‘Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!’ – Psalm 32:11
Sermon ‘Rejoice In The Lord And Be Glad’ (Psalm 32) by Ken Noakes is available in audio and video: http://bit.ly/2gQJCy7
Full Text and Workings for this Talk – Psalm 32
Read the Bible text: http://bit.ly/2hHaSnL
English Support Document PDF: http://bit.ly/2hLLnl7
Sermon ‘House Rules’ (Psalm 27) by Ken Noakes is now available to stream or download: http://bit.ly/1t45gVU
Sermon ‘From Prison To The Ends Of The Earth’ (Acts 12:1-24) by Ken Noakes is now available to stream or download: http://bit.ly/1Xva5TD
The beginning of the year is often the time when people check out church (‘It is a new year, thought I would give it a go’), join church (‘I have moved and want to make this my church’) or leave church (‘I am making a life change’).
As such, it is reasonable that one consider ‘What should I expect of ‘Church’?’.
In the last update 
we considered ‘What is Church?’ and suggested that church was a place for believers (whilst still open to not-yet believers) and a place where God’s people gathered as a family in Christ. Expectations of church then are important because they help a person decide whether this church is doing what it should be or not.
There are a couple of ways to arrive at an answer.
I had become a Christian around the age of twenty, it was six months on. One of my new friends, a Christian guy whom I had met at church asked me: ‘How are you enjoying the Christian Life’!
How would you answer that?
I had no idea what to say. ‘Um…it’s good I guess!…I am enjoying finding out more about Jesus…Um…is that what you were asking?’
Seeing my discomfort, he asked ‘Are you enjoying your Personal Devotions?’
Well now I was totally lost! What on earth did he mean by ‘personal devotions’ – is he asking if I have stuffed up like I used too? (the answer was yes, but I didn’t really want to tell him that). Was there something that I was supposed to be doing that I had not read in the manual of How to be a good Christian?!
‘Um, I’m not sure what you mean’ I ventured. ‘Your Quiet Times?’ he said. Nope, still no help. Maybe being a Christian meant that sometime in the day I was supposed to be silent and quiet, and although I didn’t think I was particularly loud, I know that I had not given any thought to the idea of being quiet! Oh help.
Another horror week.
Suicide bombings in Beirut have killed 43 people and left 238 wounded. A suicide bombing at a funeral in Baghdad killed 19 people and left 31 wounded. And coordinated attacks in Paris have killed 129 people and left 352 wounded.
We are appalled, grieved and saddened.
Believers have something that the unbeliever wants (although they might not know it!).
God’s ear!
As the book of Job comes to a close there is an intriguing twist. God rebukes Job’s three unhelpful friends and sends them back to Job with their tails between their legs.
I struggle to pray. Prayer for me is not natural, it feels labored, it gets in the way of the ‘flow’ of my day. But I should pray.
Now I feel guilty.
I know that Christians should pray. Jesus taught me to pray (Matt 6:5-15) and his apostles called me to pray (Col 4:2) and to pray continually (1 Thess 5:17). Oh help.
J.C. Ryle (1816-1900) who was a prolific preacher and writer and also the Bishop of Liverpool suggested that private prayer is the most neglected of all Christian duties and asked the question ‘Do you Pray?’
‘I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of the partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, because confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus’ (Phil 1:3-6)
So Paul begins as he writes to the church in Philippi. How encouraging. He gave thanks for the partnership in the gospel he shared with the Christians in that city.
Friends, I am not the Apostle Paul, and to be honest I could not say that I always thank God for all of you – which is both a sad indictment and a rebuke for me. I should be more concerned for praying in thanks for 5pm Church.
That said, I have been thankful in prayer for the efforts that so many have put in as part of the ‘Hello Neighbor’ mission we have just been running.
Christmas is upon us (that seems to have happened fast as always). One of my prayers is that you and your wider families have a wonderful, Christ honouring, and blessed Christmas this year.
What a privilege it has been for me to be in ministry of the gospel alongside you. I am so very thankful to God for many of the things that we have been able to do as 5pm Church this last twelve months. Further I am constantly humbled (in a good way) by the responsibility you give me to teach the Bible and direct ministry as your Pastor. Thank you.
churchcentralonline.com 