Trinity Chippenham

Peter's message from the Sunday morning of our Church Weekend Away in Chepstow. Apologies for the sound quality. This message offers the massive encouragement of the sermon to the Hebrews as a backdrop for our weekend theme of prayer.

The Bible doesn't expect us to "have it all together." It expects us to be rocked by the explosions of life, and to struggle with the daily aches of life. But since God is a refuge for us, we can trust Him and pour out our hearts to Him. He is both compassionate and capable of handling the biggest and most persistent struggles we face. Let's be a church that is real with our struggles, and a church that really pours out everything to Him!

After the challenging experience of life in the wilderness, this Psalm of Moses offers much needed perspective as we also feel the shortness and difficulty of life. What does it mean to number our days? What does it mean to have the work of our hands established by God? Together we were invited to lift our gaze up to our loving God in this short and hard life.

This Psalm was composed by David at a time when he faced death from a couple of directions. Instead of looking to control his situation, or even question God's plans, he found security in God's presence. From the secure place of dependence upon God, David invited others to taste and see the LORD's goodness that he enjoyed in difficult times.

What happens when a worship leader struggles? Life was hitting Asaph hard because he was dwelling on the prosperity of the wicked and starting to slip away from God. We are all capable of drifting, and we are all people with a tendency to hide our inner turmoil. But what turned Asaph around? Something radically transformed his whole perspective from despair to delight. We can experience the same, anytime, anywhere.

Sometimes our sense of stability gets rocked and fear starts to take hold of our hearts. Psalm 46 offers great hope and comfort in the midst of impending military threat - God is our refuge and fortress and always accessible help. As we watch what is happening in the world today, there is reason to be fearful on a human level. But our God is the LORD of hosts and He will bring all war and conquest to an end. He is powerful, and He is a God who chooses to be with us, His people.

Jesus called an eclectic group of disciples to participate in his ministry, but his own family and the religious leaders opposed him and thought he was mad. What does that mean? It means that those of us who are Jesus followers get to be part of his family business - we get to join Jesus in caring for people and proclaiming the gospel, and we get to face opposition in the process.

Jesus created tension with religious folks. They were passionate about the law, but missed the heart of it. Jesus had come to give life, not law. They didn't appreciate that back then and so plotted to kill him. What is our response? Are we focused on keeping laws as if our holiness depends on our own performance? Or do we receive the life that only Jesus can give? Jesus came to give life, and to give his life, so that we can truly live.

This is Matthew/Levi's testimony from Mark 2:13-22. He reflects on the revolution that is Jesus and how being called by Jesus changes everything. Suddenly Jesus becomes the priority in your life, you start to share his values and follow him wherever he goes. Matthew urges us not to slip back into self-driven religiosity, but instead to get really close to Jesus and go where He goes - to the messy, needy, irreligious folks that Jesus so loves to befriend.

As Jesus continues to give of himself, he continues to shock and surprise. The implications for us are worth prayerfully pondering. How can we undermine the standard perception of Christ and his church in our culture? What are we prepared to do to get people to Jesus?