Let's hear God's word together.
But mark this, there will be terrible times in the last days.
People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient
to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control,
brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather
than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power, have nothing to do with
such people.
They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women who are
loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but
never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.
Just as Janes and Jambres oppose Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth.
They are men of depraved minds who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.
But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be
clear to everyone.
You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience,
love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings.
What kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra?
The persecutions I endured, yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.
In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while
evildoers and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know
those from whom you learned it.
And how from infancy you have known the holy scriptures, which are able to make you wise
for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training
in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good
work.
Amen.
Let's once again take some time to pray together.
Let's pray.
Father God, as we read that sobering account of life in the last days, we would begin our
time of prayer confessing our sin before you, acknowledging that we have sinned against you
in thought, in word, and in action, in the things that we have done and in the things we have
left undone.
Lord, we have not loved you with our whole heart.
We have not loved our neighbor as ourselves.
Lord, as we stand under your word, under your law, we would confess and we would repent.
And we would ask that for the sake of your son Jesus, you would have mercy on us.
Lord, we thank you for the promise, for the assurance that if we confess our sins, you are faithful
and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Lord, we pray for ourselves as a church and we pray for our wider community today.
Lord, we pray for anybody here who feels a sense of loneliness, perhaps far from home, far from family
and friends, those who are feeling a sense of isolation, perhaps because of the struggles of life.
Lord, we thank you for that promise that in Jesus we have a friend who sticks closer than any brother,
that we have the promise from Jesus, that he will never leave or forsake any of his people,
that wherever we are we go with your spirit if we belong to you.
And so we pray for comfort and encouragement and strength that comes from yourself.
We also pray that this church would be a place of real community and family for many people,
whether they're from Scotland or for people all around the world.
Lord, we pray for any here today who have particular burdens that they are carrying, anxieties for themselves or for others,
stress because of any number of factors.
Lord, we thank you again for Jesus, the one who invites us to lay our burdens down,
to find rest from him and to find rest in him.
Lord, we thank you for the gift of prayer,
that when we find ourselves anxious and perplexed and confused,
and sorrowing,
that we can turn our eyes to the God who made the heavens and the earth,
the God who is higher than us,
the God who promises to be a rock,
a source of strength and refuge.
And so we pray that for any who are particularly anxious,
that they would know to turn to you,
and that they would find comfort and strength from you,
this day and this week.
Lord, we pray for those who are suffering because of ill health.
We think of those who are undergoing treatments of various kinds,
for those who are awaiting results of tests and surgeries.
Lord, again, in those moments of fear and those doubts and questions come,
Lord, may your spirit come and draw near and give hope and give peace.
Lord, that sometimes the waves seem to break over and over.
We thank you that Jesus is the one who could speak to the storm and say,
be still.
Lord, we pray that you would quiet stormy hearts today because of your great grace and your goodness.
Lord, we pray today for those who are here who may be searching to find you as the one true God.
We pray that as we spend time together reading the Bible and thinking about it,
as we pray, as we sing,
Lord, that you would be revealing yourself,
you'd be revealing Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life,
that you would be pleasing to draw people to faith and to know you as their God.
We pray for your people as we seek to live for you in the world,
as you call us to be salt and light.
We thank you that you know each one of us.
You know where we spend our time.
You know the people that we spend time with.
You know the opportunities that we have to speak about Jesus.
You know the challenges we have to live for Jesus.
And so we pray for each one of your people that we would be depending on you as our Father,
that we would be looking to Jesus our Savior,
that we'd be finding strength that comes from the Holy Spirit within us,
so that we might bear witness to the hope that we have,
and that you might be pleased to bring into our lives those who need that hope,
those who need living truth,
and that you might work salvation in their hearts also.
Lord, we pray as we have thought from your word about the importance of your word,
and we pray for your word as it goes into the world today,
as people will be preaching it in churches all around the world,
as people will be speaking truth together around the world,
and may you cause faith to be strengthened,
and may you cause faith to come to life all around this world.
And what we pray for our world, we pray for our country.
Lord, will you strengthen your church and your people?
Will you renew and revive?
And Lord, as we realize how important your word is,
we pray for the work of a Bible translation,
and we thank you for those who use their gifts
to help to translate the Bible into different languages,
so people can hear good news for themselves.
And we thank you for the work of Bible societies all around the world,
as they look to make the Bible available
to people who long to read it,
who need to read it.
And so Lord, we pray that your word,
which is living and active,
would be living and active around the world today,
and it be living and active in our hearts today,
that you would speak,
and that we would listen,
and that we would be changed.
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Now we're going to sing a section of Psalm 119 together,
sometimes described as the great love song to the Bible
that we have in the Bible.
We're going to sing the section from Psalm,
from verse 105.
And again, as we're able,
let's stand together so we can sing.
Your word's a lamp that shines before my feet.
It is a light that guides me on my way.
The oath that I have taken,
I've confirmed,
that all your righteous laws I will obey.
Oh, Lord, you know that I have suffered much.
Preserve my life according to your words.
Accept the willing praises of my mouth.
Instruct me in your righteous laws, O Lord.
I will not disregard your holy law,
though constantly my life is in my hands.
Although the wicked set a snare for me,
I have not left the path of your commands.
Your statutes are my heritage always,
grace.
And every day they make my heart rejoice.
My heart is set on keeping your decrees.
And to the very end they are my choice.
Now, can you turn with me to Luke's gospel
and chapter 10.
Again, if you're using your church Bibles,
you'll find on page 1042.
And we're going to read this short section
at the end of chapter 10,
where Jesus enters the home of Martha and Mary.
And we'll think together about listening
to God's words.
So let's hear God's word.
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way,
he came to a village where a woman named Martha
opened her home to him.
She had a sister called Mary,
who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.
But Martha was distracted by all the preparations
that had to be made.
She came to him and asked,
Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me
to do the work by myself?
Tell her to help me.
Martha, Martha, the Lord answered,
you are worried and upset about many things,
but a few things are needed,
or indeed only one.
Mary has chosen what is better,
and it will not be taken away from her.
Amen.
So there's a wonderful little section here,
which we'll get to.
But before we get to it,
I want to talk just for a couple of minutes
about a chap by the name of Carl Newport.
Now, some of you maybe have heard of him.
He writes and speaks about deep working
and about digital minimalism.
So this is a key guy for thinking about deep working,
thinking about making space
to have uninterrupted time to read,
to think, to research, to write.
He examined his own life,
probably recognizes the challenges
that belong to many of us,
the challenge of disruptive and distracting social media,
the problem of constant interruptions,
because of technology,
and also the pull of shallow work,
those other tasks that are not the main tasks
that can pull us away from deep working,
deep thinking.
And so the answer for Carl Newport
was to begin to practice digital minimalism,
to maximize focus by minimizing the time spent
with technology and on social media.
And he writes and speaks about that process
of retraining one's brain
to be able to focus deeply
on whatever is being read and researched.
Now, why talk about this?
Well, we talk about it
because probably it's an experience
many of us recognize.
But there is something in this
for us as disciples,
as followers of Jesus too.
As we get into this text,
we understand that Mary and Martha
and we too are being called to deep listening,
to be devoted to Jesus' words.
That in this text,
we find the challenge of distractions,
that even good things in our lives
can take us away from Jesus' words.
And we hear the call from Jesus himself
to refocus,
to choose the one necessary thing,
to sit at Jesus' feet.
So we're going to see that today.
Again, before we get into the text directly,
there's something we need to recognize
that Luke has done in his gospel.
He's pulled this meeting with Mary and Martha
out of its expected sequence.
So Mary and Martha live in a place called Bethany.
We know Jesus is on a journey to Jerusalem,
but by this stage in Luke 10,
he hasn't actually reached Bethany yet.
So what Luke is doing
is he's taking a later story
and he's pulling it back in time
to place it here.
And so we need to ask ourselves,
why is he placing it here?
I want to give us two suggestions
and we'll come back to these.
One suggestion.
So last week, if you remember,
Jesus has a discussion
about keeping the two great commandments
about love for God
and love for our neighbor.
And last week,
we thought about the Good Samaritan.
What does it look like to love our neighbor?
It looks like showing mercy,
being sacrificial,
with our time,
with our energy,
with our resources.
This week,
and next time we come back
to Luke chapter 11,
the focus is going to be,
how do we grow in our love for God?
The focus this week,
listening to the words of God,
listening to the words of Jesus.
Next week,
next time,
it's going to be about prayer.
So there's a nice balance here
that's created.
There's balance for the follower of Jesus.
Last week,
good works,
activity,
caring for God's world.
This week,
good listening,
and reflection,
and spending time in God's word.
And as followers of Jesus,
we need both.
And we need that balance.
But our focus,
this time,
is going to be on listening to God's word.
And there's three portraits
that we have here in this chapter,
in this little section,
that will help us to see
that since Jesus is Lord,
we must listen to him.
Okay,
first portrait
is that of a stressed out servant.
Let's look at Martha
for a few moments.
Verse 38,
As Jesus and his disciples
were on their way,
he came to a village
where a woman named Martha
opened her home to him.
Okay,
so,
Martha,
we're being presented
to someone who is
most likely the elder sister
in this family.
She's being presented
as the hostess.
And she's being presented
positively,
because what does she do?
She welcomes Jesus in.
When Jesus sent out
his 72 disciples,
he spoke about the importance
of welcoming Jesus
and his people in.
She is a follower.
She's enjoying the peace of God.
She receives him well.
But it doesn't take long
before stress begins to develop.
Verse 40,
Martha was distracted
by all the preparations
that had to be made.
Here is a picture of someone
who has become crazy busy,
looking to do a good thing,
to show hospitality to Jesus,
to serve Jesus a nice meal.
She has now become distracted.
She is over busy.
She's going round in circles.
And with that
comes frustration.
She came to Jesus
and asked,
Lord,
don't you care
that my sister's left me
to do the work by myself?
She's frustrated with Jesus.
She's judging her sister.
Maybe just sitting there
doing nothing
while I'm busy
getting the meal ready.
And her solution,
get Mary to come help me
in the kitchen.
Now,
how does Jesus respond
to Martha?
Notice,
first of all,
that he responds
tenderly
and kindly.
Martha,
the Lord answered.
You're worried
and upset
about many things.
Martha,
you're being disturbed
and distracted.
Why?
Because you've lost focus.
Few things are needed
or indeed,
only one.
Jesus didn't come
needing a fancy meal.
Martha does need
to listen to Jesus.
And in all her busyness,
she's lost that focus.
So,
Jesus has been welcomed in,
but at the same time,
Martha is in danger
in this moment
of missing out
on fellowship
and friendship
with her Lord
and her King.
And so,
Jesus kindly,
wisely
says to her,
Martha,
it's time to put the pans down.
It's time to put
the to-do list away.
It's time to come
and listen
and learn
and to receive
my love.
Jesus speaks
to Martha,
this stressed out servant,
and says,
you know what?
It's time for you
in this moment
to stop serving.
Instead,
it's time to be served.
Receive grace
from me
and from my words.
So,
as we come into
Luke's portrait gallery
and as we examine
Martha,
as we stop
and look at her life,
do we see something
of ourselves there?
In our busyness,
maybe we feel
that we're chasing
ourselves in circles,
pulled away,
distracted
from the best thing,
time with Jesus
and his word,
by the many things,
by the many good things
that we're doing.
Perhaps it's easy
to see ourselves here.
Where do distractions
come from?
For Martha,
it was cooking,
it was hospitality,
I was looking
to serve Jesus there.
Where do distractions
come from for us?
Maybe first and foremost,
they come from our culture.
People say we live
in the age of distraction
because of technology,
because we're always connected,
because we're surrounded
by entertainment
and by noise.
Do we find that
that distracts us
from time
spent with Jesus?
Maybe it's because
of career.
Like Martha,
she was a homemaker,
she was a hostess,
she took that
really seriously,
but that distracted her
in that moment
from the best thing,
time with Jesus.
Maybe that's the challenge
for us,
high pressure,
long hours,
the need to always
be available
where we find it
hard to switch off.
Maybe it's concerns.
That word
in verse 41
that Jesus uses,
you are worried
and upset
about many things.
That word worried
comes up again
in chapter 12.
The worries
that can come.
Chapter 12,
verse 11.
When you are brought
before synagogues,
rulers and authorities,
do not worry
about how you'll
defend yourselves
or what you'll say.
So we can be concerned
about spiritual opposition.
or further on
in the chapter,
chapter 12,
verse 22.
Therefore I tell you,
do not worry
about your life,
what you'll eat
or about your body,
what you'll wear.
Our daily needs,
what we need
for each day,
those concerns
can distract us
from our time
with Jesus.
Without care
and protection,
as Martha shows us,
time with Jesus,
time in God's word,
can get swallowed up.
And we can miss
that wonderful truth
of a quiet heart
still before our God.
How do we fight distraction
so we can hear God's word?
Let me make three suggestions
for us.
The first is about depending.
Again, I suspect
I'm not alone in this,
recognizing that the temptation
for busy Christians,
if we have a lot
on our plate,
a lot of tasks
to perform,
the first thing
that's likely
to get dropped
is either
Bible reading
or prayer
or maybe both.
We know what we're doing.
God has resourced us
so we work
in our own strength
and we're self-reliant.
Maybe we need to learn
from Martha
that first,
Jesus must serve us.
In the word of God,
we must receive grace
from him
if we are to serve well.
We depend
like children
before our Father
in heaven
and so we are
to come hungry
knowing that
Jesus promises
to satisfy.
How else
to fight
distraction?
Let's think
about
dropping.
First of all,
dropping the pace
of life
so that we have
time with God.
Being crazy busy
can almost seem
like a badge of honour
in our culture
and society
but it's not good
for the people of God
to live without margins,
to live without time
that we can give
to unhurried time
with our God
and our Saviour.
Maybe you've heard
of John Wesley,
famous preacher
in the 18th century.
He had a band
of travelling preachers
under his care
and he gave them
a wonderful piece
of advice.
He said to them,
when you travel,
travel with a slack rein.
So they're riding horses,
don't be going
full pelt,
slow down.
Why did he tell them that?
It was so that
as they journeyed,
they could be thinking
about God's word of truth
and they would have time
to pray.
In the 18th century,
Wesley was thinking
about how do we
redeem our commute?
How can we use
our travelling time
so that we can be fed
by God's word
so that we're not
always hurried
so that we can have
a tranquil,
peaceful heart?
What will that look like
for you and I today
living in the 21st century
to ride with slack reins
so that we have time
with God
so that our hearts
are not stirred up
with so much noise?
We need to drop
the pace of life
and we need to drop
some of the noise
out of our time,
out of our lives
so that we can hear
the word of God.
Maybe that will mean
quite literally,
I've been trying to do this
this week,
find it super helpful,
if I'm reading my Bible
in this room,
I'm going to drop
my phone and my laptop
in that room over there.
We need to think
really carefully
to make sure
that we have
undivided time
with our God.
Depending and dropping,
if we want to fight
distraction,
we need to learn
delighting as well.
One and only time
I tried scuba diving
when we had family
living in the Philippines
was an absolute disaster.
I discovered
that I am freakishly buoyant.
Everybody else
was getting down
to the bottom,
no problemo.
Even when they put weights
on my wetsuit,
I would still bubble
up to the top.
And so I found myself
stuck paddling
on the surface.
I don't know why.
But you know,
that often describes
my faith.
And I wonder
if that describes
the faith of you
as well.
Where we find
ourselves content
with a little bit
of paddling
rather than really
diving into
the rich treasures
that we have
in God's Word.
The world
crowds in
and disrupts.
And we find
that we're grabbing
a minute
or two minutes.
We don't have
quality time
to really sink
and settle
into how wonderful
God's Word is.
We need to fight,
discipline ourselves
in order
to find
that delight
of meeting
with God
in His Word.
See,
Martha had this
amazing moment.
Here is the
King of the Universe
sitting in her
front room.
Her teacher
and her Lord
who would share
unhurried time
with her
and her family.
this Savior
who would speak
words of love
and truth
and life
into her heart
and her mind
but she almost
missed it.
Because she was
caught up in
preparing a fancy
meal,
caught up in the
stress of serving.
We also have
an incredible
privilege.
Jesus meets
with us today
by His Spirit.
God would speak
to us today
in His living
Word of God.
Jesus invites us
into fellowship
to be served
by Him
as we gather
together
in His presence.
Let's not miss it.
Let Jesus
speak
verse 41
and verse 42
directly
to your heart
today.
James,
you are worried
and upset
about many
things,
but few
things are
needed,
or indeed
only one.
Don't miss it
when Jesus
offers us Himself.
That's the first
portrait.
Second portrait
is that of Mary.
Here is a portrait
of someone
who is listening
to the Lord.
And as we look
at this portrait
that Luke draws
of Mary,
two details
are in view.
First of all,
her posture.
Look at verse 39.
She had a sister
called Mary
who sat
at the Lord's feet
listening
to what He said.
This is restful.
This is
quiet trust.
This is sitting
to listen
and to learn.
But it's also
radical.
And we shouldn't
miss this.
Because in the
first century,
it would have
been a shocking
thing that the
model disciple
being presented
to us
is a woman.
Notice this
wonderful truth
that Jesus
rejects the
sexism of the
first century
just as He
would reject
the 21st century
abuse of
power that we
are hearing
about all
too often.
We have the
wonderful,
gracious,
welcoming
Savior who
invites anyone
to come and
listen.
There is
humility in
this posture,
isn't there?
Sitting at
Jesus' feet
like a servant
before her
master and
her king.
There's a
tension in
her posture.
She's listening
in like a
student before
her teacher,
her master.
The Lord
of the universe,
the eternal
Son of God,
the Savior of
the world,
has rung
their doorbell
and Mary
takes full
advantage.
And there's
this wonderful
gift.
Here is the
Savior on
his journey
to save
her,
to go to
Jerusalem,
to die for
her,
and he sits
to talk with
her.
And she
gives full
attention.
She's listening
to the
Lord.
So there's
her posture
there,
but also we
need to
recognize that
Jesus draws
attention to
her priority
also.
To read
again,
verse 42,
few things
are needed,
or indeed
only one.
Mary has
chosen what
is better,
and it will
not be taken
away from
her.
That one
thing necessary
was not a
fancy meal,
it was not
frantic activity,
it was to
sit at
Jesus'
feet and
to learn
from him.
The better
portion that
Mary has
chosen,
quality time
with the
Lord Jesus,
listening to
his word.
Now again,
think about
those two
details.
Think about
her posture,
think about
her priority.
How would
our portrait
look?
Honestly,
as we sit
here today,
and how does
God want
our portrait
to look?
Think about
our posture.
I know
some of us,
we know
pain,
regularly or
occasionally,
of a body
that gets
out of
alignment.
And the
truth is that
the same
thing can
happen
spiritually.
And we
need the
word of
God to
do that
spiritual
physio
work to
realign us
so that
our posture
is right.
Think about
what the
Bible says
about itself.
So in
Psalm 119,
we read,
your word
is a lamp
to my feet.
Is
God's word
what directs
our lives,
what directs
our decisions,
our attitudes,
our actions?
God's word
is described
as sweeter
than honey.
It is
supposed to
give joy
and delight.
Do we
approach it
with that
sense of
joyful
expectation
and anticipation?
Jesus
said that
him and
his words
are like a
solid rock
foundation.
So when
the storms
of life
come,
when the
storm of
judgment
would come,
we would
stand firm.
Is
God's
word the
foundation
your life,
my life,
is built
on?
The Bible
describes
itself as
the sword
of the
spirit.
When we
face
spiritual
battle
and trial
and temptation,
do we
take it
up and
read it
and rely
upon it?
Do we
have a
posture of
humility
towards the
Bible?
Are we
ready to
submit to
it,
even when
it challenges
us,
even when
it exposes
sin in our
lives?
Do we
let it
judge us
rather than
us seeking
to stand
in judgment
over
God's
word?
Is it
our rule
for a
life of
godliness?
Do we
have that
posture of
attention
where we're
letting it
do its
work?
Remember
what Paul
wrote to
Timothy,
that God's
word teaches
and rebukes
and corrects
and trains
in righteousness.
Do we
allow God's
word to
do its
work?
Do we
do what
it says?
Are we
meditating
upon it
day and
night?
Are we
seeking to
find Christ
in all
of
scripture?
And what
about when
it comes
to our
priority?
We see
clearly
Mary's
priority
in our
crazy
busy
world,
with our
busy
lives,
where does
the word
of God
fit?
Does
the word
of God
fit?
remember
what we
have
when we
pick up
our
Bibles.
We have
what so
many people
are looking
for.
They're
looking to
connect
with God.
They're
looking to
find where
can I
meet with
God?
We meet
God in
his word.
This is the
place where
God would
speak to
us,
where we
can actually
meet with
Christ
Jesus,
to understand
that we
have the
same
privilege as
Mary.
Every time
we open
our Bible,
that should
help us to
make it a
priority,
that we
can sit
at Jesus'
feet every
time we
come to
church or
we open
a Bible.
Think about
that.
When we
come to
church,
this is no
ordinary
thing.
We have
a standing
weekly
invitation to
fellowship with
the Lord
Jesus,
the King
and Savior.
that privilege
that Mary
enjoyed,
we get to
enjoy every
week.
We can
listen to
him every
week.
We can
meet him
together as
we worship.
So as we
understand that,
let's not
let lesser
things,
even when
like Martha
they're good
things,
take us from
the bigger and
better joy of
knowing Jesus
in his
word.
Last
portrait,
and it's
the portrait
of Jesus
himself.
Jesus as
he shows
and brings
the grace
of God.
Now remember
this is all
happening in
the context
of hospitality
and of
sharing a
meal,
and that
kind of
imagery is
helpful for
us as we
consider Luke's
portrait of
Jesus.
Think first
of all about
an open
table.
Recognize in
this little
section we're
being reminded
that there
are no
boundaries,
there are
no limits
to God's
grace.
Just as we
said a few
moments ago,
the model
disciple would
have shocked
people in
Jesus' day
because it
was Mary.
All of the
Gospels are
telling us
Jesus will
teach anyone,
Jesus will
share friendship
with anyone
who will
listen,
who will
follow,
who will
believe.
Nothing has
changed on
that.
Jesus is on
his journey
to the
cross to
extend the
grace of
forgiveness so
that whoever
believes in
him should
not perish but
have everlasting
life.
Whoever we
are,
wherever we're
from,
Jesus invites
us to meet
with him,
to receive God's
love from him,
to be welcomed
into friendship
and fellowship
by him.
He has an
open table.
Let's think
also about a
balanced diet
to put those
two stories
together, the
Good Samaritan
and Martha and
Mary, on the
way of Jesus.
These are
stories taking
place while
Jesus is on a
journey.
While we are
on the journey
of following
Jesus, there is
to be service,
like the Good
Samaritan showing
love for
neighbor, and
there is to be
silence,
quiet hearts,
listening to
Jesus, slowing
down to listen
in.
We are called
to love God's
world, to meet
people's needs, and
to show mercy, and
we're called to
love God's word, to
hear Jesus, to
obey Jesus.
This is the
wonderful balance
we see in Jesus'
own life.
To read the
Gospels, we read
there are some
days where Jesus
seems to spend
all his time
healing people,
and teaching
people, but we
also discover he
spends whole
nights of quiet
time, a prayer
with his
father.
Jesus loved to
bring in the
kingdom through
his miracles, and
he loved to
teach, and show
that he is the
king bringing the
kingdom of God.
So while the
emphasis on our
text today is on
the priority of
time with God in
his word, we can
understand that
that's also of
relevance as we
think about going
out into the
world and of
serving.
as we meet
with Jesus, as
he would change
our heart, as
we would receive
spiritual power, as
we would know
God's will for how
to please him, that's
going to help us
as we look to
help others.
One last thing as
we think about this
portrait of Jesus,
is to recognize
that because Jesus
is so gracious, we
have an invitation
to a feast.
See, we could
finish a sermon
like this with a
call to duty.
Christians, you
should read your
Bible.
Christians, you
should be in
church.
And of course, those
things are true, and
we don't want to
miss that.
But there's a
better way, by
reminding ourselves
of the privilege we
have, that we're
invited to a
wonderful, joyful
feast.
As God's word
says, taste and
see that the
Lord is good.
Sunday by Sunday,
recognize and
enjoy the fact that
Jesus comes to
meet with us as
his people, that
he comes to
feed us from
his word, that
he wants to
satisfy our
hearts' desires
with himself and
to increase our
delight in him.
And recognize
again, every time
you and I open
our Bible,
whenever we do
that, we're
invited to the
joy of hearing
from the living
God, of meeting
with our God
and Savior.
So together,
will we slow
down?
Will we switch
off so that we
can spend time
with Jesus and
receive the bread
of life from
him?
Let me pray for
us.
Let's pray.
Lord, our God,
we thank you for
this little story
which is so
revealing of
us and for
us.
Lord, so
often we can
find ourselves
so busy,
busy with
necessary things,
busy with
good things,
that time with
you can be
squeezed out.
Now, that time
reading the
Bible, time to
pray, time to
worship with
God's people,
can seem like
an optional
extra, rather
than being the
air we need to
breathe, the
food and the
water that we
need in order
to live well
and to
flourish.
Lord, will
you make us
wise as we
think about our
own lives and
situations, make
us wise to
see how we
might make
changes, how
we might find
the time to
spend with
you, to be
served by
you, to
receive grace
from you, and
not just for a
moment, but
you might give
us the
privilege of
unhurried time
with Jesus
our Savior.
Lord, as we've
heard Jesus
say that
listening to
him is the
better portion,
it's the one
thing that's
necessary, will
you help us to
pay attention
when we read
the Bible and
when we come
to church, that
we would be
shaped by what
we read, that
we would be
growing to be
more like
Jesus our
Savior, that
we would allow
your word to
do its work
in our lives.
And Lord, will
you keep showing
us more grace
through Jesus our
wonderful Savior.
We thank you
that he is so
kind, that he
would meet with
us, to speak
to us, to
give us strength
for our journey
of faith.
help us to
choose wisely.
Help us to
choose for our
ultimate good.
We pray in
Jesus' name.
Amen.
Now, we'll
close singing
the hymn,
Speak, O
Lord, reminding
us again of
what God would
do for us in
his word.
So let's stand
as we're able
to sing, Speak,
O Lord.
or
Be your