Hope and encouragement

The sermon today was from Paul Ridgewell and based on Romans 5:1-2: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God thorough our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”

The sermon with reading of Romans 5:1-11 can be downloaded at http://www.surreyhillspresbyterian.org.au/sermons/2011-01-23%20Morning.mp3

Paul had us look at Hymn 139 in the Rejoice Hymnbook of the Presbyterian Church of Australia. Horatius Bonar (1808-89) wrote:
I bless the Christ of God, I rest on love divine,
and with unfalt’ring voice and heart, I call this Saviour mine.
For nothing I have done, can save my guilty soul;
no burden that my flesh has borne can make my spirit whole.
Not what I feel or do: no toil, nor pain nor blood,
not all my prayers and sighs and tears can give me peace within.
Your work alone, O Christ, can ease this weight of sin;
Your blood alone, O Lamb of God, can give me peace within.
Not love for You, O Lord, but Your great love for me
can rid me of this dark unrest and set my spirit free.
Your voice alone, O God, can speak the word of grace
to calm the tempest in my heart and make its raging cease.
And so I bless Your Name, I trust Your love divine;
by grace, for all eternity, I dare to call you mine.

The hope we rejoice in is fact, and not wishful thinking and wishing. As we look back to what God has done we are better prepared to live out each day. As we look forward to what God is doing and will do, we are encouraged.

We did not get into verse three which states: “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings …” Suffering for our faith is something we in the West rarely experience. Why are we missing out, when our brothers and sisters in so many countries experience this?

In verse 5 we read: “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

These are encouraging and challenging words to live by, and to keep coming back to frequently.

Noel Johnston
23 January, 2011

Miriam and Neville's Wedding in Sydney on 11 December 2010

In the emotion of the moment, I forgot to remove my hat on entering the church.

The register was signed in the Transept of the church.

Joy and me with my cousin Merv.

Some of our extended family.

Being a grandpa

Story time

                 

Being a grandpa is both challenging and wonderful. Challenging in that one needs to focus on the immediate needs of the little one you are with, in their world and in a way that they can understand. (This reminds me of our Heavenly Father and His love expressed to us in a way that we can understand.) Then, being a Grandpa is rewarding in that over time the little one becomes comfortable in our presence and can more easily accept the love we offer.

Being a Grandpa also means working with the parents of our grandchild for their good as well. Offering love which can be accepted is less easy for the life-partners of our children, than for our own children.


I look forward to each opportunity to show love and live a true life before each grandchild. I look forward to new grandchildren being added as God supplies.

Noel

continuing ...

Continuing from previous blog