Edge
As it met again
On Friday
And we pray
That for all
Our teens
They would have
The joy of
Knowing Jesus
As Lord
And that you
Would sustain
Them
Through
Life in
High school
Sometimes with
The isolation
That comes from
Being a Christian
At school
Lord that you'd
Be looking after
Them and you'd
Help us
To pray for
And to look
After them
Too
Lord we pray
For the church
In this country
We think of
The church in
England as
They've gone
Back into
Lockdown
We pray that
You would sustain
Them through
The disappointment
That comes with
That
We remember
London City
As our free
Church down there
We pray for
For Andy
And for
Harrison
And others
That you would
Continue to
Strengthen your
People
As they are
Now back
To being
Online
Lord thank you
That you
Are in
Control
That you
Know what
You're doing
And we ask
That your
People would
Trust in you
That we would
Trust in you
And we pray
For the church
Up here in
Scotland
We think in
Particular
Of the
Challenges in
Many of
Our rural
Communities
Where the
Church is
Small
Where there
Is the
Challenge of
Depopulation
Where there
Are many
Causes for
Discouragement
But we pray
That you would
Build up your
Church in
Cities and
Towns and
Villages around
Scotland
That the name
Of Jesus
Would be
Glorified
And we don't
Just pray that
For ourselves
We pray that
For our world
Lord as the
Eyes of the
World turned
To America
This week
As we
Watched the
Election as
It continues
To unfold
We pray
For peace
For America
We recognise
The divisions
That are
Evident
And Lord we
Pray that
You would
Show mercy
On that land
We pray
For wisdom
And humility
For
The new
President
We ask that
He would be
Willing to be
Guided by
You
Lord we pray
For America
We pray for
All the nations
Of the earth
That we would
Have presidents
And prime
Ministers and
Politicians of
Godly character
Who would
Enact laws
That would
Be in line
With your
Word
Lord we
Ask that
You'd help
Us to
Pray for
Our leaders
To seek
To honour
Them
Lord we
Also
Want to
Pray for
The work of
The gospel
Around the
World
As we
Meet here
In peace
And safety
And as we
Have the
Privilege of
A building
To meet in
We pray
For persecuted
Brothers and
Sisters all
Around the
World who
Have never
Had that
Privilege
Have never
Had the
Opportunity to
Gather together
Because of
The fear
Of persecution
Lord we ask
That you would
Sustain our
Brothers and
Sisters in
Those circumstances
Give them the
Hope of the
Lord Jesus
In their
Hearts
Enable them
To witness
Even to
Their enemies
To your
Great love
That we
Might see
The gospel
Transforming
Communities
And societies
And nations
So that you
Would be
Glorified
And we
Thank you
That we
Have the
Bible to
Read
And again
We pray
For the
Work of
Bible
Translators
We pray
For those
Who take
Great risks
To get
Copies of
The Bible
Into the
Hands of
Believers
In persecuted
Countries
We thank you
That it is
The word of
Truth and
The word of
Life
And we
Pray that
We would
Receive it
As such
Now
And all
These things
We pray
In Jesus
Name
Amen
Please have
A seat
Now I'm
Going to
Ask Keith
To come
And read
For us
Our reading
Today is
From
John 17
Thanks Keith
John 17
After Jesus
Said this
He looked
Toward heaven
And prayed
Father the
Time has
Come
Glorify your
Son
That your
Son may
Glorify you
For you
Granted him
Authority
Over all
People
That he
Might give
Eternal life
To all
Those
You have
Given him
Now this
Is eternal
Life
That they
May know
You
The only
True
God
And Jesus
Christ
Whom you
Have sent
I
Have brought
You
Glory on
Earth
By completing
The work
You gave
Me
To do
And now
Father glorify
Me in your
Presence
With the
Glory I
Had
Before you
With you
Before the
World
Again
I have
Revealed you
To those
Whom you
To those
You gave me
You gave them
To me
And they
Have obeyed
Your word
Now they
Know that
Everything you
Have given me
Comes from you
For I gave
Them the
Words that
You gave
Me and they
Accepted them
They knew with
Certainty that I
Came from you
And they
Believe that you
Sent me
I pray for them
I am not
Praying for the
World but for
Those you have
Given me
For they
Are yours
All I
Have is yours
And all you
Have is mine
And glory has
Come to me
Through them
I will remain
In the world
No longer
But they
Are still in
The world
And I am
Coming to you
Holy father
Protect them
By the power
Of your name
The name
You gave me
So that they
May be one
As we are one
While I
While I was
With them
I protected them
And kept them
Safe by the
Name you gave me
None has been
Lost except the
One doomed to
Destruction
So that the
Scripture would
Be fulfilled
I am coming
To you now
But I say
These things
While I am
Still
While I am
Still in the
World
So that they
May have
The full
Measure of
My joy
With them
I have
Given them
Your word
And the
World has
Hated them
For they
Are not
Of the
World
Any more
Than I
Am of
The world
My prayer
Is not
That you
Take them
Out of
The world
But that
You protect
Them from
The evil
One
They are
Not of
The world
Even as
I am
Not of
It
Sanctify
Them by
The truth
Your word
Is truth
As you
Sent me
Into
The world
I have
Sent them
Into the
World
For them
I sanctify
Myself
That they
Too
May be
Truly
Sanctified
My prayer
Is not
For them
Alone
I pray
Also for
Those who
Will believe
In me
Through their
Message
That all
Of them
May be
One
Father
Just as
You
May be
In me
May they
Also
Be in
Us
So that
The world
May believe
That you
Have sent
Me
I have
Given them
The glory
That you
Gave me
That they
May be
One
As we
Are one
I
In them
And you
In me
May they
Be brought
To complete
Unity
To let
The world
Know
That you
Sent me
And have
Loved them
Even as
You have
Loved me
Father I
Want those
You have
Given to me
To be
With me
Where I
Am
And to
See my
Glory
The glory
You have
Given me
Because you
Loved me
Before the
Creation of
The world
Righteous
Father
Though the
World does
Not know
You
I know
You
And they
Know that
You have
Sent me
I have
Made you
Known to
Them
And will
Continue to
Make you
Known
In order
That the
Love
You have
For me
May be
In them
And that
I
Myself
May be
In them
Let's
Pray together
Lord as
We prepare
To hear the
Preaching of
Your word
Today
We pray
That you
Fill us
With your
Spirit of
Grace
God we
Ask that
You
Deliver us
From cold
Hearts
And wandering
Thoughts
God we
Ask that
You
Kindle our
Passion for
Your word
And we
Ask this
Through Jesus
Christ our
Lord
Amen
Thank you
Keith
So we're
Going to
Be in
Chapter 17
Of John's
Gospel
Looking at
Verses 20
To 26
As we
Continue to
Think about
The heart
Of Jesus
Before
He goes
To the
Cross
Here we
Find him
Praying
For the
Church
Just before
His
Arrest
I want to
Begin by
Thinking about
What it means
To be
A big
Hearted
Person
We hear that
Phrase and
Certain ideas
Come to our
Minds
As somebody
Who is
Open
And warm
Somebody who
Makes us feel
Valued
Who gives us
Time
Where we
Feel refreshed
To be
In their
Presence
And company
That kind of
Person is a
Real gift
Today I
Think
As sort of
Covid has
Gone on
Perhaps
We've all
Recognized in
Different ways
The tendency
To turn
Inwards
At least
Sometimes
Because we
Have so many
Burdens and
Pressures and
Responsibilities
We're figuring
Stuff out
It can be
Hard
To have any
Capacity to
Care for
Others
So the
Big hearted
Person that
Makes time
And moves
Towards others
Is a real
Gift that
We need
Today
Well as we
Come to
John 17
Let me
Suggest that
Jesus is
The big
Hearted
Saviour
That you
And I
Need
He has
Told us
On numerous
Occasions
That he
Is troubled
Facing the
Cross
And yet
What we
Find him
Doing in
Chapters
13 to
17
Is
Bringing to
The disciples
The comfort
Of his
Truth
And now
Here in
Chapter 7
Not only
Does he
Pray for
The disciples
Then he
Also prays
For his
Church
Through time
And space
Maybe
Maybe to
Help us
As we
Think about
This
Section
Imagine
Going home
Today
And opening
A drawer
And at the
Back of that
Drawer
Finding a
Letter
An old
Letter
From someone
Dear to
Us
A letter
That would
Remind us
Of their
Love for
Us
That would
Speak of
Their
Desires for
Us
Now how
Would we
Feel if
We
Found
That kind
Of letter
I imagine
Depending who
Wrote it
We might
Find tears
Coming to
Our eyes
We might
Find our
Hearts warmed
And a
Smile come
To our
Faces
Let me
Encourage you
To read
Verses 20
To 26
In that
Way
In this
Prayer of
Jesus that
Crosses time
And space
We are being
Invited to
See Jesus
Heart for
His
Church
And for
This church
And for
Everyone who
Believes
And we're
Also being
Encouraged to
See what
Jesus desires
For us
As the
Church
So I
Have two
Things to
Think about
With us
First of all
To think about
The question
Who does
Jesus pray
For
And we
Find the
Answer to
That in
Verse 20
Read with
Me there
In verse 20
Where Jesus
Says my
Prayer is
Not for
Them alone
I pray
Also for
Those who
Will believe
In me
Through their
Message
So Keith
Read for
Us the
Whole of
Chapter 17
A prayer
Of Jesus
Where he
Prays for
Himself
That he
Be glorified
And the
Father
Would receive
Glory through
The cross
He prayed
For his
Disciples
That they
Be protected
And sanctified
And now
Jesus turns
To pray
For all
Who will
Believe in
Him
Through the
Message of
The disciples
Through the
Gospel that
We find in
Our
New Testament
He prays
For those
Who would
Believe
Now in
John's
Gospel
Believing
Is a
Really
Crucial
Theme
To help
Us to
See that
I'm going
To go
To the
Beginning
And to
The
End
So you
Can turn
With me
If you
Want
To John
Chapter
1
I want
To read
Some
Verses
There
In the
Introduction
And first
Of all
Verse 1
Itself
In the
Beginning
Was the
Word
And the
Word
Was with
God
And the
Word
Was God
So right
From the
Beginning
Here is
John
Saying
Jesus
Is the
Complete
Revelation
Of God
You want
To know
What God
Is like
Look at
Jesus
Then in
Verse 14
The Word
Became
Flesh
And made
His dwelling
Among us
We have
Seen
His glory
The glory
Of the
One and
Only
Son
Who
Came
From
The
Father
Full
Of
Grace
And
Truth
So here
Is Jesus
The
Glorious
Son
Of
God
And then
Also in
The
Introduction
And this
Is John
1
Verse 12
John
Says
Having
Acknowledged
That many
People
Did not
Receive
Jesus
To all
Who
Did
Receive
Him
To
Those
Who
Believed
In
His
Name
There's
Our
Word
He
Gave
The
Right
To
Become
Children
Of
God
So
Believing
In
Jesus
It
Brings
Us
Into
The
Family
Of
God
So
There's
Believing
Right
At
The
Beginning
Then
We
Turn
To
John
Chapter
20
And
In
John
Chapter
20
Jesus
Performed
Many
Other
Signs
In
The
Presence
Of
His
Disciples
Which
Are
Not
Recorded
In
This
Book
But
These
Are
Written
That
You
May
Believe
There's
Our
Words
That
Jesus
Is
The
Messiah
The
Son
Of
God
And
That
By
Believing
You
May
Have
Life
In
His
Name
So
John
Wants
Us
To
Know
Jesus
Is
Messiah
He
Is
The
Promised
God
He
Is
The
Son
Of
God
And
He
Gives
Life
He
Gives
Eternal
Life
To
All
Who
Will
Believe
So
Believing
Is
Crucial
And
Now
Jesus
Here
Turns
To
Pray
For
All
Who
Will
Believe
Now
Maybe
We've
Heard
The
Image
Or
The
Illustration
About
Prayer
That
Prayer
Is
Like
An
Arrow
We
Can
Offer
Arrow
Prayers
Up
To
God
Well
Jesus
Prayer
Is
Like
An
Arrow
In
The
Sense
That
It
Hits
The
Target
So
We
Need
To
Understand
That
When
Jesus
Prays
For
All
Who
Believe
We
Can
Have
Confidence
That
His
Prayer
Is
Going
To
Be
Heard
And
Answered
But
To
Be
Included
In
That
Prayer
Therefore
We
Need
To
Be
People
Who
Believe
We
Need
To
Be
People
Who
Have
Faith
In
Jesus
We
Need
To
Turn
From
Sin
And
Turn
Towards
Jesus
As
Lord
And
Saviour
We
Need
To
Believe
That
He
Is
The
Son
Of
God
Who
Came
To
Live
The
Perfect
Life
That
You
And
I
Could
Never
Live
We
Need
To
Believe
That
We
Are
Sinners
And
That
Left
To
Ourselves
We
Can
Never
Have
Peace
With
God
But
Jesus
Came
And
Died
As
A
Perfect
Sacrifice
To
Bring
Peace
With
Our
God
And
We
Need
To
Believe
That
Jesus
Rose
Again
The
Third
Day
And
Has
Returned
To
The
Glory
Of
Heaven
And
That
Where
He
Has
Gone
We
Will
Follow
If
We
Have
Faith
In
Him
And
Then
If
We
Do
Believe
In
Jesus
It's
An
Invitation
To
Take
Heart
Simply
To
Remember
That
Jesus
Before
Going
To
The
Cross
Prayed
For
Us
And
Then
To
Remember
That
Jesus
Today
Is
Still
Praying
For
Us
So
The
Question
Is
What
Does
He
Pray
What
Is
His
Desire
For
His
People
And
That's
Where
We're
Going
To
Turn
For
The
Rest
Of
Our
Time
Obviously
There's
So
Much
We
Could
Say
In
This
Wonderfully
Rich
Prayer
Of
Jesus
But
I
Just
Want
To
Focus
Our
Thoughts
On
Three
Words
Three
Ideas
The
First
Of
Which
Is
Unity
Jesus
Prays
For
Unity
At
The
Heart
Of
So
Much
Sadness
In
The
World
And
I
Think
We
Can
See
This
Today
Is
Separation
And
Dis
Unity
The
Nature
Of
Sin
Is
To
Divide
People
From
One
Another
And
People
From
A
Holy
God
So
Part
Of
The
Good
News
Of
The
Coming
Of
Jesus
Is
That
He
Has
Come
To
Reconcile
And
To
Make
Peace
And
To
Bring
Unity
But
What
Kind
of
Unity
There's
Three
All
Jesus
Prays
That
We
Have
Unity
With
The
Trinity
Verse
21
Jesus
Prays
That
All
Of
Them
All
Those
Who
Believe
May
Be
One
Father
Just
As
You
Are
In
Me
And
I
Am
In
You
Jesus
Comes
As
The
Son
Of
God
And
As
The
Head
Of
The
Church
And
Jesus
As
The
Son
Of
God
Is
Eternally
United
To
The
Father
The
Church
Is
His
Body
Therefore
United
To
Jesus
We
Are
Brought
Into
God's
Perfect
Eternal
Love
Jesus
Prays
That
We
Would
Know
That
So
There's
Unity
With
God
But
There's
Also
In
This
Prayer
A
Desire
From
Jesus
That
We
Have
Unity
As
Believers
So
Unity
With
Other
Believers
Look
At
Verse
22
I
Have
Given
Them
Those
Who
Believe
I
Have
Given
Them
The
Glory
That
You
Gave
Me
That
They
May
Be
One
As
We
Are
One
I
And
Them
And
You
And
Me
So
That
They
May
Be
Brought
To
Complete
Unity
So
Jesus
Says
I
Have
I
Have
Glory
What's
Glory
As
Our
Redeemer
Jesus
Is
Revealed
As
The
Only
Savior
For
Sinners
And
So
We
Are
Bound
Together
As
Christians
By
Receiving
Jesus
As
Savior
What
Holds
Us
Together
Is
The
Fact
That
We
Are
Saved
By
God's
Grace
We
Are
Bound
Together
By
The
Glory
Of
The
Redemption
That
Jesus
Has
Secured
For
Us
At
The
Cross
And
That
Is
Always
To
Be
The
Center
Of
True
Church
Unity
Not
Sharing
A
Certain
Culture
Or
A
Tradition
It's
The
Good
News
That
Jesus
Has
Saved
Us
By
The
Grace
Of
God
So
We
Are
United
With
The
Trinity
We
Are
United
With
Other
Believers
And
There's
A
Pur
Included
We
Are
United
For
The
Sake
Of
The
World
We
Are
United
For
Mission
Again
The
End
Of
Verse
21
May
They
Also
Be
In
Us
So
There's
The
Idea
Of
Unity
With
The
Trinity
Purpose
So
That
The
World
May
Believe
That
You
Have
Sent
Me
And
Then
Again
At
The
End
Of
Verse
23
As
The
Church
Is
In
Complete
Unity
Then
The
World
Will
Know
That
You
Sent
Me
And
Have
Loved
Them
Even
As
You
Have
Loved
Me
So
Our
Unity
Has
A
Mission
Purpose
To
Bear
Witness
To
The
Self-giving
Love
Of
God
In
Sending
Jesus
Our
Unity
Our
Unity
Our
Unity
Is
Intended
To
Make
The
Incredible
Message
Of
The
Gospel
Seem
Credible
To
A
Watching
World
So
Our
Unity
Is
Not
Optional
Our
Unity
Is
Essential
And
It
Actually
Serves
To
Extend
The
Kingdom
Of
God
We
Can
Say
That
The
Church
Has
A
New
Center
Of
Gravity
What
Is
It
That
Pulls
Us
It's
Heaven
And
Not
Earth
It's
Jesus
And
Not
Ourselves
We
Are
Drawn
In
By
The
Saviour's
Love
And
We
Are
Drawn
Together
By
That
Same
Love
And
As
That
Happens
We
Are
Showing
To
A
Sceptical
Hostile
Sometimes
Apathetic
World
What
The
Love
Of
God
Looks
Like
In
And
Through
Us
Some
Prayer
Isn't
It
Before
We
Move
On
From
This
Theme
Of
Unity
A
Warning
And
An
Encouragement
A
Warning
Because
This
Week
I
Read
An
Open
Letter
From
A
Pastor
In
The
States
With
Over
50
Years
Experience
In
Ministry
And
He
Said
In
All
His
Years
He
Felt
Like
2020
Was
The
One
Year
In
His
Ministry
Where
He
Of
Disunity
Within
The
Church
Was
Never
Greater
So
Looking
At
The
Impact
Of
The
Pandemic
Thinking
About
How
Increasingly
Polarized
People
Can
Be
Thinking
About
Issues
Of
Racism
There
Is
A
Real
Threat
Of
Disunity
To
You
churches in our country and around the world. But there's also an encouragement here as Jesus
prays for unity, and it's simply this, don't underestimate the impact of Christian community
on the world around us. See, we have something that many people are longing for.
Lots of people come to Edinburgh and they feel lonely and isolated, and the church is a place
of real family. We're brought together from lots of places, different cultures, but we can feel that
we belong. And when we do simple things to care for others, stuff that we take for granted like
sharing a meal, like making time for another Christian, people find that radical and surprising
and attractive. So let me encourage you to keep pursuing unity in the small things, to ask for
that kind of big heart that beyond our own problems we'd be able to move towards our brothers and
sisters in Christ so that Jesus is honoured and so that the kingdom might grow. So Jesus prays for
unity. He also prays about the subject of glory. Look with me at verse 24. In verse 24, we read this,
Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am and to see my glory, the glory you have
given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. So we take a step back, we're in the
middle of a prayer. Who is praying here? It's Jesus. And what we discovered about Jesus, this is
the eternal Son of God who is praying. He is the perfect revelation of God. He is the chosen Savior.
He is the one who reveals what love looks like. And what Jesus prays is that we would see and enjoy
his glory. This isn't pride. This is what we need more than anything else in the world.
Jesus prays that we would see his glory as the eternally loved Son, that we would see his glory
as our Redeemer, that we would see that now in part. But Jesus anticipates with longing when we will see
his glory fully, when we will be with him, made like him, and seeing him face to face as the first letter
of John promises. What we discover about heaven, maybe especially as you read the book of Revelation,
is that life in heaven has the glory of Jesus at its center. And that's where, for the Christian,
that's where our true home is. So Jesus is praying that we would have the culture and value of heaven
now while we're here on earth. Sam Albury, who's a pastor down in England, he talks about the Christian life
as looking to reduce the culture shock of heaven. So we want to have the values of heaven now, and we do that
by deliberately pursuing the glory of Jesus in our everyday life. How do we do that?
Well, let me use this illustration to hopefully help. There's an old 15th century church in Venice,
and like so many churches in that period, on its ceiling there are lots of wonderful artworks
by Tintoretto. There's some 60 images of Old Testament and New Testament scenes. And when visitors arrive
at the church, they are given a large handheld mirror. I mean, why the mirror? It's not so they can see
themselves and check their hair. It's so that the glory and the beauty of above would be reflected
for them. I mean, for them, they just want to save people from having neck strain. But the idea of the
mirror is to reflect the glory of above. What we have in our Bibles is a mirror. And what Jesus prays is that his
glory would be reflected to us on every page of our Bibles. That as we read, we would read looking to see the
glory of Jesus our Savior, to see the wonder of God's plan to save sinners by sending his own Son.
That we would meditate on that glory in our lives. That it would lead us to worship. It would lead us to
obedience in our everyday lives. But we need to keep seeing and enjoying his glory in his Word.
Jesus prays that we would see his glory. And that means we constantly need to be retuning our hearts.
That it would be the glory of Jesus, not our glory, that we would pursue. That we would make sure he is
number one. That we wouldn't elevate other things or other people above Jesus. And he is also our great
example in how to pray. So that we would find ourselves praying for ourselves and for our church.
Let me see your glory now. And let me long for more. And that we would pray that for each other.
That as it were, the glory that we have now would be the appetizer preparing us for the great feast to
come in heaven. So Jesus prays about glory. And then we also see that Jesus prays about love and about his
presence. And they're both related. Verse 24 again. At the beginning, Father, I want those you have given me
to be with me where I am. Again, a few weeks ago, we used the image of Jesus as the bridegroom. And again,
we're seeing his heart. Here is Jesus and he will not rest until his bride is home with him, until his
church is with him. That for Jesus, his joy will not be complete until believers are with him forever
in glory. That's his great goal. And that's the goal of our salvation, that we would be with Jesus and
enjoy him forever. But until that day, there's two wonderful truths in verse 26.
The first is here, I have made you known to them and will continue to make you known. Why?
In order that the love you have for me may be in them. So Jesus wants to pour out love on his church.
The same love, the eternal love, the perfect love that Jesus receives as the Son from the Father,
he wants to pour on us today. That every day we live as Christians, we live in the overflow
of God's perfect eternal love. But Jesus doesn't stop there. The end of verse 26, we see he prays,
that I myself may be in them. Here is that reminder that Jesus comes to his people by his Spirit.
This wonderful promise that our loving Savior is always with us. We are never alone. No distance of
time or space separates us from him and from his love.
Just before going to the cross, Jesus stopped and deliberately prayed for his church. Jesus
deliberately prayed for Buclew before he was arrested. Prayed for all who would believe.
So it's crucial that we believe the good news about Jesus. And maybe today is the day that we will
choose to believe and be included in this prayer. How does this prayer, like that old letter that we
found in the back of the cupboard, how does this prayer reveal the heart of Jesus? How does it reveal
his desires for us today? Well, clearly he wants us to be united. He wants us to be united to our God,
and he wants us to be united with one another for the sake of the world.
He wants us to enjoy his glory, that our lives would be centered on him. He wants us to know his love,
to recognize the truth that he is present with his people today, and he has that longing that will
be fulfilled, that we will be with him eternally. So as we close, let me just call each one of us to
value and to pursue what Jesus prayed for, what Jesus died for. That this week we would pray it for
ourselves, that we would pray it for our church, more unity to see Jesus' glory and to enjoy his love.
Let's pray about that now. Let's bow our heads and pray.
Lord Jesus, we thank you for this wonderful reality, that you would love us so much that you would make
time to pray for us just before going to the cross to suffer and die for us. Thank you that as we pray,
now we know, Lord Jesus, that you are at the Father's right hand and that you are praying for your church
still. We thank you for reminding us that you long that we be united, united to our God and united to our
brothers and sisters in Christ. Please help us to value that unity, to pursue it, to seek reconciliation.
And we pray that our love and our fellowship would serve to draw people towards the Lord Jesus as they
see his love in us. We pray that you would give us a desire to see your glory day by day, that we would
be people who would live by your word, that you would give us eyes to see the wonder of our salvation,
the wonder of our Savior on every page of the Bible. And Lord, we pray to know as reality your love in our
lives, that we've all come here with different backgrounds and our circumstances are so different.
But may we be united in knowing and receiving your eternal and perfect love in our lives.
We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen. Now, as we close, we're going to hear words from Psalm 16. Again, you can sing at home and we will reflect here.
I'll praise the Lord my God, whose counsel guides my choice, and devils bow my prayer forійсьthings my prayer that the love of yours!
And Lord, we pray to pä Ramadan and we pray for thee!
I'll praise the Lord my God, whose counsel guides my choice, and devils bow my prayer,
now my crowns the love of my reality.
And my life of my salvation, that we're being my way that we pray inこと,
youth give apologies, your faith let us come to upon the soon-lasting fear.
When in the night my heart recalls instructions voice.
Before me constantly I set the Lord alone.
Because He is at my right hand I'll not be overthrown.
Therefore my heart is glad.
My tongue with joy will sing.
My body too will rest secure.
In hope unwavering.
For you will not allow.
My soul in death to stay.
Nor will you leave your Holy One.
To see the tombs decay.
You have made known to me.
The path of life divine.
Bliss shall I know at your right hand.
Joy from your face will shine.
Now let's stand together for the benediction.
Which comes from Revelation chapter 1 at verse 4.
Amen.
First life is a miracle.
Are you going to cool and do that?
Even when you come from the father говорит.
You will enjoy it.
The death助당
Just listen to the love.
Thank you.