So while our boys and girls are heading to their classes, perhaps we can turn in our Bibles to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 18.
We're going to read from verse 31 to chapter 19 and verse 10.
We find ourselves for the next four weeks in the run-up to Easter, looking at different parts of the journey of Jesus to Jerusalem.
In Luke, chapter 9, verse 51, we read, as the time approached for Jesus to be taken up to heaven, he resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
And so in view is Jesus on his journey to the cross.
And so today, on that journey, we find ourselves around the town of Jericho.
And so let's read together.
Luke 18, beginning at verse 31.
And let's hear the word of God.
Jesus took the twelve aside and told them,
We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.
He will be handed over to the Gentiles.
They will mock him, insult him, and spit on him.
They will flog him and kill him.
On the third day, he will rise again.
The disciples did not understand any of this.
Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.
As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.
When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening.
They told him, Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.
He called out, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.
Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, Son of David, have mercy on me.
Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him.
When he came near, Jesus asked him, What do you want me to do for you?
Lord, I want to see, he replied.
Jesus said to him, Receive your sight.
Your faith has healed you.
Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God.
When all the people saw it, they also praised God.
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.
A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus.
He was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.
He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short, he could not see over the crowd.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, come down immediately.
I must stay at your house today.
So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
All the people saw this and began to mutter,
He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord,
Look, Lord, here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor,
and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.
Jesus said to him,
Today salvation has come to this house,
because this man too is a son of Abraham.
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
Amen.
And now we're going to sing a section from Psalm 16 as we work our way through the Psalms.
And here we remind ourselves that because Jesus was raised from the dead,
we as God's people, those who have faith in Jesus, have eternal hope and joy awaiting us.
So let's sing with that expectation as we stand to sing from Psalm 16.
I'll praise the Lord my God,
Whose counsel guides my choice,
And even in the night,
My heart recalls instructions voice.
Before me constantly,
I set the Lord alone,
Because he is at my right hand,
I'll not be overthrown.
Therefore my heart is glad,
My tongue with joy will sing,
My body too will rest secure,
In hope on wavering.
For you will not allow,
My soul in death to say,
Nor will you leave your Holy One,
To see the tombs decay,
You have made known to me,
The path of life divine,
Bless shall I know,
At your right hand,
Joy from your face will shine.
So if you could have your Bibles open,
At Luke 18,
That would be really helpful,
As we spend time as a church on the journey to Easter,
And here we begin at Jericho,
Thinking about Jesus as the King who restores.
Most people love restoration stories,
And we have a whole range of TV shows,
Dedicated to restoration,
Whether that's homes,
Or cars,
Or furniture,
And we're invited to admire people's skills,
See the attention to detail,
Just the right paint work,
Just the right fixtures and fittings.
On a larger scale,
You may have noticed that Big Ben,
Is finally being released from its scaffolding,
After five years renovation,
Which is good news for tourists,
There's nothing more frustrating,
Than arriving at an iconic building,
And getting your photo with scaffolding,
But it's not just buildings and objects,
We love to hear stories,
Of people's lives being restored,
I don't know if you saw on the news,
The little five year old boy,
With cerebral palsy,
Who was beginning to learn how to walk,
Neuroscientists had done,
Some remarkable work,
To enable him to begin,
Learning to walk,
And no doubt many of us saw,
The wonderful scenes,
As Nazanin Zagari Radcliffe,
Was reunited with,
Her husband and daughter,
After five years in prison in Iran,
We love restoration stories,
But at the same time,
As we value restoration,
We appreciate that sometimes the challenge,
To recovery is enormous,
Perhaps we think about,
The economic troubles,
That we find ourselves in,
And we're about to head into,
And we wonder,
How will recovery come,
What's the impact going to be,
On our own pockets,
And nationally,
How do nations recover,
From pandemic,
How will Ukraine recover,
From war,
We appreciate,
The priority,
The need for restoration,
But sometimes it seems,
Such a huge job,
Well here as we focus on Jericho,
Don't we see Jesus,
In the business of restoration,
We see him,
In the first instance,
Meet a blind beggar,
And restore his sight,
And then we see him,
Meet a tax collector,
And he is restored,
To community,
To the community,
Of God's people,
As Jesus is on this journey,
To Jerusalem,
And we meet King Jesus,
A king of glory,
And grace,
A king of sympathy,
And a king of saving power,
And we're invited to remember,
That that was not just for them,
And for then,
But he is the same King Jesus,
For us,
Today,
So this theme of Jesus' journey,
To Jerusalem,
As we reminded ourselves,
Has been,
In Luke's mind,
Since Luke 9,
51,
And as we began,
Our reading,
In chapter 18,
Verse 31 to 33,
Jesus for the sixth time,
Reminds his disciples,
That this journey to Jerusalem,
Is one that will lead him,
To rejection,
And suffering,
And death,
Before being raised to life,
On the third day,
It's the journey to Easter,
In Jesus' death,
And resurrection,
There lies the hope of restoration,
Not just for a blind man,
And Zacchaeus,
But for a world,
And for you,
And for me today,
The disciples,
As Jesus announced,
Why he was going,
Were told in verse 34,
They didn't understand,
Any of this,
Its meaning was,
Hidden from them,
Disciples are confused,
Why would God's King,
And Savior,
Suffer,
And die?
Well,
I hope that as we spend,
Time together,
And as we live,
This side of the cross,
And the empty tomb,
We'll understand,
The significance,
Of the suffering,
Death,
And resurrection,
Of Jesus,
So that,
So that we would have hope,
In him,
That the hope of restoration,
Would be found,
In him,
And him,
Alone,
So let's begin,
By looking at this,
Blind man,
To see that Jesus,
Restores a blind man's sight,
Verse 35,
We meet him,
As Jesus approached Jericho,
A blind man,
Was sitting by the roadside,
Begging,
So let's just for a moment,
In our imagination,
Picture this man,
Perhaps blind,
From birth,
We're not told,
If that was the case,
He'd have no,
Prospect of an education,
No support,
And welfare system,
To help him,
No potential,
For work,
And indeed,
His standing,
In society,
Would be very low,
And we know this,
Because there was another time,
Where,
Jesus and his disciples,
Met a blind man,
And the question was,
Well,
Who sinned?
Was it this man,
Or was it his parents?
They presumed that there was something wrong,
And unclean,
If someone was blind,
And the religious leaders were teaching that,
So his standing in society,
Would be very low,
In many ways,
He would be an invisible man,
In society,
Perhaps the kind of person,
You would cross the street,
Or just walk on by,
But here we find him,
On the street corner,
As was his custom,
Day after day,
Begging for his life,
Until,
This day,
He hears,
Something different,
Verse 36,
He heard the crowd going by,
And he asked what was happening,
And they told him,
Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,
Here is a royal procession,
With King Jesus,
At the head,
And he can hear,
The build up of noise,
And excitement,
And questions,
And expectation,
As this king is coming,
Moving towards Jerusalem,
Now of course,
Jesus is a very different king,
From any royal procession,
That we might expect,
He comes into Jerusalem,
Riding on a donkey,
He is a humble,
Suffering servant king,
But nevertheless,
There is this noise,
And excitement,
That we expect,
When a king,
Is in town,
And he's told,
Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,
Now,
Let's just think,
For a moment,
What he is hoping for,
He's a man,
Who is hoping for an audience,
With a king,
But let's recognize,
Just how rare that is,
I don't know,
If there's anybody here,
Who has been in the presence,
Of royalty,
We had a day,
In the woods,
Of the Balmoral estate,
Yesterday,
Nobody from the royal family,
Was in town,
I don't think,
But it's very unusual,
To have an audience,
With a king,
With a queen,
With royalty,
And if you're this guy,
If you're a blind beggar,
The chances of that,
Would be zero,
Except when Jesus,
Is the king,
I want us to recognize,
Three things,
That this blind man,
Sees or recognizes,
In this short story,
The first thing he sees,
And recognizes,
Is his need,
Okay,
So there's the obvious,
Daily reality,
He has to sit by the roadside,
To beg for money,
To get food,
But also,
Now we find,
Two times,
He's calling out,
Jesus,
Son of David,
Have mercy on me,
He is aware,
Of physical need,
But it seems,
He is aware,
Of that spiritual need,
For the compassion,
And the kindness,
Of God,
In his life,
And so he sees,
His need,
And coupled with that,
He sees and recognizes,
The identity of Jesus,
There's an irony here,
In that those with sight,
Are asked the question,
What's going on?
And they say,
Jesus of Nazareth,
Is coming by,
But how does the blind man,
Call out?
He calls out,
Jesus,
Son of David,
That's significant,
Because that title there,
Is a reminder,
That from the Old Testament,
God had promised,
A son of David,
Who would be saviour,
Who would be God's king,
Who would bring in,
An eternal kingdom,
He sees something,
That the majority,
Of the crowd,
Seem to miss,
And then our focus,
Is on who is doing,
The miracle,
Our focus is drawn,
Into Jesus,
This king,
This mighty,
God,
And notice too,
In verse 41,
As Jesus invites him,
To come near,
He calls Jesus,
Lord,
Now there's no doubt,
There's just a tone,
Of respect there,
But from what we see,
Of this man,
We also understand,
That there is,
Worship here,
There is trust,
And there is,
Submission,
So he sees,
Jesus as God's,
Saviour king,
And as Lord,
And because of that,
Seeing,
Is,
Believing,
Again,
There's another,
Striking contrast,
This thing between,
The crowds and Jesus,
What are the crowds,
Saying to this man,
This man who's in desperate,
Need of mercy,
And here's a king,
With power and grace,
Is coming by,
What do they say to him,
They say be quiet,
Jesus is far too important,
Far too busy,
For the likes of you,
But what does Jesus do,
Verse 40,
Jesus stopped,
Jesus ordered the man,
To be brought to him,
Here is the king,
Issuing a royal command,
When he came near,
Jesus asked him,
What do you want me,
To do for you,
This blind beggar,
Is invited to make,
A royal request,
And let's just stop,
For a moment,
And let's ask ourselves,
The question,
How wide is my view,
Of God's kindness,
And grace,
Would I think,
A blind beggar,
Would be a no-hoper,
In God's kingdom,
Are there people,
In my life,
Who I'm writing off,
And saying,
God would have no interest,
In them,
Or that Jesus,
Has no power,
To save that type,
Of person,
One of the things,
That the encounters,
That Jesus has with you,
Is invited to increase,
Our faith,
And show how wide,
God's kingdom is,
And we'll come back,
To that,
But again,
Let's think about,
This blind man,
He's asked the question,
What do you want me,
To do for you,
And he replies,
Lord,
I want to see,
Now that might seem,
Quite as we would expect,
But we need to understand,
That's a request of faith,
We appreciate,
From the stories,
That we enjoy,
Any restoration project,
Involves,
Locating,
Making use of,
The right expert,
Whether that's,
A neuroscientist,
Whether that's,
A mechanic,
Whether that's,
A stonemason,
This blind man,
By faith,
Knows,
If my sight,
Is to be restored,
I need to come,
To God's promised king,
I need to come,
To one with the power,
The authority,
And love,
Of God himself,
And so he asks,
With faith,
And what's the result,
Of his faith in Jesus,
Verse 42,
Jesus said to him,
Receive your sight,
Your faith,
Has healed you,
Not faith,
In general,
But faith,
In Jesus,
Has healed him,
Has restored him,
Not just physically,
But spiritually also,
Because see how different,
His life is,
In verse 43,
Immediately he received,
His sight,
First person he sees,
Jesus is savior,
First thing he does,
Is he follows,
Jesus,
Praising,
God,
He journeys with Jesus,
As a worshipper,
New direction,
New status,
New heart filled,
Worship,
So Jesus has restored,
His sight,
And his journey continues,
And we need to see secondly,
That Jesus restores,
This prodigal tax collector,
By the name of Zacchaeus,
It's interesting,
It's interesting when our,
Our gospel writers,
Place two,
Encounters,
Two people,
Side by side,
Sometimes we're invited,
To see parallels,
Sometimes we're invited,
To see contrasts,
And you compare it,
The blind beggar,
And you compare,
Super wealthy Zacchaeus,
And you realize,
That financially,
They couldn't be,
More different,
Now the Zacchaeus,
Has all the resources,
He could ever want,
But he too,
Has a need,
That money can't buy,
And again,
We need to picture,
For a moment,
Zacchaeus,
So verse two,
Of chapter 19,
A man was there,
By the name of Zacchaeus,
He was a chief tax collector,
And was wealthy,
Now that might not mean,
That much to us,
But to the people,
In Jesus' day,
That meant Zacchaeus,
Was public enemy number one,
He is a man,
Who has got rich,
By corruption,
He is a man,
Who's been siding,
With enemy oppressors,
And he's not just,
A tax collector,
He's the chief tax collector,
So he is the very worst,
Of the worst,
He's the lowest,
Of the low,
Getting rich,
Benefiting himself,
At the expense,
Of others,
I called him,
A prodigal tax collector,
Because in my mind,
It reminds me of,
That famous story,
Of the prodigal son,
That Jesus told,
A guy who,
Wanted to get away,
From his father,
And have freedom,
And to get a bunch of cash,
And to go and,
Use it however he wanted,
Very selfish,
Well here is,
This prodigal,
Zacchaeus,
He's very wealthy,
He's sitting on this,
Great pile,
Of cash,
But he is alone,
And he is far from home,
By his choices,
He has made himself,
An outcast,
In his society,
By a deliberate choice,
He has walked away,
From his God,
Choosing to live,
With injustice,
And immorality,
In his day-to-day,
Business,
This is a deliberate,
Rejection,
Of his people,
And his faith,
In order that he might,
Get rich quick,
But we find him here,
With this,
Need,
That money can't buy,
And it surprises us,
There's three,
Surprises we can recognize,
From this story,
First,
That Zacchaeus,
Is a surprising,
Seeker,
Some high schools,
Mine didn't,
But some high schools,
Have yearbooks,
Maybe final year,
Pupils would,
Have their pictures,
And some entries,
Underneath,
You might vote on,
Who'd be the most likely,
To succeed,
All those kind of things,
Imagine Zacchaeus,
In the yearbook,
He'd be one of those guys,
That'd be least likely,
Candidate,
For salvation,
Least likely,
To want anything,
To do with Jesus,
Because of all of his choices,
Up until this point,
He sacrificed,
The community of God's people,
For cash,
He has given up faith,
For financial gain,
But look at him,
Look at him in verses three and four,
He wanted to see,
Who Jesus was,
But because he was short,
He couldn't see over the crowd,
So he ran ahead,
And climbed a sycamore fig tree,
To see him,
Since Jesus was coming that way,
When was the last time,
You climbed a tree,
Maybe some of us,
It wasn't that long ago,
Maybe some of us,
It was yesterday,
Others of us,
Perhaps we did it,
To rescue our children,
Who got up high,
And didn't know how to come back down,
Some of us,
We maybe have to go back decades,
Well in Zacchaeus' culture,
An adult would never upon never,
Climb a tree,
It was just undignified,
It's like you didn't run,
You didn't claim trees,
Things have changed,
Why does he climb?
Why does he do this thing?
Well he climbs,
First of all we're told,
Because he's short,
He's got a physical,
He's struggling to see Jesus,
But when we think about his job,
One of the reasons,
Why he can't see Jesus,
Is no doubt,
Because the crowd,
Are making life difficult for him,
You're not going to let this guy,
Get the best view in the house,
This guy who's robbing you blind,
But he also climbs the tree,
Because he's desperate,
He's desperate for a chance,
To see Jesus,
He's a surprising seeker,
And not only that,
There's a very surprising invitation,
Verse 5,
When Jesus reached the spot,
He looked up and said to him,
Zacchaeus,
Come down immediately,
I must,
Stay at your house today,
So King Jesus,
Is on his journey to Jerusalem,
And he's on that mission,
And his mission is one of grace,
His mission is to come and seek,
And to save the lost,
And how does he demonstrate it,
Right here and right now,
He picks out the worst guy,
In this big crowd,
Zacchaeus,
Kind of made himself,
A public spectacle,
Up in the tree,
And what Jesus does,
He doesn't just pick him out,
He shows him hospitality,
He invites,
Zacchaeus,
In,
He invites,
Zacchaeus,
To welcome Jesus,
For a meal,
In this sign of friendship,
And acceptance,
And Jesus doesn't say,
I kind of feel like I should,
Jesus says,
I must,
And that must,
Tells us,
This is God's,
Deliberate plan,
This is God's,
Eternal saving plan,
For a lost sinner like Zacchaeus,
Being activated,
Right here,
Right now,
Under the sycamore tree,
I must,
We're going to sing at the end,
Our sins,
They are many,
God's mercy,
Is more,
It's the wonderful song of this moment,
Zacchaeus' sins were many,
But the mercy of God in sending Jesus,
Was more,
And again,
Let's just stop for a moment,
And reflect,
So that we don't lose sight of this,
So that on the one hand,
We keep praying,
For the prodigals,
In our own lives,
Those people that we know,
And love,
Some of whom,
Used to come to church,
Some of whom perhaps,
Profess faith,
But now are far from God,
Or those characters,
In our networks,
Or in our community,
We think,
We can't see any prospect of them,
Ever,
Coming to find God's grace,
Let's pray,
And let's seek,
And let's expect God,
To amaze us with his grace,
As he does,
On this occasion,
The crowd are certainly amazed,
But not positively,
Verse 7,
And all the people saw this,
And began to mutter,
He has gone,
To be the guest,
Of a sinner,
They're grumbling,
Like Old Testament,
Israel,
Grumbling,
How come,
Why the grumble?
Because they've got,
A low view of Zacchaeus,
God shouldn't be interested,
Jesus shouldn't be interested,
In people like him,
And they've got,
A low view,
Of the grace of God,
Salvation is for good people,
They think,
What does Jesus say?
Salvation is for sinners,
It's for people like us,
They have that low view,
Of God's grace,
But what does Jesus do again?
He chooses,
He calls,
And he saves,
Salvation is a free gift,
Of God's grace,
It's not earned,
Or deserved,
And Zacchaeus,
Shows us that,
And then there's,
Surprising salvation,
Verse 8,
Here is how Zacchaeus,
Shows repentance,
What's repentance?
It's when you have,
A change of heart,
And mind,
Towards God,
So leaving behind,
A life of pursuing sin,
In order to,
Follow after Jesus,
Here is how Zacchaeus,
Shows his faith,
That he's going to trust,
In Jesus,
As Lord,
Verse 8,
Look Lord,
Here and now,
I give half,
Of my possessions,
To the poor,
And if I've cheated,
Anybody,
Out of anything,
I'll pay back,
Four times the amount,
Now this is dramatic,
It's a guy,
Who's been living for money,
Sacrificing everything,
For his cash,
But now that he's received,
Generous grace,
Through Jesus,
His heart has been changed,
And in an instant,
He's happy to give half of it away,
And recognizing,
That he has treated people unjustly,
Saying,
I'll pay back,
With 300% interest,
He freely confesses sin,
And he freely confesses,
Jesus as Lord,
What's happening here,
Is that Jesus is his Lord,
Not his money,
He had that idol,
The idol was clearly,
Failing to satisfy,
Instead he's found,
Deep and lasting joy,
In Jesus,
And then comes,
Jesus' public verdict,
Today,
Salvation has come to this house,
Because this man too,
Is a son of Abraham,
For the son of man,
Came to seek,
And to save,
The lost,
Zacchaeus,
Has been saved,
Salvation has come,
He too,
Has been restored,
He's been restored,
To God's people,
He's been restored,
To the community of faith,
He too,
By faith,
Is a child,
Of Abraham,
And this is the mission,
Of King Jesus,
The mission to seek,
And save,
The lost,
The mission to bring,
Prodigals,
Back home,
It's the priority,
Of Jesus,
And it's the joy,
Of Jesus as well,
We read,
At the beginning,
Verses 31,
To 33,
Of the journey,
That Jesus was going,
To take,
We're going up,
To Jerusalem,
And everything,
That's written,
By the prophets,
About the son of man,
Will be fulfilled,
He'll be handed,
Over to the Gentiles,
They will mock him,
Insult him,
Spit on him,
They will flog him,
And kill him,
On the third day,
He will rise again,
How do we explain that?
We explain it,
Because Jesus is on a mission,
To seek and save the lost,
Paul put it this way,
In a different context,
2 Corinthians 8,
Verse 9,
You know,
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
That though he was rich,
Rich with all the glory,
Of heaven,
Yet for your sake,
He became poor,
Becoming one of us,
Going to the cross for us,
That you through his poverty,
Might become rich,
Spiritual riches,
Are what Zacchaeus,
Discovered,
And treasured,
Those riches that come,
From Jesus,
Saving grace,
Now just as we close,
Just by way of,
Reminding ourselves,
Of,
Three facts,
Three lessons,
That we can draw,
From this journey,
Of Jesus,
One,
That no one,
Is beyond God's grace,
So I came across,
A story,
This week,
From a missionary,
In South America,
It's dating back,
A couple of years,
I think,
He was on,
This must have been,
Before pandemic,
He was sharing,
On the streets,
With various people,
Looking to,
Read the gospel,
Share the gospel,
And a man came to him,
Had an obvious interest,
In the new testament,
He was carrying,
Not because of its message,
But because the paper,
Was just thin enough,
To make excellent,
Cigarette paper,
And so,
This missionary,
Sensed,
The man's,
Desires,
But said to him,
Promise me this,
I'll give you this new testament,
If you promise,
That before you use it,
For rolling up your next cigarette,
You read,
Each page,
So the man took,
The new testament,
And a few weeks later,
The missionary was back,
On the same street,
Saw the guy,
And asked him,
How he was getting on,
And he confessed,
That he had,
By that point,
Smoked his way through Matthew,
He smoked his way through Mark,
He smoked his way through Luke,
And he smoked his way,
All the way to John,
Chapter 3,
And in John,
Chapter 3,
He realized,
That he was a sinner,
And that Jesus had come,
To save sinners,
And he'd become a Christian,
And now,
That same guy,
Smoking his way through the Bible,
Is training to be,
A pastor,
And that lesson,
Is the lesson,
Of this blind beggar,
Is the lesson,
Of Zacchaeus,
That no one,
Is beyond God's grace,
There is no barrier,
To God's grace,
Our situations,
Our social status,
Our past,
Or present sins,
Our present suffering,
Our solitude,
None of those,
Are barriers,
To God working in our hearts,
Through the Lord Jesus,
In Luke chapter 18,
Jesus had met another rich man,
A rich man,
Who walked away from Jesus,
Having rejected him,
Because he loved his money more,
And the disciples,
Are perplexed,
And they ask,
How can anyone be saved,
How can a rich person be saved,
And Jesus said,
What is impossible with man,
Is possible with God,
And there's Zacchaeus,
As a case in point,
Every one of us,
If we're Christians,
We stand as a miracle,
Of God's grace,
And we need to remember that,
So we recognize,
How wide God's grace is,
We are not to think,
Well I'm the wrong type of person,
So Jesus wouldn't be interested in me,
We're not to think,
Well my past has been such a mess,
That God wouldn't care about me,
God's kingdom is wide,
And no one is beyond God's grace,
Another lesson that we learn,
From these two men,
Is this,
Don't ignore,
The call of Jesus,
These two men,
Very different in so many ways,
But the same in one essential regard,
They are aware of their need,
Their needs are different,
But there is a sense of urgency,
From them both,
You almost get the impression,
That for both of them,
They have this understanding,
This might be my only chance,
To have an encounter with Jesus,
To meet with Jesus,
Now so one is shouting,
Even though the crowds are telling him,
Be quiet,
One's climbing a tree,
Even though the crowds are trying,
To block him out,
I wonder today,
If you come to church today,
And you are very much aware,
Of your need,
Perhaps,
Your need because of,
Your own suffering,
Perhaps,
It's a need born out of,
Sadness,
And a sense of,
Emptiness,
Perhaps,
You find yourself today,
Aware of your sin,
And a guilty conscience,
You know,
All is not well,
Between you,
And your creator,
Are you aware,
Of your need for salvation,
Today,
To have things put right,
Between you,
And your God,
I wonder,
Do you believe,
Who Jesus is?
That he is,
The son of God,
That he is,
God's promised king,
That he is,
The savior for sinners,
That he is,
Full of grace,
And compassion,
Do you know,
The facts of Easter,
That Jesus came,
On a mission,
To die on the cross,
To pay the penalty,
For sin,
And to rise again,
For salvation,
Forgiveness,
And eternal life,
Well if you know,
These things,
And you're not,
Yet a Christian,
The time is,
Now,
Like this blind man,
To cry out,
Have mercy on me,
The time is now,
To,
As it were,
Get out of the tree,
To make a decision,
To come to Jesus,
To trust in him,
To hear his call,
To repent,
And to believe,
To follow,
And to praise,
The last lesson,
From this story,
Is that we are,
All invited,
To trust,
A savior,
Who restores,
We're heading to,
London in a few weeks,
For a couple of days,
And so,
It was good news,
That Big Ben,
Was getting,
The end,
Towards the end,
Of its restoration project,
I ended up reading up,
On how they went about,
That project,
And the guy,
Who was in charge,
Of operations,
Said that they spent,
Ages,
Scouring the UK,
To find just the right,
Master craftsman,
You know,
There were so many,
Unique jobs,
In restoring the tower,
And the clock,
So they had to find,
The best in the business,
Because this was a,
Once in a generation,
Once in a lifetime project,
Not just any old,
Clock maker,
Not just any old,
Builder would do,
When we read,
The gospels,
And when we read,
These stories,
We are invited,
To see in Jesus,
A spiritual,
Master craftsman,
He is the,
Only one,
With the power,
And the desire,
To restore,
Broken sinners,
Like us,
And that's what,
Takes him,
On that journey,
To Easter,
That's why,
The son of God,
Will go to the cross,
For his body,
To be broken,
For his blood,
To be spilled,
And then for him,
To be risen,
To life again,
So that by trusting,
In Jesus,
Your sin,
Might be paid for,
Your guilt,
Might be removed,
Your forgiveness,
Might be secured,
The eternal life,
Would be,
Yours,
The blind beggar,
Trusted,
And he could see,
Zacchaeus trusted,
And he found himself,
In a community,
Of God's people,
Will you trust,
And be part,
Of his kingdom,
Today?
Let's pray,
Together,
Lord,
Our God,
We praise you,
For the restoring work,
Of Jesus,
We thank you,
For his grace,
On display,
That he wasn't,
Just a saviour,
For the good people,
For the healthy people,
For the religious people,
But that Jesus,
Came to show,
Just how wide,
And deep,
Is your love,
And your grace,
That you came,
To seek,
And to save,
The lost,
Lord,
We pray,
For those of us,
Who are Christians,
Today,
We ask,
That you would,
Restore to us,
The joy,
Of our salvation,
That day,
By day,
You would be,
Renewing us,
In our hope,
And our joy,
As we consider,
Who Jesus is,
And what he has done,
For us,
Lord,
For those,
Who aren't Christians,
May you,
By your spirit,
Restore them,
To right relationship,
With you,
Cause them,
To turn,
To Jesus,
To confess,
Sin,
To confess,
Him as Lord,
And saviour,
And to live,
To follow,
And to praise him,
Lord,
We pray,
For this church,
And indeed,
For every church,
In Edinburgh,
And across,
Our nation,
That preaches,
Your words,
That declares,
Jesus,
As saviour for sinners,
May you be at work,
Among your people,
To restore,
And to renew,
May you draw many,
To faith,
In Jesus,
That you would transform,
This nation,
By your powerful grace,
Lord,
We pray,
Especially,
For young people,
For teenagers,
And students,
Lord,
We thank you,
For those,
In our own church,
We pray,
Again,
For Bible class,
This evening,
We pray,
For the youth group,
That meets every month,
We thank you,
For those opportunities,
For friendship,
And for thinking together,
About what your word teaches,
Thank you,
For the weekend away,
That they were able,
To share together,
Lord,
We also pray,
For our student group,
And we pray,
For the work,
Of Christian unions,
And we thank you,
For the youth conference,
That happened last week,
And we pray,
That you would raise,
A generation,
Of those who would,
Love you,
And love your word,
Who would be ready,
To give a reason,
For the hope,
That they have,
And that you would protect,
And encourage,
Lord,
We again pray,
For our continent today,
We pray,
For Europe,
Lord,
We again,
Remember,
And cry to you,
For mercy,
For Ukraine,
Lord,
We pray,
That you would stop,
The hands of evil men,
That you would end,
The war,
That you would bring,
Justice,
And peace,
And Lord,
As we consider,
The many challenges,
That we will face,
Economically,
And socially,
In coming weeks,
And months,
Lord,
We bring them to you,
Understanding,
That you,
Are a God,
Who is able,
To bring good,
Out of evil,
And so,
We pray,
That you would bring,
Lasting spiritual good,
At this time,
That as,
The world,
Is turned upside down,
That it would cause,
Many,
To seek,
And find,
Jesus,
As Lord,
We pray,
In his name,
Amen,
Now we'll sing together,
As we close,
The hymn,
His mercy is more,
And again,
We will stand,