Lee Street Church
Notes of Meeting 5th September 2021
Worship led by Brian Legg
Songs were:
40 Be still, for the presence of the Lord
426 O Lord our God how majestic is your name
524 - Thank you Lord for this fine day -
593 What a friend we have in Jesus
742 Great is the darkness that covers the earth
1105 We want to see Jesus lifted high
Notes to summarise Ken Davis’s Message
Ken spoke on the subject of Jesus’ parable of the lost son in Luke 15:11 – 19.
Jesus’ Parables were simple stories about every-day matters like fishing, agriculture, servants, and relationships which he used to tell us about the nature of God, and how we should live.
Instead of focusing on the son, let’s look at the father, who represents God – he had two sons.
Think how different life would be if we could forgive as the father did.
This parable reminds us that there is always a way back.
- Undeserved forgiveness
The father’s forgiveness was totally undeserved – the son had seen his father only as a source of income, effectively wishing he was dead, by taking his share of the inheritance.
Forgiveness has the power to reach deeply into areas of our lives where we think it seemingly impossible. Ken quoted Gordon Wilson, a peace campaigner whose daughter was killed by an IRA bomb at Enniskillen in 1987, who was able to say “I bear no ill-will; I bear no grudge”.
- Unconditional forgiveness
In this parable, the father asks for nothing from his son – not even an apology. We tend to make forgiveness conditional – “if you do ….” Then I’ll forgive.
But here the father was looking out for his son to return. That’s what God’s love is like – as Paul writes in Romans 5:8 “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.
- Total active forgiveness
Think of the welcome the father gave to his son – he saw him when he was a long way off, so he was actively seeking his son, despite what he had done. He ran to his son – possibly taking 100 steps while the son took one – the father was active in his forgiveness.
Are there areas of our lives where we need to be active in forgiveness?
A problem we have is remembering – we say we forgive, but we still remember what someone has said or done. God is different – as Hebrews 8:12 reminds us – God says “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more”.
God chooses not to let our past sins affect how he treats us now. That’s total forgiveness.
How many times do we need to forgive? As Jesus told Peter, 70 x 7 times! In other words, just keep on forgiving.
Athletes set themselves a goal – gradually raising the bar – what are we aiming for? Our target should be to display unreserved unconditional forgiveness to others, as Christ has to us.
Closing Song:
120 From heaven you came
Notices
- Next Sunday we will share in the Breaking of Bread. The Speaker will be Robin Thomson.
- The 19th September service will be “open”, with an opportunity for anyone to share what God has been doing in their lives.
- Foodbank – still very grateful for any contributions, especially food.