WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.600 At this time of year, there's lots of new things starting. 00:00:04.600 --> 00:00:10.400 So although it's two thirds of the way through 2020, in many ways, end of August, beginning 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:12.800 of September is a fresh start. 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:18.280 You've got the new school term starting, the new academic session begins. 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:22.440 Here in our own congregation, we've got new trainees starting and we're looking forward 00:00:22.440 --> 00:00:25.719 to welcoming new people who've come to the city. 00:00:25.719 --> 00:00:31.519 And of course, we're also just at the point of beginning to come out of lockdown and we're 00:00:31.519 --> 00:00:37.320 able to start looking to return to normal in many ways. 00:00:37.320 --> 00:00:41.119 So it's a very, very exciting time of year. 00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:47.439 But that also makes it a very good time of year to look at ourselves as a church and 00:00:47.439 --> 00:00:51.399 to think about our priorities. 00:00:51.399 --> 00:00:59.079 And as we do so, it's always wise for us to ask the question, what kind of church do 00:00:59.079 --> 00:01:03.799 we want to be? 00:01:03.799 --> 00:01:10.759 And probably the best place to go to answer that question is to the last few verses of 00:01:10.759 --> 00:01:13.159 Acts chapter two. 00:01:13.159 --> 00:01:17.640 Here we have a description of what the church should be like. 00:01:17.640 --> 00:01:22.599 And for this reason, these are verses that really we should be coming back to every year, 00:01:22.599 --> 00:01:28.760 in fact, even more frequently than that, to be reminded of what God wants us to do. 00:01:28.760 --> 00:01:31.680 So let's just read these verses again. 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:35.640 It says, they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking 00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:41.120 of bread and the prayers, and all came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:43.439 being done through the apostles. 00:01:43.439 --> 00:01:48.000 And all who believed were together and had all things in common, and they were selling 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:53.840 their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:58.759 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received 00:01:58.759 --> 00:02:04.039 their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the 00:02:04.039 --> 00:02:12.919 people, and the Lord added to their number, day by day, those who were being saved. 00:02:12.919 --> 00:02:15.199 There's a lot of wonderful teaching in these verses. 00:02:15.199 --> 00:02:23.759 Today I want us to focus on six points, and each of these will show us what our priorities 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:30.239 as a church should be, and we'll hopefully spend about five minutes on each. 00:02:30.239 --> 00:02:34.199 Number one, here we see, we ask the question, what kind of church do we want to be? 00:02:34.199 --> 00:02:39.919 Well, first answer is, we want to be a church that wants to learn. 00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:46.159 In Acts chapter two, we see that they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching at the 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:50.519 heart of their church life, was teaching and learning. 00:02:50.519 --> 00:02:56.319 I think that's a very significant point, because often when we look back to the early church 00:02:56.319 --> 00:03:03.199 and think about what it was like, we can immediately be drawn in our minds to all the amazing miracles 00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:05.519 and remarkable events that took place. 00:03:05.519 --> 00:03:08.959 And sometimes I think people can look back to the early church and think that everything 00:03:08.960 --> 00:03:15.080 was so radical and spontaneous and free, and it's true that many remarkable things did 00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:16.879 happen. 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:24.200 But it's vital that we recognize that at the heart of the New Testament church was teaching 00:03:24.200 --> 00:03:26.719 and learning. 00:03:26.719 --> 00:03:30.040 People didn't believe what they liked, they didn't do what they liked, they didn't just 00:03:30.040 --> 00:03:31.800 do their own thing. 00:03:31.800 --> 00:03:39.080 The early church made absolutely sure that the teaching of the apostles was at the very 00:03:39.080 --> 00:03:41.520 center of everything that they did. 00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:45.640 And in fact, one of the main purposes of the miracles and the remarkable events was to 00:03:45.640 --> 00:03:50.280 authenticate this teaching. 00:03:50.280 --> 00:03:55.280 If you read through the New Testament, you'll see that again and again there are two massive 00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:58.120 dangers that face the church. 00:03:58.120 --> 00:04:03.159 One of these was false teaching. 00:04:03.159 --> 00:04:07.840 And that makes sense because at the heart of Christianity is a life-giving message, 00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:14.599 but if that message is going to give life, then it must remain accurate. 00:04:14.599 --> 00:04:20.399 For that reason, false teaching was a huge threat to the early church. 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:26.959 And that's why the church in the Book of Acts was a church that wanted to learn. 00:04:26.959 --> 00:04:29.639 But we are exactly the same. 00:04:29.639 --> 00:04:36.000 We want to be devoted to apostolic teaching as a church. 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:40.599 Now, you might immediately say to yourself, well, how's that work? 00:04:40.599 --> 00:04:46.439 We don't have apostles today, and of course that's true, but we do have their teaching 00:04:46.439 --> 00:04:49.679 because that's exactly what the New Testament is. 00:04:49.679 --> 00:04:54.479 You'll remember that Jesus in John chapter 16 said to his disciples, I still have many 00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:57.960 things to say to you, but you can't bear them now. 00:04:57.960 --> 00:05:02.400 When the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he'll not speak 00:05:02.400 --> 00:05:06.920 in his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak, and he'll declare to you the 00:05:06.920 --> 00:05:08.400 things that are to come. 00:05:08.400 --> 00:05:15.240 He will glorify me, for he'll take what's mine and declare it to you. 00:05:15.240 --> 00:05:20.960 Through the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus completed his teaching through the writings 00:05:20.960 --> 00:05:21.960 of the apostles. 00:05:21.959 --> 00:05:26.399 And now we have that writing before us here in the New Testament. 00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:33.239 And at the heart of our life as a church in the year ahead is that we want to learn from 00:05:33.239 --> 00:05:34.839 this teaching. 00:05:34.839 --> 00:05:42.719 Now, sometimes when we talk about teaching and learning, it's easy to kind of think to 00:05:42.719 --> 00:05:49.120 ourselves that learning stifles practical Christian living. 00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:54.519 So we can maybe think that while learning is kind of this sort of ivory tower thing 00:05:54.519 --> 00:05:58.959 that the select few do, that people who are maybe taining for ministry or something like 00:05:58.959 --> 00:06:02.920 that, they'll do that kind of really committed learning. 00:06:02.920 --> 00:06:07.160 The rest of us should just get on with living out the gospel in practical terms. 00:06:07.160 --> 00:06:14.560 So we can almost put practical Christian living on one side and learning on the other as though 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:16.360 you kind of have to choose one or the other. 00:06:16.360 --> 00:06:19.000 But of course, that's a false dichotomy. 00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:24.040 The Bible never sets learning and serving in opposition. 00:06:24.040 --> 00:06:25.399 It's the opposite. 00:06:25.399 --> 00:06:29.360 The two go hand in hand. 00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:35.759 And again, that makes perfect sense because in every other sphere of life, learning creates 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:39.600 opportunities to do practical stuff. 00:06:39.600 --> 00:06:44.319 So you think of every practical resource you have in your life, your house, your food, 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:47.839 your phone, your car, your computer, your utilities. 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:52.399 How do these practical things come to have a place in your life? 00:06:52.399 --> 00:06:56.119 It's because people learned about them. 00:06:56.119 --> 00:07:00.719 And everything that you and I can achieve in practical terms in our daily lives is because 00:07:00.719 --> 00:07:06.639 of stuff we've learned from whether it's using our computer to riding our bikes. 00:07:06.639 --> 00:07:09.679 It's all stuff we've had to learn. 00:07:09.679 --> 00:07:13.359 That's why education is a fundamental right in our society. 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:19.360 Everyone has to learn in order to do anything, and it's exactly the same in the church. 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:27.639 If we're going to achieve anything, it is essential that we keep on learning. 00:07:27.639 --> 00:07:34.439 That's why apostolic teaching must shape every aspect of a church's life. 00:07:34.439 --> 00:07:39.199 And by learning, it's going to give us so much help and it's going to give us so much 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:43.839 confidence as we seek to serve. 00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:47.800 This is the kind of thing that the apostles taught about, that we need to learn. 00:07:47.800 --> 00:07:52.360 We want to learn more about the sovereignty of God because if we do that, it's going to 00:07:52.360 --> 00:07:55.919 massively boost our confidence as we seek to reach out. 00:07:55.919 --> 00:07:58.039 You think to yourself, how can we reach Edinburgh? 00:07:58.039 --> 00:07:59.639 How can we share the gospel with our friends? 00:07:59.639 --> 00:08:04.159 How are we going to see people who have no interest in the gospel converted? 00:08:04.159 --> 00:08:05.519 How is that ever going to happen? 00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:12.319 The answer is because God is sovereign and that makes anything possible. 00:08:12.319 --> 00:08:15.959 It gives us a massive confidence boost. 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:20.519 We want to learn about the Lordship of Jesus Christ because He is a leader who's worth 00:08:20.519 --> 00:08:28.000 following and who's worth trusting in contrast to so many other leaders that we see around 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:29.000 us today. 00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:33.439 We want to learn about the power of the Holy Spirit because He's the one who really can 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:37.640 change people's hearts and change people's lives. 00:08:37.640 --> 00:08:43.080 We want to learn about the unity of the church so that we can all be part of a family together 00:08:43.080 --> 00:08:49.600 as brothers and sisters where no one is judged and where everyone matters. 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:54.720 We want to learn about the ethics of God's kingdom so that we can be different, beautifully 00:08:54.720 --> 00:09:01.240 different from all the harshness and cruelty and coldness that we see in the culture around 00:09:01.240 --> 00:09:02.240 us. 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:06.919 We want to learn about the promises that the Bible gives us for our future so that no matter 00:09:06.919 --> 00:09:15.560 what life does to you this week or in the months and years to come, you will know that 00:09:15.560 --> 00:09:20.759 you have hope and peace and security that you can never ever lose. 00:09:20.759 --> 00:09:26.120 There is so much amazing stuff to learn. 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:31.240 That's why we want to make this a priority. 00:09:31.240 --> 00:09:39.279 May God make us a church that wants to learn. 00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:44.879 Number two, we see a church that wants to be together. 00:09:44.879 --> 00:09:52.080 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and they've devoted themselves to the fellowship. 00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:56.560 They were a church that wanted to be together. 00:09:56.559 --> 00:10:02.399 That's a reminder that the apostolic teaching didn't just fill their minds with all this 00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:05.679 wonderful information that they could enjoy in isolation. 00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:11.839 It also showed these believers that they had something wonderful in common. 00:10:11.839 --> 00:10:12.839 That's what the word fellowship means. 00:10:12.839 --> 00:10:14.399 It just means in common. 00:10:14.399 --> 00:10:17.199 We get the word communion from that. 00:10:17.199 --> 00:10:21.519 That was so powerfully demonstrated on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two where 00:10:21.519 --> 00:10:26.519 you had all these different people, Parthians and Medes and Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, 00:10:26.519 --> 00:10:31.960 Judea, Capodotius, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, parts of Libya belonging 00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:37.759 to Sirene, visitors from Rome, Jews and Prostylates, Cretans and Arabians. 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:48.960 They were all being united together in this amazing family called the Church of Jesus Christ. 00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:53.519 That of course brings us back to the two most important commandments that Jesus sets before 00:10:53.519 --> 00:10:56.919 us that we are to love God and love one another. 00:10:56.919 --> 00:11:02.960 As a church, we love one another and we long to be together because we are all united in 00:11:02.960 --> 00:11:03.960 Jesus. 00:11:03.960 --> 00:11:10.519 But of course, that love that we have for one another is not just a token statement that 00:11:10.519 --> 00:11:11.720 we express in words. 00:11:11.720 --> 00:11:14.399 It's something that must be shown in action. 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:18.439 That's why it's so important to come together as a church. 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:25.520 Now, I know that that's been so difficult and different over these past few months because 00:11:25.520 --> 00:11:30.320 of lockdown and in many ways we've had to try and make sure that we retain our togetherness 00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:34.400 even though we're not able to physically be in the same room. 00:11:34.400 --> 00:11:38.360 But even though that's worked really well and it has worked well in lots of ways, we 00:11:38.360 --> 00:11:43.120 must never forget just how important it is to be together and how much we long for the 00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:48.560 day when there's no restrictions on our togetherness. 00:11:48.560 --> 00:11:54.200 And being together as a church opens up so many possibilities for wonderful things to 00:11:54.200 --> 00:11:55.600 happen. 00:11:55.600 --> 00:12:00.560 We can talk together and take an interest in each other's lives. 00:12:00.560 --> 00:12:03.679 We can share the burdens and worries that we might have. 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:08.639 We can give each other things to pray for either for ourselves or for others. 00:12:08.639 --> 00:12:09.799 We can laugh together. 00:12:09.799 --> 00:12:11.659 We can rejoice together. 00:12:11.659 --> 00:12:13.559 We can weep together. 00:12:13.559 --> 00:12:20.000 We can talk about the sins and struggles that we have in our lives. 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:23.799 We can learn and grow together. 00:12:23.799 --> 00:12:31.319 There's so many amazing things that come from being together in fellowship. 00:12:31.319 --> 00:12:36.720 But it's also very important to remember that the in common aspect of being a Christian 00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:41.439 doesn't just apply to the good stuff. 00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:46.640 In other words, it doesn't just apply to all the joys and privileges and blessings of being 00:12:46.640 --> 00:12:48.400 a Christian. 00:12:48.400 --> 00:12:55.560 The in common part of the Christian family also applies to the hard bits. 00:12:55.560 --> 00:13:02.840 It's so easy to think that we're the only ones who have struggles. 00:13:02.840 --> 00:13:06.480 And we look at other people and we think, well, I'm probably the only person who has 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:07.480 doubts. 00:13:07.480 --> 00:13:09.360 I'm the only one who forgets to pray. 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:13.120 I'm the only one who doesn't really understand this part of the Bible. 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:16.440 I'm probably the only one who's quite scared of sharing my faith. 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:21.680 I'm the one who feels undervalued and kind of on the fringes. 00:13:21.680 --> 00:13:27.600 And I feel like I'm mucking things up most of the time. 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:32.000 It's so easy to feel like that and to think that we're the only one who feels like that. 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:38.080 But the truth is, when it comes to the hard stuff of being a Christian, if we spend time 00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:45.920 together, we discover that we actually have so much in common. 00:13:45.920 --> 00:13:50.800 That's exactly why Jesus says, spend time together, bear one another's burdens, because 00:13:50.800 --> 00:13:59.080 the doubts and fears and worries and anxieties and insecurities that you have, I am 99% 00:13:59.080 --> 00:14:02.600 sure that I have them as well. 00:14:02.600 --> 00:14:06.640 And that's part of the beauty of being in the Christian family is that we don't just 00:14:06.639 --> 00:14:11.600 have all this amazing stuff in common, which we do have in common. 00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:15.240 But the fact that we find it difficult, we have that in common as well. 00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:20.840 That's why Jesus wants us together, because we can support and help one another through 00:14:20.840 --> 00:14:23.399 it. 00:14:23.399 --> 00:14:30.799 And I think it's absolutely crucial that we remember this, because if we do, then I 00:14:30.799 --> 00:14:41.759 think it will cure what is one of the biggest problems facing the Christian church today. 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:43.759 The Christian church faces many challenges. 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:49.120 Some come from the outside, but some challenges come from the inside. 00:14:49.120 --> 00:14:56.639 And I think that one of the biggest internal problems that we face in the Christian church 00:14:56.639 --> 00:15:01.559 is that we constantly feel threatened. 00:15:01.559 --> 00:15:07.519 So for example, we feel threatened by Christians who think differently from us. 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:12.879 We feel threatened by Christians from different church backgrounds or from different social 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:14.559 classes. 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:19.039 We feel threatened by Christians who have had a more successful career than we have. 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:23.639 We feel threatened by Christians who like things that we don't like, or don't like the 00:15:23.639 --> 00:15:25.559 things that we do like. 00:15:25.559 --> 00:15:29.919 We feel threatened by Christians who have made big mistakes in their lives. 00:15:29.919 --> 00:15:37.359 And equally, we can feel threatened by Christians who have achieved amazing things. 00:15:37.359 --> 00:15:44.279 We look at all these things in other Christians, and we can so easily feel threatened. 00:15:44.279 --> 00:15:47.159 And I do it myself. 00:15:47.159 --> 00:15:51.199 For those of you who come to St. Columbus regularly, you'll know that there's a huge 00:15:51.199 --> 00:15:53.479 church building just across the roundabout from us. 00:15:53.480 --> 00:15:56.320 It's now called the Hub. 00:15:56.320 --> 00:16:00.399 And there's lots of buildings like that in Edinburgh that were once massive churches 00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:03.680 and are now used for something else. 00:16:03.680 --> 00:16:08.800 And I find myself feeling sad when I see that, and you think, you know, it's such a shame 00:16:08.800 --> 00:16:15.440 that these churches are no longer being used as places of worship. 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:20.320 But imagine that a new congregation did start in the Hub just across the road, and it became 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:24.240 a huge congregation, and it really flourished. 00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:28.360 And the people who walk up and down the Royal Mile every week flocked in there to hear the 00:16:28.360 --> 00:16:30.920 good news being preached. 00:16:30.920 --> 00:16:35.440 I asked myself the question, how would I feel if I stood here in St. Columbus watching that 00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:38.440 happen across the road? 00:16:38.440 --> 00:16:46.040 And the answers that I'd probably feel threatened, and I shouldn't feel like that, but I probably 00:16:46.040 --> 00:16:47.040 would. 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:53.159 And I think, oh, why is everyone going there and not coming here? 00:16:53.159 --> 00:17:02.759 It's so easy for us to feel threatened by other Christians in loads of different ways. 00:17:02.759 --> 00:17:06.480 And often that's not because we don't like them, but it's very often because we think 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:10.639 that for some reason they don't like us. 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:17.000 But I think the reason I feel threatened and we all feel threatened by others is because 00:17:17.000 --> 00:17:22.560 we tend to focus on all the stuff that's on the right-hand side, the stuff that makes 00:17:22.560 --> 00:17:23.960 us different. 00:17:23.960 --> 00:17:32.440 But of course, that's a huge mistake because by doing that, by focusing on all the stuff 00:17:32.440 --> 00:17:40.120 on the right-hand side, we forget the fundamental truth on the left-hand side that we are all 00:17:40.119 --> 00:17:43.479 united together in Jesus. 00:17:43.479 --> 00:17:51.599 And as a result, we have so, so much in common. 00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:57.839 And when we remember that, the threats stop feeling like threats, they actually become 00:17:57.839 --> 00:17:59.679 incredibly exciting. 00:17:59.679 --> 00:18:04.639 So you meet Christians who think differently from us, you think, well, we are definitely 00:18:04.639 --> 00:18:06.839 going to be able to learn stuff from one another. 00:18:06.839 --> 00:18:10.279 And you see Christians from different church backgrounds or social classes, you think, 00:18:10.279 --> 00:18:11.279 that's brilliant. 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:15.079 There's people from different parts of society coming together and united in Jesus. 00:18:15.079 --> 00:18:19.319 If there's Christians who are having a brilliant career, that's amazing because it means that 00:18:19.319 --> 00:18:23.240 Christians are achieving things for the glory of God and can use their position and their 00:18:23.240 --> 00:18:25.879 resources for His kingdom. 00:18:25.879 --> 00:18:29.759 If there's Christians that like things that we don't like, well, we need to just, that's 00:18:29.759 --> 00:18:34.519 an opportunity for us to learn from them and to think about how we can support one another. 00:18:34.519 --> 00:18:40.839 If there's Christians who've made big mistakes, that is actually what Christianity is all 00:18:40.839 --> 00:18:46.200 about, the fact that we all make mistakes and that the gospel and the church is a place 00:18:46.200 --> 00:18:49.720 where people who've made mistakes can be healed. 00:18:49.720 --> 00:18:52.960 And if there's Christians who are achieving amazing things, well, that's brilliant because 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:55.759 we all share in that work together. 00:18:55.759 --> 00:19:02.759 And if we just focus on the fact that we're actually all got so much in common, there's 00:19:02.759 --> 00:19:07.480 so much that we can be excited about. 00:19:07.480 --> 00:19:16.400 It's a massive reminder that one of our priorities is that we are to be together, supporting one 00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:19.920 another in every way. 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:26.079 And we must remember that when it comes to fellowship, it's essential that we are always 00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:31.000 inclusive and not exclusive. 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:35.079 It's a reminder that everyone who comes to church is precious. 00:19:35.079 --> 00:19:39.039 Everyone has gifts, everyone has faults, but we all belong together. 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:41.599 And it's very important that we remember this. 00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:48.279 When it comes to apostolic teaching, we are utterly exclusive. 00:19:48.279 --> 00:19:53.559 The New Testament and the Old Testament, the Bible together alone is the Word of God. 00:19:53.559 --> 00:19:56.880 That is exclusive and it has a unique place. 00:19:56.880 --> 00:20:07.200 But when it comes to fellowship, we must be totally inclusive where everyone is welcome. 00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:11.440 And that brings me to the other big threat that threatened the New Testament church. 00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:15.800 You remember a wee moment ago, we said there was two massive threats to the New Testament 00:20:15.800 --> 00:20:16.800 church. 00:20:16.800 --> 00:20:18.200 One was false teaching. 00:20:18.200 --> 00:20:22.920 The other was division. 00:20:22.920 --> 00:20:28.720 Can you imagine reading these verses in Acts chapter two and it said, some believers met 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:34.720 at the church of Jerusalem, but others met at the free church of Jerusalem. 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:40.840 That would be just, that would be absolutely horrifying to the apostles. 00:20:40.840 --> 00:20:49.640 To the apostles, division between believers was utterly unacceptable. 00:20:49.640 --> 00:20:53.080 Is it acceptable now? 00:20:53.080 --> 00:20:55.560 Has apostolic teaching changed? 00:20:55.560 --> 00:20:58.759 No. 00:20:58.759 --> 00:21:03.720 And that's something that we all really have to think about. 00:21:03.720 --> 00:21:10.800 May God make us a church that wants to be together. 00:21:10.800 --> 00:21:16.200 Number three, in Acts two, we see a church that wants to worship. 00:21:16.200 --> 00:21:22.360 They were devoted to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 00:21:22.360 --> 00:21:28.279 Here we have two aspects of church life highlighted, the Lord's Supper and prayer. 00:21:28.279 --> 00:21:32.920 And these two things should be at the tart of our church life. 00:21:32.920 --> 00:21:37.240 Sharing the Lord's Supper together is a vital part of what we do as a church. 00:21:37.240 --> 00:21:41.799 Now that phrase you see there, breaking of bread, that could just refer to eating together, 00:21:41.799 --> 00:21:46.799 but I think it also refers to sharing in the Lord's Supper together. 00:21:46.799 --> 00:21:51.319 And in the New Testament, these two things were actually done at the same time. 00:21:51.319 --> 00:21:56.319 People ate together and shared the Lord's Supper together. 00:21:56.319 --> 00:22:00.159 Either way, we are clearly commanded in the New Testament to share the Lord's Supper 00:22:00.159 --> 00:22:08.119 in which we remember, we proclaim and we give thanks for the death of our Savior, Jesus. 00:22:08.119 --> 00:22:14.279 And one of the crucial reasons for that is because it keeps the atoning death of Jesus 00:22:14.279 --> 00:22:17.479 on the cross at the forefront of our minds. 00:22:17.479 --> 00:22:19.799 That's one of the wonderful things about the Lord's Supper. 00:22:19.799 --> 00:22:26.839 It keeps us pointing us back to what Jesus has done for us on the cross. 00:22:26.839 --> 00:22:31.439 And so when we're thinking about our priorities and when we're thinking about the months that 00:22:31.439 --> 00:22:37.479 lie ahead for us, let's look forward to sharing the Lord's Supper together. 00:22:37.480 --> 00:22:42.640 We haven't been able to do that because of COVID and rightly so. 00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:47.920 And that restriction will remain in place for as long as it needs to and we absolutely 00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:51.039 accept and understand that. 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:54.839 But the fact that we haven't been able to do that, please don't ever let that leave 00:22:54.839 --> 00:22:59.400 you thinking, oh, well, it's not that important. 00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:06.720 It will be so good to celebrate together with bread and wine that Jesus died and rose again 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:10.680 for our sins. 00:23:10.680 --> 00:23:13.400 But alongside that, we see prayer highlighted. 00:23:13.400 --> 00:23:19.200 That's another absolutely vital part of what we do as a church. 00:23:19.200 --> 00:23:22.920 And again, if we're thinking about our priorities, you're thinking what kind of church do we 00:23:22.920 --> 00:23:27.000 want to be, you think, well, what kind of stuff do we want to do as a church? 00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:28.600 And there's loads of things we want to reach out. 00:23:28.600 --> 00:23:30.240 We want to disciple one another. 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:31.640 We want to visit one another. 00:23:31.640 --> 00:23:33.079 We want to organize events. 00:23:33.079 --> 00:23:44.319 We want to do lots of stuff, but job number one, the first and main priority for our work 00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:45.319 is prayer. 00:23:45.319 --> 00:23:50.399 We must never forget that we don't pray for the work of the church. 00:23:50.399 --> 00:23:53.679 Praying is the work of the church. 00:23:53.679 --> 00:23:58.399 And that makes perfect theological sense because who is it that has the resources and the wisdom 00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:03.680 and the power and the strength to bless us in the year ahead? 00:24:03.680 --> 00:24:05.200 It's God. 00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:11.200 And so let's pray to him and ask him for everything that we need because when it comes to serving 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:19.320 Jesus in this new academic term, more than anything else, we need God's help and we 00:24:19.320 --> 00:24:22.320 need to keep praying. 00:24:22.320 --> 00:24:26.160 That's why prayer is such an important part of church life. 00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:31.000 And there's various opportunities for us to come together to pray, whether it's at 00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:34.440 city group or at engine room or on Friday mornings. 00:24:34.440 --> 00:24:41.160 And we'd love for you to come to these things or in your own personal prayer lives. 00:24:41.160 --> 00:24:45.440 Please remember that by doing that, you are working for God. 00:24:45.440 --> 00:24:51.600 You're taking up the work of the gospel and you're bringing it forward. 00:24:51.599 --> 00:24:59.240 And isn't it brilliant that job number one that we have to do as a church is something 00:24:59.240 --> 00:25:04.319 that every single one of us can do? 00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:10.679 So it doesn't matter if you're three years old or 103, it doesn't matter how much you 00:25:10.679 --> 00:25:12.759 know or don't know. 00:25:12.759 --> 00:25:17.199 You can all pray and please do. 00:25:17.200 --> 00:25:22.480 Please keep praying for the work of the gospel. 00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:27.400 Both of these things, the Lord's Supper and prayer are a reminder that worship is at the 00:25:27.400 --> 00:25:31.279 heart of what we want to do as a church. 00:25:31.279 --> 00:25:37.360 Indeed, everything we've said about learning and fellowship, that's also part of our worship 00:25:37.360 --> 00:25:38.360 to God. 00:25:38.359 --> 00:25:48.159 That every part of life is a living sacrifice, an act of worship and devotion to God. 00:25:48.159 --> 00:25:55.559 That's why it's really important to have an accurate perspective on our lives as Christians. 00:25:55.559 --> 00:25:59.759 Sometimes we can look ahead to the coming school year or academic year and think to 00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:03.639 ourselves, well, yeah, actually, okay, I want to give certain things to God. 00:26:03.639 --> 00:26:07.000 So I'm going to give God this part of my life. 00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:12.519 I'm going to give this chunk of time to God, or I'm going to give this aspect of this week 00:26:12.519 --> 00:26:14.119 to God. 00:26:14.119 --> 00:26:18.759 And that's a good thing to say, but it's not really exactly what God wants us to say, because 00:26:18.759 --> 00:26:24.920 what rather than saying, I'm going to give God this or that in the year ahead, what we 00:26:24.920 --> 00:26:32.759 should simply be saying is just, I'm going to give God this year and everything I do 00:26:32.759 --> 00:26:35.039 is for Him. 00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:41.200 And that's amazing, because it means that your life in serving Jesus is not just confined 00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:45.559 to what you do at church or in particular roles that you may have. 00:26:45.559 --> 00:26:47.519 It covers everything. 00:26:47.519 --> 00:26:50.039 It means that your job is for His glory. 00:26:50.039 --> 00:26:53.960 What you do tomorrow morning at work is for His glory. 00:26:53.960 --> 00:26:59.039 Your community involvement is where God has placed you so that you can be a light for 00:26:59.039 --> 00:27:00.039 Him. 00:27:00.039 --> 00:27:04.639 Your home is a place to be filled with love and joy of knowing God. 00:27:04.640 --> 00:27:09.600 Your hobbies are a means to enjoy the blessings that God has given us. 00:27:09.600 --> 00:27:13.240 No part of life is outside the Lordship of Jesus. 00:27:13.240 --> 00:27:22.280 Therefore everything can be for Him, and in everything we can worship and glorify Him. 00:27:22.280 --> 00:27:27.880 And so for the week ahead, every day is for God. 00:27:27.880 --> 00:27:29.920 Let's do it all for His glory. 00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:36.160 And then on the first day of the week, we come together, whether it's in person, in 00:27:36.160 --> 00:27:40.039 the building as we're enabled to do that, or whether it's just connecting online, we 00:27:40.039 --> 00:27:42.320 come together to worship. 00:27:42.320 --> 00:27:45.880 We sing praise to God with joy and thankfulness. 00:27:45.880 --> 00:27:51.160 We pray to Him, confessing our sins and pouring out our burdens to Him and interceding for 00:27:51.160 --> 00:27:52.440 those around us. 00:27:52.440 --> 00:27:59.160 And we study God's word to learn more and more and more about what an amazing God we 00:27:59.160 --> 00:28:00.160 have. 00:28:00.160 --> 00:28:07.720 May God make us a church that wants to worship. 00:28:07.720 --> 00:28:13.680 Fourthly we see a church that wants to share, verses 44 and 45, all who believed were together 00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:15.480 and had all things in common. 00:28:15.480 --> 00:28:19.880 They were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any 00:28:19.880 --> 00:28:21.080 had need. 00:28:21.080 --> 00:28:25.560 This is the kind of verse that can maybe make us feel a wee bit uncomfortable because we 00:28:25.559 --> 00:28:29.639 think, well, is the church meant to be a kind of common ownership society? 00:28:29.639 --> 00:28:34.599 Is it a sort of communist type thing where no one owns anything? 00:28:34.599 --> 00:28:41.159 And over the years, some people have taken these verses to mean that. 00:28:41.159 --> 00:28:44.799 But that's not the case, I don't think. 00:28:44.799 --> 00:28:48.000 Because we must never forget the rule that scripture interprets scripture. 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:53.599 So we use the whole of the Bible to understand the specific parts of the Bible. 00:28:53.599 --> 00:28:57.359 The interesting thing here is that you only have to go to the next verse to see that we're 00:28:57.359 --> 00:29:00.359 not being told to sell all our possessions. 00:29:00.359 --> 00:29:05.519 Because you can see there in the second last line that they still had their homes. 00:29:05.519 --> 00:29:11.439 And that ownership of property and the respect for other people's property is a key biblical 00:29:11.439 --> 00:29:16.399 principle and it's enshrined in the eighth and the tenth commandments in particular. 00:29:16.399 --> 00:29:21.399 So these verses aren't saying that we have to renounce all possessions, but they are 00:29:21.400 --> 00:29:30.080 teaching us that the New Testament church was ready to share what it had in order to 00:29:30.080 --> 00:29:33.680 help those who are in need. 00:29:33.680 --> 00:29:37.519 And again, that is a vital part of being a church. 00:29:37.519 --> 00:29:41.519 We want to give up what we have in order to help those who are in need. 00:29:41.519 --> 00:29:47.040 And in so many ways, you have been incredibly generous over the years in that regard. 00:29:47.039 --> 00:29:52.359 And that's a brilliant thing and it's something that we always want to continue. 00:29:52.359 --> 00:29:56.879 One of our great goals is that the people around us will know and see that we are a 00:29:56.879 --> 00:30:00.279 church who cares about them. 00:30:00.279 --> 00:30:06.839 The church in Acts was ready and willing to share of their resources. 00:30:06.839 --> 00:30:13.399 But it's also clear that these believers in Acts chapter two didn't just share their resources. 00:30:13.400 --> 00:30:17.360 They also shared their time. 00:30:17.360 --> 00:30:23.280 That's not stated explicitly in these verses, but it's obviously true. 00:30:23.280 --> 00:30:27.280 They spent time with one another. 00:30:27.280 --> 00:30:30.080 And that brings us back to the theme of being together. 00:30:30.080 --> 00:30:34.759 And it's one of the biggest challenges that we face today in the church, the constraints 00:30:34.759 --> 00:30:36.280 on our time. 00:30:36.280 --> 00:30:43.320 Because life is so busy and there's so many things that we need to do. 00:30:43.319 --> 00:30:47.960 But you know the amazing thing that when God the Holy Spirit gave the teachings of 00:30:47.960 --> 00:30:54.799 Scripture to the church 2000 years ago, he knew that in 2020, Christians would be really 00:30:54.799 --> 00:30:56.720 busy. 00:30:56.720 --> 00:30:59.439 He knew how busy you would be. 00:30:59.439 --> 00:31:03.559 That's why he gave you the Lord's day. 00:31:03.559 --> 00:31:06.359 That's why Sundays are such a brilliant thing. 00:31:06.359 --> 00:31:13.519 They're an amazing opportunity for us to slow down, to rest, to worship, to learn and to 00:31:13.519 --> 00:31:14.519 be together. 00:31:14.519 --> 00:31:19.159 That's why as a church we always want to make the most of that. 00:31:19.159 --> 00:31:22.240 We want to graft as hard as we can through the week. 00:31:22.240 --> 00:31:26.279 We want to enjoy the opportunities that God gives us in our lives. 00:31:26.279 --> 00:31:30.679 But on the first day of the week, we want to come and enjoy the amazing privilege of 00:31:30.679 --> 00:31:34.359 having time. 00:31:34.359 --> 00:31:39.679 Time to be together and time to worship. 00:31:39.679 --> 00:31:49.359 May God make us a church that wants to share both our resources and our time. 00:31:49.359 --> 00:31:53.959 Number five, we see a church that wants to reach out. 00:31:53.959 --> 00:31:58.439 So as a church we want to learn and grow and worship together just like the New Testament 00:31:58.439 --> 00:31:59.439 church did. 00:31:59.440 --> 00:32:04.559 But we must never think that that's just about nurturing ourselves. 00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:07.600 It's very easy to become inward looking as Christians. 00:32:07.600 --> 00:32:10.640 It's easy to become inward looking as a church. 00:32:10.640 --> 00:32:15.480 We must never forget that the New Testament church was a missionary church. 00:32:15.480 --> 00:32:18.400 It was constantly reaching out. 00:32:18.400 --> 00:32:22.920 That's the whole context of Acts chapter two, where Peter is proclaiming the gospel. 00:32:22.920 --> 00:32:26.519 That's fulfilling what Jesus himself said at the beginning of Acts, that he said to 00:32:26.519 --> 00:32:31.240 them, you'll receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you'll be my witnesses 00:32:31.240 --> 00:32:37.639 in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 00:32:37.639 --> 00:32:42.000 It's reminding us that as a church we always want to be reaching out. 00:32:42.000 --> 00:32:46.639 We want to be in constant contact with the world around us so that we can share the good 00:32:46.639 --> 00:32:52.480 news of Jesus in any way that we can. 00:32:52.480 --> 00:32:58.240 You'd notice in these verses we're learning something very important about that reaching 00:32:58.240 --> 00:32:59.720 out. 00:32:59.720 --> 00:33:05.759 In verse 47 it says that the church were meeting together, breaking bread in their homes, receiving 00:33:05.759 --> 00:33:11.120 their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God, and they were having favour 00:33:11.120 --> 00:33:15.279 with all the people. 00:33:15.279 --> 00:33:20.480 Now I think that's a really important and fascinating point. 00:33:20.480 --> 00:33:23.880 It's telling us that the New Testament church didn't kind of block itself off into this 00:33:23.880 --> 00:33:29.000 cocoon and cut off the outside world. 00:33:29.000 --> 00:33:30.440 It was the opposite. 00:33:30.440 --> 00:33:37.400 It was a wonderful light in that world and people looked upon them with favour. 00:33:37.400 --> 00:33:39.000 And we want to be exactly the same. 00:33:39.000 --> 00:33:41.319 We want to have favour with the world around us. 00:33:41.319 --> 00:33:47.559 We want them to see that we love God and that we love them. 00:33:47.559 --> 00:33:53.759 We must never ever forget that humanity is beautiful and broken. 00:33:53.759 --> 00:33:57.440 It's made in the image of God but fallen in sin. 00:33:57.440 --> 00:34:03.279 Now the fallen in sin aspect of humanity means that as a church we will face opposition. 00:34:03.279 --> 00:34:08.039 Indeed, the New Testament says don't be surprised if the world hates you. 00:34:08.039 --> 00:34:13.159 But because of that it's easy to jump to the conclusion that the New Testament is expecting 00:34:13.159 --> 00:34:19.639 us to always be this kind of source of frustration and ridicule in the eyes of the world around 00:34:19.639 --> 00:34:21.759 us. 00:34:21.759 --> 00:34:24.079 Here we've been reminded that that's not the case. 00:34:24.079 --> 00:34:28.199 The New Testament church wasn't kind of cut off in this cocoon where everyone just looked 00:34:28.199 --> 00:34:33.319 on and thought, well, they're nuts and there was this constant tension between the New 00:34:33.319 --> 00:34:35.599 Testament church and the people around them. 00:34:35.599 --> 00:34:37.279 It wasn't actually like that. 00:34:37.280 --> 00:34:44.360 The New Testament church found favour with all the people. 00:34:44.360 --> 00:34:49.720 And that actually makes perfect sense because although the broken aspect of humanity will 00:34:49.720 --> 00:34:57.840 oppose God's plans and resent the church, the beautiful aspect of humanity longs for 00:34:57.840 --> 00:35:04.200 what it knows is right and true and good. 00:35:04.199 --> 00:35:11.679 And if we follow Jesus' teaching and his example, then more and more and more we will become 00:35:11.679 --> 00:35:15.480 what humanity was always meant to be. 00:35:15.480 --> 00:35:21.079 And the people around us, the humans around us will be able to look at the church and 00:35:21.079 --> 00:35:26.799 think, wow, there is something special there. 00:35:26.799 --> 00:35:30.519 And I want to be part of it. 00:35:30.519 --> 00:35:33.119 So we are to be reaching out. 00:35:33.119 --> 00:35:34.920 That's why we want to plant churches. 00:35:34.920 --> 00:35:37.519 That's why we want to support global mission. 00:35:37.519 --> 00:35:42.960 That's why we want to help struggling congregations across Scotland. 00:35:42.960 --> 00:35:50.079 But as we do so, we always have to rely on God for the results. 00:35:50.079 --> 00:35:59.559 If you look again at these verses, verses 46 and 47, you'll see that there's two day-by-days 00:35:59.559 --> 00:36:02.519 in these verses. 00:36:02.519 --> 00:36:10.440 The first one, it says, day by day, the church was meeting at the temple, worshiping, eating, 00:36:10.440 --> 00:36:15.920 praising, sharing, building up a good relationship with one another and with the people around 00:36:15.920 --> 00:36:16.920 them. 00:36:16.920 --> 00:36:25.800 And then day by day, the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. 00:36:25.800 --> 00:36:33.120 We need to make sure that we are doing the first day-by-day activities in these verses. 00:36:33.120 --> 00:36:44.160 The rest, the building up of numbers, the softening of hearts, the conversion of sinners, that 00:36:44.160 --> 00:36:46.960 we leave with God. 00:36:46.960 --> 00:36:51.760 We must always remember that numbers is God's business, not ours. 00:36:51.760 --> 00:36:54.960 He's the one who does that side of it. 00:36:54.960 --> 00:37:05.159 And as we look to him, may he make us a church that wants to reach out. 00:37:05.159 --> 00:37:06.519 So what kind of church do we want to be? 00:37:06.519 --> 00:37:10.480 We want to be a church that wants to learn, a church that wants to be together, a church 00:37:10.480 --> 00:37:14.800 that wants to worship, a church that wants to share, a church that wants to reach out, 00:37:14.800 --> 00:37:21.679 and number six, a church that wants to keep going. 00:37:21.679 --> 00:37:26.679 That word devoted at the very start of verse 42 that really sets the tone for the whole 00:37:26.679 --> 00:37:28.319 of this section that we're looking at. 00:37:28.319 --> 00:37:34.119 That word basically means to continue, to persist, to keep going. 00:37:34.119 --> 00:37:36.719 And that's what the church of Jesus Christ does. 00:37:36.719 --> 00:37:39.319 It keeps on going. 00:37:39.319 --> 00:37:45.599 So as we go into this new phase, we want to keep on going, keep going with our services, 00:37:45.599 --> 00:37:50.000 keep going with praying together, keep going in planning out activities, keep going in 00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:55.360 meeting together as elders and as deacons, keep going in involving you all in every aspect 00:37:55.360 --> 00:37:57.159 of church life that you can. 00:37:57.159 --> 00:38:01.599 We want to keep on going together. 00:38:01.599 --> 00:38:06.239 And that's why future leaders are so important for our church, not just ministers, but kids' 00:38:06.239 --> 00:38:11.000 church teachers and singers and musicians and clerks and people who can do admin, leaders 00:38:11.000 --> 00:38:14.920 for camp, treasurers, leaders for city groups. 00:38:14.920 --> 00:38:21.840 The aspect of church life we need to keep going, which is why we absolutely need you 00:38:21.840 --> 00:38:24.880 in our church serving. 00:38:24.880 --> 00:38:26.559 So let's keep learning. 00:38:26.559 --> 00:38:28.119 Let's keep close together. 00:38:28.119 --> 00:38:29.280 Let's keep worshiping. 00:38:29.280 --> 00:38:31.159 Let's keep sharing. 00:38:31.159 --> 00:38:32.880 Let's keep reaching out. 00:38:32.880 --> 00:38:34.880 Let's keep going. 00:38:34.880 --> 00:38:40.440 And as we said at the very start of the service, let's remember what Paul said, brothers and 00:38:40.440 --> 00:38:47.079 sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the 00:38:47.079 --> 00:38:54.440 Lord your labor is not in vain. 00:38:54.440 --> 00:38:57.480 The last thing I want to say is this. 00:38:57.480 --> 00:39:02.320 We've been asking the question, what kind of church do we want to be? 00:39:02.320 --> 00:39:06.760 And in doing so, we've been reminded of some of our key priorities. 00:39:06.760 --> 00:39:11.080 And in doing all that, it's easy to think, well, that's all great for Christians, but 00:39:11.080 --> 00:39:14.520 what's it got to do with everybody else? 00:39:14.520 --> 00:39:17.440 And maybe if you're not a Christian, you might be thinking, well, what on earth has any of 00:39:17.440 --> 00:39:19.760 that got to do with me? 00:39:19.760 --> 00:39:24.400 Well, what I want to say is this. 00:39:24.400 --> 00:39:31.680 I think it's the case that everything that we see there, these are the things that everyone 00:39:31.680 --> 00:39:35.600 around us wants as well. 00:39:35.599 --> 00:39:38.639 People long to learn. 00:39:38.639 --> 00:39:43.639 And more than anything else, people crave the truth. 00:39:43.639 --> 00:39:45.960 People long for community. 00:39:45.960 --> 00:39:50.679 So we crave friendship for company and for togetherness. 00:39:50.679 --> 00:39:52.880 People long for something to worship. 00:39:52.880 --> 00:39:56.519 That's why we fill that gap with our career, our home, our football team, our political 00:39:56.519 --> 00:39:59.119 ideology or whatever it may be. 00:39:59.119 --> 00:40:00.199 People long to share. 00:40:00.199 --> 00:40:01.199 People aren't devils. 00:40:01.199 --> 00:40:06.199 People want to help those who are in need and to provide some kind of support and help 00:40:06.199 --> 00:40:08.439 for those who are struggling. 00:40:08.439 --> 00:40:11.199 People long for purpose. 00:40:11.199 --> 00:40:15.359 We crave a role that matters and that can make a difference in the world. 00:40:15.359 --> 00:40:22.599 And people long to be part of something special, to be devoted to something that's so precious 00:40:22.599 --> 00:40:28.159 and meaningful and real that we will never, ever give up on it. 00:40:28.159 --> 00:40:35.799 The New Testament priorities for the church are actually the very thing that humanity 00:40:35.799 --> 00:40:40.440 craves but doesn't have. 00:40:40.440 --> 00:40:49.159 And that makes perfect sense because the church is the new humanity that God is building. 00:40:49.159 --> 00:40:55.079 And by becoming part of that humanity, we become everything that deep down we long to 00:40:55.079 --> 00:40:56.519 be. 00:40:56.519 --> 00:41:02.119 In other words, the stuff that we want as a church is the very stuff that we've always 00:41:02.119 --> 00:41:04.039 longed for. 00:41:04.039 --> 00:41:09.440 And it's the stuff that everyone around us is longing for as well. 00:41:09.440 --> 00:41:15.920 And that's why if Jesus is calling you into his church, he's not calling you to be part 00:41:15.920 --> 00:41:24.280 of something weird or strange where you will feel uncomfortable and out of place. 00:41:24.280 --> 00:41:35.200 He's actually calling you into something brilliant where you will finally feel at home. 00:41:35.200 --> 00:41:38.000 Let us pray. 00:41:38.000 --> 00:41:45.680 Father, we thank you for your church and for the amazing privilege of being part of your 00:41:45.680 --> 00:41:47.880 church. 00:41:47.880 --> 00:41:55.440 And we pray that all your priorities would be our priorities, that we would learn and 00:41:55.440 --> 00:42:01.079 grow together, that we would spend time together remembering everything that we have in common, 00:42:01.079 --> 00:42:05.840 that our whole lives would be lived as an act of worship to you, that we would reach 00:42:05.840 --> 00:42:12.840 out to those around us, that we would share what we have to help those in need and that 00:42:12.840 --> 00:42:17.400 we would always, always, always keep going. 00:42:17.400 --> 00:42:19.599 And keep our eyes on you. 00:42:19.599 --> 00:42:21.599 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:42:21.599 --> 00:42:48.599 Amen.