Sermon from 15th February 2009

Today our Vicar, Cameron Barker, preaches based on the reading from James 5 verses 13-18.

A Catholic priest was being given a special retirement dinner, after 25 years of faithful service in the parish.

A prominent member of the congregation, who also happened to be a leading local politician, was chosen to make the presentation, and to give a speech at the dinner.

Unfortunately he was delayed, so the priest decided to give his own speech while everyone waited for the politician to arrive.

He began: “I got my initial impression of this parish from the first confession I heard here. I thought I had been sent to a terrible place! The very first person who entered my confessional told me that he had stolen a TV and, when questioned by the police, was able to lie his way out of it. He also confessed that had stolen money from his parents, embezzled from his employer, had an affair with his best friend's wife, and taken illegal drugs. I was truly appalled.

“Fortunately, as time went on I learned that my people were not all like that, and that I had indeed come to a fine parish, full of good, loving and Godly people.”

Just as the priest finished speaking, the politician arrived, full of apologies for being late. He immediately began to make his presentation: “I'll never forget the day that Father Nick arrived as our new priest”, he said. “In fact, I had the honour of being the first person to go to him for confession.”

There are many morals that could be drawn from a story like that – even though it is a made-up one. Feel free to have fun with some of the possibilities over lunch, if you like. But I'll also invite you to end up coming to the only right place as we end our series from the letter of James. Yes, that right place is truly uncomfortable, for all of us. But until we 'own' the fact that we are all sinners in need of God's grace and forgiveness, we'll never get anywhere at all with God.

Now, I have no doubt that this church too is full of good, loving and Godly people. Over the past nearly nine years I have been privileged to see God at work in and through many of you, in so many ways, and in so many circumstances. But I also know full well that all of you are, just like me, also sinners in need of God's grace and forgiveness. Like that politician, we may often be able to put on a very impressive front about who and what we are. It doesn't fool God for a moment, of course. Nor should it fool us. As I said at the start of this series, the letter of James reminds us above all that the church truly is a place for sinners. And so he was talking about, and writing to, people just like you and me.

Unless and until we truly take that truth on board, though, and then do something about it, we will be like the people James described earlier in his letter. In chapter 1 he wrote about those who look in a mirror, see themselves for who and what they are, and then walk away and forget what they have seen. Let's be honest: it would be all too easy for us to do just that. After today we are finished with James. It'll be time to move on, to something new and different. We can forget about this uncomfortable truth that has been thrust in our faces again and again so far this year. But if we do that then we will have missed the point of this entire series. And we'll certainly also have missed the very point on which James deliberately chose to end his letter.

'So then, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you will be healed', James wrote in verse 16 of chapter 5. And, being James, he meant that from the depth of his being. As we have seen, throughout his letter James kept on telling his readers what to do. He identified the issues and sins that so many of us today also struggle with. And then he told his readers how to deal with those issues as Christians, in very practical ways. James didn't claim to be some great authority, remember. Yes, he was Jesus' blood-brother; yes, he was the leader of the first church in Jerusalem; yes, he was rightly known for his wisdom. But from the very outset James identified himself as a slave of Jesus. For him – as he wanted it to be for his readers – it was all about living for the God who loved him enough to save him – even though he didn't at all deserve it.

I also said at the beginning of this series that the only advantage Christians have over other imperfect people is that we can be honest about our shortcomings. We can – and must – be honest about them: with God; with ourselves; and with others. Hard as it is, that is the only route to the forgiveness that God offers us through the death of his Son. And that, of course, is precisely the note that James wanted to end on, as we have heard today. Practical to the end, he urged his readers: 'Confess your sins to one another'.

We might put it like this: be honest; we have looked in the mirror as we have read this letter. No, it has not often been a pretty sight: we do all have a heart problem; we are so easily enticed to do the wrong thing; we do let our anger get the better of us; we do find it easy not to put faith into action when it might be costly; we are all well capable of saying the wrong thing; we do want to have our own way, and we are ready to fight if we can't; it is so much easier to go along with the values of those around us than to stand up and stand out. And I'll bet that most of us have faced at least some of those issues this week.

Now of course there's much more to be said about how we are to confess our sins to one another. It's certainly not meant to be done indiscriminately, or unwisely. There may even be times when it's right not to confess our specific sin to particular people. But this key principle that James expressed remains true, and universal. If we are to help each other to find better, more Godly, ways to live then we must be accountable to one another. And that will mean both confessing our own sins to others, and also listening them do the same. That's how we will best know and experience God's forgiveness. That's also how we'll best encourage each other to take the right practical action to live out our faith.

I'm very aware that there's so much more in this passage even than 'just' about confession and forgiveness. There's certainly a whole sermon that could be preached about the link that James appears to make here between sin and sickness. We haven't got time for that, so I'll only say now that of course not all sickness is physical or mental. We are all sin-sick, so spiritually sick, and I believe that's part of what James meant. But we can't totally dismiss the idea that sin can cause other forms of illness – any more than we can say that all forms of illness are caused by sin.

It's not a simple matter, so if that's a conversation that you'd like to have at any point, I'd be willing to have it. But for now I want to press on with the other key feature of how James ended his letter – and that's with the encouragement to pray! Don't forget that, apart from being known as the Amos of the New Testament, James also had the nickname 'Old Camel Knees'. Legend has it that he had callouses on his knees from all the praying that he did himself. And so it's no surprise that James told his readers to pray for one another as he prepared to finish his letter.

As I also said at the beginning, James wrote this letter to 'all God's people'; so this, like the rest of his advice, is for us to hear and heed too. Yes, it's prayer set in the context of confession. Yes it's to be prayer for healing, of all sorts; yes, sometimes it's to be done by the church leaders. But for James prayer wasn't limited to those, or any particular circumstances. The example that he used here to remind his readers about the place and power of prayer had nothing to do with sickness, sin, or confession. James wrote about Elijah – one of the great Old Testament prophets. In the story told in 1 Kings 18, Elijah prayed for it not to rain – and it didn't, for 3½ years! Then he prayed again, and it did rain, abundantly!

We often think that our prayers couldn't have that kind of effect. But we mustn't underestimate what is possible – if it is what God wants to do! James reminded his readers of that truth not once, but twice here. “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective”, he wrote. And don't forget, he also wrote, “Elijah was a person just like us too”. He didn't have any special powers of or in himself. He just knew what God wanted to do; so that's what he prayed for, and that is what then happened! It was God who did it all, of course. And there could well be a whole bundle of lessons for us in there: like about how we pray, and what it means to be righteous.

That is, in fact, the best possible summary of this letter of James. It's packed full of the lessons that we can, and must, learn about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. They are all very practical – and do-able – lessons; if we will only learn them. Maybe that's why so many people have had such a problem with James' letter over the years. Perhaps it's little too practical at times! It certainly doesn't sit comfortably with us that we have to start by being quite so honest, with God, ourselves and others, about who and what we are. But that is the only right starting place if we are to move on with God at all. We need to know that we are those who deserve nothing but God's judgement, and punishment. Only then can we really know the joy of being forgiven by the God who loved us enough to die for us.

Then, and only then, as those who have so graciously been forgiven, can we begin to live this new life that we have been given. That's just what this letter of James teaches us to do: to recognise where we all begin; to accept that it isn't easy to leave the past behind us; but to get on and do it anyway – with and in God's strength. We do it by making ourselves accountable to one another; we do it by confessing our sins to one another; we do it by praying for one another; we do it by helping and challenging each other to live out our faith in any and all circumstances. We do it by involving God in every part of our lives – praying to him when we're sick, in trouble, or stuck in sin; praising him when we're happy. And what we can be sure of is this, in more words from James – as we come near to God, he will come near to us, because this is how he wants us to be. So lets learn these lessons – and live them all, for God's glory. Let's pray ...

Sermon 8th February 2009

Today our Associate Vicar, John Itumu, preaches, based on the reading from James 4:1-10

Submit yourselves to God

It is said that as infants we would actually die if we didn't get enough attention, and as adults we are miserable and can actually go crazy if we are ignored for too long. How do we call for attention? James’ deliberate choice of words is designed to draw attention to his readers. The words – kill, fight, quarrel are clearly saying to his readers – his own people of Jewish descent – listen up! He chose words that clearly express the awfulness, the disgust of quarrels and fights and controversies among those who call themselves Christians, indeed every human being.

So, what causes quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?

James talks about a condition that we all suffer from. Inside us are forces that rule supreme, (which he calls desires) and that frequently overrun the good intentions we seek to advance. It is like an army on the highest state of alert, ready to pounce on the enemy, these forces are. He reminds us that Christians harbour the old nature which is still potent. That is why you are dragged away and enticed by your own evil desire and enticed 1: 14 we heard a few weeks ago. You see, becoming a Christian does not immunize one from temptation or even falling and failing. If anything, the old nature and the new nature are brought together in an arena of constant combat. No one describes this condition better than the apostle Paul Romans 7:15fwd
...what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing…

Is that familiar ground? It just underlies the fact that followers of Christ are not a protected species. If anything, there is a sense in which they should expect a greater beating from the world as these two desires battle it out. These desires inside us serve a sinful nature. Desires in themselves are neutral, but since they are at the service of sinful nature, when desire kicks in, we will allow nothing to stand in our way, even if it means waging war. His choice of words, in an exaggerated sense, draws our attention to the seriousness of disagreements, not least because they easily lead to death.

Our Lord Jesus himself spoke very strongly about disagreements. Eg in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:23)
If you are offering a gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to that person; then come and offer your gift.

Desires that battle within us!
Friends, it all begins in our hearts. The controlling self-pleasing, self-centred passions that we carry very easily twist our good intentions as they quickly find expression in our lives and in destructive ways. What we see out there has private causes in here - the self-pleasing heart. And if we are to achieve the full life that our Lord promised, then here (our hearts) needs some attention. The issue with us, as James reminds is actually a spiritual one. We need to discover how to combat that enemy within, which is always causing havoc. That inherent dislocation within us, that generates the self pleasing and self centred passions. So how do we combat this enemy. The answer is in a question!

James asks in verse 4 don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity with God? Worldliness is a tremendous challenge for all Christians today. Some Christians have innovative ways of dealing with it, as I discovered in an article in the Church Times two weeks ago:
‘There will be no race to the altar’ (for weddings), the article started, in a certain diocese in Nigeria. Why? Because the bishop has directed that all seeking to marry in church must first undergo a pregnancy test and also a genotype and HIV test. Reasons? To ensure that Christian marriage was decent and honourable. The results of genotype and HIV would allow couples to be properly counselled as to how to conduct their lives with these disabilities. The bishop also voiced his displeasure with immodest dressing of brides at weddings. The solution? The local vicar’s wife must first vet all wedding dresses before the ceremony. Before you dismiss this as ludicrous, I urge you not doubt the good intention meant by such initiatives.

Actually, the Christianity of yester years embodied very clear guidelines of the expectations of Christians. The older Christians took it upon themselves to instruct young believers on how they should conduct their lives. I grew up knowing the generally expected Christian conduct - where not to go, how not to speak, how to respect sacred space, how to dress – all very vital training.

The one danger to be aware of with this predominantly mid twentieth century Christianity is that it inculcates a reactive, kneejerk and almost thoughtless holiness. It advocates that the world must be contradicted in every way possible by the Christian; anyone confessing the Christian faith must distance themselves from the world. And this attitude is not peculiar just to Christianity. It’s the reason there is Halal and Kosher food, which is an honest attempt to keep members of those religions from being defiled by the world.

Having said that, I think we have lost something. With the changing times and as we have continually reacted against the old school of being separated from the world, we have thrown the baby with the bath water. Let me explain. For many of us today, what goes in the world goes in church. The line between Christianity and the world becomes more blurred each day. Many Christian communities cannot agree on the basics of Christian conduct and behaviour. And this poses a huge question:
How can we be in the world but not of the world, as we are often reminded? Are there things we should take on board on becoming a Christian, are there things we should abandon? Of course there are as we have just been reminded by the baptism liturgy this morning! But worldliness is still remains an issue. Materialism, telling half-truths and scape-goating, cohabitation and dishonesty, gossip and malice are not just out there. And that is how things are. We seem driven by the maxim, if everyone does it, what should stop a Christian from doing the same? After we are in the world! Having one foot in the Christian faith and another in the world only exists in our imagination. And for this reason, James reminds us that friendship with the world means enmity against God. The two are irreconcilable. A middle ground would be attractive but there is none. And that’s not good news! It is very uncomfortable but that is the way it is.
And let’s get this right; you do not wake up one morning to make a huge decision to be friends with the world, or to be an enemy of God. It is the little wishes, desires, curiosities beckoning try me try me… These little things oil our journey, very subtly, to a sphere where the Lordship of Christ is not recognised. And just like an adulterous (unfaithful) person in a marriage, V4, the marriage might look all intact, even exemplary from the outside, but there is cheating going on. What a relevant picture!

But friends, here is the good news! There is an answer. God’s amazing grace. V6 …he gives us more grace. Now that is real comfort. How reassuring to know that God is always on our side, even when our self pleasing, self centred passion takes over and leads us away from Him, his grace is even the more. We're in a mess but He gives more grace than the mess. We are weak but He gives more grace than our weakness. We are tired and fed up but God is tirelessly on our side, He is never less than sufficient; He always has more to give. We may be beaten but He is never beaten. We cannot outdo his generosity. He is an amazing God! He stands and says, come to me all who are weary, and I will give you rest.

But this grace comes with a responsibility. To accept God’s grace is to be willing to change. That is the deal. Between verse 7 and 10 James are ten commands for us;
submit to God, resist the devil, come near to God, wash your hands, purify your hearts, be miserable, mourn, weep, change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom, humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and He will exalt you.
The abundant grace of God does not sweep us into an effortless holiness. God’s rich, plentiful and inexhaustible grace carries a responsibility. The God who says, here is my grace, receive, also says on the same breath, here are my commands to obey. He pours his grace and love and mercy abundantly, but not everyone unfortunately enjoys it, taps into it. He reaches out his hand, but not everyone is willing to stretch theirs to be held by Him. This grace is enjoyed by those who submit to him. That is our responsibility.

But what sort of submission, you ask? In furtherance of James’ war imagery, it means to align oneself under the leadership of a powerful and great Commander in order to fight under his command. It means repentance, regular prayer, reading and hearing his word the Bible and committing to follow Jesus. It means saying, yes Lord, I need you to take control of my life. This is for you here today, if you have never said it. Those who submit to God, by the same breath also begin to resist the devil. Fighting worldliness all begins by submitting to God. Our heavenly Father is a winner, all the time! Submitting to him is my responsibility, your responsibility. May we have the courage to completely submit to God. Amen.

Sermon 1st February 2009

Today, our Youth Worker, Phil Brooks, preaches based on the reading from James 3 - taken here from the Good News Bible.

My Brothers and Sisters, not many of you should become teachers. As you know, we teachers will be judged with greater strictness than others. All of us often make mistakes. But if a person never makes a mistake in what he says, he is perfect and is also able to control his whole being. We put a bit into the mouth of a horse to make it obey us, and we are able to make it go where we want. Or think of a ship, big as it is and driven by such strong winds, it can be steered by a very small rudder, and it goes wherever the pilot wants it to go. So it is with the tongue: small as it is, it can boast about great things. Just think how large a forest can be set on fire by a tiny flame!

Lets just spend a few moments collecting ourselves…

God, we want to thank you for this time together this morning. We want to acknowledge that wherever we are, and whatever it is that is on our hearts, that you want to deal with us.

Maybe we’re feeling tired, or burdened, or anxious about so many problems that seem SO big… maybe this morning we are finding the idea of a loving God hard enough to deal with, let alone a cross, or an empty tomb.

Maybe, we are feeling full of energy, connected to you, excited, and full of hope and life.

Wherever we are Father… we thank you that you want to meet us and be among us as we gather this morning. We pray that you will help us to see things we need to leave behind today, and help us to see the things we need to take on board. And may I speak in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.. Amen

So I’d like to start by thanking Cameron and the preaching team for giving me such a great first verse to start my first full grown-ups only sermon with. ‘Not many of you should become teachers.’ Quite a sobering thought…

So from these opening verses, it becomes apparent that there is a whole conversation that we could have about who exactly should be standing up and delivering messages like this, or leading Children’s Church groups and assuming the teaching roles within a church community… how that effects their own relationship with God, or what counts as correct doctrine… these aren’t things I’m going to be focussing in on this morning.

But what I’d like to focus on this morning is just how fundamental to us, how energetic and how full of potential all of our words are. The writer of this passage, as he asks us to be careful in the way we use our tongues, is expressing something that is true of all human beings- that our words are at the deepest core of who were are. The words we say affect us. Words are crucial.

I’d like you to think very first part of the Bible, Genesis chapter 1, inverse 3…

3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

So speaking is the very first thing that we see God doing in the Bible. To create light (because even God needs light to work in) God says ‘let there be light’.


The whole act of creation begins with a word. And so the very first thing that the writer wants us to understand is that this is a God who speaks. God is personal, relational, a communicator. He has created nothing yet… and still speaks. Gods Words are the energy the universe is made from.

And so the Bible teaches us that this God created us in His own image. He created people, and spoke to them, and they could speak to him. So when God created these mammals on two legs to share the universe with, he wanted to be able talk to us. So he made us talkers. Some of us more than others…

Talking is something people do, instinctively, all the time. A few of years ago I read a book, by an American psychologist called Stephen Pinker, called ‘The Language Instinct’. In this book, he argues that words are as inherent to people as webs are to spiders. It’s what we do. If you need any more evidence that we are made to talk, just spend some time with very young children. Children are frighteningly good at learning how to talk. I am regularly amazed at how quickly children pick up not just new words, and sounds, but some of our incredibly complicated grammatical structures and rules. We are not born with our brains as ‘blank slates’, accidentally acquiring the ability to speak by simply copying the people around us.

We are hard-wired for language, It’s in the software of our brains. Language is what turns a group of people into a problem solving machine. Think of the story of the tower of Babel. Mankind gets together and decides to build a tower big enough to reach God. And how does God scupper the plan? A flood? Nope. Fire? Nope. God sabotages this plot by mixing up the languages people speak. Inspired.

So language is what enables us to relate to each other. You may have, at some point this morning, had a thought about who you want, or need, to talk to after the service. If you’ve had a thought like that today, congratulations. You are human.

So it is no wonder then, that the writer of this letter is concerned that we understand the importance of the words we say. Words have a tremendous power, to heal and to hurt, to build up, to break down…

How many of us, have ever told a child, or heard themselves as children, that ‘sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.’ Now, I’m not saying that this technique doesn’t have certain usefulness in a crisis.

But do we really expect anybody to believe this?

I’m sure that pretty much all of us here this morning have had words spoken to them that have damaged them. Perhaps they were spoken to us in a deliberate way, or a glib comment, or something shouted in anger. When somebody says something damaging to us, it feels like something has been taken from us. Something spoken in a few seconds can take years to heal.

So maybe, as you were reading this passage, you thought of something unnecessary or hurtful that you said recently, maybe even this week.

I’m no scientist, but I am pretty certain that the shortest length of time conceivable is that moment, the fraction of a second, in between saying something unwise, and realising that it was a bad idea. How quickly we can escalate our conversations from misunderstandings to disagreements to full-blown arguments. We can make things personal and unpleasant so quickly. Particularly with people we know very well, particularly family members.

We know exactly how to say something, with the slightest nuances and subtleties that will hurt the person we’re speaking to. Just the slight changes in tone of voice, or oblique reference to something that happened a long time ago can be enough to really escalate things..

In the Proverbs 17, we can read that ‘a man of knowledge uses words with restraint’. So an exercise you might find useful would be to go through the last week, and try and identify a time you’ve not exercised restraint in the words you said. Perhaps it was a snapped word, or a deliberate and precisely aimed comment. Perhaps it was a particularly juicy piece of gossip that you just couldn’t help but share.

Whatever it might have been, maybe that’s something you’d like to share with God today, something you’d like to deal with. If you’d like some help with something you have said, or particular situation where you find it hard to say beautiful things, then I’m sure that the prayer team would be happy to help you with that after the service.

I’d like us to flick back into the Bible now, this time Mark Chapter 1, v.s. 21-28,.. I’ll give you a couple of seconds to find that. We’re just going to spend a few moments there. This is Jesus at work in the early days of his ministry.

21They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil[e] spirit cried out, 24"What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
25"Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" 26The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
27The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him."

This very early miracle of Jesus takes place just as he is beginning to announce the immediacy of the Kingdom of God. And in this snapshot of that story, is that Jesus is moving around, and doing great things… by talking. As far as this story goes, he didn’t even need hands. He teaches in the synagogue, and amazes everyone by sharing and describing the love of God. And then he heals a man by driving out a demon. So the same voice that spoke the universe into existence is being used to heal people and to share God’s love.

So a part of the deal of being a follower of Jesus is that we are becoming more like Jesus, and we become more and more the sort of people who bring healing and love with our words.

In verse 5 of James, we read that a ‘large forest can be set on fire by a tiny flame’, which is a very good reason to be careful about not saying harmful things. If we’re not careful, things get bitter very quickly. But what a fantastic encouragement to say helpful words!

I suggested earlier that all of us, or at least most of us, had over the course of our lives heard words that had hurt them, and caused damage. On the flipside of that, I wonder how many of us have been told encouraging and beautiful things that we’ve found really helpful?

There are helpful, encouraging, affirming things that people have said to me, perhaps years ago that I still cling to today.

And so in this letter of James, there is an awareness that the words we speak have profound, and eternal implications. And perhaps this can move us into a kind of freedom that goes beyond avoiding saying harmful things, and begins to start some fires of a different kind. Good words have a multiplying effect. If people speak good words to us, we speak good words to other people… and before you know it, words of love start to spread a little more freely among a community.


I’ll tell you a story. I have a friend who is the kind of person that people naturally open up to. So in conversation with people, he can find himself, quite quickly, listening to people’s burdens. And so as I was talking to this friend, he was describing some of the conversations he’d been having with someone who had been having massive doubts about their self-worth, and was feeling very depressed, and very lonely.

So my friend was feeling very inadequate and overwhelmed by this, not really sure the best things to say. And so as we were going over these conversations, he was just saying how he’d done his best to be caring, try to listen as best he can, and to just be a friend where this person needed one.

And then he said to me… ‘so when do you think I should tell him about Jesus?’

And I thought to myself about that question later on, I thought… ‘You’ve been telling him a lot about Jesus already.’

Because if we are followers of Christ, then we are always telling people what Jesus is like. When I was a much younger and wiser person, I used to spend hours talking with people and trying to maneuver the conversation around to a point where I could tell them about their need for Jesus. I’m not saying for a second that conversations like that don’t have any value. But I’m also so aware, looking back, that I was telling them more about Jesus than I thought.

Maybe the question isn’t when do I tell people about Jesus, but what am I already telling people about Jesus? What do I tell people about Jesus by the way I talk to them?

If we come into relationships with agendas, then they will quickly pick up on this. And the message that they will actually get, despite our best efforts to tell them otherwise, is that Jesus loves them with an agenda.

If we decide that we don’t want to talk to a certain sort of person, then we are telling them a lot about Jesus. We are telling them that Jesus doesn’t walk to talk to them.

If we find ourselves criticizing others people behind their backs… we are telling the world that Jesus is looking to criticize them.

So many of Jesus’ interactions end having as conversations about the deepest truths in the universe… but almost always after he has listened to the people he was talking to, and spoken words of truth, and intelligence, and beauty into their lives.

And so to finish, I would encourage you, that if we call ourselves follower of Jesus, then every interaction we have is an opportunity to bring an energy of love, and to show people what a rescued life looks like.

Because if we really do believe that there is an empty tomb, and that this resurrected Christ is among us, then we will know that love is the strongest force in the universe. So whatever damage has been done by harmful words- words of love can, in time, heal and rebuild anything or anyone.

So let’s pray together as we begin to ready ourselves for communion

Father, we thank you that you don’t force us, or push us into your Kingdom, but instead offer a gentle invitation into a different sort of life, into an awareness of your presence with us.

We pray that you would work around us and within us to help our words to be careful, measured, and full of love, and courage, and grace and truth.

We ask that this week, our words would be starting all the right sorts of fires. We thank you that however dark some of the voices out there, or in us, might be… that your love wins. Amen..