Well friends, good morning. A warm welcome to our service today. May the Lord bless us as together we seek to explore the good news of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
We welcome any visitors among us and those joining us online. May the Lord bless us and be near to us as together we worship Him this morning.
Well, my name is Colin McLeod and I'm ministering back and with James' recent retirement, the Presbytery have appointed me as your interim moderator.
In taking up this role, I count it as a real privilege and I will do everything I can to support Calamurdo and work alongside the Kirk Session and you as a congregation as we seek to work towards filling the vacancy of senior minister in the congregation.
I'll say a little bit more about that at the close of the service.
I've been asked just to highlight the bulletin sheet that's available today. It's full. I won't even attempt to go through it because it's like an essay.
Please do take your time to look through. There's lots of information on there. Upcoming meetings this week all are scheduled.
There's tea and coffee in the hall after the service this morning. All are very welcome.
On Monday the 15th of July, the Kirk Session will meet in Kennet Street Session room at 7pm. That's an important one to take note, please, Elders.
And then also there's a note here about the free breakfast at the free church.
If anyone would like to help with the annual free breakfast on Sunday the 21st of July, please email the church office, not the church officer, and get in touch with Peggy McLennan.
That's information for you.
Also, there was an update shared last night.
Sad news that an elder of the congregation, Charlie Finlayson, had passed away.
We remember very much the family, Catherine and Rury, and we commend them to the Lord that his peace and mercy would uphold them at this time in their sad loss.
We'll be gathered together this morning to worship the Lord.
And we begin by singing to his praise from Psalm 121.
Psalm 121.
Singing the psalm from the Psalter, page 416 in our Blue Psalm books.
And we'll sing this whole psalm to the tune French.
I to the hills will lift mine eyes.
From whence doth come mine aid.
My safety cometh from the Lord, who heaven and earth hath made.
Thy foot he'll not let slide, nor will he slumber that thee keeps.
Behold, he that keeps Israel, he slumbers not, nor sleeps.
Psalm 121.
We'll stand and sing together.
Amen.
I to the hills will lift my eyes.
From whence doth come my aid.
My safety cometh from the Lord, who heaven and earth hath made.
Thy foot he'll not let slide, nor will he slumber that thee keeps.
Behold, he that keeps Israel, he slumber that thee keeps.
Israel, he slumber that thee keeps.
The Lord, he keeps the Lord my shape.
On thy light and of stay.
The Lord, my life, thee shall not spite.
Nor yet the sun by day.
The Lord, my soul, he shall preserve me from all ill.
Henceforth thy going, our children.
God keep forever.
We'll bow in prayer together.
our lord and our god on this your day we bow before you and give you thanks for this opportunity
this privilege of singing praise to you the living god together and we ask you lord from
the outset of our time as we worship and sing praise as we bow in prayer as we bring to you
lord our petitions and as we express to you in prayer the things that are most upon our hearts
and minds we do so lord in humility and dependence we bow in reverence and awe and wonder and lord we
adore we worship we give thanks to you the living god creator sustainer ruler sovereign over all
that we can come to you in prayer what a privilege what a joy and what a blessing and so lord we ask
for your hand to be upon us today that you would come in among us and do us good that lord you would
bless to our hearts your word the gospel of god this good news of jesus christ and him crucified
we bless you for the hope of the gospel the promise of the gospel the life-giving life-changing impact
of the gospel upon hearts and lives and may that be so today may men and women and boys and girls be
encouraged by the word and may many who as yet remain unconvinced and unconverted be brought in repentance
and faith to jesus christ there to receive from him forgiveness and life everlasting we bless you for this
message of life that it is a message that resounds from and brings us to the lord jesus christ and in
his name we pray lord that you draw near to us that you would bless us renew us forgive us our sin cleanse
us and renew us and all that we ask is in jesus precious name amen
well i'm sure everybody boys and girls here if we were to total up the number of trips everyone in here
is made on the ferry it would be quite significant we've all been there haven't we many times
on the the ferry from you can probably hear remember that the names of the previous ferries going back
a number of years and now we have of course a lot seaforth i was on there the other day i want to
talk to you talk to you about this i was just on the ferry i think last week we're on there
sailing across the minch is like a pond beautiful it always is isn't it there's never a wind in the
minch so we tell the visitors and then there were dolphins sightings and the usual scramble to the
windows and taking pictures of the sea and as we were crossing over an announcement came on over
the tannoy from the captain saying that we're going to run a drill they're informing us as passengers
we're going to run a drill on the boat don't worry about it we're going to shut the restaurant while the
crew practice their drills at sea fair enough so we get to hear and see a drill being carried out
as a passenger quite interesting in fact more than interesting it was quite something and every
stage through the drill bing bong on the t on the tannoy on the pa the announcer would say crew to
stations bing bong crew to next station bing bong crew to the next and so we were able to follow
through what was actually happening and at one point we saw quite a few of the crew gather at this spot on
the ferry and they slid open the doors and there were hundreds of life jackets just stacked up
perfect okay everything i see of course is perfect everything is stowed away tied down lashed secured
perfect and it was just it was just just so nice to see that the precision the care and everything
that the crew were doing and that's what struck me and that's what i wanted to share with you
today the crew were practicing how to make sure everybody on the boat if they needed to
would be kept safe by them the crew that's what they were doing practicing what to do
in case of an emergency which is something none of us ever want to experience and those who have
experienced it well wow to go through something like that at sea and what was really good to see
was the crew going through all their practices so they would know what to do if there was a drama
and that's the thing we've just sung today a really well-known psalm 121 i to the hills will lift mine
eyes from whence hath come my made what a great question that is who's going to help me said the
psalmist as he looked to the strength and hills of the hills and looked at the created world around
him said who's going to help me if i get into a crisis or a drama my safety cometh from the lord
who heaven and earth hath made now that's quite something the psalm writer was caught up with god's
power and wonder the the amazing ability of god to say let there be and there was god is the creator of
all things and the psalmist was thankful for that but that's not what he was most thankful for it wasn't
that god was the maker of all things it was that god was his keeper that's what really thrilled the psalmist
thy foot he'll not let slide nor will he slumber that thee keeps behold he that keeps israel he does not
slumber he does not sleep six times in this short song of praise the psalm talks about god being the keeper
of his people what a wonderful thing that is just to think about for a few minutes today on a sunday
morning the lord thee keeps and then verse 7 the lord shall keep thy soul if you're a christian here today
that's your song you can say that the lord is not just your maker he is your keeper he is the keeper
of your soul and that crew drill on the lock sea forth a few nights ago seeing them practicing how
to make sure everyone would be kept safe on the boat if they were needed that reminded me of this
great reality in the psalm we've just sung together that when we put our trust in jesus when we ask the
lord into our hearts and confess our sin to him and ask him to forgive us and cleanse us and make us new
that's exactly what he does and then we speak of him not just as our maker but our keeper the lord
shall keep thy soul this boys and girls is not a message for old people it's not a message just for elders
or ministers or or church folk this is a message for you today for everyone on our island and in our country
that if we put our trust in jesus he will be our keeper and may he bless us as we look to him
but we're going to say together the words of the lord's prayer as is the congregation's custom and
the words are in the bulletin if you would like to use them we say together our father who art in
heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this
day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever amen
well we'll sing again to god's praise from sing psalms in psalm 18 psalm 18 page 19 in our blue psalm
books and we're going to sing in psalm 18 from verse 1 to verse 6 to the tune duke street psalm 18 and
sing psalm singing from the beginning i love you lord you are my strength a fortress is the lord to me
my rock and my deliverer for refuge to my god i flee he is my stronghold and my shield the lord who
saves me by his might i'll call on him and give him praise i'm saved he puts my foes to flight psalm 18
from verse 1 to 6 we'll stand together
i love you lord you are my strength a fortress is the lord to me
my lord and my deliverer for refuge to my god i flee he is my stronghold and my shield the lord who saves me by his might
I'll count my shield, the Lord who saves me by His might.
I'll call on Him and give Him praise.
I've saved He puts my foes to fight.
A portal of death had tumbled me.
Destruction hit me like a wave.
Encircled by the stairs of death,
I faced the tethers of the cliff.
In my distress I called on God.
I cried unto the Lord for it.
He from His temple heard my voice.
He listened to the prayer I made.
Amen.
We'll read together this morning from God's Word from the New Testament.
Two passages.
First of all, from the Acts of the Apostles in chapter 17.
The Acts of the Apostles.
We'll read in chapter 17.
And then we'll turn forward in our Bibles to read in 1 Thessalonians.
And the first chapter.
So first of all, Acts in chapter 17,
where we read of a part of what we call today the second missionary journey.
The gospel has been brought by the small missionary team to Europe.
Paul, Timothy and Silas, and at some point joined by Luke,
begin or continue to spread the good news of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Here in chapter 17 we read of what happened when they come to the ancient city of Thessalonica.
Thessalonica.
And when we'll read later the letter Paul would write to these new converts.
Chapter 17 in Acts.
Now, when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia,
they came to Thessalonica where there was a synagogue of the Jews.
And Paul went in as was his custom.
And on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the scriptures,
explaining and proving it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead,
saying, This Jesus whom I proclaim to you is the Christ.
Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas,
as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.
But the Jews were jealous.
And taking some wicked men of the rabble,
they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar,
and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.
And when they could not find them,
they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities,
shouting, These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also.
And Jason has received them,
and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar,
saying, There is another king, Jesus.
And the people in the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things.
And when they had taken money, a security from Jason,
and the rest, they let them go.
The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea.
And when they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue.
And when we turn forward to 1 Thessalonians,
we find in this passage a short, powerful pastoral letter,
written a year perhaps later, a number of months later,
as far as we can tell, while Paul was ministering in Corinth.
And he writes to the church that he was responsible for founding
to encourage them and to stabilize them in their faith
as they faced a difficult providence.
And so we read from chapter 1,
Paul, Silas, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians
and God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace to you and peace.
We give thanks to God always for all of you,
constantly mentioning you in our prayers,
remembering before our God and Father
your work of faith and labor of love
and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
For we know, brothers loved by God,
that he has chosen you
because our gospel came to you not only in word,
but also in power and in the Holy Spirit
and with full conviction.
You know what kind of men we prove to be among you for your sake.
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord,
for you received the word in much affliction
with the joy of the Holy Spirit,
so that you became an example
to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achia.
For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth
from you in Macedonia and Achia,
but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere,
so that we need not say anything.
For they themselves report concerning us
the kind of reception we had among you
and how you turned to God from idols
to serve the living and true God
and to wait for his Son from heaven,
whom he raised from the dead,
Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.
Amen.
May the Lord bless his word to our hearts,
to his name be all the praise.
Let's bow in prayer again for a moment together.
Our Lord and our God,
we bless and praise you this morning
that we have opened in our gathering your word.
And we bless you that we are led here
to the word that became flesh and dwelt among us,
to Jesus Christ the righteous,
who came to seek and to save the lost,
to call sinners to repentance.
And so we pray today, Lord,
for this time we are together,
that you would bless us and do us good,
that you would open our hearts
and grant us renewed insight
and understanding as to the truths of the gospel,
these wonderful doctrines of grace,
this message of life and forgiveness
and reconciliation in Jesus.
For we know that there is no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus.
And we know that he has come to bring us to God,
to deliver us from the wrath to come.
What a message, what a hope and what a saviour.
And we pray, Lord, this morning
that this message would take root in our hearts and lives,
shaping us from the inside out,
leading us and motivating us
to be servants of the living God.
That we, as the Christians in Thessalonica,
it would show we have turned to God,
to serve him,
waiting for the appearing of Jesus Christ,
our saviour, your son.
So we pray, Lord, this day,
that your message of truth and love and peace
would be blessed to our hearts,
that as happened in Thessalonica,
the word would be blessed here
and it would come home to hearts
with power and much conviction,
blessed of the Holy Spirit,
that there would be joy,
joy in the proclamation of Christ,
joy in receiving Christ,
joy in knowing forgiveness of sin.
We pray, Lord, for your blessing on your word today,
that you would watch over
and bless the congregation here
at this time of change,
at this time of a new chapter,
beginning with the retirement of James,
with James and Donna
now moving away from the congregation.
Lord, we pray that your hand
would rest upon them and their family.
And we pray, Lord,
for the ongoing work of the gospel
here in the congregation.
We pray for Calamurdo
and the elders and deacons,
the Sunday school teachers,
all those who are on tea and coffee rotas,
creche rotas,
and who run holiday clubs.
The work goes on.
And for that, Lord, we praise and thank you
that the message of Christ crucified
will continue to go forth.
And we pray it would go forth
with great power and conviction
that men and women
and boys and girls in Stornoway
would come under the sound of the gospel
and commit themselves to the Lord,
that they would know that salvation
in their souls for themselves.
Lord, this we ask,
that your hand would be upon
the ongoing work of the ministry
here in the congregation.
We remember today, Lord,
the family of Charlie Finlayson.
We pray for Catherine and Rury,
and the wider family.
We pray, Lord,
that your hand would be upon them
at this time.
And as we reflect on Charlie
and his life and witness
and service in the congregation,
may that be a witness
that will continue to speak to many.
We thank you, Lord,
that there are so many
who down through the years
have served you faithfully
in similar ways.
And we pray that this great cloud
of witnesses would continue
to speak to us
and that we would draw from them
an example to follow,
a promise to claim,
a race to run,
a battle to fight.
And may we do so keeping the focus
on our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ.
Lord, at this time as a nation,
we too are experiencing change.
We have a new government,
a new prime minister.
And Lord, we have been inundated
these past weeks
with promise and counter-promise,
claim and counter-claim,
manifesto and counter-manifesto.
Lord, we've heard it all before.
And yet we see change.
And at this time of change,
we remember Jesus Christ,
the same yesterday,
today and forever.
And we pray, Lord,
that the certainty of the gospel
would take root in hearts and lives
at this time of change.
We pray, Lord,
for our new government,
for the prime minister,
for the cabinet,
for the royal family.
And that as an establishment,
Lord,
there would be a sense
not just of importance,
but a sense of humility,
a sense of your goodness
and greatness,
and that the gospel of grace
would change hearts and lives.
We long for the day
when we will see men and women
taking their place
in the public square,
unashamed of the gospel,
serving Jesus Christ
as a bright,
shining witness
in that capacity.
So we pray for Christian MPs,
Christian MSPs,
and we pray,
and long, Lord,
for the day
where they would,
at the heart of government
and heart of the legislative process
in our land,
be hungering and thirsting
after righteousness,
and be a longing for
a knowledge of Christ
and him crucified,
and an experience
of personal salvation.
Remember us, Lord,
at this time as a nation,
and we pray that your hand
would be upon us
as this new chapter begins,
both here locally
and nationally.
Lord, we commend
all these things to you.
We come to you
as the King of kings
and Lord of lords.
We bring to your petitions
our cares, your concerns,
and we pray, Lord,
today for those
known to you,
perhaps not known to us,
but known to you,
who are finding things
difficult at this time.
We pray for those struggling.
We pray, Lord,
for those who are
finding life hard,
who are weighed down,
who are uncertain,
afraid,
lonely,
anxious,
broken.
Lord, we pray above all
that they might know
that underneath
are the everlasting arms.
May they know
Jesus Christ
and him crucified
by coming to him
in repentance and faith,
and may those
of your people
draw alongside them
and share a word
in season,
and bring, Lord,
that offer of life
and that promise
of peace of heart
and mind
that passes
all understanding.
Hear us, Lord,
in these things we pray.
Draw near to us.
Bless your word
to our hearts
this morning
for forgive our sin.
In Jesus' name
we ask it.
Amen.
We'll sing to God's praise
once more
from the Psalter
in Psalm 84.
Psalm 84,
we'll sing
from the beginning
of the Psalm,
page 338
in our blue Psalm books,
and we're singing
to the tune
Tramps and Hawkers.
Psalm 84,
from the beginning,
How lovely is
thy dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts,
to me the tabernacles
of thy grace,
how pleasant,
Lord, they be.
My thirsty soul
longs vehemently,
ye faints thy courts
to see.
My very heart and flesh
cry out,
O living God,
for thee.
We'll stand and sing
together.
Amen.
How lovely is
thy dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts,
to me.
The tabernacles
of thy grace,
how pleasant,
Lord, they be.
My thirsty soul
longs vehemently,
in things I go
to see.
My very heart
and flesh
cry out,
O living God,
for thee.
Behold,
the sparrow
findeth out,
and house
wherein to rest.
The swallow
also
for herself
hath purchased
said,
unless.
In thy
known altars
where she
stayed,
her young
what's forth
may bring.
O the
almighty
Lord of hosts,
through heart
thy God
and King.
O the
Lord of hosts,
my God
and King.
may in thy
house not dwell,
may ever
give me
praise.
Blessed
is the
one
whose strength
thy heart
in whose
heart
are
thy ways.
Who
passing
flood,
obey
God's
will,
heaven
to
Jacob
wells,
also
the
rain
that
falleth
down,
that
cools
with
water
fills.
angels.
There are
wonderful words
and we,
having sung them
together,
we turn to
the second
passage we
read this
morning in
1 Thessalonians.
1 Thessalonians,
letter of the
Apostle Paul to
this brand new
church that he
had planted as
part of his
journeying,
what we call
today the
second missionary
journey.
he's left
the city
by night
because of
the pressure
and opposition
of the world
around him
and now some
months later he
writes back to
them and this
is the record
we have before
us.
And I'd like us
to especially
notice perhaps
in verse 2,
we give thanks
to God always
for all of you,
constantly mentioning
you in our
prayers,
remembering before
our God and
Father your
work of faith,
your labour
of love,
your steadfastness
of hope in
our Lord
Jesus Christ.
I wonder what
it is you look
for in a
church.
It's a good
question, it's a
fair question.
I'm sure most
of us, if not
all, have at
some point been
on our travels
on holiday or
in a town or
city we're not
very familiar
with and we've
looked for a
church to go
along to and
I wonder in
doing so what
it is you would
look for.
What is it you
look for in a
church?
What is it you
would like to
see when you
walk in?
What is it you
would like to
experience as the
worship begins
and unfolds?
What would you
hope to feel
while you were
there?
And above all
perhaps, what
would you want
to hear from
the pulpit during
that worship
service?
That's the kind
of questions that
are in the
background to this
letter.
we know from
the Acts of
the Apostles
that Paul and
his small team
of co-workers
brought the
gospel to
mainland Europe
and he travelled
from Philippi to
Thessalonica to
Berea down to
Athens and
Corinth and
Ephesus and
overall it seems
scholars can
piece things
together.
They think it
was about a
three-year period
covering about
3,000 miles and
we know we
park the statistics
that what happened
above all was
the gospel of
grace took hold
in hearts and
lives.
Everywhere they
went there was
conversions, there
was blessing,
churches were
planted but no
sooner had the
light dispelled
the darkness
than very quickly
opposition came
and these new
churches that we
have the letters
to Galatians,
Ephesians,
the Philippians,
the Colossian
church, the
church here in
Thessalonica,
they were brand
new churches,
church plants in
pagan cities full
of darkness and
mysticism and
pluralism and
paganism,
emperor worship
was a thing and
if you didn't
take some
spice and
sprinkle it on
the altar and
say Caesar is
God, you'd be
instantly branded
as some kind of
lunatic, an
atheist, an
outcast, someone
to be watched, a
troublemaker, some
kind of insurgent.
So that was what
Christians had to
accept right from
the off.
And we read
through Acts
17 and we read
it for a purpose
because we read
there the
founding of this
church that Paul
is now writing
to, these words,
remembering before
our God and
Father your work
of faith, your
labour of love and
steadfastness of
hope in our Lord
Jesus Christ.
What do you look
for in a church?
This is what the
apostle Paul was
looking for.
And to see if
these things were
there, what he
did was he sent
Timothy back.
As we piece
things together in
the Acts of the
Apostles and we
read through this
letter, chapter 3
tells us we could
bear it no longer,
chapter 3, verse 1,
we were willing to
be left alone at
Athens and we sent
Timothy, our
brother and God's
co-worker in the
gospel of Christ,
why?
To establish and
exhort you in your
faith that no one
be moved by these
afflictions.
This church had
known the blessing
of God Almighty,
but also they had
already tasted the
enmity and opposition
and intolerance of
the world.
The apostle had to
leave Thessalonica
under the cover of
darkness.
That's what chapter
17 in Acts tells us.
There was such an
uproar and the
riot and the threat
and the threat of
violence was so real
in the air that the
brothers in chapter
17 and verse 10
sent Paul and Silas
away by night to
Berea.
They had arrived in
the daytime as far as
we can tell, but such
was the opposition and
enmity and hatred they'd
experienced that they
had to leave under the
cover of darkness.
They moved on to
Berea and then were
told that the Jewish
people in Thessalonica
heard he was at work
in Berea and they
came there and stirred
up the crowd as well.
So in Thessalonica
there was real danger
and violence and
threat and opposition.
Paul knew it.
And some months later
down in Corinth when he
could take it no longer,
chapter 3, we could
bear it no longer.
He couldn't take it
anymore.
He couldn't take the
worry, the anxiety, the
care he felt for these
people and so he sends
Timothy and he sends
Timothy to a very clear
mission.
Timothy, travel back up
these 300 or so miles to
Thessalonica and see if
the church has stood the
test.
See if they've survived.
See if they're growing.
Go and see if there's a
church of Jesus Christ in
Thessalonica.
So I'd like us to think
about this and what comes
out of this background
particularly in light of
these words here in
chapter 1 and verse 3.
And notice this morning
two things.
First of all, the
motivation behind this
letter being Paul's
loving concern.
There's a loving concern
here.
To such a degree that he
sends Timothy.
He sends his best.
He takes Timothy, his
right-hand man, and he
sends him on a perilous
mission on his own by the
look of it, back up the
Isthmus from Corinth in the
south, back up to the
north to Thessalonica.
Which was at the time the
provincial capital.
It was a city of around, as
far as we can tell, 200,000.
So the population of ancient
Thessalonica was just slightly
smaller than modern-day
Aberdeen.
It's a big ancient city.
And in that city, there's a
church.
There was a church.
And Timothy's mission is to
go back and see if the church
is still there.
That's the interesting
background and dynamic.
That's the canvas upon which
this letter is written.
So there's a loving concern
here, first of all.
We'll look at the loving
concern, and then we'll think
about the living church that
Timothy finds.
The loving concern that we see
in Paul is, first of all, it's
expressed in the language that
opens a letter to the church of
the Thessalonians.
He writes to them, identifying
them as to where they are, but
more importantly, who they are
and whose they are.
They are the church in God the
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace to you and peace.
And then immediately, there's a
switch in the language.
We thank, we give thanks to God
always for all of you, constantly
mentioning you in our prayers,
remembering you before our God and
Father.
And so he talks about them being
the church of the Thessalonians
in God the Father, who is our God
and Father, through our Lord Jesus
Christ.
So by the end of verse 3, the
language of family is established.
There's a bond.
And this bond shows and is expressed
in Paul's loving concern.
He speaks of them as being one.
And with absolute certainty and
clarity of thought, as he pens this
letter down in Corinth, he reflects
on their standing in Christ and
their bond through Christ.
Faith has established a new reality.
And that reality is pouring out of
Paul's own heart.
We give thanks to God always for you,
constantly, re-mentioning you in
our prayers, remembering before our
God and Father.
He is so concerned for them.
He has such a love for them because
he was there when he brought the
gospel to them.
And what was the message?
Chapter 17 in Acts tells us the
emphasis Paul brought to ancient
Thessalonica.
We're told in chapter 17 that he
spent three Sabbath days, that's over
a period of three weeks as a minimum,
explaining and proving it was necessary
for the Christ to suffer and to rise
from the dead saying, this Jesus who
might proclaim to you is the Christ.
And so we have Paul emphasizing in a
matter of weeks the cross and the
resurrection, the death and life of
the Lord Jesus Christ and saying, this
Jesus who might proclaim to you is the
Christ.
He preached Christ crucified.
And what happened in response to this
message?
Some were persuaded, as did a great
many of devout Greeks and many of the
leading women of the city.
They were converted because Paul preached
Christ.
He kept the focus.
He was there to tell them not about who
he was and what he had achieved.
He didn't go there with a CV as many
traveling preachers and philosophers did in
his day.
Many made itinerant speakers, made their
living by holding public classes and
lectures.
They would be paid to perform orations
and give great declarations of
philosophy and mysticism and all sorts of
pluralism and paganism.
All sorts of things were rebounding
around the city at this time.
And many would have thought, oh, here's
just another itinerant speaker.
Here's another preacher.
I wonder what he's got to say.
And what he had to say was, this Jesus,
whom I proclaim to you is the Christ.
Paul's heart for these people is founded
in these words in these few short weeks.
As far as we can tell, he had a maximum of
just a couple of months, maybe eight weeks,
ten weeks with them before he had to flee
the city or leave the city, I should say,
by the cover of darkness.
Such was the threat and violence and
aggression that the church was now
experiencing.
And so his loving concern is genuine,
he's deep-rooted, he's praying for
and really concerned for his fellow believers.
And so it comes to the point down there
in Corinth a matter of months later,
he can't take the worry anymore,
he can't take the concern anymore.
He wants to know how they're doing
and so he sends Timothy.
He gives him his best.
And so Timothy is sent back to encourage,
he is sent back to encourage the people,
the languages, his co-work,
he's sent back to establish and exhort you
in your faith that no one be moved
by these afflictions for you yourselves.
No, we are destined for this.
He doesn't want any Christians sitting there
experiencing a difficult providence
or a hard time thinking,
well, why am I going through this?
Surely Christians are not meant to experience this.
And he knows that such is the heart
of the human heart that we fall over,
don't we, we struggle, we're weak,
we give in to temptation
and then we get into such a confiddle
and we think, well, things should go this way
and when they don't go that way,
we fall apart and think,
well, how can this be?
Where's God in all of this?
And Paul is writing to them to remind them.
And the language he uses is remarkable.
You yourselves know we are destined for this.
We should experience and anticipate difficulty,
hardship, challenge, unsettledness.
And so Paul's loving concern is that
they would be kept on track.
He knew they'd be experiencing affliction,
opposition and frustration.
It was all there and he knew
that they would be going through it.
He knew and was concerned for them
that in what they would be experiencing,
they would not be blown off course,
that they would not crumble
and that they would not collapse in themselves,
that they would not become obsessed
with the hardship they were going through.
And so he says, Timothy, go back
and minister to them, pastor to them,
look after them and see if the church
is standing fast.
And he writes, grace to you and peace.
What more could he hope for?
What more could we today wish for anyone
but grace and peace?
And there's a clear way we can apply all of this
at this point today.
We need to pause before thinking about the living church.
This loving concern that led to Timothy
being sent back on this mission to Thessalonica.
If we put ourselves in that position
and imagine Timothy coming here,
what would Timothy find?
What kind of church would Timothy find
if he joined us this morning?
We know what he'd be looking for.
He found it in Thessalonica.
He found a living church,
defined here in verse 3
as a church that was set apart
by their work of faith,
their labor of love and steadfastness of hope.
So here's our challenge
by way of application of all of this.
If Timothy was to come here,
what would he find?
Has he spent time moving in amongst you
in fellowship and worship and praise and prayer?
What would he find?
And then what report would he bring back
to the apostle of the church in Stornoway?
He'd been sent back to establish
and exhort them in their faith,
reminding them that they're not exempt
difficulty, hardship and setbacks.
How did you get on, Timothy?
What's the message?
What's the report?
Tell me about the church.
That's what happened in Corinth
when Timothy eventually caught up.
Perhaps it seems maybe it wasn't in Athens.
It was maybe either in Corinth
or maybe even in Ephesus.
Probably Corinth as we try and piece it together,
which isn't always that easy to do.
But the report he brought back
was crystal clear.
Whatever city he re-aligned himself with Paul,
whatever they were at that time,
he brought back a wonderful report.
A report that gladdened the heart.
Chapter 3, verse 6.
Timothy has come to us from you
and has brought us the good news
of your faith and love and reported.
You always remember us kindly
and long to see us
as we long to see you.
There was a description
a number of years ago I read
of the liner, the old liner,
the Queen Mary,
that eventually was retired
from the transatlantic crossing,
was bought by a multi-billionaire
over in America
and parked up and turned into
this five-star luxury hotel complex
as part of a massive retail park
there over in the States somewhere.
And after a number of years,
the ship was inspected.
From the outside,
the Queen Mary looked absolutely incredible,
colossal,
this vast luxury liner
that famed around the world
for the luxurious appointments
in the ship
as she crossed the Atlantic
in the 30s and the 40s.
But when the ship was inspected,
it was found to be
in utter disrepair.
There was all sorts of issues
and problems.
The ship had simply suffered
from neglect.
It had sat in that docking position
and her engines,
her systems below the waterline
were an absolute catastrophe
that was going to cost millions
to put right.
The ship had just suffered
from neglect.
And that's the kind of picture,
I think,
that we need to take hold of today,
that we would not suffer
from neglect
and that we would not neglect
the cause,
the work,
the ministry
that is to continue
here as a congregation
among you.
Your responsibility
and privilege
is to serve this community
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That work goes on.
And so we need to ensure
the focus remains,
that the temperature
remains high,
that the pulse
remains strong,
and that fellowship
and worship
and communion
go together.
Paul's love and concern
brings all this out
because that's what Timothy
found in ancient Thessalonica
and our challenge,
our responsibility
is that we would seek
to achieve the same
in our day and age,
in our setting.
So there's love and concern here.
Secondly, of course,
there's what Timothy found
when he got to Thessalonica.
He travelled that 300 or so miles
on his own by foot,
as far as we can tell,
back up to Thessalonica.
He went back to the site
where the church had been founded
and what he found there
gladdened his heart.
And he brought back to Paul
a message of joy
and thanksgiving.
Timothy in chapter 3
has come to you
and has brought us
the good news
of your faith and love.
Paul, he would have said,
the church has stood
the test of time.
The church has not been
hold beneath the waterline.
The church is good.
The church is solid.
The church is full of faith
and love and hope.
So what we find here
is a wonderful description
or definition, if you like,
of a living church.
A church defined by
her work of faith.
Faith regardless of the opposition.
There was love
even though there had been frustration.
There was hope
even though there had been persecution.
What is it that this language
tells us then of the living church?
Your work of faith,
your labour of love
and steadfastness of hope.
These things
are all productive.
There's nothing static.
There's nothing formal.
There's nothing dull.
There's no sense of routine here.
This is a dynamic
and dedicated
and determined picture
of a church.
Their faith is producing works.
Their love is producing labour.
And their hope
is producing steadfastness.
That's the phrasing goes on.
It's not that their work
is then going to lead them to faith.
It's the other way around.
Their faith is leading them to work.
Their love is motivating them
to labour.
And their hope
is leading them
to endure with steadfastness.
So then we see that
as one writer put it
very nicely,
he put it this way.
Theirs was the dynamic
outworking
of a life transforming principle.
It's quite something, isn't it?
Timothy found here
a dynamic outworking
of a life transforming principle.
What is that principle?
We find it again in Acts.
You may remember the story
of when the apostles
were arrested
and incarcerated
and the Sanhedrin
were gathering the next day
to bring them on trial.
But that night
an angel came in
and released them from prison
and said to them,
go into the temple
and tell the people
all the words
of this life.
Life.
This is what the gospel is.
It's life-giving.
It's life-changing.
It is the promise
of life in Christ Jesus.
Something Paul himself
never forgot.
If you look at 2 Timothy,
his final letter
written from a prison cell
in Rome
under the sentence of death,
in his first sentence
he speaks of the promise
of life in Christ Jesus.
Life-giving.
Life-transforming.
The gospel of grace
had done its work
in the hearts
of these brand new Christians.
And Timothy comes in among them
and finds things going well.
And he describes it for us here.
He defines it, if you like,
as a work of faith.
Their faith is active.
Their faith is producing
work amongst them.
Faithfulness.
What is this faithfulness?
Take up your cross daily
and come after me.
And it has a purpose,
a very clear purpose.
As we grow in grace,
as we develop our understanding,
as we become more mature
in the faith,
Paul had a very clear purpose in mind.
He sent Timothy
to exhort and encourage them.
Why?
And he charged them
to walk in a manner
worthy of God.
To walk in a manner
worthy of God.
Chapter 2 and verse 12.
What a description
of the Christian life that is.
Have a walk
that is worthy of God.
That, Christian friends,
is our responsibility.
Day in and day out.
Especially, perhaps,
at a time of change.
With James retiring
and a vacancy
of the senior minister post.
Now established.
What do we do?
What do you do?
You continue the work.
You show forth
the praises
of the one
who called you
from darkness
into his marvelous light.
And you seek in doing so
to have a walk
that is worthy of God.
And that walk
that will be worthy of God
will be defined
in the language
of verse 3
as a faith
that produces works,
a love
that produces
a labor,
and a hope
that produces
a steadfastness
in our Lord
Jesus Christ.
This labor of love
is an interesting phrase
to think about that
for a moment.
This labor,
it's a word
that speaks of
difficulty,
costly effort.
It's not just something
that's formality
or, oh, well,
it's my turn
on the rota.
Oh, well,
I better go
and pick up the phone
and phone that.
So I haven't seen them
in church for a while.
There isn't that kind
of sense of,
well, I think
I might do that.
No.
This labor of love
is costly.
It's effort.
It's endeavor.
And the emphasis
in the ancient Greek word
is actually
to labor
to the point
of exhaustion.
Do everything
you can.
That's what this love
is.
This love
that is driving
these young,
brand new Christians
in Thessalonica
is a love
that is the beating
heart of the church
of Christ on earth.
When we turn together
to read of this,
we can read in
1 Corinthians
in chapter 13,
a letter that Paul
would write
four or five years
after writing
to the Thessalonians.
And what does he say
of love?
Love is patient
and kind.
Love does not envy
or boast.
It is not arrogant
or rude.
It does not insist
on its own way.
It is not irritable
or resentful.
It does not rejoice
at wrongdoing
but rejoices
with the truth.
Love bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.
Love never ends.
So now,
faith,
hope,
and love
abide.
But the greatest
of these
is love.
You can almost
imagine
Paul
listening to
Timothy's report
and saying,
yes,
Timothy,
that's amazing.
They're committed
in their faith.
Their faith is producing
works,
but is there love?
Is there love?
Do they love the Lord?
Do they love his cause?
Do they love his people?
Do they love the gospel
of grace that's changed them?
Yes,
yes,
Paul,
their love
is bringing them
to labor.
They're working together
almost to the point
of exhaustion.
That's what the love
of Christ,
when it takes hold
in hearts and lives,
can result in
and should result in.
So Paul's question,
there's faith,
Timothy,
oh,
that's wonderful.
Is there love?
And there was.
Your work of faith,
your labor of love,
and your steadfastness
of hope.
You see,
they loved so much,
they labored,
they worked,
they served together.
Notice that language
at the end
of chapter one.
You turn to God
from idols
to serve
the living
and true God.
Here am I,
Lord,
send me,
friends,
at a time of vacancy
as things progress
and come to an end.
Be sure to do
all you can.
If there's a gap,
offer yourself.
If there's a need,
see to it.
Don't think someone else
will do it.
If you can do it,
then do it.
Do your bit.
It's the purpose
and responsibility
of all
to do what they can
to the furtherance
of the gospel,
to the betterment
of the congregation.
Let there be
these marks,
this faith
that produces works.
This love
that produces
a labour
as we serve
the Lord Jesus Christ
here.
There's lastly
this,
a steadfastness
of hope.
That's a word
that speaks
of endurance
and my goodness
did they need
to endure.
There'd been hardness,
there'd been a riot,
there'd been beatings,
there'd been violence.
The missionaries
had had to leave
under the cover
of darkness.
Then the Thessalonian
Jewish people
heard that there was
the work of the gospel
was happening
down the road
in Berea.
So they'd get
on their horses
and they'd go down
there and stir up
the crowds in Berea.
Then they'd have
come home to Thessalonica.
What would they have
done when they came
back from Berea?
They'd have gone
hunting for Christians.
They'd have been
looking for the gospel.
They'd have been
looking to identify
believers in Christ
to give them
a hard time
and to persecute them
and continue
in their bitter
opposition to the gospel.
These people
needed
steadfastness
of hope
in our Lord
Jesus Christ
and such was
their hope
in him
that they endured.
They were steadfast.
In the New Testament
letters
we read of hope
58 times.
There's a reason
for that,
isn't there?
We have hope.
Hope in Christ.
It's quite interesting
how these last few weeks
as the election
has unfolded
that time and time again
we've been offered
hope and a new promise
and a new start
and a reset
and hope
and reignite
the flame of hope.
You're hearing
all these promises
they're tripping off
the tongues of politicians.
They're taking
the language
of the Bible.
They're taking
the language
of the New Testament
and they're turning
it into their
they're giving it
their particular
political colour
in order to sound
good.
And it does sound
good
because a message
of hope
is what we need.
But there is no hope
like the hope
that comes from
knowing the Lord
Jesus Christ
as your saviour
and friend.
And I would hope
and pray today
friends that
knowing him as such
has been your experience
and joy
and comfort.
And I hope
and pray that you
would think today
well if Timothy
came to visit
this church
and sat beside me
would he
understand
that I'm a Christian?
Could I share
with Timothy
if he visited
the church here
that I have this
faith
and hope
and love?
Or would he find
you unconvinced
and unconverted
unmoved
uncertain
still
far off
in the darkness
refusing
to come
to Christ
refusing
to bow the knee
refusing
to acknowledge
him
as your Lord
and saviour
and friend.
I would hope
and pray
that today
friends
some of this
might resonate
with you.
John Bunyan
who
famous writer
wrote
Pilgrim's Progress
said this
he said that
faith is never
ill
when hope
is well.
What's our hope
today?
Jesus Christ
the same
yesterday
today
and forever
and we look
to him
for his grace
his mercy
and peace
for his blessing
for his sustaining
grace
for his grace
to serve
his grace
to follow
his grace
to reach out
his grace
to continue
the ministry
in this place
as a body
of believers
as a body
of people
gathered together
to serve
this community
in his name
and may he
bless you
as you do
so.
Thomas Chalmers
just to close
said this
the great
leader of the
free church
in the 19th
century
eminent
preacher
and theologian
scholar
said
simply this
that faith
that remained
in the head
but did not
warm the heart
and change lives
was of no use
to us.
Timothy
found the real
thing
when he went
back to
Thessalonica
he made
an assessment
and came
back to
Paul
and said
Paul
the church
has stood
what are they
like
Timothy
well
I found
them
and defined
them in
these ways
and as he
described them
Paul wrote
I could speak
of their work
of faith
their labour
of love
and steadfastness
of hope
in our Lord
Jesus Christ
where we know
brothers loved
of God
he has chosen
you because
our gospel
came to you
not only in
word
but also in
power
and in the
Holy Spirit
and with
full conviction
may that be
our portion
today and
ongoing
that the word
of the Lord
would come to
us in power
and in the
Holy Spirit
and with full
conviction
that we would
be a people
with a faith
that was dynamic
with a love
that is devoted
with a hope
that is determined
looking unto Jesus
us and may we
all today
be found
doing just
that
let's pray
for a moment
together
Lord our God
we pray for
your blessing
today
we pray Lord
that you would
be with us
at this time
that we might
take the word
of life
the promise
of life
and that we
might take
this our
saviour
into our
hearts and
lives by
acknowledging
him as
such
as the
King of
Kings
and Lord
of Lords
who in
his grace
and mercy
has seen
to it again
that we have
this opportunity
to worship
and we pray
while we are
on mercy's
ground
that we
would respond
accordingly
that we
would respond
in faith
that we
would serve
in love
that we
would endure
in hope
looking unto
Jesus
day by day
be with us
Lord in these
things we pray
for Jesus
sake
Amen
We'll turn
to sing
Psalms
and we'll
sing from
Psalm 57
and we'll
sing from
verse 7
Psalm 57
page 75
in our
blue psalm
books
we'll sing
from verse 7
to the end
to the
tune
Dennis
Psalm 57
from sing
Psalms
from verse 7
my heart
is steadfast
Lord
with music
I will sing
awake my soul
wake
harp
and lyre
my song
the dawn
will bring
Psalm 57
verses 7
to 11
we'll stand
to sing
and if you
just take
your seats
for a few
minutes
after the
benediction
that would
be appreciated
Psalm 57
we'll stand
and sing
my heart
is
steadfast
Lord
with you
sing
I will
sing
awake
my soul
wake
harp
and
lie
my song
the dawn
will ring
among
the nations
Lord
to you
I will
give praise
among
the peoples
of the
earth
my songs
of you
I'll
raise
praise
your steadfast
love
which reaches
to the sky
your most unfaithfulness
will
O God
exalted
God exalted me, and over all the earth below display your majesty.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
I just wanted to read very briefly a couple of sentences that for many, many years have been put together to encourage congregations at a time of vacancy and change.
Let me just read to you a few snippets from this.
As a congregation, you are entrusted with the responsibility of choosing a pastor to be over you in the Lord.
Each of you have a duty to take your proper part in this responsibility.
In this time of vacancy, we look to the Lord in humility and dependence.
It's an extremely important time for you as a congregation, who by definition are a group of people associated together for the furtherance of the gospel of Christ in your community.
The filling of a vacancy is to be conducted in a spirit worthy of the religion you profess, worthy of Christ in whose name you are associated, and in such a way as to foster unity and brotherly love.
That is sound, sound advice.
And may the Lord grant wisdom, discernment, patience and unity of purpose in going forward, for the work of the gospel goes on.
Ministry, rotas, clubs, meetings, services, communions.
In all of this, I assure you that the prayers of the Presbytery and the wider church are with you.
May the Lord grant our prayers for guidance going forward.
Thank you for your time today.
I'll just pop to the side door.
Thank you.