Those of you who have been coming along to All Saints for a while will know that close to the beginning of each year, we remind ourselves of the vision that we believe that we\u2019ve been given to energise and direct our work as God\u2019s people in this community. For those of you who have joined us more recently, this might not be as familiar to you, so it\u2019s a good opportunity to hear what we are about here. <\/p>\n
At its most basic, we believe that are called to be closer to Christ and sent to be closer to others. <\/p>\n
For the last seven years or so our vision has been seen in these two key images. <\/p>\n
This first one reminds us of all those things that Father God has poured into our lives, as individuals and as a church. A church that has experienced and is experiencing the generosity of the Father in so many ways cannot be hidden. It has to shine out, it has to spread out. In this image of our vision we see the generous riches of God pouring into this church, a beacon of light, overflowing to the community around us. <\/p>\n
Here we have a representation of a meal in a house in Bethany, that we heard read about in our reading from John\u2019s eye witness account of Jesus\u2019 life. Jesus is seated in the middle. Mary is abandoned in adoration at Jesus\u2019 feet. Martha is serving faithfully in the kitchen and Lazarus is leaning, in friendship against Jesus. All three are coming closer to Jesus, who is our Lord, our God, and our friend. In this image of our vision we see a Christ centred church of faithful service, abandoned adoration, and intimate friendship with Jesus. <\/p>\n
Thirdly, a couple of years ago we added this image of a river. A river of the Holy Spirit that bubbles up among us, flows through us, refreshing and reviving us, and flows out, into the community, bringing life and restoration.<\/p>\n
As we work towards this vision, we do so in a way that expresses our core values of Loving God, Loving Each Other, Loving Our Neighbours, Celebrating, and Exploring. <\/p>\n
When I was stood here last year, talking about these things I talked about a sense of some threads coming together.<\/p>\n
A renewed sense that I had of God giving us a heart for the lost in our communities. Of God doing that by building a fire. Of a long term vision for the growth of the church, not because we want more people at our services for our sake, but for their salvation. <\/p>\n
On the back of that, we spent a fair amount of time last year thanking about fire, about fanning into flame the gift of God. We committed to pray for people to come to faith. <\/p>\n
And what happened? Well, through the year we saw people coming to faith, joining the church, lives being changed. <\/p>\n
I was talking to someone last week and they said that they had been to see one of the friends that they had been praying for over Christmas. This was someone who had always been dismissive of Christian faith, had no time for it, but just dropped into conversation that she had connected with a church. My friend\u2019s jaw almost hit the floor. <\/p>\n
Someone else who was part of the conversation said that maybe they\u2019d picked someone too challenging to pray for, they hadn\u2019t seen any change.
\nAs we go into this year, I want us to continue to pray for specific people to come to know Jesus. Let\u2019s share the encouraging stories and let\u2019s persevere when we haven\u2019t seen movement yet. <\/p>\n
The last two years we have been inspired by themes of water and of fire. This year, I\u2019d like to invite us to explore the theme of thirst. I\u2019m going to talk a bit more next week about what has led me to suggest this, but for this morning, I\u2019d like for us to explore the Psalm that we\u2019ve read this morning.<\/p>\n
The Psalm begins with this deeply evocative description of how the writer, how the writer\u2019s soul, thirsts for God \u2013 just like a deer, panting for water.<\/p>\n
The writer then describes all the things that have led to this thirst. The sense of things having been better in the past, of feeling like God has gone missing, has forgotten the writer, the bullying of enemies, grief and mourning.<\/p>\n
Woven through all these, though are things that the writer is holding on to for hope \u2013 in a belief that God can and will relieve these thirsts.
\nRemembering the joys of the past can be painful, but it can also give hope for the future. Choosing to hope in and praise God, who is the one who rescues, who saves from all that is troubling the writer, who is the living water who quenches all these thirsts.<\/p>\n
This is the clear and consistent message of God\u2019s word. If you are thirsty, come to God and God will quench your thirst. We are called to be closer to Jesus. He calls us and offers us living water that will satisfy our thirst. <\/p>\n
There are, however, two further aspects to thirst that I think are worth exploring and reflecting on in the coming weeks. <\/p>\n
It seems to me that sometimes I\u2019m not thirsty enough. I get comfortable in my life, I fall into routines, I settle. Being thirsty is uncomfortable, so I stop doing the things that might make me thirsty. It\u2019s the equivalent of choosing not to go for that walk up the Wrekin on a hot summer\u2019s day because I might get thirsty. It means I\u2019ll miss out on the view from the top, and the exercise which will be good for me, but I\u2019ve avoided getting thirsty. <\/p>\n
What does this look like spiritually? We are sent to be closer to others. Do we ever avoid going because the thought makes us uncomfortable? Are we thirsty for God? <\/p>\n
The other aspect is that sometimes we look in places that are not going to help us to quench our thirst. Stories abound of shipwrecked people getting so thirsty that they start drinking sea water, making the situation even worse. I wonder what the equivalent is for us, spiritually. Money, status, possessions, unhealthy relationships, alcohol, work? These things cannot meet our deepest thirst, though it may feel like the provide temporary relief. They will only make us thirstier. Let\u2019s not be deceived by them, let\u2019s come to Jesus and let him quench our thirst for good.<\/p>\n
As we go into this year, as we continue to pursue our vision for this church community, as we seek to live by our values, let\u2019s ask God to make us thirstier for God, let\u2019s pray that more people would come to Jesus, the living water, and let us, ourselves, find our deepest refreshment in God\u2019s love for us. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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