Ceylon Place to New Hope: Celebrating 150 years

SERMON NOTES

What a season…

1. Same storm, not the same boat - accidental savers vs those with nothing. We need to come out of this season with such compassion - Mary & Martha

2. New skills & opportunities as the church - we are all broadcasters now. How do we move forward? Speaking to so many churches and tactics are different. Manchester church. Buffet not set menu moving forward

3. Mortality salience - the opportunity many of us have prayed for may well be here. SECOND WORLD WAR

WE NEED A FRESH ENCOUNTER WITH THE LIVING GOD - READ PASSAGE – Exodus 3:1-6

1) Space

·         Moses is plodding about enduring his everyday business. He is shepherding his father-in-law Jethro’s flock when he comes to Horeb, the mountain of God. He has shepherded Jethro’s flocks for forty years, which means that he has probably been to Mount Horeb a hundred times before. He assumes this thorny patch of mountainous wasteland is nothing more than the “backside of the desert”

·         Life is seemingly always busy. Therefore, in the midst of the pressures and the challenges we need to make space for Him in our lives. We all find time for the things we prioritize. When we love something we make room for it - Shaun Story

·         What a privilege too – Princess Margaret – Keller quote

2) Depth

·         Not only does the bush not get consumed by the flames, but the miracle goes further still as God calls to Moses from within the bush and tells him to take off his sandals for he is standing on holy ground (3: 5). God reveals Himself to Moses as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and at this point Moses hides his face from the flames (3: 6). This mind-blowing encounter with God transforms Moses’ life in its entirety.

·         Acacia bushes riddle the desert and an ordinary, worn-out one is burning with the glory of God, when an ordinary, worn-out man encounters this and burns with the glory of God too. This depth of encounter sets him up to do extraordinary things & reassures him God is with him in it – How many of us are worn out right now?

·         Are you going deeper?–Stott- “I would pray more.” This was the response of someone who at university set his alarm clock to 6am to pray. In later life, this changed to 5am. Stott kept a notebook of situations and people to pray about. He began and ended each day in prayer, and he prayed throughout the day. His life was infused by prayer.

·         It feels like deep passion for Christ is waning in my peers – IKEA catalogue, affairs, drifting through it all, holiness, disciplines - Healthy things grow – teeth brushing

3) Legs!

·         Our own gifts, might, willpower, and effort will only get us so far. An encounter and ongoing encounters with God will be the fuel for the journey – Anne and I and babies

·         This all has to come without terms and conditions. The disciples didn’t follow Jesus with a set of criteria before they would do it. Paul never asked what his package was for serving Jesus or what percentage might be contributed towards a pension pot. Mary never agreed to carry baby Jesus as long as she never had to leave her home town and step out of her comfort zone. King David didn’t refuse to sing worship until all the numerous requests on his rider were fulfilled.

·         If we want to be see something amazing then it must be on His terms and not ours. The Lord invites us to draw near to Him and encounter Him. This could then lead to anything. GET OVER YOUR QUESTIONS LIKE MOSES DID – He is with you

·         Just after coming to faith as an eighteen-year-old… “whatever, wherever and whenever for Him”. Leading to leaving YFC - Oceans