St Ebbe's 9:45am Service Sunday 12/09/2021

[Music] well good morning everyone good morning and welcome welcome to some ebbs this morning it's lovely to see so many people here uh lovely particularly to welcome the family friends and family of jacob swain who's going to be baptized later in the service my name is lizzy ling and i work alongside pete wilkinson and ian fry our families minister um here at the 9 45. you're very welcome indeed moment of quiet now as we just gather our thoughts to remember that we've come in the name of the lord jesus christ to meet with the living god our first hymn takes from the words of psalm 100. and i'm just going to read that for us now as we prepare to sing a psalm for giving grateful thanks shout for joy to the lord all the earth worship the lord with gladness come before him with joyful songs know that the lord is god it is he who made us and we are his we are his people the sheep of his pasture enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise give thanks to him and praise his name for the lord is good and his love endures forever his faithfulness continues through all generations please stand [Music] all people that on earth serve him with joy his praises come now before him and rejoice [Music] know that the lord is god indeed he formed his hands were made [Music] [Music] his name the lord our god is good his mercy is forever sure his faithfulness at all times [Music] please have a seat know that the lord is god indeed he is indeed a wonderful god he's a god who we can approach uh and enter into his gates without fear because in the lord jesus of course his people are forgiven they're forgiven and we'll remember that as jacob is baptized forgiven washed made clean but if we look back on our lives that's sometimes not how we feel and we're going to come to a time of confession now when it'll be helpful for us just to bring to mind bring to the lord those things where he has been faithful and we have not uh where he has been strong and we have been weak we are not god but we come to a great god so let's just spend a few moments reflecting on the words that will come up on the screen then we will pray these words together together almighty god our heavenly father we have sinned against you and against our neighbor in thought and word and deed through negligence through weakness through our own deliberate fault we are truly sorry and repent of all our sins for the sake of your son jesus christ who died for us forgive us all that is past and grant that we may serve you in newness of life to the glory of your name amen some words now from psalm 103 the lord is compassionate and gracious slow to anger abounding in love he will not always accuse nor will he harbor his anger forever he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities for as high as the heavens are above the earth so great is his love for those who fear him as far as the east is from the west so far has he removed our transgressions from us father god we do thank you from for the lord jesus in all in whom all these promises are true uh heavenly father we are so grateful for his atoning sacrifice on our behalf and heavenly father when we're tempted to despair and think our guilt is too big we remember those words of the apostle john that the lord jesus died not only for our sins but for the sins of the whole world heavenly father your death covers it all and we are so grateful heavenly father please help us to live in the light of those truths to the glory of your name amen well liz has mentioned already it's a very special day for the swain family jager is going to be baptized today so i'm going to invite the family and god parents to come up to the front i know there's a lovely fan club here and a number of you watching who would love to be here who can't be scattered around the world and great supporters and prayers for jogo as well so welcome welcome welcome and henry if you'd like to come up first of all and introduce the family and others who are here sure hi everyone great to see you all and know lots of you but for those who don't i'm henry i'm training for church england ministry at wycliffe just up the road and this is tour uh brilliant wife and mother this is paisley h5 she likes unicorns this is jago who's been baptized this morning he likes diggers and tractors um we've got uh god parents as well john matt ellen and my sister lucy who caught me with this she lives in hong kong she's on the live stream so waving at her that's us and talk just say why you've decided to bring jager to be baptized today [Music] um we uh henry and i are so grateful to god our father for our gift of salvation and we love that god extends that promise to paisley and jager as our children and in baptizing diego today we are so um thankful that we can be reminded of that promise and we're so encouraged as we've been thinking about it we feel so inadequate as parents and we're so encouraged think about baptism that it's reminded that it's god's work in him not ours uh we're really thankful for our god parents here of jacob's god parents here today to pray for him and for us and for the support of family and church family as we bring him up and we're praying that he would never know a day when he wouldn't know the love of his heavenly father and that he would continue to walk with him all the days of his life brilliant well children are a great gift of god and i know you're so grateful for the gift of paisley and jago and salvation is a gift god gives the wonderful gift by grace and this water speaks of what god gives us through christ in salvation cleansing and new life do join in everyone when it comes to the appropriate moments when it says all and god parents and parents join in at the appropriate moment as well the lord jesus christ said all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me therefore go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit and teaching them to obey everything i have commanded you it is an obedience to this command that jago is brought for baptism today baptism reminds us that as water washes away dirt so our sins are washed away in the blood of jesus who died on the cross and it is a picture of god's promise to give us new life by his holy spirit when peter the apostle explained this he said the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off for all whom the lord our god will call so in response to god's promises to you and your children i ask you now to affirm your allegiance to christ and your rejection of all that is evil have you turned from sin to christ are you trusting in jesus death for your forgiveness and do you believe in god the father who made the world do you believe in jesus christ his only son our lord who died on the cross to save us and do you believe in the holy spirit who gives life to the people of god this is the faith of the church this is our faith we believe and trust in one god father son and holy spirit parents and god parents you have brought jaco here to be baptized and your prayer is that he will make his own response of trust and obedience towards god he will depend chiefly on you for his knowledge of god so you're promising that he will receive christian teaching as he grows up and that you will pray for him regularly these are serious responsibilities and should not be undertaken lightly are you willing to accept them for many years to come we are and together oh god our father we thank you for your great love for us and the promise you have made to us through your son jesus christ that you will be our god and the god of our children also we ask that jago will grow up trusting in the lord jesus christ and knowing you as his heavenly father strengthen him with your power and give him victory over the world the flesh and the devil so that he may live a life that will please you we ask this through jesus christ our lord amen jogo i baptize you in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit are amen that was all right wasn't it [Applause] let's say together we welcome you jacob into this congregation of christ church do not be ashamed to confess the faith of christ crucified fight bravely under his banner against sin the world and the devil continuing as christ's faithful soldier and servant to the end of your life amen well you had a round of applause early but now an even bigger one as you take your seats again well in a moment um after we've sung our next song the children will leave for their groups um but this new next song we are going to sing is new to many of us except if you're a holiday bible club how many were at holiday bible club oh wow quite a lot especially this lot down here if you can't see from the balcony but um yeah it's a song that reminds us of the importance of god work god's word in changing and transforming us and that's what um we're hoping and praying that will be the experience of the children the kids groups so let's let's sing hannah are you going to come and do some actions for us brilliant so it is new so we'll have to get used to the actions but um hopefully when we repeat it next week we'll know we'll know them [Music] there's a line up teach me don't teach me is is [Music] [Music] [Music] teach me teach me [Music] do have a seat as we pray for the children going out and i tell you where to go if you're new father god uh we do ask you to teach the children your word uh this morning um heavenly father would you be at work by your spirit in their hearts please strengthen and equip their leaders heavenly father and would your will be done in the kids groups uh this morning in jesus name we pray amen so if you're new here basically there are groups um up to up to um uh [Music] school up up to what's 14 i think so anyway any everybody out over um primary school age out that door someone will meet you and show you where to go preschoolers through that door and croatia and wadler's will be there and while they leave please do turn to someone you don't know and say hello and have a chat and we'll re-gather in a moment okay well let's start to bring those conversations to a close we're going to sing again and we'll be rejoined by parents who have dropped the children off this next song is a favorite at celebrate recovery uh we sing it as if the words our lives sing the words as if our lives depended on it which of course they do the truths that this this song contains so let's stand now and sing yet not i but through christ in me let's stand [Music] there is no more for heaven now to he is my joy my righteousness [Music] is [Music] the night is for by my side this savior he will save i labor on in weakness and rejoice foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the future [Music] [Music] and he was paid [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] with every breath i love to follow jesus for he has said that he will bring me home and day by day [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] when the race is [Music] still my lips shall repeat yeah [Music] please do have a seat let's pray yet not i but through christ in me psalm 67 begins may god be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us that your ways lord may be known on earth your salvation among all nations lord we were reminded last sunday that though we might not think of ourselves like the pharisees we also can all too easily slip into thinking that the problem of sin lies outside in the world when actually lies within each of our hearts we humbly admit to you lord that we can too readily kid ourselves that by keeping certain rules we can keep ourselves clean and yet you have graciously provided forgiveness that's full and free lord we humbly and dependently come to you for grace your riches at christ's expense here at cenebes we lift up to you those new to oxford that they would settle quickly and join the ebbs family we pray for those with long-term illness in our church family particularly rosie glinis david terry and pepe and we commit to you lord the youth ministry of this church for the young people themselves we pray for christian friendships with each other that they would feel spurred on by their leaders to invest in their relationship with you we thank you for the provision of new leaders in this ministry and for wisdom in their leadership roles we pray for the organization and successful running of the weekend away in october we pray that many might be able to sign up we pray for the impact leaders for leah sam anna beth andrew nat and bowen we pray as the young people study the book of revelation this term that your word would help them understand the world they live in and that together they would get to know jesus better through it we pray that at school and in sports and other groups they would be able to live out the christian life in the light of those pressures around them lord in your name we pray amen and for our church family we give thanks for the fellowship time that many enjoyed at the picnic last sunday after the service we pray that we might continue as a 945 congregation to forge new and closer fellowship in your name than we may have enabled over the last 18 months that we might be mutually encouraged by each other's faith in you we pray for fellowship groups starting up this coming week we pray that new church members will feel welcome to join these groups and that as more begin to go back to work in person we pray that you would use each as a faithful witness to colleagues at work this week lord in your name we pray amen lord we lift up to you every one of our partners serving you overseas and particularly this sunday we pray for nicola and fong serving in east asia for continued wisdom on whether to meet together as a church plant we give thanks for a positive start for the children back at nursery we pray for gospel opportunities with parents at their nursery and funicular applying for a permanent residency there and for their baby jew at the end of november and for josh and ying also serving in east asia we pray for josh for wisdom and encouragement in using his time teaching greek now in addition to hebrew to give local christians understanding of the original biblical texts so they may be independent for ye ying we pray for wisdom and grace as she counsels on pregnancy issues and adoption we pray for them caring for ying's elderly parents and pray in your mercy that you might bring them to faith we pray for them as parents bringing up no and challenging educational circumstances lord in your name we pray amen and for the wider world lord we pray for preparations for the upcoming un climate change conference in scotland in november that your hand would be at work in making meaningful and substantive agreements to conserve your creation lord from the very beginning you called us to take care of it and we thank you this week christian leaders from around the world released a joint statement calling on people of all faiths to take action to hold the devastating impacts of climate change we pray that you would guide each one of us to be wise and resolute in making the needed changes lord we pray all these things in your name amen thanks said very much indeed just um one or two quick things to say first of all huge welcome to you it's lovely to see the church pretty full and i know there are plenty of watching online as well and we want to welcome you as much as we possibly can so um on the website if you're new you'll notice on the website little i'm new section and just click on that and tell your details if you're deciding that you want to make this your base if you've got any questions at all we'd love to help you if you're in the building do stay if you possibly can tea and coffee in the garden straight afterwards and come and make yourselves known to us it's a very busy time everything's getting going again in church life and if you are recently arrived at sundance the best thing you could do is join some kind of small group fellowship groups dotted around the city they start on wednesday roots for 20s and 30s starts on wednesday various groups for students starting up soon we've heard about our youth group impact that's already getting going so if you interested in any of those have a word with me with lizzy or any other member of stop we're so pleased you're here um you'll know from all schools all um offices and so on covered arrangements sort of complex as we constantly try and keep things under review and make things as good as they possibly can be and as always these arrangements are under review for us as a church we're completely packed up here in the gallery and we want to make it possible for as many as possible to come in here but as comfortably as they're able and so with we're wondering about making it available just certain spaces as many as wanted with mass and social distancing and then we could squeeze more in as well but we want to hear from you so if you're if if you're online and you'd love to come back but there's anything that would make it easier for you to come we'd love to hear from you and if you've got any thoughts as we make decisions about whether we tweak things in the the days ahead and i think that's um that's all by the way i've noticed are pretty much sure cast your mind back many months to what was it march april april uh last year and that lockdown beginning it was a strange time wasn't it for many of us and one particular song was a huge encouragement to me i told you a number of you before and i kept thinking because i listened to it on repeat my paul lodges i think got a bit fed up with this song because i loved it so much and i kept thinking i really ought to get in touch and thank the the writer of that song but i never got around to i didn't know how to do so and then last sunday i turned around and there was a couple on their own and i started talking to them and i said they were from nashville and uh andrew and i'm beginning to to realize there there he is and um so my brother andrew come on up and it's lovely to have jamie your wife here as well and come to this microphone because um at the end of the conversation andrew agreed to lead us in singing that song today and to do a concert and various other things so andrew welcome and tell us for those who don't know who you are who are you where you from what you do sure my name is andrew peterson i'm from nashville tennessee my wife and i have been married for 26 years and we have three kids uh the oldest two each got married a month apart from each other this past summer and our daughter started university and so we thought we're exhausted where can we go to rest and so we have uh we i love being in the uk and have played here off and on over the years and we thought let's just go and hang out in oxford for a while so well this has been our kind of church home for the last few weeks and it's just been lovely so thank you well we're so grateful and we're kind of rather spoiling your rest because we've got you busy um both singing today but on saturday andrew is going to be doing a concert 7 30 in uh church and you'll find it has had a book on our website so do come 10 pounds 5 pounds for concessions and unfortunately i can't come because of a nephew's wedding but do come tell your friends it should be a great evening andrew before you lead this song tell us about the song and how you wrote it and share your thoughts about it uh so a few years ago i started probably about 10 years ago i started a project um called resurrection letters which was a a song cycle about the resurrection of jesus and uh the uh it's kind of a long convoluted story but what it boils down to is that i was trying to to write a bunch of songs that celebrated christ and his victory over death and uh and not just his resurrection but the promise of our resurrection and so i was working on this body of songs and and uh at our church back in nashville i go to a little anglican church in nashville and i really love the liturgy and there's this you know for a kid like me who did not grow up in a liturgical tradition i just kind of geek out about it i'm a word guy so i really love words and i love the fact that there's a call and response kind of thing that happens that you know i'm a pastor's kid and i fall asleep really easily in church but at a liturgical church there's never a chance to fall asleep because you're always being invited to stand or something you know so it's pretty smart so people can still be asleep standing i can enjoy you that's true that's true so i uh i i started thinking about you know wondering if there's a way to write a song that could kind of sh uh use some of those liturgical ideas the call and response for the uh so the worship leader isn't just singing at the audience but we get to respond and engage in a conversation that reminds us what we believe to be true and so i'd written the verses of the song but i couldn't think of the chorus and then i remembered that in revelation 5 there's a wonderful call and response so to speak where a question is asked can anyone be found who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll and then there's this resounding answer yes and his name is jesus brilliant well andrew if you'd lead us tell us what you want to do if anything so uh so you guys get to be you're good oh there we go uh i really love hearing you guys all sing you're louder than our church in the states so this is a uh so you get to be the choir for this song so i'll sing a question in the verses and then you guys just sing the answer now is your chance to harmonize if you're a harmonizer please you know take full advantage and then we'll all sing the chorus together i think the words are going to be up here do you feel the world is broken do you feel the shadows deepened but do you know that all the dark won't stop the light from getting through do you wish that you could see it all made new it's beautiful and is all creation groaning is a new creation coming is the glory of the lord to be the light within our midst is it good that we remind ourselves of this is anyone worthy [Music] is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll the lion of judah who conquered the grave he is david's root and the lamb who died to ransom the slave is he worthy is he worthy of all blessing and honor and glory [Music] is he worthy of this [Music] does the father truly love us [Music] does the spirit move among us [Music] and to jesus our messiah hold forever those he loves our god intend to dwell again with us [Music] sing with me is anyone worthy is anyone home is anyone able to break the seal and open this [Music] conquered the grave he is david's root and the lamb who died to ransom the slave from every people and tribe from every nation and time he has made us a kingdom and priest to god to reign with the son is he worthy is he worthy of all blessing and honor and glory is he worth is [Music] is he worthy of this [Music] he is [Music] is he worthy is he worthy he [Applause] [Music] [Applause] thank you andrew let me just pray we're going to hear the bible read and joel is going to preach let me just pray heavenly father thank you for that reminder that the lord jesus is worthy of all honor and praise heavenly father please by your spirit would you be at work among us now as we listen to your word and would you equip joel um to preach to it in such a way as we will respond as you would have us do for the glory of your name because you are worthy in jesus name amen today's passage comes from mark 7 and 8 which can be found on the pew bibles in the seats in front of you or to the side if you're upstairs can be found on page 1011 in the church bibles and we'll start with verse 31 then jesus left the vicinity of tyre and went through sidon down to the sea of galilee and into the region of decapolis there some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk and they begged jesus to place his hand on him after he took him aside away from the crowd jesus put his fingers into the man's ears then he spat and touched the man's tongue he looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him a fata which means be opened at this the man's ears were opened his tongue was loosed and he began to speak plainly jesus commanded them not to tell anyone but the more he did so the more they kept talking about it people were overwhelmed with amazement he has done everything well they said he even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak during those days another large crowd gathered since they had nothing to eat jesus called his disciples to him and said i have compassion for these people they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat if i send them home hungry they will collapse along the way because some of them have come a long distance his disciples answered but where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them how many loaves do you have jesus asked seven they replied he told the crowd to sit down on the ground when he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people and they did so they had a few small fish as well he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them the people ate and were satisfied afterwards the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over about four thousand were present after he had sent them away he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of dalmanutha the pharisees came and began to question jesus to test him they asked him for a sign from heaven he sighed deeply and said why does this generation ask for a sign truly i tell you no sign will be given to it then he left them got back into the boat and crossed to the other side the disciples had forgotten to bring bread except for one loaf which they had with them in the boat be careful jesus warned them watch out for the yeast of the pharisees and that of herod they discussed this with one another and said it is because we have no bread aware of their discussion jesus asked them why are you talking about having no bread do you still not see and understand are your hearts hardened do you have eyes but fail to see and ears but failed to hear and don't you remember when i broke the five loaves for the 5000 how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up 12 they replied and when i broke the seven loaves for the four thousand how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up they answered seven he said to them do you still not understand they came to bethsaida and some people brought a blind man and begged jesus to touch him he took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village when he had spat on the man's eyes and put his hands on him jesus asked do you see anything he looked up and said i see people they look like trees walking around once more jesus put his hands on the man's eyes then his eyes were opened his sight was restored and he saw everything clearly jesus sent him home saying don't even go into the village this is the word of the lord that's paige thanks so much for reading do keep that open if you've got it in front of you and check the time when andrew sung to us is he worthy everything in you resonated yes because i love jesus so very much but even as you hear him ask that question maybe you're aware of those that would say no you love your 16 year old but you're worried your 16 year old doesn't love jesus or you hope that your life says yes to that question is he worthy and you know that it used to when the promises of jesus thrilled your hearts the warnings of jesus sobered you the commands of jesus steeled your will but just recently you worry you worry the light shines a little bit less brightly you worry that sin shines a little bit more brightly that the concerns of life are more present to our consciousness than the glory of the one who is worthy of all praise and honor and glory you're chatting with a friend and they're kind of interested in christian things and they understand what you believe and they know that it's wonderful to you but it just seems to slide off them like water slides off glass you invite someone to a talk at church and it's pitched it seems exactly right and jesus is shown to be full of grace and truth and you think that must have captured something and you walk out and they say oh that was an interesting talk say that emma radacano what a phenomenon right and she is you come to church every so often you love the singing sometimes the sermon is interesting although the jury is out today but you just don't see it other people do other people speak like and act like they know god but you just don't see it today we're thinking about the issue of spiritual sights seeing what the bible says is real about jesus christ or what else when the bible here is the eyes of our hearts spiritual seeing spiritual hearing hearts that really believe why people believe and why people don't believe why so much in our experience seems to be more vivid to us than jesus in the scriptures because spiritual sight is exactly the problem that the disciples have in the verses we just read have a look at verse 17. why are you still talking about having no bread do you still not see or understand are your hearts hardened do you have eyes but fail to see and ears but fail to hear and don't you remember the disciples they are the insiders the pharisees have rejected jesus because of their stubborn hard heart and have been seeking ways to kill him since right at the beginning of the gospel but the disciples are insiders they have heard jesus's voice and followed his call to follow him they have ministered on his behalf driving our evil spirits and proclaiming the kingdom of god they have seen him up close and personal and seen only integrity all the way through and mark in many ways in his gospel wants us to see ourselves if we call ourselves christians see ourselves in the shoes of the disciples if we ask ourselves the question who am i in the gospels in mark the answer he wants us to answer usually is i'm a disciple if we call ourselves followers of jesus which raises the possibility that jesus might be saying to us as a corporate body this morning or even to some of us individually do you still not see or understand are your hearts hardened do you have eyes but fail to see and ears but fail to hear and that possibility i imagine if you respond he is worthy that possibility makes you tremble so let's pick up the story and find out why it is that jesus feels the need to ask the disciples those questions we pick it up from 8 1 the feeding of the four thousand it's a repeat miracle he's fed the five thousand already kind of two reasons probably for a repeat one is that it's a it's a gentile kind of miracle two gentiles jesus really is offering crumbs to gentile people from last week that's another reason though and that's because jesus is a teacher and like any good teacher he knows the value of repeating a lesson plan saves on work and jesus knows that sometimes pupils that are quite slow need things to be repeated lots and lots and lots of times that's what my math teacher told me at school and jesus knows the disciples need some help with the great question of this section of mark who am i he's shown them that he is the exodus deliverer giving them manner from heaven that he is the strong man who's bound up satan and plundered his house that he is the great shepherd of the sheep come to bind up broken hearts and heal wounds and feed hungry and harassed and helpless human beings that he is the cosmic son beloved in eternity and the king anointed in his humanity and he wants to show them that and so he's done kind of four practical experiments if you like um he walked on water that's the second one the first one he calms a storm then he walks on water then he feeds the five thousand and then he feeds the four thousand four practicals and then three and this is the third three kind of classroom lessons though because jesus is a very good teacher they all happen on a boat because that's more fun the first lesson did not go well do you still have no faith he asked the disciples the second lesson goes even worse they have not understood their hearts were hardened but third time's a charm right so let's pick it up in verse 14. this is the lesson again in the boat the disciples had forgotten to bring bread except for one life they had with them in the boat now think about it what isn't a problem if you've got jesus in the boat not having any lunch right he fed five thousand he fed four thousand it's probably okay it's a little bit like worrying that your car radio doesn't work on a journey when adele is in the back seat you'll probably be fine and then jesus gives them a warning in verse 15 watch out for the yeast of the pharisees and the herod it's the yeast is hard-hearted rejection of jesus it's no matter the signs the evidence saying that he is not god's cosmic son watch out for that jesus says to the disciples watch out for your hearts becoming heart and verse 16 is an incredible non-sequitur they discussed this as one another and said it is because we have no bridge that voice is on purpose i think we're meant to laugh at the disciples at this point it's because we have no breads they've completely got the wrong end of the stick so imagine with me imagine the scene peter's busy rowing and he hears something about yeast and pharisees and he thinks to himself oh bit peckish actually one offense when i've got a bread about the pharisees they've got loads of breads matthew matthew we got any bread danny john we're gonna need breads one life one life i'm starving one life jesus in the stern of the boat looks at thomas and raises an eyebrow guys thomas completely blank-faced like when vaughn tells me a joke not because i'm slow but because he's just going way over my head jesus clears his voice um but by this time peter is in a blazing route or a kind of bickering friendly kind of sibling argument with andrea about who deserves the bread because they've done more rowing that day and it is funny it is but it's also scary because despite everything they still don't see mark communicates theological truth by storytelling he's lots of fun for that reason and he pushes us towards a sobering truth not just the pharisees not just the disciples but all of us by nature all of us our hearts can't see when it comes to seeing jesus by nature our hearts can't see let's just explore that for a little bit mark on one level he's pushing back against the common uh narrative you may have heard it yourself the common narrative that says if only i saw for myself then i'd believe and mark says do you have any idea how many people saw jesus say the things that he said act in the ways that he acts be the sort of man to which people responded he has done everything well and yet still still didn't believe are you so sure that if you'd been there you would have it is absolutely and totally right to weigh up the claims of christianity is it is it internally consistent and compelling does it have evidence to back it up or is it based on air absolutely right but that is not all that's going on there is a sense in which the human heart does not want to see you get a small insight into this in the way that sometimes i think personally very honest atheists speak so tom nagle who is a academic philosopher in the states if you study philosophy in the states you might have read some of his kind of introductory textbooks to philosophy he once said this in an interview i want atheism to be true and i made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people i know are religious believers it isn't just that i don't believe in god and naturally hope that my belief is right it's that i hope there is no god i don't want there to be a god i don't want the universe to be like that or orders huxley the author of brave new world he said that his atheistic philosophy was an instrument of moral liberation there is a sense in which we don't want to see but jesus pushes it further it's not just that we don't want but it's on our own merits we never will which is a challenge to us because our heritage is of no help to us in spiritual sight our intelligence is of no help to us when it comes to spiritual sight that is a subversive thing to say in the heart of oxford isn't it our experience is of no help to us when it comes to spiritual sight our background is no help to us when it comes to spiritual sight because our hearts can't see i wonder what you make of this it's not an uncontroversial thing to say you might find yourself nodding along you've had this sort of thing before and you agree with it you might find yourself kind of shaking your head internally thanks for being gracious and not doing it so that i can see that's always discouraging but perhaps it doesn't seem to do justice to your own experience and if that is you it is very admirable that you're here because most of us read the papers that conform to what we already think and follow the twitter accounts that will affirm us in our opinions and yet either on the live stream or in the building on a sunday morning you're giving time to listening to someone that is saying something you disagree with you're doing a much better job of listening to the other side than i normally do and i hope so ebbs will continue to be a place where we can have conversations about this sort of thing together that's why we have the open speech marks by the way if you've noticed them perhaps you are nodding and this helps you remember why it is that even though you have faithfully loved your kids you're worried that they don't see helps you understand why what is compelling to you seems to slip off other people why it might be that you sometimes worry that your heart is beginning to cloud over and get calloused because if it could happen to even the disciples the insiders of insiders in mark's gospel even then then surely it could happen to me and maybe even as we read and heard nancy page read those words do you have eyes but fail to see do you have ears but fail to hear are your hearts hard and don't you remember do you still not see or understand you felt the holy spirit carry those words into your heart and you ask the question is it i is it i lord if there is any way in which that is true in a big way or just a little way then allow the holy spirit to carry you to jesus and what mark shows us in these verses because our hearts can't see but praise the lord jesus helps us see now mark i think shows us that not by a narrative's comments or by putting kind of teaching onto the lips of jesus he shows in the way that mark usually shows us that sort of thing and i was thinking about getting else to do a bit of work but time escapes so i won't have a look at the beginning and the end of the passage kind of like a sandwich mark loves his sandwich at the beginning the end is the bread what is the bread it's two healing miracles he heals a deaf man and helps him hear he heals a blind man and helps him see so that's in 7 31 to 37 and 8 22 to the end of the passage and if you worry at all that sometimes you struggle to see or hear then let your imagination carry you to the lord jesus coming across a deaf man whose ears didn't work his tongue didn't work who is brought helpless to jesus and jesus leads him away from the crowds and tenderly reaches down to touch that broken tongue and touch those unhearing ears and helps him hear and allow the holy spirit to carry you to a moment where jesus kneels down into the mud and the dust with a bland that cannot see and touches those blind eyes and opens them that the sun might come in and know this our hearts can't by nature see but the lord jesus is the one that opens blind eyes softens hard hearts and um stops deaf ears that's why it was so lovely to hear tour she's on in here um that's what's so lovely to hear torsei up here about needing to pray for jage because she knows that without the holy spirit's ministry jacob will never see that's why we give ourselves in prayer for our children in prayer for each other's children that's why we pray for ourselves that jesus's tender touch might soften and stir and woo our hearts jesus please soften my heart that i might see i know that lonely sin or really difficult sorrow or bitter disappointment runs the risk of callousing my heart to see you clearly please please help me see it's why we always remember when we come through these doors that any spiritual site we do have any we are a city on a hill we are children of the light things that are kind of basic to our self understanding as a church i suspect any of that any spiritual privilege we have we only have because jesus helps us see it would i think at least it has in my own life be very easy for this claim to make us spiritually proud i see i know the truth my heritage my learning my thought my status my position my church community are the ones that see it could turn our culture from a gospel culture which vaughn has been talking about a little bit if you're at cpm on wednesday from a gospel culture which stoops low to serve one another into one constantly assessing and judging each other's spiritual sites they didn't really get it a culture that begins to weaponize truth to make ourselves look good if you've ever been to a bible study who hasn't said in a bible study and wondered whether you or someone else is speaking about the truth just make them look like a spiritually impressive sort of person but jesus helps us see so let's push this if you like gospel conviction into our gospel spirituality and psychology and culture i see jesus help my blindness i hear jesus help my deafness i believe jesus please help my unbelief and when we do that sometimes these eyes these physical eyes will struggle to see through the tears as in grateful thankfulness to jesus we thank him that he's stooped and touched and wooed and opened blind eyes my blind eyes let's pray lord jesus you are worthy of all honor and glory and power and we see that and we long to see it more we believe that and we long to believe it more we hear that and we accept it and we long to accept it more and so we pray that your spirit might do a marvelous work in our hearts a marvelous work in our culture to shape us into a humble listening culture that knows we have not arrived but longs to hear you speak and we pray for your glory amen thank you joel we're going to sing our final song now let's do it with a sense of great humility and gratitude for all the lord jesus has done let's stand [Music] is is [Music] is is [Applause] [Music] the grace is [Music] lord i was glad i could not do my life your lovely [Music] [Music] [Music] please stay standing while i close in prayer father god we thank you for your work among us here this morning heavenly father please continue to be at work in and through us this coming week strengthen us for all you would have us do that we would bring glory to your name in jesus name amen and let's just finish by saying the grace together and we say the grace together with those on the live stream uh to one another may the grace of our lord jesus christ the love of god and the fellowship of the holy spirit be with us all evermore amen do join us for coffee um thank you for coming [Music] do [Music] [Applause] do [Music] [Applause] you

Channel: St Ebbe's Church

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Keywords: St Ebbe's, Oxford

Id: 1wq69Np-jfU

Length: 80min 15sec (4815 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 12 2021