Today I am starting a new afternoon sermon series. In this series, we will look at the things that separate us from God and how Christ closes the gap between us and Him as our faithful bridegroom (if we are indeed His bride). There are so many things that have created a distance between us and God, but He deals with every one of them.

With chapter 4 which we take up today, we have the first of three chapters where Samuel is not mentioned except in the very first part of the first verse. What we have instead is an account of the demise of Eli's household and the removal of the ark of the covenant that symbolised God's presence among His people. Brought into focus for our edification is the problem of Ritual without Repentance.

Church Discipline. The very topic sounds unfriendly—even scary. A lot of Christians have no idea what church discipline is or how it is supposed to work—many have never once seen it done or heard it spoken of in their churches. But it is something the church is commanded to do when one of our members rebels against God and refuses repent.

Today we come to the end of the book of Revelation. This is the end of the entire Bible. It ends the way a lot of other books in the Bible end: with promises and yearnings for the Lord to come and do the next thing that He has promised.

At our Congregational Meeting back in March, the session presented the names of two men who were nominated to serve as deacons—Dave Talos and Dave Eldridge. After these men had some training, the session called a congregational meeting on Nov 3rd so the congregation could express their will concerning these men. Both were approved. Before that vote, I preached on Acts 6:1-7 on the qualification and method of selecting deacons. Today, for their ordination and installation, I will preach from the same text on the need and work of deacons.

Today we come to verse 12 where Jesus appears to personally certify these visions. How special to have Him personally address His church!

What a great encouragement it has been over the last three weeks to see Revelation's description of the New Heaven and the New Earth! It is the glorious destiny of all of the elect people of our gracious God to be at last brought into sweet and eternal fellowship with Him in a gloriously renewed heaven and earth where He will be all in all to us in Christ our Saviour. Today we will look at the first of these—the description of Revelation's revelation.