Three Little Words

WE ARE BACK!

Well, here we are. Hopefully, for many of us, the last week before our church building begins to open up and we can begin to meet together again. It has been over twenty Sundays since we were able to meet in any shape or fashion and I, for one, am so excited to see you all but also to worship together.
At school we have spent literally weeks trying to get things ready, but also right, as children are about to return to our schools. What makes it all the harder is when the goal posts keep changing! As we spend this last ‘Doing Church Differently’ together, how wonderful it is to remember that, although so many things are changing around us, we serve a God who is ‘the same yesterday, today and forever’!

As it says in James 1 verse 17:

Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same.
James 1:17

We think of even magnificent things like the sun as always being the same, always there. However, when compared to the light that we receive through with God through Christ Jesus, we can see that we can always rely on him as our cornerstone.
Let’s give God all the glory for who He is as we sing together these two songs:

What 3 Words

You may have seen the adverts on TV for the what3words app. This is an app which has converted every 3m by 3m square on Earth into just 3 words from the dictionary. The words are available in 43 languages and there are in total 57 x 10¹² of these grids, (that’s 57 000 000 000 000 grids WOW!!) covering the whole Earth! What3words was first launched in 2013 and in February 2020 it was used for the first time in Scotland by stranded walkers to communicate their whereabouts to their rescuers.
As I am writing to you from my kitchen, the what3words grid reference is ///fantastic.pillow.vest. It is amazing to think that if I felt lost or abandoned anywhere on Earth, that those 3 words alone are enough to allow anyone to find me and rescue me.

In John’s gospel it says:

Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
John 19 28-30

On the cross, Jesus uttered three last words before he died. ‘It is finished’, in the Greek “Tetelestai“, meaning to complete, to accomplish, to pay in full. The Greek however is even cooler than that as it is in a tense which doesn’t exist in English – a combination of two tenses (the present & the Aorist). It means that when Jesus cried out “It is finished,” He actually meant “It was finished in the past, it is still finished in the present, and it will remain finished in the future!” WOW!
With those three words, as a lost sinful man I am found. As someone who is alone and isolated with no hope, I can know rescue. Why? Because when Christ died for me on the cross and uttered the words, ‘It is Finished’, uttered the word ‘Tetelestai’, the barrier between God and us was removed …. Forever, if only we come to the foot of the cross and acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and Saviour.

This morning, with everything around us still feeling so strange, and with us struggling at times as we are tossed and beaten by the raging waves of life, we need to stand on the truth and power contained in these three words ‘It is finished’!
When Jesus uttered the words on the cross it says that the curtain (the veil), in the temple that separated God from men, women, boys and girls was torn in two. We are now free to come into God’s presence! Let’s give thanks this morning as we enjoy these songs together.
Foster

Today’s message is the final message in the series ‘Don’t Forget To Remember’ with Pastor Robert Madu. Sometimes interruptions are invitations to take a leap of faith. If you’ve been hit with something you can’t handle, then it’s a job for Jesus! Today’s message is an incredible message about miracles, how desperation opens doors to take a leap of faith, and how God’s authority connects to your faith.

So … this is the 23^rd ‘Doing Church Differently’ post that I have created. And, in many ways, hopefully it is the last! However, I couldn’t have done it without the support and contributions of so many of you who have stepped up at this difficult time. You have shared with the church your thoughts, reflections and songs and some of you have even braved online preaching as well! Others of you have been committed to sharing things to keep our children connected to the church family and God through ‘Doing Church Differently For Kids.’ I want to say a huge, enormous thank you to all of you on behalf of the church.

THANKYOU!

We are absolutely delighted to be able to say that we have decided to recommence our Sunday morning services from next week (6^th September). Our gathering will, of course, be very different to pre-COVID times but it will be so good to gather in the Lord’s presence, to worship, to share fellowship and to celebrate TOGETHER! There is still much to do before next Sunday and Steve will be publishing more information very soon as to what will happen and what our time together will look like in practice.

We fully appreciate that some of you, especially those in the highly vulnerable category, will not yet feel safe enough to join us and that is fine! Don’t worry – we plan to live stream our Sunday morning services for the foreseeable future – nerve-racking but exciting – EEK! You will also be able to watch it back after the event if you prefer.

If you have not joined with us before, we love to welcome first time visitors! However, we will have reduced seating and your safety is our primary concern. Therefore, please let us know in advance that you plan to join us either by calling 01432 277676 or by emailing info@ccchurch.org.uk

See you all soon!
Katharine