Lee Street Church
Notes of meeting 1st November 2020
About 21 people attended the meeting (11 at the church, 10 on Zoom). We welcomed Barry Lorimer as our speaker.
(Our apologies that we were not able to display the words of the first 3 songs on Zoom, due to computer problems. The telephone option was also regrettably not functional)
Sue led our worship
Just when we thought we were starting to get back to some kind of new normal, the second wave of the coronavirus has hit. Life at the moment can be very confusing; frightening; uncertain.
We’re all aware Christmas is not that far off and we all just want to be able to see our families especially.
The bible is very realistic about the fact that life rarely runs smoothly. We all have ups and downs, times of clarity and or confusion. Nevertheless, God’s presence is constant.
Psalm 121 v1-2 & v7-8 “I lift up my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
“The LORD will keep you from all harm-- he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”
We have a faithful God.
Hebrews 10 v22-23 “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
Psalm 89 v1-2 “I will sing of the LORD's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself.”
Hymn: Great is Thy faithfulness
GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided,
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
We’ve just been singing “Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow” We have so many promises of God to hold on to, and we need to especially now!
Psalm 146 v5-6 “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them-- the LORD, who remains faithful forever.”
Romans 5 v1-5 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. “
Psalm 52 v8-9 “I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever. I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope.
Song: My hope is built on nothing less-Cornerstone
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly trust in Jesus' Name
Christ alone
Cornerstone
Weak made strong
In the Saviour's love
Through the storm
He is Lord
Lord of all
When darkness seems to hide His face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil
When He shall come with trumpet sound
Oh may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless stand before the throne
God knows the story of our life even before we live it.
Psalm 139 v16 : “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be”.
Hebrews 11 is a chapter that gives us so many examples of faith in the lives of God’s people. Noah; Abraham. Isaac. Moses; the prophets and so many more. None of them had easy lives! One verse starts “by faith”.... and finishes “he persevered”
The chapter is summarised in verses 39 and 40:
“These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us, so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” What a promise of Gid that one day we will be made perfect.
This chapter in Hebrews starts with the well-known verse : “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
We need to persevere when life gets difficult. We need to pray that we will mature through difficulty. As followers of Christ, instead of letting our problems defeat us, we should let them draw us closer to God.
Psalm 23 v6 “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever”.
Some words from our last song:
Be the hope I am clinging to – for my heart belongs to You
You are only a breath away- watching over me every day!
Our prayer should be “keep my focus on all that’s true!”
Song: Hold me closer
Hold me closer to You each day;
May my love for You never fade.
Keep my focus on all that’s true;
May I never lose sight of You.
In my failure, in my success,
If in sadness or happiness,
Be the hope I am clinging to,
For my heart belongs to You.
You are only a breath away,
Watching over me every day;
In my heart I am filled with peace
When I hear You speak to me.
No one loves me the way You do,
No one cares for me like You do.
Feels like heaven has broken through;
God, You know how I love You.
Noel & Tricia Richards.
Copyright © 1996 Kingsway’s Thankyou Music.
Notes from Barry Lorimer’s Talk
John 14: 1 – 3: (Jesus said) “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am.”
The context of these words of Jesus is the Last Supper, when He revealed that Judas was to betray Him, and when Jesus spoke of His glorification through His crucifixion. The disciples had been shattered by what Jesus had told them, so He reaches down to them with words of encouragement. They had invested 3 years of their lives in following Jesus, and now He says He’s going away.
He had already told Peter that he couldn’t follow , and that he would deny Jesus 3 times. The disciples were filled with uncertainty, discouragement, what would happen next? Much the fears we might be experiencing today.
Remember - “Plenty” does not equal “peace of mind”!
Anxieties affect us all – so the words of Jesus are for us all today “Do not let your hearts be troubled”.
Here was Jesus, under enormous emotional pressure as He was preparing to suffer the torture of Gethsemane and the utmost agony of the cross, reaching out to his followers “Trust in God – and in me.”
Remember Jesus is God – believe, have faith in Jesus. Don’t let fears grow, because God really is bigger than all the mountains that we face each day. Look at the dependability of God, and remember to praise and thank Him for His blessings to us.
Yes, Jesus was leaving the disciples, but He wasn’t forgetting them. As John 16:7 tells us, “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” He was going to die, and then he would prepare a home for his followers. That’s our destiny – a home with many different rooms, a place Jesus knew all about.
Jesus was speaking about an eternal abode or dwelling place – the disciples had been on the road with Jesus, but were now being promised something much better – a home in the “city of the living God” – imagine an enormous mansion, surrounded by gardens, with a large central courtyard with fountains. Barry used the Danish word Hygga which gives the idea of comfort, conviviality, togetherness; a place of joy, comfort and equality. It’s got enough rooms for all – great and small, rich and poor, from all backgrounds, weak and strong – we’re all invited. The journey starts here, when we come in faith to Jesus and renounce sin.
Jesus reminds them “I will come back”. He won’t forget us, as He reaches out in His humanity to each us, just desiring that His invitation won’t be turned down. In His prayer to the Father (John 17:24 ) Jesus says “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory..” Yes, He wants us to be right there with Him to see His glory.
Remember the Psalm 23 picture of the good shepherd – David concludes with the words “and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever”.
It’s a bit like a royal invitation to Buckingham Palace, where God is pleased to be with us, and we are pleased to be with Him. Yes, as v3 of John 14 reminds us, Jesus wants us to be with Him – that’s His grand design.
Heaven is where God dwells, and where all believers will one day live, ie, all those whose sins have been covered by the blood of Jesus. It’s a place of real beauty, and He has promised we’ll all have new bodies, new minds, and He’ll answer all our questions.
As Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 4: 8 “Now here is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing”.
Barry introduced us to a Welsh word – Hiraeth – which speaks of longing for home, or a place we’ve never known. Home-sickness for a place you want to be at.
God made us for Himself – to be with Him for eternity. But He also wants to live with us here and now, to take away all our doubts and fears. Now is the time to trust Him, to rest in Him, to receive His peace, which is just a foretaste of what is to come for eternity.
Revelation 3:20 “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. It anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
The call of Jesus to anyone to make their home with Him.
Jesus’ answer to doubt, fear, and death. Trust in Him to receive His peace now – a foretaste of what’s to come.
Notices:
Next Sunday – we’ll be remembering the Lord in Breaking of Bread (so be prepared!). We will also keep the 2 minutes silence at 11am for Remembrance Sunday.
Due to latest Government restrictions, the rear hall meeting will not be able to take place.