Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.

As we know in life there are times and seasons, and in churches too.
God brings some things to a close and does new things.

“Forget the former things do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up, do you not perceive it ?” Isaiah 43:18,19.

God is constantly working, shaping, changing, moving in His creation to bring about His purposes. We need to make sure we’re a part of that, cooperating with Him.
Taking hold of the new things He is doing, by faith. Walking by faith, not by sight.

When Jesus was arrested, tortured and crucified, things looked grim, the disciples despaired, but God was doing a new thing, bringing about His will through Christ’s suffering.
Bringing forgiveness and salvation to all who would receive it. Things are not always what they seem outwardly. We need to fix our eyes on what is unseen.

Read John 12:20-36.

From the falling to the ground, and apparent drying up and death of a seed, there comes new life, as we thought about last week.
Seeds, then shoots, and subsequently fruit.
Death is not the end. We have eternity with God, clothed in a new resurrection spiritual body, to look forward to.
But to receive that, we need to believe that Jesus Christ has died for our sin, that His death has brought us salvation and to put our trust in Him.
We need to die to ourselves, to our selfish and sinful nature, to live.
‘It’s no longer I that liveth but Christ that liveth in me’.
Life comes from God, and it comes through death.

As I said a few weeks ago, Isaiah 62 is God’s word to us here at present.
- God of the new thing, change, transformation, making us the people He wants us to be, something which glorifies God, indeed we will feed on the harvest that God will give, and a new name is given as part of that.
To those of you who have been seeking God and listening to what He has been saying over this past year, this may be a shock but won’t come as a big surprise.
We believe God is leading us to close The River Church.
Why ?
The history of churches in Lostwithiel is not very positive – splits in the Methodist church over buildings, many leaving and joining the Anglicans, revival breaking out under the ministry of a new vicar which is then quickly quenched, people then leaving the Anglicans to set us a new church, the AOG, people leaving the AOG because they weren’t happy and subsequently setting up the River Church. These splits were not amicable, and there has been much bitterness left as a result.
The Lord is cleansing the town of these spirits and healing the damage done. The freemasons moving out for example. Even the AOG, Lostwithiel Christian Fellowship, moving away and amalgamating with Bodmin I believe is part of God’s working in all this.
God wants to draw a line under all that has happened. There is a cleansing going on in Lostwithiel, and since judgement starts with the people of God, the church is being spiritually cleansed too.

How have we got to this point ?
My life calling is to prepare the way for the Lord, and that is the main way God has used me in whatever He has called me to, and here is no exception. But there has been more to do in that than I initially expected, and I have made mistakes….particularly in wanting to go ahead and move on, before everything had been done that God wanted in preparation.
– First there was the closing of the River Christian Centre, which came very clearly,
– I then felt God then say build the local church.
– At that point we were coming into Elim which I believe is of God, and they asked if we wanted to change the name, I made an error of not going away and praying about it, which I should have done, and so we kept the name of the River Church, which I now believe was wrong.
– Over the years we have struggled for vision for the church even though we had vision for the Lostwithiel area. It has not been disastrous and people have grown spiritually, but we have seen relatively little fruit, especially in terms of conversions. To start with you simply persevere, and many people who have been involved in rural ministry said to keep at it that it takes time, but we started to ask why we weren’t seeing more, when doing all the ‘right things’ ?
– About a year ago, independently, two people in the church suggested that perhaps the River Church needed to close. I was open to this possibility, and prayed that God would make it clear - something like this we needed to be very sure. Over the coming months as leaders we talked and prayed further.
– What God revealed is that the beginnings/foundation was wrong. When a building has wrong foundations, you don’t tinker around repairing it, you tear it down and start again with right foundations. God spoke to me through a Geoff Feasey book and subsequent meeting. It wasn’t just a case of repentance - something we had already started - but the church spiritually and in people’s perceptions, needed to die.
– Isaiah 62 was given as a Scripture – a very positive one I might add.
– We have had peace and inner witness over this, even though humanly wanting an easier path. God’s way is narrow.

It was not easy to see how we can get where we need to be from where we are, but that’s not the reason we’re closing River Church – we believe God has told us to and it’s because of the way it was conceived and born, and the history of the church in Lostwithiel.
As I have said God is dealing with the past, drawing a line under it, doing a new thing.
In preparing the way for what God wants to do, we have been praying about whether there are people effected by the past that we need to apologise to, and I have written some letters and so on, last year at the Pentecost service apologising publicly to the other churches. Clearing the way for God to move in the way He wants to.
This is something we all need to do personally as well, making sure that as far as possible we don’t have anything against others, or they of us.

The River Church will close, but God is not finished with Lostwithiel, by no means.
The vision for this place stands, a town known for Jesus Christ, where He is honoured and glorified, and Pam and I are convinced we are to play a part in that, but if any of us want to be a part of that, we need to change, and not just tinker with the old, but to die to it.
That goes for the church and for us individually.

We will be launching a new church. Learning from the past but not tied to it. Our experiments with the Crunch, creative and family services, were just beginning to scratch the surface.

The future new church will be as a church plant with a committed core of Christians, but with it’s focus on Jesus foremost, and on outreach into the community – a community church, in the community, for the community. It will exist for discipleship and mission.
Total commitment will be needed by the Christians called to this – to each other, to evangelism, discipleship, and a church with a radical and relevant culture.
Not a copy of something done elsewhere, something new, unique, created by God.

Timetable – after today it will start to become public knowledge.
The last service of the River Church will be Sunday 4th May. After that there will probably be 2 months of reflection, prayer and preparation – this time is very important, and you may want to fast as part of that.
Then the new church launched at the end of June, God willing.
You may have lots of questions, but there’s really little more at this point to tell you.
God will sort out the details as things progress – it’s important that this is His work.

God wants each of us to pray and seek Him – ask Him where does He want you, and in what state spiritually ?
This will not be something for the faint hearted, it will not be comfortable, this will not be the sort of church you can just attend as a Christian spectator, it will mean hard work and prayer.
You must go where God calls you and if the Lord leads you on elsewhere, so be it, go with our love, for I want you to be where you can grow, the right place for you.
But if you come to believe you should be a part of the new church here, then be 100% committed to it, or don’t come.
There is time to pray and seek the Lord, so that He can speak to you, …so that you can come to a point of being able to say a positive yes in faith.

The text of what I have said this morning will be going on the Church website under sermons, for anybody who couldn’t be here for whatever reason.

God has been saying for a while now, prepare the way – deal with sin, repent, clear away any rubbish, get a new heart from God and be filled with His Spirit. It’s happening.
If you love the Lord be encouraged.
Change can be uncomfortable, but God never promised us a comfortable life, in fact the opposite - Trouble, persecution, change, life in all it’s fullness.

God is at work, be in no doubt. Let’s make sure we’re where we are meant to be, and ready.

Take some time, pray over the coming weeks, but when it comes to it,… make a clear choice. ….And a clear commitment.
No-one should just drift into the new church.
Over the next month, services will continue and I will be sharing more as things develop.

For some of you the future of the church here is perhaps not relevant (as you’re only with us temporarily), …but the principles of what we have been looking at are.

Let Jesus be Lord of your life, …Jesus has bought you by His blood…..so die to your own desires and wants, listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying and be obedient to the One who loves you.
Don’t reject what God says because it means big changes, some of the best decisions of my life involved big changes, and look at the changes people went through in the Bible – God is creative, let God be God, He knows what’s best for you, you can trust Him completely.
Put your trust in the Lord.

Jesus enters Jerusalem to cheering and praising crowds, waving palm branches and putting them before the young donkey He was riding. Within days the crowds are shouting for his death and those who were with Jesus desert him.

Dramatised reading - Matthew 26:14-75.

Jesus is betrayed.
By Judas who handed Him over, by Peter who denied Him, by the disciples who ran in fear. Jesus’ pain came not just from the beatings of the soldiers, or the scourging, or the crown of thorns, or the taunts and insults of His enemies….but the emotional pain of betrayal.
Of being badly let down by those closest to you, friends who you trusted with important things, those whom you shared most intimately with.
After His arrest, Jesus was alone, and on the cross we believe that even God the Father turned away so to speak, as Jesus takes our sin upon Himself, and cries ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me’.
The amazing thing is that He knew it would happen.

Read Mark 10:33,34.

Jesus, with purpose and determination sets His face towards Jerusalem. And even though He knows Judas will betray Him, He still shows him love and trust. Even at the point of betrayal, calling him friend.
If that doesn’t teach us a lesson about trust, I don’t know what will.
Trust, …….not because a person is trustworthy, but because it’s right to do so. .
Were the disciples trustworthy, when things got tough ?
Was Jesus naïve ?
Was He gullible ?
No, He knew more of what was going to happen than anybody….but He still showed trust.

If we are to follow Jesus, to have the same attitude, then God wants us to be trusting people, even though it may be emotionally painful.
Jesus suffered and died for us, taking our sin on Himself, because He loves us.
He loved Judas who betrayed Him. He loved Peter who denied Him. He loves the disciples who ran away. He didn’t like what they did, but He loved them anyway….just as He loves you and me.

Talk part 2.

What is betrayal ?
Well, it’s not when someone disappoints you or doesn’t live up to your expectations.
It’s not when someone does something you don’t like or agree with.
Betrayal can be one of the hardest things in life to deal with, when someone you trust, who you are close to, who you think loves you, then hurts you terribly.
There is duplicity involved, maybe saying one thing to your face, but something quite different behind your back to someone else. Acting as a friend to you, but then doing something which badly hurts you and betrays your trust. Maybe using personal information you’ve shared against you.

I’m afraid this happens a lot in churches, and is one of the most destructive things in church leadership. Usually it comes of pride and people seeking power, rather than humility and a desire to serve. Satan gets in and causes havoc.

Those who have suffered sexual abuse as a child, from an adult that they trusted, will know this incredible pain that comes from betrayal. A betrayal that for a child can last for many years.
A betrayal which many people can’t face until they’re much older. But God brings these things to the surface at the right time, and can take the pain we feel and heal us.
Maybe your father or mother deserted you as a child, or rejected you, and you feel the pain of betrayal…..from someone who should have loved you and nurtured you.
Perhaps a good friend let you down, as Judas betrayed Jesus.

Maybe you are the betrayer. Perhaps it’s you that has betrayed someone close to you.

Sometimes we are just unthinking and make mistakes, and sometimes it is more deliberate, we are so focussed on our own agenda and getting our way, that we are unaware of, or don’t care about, the hurt we are causing along the way.

But Jesus is the healer. Whatever has been done to you by others, whatever you have done…Jesus has died on the cross for the sin involved,… and the pain caused.
He has taken our sin, and our pain or sorrows. Do you believe it ?

Read Isaiah 53:4,5.

Come to Jesus.
Let His Spirit fill every part of you, every memory.
Confess your sin and know His forgiveness and cleansing.
Give Him your pain, bring it to the cross, and let go, He doesn’t want you to carry this heavy burden.

Talk part 3.

In many places where you go around the country there is some very negative church history.
Divisions, splits, fights for power, betrayal, and so on.
Why is this ?
Because not everyone who goes to a church is a true believer, there are wolves in sheep’s clothing, …..and because even those who are true believers, are also human.
How we need God’s grace.

Lostwithiel is no exception. There has been freemasonry, splits, betrayals, that have occurred in the churches here. There are many hurts that people still have from the past. These will get in the way, unless they are dealt with. The Lord has been doing this cleansing and healing work, but there is more.
This time the move of the Spirit must not be allowed to be quenched, as it was in the past.
I believe that what God is doing here will endure.
A community transformed by the love and power of God, a community cleansed of evil spirits, a community known for Jesus.
I say what God is ‘doing’ very deliberately, because things happen first in the heavenly realm before we see the fruit of it in the physical, and there is much going on unseen.
Rejoice ! God is on the move. Prepare the way, in your life and in prayer. Welcome Him.
Jesus has died for Lostwithiel, He comes by His Spirit to claim it.
It may get messy, there will be changes and upheavals, as God establishes His Kingdom here. But that which He has spoken, that will He do. God finishes what He begins.
Believe it, take hold of it, live in it.

Let’s pray for it’s fulfilment, and give Him no rest and ourselves no rest, until we see it.

Isaiah lived in Jerusalem, in 8th century BC - Lived through reign of several kings, good and bad.
Isaiah was a man who had seen the holiness of God, and therefore his own sinfulness and doom.
He had experienced forgiveness and God’s atonement for his sin.
He had known the grace of God.
As a result of this he was a willing and eager servant of the Lord.
He was given prophecy from the Lord which he was told that the people would not listen to.

Read Isaiah 6:1-10.

But although within the book of Isaiah are words of judgement, it is also a book of hope, of restoration, of revival, of vision for the future, …..ultimately of God’s amazing grace to His people.

Looking at Isaiah 62 -
There are many ways to think of Zion in this passage, many ways that God will apply these words, so be listening to the Holy Spirit.

i) Physical Jerusalem, people of Israel. Jealousy of Arab nations today.

ii) New Jerusalem – in the millennium on earth, and beyond, that comes from heaven. Jewish and Gentile believers united.

iii) This is prophetic for us as God’s people here.

iv) You personally.

The Lord will not stay silent or rest vs1,
nor should we vs 6,7.
Ask, seek, knock. Persist.
God’s righteousness and salvation will be seen.
Called by a new name given by God.
His people are to be something that adorns God, that He is pleased to hold and wear.
No longer deserted or desolate, but my delight is in her and she is married.
Lord rejoices over her.
Commitment of sons to Zion, as in marriage.
Watchmen – who keep watch for both danger and the King’s return.
Call on the Lord continually.
There will be a harvest where once it was stolen away. (Lostwithiel).
Need to enter the city, pass through the gates, lay hold of what God gives.
Obstacles in the way that need removing, and highway to be built.
Raise a banner for the nations, the heathen peoples. The banner is Jesus.
See your Saviour comes. Look through the eyes of faith.
Holy people set apart for God, redeemed and living in His blessing.
Receive the word of God. Lay hold of His blessings. Lay hold of God.

Today’s British society bathes in entertainment. If it’s not exciting and entertaining, today’s young people especially, switch off (and I don’t just mean the television).
But those of us who are older know that that’s not what life is about.

Listening to someone talking, even if they are the words of life itself, is considered dull, and people find it difficult.
Marriage or a relationship has to be constantly exciting and changing. No wonder so many couples break up, …with the subsequent devastation that causes to the children. No wonder we’re so dysfunctional as a society.
What about faithfulness, commitment, COMMUNICATION, trust, honesty, intimacy, forgiveness ?
These are the things which make a healthy marriage or friendship.

With the busyness of life we can forget how to really, actively listen to another human being. …..And we struggle to listen to God.
So many times our asking prayers involve guidance, because we find it hard to know God’s will and leading.

If your head is buzzing, if you’re thinking about loads of things, or are worrying, ……or are anxious emotionally, …..you will not be able to hear properly what someone is saying to you. You might catch odd bits, or get the wrong end of the stick, but you won’t hear their heart.
To hear another, you have to active concentrate and focus on them.
To hear another person, or God, it is vital to get rid of any baggage, and our own agendas that might be getting in the way.
To clear our minds of thoughts, and our hearts of personal emotions, so that we can fully focus on the person speaking.

Read Philippians 4:4-7.

If you still feel anxious after praying, then you’re not letting go and trusting God with whatever it is, …..you’re hanging on to it.
Do you believe God’s in control or not ?
Do you believe God is all powerful or not ?
Do you believe that God really loves you or not ?
If you don’t, then your view of God is faulty and you probably need to spend more time in Scripture getting to know what God is really like, and explore where this faulty view of God comes from – our parents, or our reaction to tragedy are most common.
If you do believe God is in control, all powerful, and loves you, …then let go.
Then you will know God’s peace….as a protection over your heart and mind, emotional life and thought life – both are very important to be at peace in.

So let’s do it now, either out loud or in quiet, bring anything troubling you to the Lord. Obviously, any sin you’re aware of – jealousy, lust, pride, unforgiveness, bitterness, gossip, greed, and so on.
Confess it and know His forgiveness and cleansing. A cleaning out inside of junk and muck.
Give every sin, every thought, and every emotion over to Him, one by one, until non are left, ….accept an awareness of God……..

………Now we’re going to meditate on God’s word, and some of what the psalms says about being still :

Get people to close their eyes, then Read Psalms 46 ; 37:1-13 ; 107:23-32 ; 131.

The context of some of those verses may have surprised you….. Stillness in some cases can be described as ‘a totally focussed awe’.
‘Wow, God is incredible’.

1 Peter 4:7 says, ‘The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply….’

Is prayer a one way conversation ?
So to pray, to have this two way communication with God, according to this verse, we need to be what ?
- Clear minded and self controlled.
And to love others deeply obviously means listening to what’s on their hearts. To do that, we need to be clear minded – have nothing on our minds, in the way……and to be self controlled…to keep self under control, again not in the way, not taking pre-eminence.
It is the other we are focussing on. To consciously give your full attention to another person, to listen to what they’re saying - not just the words, but the tone, body language, and what they’re not saying too.

Being clear minded is not just a Buddhist or Hindu thing.
It is a basic requirement of any meditation, because it’s the way we are. We have finite brains and emotional capacity that can only deal with so much at any one time. If you want to give yourself fully to listen to another person, or as a Christian to listen to God, it is obvious that you need to clear other thoughts and feelings out of the way first. Clearing some memory, some RAM for those liking computer analogies.

Practically in life, most of us find ways to deal with large amounts of information and things calling for our attention – calendars, diaries, lists, pda’s, mobiles, secretaries, etc. We invent systems.
I personally use a diary and ‘to do’ list, so all I have to remember is to look at them, rather than try to hold a lot of things in my head.

That’s the practical stuff of life. But the harder and more important stuff to deal with is the emotional – anxiety, anger, frustration, stress, doubt, grief, and so on. You can alleviate some of the symptoms through controlled breathing, etc, but basically, we need to bring these feelings to God, and let go of them.
Not to deny those emotions, but to trust Him with it, with whatever has caused those feelings in the first place.
The bigger our view of God’s power and love, the more likely we are to do it, …..but the bottom line is that we need to give ourselves over to God, to recognise that we are His, that when Jesus suffered and died He bought us for Himself.
To get worked up over things in our life, angry and bitter because someone has offended us for example, is self focussed, is not of faith and trust in God, is not of love, and therefore is sin.
So what do we do with sin ?
- We confess it and repent.
What does God then do with that sin ?
- He forgives it and takes it away, and cleanses us from it.
The before and after contrast, is between scarlet and brilliant white.

To love God with all that you are, body, mind, soul, heart, spirit, the lot. To love others as yourself. This is fundamental.
This total commitment to loving God and others is so important.
To listening, to relationships, to becoming what God wants us to be.

Read Romans 12:1-2.

Want to know God’s voice, to hear Him clearly ? Then do what Paul says here. Conversely, if we don’t, we will always struggle to hear God speaking to us.
This passage in Romans then goes on to talk about serving one another in the body and using the gifts God has given us to do this.
It starts with giving ourselves over to God, acknowledging Him as Lord, not just with our lips, but with our whole being.

If you want to hang on to self, to sin,….or hold back because of doubt or fear, ……do you really think you will experience God in a real and powerful way ?
Are you going to be hearing His voice clearly ?

Put yourself on the sacrificial altar, on the cross where we have been crucified with Christ. Die to self and live for God.

Read Luke 9:18-26.

Jesus lays it on the line for us. The choice is yours and mine.
Live for yourself and die, or die to yourself and live.

Living in vibrant, loving, intimate relationship with God and His people. Hearing one another and hearing God.

If you action what I have talked about today (that’s assuming that you’ve been listening), it will be a big step towards living and walking in the Spirit.
Living in the Spirit, can be summed up as Hearing God, Trusting God, loving God, and Obeying God.
But to hear Him we must get rid of anything in the way, to prepare the way for the Lord, and that includes in our minds, and in our hearts or emotions. To hear Him clearly, we need to be in a right relationship with Him, with Jesus as Lord, surrendered completely
to Him. Then we stand a chance of living in the Spirit, the most wonderful way there is to live.

1st & 3rd Sunday – Informal Worship Service, with communion.
Includes Sunday School for under 11’s.

2nd Sunday – Family Service.

4th Sunday – “The Crunch”
Special Magazine Style Program.

5th Sunday (where there is one)
– Spiritual Creative Arts Program.

Tea and coffee are served after the meeting.
All are very welcome.

How do we worship?
Ask your group to write a list of the things they and their friends ‘worship’, e.g. TV, sport, fashion, money and pop groups.

*

What do they do to show their ‘worship’ for these objects and people? (Consider merchandise, clothing, and season tickets, particularly for football)
*

What do they see others ‘worship’? (Money, power, technology)

Suggest that we can tell what people’s priorities are by what they worship, and how much they value something by how much they are willing to give for it.

Key point: Our priorities will influence and affect how we spend our time and make decisions.

Music -

The Bible

Now let’s look at the biblical words. In both Hebrew and Greek, there are two major kinds of words for worship. The first kind means to bow down, to kneel, to put one’s face down as an act of respect and submission. Our body language is saying, I will do whatever you want me to. I am ready to listen to your instructions and I am willing to obey. The other kind of biblical word means to serve. Roughly half of the time these words are translated as worship, and the other half as serve. It carries the idea of doing something for God — making a sacrifice or carrying out his instructions.

Of course, word meanings don’t prove what worship is, but they do illustrate three kinds of worship. There is

worship that involves speaking, and worship that involves listening, and a worship that involves doing.

There is a worship that expresses the heart, and worship that involves the mind, and a worship that involves the body. There is a worship that is giving praise upward, a worship that is receiving instructions from above, and a worship that carries out instruction in the world around us.

We need all three types of worship. Some people focus primarily on speaking or singing praise to God. Praise is good, but if all we do is praise God, without ever listening to what he says, we have to ask whether we believe the words we are saying. If he is really all wise and all loving, then we need to be attentive to what he is telling us, because he is worth listening to.

Similarly, all talk and no action does not show God the respect he deserves. Actions speak louder than words, and if our behaviour isn’t changed by God, then our actions are saying that God isn’t important — he’s a nice idea, but not relevant to our day-to-day lives. When we really believe that God is worthy of every praise, then we will be willing to listen and to change the way we live in response to such a worthy God. We will trust him and seek him and want to please him as much as we can. Worship should affect our behaviour.

Questions?

1. Do we want to please God?

2. Do we see worship as simply singing songs?

3. How can worship affect our behaviour?

Responding to God

Worship is a response to God. We can’t know God’s worth, much less declare it, unless God reveals himself to us. So God initiates worship by revealing himself to us. Then we respond, and the proper response is worship. The more we grasp his greatness, his power, his love, his character, the more we understand his worthiness, the better we can declare his worth – the better we can worship.

Our worship is a response to what God has revealed himself to be, not only in who he is, but also in what he has done and is doing and will do in the future. Worship includes all our responses to God – including a response with our mind, such as our belief in God’s worthiness, our emotions, such as love and trust, and our actions and our words. Our heart expresses itself in words and songs; our mind is active when we want to learn what God wants us to do, and our bodies and strength are involved when we obey and when we serve.

Both Old Testament and New Testament tell us that our relationship with God should involve our heart, mind, soul, and strength. It involves all that we are. Worship involves heart, mind, soul and strength, too.

Now is our chance to respond to God….

Community or Alone

We can worship God all by ourselves. But it is also something we do together. God has revealed himself not just to me, but to many people. God puts us in a community, he reveals himself to a community and through a community, and the community together responds to him in worship, in declaring that he is worth all honour and praise.

I just want to point something out here. Something I believe is important. When we sing in church it is simply singing songs to God - part of our worship. So we don’t have a worship leader, we have a song leader.

The Early Church

Acts 2 tells us how worship was done among the people who saw Jesus’ example and followed it. “Those who accepted his message were baptised, and about 3,000 were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (vv. 41-42). This is their response to God, their devotion, their worship: they accepted the message — they believed, they were repentant, they were baptised — and they devoted themselves to

* being taught,
* sharing with one another,
* breaking bread, and
* prayer.

Luke is giving a summary description, not a formula for worship services.

“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people” (vv. 46-47). They worshipped in the temple, and they worshipped in their homes. They praised God, they were happy, and they were sincere.

When we examine worship customs, we need to distinguish between what is required, what is permissible, and what is helpful. Few things are required, and few things are forbidden. The many things in between are permissible – if they are done for the glory of God. Luke doesn’t tell us much more about worship. To learn more about worship, we turn next to the writings of Paul.

Paul is a primary source for what first-century churches did and how they operated. But Paul says very little about worship. Words for worship are found only a few times in Paul’s letters. He doesn’t tell us how we should worship. Perhaps that is because Paul sees worship as something we are to do all the time. John Piper expressed it in this way: “What we find in the New Testament, perhaps to our amazement, is an utterly stunning degree of indifference to worship as an outward ritual, and an utterly radical intensification of worship as an inward experience of the heart…. The very epistles that are written to help the church be what it ought to be in this age [are] almost totally devoid of…explicit teaching on the specifics of corporate worship”

In these verses, preaching the gospel is an act of worship. Paul was not a Levite, but he had a priestly duty, and that was to worship with all his heart by preaching. In our worship services today, the sermon is just as much a part of the worship as the songs are. Whenever the gospel is preached, worship is being done. God’s greatness is being proclaimed. Worship is in the listening, too, as people seek to learn what God wants us to be doing. A worshipful attitude toward God is one that respectfully listens to what he may be saying to us.

Every act of obedience is an act of worship. It declares that God has worth. And whenever we share the gospel with someone, we are declaring God’s worth. We are engaging in the priestly service of preaching the gospel, the worship of being a witness to God’s grace. We tell what a great thing God has done in Jesus Christ, and how that has been good news in our life. We are declaring his worth. We are giving worship in everyday life. We don’t have to wait for a church service.

What is worship?
Worship can be defined as adoration. Christians would say that all humankind feels drawn to worship because we were created to worship God.

The first time the word worship is mentioned in the Bible is in Genesis 22 when Abraham is asked by God to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Read up to verse 18 and make the point that God’s request was not cruelty, simply part of his plan to test Abraham and see if he was prepared to obey God in everything.

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How can Abraham’s actions be seen as a good illustration of true worship?
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Does worship have to include surrender?
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What would you find impossible to surrender as an act of worship?
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What do you find easy to worship?

Bible bit
Read Romans 12:1 and ask the group:
* What does it mean to ‘offer your body as a living sacrifice’?
* Is worship something that must involve music?
* If not, why is it so central to our church services and why do the Psalms so often encourage us to ’sing to the Lord’?
* What, if anything, is special about musical worship?

Activity
Give each young person paper and pens and ask them to draw a pie chart of their day, giving time to each activity such as sleeping, eating, walking to school etc. Discuss how they could potentially use each activity and each time of day to worship God.

Key point: Worship is not limited to certain activities, days or times. God doesn’t only want our worship on our lips but on our hearts. Our worship should be done daily in every part of our lives. The proper response to worship is not emotion but action.

To analyse our worship practice, we need to ask these questions:
* Does it glorify God? That is one major purpose of worship.
* Does it build up the body of Christ? That is another major purpose.
* And third, does it help us be what God wants us to be in the world? Does it have practical results in our lives?

It is recorded that in 1314 the Bishop of Exeter, Walter de Stapleton, on the Feast of St. Leonard, summoned the Prior of Bodmin to Lostwithiel Bridge where the Bishop gave out punishment to the Prior in respect of an affray which had taken place in Bodmin Priory Church two years previously. From the Black Prince’s records of 1357, instructions were given for the bridge to be repaired and in the reign of Henry IV, 1399-1413, some trust or common lands were given to the town of Lostwithiel by an opulent wool merchant named Walter Wooley. He stipulated that these town lands as they were called, should be let out or leased and the revenue from these used to maintain the old bridge and the Church of St. Bartholomew.

In 1533 John Leland was commissioned by Henry VIII to do a survey of the Kingdom and at Lostwithiel, he described the bridge as a very ancient structure, a bridge of five arches of stone and supplemented on the eastern end by a wooden bridge, which we learn that in Tudor times was replaced by stone arches of varying size.

During the course of time, the river has changed its course, with traces of masonry, believed to be part of the old bridge uncovered in North Street, and on Bridgend side, of which there are no records. These remains could also have been parts of smaller bridges crossing streams flanking each side of the river before entering the main water course.

The general opinion from past research, is that the five arches at the western side (town side) are original and compare with the architecture of the Old Duchy Palace and Shire Hall, the Church and Restormel Castle, c. 1200’s.

The eastern end is of a much later period which would, no doubt, have been the section built in Tudor times to replace the old wooden bridge, referred to by Leland in 1533.

On the southern parapet of the bridge (town side), there is an oblong stone with signs of inscriptions on it, which can no longer be defined. However the date on this stone is 1676, of which apparently there is a record of alterations or repairs being carried out at that time.

There are no records in the County Records Office regarding the bridge as it stands, apart from the eastern end of the structure but one can safely say that the western arches are original and would classify as 13th Century.

It is interesting to note that, before the bypass of the town and the building of the new bridge on the A390 which took place during the 1930’s, all traffic passing through Lostwithiel had to cross the river by this eleven foot wide bridge.

But here’s a truth, …not always, ….but sometimes we’re going through hardship – sickness, financial problems, relational problems, etc….because we’re struggling with sin…..and God is disciplining us.
We can distort God’s word and have a wrong understanding of His character – to oppress and control others…or to make ourselves feel more comfortable. To have an easier God.
It is a truth - God disciplines us as His children.

Many of you as individuals have been going through God’s discipline.
Some of you still are. But it’s because God loves you.

This chapter encourages us to realise what’s going on and to do something about it.
The key is this :
“How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live” – vs 9.
At the end of the day it’s very simple.
Submit to God, give in, let go, stop struggling against Him.

Your plans, ideas, thoughts, skills, abilities, knowledge, time, experience….give it all up to Him. Your life is not your own, you were bought at a price…the sacrifice of Jesus.
Don’t hang on to sin :
Lust.
Greed.
Pride.
Jealousy.
Fear and anxiety.
Doubt.
Bitterness.
These things will destroy you if you let them. It’s your choice. As a believer you have the power to overcome sin through the grace and power of God within you.

Okay let’s look at this chapter :

Vs 1-3. Look at what ordinary people in the past could do by faith in God.
Don’t let sin reign in your mortal body, throw it off.
Don’t give up the race, keep going.
Look to Jesus, pioneer and finisher, who suffered so much for you.

Vs 4-11. We are in a race, marathon, a ‘struggle’ in fact. But different to how Hitler saw it when he wrote ‘My Struggle’. Evolutionists will always see it as a struggle for survival against outside obstacles and competitors. For Hitler it was the Jews, inferior peoples as he saw it, and opponents. As Christians we recognise that our war is with Satan and his forces, and that our struggle is with sin, whether it be in others or ourselves.

God’s discipline can be severe (vs 6 is ‘scourges’). In our anti capital and anti corporal punishment society, many balk at that.
Why should God be so severe, I thought He was a God of love ?
Because we can be so stubborn and foolish that sometimes His discipline needs to be severe or we don’t learn and change.
So, will God allow someone to become seriously ill or be involved in some bad accident for example, as a discipline ? – yes absolutely.
Because the state of our spirit or soul is so important. He loves you so much.
‘He’s patient with us not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance’.
If you’re a loving parent you discipline your children because you love them and want them to learn right from wrong and choose what is right. God loves us perfectly, and wants us to learn – preferably the easy way be simply being obedient and living holy lives that are a testimony to others….but if not, the hard way.
Don’t focus on the pain of your suffering or struggles in life, focus on the Lord and submit to Him. Then He’ll better be able to teach you and mold you, through it.

Vs 12,13. Drooping hands and weak knees are a sign of despondency, exhaustion – don’t give up, persevere in the race, unimpeded by stuff, and with a right focus.
When a horse is lame…things can go either way – disablement and being put down, or healing. When God disciplines us it is like lameness. If we persist in sin, we can then either become totally disabled, or we can strengthen what is left and make level path.
Where Scripture talks about level paths it is talking of holiness. The highway of holiness. Living God’s way, in His will. Being set apart for Him alone – no other gods or boss, just the Lord. Is that you ?

Vs 14. Some think holiness is about what you don’t do – no drinking, no modern entertainment, no smoking, etc. That’s the way the Pharisees thought.
God says there are some things more important – compassion, justice, mercy, faithfulness. Our attitude towards others is of greater importance to God than keeping a set of rules.
Live in peace with all men. The word is strong, it means to follow, pursue. Take hold of peace with others. Be determined not to be divisive or confrontational, but as far as it is up to you, live at peace with everyone.
Without holiness you won’t see God, i.e. go to be with Him when you die – it’s that important.

Vs 15. Bitter people cause trouble. And spread their cancer of accusation, resentment, and hurting others. Bitterness and unforgiveness are some of the most destructive forces in the Church today. Yeast in the dough. Weeds among the wheat. A spreading virus.
Relationships are damaged as a result.
Be very honest before God, and deal with bitterness before it destroys you and those you love around you.
How does bitterness grow up ?
- When people miss the grace of God. So how does that work ?
God forgives ALL your sin in Jesus Christ – every deed, word, and thought.
When you really grasp that, how terrible your sin is, and that God still forgives you….how can you hold onto bitterness towards another ? You can’t.
The grace of God in our hearts and our relationships, will keep us in God’s ways and makes us holy.

Vs 16,17. We’ve looked before at sexual issues. Immorality is any sexual relationship outside of committed, heterosexual, lifelong marriage. Again we are likely to come under God’s discipline if we persist in bitterness or sexual immorality, because it is not what God wants for us.
But what’s this about Esau ?

Esau gave up something very important for something which didn’t matter at all, but that he chose at the time to be more important.
Are you prepared to give up your inheritance as a Christian, for sin – for the physical gratification of lust, for holding onto bitterness and a grudge, for material possessions, for jealousy of another, for some earthly comfort ? Is it worth it ?
Is the little pleasure you may get now, worth a lost eternity ?
Repent before it’s too late, or you will miss out on what God has for you now in this life, and you could end up in the lake of fire.

Vs 18-21. God taught His people that He brought out of Egypt, that He was a holy perfect God, and that they needed to be holy too, as His people. And that this holiness was to be a testimony to the nations of God and His standards. He still wants that for His people Israel and for His people, the Church, His spotless bride.
Non believers should be able to look at the lives of believers and see something of God’s character through us and the way we love each other.

Vs 22-24. Through the grace of God, and Jesus death for us, we come to something wonderful. Not a scary smoking mountain, but to something even more awesome.
Rather than being struck down for coming near a holy God, through Jesus we can approach the living God in confidence, coming to our Father in Heaven.
But having received this revelation, having received so much from God, …..to then turn away from Him, to make light of His discipline, to continue in our sinful ways, to trample the Son of God underfoot,…is far more serious.

Vs 25-29. Do not refuse Him who speaks to you. The Israelite nation suffered much because it was proud, stubborn, and again and again wouldn’t submit to God.
Do you want to suffer as they did because of rebellion against God’s authority ?
Die to self. Die to pride. Die to rebellion.
There is going to be a great shaking as part of Jesus’ return, both of the heavens and the earth – earthquakes, stuff falling from space, and so on. The created things will be destroyed by fire and there will be a new heaven and new earth.
Bearing that in mind, what’s really important, what’s important to you in your life ?
What will last, or that which will be destroyed ?
There are times when God shakes a nation, or the Church in a nation, or a local church fellowship. And even as individuals.
When He puts us through the fire, to refine us, and see what comes out.
Will gold remain, or will all be burned up ?
Our God is holy. He is a consuming fire which destroys all that is not holy. Let Him burn up the rubbish in your life, so that only what is of Him will remain.
Submit yourself to the Father of our spirits.

Vs 28. ‘Let us be thankful’ is not a good translation. It is rather let us have or be in ‘grace’.
We recognise that God is holy and awesome, that without Him and remaining in Him we are lost. We need His grace and to be in grace every moment of everyday. To have His grace for others, …think about that in all your relationships – undeserved love for everyone.
To demonstrate His grace to the world – this is how people will know that you are my disciples, if you love each other. Is that what people see and hear ?
A mixed, motley, band of people who are committed to each other in love.
If you’ve been coming here regularly for a while, if you’re not committed to loving the others which make up this fellowship, then either you haven’t taken hold of the grace of God yet, or you’re in the wrong place. (Bit of a shake).
To be committed to one another in love is a basic. If we haven’t got that, we don’t have a chance of becoming what God wants.
And all of us need to spread the net and catch more fish. To love others and draw them in by the grace of God. Accepting, forgiving, not condemning, going the extra mile.
The word of God as we share it, and the Holy Spirit will do the work in conversion.
In our attitude, we are called to love and to live in the grace of God.