A Bible-believing evangelical church in the village of Wellington, near Hereford and Leominster.

Covid 19 Remote Sermon 001

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Preached during the morning service on 23 March 2020 by .


Sermon Notes

Good morning & God bless!

 

Isaiah 26:20 says:

Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourselves for a little while
until the fury has passed by.

 

Reading this reminded me of Noah and his family entering the ark (Genesis 7:1,16). It was the only safe place to be in the world at that time.

It also reminded me of the time when the Angel of death passed over each home of those with the blood of the lamb at their door (Exodus 12:22-23).

THE ONLY SAFE PLACE TO BE IS HIDDEN IN JESUS; PROTECTED FOREVER BY HIS PRECIOUS BLOOD!

 

* Pray

Before reading any more of my efforts to feed you remotely today, maybe take some time to pray and thank God for shutting the door to His just wrath after our entrance into His ark of salvation…

 

 

I realize how impersonal this is, writing e-mails and recording sermons to send, but this situation will not last forever!

Maybe during this time we will sympathize more compassionately with our brothers and sisters around the world who are not able to meet in person on a regular basis.

I pray that this situation does not last long, but I do want us to continue to grow individually and collectively as a fellowship. Tomorrow we begin our week of prayer. Each day there will be a brief Bible study followed by some guidance for prayer. Can I also encourage you to pray regularly through the directory.

 

As it’s Mother’s Day today and Joe was due to give a talk to the children, I asked him to send a summary of what he was going to say and he kindly agreed:

 

A Mother’s Love

On this Mothering Sunday I want to look at what I believe makes a mother’s love so special. I once watched a programme where young children were asked if they would be willing to eat their least favourite food so that their best friend could have their favourite food. Some children completely refused. Some you could see wanted to do something kind for their friend but couldn’t quite bring themselves to do it. There were some though who despite looking very unhappy and enduring a bit of retching were willing to eat the food.

As I thought about this afterwards, I was struck by what a great act of love this was. The person who ate the food went through a horrible experience where they gained nothing so that someone they loved could have a treat.

As I watch my wife with my son or think of my own mum, I can see this type of love clearly demonstrated again and again. A mother’s love is self-sacrificing. They do things for their child, not because they gain anything by doing it, but because they love so much and want their child to have the best life possible, even when that comes at a cost to themselves. A truly amazing love.

It is a love that can perhaps only be bettered by Jesus’ love. The Bible tells us that Jesus displayed the ultimate act of self-sacrificing love; he died for us. He didn’t do that because he gained anything from it, he suffered in unimaginable ways. But is was so that we might gain an everlasting friendship with him. The gain is all ours.

How do we respond to such love? Some of the friends on the programme who received their treat tucked straight into it seemingly unaware of the sacrifice just made by their friend. Others however stopped and thanked their friend for the love just shown and offered them some of their treat. How often do we stop and show our mums how thankful we are for the love they show us? And have we ever stopped and thanked Jesus for the ultimate act of love he has shown us? Have we come to him and accepted the everlasting friendship his love offers to us?

This is the song that the children have been learning at Blast and were due to sing to you today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV9ZP8ZTPnM

The passage we are looking at today is Matthew 20:20-28

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Mother’s Day Message

1.Great Mum    2. Great Kingdom    3.Great Saviour

* Beautiful Saviour (All my Days)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3ILdnift8c

Every blessing to you all,

Love & grace to you in Jesus

Pastor Kristian Dimond