We Are One church. We love God love.
People love his mission and love his church.
Welcome to the one Church podcast.
Hello, everybody. I'm David hiding.
It's my privilege to introduce the one Church podcast today.
I read a scripture yesterday in a number of our sites from two
kings 25:29, jehoiachin put aside, his prison clothes and
the rest of his life, eight regularly at the Kings Table.
What a picture of a man who had been in prison, finding freedom,
and sitting with an invitation of the Kings Table.
And that Is the invitation for you today as you listen to this
podcast. But also, as you walk out this
week, the king invites, you to take off your prison clothes and
to sit at his table with new clothing and to hear from him
today, we have the privilege of listening to Phillip behind who
brought the last in our parakletos Series, yesterday at
our OB site be blessed as you listen, the God and father of
our Lord, Jesus Christ. The father of Compassion and the
God of All Comfort, who comforts Us in all our troubles that we
can comfort. Those in any trouble with the
Comfort. We ourselves receive from God
was just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ.
So, also our comfort, our bounds through Christ.
This idea of Pericles is the coming along side of each other
and has been a very precious for weeks.
I feel in the life of our church, I'm just going to I pray
because I really believe that as we sum up this series today and
believing that Jesus is going to come and do what only he can do.
Father God, we're just so grateful that we get to be
church family today. Thank you for the privilege that
we have of coming to worship you to join together, to praise your
name to remember you. And God, I just pray now that as
we listen to your word, would you come and speak to each of
our hearts? Would we be expectant for what
you can do? And would we be open to all that
you're going to do this morning? For your would Jesus name on
them? Well, this week, I've begun
watching a programme on BBC iPlayer.
If anyone is in need of something to watch.
It's called interior design Masters and basically want to be
interior designers, just let you know, I'm not one of them but
they're given rooms to transform and each week.
The weakest design gets voted off.
And one thing that I've learned is that it's only in the final
stages of someone's design in the last half-hour.
Our of the time that they've got that you can see if something
has been successful, you can see as they bring the different
aspects of the design. So as they bring together the
curtains, or the wall color, or the wallpaper, or some up cycled
Furniture, only until all those bits are gathered together.
You can see if it's been a successful scheme and if they've
done well in the designers, can you gather all these bits
together to create something cohesive?
Well, this morning is actually all about.
Out gathering together, all the pieces that we've been learning
about and seeing how together we can continue to live this life
of one another, during the idea of coming.
Alongside each other, we're going to arrive at a conclusion
today and a little spoiler alert for you.
The conclusion isn't a well-put-together, phrase isn't
a perfect four-step method. The conclusion is a person Jesus
and this morning we are all have the opportunity to encounter him
today as we gather together. All the things that we've been
learning, I've got some pictures to show you beautifully,
hand-drawn, pictures. First of all, the conclusion is
Jesus. And if you're listening along to
this message, trust me, it's like Picasso himself as walked
into the room ago. Got some beautiful pictures on
the screen, but the conclusion that we're going to land up
today is Jesus, what are we been thinking about?
Well, first of all, we've been looking at a compassionate H how
we can create a culture of love that comes alongside one
another, whatever our experience, wow, that is a
beautiful heart, whatever we have, we can give it to Jesus
and let him take in his Miracle hands.
And then he dropped his compassion into our hearts.
I wonder, how are you doing in loving one?
Another are you allowing Jesus to grow, Love in Your Heart.
Are you able to come alongside Is someone else with love?
We're on a great journey together.
Secondly, we've been looking at journeying how Jesus journeyed
with people and we looked at an example of Jesus walking with
the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.
And we've been realizing that following his great example of
journeying and walking alongside we to have the opportunity to
walk alongside other people getting close showing up.
Walking in silence. Now, they're not dancing,
they're walking, they're walking with joy because they're
together. But they are, they are walking.
I wonder, have you begun to walk a little bit closer to someone
else or perhaps you just been reminded, how grateful you are
that? You've got someone who walks
alongside you. We've been growing in journeying
together and thirdly, we've looked at coming alongside
others by showing them that there isn't Alternative choice
to living. That is life-giving.
I love this quote from Sarah last week, she has with the hope
of being part of God's kingdom and the faith.
In the mighty power of God that is at work amongst us.
Let us show one another life-giving Alternatives and
let's expect Jesus to move in power with sensitivity and godly
wisdom. We've been thinking about how
when we come alongside others. Really get to know people, we
have the opportunity to speak and to counsel and to show there
is another way to live. There is a life-giving choices
that we can all make. I wonder, have you been able to
get alongside people even this week and learn together and
discuss together the greatest choice that we can make, which
is to follow Jesus. And all that comes with
following him and very much last week, Sarah was leading us to
this point. Point that actually, we show the
Alternatives. But ultimately, we have to let
Jesus do what only he can do. And today, we're very much going
on with that theme as well. We're going to talk about
leading people to The Healing Hands of Jesus and then letting
Jesus do what only he can do. If we've been looking at one
words. The first week was loving then.
Journeying then choosing today, the key word is healing.
There we go. Oh, that's someone praying for
someone else in case you're wondering, obviously, you're not
because it great and that we're going to be thinking how can we
lead people to The Healing Hands of Jesus?
It has brought Tom and I much pleasure recently that the past
two times. The girls teeth have fallen out,
have happened to be at his parents house.
And the reason why that's so great is because the Tooth Fairy
has to visit there. It's been brilliant, I promise
you we've not been given them an extra bass just before they
arrived and then the teeth fall out and but it's brought us
great joy because there's nothing worse than having to
scramble through the house in the middle of the night or at
And a.m. in the morning when they come downstairs and say the
Tooth Fairy hasn't visited. And you just tell them.
I do. It's because you're the last
delivery on the morning. Go and check again.
I'm sure it's there by now. So it's brought us.
Great joy. And actually, it's brought the
kids, great joy, because the bursts or Tooth Fairy pays way
more than the scrapped off Tooth Fairy.
So they are loving the fact that their teeth fall out at Mema and
Dad's house where our daughter Annabelle was one.
And I asked her, if I could share this story when she was 11
when we took it to the The dentist said to us, are I think
something might be wrong with your daughter's teeth.
We were told that her teeth hadn't properly developed.
And so we've been on a little journey with her.
The something about the enamel, when she was formed her teeth,
don't have the proper protection.
So we've been on a bit of Journey to help her and ensure
that her teeth are as strong as possible.
What we've done is, first of all, we've loved her, we've told
her that her smile is beautiful. Beautiful.
And she is gorgeous, and she can smile and her teeth that
wonderful. We've decided that we're
committed to this journey of helping her with her teeth Tom
and I have already discussed the thing that we might need to, you
know, put some money aside to pray for private dental care in
the future, who knows that we've committed to the journey.
We've also spoken to her about how she can best look after her
teeth. So, you know, watching what
sugary things, we eat brushing your teeth really well.
But ultimately, those things were all great, but only one
person could really properly, help her with her teeth the
dentist. And we went to the specialist
dentist, and over a course of a few years.
I did some special treatment, and then they took out some of
her teeth and thankfully, the burst or Tooth Fairy pays triple
for every tooth is taken out under general anesthetic.
So it's all great really. So, so grateful for this
Bissell, tooth fairy. But if We take that situation
quite a mundane story and think about this idea of this
journeying. This coming alongside well, we
loved her, we told her, she was beautiful.
We decided to commit to the journey, we've walked alongside
with her and we're going to stay helping her teeth.
We given her ideas of how she can best look after her teeth.
So we're coming alongside and showing her this life-giving
alternative and also ultimately, we had to take her To that one
person that could help. That's what we're doing this
morning with coming alongside. We've been coming alongside one
another. And today we're leading people,
we're having the opportunity ourselves to come to the one
person who can do something about it.
Let's go back to our passage in 2 Corinthians.
Praise be to the God and father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the
father of compassion, and the God of All Comfort, who comforts
Us in all our troubles. So that we can comfort those in
any trouble with the Comfort. We ourselves receive from God,
for just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ.
So also our comfort, our bounds through Christ, we're To be
thinking about this word Comforts a little bit more.
How can we come alongside one another, as we Comfort when I
think of the word Comfort? I think of, my granny, and her
pot of what I have, always thought was called Comfort oil.
When we were younger, and my brother, and I hurt ourselves at
our grandparents house, she would go upstairs and she would
get her pot of comfort oil, and she would put it on our cuts and
bruises, and it was the best remedy.
In the world, we were instantly healed the moment that camphor
oil touched our skin and as I've grown older, I've kind of
thought. Well it's just a placebo doesn't
actually do anything, just if you hurt yourself, get off of
her. It's a bit like a wet paper
towel at school. You know, there's times when a
child bumps the head stick a wet paper towel on it or cut your
finger off. It's all right.
Stick a wet paper towel on it that will sort everything out
and it's a bit like that. I thought that come for oil was
actually just just a little silly thing.
In that, my granny had upstairs that she's makeup and she might
even been moisturizer. I don't know.
She just stick on and it's all better.
It isn't actually until I've been preparing this message that
it's not. Come for oil.
It's not called come for oil, it's called comfrey oil.
So I don't know what that is. It's apparently, it's that
there's a picture of on the screen.
It's a natural healing balm that actually has got remedies and it
has proven to bring healing apparently, but I've always seen
it as Um, Foyle, that's what I thought it was called, Comfort,
is more than some Placebo cream. So, Comfort is more than just
going there. They're still wet paper towel on
it. So, Comfort is to bring strength
to, to build up to restore and repair to heal.
And the first thing, I'd love us all to go away with this
morning, when we're thinking about coming alongside one
another. Well, forget about one another
for a second. I want us to understand that own
Hearts Comfort abounds through Christ.
He is the God of All Comfort. He Comforts Us in all our
troubles this morning. I'd love us Think Jesus coming
alongside us bringing Comfort. He is the ultimate comforter
because as the Bible says, Comfort our bounds through him,
we could read many stories this morning.
I'm looking at Jesus as our comforter but we're going to
read a story in Luke Chapter 13. The story of Jesus healing, a
crippled woman on the Sabbath, it's going to come up on the
screens and you can follow along, starting in verse 10 on a
Sabbath. Jesus was teaching in one of the
synagogue's, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a
spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over, and could not
straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he He called
her forward and said to her woman, you are set free from
your infirmity. Then he put his hands on her and
immediately. She straightened up and praised
God as story of Jesus, the ultimate comforter that ultimate
strength bringer repairer restorer, healer, Jesus comes
and Comforts this woman. This woman had lived in severe
restriction for 18 years. We don't understand her exact
condition things. I've been reading some biblical
commentators think she might have had arthritis of the spine
but whatever was wrong with her was causing her to be bent over.
She was physically restricted and also because of her
condition or maybe as a separate issue, she was Also spiritually
and emotionally restricted. Because her back was bent and
she couldn't straighten it her the whole time.
Her eyes were fixed on the ground, her eyes just looked at
the dirt and the mess of the floor, in which she was
standing. She couldn't look up.
And so, perhaps that added to her emotional distress, her
spiritual restriction. The fact that her eyes were
always downwards, but we do know that she was bound emotionally,
physically and spiritually. She was Tricked it out.
After 18 years, she has an encounter with Jesus and he does
what only he can do. First of all, he saw her.
He noticed her in a crowded room on the Sabbath day.
This wasn't the temple. This was a synagogue.
So everybody was allowed to come in and on the Sabbath day it
would have been common place for people to gather and discuss the
scriptures and talk about God and talk about how you can get
close to him. And there would have been a
whole crowd of people and I'm I reckon it would have been
especially crowded because Jesus this Rabbi who was coming up
with new ideas. He was in the room speaking and
so it was crowded. Jesus saw her.
He noticed her, he then called her forward.
He brought her from the outside, to the middle, or to the front
of the room at that time in that culture, this woman because one,
she was a woman but also because she was crippled and perhaps
seen as unclean, she would have probably been on the periphery
of the room, sat in the You know, peasants benches at the
back over there. What did Jesus do?
Not only. Did he see her?
Because her, and says, come come forward.
Wow! Someone seen as unimportant.
Perhaps, the most important people were jostling for the
spots next to the rabbi. And what does Jesus do?
Because Jesus does this all the time, he brings the
marginalized, the oppressed, the broken the wounded, and he
brings them to the front to the front of his Attention to the
front of his care. Jesus.
He knew that she was wounded. He could see her physical
afflictions. And also he could see the
Brokenness. That was inside the things that
were binding her and causing her not to be able to stand up
straight, and then he does something he touched her.
He reached out his hand and touched this woman, who'd been
bound and restricted him was seen as unclean he touched her,
and then something amazing happens as he laid his hands on
her. She was set free from her
infirmities. She was healed Jesus by touching
the woman. He loves her immediately.
She was loosed from all the things that were binding her.
She was healed. And then we hear this
immediately. She stood up and praised God, I
wonder what the atmosphere was like in the room at the time and
Jesus doesn't just heal her, but he then does one step further.
He reminds her of her identity. He didn't just heal the woman of
her sickness, he didn't just see that.
She could stand up straight, he actually calls us something a
daughter of Abraham In This Moment In Time Jesus.
Earns her of who she is. She isn't just an outsider.
She isn't. Just someone who is destined for
the back row. She is a daughter of Abraham.
Jesus is saying, this is my child.
He reminds her of her identity. This is my child.
I'm going to tell you that you're my child.
And also there is a great inheritance that comes with
being a dearly love child of God.
This woman. She meets Jesus and Jesus does
what only he can do. He brings Comfort, restoration,
healing reminds her of Truth. And as we think about this base
truth today Comfort abounds, through Christ, I wonder if you
could picture yourself in that room for just a second.
In the crowded synagogue, where you feel like one of a crowd,
are there any parts of your life that resonates with the woman's
life? Perhaps you are facing physical
restriction. Perhaps you are currently facing
an illness or a sickness, or maybe it's been ongoing for many
years and you feel that it's restricting you But also is
there anything hurting you, emotionally?
Things that are causing us to have our gaze, fixed on the dirt
in the ground. Perhaps you've encountered some
wounds from life and all the challenges that life brings that
have left. You a little bit been over.
Perhaps, you're carrying wounds from past traumas that are
keeping you bound or you're living in fear.
Something that's stopping you from fully standing up straight
and living out your potential. I reckon there's parts of all of
us are a little bit, like the woman.
Parts of all of us that are leaving us a little bit
restricted, a little bit then over not quite able to fully
extend and look up all the time. Well, may, you know this today
comfort and healing bound through Christ.
Jesus sees you, you're not just one of a crowd, you are the one
in the crowd and he notices, you Jesus calls you just like he
called the woman on the edge to come forward into his presence
Jesus calls you today. He loves you.
He notices you not just one of a crowd to him, but he calls you,
he says come come to me. I wonder do you hear that call
today? Jesus knows.
You just like he, he knew the woman and what was binding her.
He knew her physical afflictions and also what was restricting?
Her emotionally. Jesus knows you.
He understands he sees the broken parts of our lives.
He watched as that damage took place.
He sees the physical pain. You're in the little things that
bind you and you might think oh they're little Jesus doesn't
care about that he does he sees you he understands you he knows
you. Next, Jesus can touch you this
morning. There's a song that says just
one touch from the King changes, everything and just like this
woman, having received one touch from Jesus.
And immediately she was healed Jesus by the power of His
Spirit. Can come and touch you this
morning. And you can leave this place
having encountered, Jesus having received a healing touch from
him. Jesus can heal you.
He is the god of the impossible, he can set you free from
whatever is binding, you, he can heal you from any physical
Affliction Jesus through him, all things are possible, and
Jesus also reminds you that because of him, you are no
longer slaves to fear, but you've been given the spirit of
adoption. You are a dearly love child of
God. And maybe this morning, Jesus
reminding you you are a child of God, you are a son, you are a
daughter of God most high and you have a great inheritance,
you have been adopted into his family, you no longer have to
live in a spirit of fear but God has got great plans for your
life. You've got potential.
Jesus reminds us today that because of him, we have a great
identity where a child of God All Comfort abounds in Christ.
And before we think about how this goes with the theme of
coming alongside one another, let's just stop and take a
moment. All Comfort abounds through
Christ. Just like the woman met with
Jesus. And her life changed.
We can meet with Jesus and I life can change.
And you might say, well, I've already met with Jesus.
Well, let me tell you, you can meet with him again, there's
always more that he wants to do. There's always more that he
wants to bring to our lives. As always, in a bits of healing
that we still need working on. And getting better.
There's always more with Jesus today.
May, you know this, Jesus is given as a gift, the person.
Perfect. Paraclete the perfect one who
comes alongside as, in the form of his spirits, the one who
comes along side, you and comforts you in your troubles,
he builds you up. He strengthens you, he heals
your diseases. He looses, you from things that
can restrict you so that you can live out your full potential.
Jesus is in the room. He comes alongside you today.
But how does this fit in with our theme of parakletos?
How can we come alongside one another?
We Comfort out of the comfort that has been given two words
out of the comfort that we have received.
So if we wanted to fit this in to the main theme, what we're
saying is this when we receive Comfort, when we receive healing
we then get the chance to give that Comfort to someone else to
pass it on. You might think.
Well, I can't heal someone. That is true, I can't heal
anybody, but Jesus, who is at work?
Within me? He can heal and we can lead
people today to The Healing Hands of Jesus.
So what does that look like practically?
How can we come alongside one another with healing?
Well, first of all, we can tell people out a story and believe
that he can do the same for them.
I love Psalm 40. It says this.
I Took patiently for the Lord. He turned to me and heard My
Cry. He Lifted Me Out of the slimy
pit out of the mud and mire, he set my feet on a rock and gave
me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth.
A hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the lord
and put their trust in him when Jesus met with this woman.
And when she received a healing touch from him, um, her response
was to praise God. When Jesus heals us, when he
lifts his out of our slimy pit, when he sets us on the Rock and
gives the firm place to stand our response.
Can be Look What the Lord Has Done.
I've been given a new song to sing.
I'm gonna tell everybody at the amazing things that God has done
for me. And then it says this, many will
see and understand what the Lord has done.
And put their trust in him when we receive comfort from Jesus.
We have a new song to sing and we get to tell other people
about this comfort. So we tell people a story and
believe that he can do the same for them.
We also carry people to The Healing Hands of Jesus.
I was reminded this week of the story of what I like to call the
hole. In the roof.
And if you've spent any time in Sunday, school growing up, then
you will probably have heard of the time and acted it out with
Duplo. I'm sure of the time when four
friends carried their paralyzed friend, to Jesus on a mat and
there was no room for them to get near Jesus because everyone
had heard what Jesus was doing. And so, what did the four
friends do? They walked up to the roof, they
made a hole in the roof they lower down.
Down there friend and it was there that he met Jesus.
He had a healing Encounter With Jesus.
To come alongside someone else in this error of healing.
Sometimes we have the privilege of carrying our friends, to the
feet of Jesus. If someone comes to you and
says, I'm really struggling with this if you know, a friend who
has been dealing with a physical problem for some time when
they're longing for healing or perhaps someone talks to you and
as you talk to them you think. Are you carrying some wounds?
Are you carrying some her? Hurts our job, just like the
four friends who brought their friend to Jesus, is to say, I
can't heal you, but I know the one who can let me take you to
him and you tell them about Jesus, you tell them, the
amazing things that he's doing, you sing, the new song that has
been put on your heart and you believe that Jesus can do the
same for them. And finally, we tell Jesus about
those who need. Healing.
In John 11, we encounter two sisters, Mary and Martha.
You might have heard of them before and they have a brother
called Lazarus and he was sick and I love what it says in John
11. So the sisters sent word to
Jesus Lord, the one you love is sick.
Part of coming alongside others in this area of healing, is
going to Jesus and said Jesus. The one, you love my friend,
that's sick. They need a touch from you.
We can come alongside one another by, in our homes praying
for other people, they might not even know that you're praying
for them, but we can come because we have a living
relationship with God for whom. Nothing is impossible and we can
say, God, the one you love is sick.
Martha goes on to talk to Jesus about Lazarus being sick.
And she says this, she says, if you were here, he wouldn't have
died. She says this, I believe you are
the Messiah, the Son of God. I believe that you can do
anything and I believe in you and long to see your glory
coming alongside other people is about petitioning to God.
The one you love is sick but I believe in you.
I've seen what you can do. God, would you come alongside my
friend? My family member would you come
and Do what only you can do. All Comfort abounds through
Christ and if we just put the final picture up on the screen
of this great picture of perak laces. the cycle feeds itself,
because I receive comfort from Jesus.
With the Comfort I receive iComfort other people.
How will I love them? My heart is full of love for
somebody and I come alongside and I show love with the things
I have. I also Journey with people, why?
Because I've received comfort from Jesus.
He's Journey with me, so I can come alongside someone else and
journey. With people along the journey, I
get a chance to talk to people to show them.
That there is a different way that Jesus has many, many
life-giving alternative choices that we can make, and I get to
tell people about that. And then, when it comes to
Healing, I got to say to people. You need a touch from Jesus,
guess what? Comfort abounds in him.
Let me show you come and meet him for yourself and then that
person meets Jesus for themself, they receive comfort.
And then what happens? The cycle begins again because
that person loves another person that person Journeys with
another person that person sits and councils and and gives
advice. And then that person comes to
Jesus finds the comfort for themselves and Paws out again.
This is this idea that we want to see our church living out
Comfort, a bounce through Christ and when I received that
Comfort, I get to pass it on. And then they pass it on and
then they pass it on and then they pass on and before we know
it, we've got a whole church family whose heart is for one
another to come alongside each other.
Thank you, Philippa for that. Brilliant message all around the
one Church sites this weekend, we then had the chance to
respond with people. Pray with people.
They were many amazing testimonies moments of healing
and impact. And right now, as you listen to
this podcast wherever you are, we believe that God is able to
step in and do something, only he can do in your life as well.
So why not wherever you are? If you're able, to course, if
you're driving, keep those eyes. Eyes wide open.
But why not pause. Close your eyes and get ready
for God to do something in your life.
Holy Spirit. We welcome, you come and touch
our hearts again, come and reminders of simple truths that.
We've heard over these last four weeks, come and bring people
along side as come and comfort us, and allow us to comfort
others, with that same comfort. And there we know today, you'll
complete Comfort. Your restoration, your healing,
Would you come again and build this up?
Lord. Right now I pray for those who
are suffering and struggling in certain areas whether physically
or mentally spiritually, emotionally, relationally Lord,
we thank you that you are the God of All Comfort.
Your the answer for all need. So right now, come and meet with
people in a powerful way. Lord, even right now for those
who are walking alone, oh perhaps they are on their own
right now. Would they be fully aware of
your presence with Them in this moment.
Would they know that they have the paraclete with them?
Holy Spirit you come and you dwell within us.
You come and you walk through this life with us because this
is the kind of God that you are one who will never leave or
forsake us and Lord our healer, a companion, our Pericles, our
comforter our carer. We give you all the glory today
in Jesus, mighty name. Amen.
Would you know that you're not alone today and that as a church
family, we are here for you and for one another save you need
anything. Get in touch today and we'll be
standing with you in prayer or in any way that we can there's
lots coming up in church life. So here is your family news.
For firstly hand-in-hand preschool have a vacancy for a
setting manager in high Fields if you are interested in this
full time role, if you've got some Experience with children
and think that you may have the skills needed and the Heart
required to make a difference in many families lives than we
would love to talk to. You get in touch with us today
and you can find the details for this online or give us a call or
send an email today. Secondly, leading up to the
Easter weekend, we have three days of prayer and fasting from
the 5th, to the 7th of April. So join us on zoom in the
mornings at 7:00 a.m. as we pray together and join us at 30 in
the evenings, As We Gather to worship to pray and to wait on
God, thirdly, as part of that build-up, to the Easter weekend,
on Good Friday, we have a time of family communion.
Well, we're encouraging the whole of our church to come
together even with children younger children and they'll be
something to help engage them to.
We're going to be meeting at 6 p.m. and that will run for less
than an hour. You'd be very welcome to come
and join us on the Good Friday. The 7th of April and finally on
Easter Sunday. We are celebrating with some
brilliant. Guest services in many places
around Lester, come and join us on that morning.
As we have a special opener that we've recorded and can't wait
for you to experience. We have great worship impactful
word, that is going to be focused Around Jesus, who is
alive groups for all of our children and much more in each
individual site. So come and join us.
And why not this Easter? Or bring a friend or someone you
know to join you. In our church services will see
you on the 9th of April. The Lord bless you and keep you
the Lord. Make his face shine upon you,
and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face toward
you and give you peace.