Today's passage is from Hebrews 10. Starting in verse 19, we read,
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,
by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain that is his flesh,
and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith,
with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,
for he who promised is faithful.
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some,
but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
This is the word of God.
Thank you. Amen.
Thank you so much, David. That's great.
Welcome. Good morning.
Okay, that's passable.
Good morning. My name is Chris.
If you don't know me, I'm actually super excited to just be back gathering physically.
Obviously, many of you know that we're going to be leaving in about a month or so time,
so we were...
I am so excited that we can actually be here physically to see each other,
even to say goodbye in the next month.
But this morning, we are actually going to get into God's word,
into what is actually an amazing passage.
But I would love us to pray together as we come and really get into God's word.
Father, just thank you for the incredible privilege that we can be your people here gathered this morning.
Thank you.
Whether we're here or whether we're watching online, Lord,
I just thank you that you have drawn us to yourself.
We didn't come because we were great.
We didn't come because we somehow earned the right to be here.
We came only because of a pure gift of grace.
And I pray that you would just speak to our hearts this morning.
I pray that you'd encourage us this morning.
I pray that you teach us how to be your people,
how to worship you,
how to have our lives centered entirely on you.
And I pray, Lord,
even in the midst of all the different challenges and changes
and things that are going on in our city and our world,
Lord, I pray that you just give us such a big vision of who you are,
that we have a heart that is at rest in you,
that we have a heart that knows that he who has promised is faithful to us
and you are trustworthy.
So open our ears to hear your voice, we pray.
In Jesus' name, amen.
When I was about 19 years old,
I went through a period of about three months
where every time I came to church,
every sermon I listened to,
I fell asleep in.
And it got so bad that I remember one particular time
that I was,
you know, it's halfway through the sermon,
like some of you may be even right now,
and suddenly, you know,
you feel the heaviness come on, right?
And you start kind of nodding.
I think in Cantonese you say,
do you?
Don't you?
Like fishing.
You go fishing, right?
You start nodding.
And sitting next to me
was this very, very proper English lady.
She was very proper.
And I could feel,
and I was fighting, okay?
But I was losing.
And I could feel myself,
and I was leaning over,
and you know when you are very relaxed,
you can start to drool and dribble.
And so I was leaning over,
and suddenly I woke up,
and I was almost in her lap,
like this.
And I wanted the whole ground to swallow me up,
and I went back up.
And the amazing thing was,
this lady next to me,
she was the epitome of properness.
She was like,
keep calm and carry on.
She didn't even blink an eye.
But from that moment on,
I never slept in another sermon.
Now, why do I tell you this?
I tell you this because I,
as I look back,
I was going to church regularly.
I had a habit of going to church.
Even if it made me fall asleep,
I still went.
But actually,
habits,
though they are important,
in fact,
though that the spiritual life
is actually shaped by forming godly habits,
they're essential to us,
the thing with habits that can be a problem
is sometimes you can forget
the why behind the what.
You can forget the very reason
that you're coming.
You can actually lose your why,
and if you lose your why,
you'll become dry,
and maybe you'll end up falling asleep,
whether physically or actually spiritually.
And sometimes we miss the life
out of things that we do regularly
because they've become ritual,
and we need to recover the why
so that these things
which are supposed to bring us life
do bring us life,
as they're called to.
And so we're going through a series
over the next four weeks
just looking at some of the fundamentals
of what we do as a church
and why we do them.
And today,
I'm just going to start
by looking at a question
that in one sense
should be a no-brainer.
It's the question of
why do we gather on Sundays?
And as I've been looking at this,
this has actually been very,
like, just encouraging
and challenging to my own heart
through this.
And actually,
we planned this series
long before we actually
got to meet physically.
So actually,
I'm super excited
that we can talk about this today.
So why do we gather on Sundays?
Well, in brief,
I want to say
because there's a war on.
There's a war for your heart
and for who you worship.
There's a war for whose voice
will be loudest in your ears.
There's a war for which community
will be your primary place
of belonging.
And that can either be Christ
or it can be something else out there,
but there's a war on.
And the book of Hebrews
is written to a group of Christians,
Jewish Christians,
Christians,
who their wider community
around them
was pressuring them
to go back
to the values
and the practices of Judaism
to leave Jesus behind.
And many were giving in
to the pressure.
And so they were going
to the synagogue
on the Saturday,
but then they would skip worship
with the Christian church
together on the Sunday
because there was just
too much at stake for them.
And you know,
sometimes we can have
similar pressures on us
in our performance-driven,
consumeristic,
self-focused world.
There is pressures
on our hearts
every single day
and throughout our week.
And Hebrews
is coming to tell
his readers
and to talk to us,
he's saying,
Jesus is better
than everything else
out there.
Jesus is better
than the Jewish system,
the priest,
the temple,
everything there.
Jesus is the one
who's really going
to give you
what your heart
is longing for.
It's the fulfillment
of everything
that is out there
and people are longing for.
And one important part
of fighting this battle
for your heart
is gathering together
regularly
as a church.
And so I'm going to
just look at this topic
and we're going to go
through the passage
so I have it open
in front of you
in just two points.
First one,
since in Jesus.
And the second one,
let us.
Okay?
We'll unpack those
so you have an idea
of what that's talking about.
But since and let us.
Okay?
So,
let me start off
in verse 19.
It says,
Therefore,
brothers and sisters,
since we have confidence
to enter the holy places
by the blood of Jesus,
by the new and living world,
that he opened for us
through the curtain,
that is his flesh.
And since we have
a great high priest
over the house of God.
And I'm going to stop there.
This is an amazing verse.
In fact,
it's kind of recapping
and picking up
on something
the author has been saying
for over ten chapters.
And the last six,
he's gone through
the entire Jewish system
of worship.
And the system of worship
right at the center
was the temple.
The temple,
which was,
and the representative,
and the place
that was at the center
of the temple
was the holy of holies.
The place where God's presence
was said to dwell.
Where heaven came down
to earth.
And there was this incredible
heavenly hotspot
of God's presence.
And he,
as the creator
of all things,
is the source of life
for his people.
And his presence
is where life is found.
But security was tight
to get in.
You see,
it was reserved,
access was reserved
only for those
who reflected God's beauty
and God's glory
and God's purity
who were perfect
and holy themselves.
Because you don't allow
muddy shoes
on a pristine white carpet.
And you don't allow
muddy sinners
into the presence
of a gloriously pure
and holy God.
And you would die
if you did.
And to prevent that
from happening,
there was a huge curtain
which would separate people
with two angelic bouncers
on it.
They would prevent
anybody else
from entering
into this
holy of holies.
only one person,
the high priest,
once a year
could enter
only after
he's purified himself
through offering
sacrifices
for his own sin,
sprinkling the blood
on his clothes
as a sign of cleansing
and washing himself
completely
to make him pure.
Only then
he could walk in
with an offering,
a sacrifice,
a substitution
for the people's sin
which was offered
on the altar
so that the forgiveness
of God,
the life of God
could come and flow
to his people again.
And they'd repeat this
every single year
because it was just
a temporary system.
Because none of us
are worthy
to have access
into the presence
of God
by ourselves.
None of us.
because you know,
about a month
or so ago
I received
an invitation.
It was an invitation
to meet with
the British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
and some other
politicians,
MPs,
in the Houses
of Parliament
in London
at the annual
prayer breakfast
there.
And as I got
this invitation
I felt some kind
of a little bit
of nervous
like excitement.
You know,
I'm kind of trying
to keep it calm
because I'm British.
But I'm kind of,
you know,
what a privilege
to be in the presence
of like important
famous people.
Because I'm like
a nobody, right?
I'm just,
you know,
Chris.
But there's one condition
for this.
I can only go
into this place
if my future MP,
my future politician
goes with me
or I go with her.
She's my access
to get into
Boris' presence.
And by the way,
she hasn't replied
to any of my emails
because I think
she's too busy
or disinterested
so I don't even know
where I'm going to go.
But Hebrews
has been saying
to us
and is saying
in this verse,
we have one
who isn't too busy
for us,
is not disinterested
in us.
We have one
who the most sinful,
the most shameful,
the most unworthy
people,
through him
have access
into the presence
of one
who is far more important,
far more influential,
far more powerful
than any politician,
than any prime minister
or presence.
We have access
through Jesus
into the presence
of the very source
of your life
and breath right now,
the one who holds
the entire universe
in his hands,
God himself.
And he says,
Jesus came
as our perfect,
sinless,
great high priest
and he became
our sacrifice.
He died our death
and it says
through Jesus' blood,
his blood
was sprinkled
on our hearts
to cleanse us,
all those
who put your faith
in him,
to cleanse us
from every sin,
to cleanse us
from every stain,
to cleanse us
from everything
which might come
between you and God.
He's removed
every barrier.
We're counted
righteous in Christ
before him.
We can enter
through every layer
of security
but only if we're
with Jesus,
only if he's
our Lord and Savior.
He is the access place
which he's opened
the door,
he's opened the curtain
into this holy place
of the King of Kings.
His sacrifice
is enough
for the Father
to declare
anyone who comes
to him welcome.
Anyone.
You know,
when Jesus died,
that curtain
in the temple
tore from top
to bottom.
It didn't tear
if I can speak,
tear from bottom
to top
because it was
God's initiative
to break the curtain
because we could
never do it.
He moved
towards us
because his heart
is for us
and he wants
to draw us
into a relationship
of intimacy
in his presence
together with him.
Which means,
this verse says,
since we have
confidence,
we can come
confidently
into the holy place.
That means there's
no hoops
to jump through.
There's no trying
to sell yourself
with God.
There's no trying
to clean yourself
up before you
come before him
because you cannot
do it enough.
Jesus has done
it all for you.
You come confidently
into the most
holy place.
But then he also
says here
in this verse,
we come
not just as
individuals
into the presence
of God,
we also come
as a new family
into the presence
of God.
Do you notice
he says here,
he says,
therefore brothers,
and he says,
we have confidence
into the holy place
through the curtain.
And then he says,
since we have
a great high priest
over the house
of God.
Do you know
what the word
house means?
The house
is basically
the household.
It's actually
temple language.
It's his church.
It's his people.
We have one
who didn't just
come to bring us
into his presence
as individuals,
but he died
so that we had
come to God
not as guests
but as family.
together
as his family.
And so the fruit
of the gospel message
is always
the creation
of worshiping
communities
who enjoy
the presence
of God together
and can call
one another
brothers and sisters
because of him.
We come
since
Jesus has done
it all
because of the
gospel message
we've gone
from unworthy
outsiders
to family members
welcomed into
intimate fellowship
with the king
of kings
through Jesus
sacrifice
and therefore
the author
of Hebrews
says
since that
is the case
that is the reality
then he comes
and says
let us
not lettuce
let us
and there are
three lettuces
here
in this passage
he says
firstly
let us
worship God
together
he says
let us
draw near
with a true
heart
in full
assurance
of faith
with our
hearts
sprinkled
clean
from an
evil
conscience
and our
bodies
washed
with pure
water
now this
is taking
a lot of
Old Testament
language
that Jewish
language
but the
word for
draw near
is the
word for
worshippers
who came
into the
temple
to offer
a sacrifice
of worship
to God
you know
we gather
on Sundays
to worship
God
we come
with sacrifices
not to earn
God's approval
not sacrifices
of trying to do
enough
no sacrifices
of thanksgiving
and praise
for all that
he has done
you see
that doesn't
just mean
that we sing
songs
although it
includes that
it means
that entire
worship
is
and we give
worth
to God
worship means
to give worth
to
we give worth
to God
we center
our lives
and everything
we do
on him
and the
Sunday
sermon
encourages
us
to reorient
our lives
back to him
that's actually
why we have
the call
to worship
together
to call
us
back
to reorient
our lives
to him
and we do
it together
but I don't
know why
did you come
this morning
that's a good
question
I've been
asking myself
that
you know
they did
a little
survey
in the
US
some pure
research
and they found
that three
of the four
top reasons
for Christians
in the US
going to church
were these
one to provide
a moral foundation
for my kids
two to become
a better person
three for comfort
in times of trouble
those aren't bad
reasons
many of us
might like to add
to that because
we like the community
or because we like
the preaching
or because we like
the music
all of those things
are legitimate
in some way
but if that's
your main reason
for coming
do you see
the focus
is on
me
which is
what I call
food panda
church
or delivery
church
I don't want
to be kind
of
I'm not
selling
something
here
food panda
church
is convenient
for me
you order
what you want
you know
I expect
a good music
delivery
good sermon
delivery
and if the
order's right
and it comes
to my door
and it's fine
then we're
happy
and if not
then we complain
and go
oh the sermon
was boring
this morning
or whatever
it was
or we church
hop to different
places to try
and get what
we want
but the Hebrews
is saying
church isn't
about you
church isn't
about you
you're invited
into the presence
of a holy
god
imagine just
kind of
going up to
like the
I don't know
the queen
or whoever
and you're
kind of going
oh it's all
about me
everyone's going
to look at
you and go
I think
you've lost
like perspective
because we
come
we're invited
into his
presence
to worship
the god
of the whole
universe
to encounter
him
the living
god
and when we
do that
it lifts
our eyes
off to
ourselves
and actually
we find
that actually
he blesses
us and brings
us the life
that we actually
really want
when our focus
is on him
not on us
and so we
come to
worship him
on a Sunday
how do we
come he says
this he says
with a true
heart
do you know
what a true
heart is
a true heart
is one that
isn't just
going through
the motions
a true heart
isn't just
turning up
like I used
to because
that's what
you do
a true heart
doesn't come
casually
either into
the presence
of god
you know
in the past
people used
to come to
church in
suits and
ties
you know
some people
still do
nowadays
we all
kind of
come in
shorts and
flip flops
and all that
kind of
stuff
now I
don't think
I think
god cares
very little
about your
clothing
in so much
he cares
far more
about your
heart
than your
clothing
right
so don't
kind of
start looking
around
but actually
I think
some of us
we can
come to
church
in
shorts
and flip
flops
in our
hearts
right
we come
30 minutes
late
we kind
of casually
walk in
with our
starbucks
in hand
hoping to
hear a
nice
inspiring
message
and then
we try
and get
out
before the
music
is like
the last
song
so we
can get
to the
car parking
space
because we
get out
with our
car park
because we've
got a
lunch
appointment
now is
that about
the worship
of god
or is
that about
us
we come
with a
true
heart
or maybe
we come
and you
know
and I've
done this
before
you know
you just
had a
big
argument
with your
wife
or your
spouse
or your
parents
or you've
got just
resentment
you've got
stuff that's
going on
in your
heart
and we
come in
and then
we raise
our hands
Jesus I
love you
and God
looks at us
and he says
don't you
realize
I've done
everything
that you
need to
cleanse
you
so you
don't
have to
put on
this show
for me
I hate
that
I want
you to
come with
a true
heart
and you
know
only sinners
are invited
do you
know that
only sinners
like you
and me
are invited
so that
means
before you
come
maybe you
do it
in the
car
maybe you
do it
on the
bus
maybe you
do it
as you
are
walking
down
the
slope
in
Ebeneza
take a
trigger
for you
every
Sunday
to prepare
your heart
and go
God
search my
heart
I want
to come
with a
true
heart
for you
this
morning
and then
pray
God
I want
to meet
with you
this
morning
I want
to worship
you
I want
it to be
about you
not about
me
and if we
do that
the author
says
you come
not just
with a
true
heart
but we
come
with full
assurance
of faith
because you
know out
there you've
always got to
prove yourself
you've always
got to
and you know
you never
fully measure
up so you've
always got to
keep up your
appearances
you've always
got to look
because everything's
fine
because a
performance
driven world
says come
when you're
doing well
come when
you're doing
okay
but in
Jesus church
it's messy
people whose
kids aren't
always well
behaved
who sometimes
feel depressed
who are
sometimes hurting
who are
sometimes grieving
who sometimes
don't even
feel that
that like
coming to
church on
a Sunday
very much
but in
Christ
no matter
what week
you've had
no matter
how you've
messed up
we can
come
not
fearfully
not
casually
but
confidently
because we
know we
don't come
because we
performed well
this week
we come
because Jesus
has done
everything for us
to gain access
into his presence
we come
because he
died so a
sinner like me
and like you
could be washed
and cleansed
and our hearts
sprinkled from that
evil conscience
so that we can
be the one place
in this city
where we can
stop pretending
because he
is the one
place in this
city where
there is
confidence
to come
no matter
where you
are
and so
when someone
comes and
says how
are you doing
this morning
do you know
it's okay to
say not
great
because actually
that place
we draw
near
you know
and we can
pray for each
other
encourage
each other
but that
place where
we draw
near it's
because of
him
and what
he's done
it's not
because of
how great
we are
or how well
we're doing
but no matter
how well
and if some
of you are
struggling
right now
I know
the temptation
is not to
come
because you
just feel
like
oh
but actually
here is the
one place
you need
to be
because it's
the one
place where
the grace
of God
wants to
come to
you
we come
with true
hearts
and full
assurance of
faith
with him
at the
center
to worship
him
let's draw
near
firstly
secondly
let us
hold on
to the
word of
God
and let
it wash
us
with the
word of
God
he says
let us
hold fast
the confession
of our
hope
without
wavering
for he
who promised
is faithful
he's saying
to the
Jewish
and the
Hebrew
Christians
who attempted
to go back
just to
orthodox
Judaism
he's saying
to them
hold fast
cling to
the doctrines
cling to
the gospel
message
the teaching
that you
heard
cling to
who Jesus
is
and what
his word
tells you
he is
that he's
saying
don't be
I think
there's a
Cantonese
phrase
which is
like one
foot on
two boats
which is
like wavering
between two
lovers
between the
world out
there and
Christ
don't be
like that
he says
because throughout
the week
you know
your heart
you're being
preached at
constantly
do you know
that
every day
you're getting
a sermon
like a hundred
sermons
you're being
given
GPS directions
for how to
steer your
life
you've been
told put
yourself first
or you'll
miss out
work harder
or you'll
get left
behind
listen to
your feelings
take control
of your
life
you be
you
and your
heart gets
captured
by that
performance
oriented
self focused
society
around
and on
Sundays
we gather
back together
as the
family of
God
to listen
to God's
word
to have
our
hearts
rewashed
in the
love
and the
grace
and the
call of
Jesus
on our
lives
again
so his
voice is
big in
our ears
and his
love is
big in
our hearts
so that we
can go out
whatever
circumstances
you're going
through right
now
knowing that
he who
promised
is what
faithful
you can
trust
him
because
every
other
GPS
in your
life
will
lead
to
a
dead
end
but
his
word
in your
life
is a
faithful
word
of
promise
which
will
be
that
ultimate
true
trustworthy
GPS
that will
always
get you
to your
destination
the
destination
of life
the
destination
of
blessing
the
destination
of
who
we
were
always
meant
to
be
in
him
that's
why
we
gather
to
have
his
word
shape
our
hearts
so
that
we
can
hold
fast
on
it
throughout
our
weeks
and
trust
him
now
by the
way
let me
just
kind of
speak
into
this
for a
second
you
can
hear
the
word
of
God
online
right
nowadays
there
is
a
thousand
amazing
preachers
you
can
listen
to
the
best
in
the
world
out
there
you
don't
have
to
come
into
water
mark
and
get
the
B
grade
you
can
go
out
and
watch
everything
online
but
there
is
a
community
of
holding
fast
together
to
God's
word
which
means
that
the
word
of
God
will
always
do
you
good
wherever
it's
preached
but
there
is
something
in
the
word
of
God
coming
to
us
in
this
season
in
this
time
to
this
group
of
people
in
this
place
which
is
culture
shaping
which
is
shaping
this
community
so
together
we
hold
fast
to
his
word
so
don't
substitute
you know
listen to
other sermons
praise
God
but don't
substitute
that
for actually
the word
of God
coming
together
to us
as a
community
let
let us
draw
near
to
worship
God
in
the
light
of
who
Christ
is
let
us
hold
fast
to
his
word
and
be
washed
in
his
word
and
then
thirdly
let
us
encourage
one
another
and
I love
this
part
he
says
in
the
light
of
who
Jesus
is
as
our
great
high
priest
and
we
are
his
family
let
us
consider
how
to
stir
up
one
another
to
love
and
good
works
not
neglecting
to
meet
together
as
is
the
habit
of
some
but
encouraging
one
another
and
all
the
more
so
as
you
see
the
day
approaching
you
know
Jesus
died
to
break
down
the
vertical
barriers
between
us
and
God
and
the
horizontal
barriers
between
each
other
so
the
church
is
meant
to
be
the
one
place
where
the
grace
of
God
is
displayed
by
drawing
together
a
random
bunch
of
motley
people
who
would
never
be
in
the
same
room
together
normally
if it
wasn't
for
Jesus
to
draw
them
into
the
same
room
together
so
that
we
learn
how
to
love
one
another
you
know
the
world
out
there
tells
you
to
focus
on
yourself
think
food
panda
church
can
become
where
the
world
has
got
into
the
church
and
into
our
hearts
and
we
can
be
tempted
to
go
through
some
of
these
thought
processes
let me
give you
a few
you
can
be
tempted
to
go
hey
let me
when I
come
on
Sunday
let me
just
kind
of
sit
next
to
my
friends
talk
to
those
I
know
I'm
an
introvert
I've
had
a
hard
week
it's
super
awkward
talking
to
some
people
or
maybe
you
go
why
do
I
need
to
come
on
Sundays
because
I
go
to
CG
anyway
or
maybe
you
go
hey
it's
just
more
convenient
to
watch
online
I've
just
got
other
stuff
going
on
in
my
life
and
for
those
of
you
who
are
watching
online
I'm
not
bringing
any
judgment
to
you
guys
right
now
so
there's
no
condemnation
for
those
who
are
in
Christ
and
there
may
be
a
hundred
legitimate
reasons
to
be
online
well
there
may
be
you
could
be
sick
you
could
be
elderly
relatives
there's
a lot
of
reasons
there's
a lot
of
grace
that
we
have
but
the
reason
why
in
the
last
wave
we
actually
cut
the
live
stream
and
we
will
again
cut
live
stream
when
it's
appropriate
to
do
so
is
that
we
want
us
as
a
church
to
know
that
online
church
can
tend
towards
doesn't
always
but
can
tend
towards
being
food
panda
church
where
it's
more
about
us
and
more
about
our
convenience
and
actually
really
coming
to
love
and
serve
each
other
and
you
know
the
difference
of
being
in
the
room
together
than
just
when
we
were
on
Zoom
right
Zoom
was
great
for
just
the
season
but
man
I'm
so
glad
to see
your
beautiful
faces
and
to
hear
you
sing
together
man
that
encourages
my
heart
so
let
us
not
just
go
to
that
can
you
come
to
CG
and
not
come
on
Sundays
well
you
can
I
mean
Sundays
is
not
everything
we
talk
about
it
all
the
time
family
is
not
just
a
gathering
okay
family
is
family
it's
relationships
but
let
me
say
this
your
CG
could
be
a
place
where
it's
just
convenient
for
you
with
the
people
you
like
the
time
you
like
the
things
that
you
like
that
suit
you
but
actually
Sundays
is
the
whole
church
gathered
different
life
stages
people
who
are
different
from
us
where
we're
called
to
get
out
of
ourselves
and
learn
how
to
move
towards
each
other
in
a
way
that
displays
what
Christ
has
done
for
us
let
me
say
after
about
40
years
of
seeing
hundreds
and
hundreds
of
people
who
have
kind
of
skipped
Sundays
and
I'm
not
saying
just
occasionally
I'm
saying
on a
regular
basis
they
just
kind
of
come
occasionally
what I've
seen
is
about
95
times
out of
100
that
has
always
been
a
symptom
of
people
being
in a
bad
place
or
not
a
great
place
with
God
and
often
I've
seen
them
just
walk
away
because
their
hearts
have
got
captured
pulled
by
their
career
pulled
by
their
comfort
pulled
even
by
their
struggles
and
they
end
up
losing
the
war
that
Christ
wants
to
bring
us
victory
in
and
so
what
the
gospel
calls
us
to
change
what
we
think
about
we
stop
thinking
of
ourselves
and
Hebrews
says
let
us
consider
means
think
about
think
about
what
myself
no
think
about
others
think
about
how
to
stir
each
other
up
to
love
and
good
works
stir
up
is
a
really
strong
word
in
the
Greek
it
means
to
provoke
someone
to
get
under
their
skin
did
you
know
that
you
want
to
be
thinking
how
you
get
under
each
other's
skin
but
what
are
we
to
do
it
you
meant
to
be
so
filled
with
Jesus
love
that
you
want
this
love
to
get
under
the
skin
of
each
other
so
that
they
go
from
being
food
panda
consumers
to
the
delivery
crew
of
Jesus
love
to
everyone
around
that's
what
God
calls
us
to
so
that
when
we
come
I mean
let me
just ask
you
this
morning
this
is
a
challenging
question
for
me
when
you
came
this
morning
did
you
think
about
praying
about
who
you
could
encourage
this
morning
brief
moment
of
conviction
because
I want
us to
encourage
us
that
as
we
prepare
our
hearts
before
we
come
in
confession
and
in
saying
God
I want
you
to
speak
to
me
I
want
to
worship
you
this
morning
I
also
want
us
to
take
every
Sunday
to
pray
God
let me
sit
next
to
someone
or
let me
show
me
who
you
want
me
to
encourage
this
morning
you
know
I
was
chatting
with
a
couple
of
water
markers
this
week
and
it
reminded
me
of
a
time
a
story
where
a
friend
of
mine
in
the
UK
we
call
him
Peter
and
he
used
to
come
every
Sunday
and
he
used
to
sit
by
himself
and
like
literally
he
would
come
early
but
he
would
just
sit
by
himself
and
then
at
the
end
of
the
service
everyone
else
would
the
most
socially
awkward
introvert
I've
ever
met
in
my
life
okay
some
of
you
are
introverts
none
of
you
are
like
Peter
and
he
also
had
a
speech
impediment
and
it
was
really
hard
to
understand
him
and
one
Sunday
I
said
to
Peter
hey
it'd
be
great
if
you
could
actually
you
know
there's
a lot
of
people
who
are
just
by
themselves
here
if
you
could
go
up
and
just
say
hi
to
them
the
next
Sunday
out of
the
corner
of
my
eye
I
saw
Peter
going
up
to
two
Taiwanese
international
students
I think
it was
their
first
time
there
and
there
was
this
most
gloriously
awkward
moment
because
their
English
wasn't
great
and
they
couldn't
understand
a
word
that
he
was
saying
because
his
speech
impediment
was
so
bad
but
actually
you
saw
that
they
super
appreciated
someone
actually
just
reaching
out
so
they
were
trying
really
hard
to
have
this
conversation
and
as
I
looked
at
it
I
saw
that
is
the
gospel
displayed
that
is
worship
going
on
right
there
because
with
all
the
real
tangible
barriers
that
he
had
God
had
got
hold
of
his
heart
and
now
he
wanted
to
walk
through
them
and
reach
out
to
someone
and
there
was
an
encouragement
I
was
so
encouraged
by
that
right
and
that's
when
he
gets
the
glory
we
don't
have
to
be
all
beautiful
sometimes
it's
messy
sometimes
it's
awkward
but
let me
encourage
us
some
of us
came
this
morning
and
you
are
struggling
some
of us
came
this
morning
and
you're
exhausted
some
of us
came
this
morning
and
you're
hurting
some
of us
came
this
morning
and
you're
lonely
this
is
what
it
means
to
be
the
body
of
Christ
we
come
in
a
mess
and
quite
frankly
if I
can
just
be
honest
for
a
moment
for
us
as
a
family
in
this
stage
at
the
moment
Sundays
is
the
most
exhausting
day
of the
week
it
really
is
with
two
young
kids
you know
one
kind
of
murder
and
the
other
the
other
just
melting
down
because
they
haven't
had
a
nap
it's
like
some
of
you
parents
know
this
and
sometimes
I
know
particularly
for
my
wife
as
well
there's
so
many
distractions
you
just
can't
concentrate
and
sometimes
you
can
go
away
going
well
what
was
the
point
of
that
but
actually
I
want to
say to
any of
you who
are in
that
situation
don't
give
up
because
actually
what
your
heart
is
willing
to
sacrifice
for
is
what
your
heart
will
be
shaped
to
love
and
your
kids
will
see
that
in
time
and
they
will
see
that
actually
God's
people
because
of what
Jesus
has
done
is
precious
in
your
life
and
is
more
likely
to
become
precious
in
their
life
too
and
so
as
a
church
with
all
of
our
mess
can
I
encourage
us
in
the
light
of
who
Jesus
is
that
we're
willing
to
be
awkward
that
we're
willing
to
get
over
ourselves
to
go
up
to
a
parent
who
is
struggling
to
go
and
just
say
hi
to
someone
to
go
and
say
hey
how
can
I
pray
for
you
in
like
10
seconds
because
you know
the
kid's
screaming
but let
me
just
pray
for
you
because
some
of
us
need
that
this
morning
some
of
us
need
us
to
be
able
to
stir
one
up
and
encourage
each
other
because
you
may
be
the
very
difference
between
someone
beginning
to walk
away
from
Christ
and
someone
experiencing
his
love
which
draws
them
to
himself
why
do
we
gather
on
Sundays
we
gather
because
Jesus
has
given
us
an
invitation
that
is
like
no
other
invitation
that
we
can
come
into
the
presence
of
God
people
who
don't
measure
up
like
you
and
me
can
find
utter
acceptance
here
with
him
belonging
to
his
family
and
as
we
come
to
worship
him
as
we
come
to
be
washed
in
his
word
again
and
encouraged
let
us
then
encourage
each
other
and
as
we
do
that
you
know
Jesus
is
coming
back
he
says
the
day
is
drawing
near
let's
not
neglect
meeting
together
but
Jesus
gets
the
glory
through
that
because
it's
all
about
him
let
me
pray
maybe you
just want
to take
a minute
while the
band
comes up
to just
reflect
on
how you
see
even this
morning
there's
many
realities
that are
going
on
in our
lives
and
Jesus
knows
where
you
are
he
doesn't
call
you
to
come
perfectly
he
calls
you
to
come
messily
but
actually
just
to
come
some
of us
need
to
just
be
respond
with
thankfulness
again
for the
utter
privilege
that
actually
we
can
meet
as
a
church
family
around
the
world
there
are
so
many
people
who
are
struggling
to
do
that
what
a
privilege
some
of us
need
to
remember
while
Jesus
died
that
we
could
come
into
his
presence
some
of us
need
to
repent
where
we've
made
it
actually
all
about
ourselves
some
of us
need
to
allow
Jesus
to
just
come
in
and
move
us
out
towards
each
other
to
encourage
each
other
just
take
this
minute
now
just
to
pray
in
response
and if
you're
struggling
Jesus
knows
your
heart
just cry
with whatever
words you have
to
him
can
realize
all
Thank you.
Father, I pray.
And thank you for the fact that we can come into your presence.
That we can have intimate fellowship with you.
Lord, sometimes Sundays feels very ordinary.
It doesn't feel like anything spectacular.
But thank you, that's exactly where you work.
Thank you that you want to work in our church right now, Lord.
I pray that you teach us what it means to have you right in the center of our lives.
You teach us that we don't have to come just because it's the habit that we have.
But we can come because it's the privilege that we have.
Lord, make us a community which really knows how to love one another.
That even on this Sunday morning, Lord, we don't rush in and rush out.
Lord, we actually take time to greet one another, to encourage one another, to pray for one another.
And we can spill that out into the rest of our week to grab coffee with each other and love each other.
But Father, we just need you.
There are so many things in our lives which pressure us.
We feel the war.
But thank you, Lord, that the worship of you is so much better than the worship of anything else.
Fill our hearts afresh.
Change us, we pray.
Come by your Holy Spirit.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.