25th September 2026

25th September 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (Romans 5:6-11 focus v11)


Message (Alan Burke)


I heard recently of an old friend who is getting married. Of course, that should be a day to celebrate. I’m pretty sure it will be one heck of a party. I know the minister who is doing the wedding; he’s so nice. But if I were invited as a guest, I’d decline to go, and if I were the minister, I’d have told them why I couldn’t marry them and sent them to someone else. The reason why is that it’s her third marriage, and the fella she’s getting married to, well, she cheated on the second husband with him, and to be fair, she cheated on the first husband with the fella who became the second husband. It’s a big mess, and often I find that truth is stranger than fiction. But here’s the thing: I’ve seen far too often the carnage that comes in those situations, the many others who are hurt, the ripple effects that reach much further. When two people who loved one another become alienated or estranged, even if they live only a few miles apart, the distance between them is greater than anything that can be measured. I’ve seen far too many situations like that.


Think about the word, reconciliation, for a moment. For it implies that there has been alienation. By nature, we were alienated from God, but we have been reconciled because Jesus faced the alienation that we deserved. He took our place, our sin upon himself. He was treated as an ungodly sinner, an enemy of God, so that we might receive reconciliation with God. By nature, we were in rebellion against God because of our sin, and deserving of God’s wrath. But now, through Jesus Christ, we have been reconciled to God, and we can rejoice, rejoice in what God has done. The depths of God's love for us were manifested, shown in and through what Christ has done. And notice the language: we have been, it is something that has been done. 


The love that God has for us is not based on a subjective feeling that we are convinced of inwardly but the objective reality. While we were powerless, ungodly sinners, those are the words that are used, and even so Christ died for us, the enemies of God, so great was the love of God towards us. It was love in action, a tangible manifestation of the love of God. So often I think we're guilty of making the whole Christian experience about us and how we are feeling on a particular day. This is why it is so important for us to grasp that the love of God, which grounded the objective reality of what Christ had done. Christ died for us. 


You may struggle to fathom the love of God, but his love was seen in what he did for us. You may not feel loved, accepted, forgiven, you may not feel close to God today, yet Christ died for us. While we were powerless, ungodly sinners, Christ died for us. While we were enemies, Christ died for us. There will be many days when we struggle to sense God’s love. The weight of sin bears down upon us. The Devil accuses us. Trials come our way, and we can be robbed of the enjoyment and sense of God’s love towards us. Yet none of those things diminishes the reality of his love. Brother, sister, if that is you, remember how the love of God was manifested towards us. Christ died for you. Take your eyes off yourself. Look to Jesus and what he has done.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q75 What is forbidden in the eighth commandment?
A. The eighth commandment forbiddeth whatsoever doth, or may, unjustly hinder our own, or our neighbor’s, wealth, or outward estate.
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