TUESDAY 2nd MAY 2020

Tuesday 2nd JUNE 2020

Good morning,

As we continue in the days after Pentecost Sunday, we read in Acts 2:42 that those who had heard the gospel message preached by Peter and become followers of Jesus “ devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship”

The apostles taught the truth about Jesus Christ – the Gospel. They taught about the way in which he fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures in order to bring people to salvation through His sacrificial death on the cross and His resurrection.

They were also able to share their own experiences about their times with Jesus, telling of the miracles they had witnessed, the teaching they had received from him, all of the resurrection appearances, and the commission they had been given when Jesus went back into heaven,

Then Jesus came to them and 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 and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

And so...............how do these words impact upon you as you read them this morning?

It seems to me that we are being called to return to the teaching of Jesus as contained in Scripture, to devote our........”selves” to hear from the living Word of God.

In my first week of university training for ministry of Word and Sacrament, the lecturer said, “Never forget this............the Scripture you are reading and studying is not just black writing on a white page, it is the living Word of God. And.........as you read the Word so it reads you, His-story is your story."

I know this to be true, and maybe you do too, for how often have you been listening to a sermon, or reading the bible, and the Word seems to be just for you on that day, seeming to speak into what’s happening in your life?

We read in Isaiah 55:10-11

“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my Word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

And in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Timothy we read,

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

The Word is God breathed, sent out to feed and nourish us, in the reading and the proclaiming of it.

It’s no wonder that the early followers of Jesus were so full of the Spirit, as the Ruach, the breath of life, entered the very depths of their lives, as the Word who knew their name, spoke healing, saving, Grace into them.

So, let us spend time listening for, and reading into that life giving Word, that we may hear for our....selves the voice of the Lord for us today, that we in turn may be sent forth to share our testimony with others.

Before the world began one Word was there; grounded in God he was, rooted in care; by him all things were made; in him was love displayed; through him God spoke and said, 'I am for you.' All who received the Word by God were blessed;

sisters and brothers they of earth's fond guest. So did the Word of Grace proclaim in time and space and with a human face, 'I am for you.' (John Bell)