31st May 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (Exodus 13:17-14:14 focus 14:1-14)


Message (Alan Burke)


While the Israelites had went out with their heads held high after leaving Egypt but the looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them. You can imagine the scene, the pillar of cloud and fire ever before them, the Lord was visibly with them but off in the distance they see the sand rise, before they hear a noise, and soon they see the fighting force come towards them, like the locusts coming for the crops in Egypt, this would have been a frightful sight. We are given some of the details of the force that Pharaoh took, six hundred of the best chariots along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over them all. In a sense this doesn’t sound like a big number, after all what are we talking about here, 600 of the best chariots, well on the back you’d have the horse man and a couple of archers, often with javelins and spears as well. But there were many others too, the 600 was like the elite fighting force, sending the SAS into a battle against untrained civilians in Jackal reconnaissance vehicles like the British Army have, that are fast, agile, have a weapons platform and have 360 degree sweep of fire. There were other chariots and troops on foot. 


The Lord was putting his people effectively in harms way, they were going through the valley of the shadow of death’s they were being put in a situation that their backs were against the wall and, or rather their backs were against the sea, the Lord was making it so his people were hemmed in. But the Lord knew what he was doing, his way is best, he hadn’t left his people, he was still with them and he was using them for his glory, he was bringing glory to himself in all that was unfolding. What comes next though is a sad reflection of the spiritual health of the Israelites, because yes they cried out to the Lord but they turn on Moses, v11 ““Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?”. 


The Lord was with them, in the pillar of cloud and fire and they are so overwhelmed by their fear of man that they allowed to see their present situation seem bigger than God, to them what they faced seemed bigger than God. They should have known and been secure that the Lord was with them but the first sign of trouble they would prefer to go back to their slavery than trust in the Lord and suffer for him. To them life was easier before God came along and now it seemed that God wasn’t living up to what they expected of him, they were freed but God wasn’t doing them any favours so they start their gurning after all the Lord had done. 


In a sense this is exactly where God wanted his people, to have their backs against the sea, with no where to go, so that they would learn once and for all that this was his salvation, the salvation that he brought them, that he would deliver them once more. In all of this their salvation was a gift from God, from beginning to end there was nothing that the Israelites contributed to their salvation and likewise there is nothing that we contribute to our salvation. What we need to do in the midst of what we face seems bigger than God is to know that his way is the best way, he never leaves us, he brings himself glory in us and delivers us from the punishment that is due to us for our sin through Jesus Christ.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q53 Which is the third commandment?
The third commandment is, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. (Exod. 20:7)

30th May 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (1 John 2v26-27)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


One of the reasons John wanted to write his letter was to warn his hearers about the false teachers and antichrists who were seeking to deceive them (v26). Even so, the Apostle knew that his fellow Christians had received a wonderful anointing from the Lord (v27a). What is this anointing? Everyone who has ever trusted in Christ has received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Some call this anointing "the baptism of the Holy Spirit" and it doesn't belong to a select band of Christians but to all who love Jesus.


Elsewhere the Lord Jesus taught about the Spirit's work. The Holy Spirit would convict sinners of their need of Jesus and the reality of sin, righteousness and judgement (John 16v8). Furthermore, the Spirit would guide Christians into all truth glorifying Christ at every turn (John 16v13-14). Therefore, even though the church faced and still faces false teaching, God the Holy Spirit keeps Christians rooted and grounded in the truth.


This isn't to say that Christians can be unthinking robots. We must read well, think deeply and consider sound doctrine but we can be thankful that the mighty Holy Spirit dwells within and guides us into all truth. The anointing we have received teaches us about everything (v27). The Spirit only speaks truth, no lie is found in His mouth and He teaches us to abide in Christ.


Brothers and sisters, you have received the anointing of the Spirit of God. Be thankful, hunger for truth and abide in Christ.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


Q52 What are the reasons annexed to the second commandment? The reasons annexed to the second commandment are, God’s sovereignty over us, his propriety in us, and the zeal he hath to his own worship.
​

29th May 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (Exodus 13:17-14:14 focus 13:17-19)


Message (Alan Burke)


The Lord is with you right now, do you believe it? If you have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ then the Lord is with you right now for he has given you his Spirit and the Spirit dwells within his people through faith. You don’t need some kind of special baptism by the Holy Spirit, no for when you come to faith in Jesus Christ the Spirit dwells within you, it is the Spirit that brings you from life to death enabling you to be born again. But why do I start with this? Well I read todays text and you know what some people think that it would be really handy to have the Lord maybe not leading us by a pillar of cloud and fire but in some way directing our path, showing that he was there with us right where we were all the time. Now I understand the sentiment but the Lord already is with us and he has given us everything we need but I’ll come back to that in a moment. 


Here this pillar of cloud and fire is what is known as a ‘theophany’. What is a theophany you might ask, well it is the visible presence of the Lord God to his people and here it was in a pillar of cloud of fire. Now this wasn’t just 6ft tall for there were two maybe as many as three million people along with their livestock and possessions leaving Egypt and this pillar would have had to give them all enough light. In fact this would have been a spectacular sight in the midst of all of what they faced confirming to them that the Lord was with them. That he who had brought the plagues on Egypt was there with his people no matter what they would now face. The problem was that for his people even though he was with them the first we bump in the road and they forget that he is there and start gurning and say to Moses “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”(14:11-12).


Later in the book of Deuteronomy, the Lord told his people; “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (31:6). For those of us who are his children through Christ the Lord will never leave us or forsake us. He has given us his Spirit, the Spirit that dwells within us through faith (Rom 8:9). If you have trusted in Christ alone for salvation, then the Holy Spirit dwells within you, and He is at work in your life. The Lord is with you always, ever present, we can have confidence for he will never leave us or forsake us even when that might be hard for us to see he is at work, his ways are the best. 


We might well want a pillar of cloud or fire to lead us, the Lord there being right before us day and night and all that we have to do is follow without thinking. But the Lord has given us everything we need, the indwelling Spirit though faith and he has given us his revealed word. In the revealed word, the scriptures God has given us everything we need. We don’t need a pillar of cloud in the sky or a pillar of fire to light our way, a neon sign. We have the indwelling Spirit and the word of God. What we need to do is trust in God, live for him, obey the scriptures his revealed will, think of others before yourself, be holy, love Jesus, and as you do these thing, do whatever else you with, with whomever you like, whenever you like, and you’ll be walking in the will of God and his ways are best. And if you want to think more about this Kevin De Young has a great we book called ‘Just do something’ that is worth a read.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q51 What is forbidden in the second commandment?
The second commandment forbiddeth the worshipping of God by images, (Deut. 4:15–19, Exod. 32:5,8) or any other way not appointed in his Word. (Deut. 12:31–32)
​

28th May 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (2 John 2v18-25)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


There are few subjects that arouse discussion in Christian circles quite like the mention of "antichrist". What do we mean by this term? Antichrist simply means "instead of Christ" or "in place of Christ" and even in John's day there were many individuals who sought to take the place of Jesus - they were "antichrist". This was a sure sign that the "last hour" (v1) had arrived. The "last hour" has continued for another two thousand years but even so, we still find ourselves living  in the last days before the return of Christ.


John made a distinction between "antichrist" and "many antichrists" and this is something we should be clear about. We expect that there will be a final antichrist before the return of Jesus. He will an individual who will be adored and worshipped in this world while at the same time seeking to take the place of Jesus and destroy the Church. Paul called him the "man of lawlessness" (2 Thessalonians 2v3) who would be revealed just prior to Christ's return. 


There is only one "man of lawlessness" but there are and have been countless other "antichrists". Those who were troubling John had started within the church but had left the faith behind (v19). They showed themselves to be "antichrist" by denying that Jesus is the Christ (v22) and denying both God the Father and God the Son (v22b). This remains vital in 2024 and so a good question to pose to anyone is "what do you believe about Jesus?". For the Christian, Jesus is the Son of God who came to take away the sins of the world. For many others, Jesus is a good man or just a prophet or an example or countless other things which rob Him of His true glory.


John was confident that his hearers understood this (v20) and so they were to abide in the Son and the Father (v24) refusing to be drawn away by those who wanted Christ's glory for themselves. Are there still antichrists today? Yes indeed, both inside and outside the church. Brothers and sisters, it is the last hour and the faith will be assailed in every age by those who hate Christ. Do no listen to them, do not tolerate them, do not fear them. Instead, abide in Christ, for the one who overcomes will have everlasting life (v25).


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


Q50 What is required in the second commandment? The second commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath appointed in his Word.
​

27th May 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (Exodus 13:17-14:14 focus 13:20-21)


Message (Alan Burke) 


As a wain there were many a times that I was told how to do something and when I didn’t do it the way I was told, sometimes there was a reason give and it was explained to me why I should listen and do it that way, while other times I was just given a clip round the ear. There is a reason why we are told, instructed, directed, taught the way we are and most of the time it’s for our best. The highway code tells us lots of things, tells us how we should cross the road and what side of the road to drive, what speed we should be doing and lots of other practical things that believe it or believe it nor are for the best of everyone on the road. Here as we come to the Lord leading the people out of Egypt he takes them on a round about way or that’s what it would have seemed to his people but ultimately his ways are the best ways, he was doing it for their own good and we are told in v17 part of the reason why, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”


If the Lord had taken them through the Philistine country it would have only taken them around two weeks to get to the promised land rather than the forty years it actually took them but it wasn’t God’s way for it was the best way for his people. I want you to notice here what the Lord was doing, it is something that we may not expect the Lord to do but the Lord was in effect sending his people up the garden path by sending them towards the Red Sea, he was purposely giving them a wrong turn, a wrong turn maybe in their minds but he knew it was the best way for his people. The Lord was sending his people forward to have their back against the sea, hemmed in by the Egyptians all because he knew it was for their own good no matter how hard it was for them to understand. 


The Lord God was putting his people on the long path, in harms way you could say but it was the best way. God puts us in places that we might prefer we weren’t but he does it for his glory. Now this might be hard for us to wrap our heads around that the Lord purposely puts us in places that are difficult for us, that he puts trials and tribulations in our path, but that is often because we fail to understand that God uses these things for our benefit. Not only do we learn how the Lord’s ways are the best ways there is something wonderful we are reminded of in verse 19 now the Lord keeps his promises. We are told how Moses took the bones of Jospeh with him, because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear an oath.
Jospeh at the end of his life was looking to the promises of God that were given to his father, Grandfather Isaac, and his great grandfather Abraham, Jospeh was one who as Hebrews 11 reminds us “By faith when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones” (Heb 11:22). Nearly 400 years after the request was made by Faith the people of God left Egypt, Jospeh’s bones were taken by Moses because God’s ways are best, he keeps his promises. Joseph like at the Old Testament Saints were looking to the hope that was promised by God of one who would come to crush the head of the serpent, they had faith in Christ. And Joseph’s bones for all those years of slavery in Egypt acted as a testimony to the hope that he had in Christ, even when he was long dead Jospeh, his bones testified to the promises of God. God’s ways are the best ways and we can have confident hope in what God has done through Christ that he will lead us not to the promised land but a eternal home where we will dwell with our God forever (Rev 21).


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q49 Which is the second commandment?
The second commandment is, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thy self to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. (Exod. 20:4–6)
​

25th May 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (1 John 2v15-17)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


If you can recall our walk through Ecclesiastes you might remember Solomon reminding us to eat our dinner and drink our wine with glad and thankful hearts. Indeed, on occasion Solomon helped us understand that there is much in this world which is good. There have been moments in my life when the beauty of creation has left me speechless and other times that I’ve had a lovely sense of joy and contentment. Life can be and often is sweet.


Nevertheless, we would do well to remember that the world in which we live is passing away and with it will go all of the rottenness that we see mixed with the good (v17). What is rotten in this world? John lists three things - the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes and the pride of life (v16). These things are not from God but find their origin in this sinful world (v16b).


The Apostle here paints a picture of what marks much of the human experience. We are so often seduced by the lusts of our flesh - we want what we want when we want it. We withhold nothing from ourselves that our eye sees and we can become so conceited that we see ourselves as the “main character” in life’s drama. Don’t believe me? Just watch the rage in airports all across the world over the summer months. We are outraged when our flight is delayed because many of us have the “pride of life” believing ourselves to be the most important, most vital and most special person in the universe.


The Christian is not immune from this sickness and so we must heed John’s warning. If we have fallen in love with this world and all that goes on in it, then we have no right to claim that we have experienced the love of God (v15). The person who claims to walk with Christ while simultaneously delighting in all the world has to offer is living a lie.


Back in the day many lived lives that were defined as “good living” or in other words they didn’t drink, smoke or go to the cinema. I’m certain this was a well meaning defence against worldliness but it was misguided. We cannot stop our hearts drifting into worldliness by keeping a list of three or four do’s and don’ts. Our hearts are deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17v9) and so we require Christ to complete major heart surgery on each of His children.


He has started this work and will certainly complete it (Philippians 1v6) but in the meantime we could do with examining our attitudes and desires in light of the Gospel. If the only thing that separates you from your non-Christian neighbour is that you go to church and he doesn’t, then perhaps you need to wrestle with these verses. Worldliness impacts our words, thoughts, hearts, attitudes, money, time and every inch of our lives. Brothers and sisters, you and I are not immune and so let me finish by reminding you of three little words - “Christ is all.” (Colossians 3v11)


Do you believe these words? Do they influence how you spend your time? Do they inform your approach when someone cuts in front of you at the airport? Do they speak to you when your eyes rest on that person who isn’t your wife or husband? Brothers and sisters, do not love the world or the things in it. Christ is all so follow Him and you’ll discover that the one who does God’s will abides forever (v17b).


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


Q48 What are we specially taught by these words, before me,” in the first commandment? These words, before me,” in the first commandment teach us, that God, who seeth all things, taketh notice of, and is much displeased with, the sin of having any other God.
​

24th May 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (Romans 1:7)


Message (Alan Burke)


First Posted 12th September 22


You may or may not know that Knighthoods can be stripped from their recipients. It’s not that a few hefty fellas are sent round from Buckingham Palace to pull it off from round your neck although that may happen, rather the title is stripped figuratively from the recipient. Normally this happens because you were a naughty boy as someone finds a skeleton or two hidden somewhere in your history. If the skeletons are found after you die then it is too late to strip you of your Knighthood, not that it would matter too much to you then. The reason is a simple one, a Knighthood expires when the holder dies, it cannot be posthumously revoked.


You may be sitting after reading this rolling your eyes because you knew all this already or you’re thinking would I just get to the point, or maybe you’re about to go down a rabbit hole reading about Knighthoods the rest of today, but as we spend this week thinking of this one verse there is something I want to draw out for you today. If you know and love the Lord Jesus, if you have repented and believed you have a new status and it is one that will never be revoked. So today know you are loved by God and I call you ‘saint’, you may not feel like it, you may think you’re doing a rubbish job at being a Christian, nonetheless how ever you are feeling today you are still a saint who is loved by God. 


Look now to what Paul writes, he says; ‘to those in Rome who are loved by God and called saints’. Now I know there is a lot of times that we can fall into the trap of misapplying scripture, taking it out of context, but as this is addressed to believers in Rome, what it says is for believers here today to! This can justifiably be said of all believers, for it is as applicable and as meaningful to us as it is to those whom it was first written to.


It is by the love of God that we are saved from our sin, that He has chosen to set His love on us. God loves us as His children through the blood that was shed for us in Christ, as we were bought with a price we have been redeemed, we are loved. This is the truth that we are now! This is our status! Believer, you are loved! The Creator and sustainer of all that is, the living and true God loves you! No matter how you are feeling about yourself the day you are loved by God in Christ Jesus and you are a saint, one who is sanctified, one who has been has been set apart by the Holy Spirit and called inwardly to Christ Himself.


This is such an incredible truth, that the reason why we believe, that we are Christians, is that God has set His love upon us, that we are loved by Him, that we have been redeemed from the kingdom of Satan. This is a wonderful theological truth that Paul was expressing to those in Rome and for us.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q47 What is forbidden in the first commandment?
The first commandment forbiddeth the denying, (Ps. 14:1) or not worshipping and glorifying the true God as God, (Rom. 1:21) and our God; (Ps. 81:10–11) and the giving of that worship and glory to any other, which is due to him alone. (Rom. 1:25–26)
​

23rd May 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (1 John 2v12-14)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


I recently turned 45 years old and my mum helpfully reminded me that I'm half way to 90. I've no idea if I'll see 90 or not but I do know that my Lord calls me to growth in spiritual maturity right here and now. Paul prayed this very thing for the Colossians "And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;" (Colossians 1v9-10).


To paraphrase Paul's prayer, he wanted the Colossians to grow in faith which in turn would impact their daily walk - be filled, walk rightly, bear fruit. In today's verses John has a similar desire for his hearers and he addresses little children, young men and fathers. How should we understand these groups? John is speaking to those young in the faith (little children), those a little bit further down the road (young men) and those who are mature (fathers).


The little children are to know that their sins are forgiven for Christ's sake (v12) and that they have come to know God (v13c). These are foundational truths for the Christian who is young in the faith. Their status has changed dramatically because they know God by faith in Christ and their sins have been washed clean. We would do well to remember these things each day.


To the Christian who is a little bit longer in the tooth, John reminds them twice that they have overcome the enemy (v13b, 14c). How? Because the Word dwells in them giving them the strength they need to stand (v14b). The Christian is not called to a life of peace but one of spiritual warfare. The enemy hates us and seeks to destroy us, but the one who clings to the Word can resist the schemes of the Devil.


Finally, John urged the mature Christian that they had come to know the eternal, unchanging God (v13a, 14). In other words they have a wonderful relationship with the Lord and the maturity that results from such a relationship should not be squandered but should be an example to the whole church. Knowing the eternal God brings real change to the Christian, with those mature in faith serving as living examples of God's preserving grace.


The Christian will never be the finished article this side of heaven. Even so, may we have a Godly hunger for growth, holiness and spiritual maturity. Brothers and sisters, be filled, walk rightly and bear fruit - for Christ's sake. Amen.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


Q46 What is required in the first commandment? The first commandment requireth us to know and acknowledge God to be the only true God, and our God, and to worship and glorify him accordingly.
​

22nd May 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (Romans 1:2-6)


Message (Alan Burke)


First Posted 9th September 22


Obedience! To obey, to submit, comply, to be ruled over, to yield! The opposite of obedience is disobedience meaning to define, revolt to deliberately not do what we should do or what a rule or law says we should do. Wether we want to admit it or now we are not very good at obedience and we are very good at disobedience for we are sinners, each and every one of us. We are sinful by our nature and sinful by our actions, we are not obedient to God, His word, His Law, we take it at best as advice, and try telling someone who is living contrary to what the word of God says that their actions are sinful and it’s like a red rag to a bull. 


Here in this passage we are called to the obedience that comes from faith. Obedience and faith, faith and obedience, these things go hand in hand. But it is not in our obedience that we are justified before God, it is through faith. This is one of those things that we struggle to get our heads round, we live lives that are dependant on our words, efforts, endeavours, we teach our children it depends on whether they have been naughty or nice, but the wonder of the gospel is that its basis is the grace of God though Jesus. 


This obedience is in response to what Jesus has done for us, it does not justify us before the Lord God but in response to this gospel, this promised Gospel, through Jesus Christ in who we are called we are to live obedient lives. We desire to live as God’s chosen people, who live lives of repentance, turning from our sin and disobedience to our Lord and God. Those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ are spoken of as unbelievers in the New Testament (2 Thess. 1.8, Rom. 10:16), for to believe is to obey, we obey because we believe. It is not obedience that gives us our justification but obedience that is a sign of our justification, as we live for our saviour, turning from sin, repenting of it, seeking to live for him, even when it means living in a way that is contrary to the world. 


For the Christian life means that we strive to live for Christ and not the fallen nature that we still have. Paul was honest about the battle with indwelling sin as he says later in Romans, For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. (Rom 7:20-21). But as we believe we are seeing to live to obedience for God, as we are aware that we have been bought with a price, that the blood of Jesus Christ was shed for us. Obedience and striving for it is something we intentionally do in faith, for as James says, 'As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead' ( James 2:26). Our obedience, our works testify to the reality of faith in our lives, if are not striving for obedience then we have a dead faith that is not faith at all. 


This is what we are called to belong to, we are called from our sin to obedience that comes from faith, it isn’t always going to be plain sailing but it is something that we should be striving for. This is what the church should be, for the church in Greek is the ekklesia, literally means called out. The church are those who are called out of their bondage of sin, out of the world of darkness to his wonderful light (1 Pet 2:9), for every believer we are those who are called out, called our of bondage to sin to live for Christ, all who are truly part of the church are to live in obedience that comes from faith. I’ll leave you with this question, is obedience something that you are striving for?


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q45 Which is the first commandment?
The first commandment is, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (Exod. 20:3)
​

21st May 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (1 John 2v7-14)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


How would you summarise God's moral law? If you had just a few seconds in a hotel lift could you convey the meaning of the Ten Commandments to a fellow passenger? It sounds like a daunting task and when put under pressure we even struggle to remember all ten commandments. In such a scenario Christ's summary remains exceedingly helpful "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself." (Matthew 22v37-39)


The Lord's summary of the law is love God and love your neighbour. If you recall the Ten Commandments then you know that the first four deal with our relationship with the Lord - we love Him by having no "gods" before Him, by making no false images of Him, by keeping His name holy and by remembering the Lord's Day. The rest of the commandments speak to our relationship with our neighbour - we love by honouring our parents, we do not murder, we do not commit adultery, we do not steal, we do bear false witness and we shun all covetousness.


John understood this and urged his hearers to love one another. He didn't offer them a brand new commandment (v7) but an old commandment made new in Christ (v7b). Jesus kept the law's demands perfectly by His active and passive obedience. Indeed, in Christ the world witnessed true love on full display at the cross. When all seemed dark, the light of God shone brightly and even the wickedness of a cross could not extinguish the light and love of Christ.


Therefore brothers and sisters, we are to love one another. If we claim to be in the light but we harbour hate for a brother, then we are still in darkness (v9). If we hate our brother then we are like a blind man stumbling forward (v11). If we know Jesus then we are to love as He has loved us. That's hard because we naturally bear grudges, withhold fellowship and deal in bitterness or envy. But if we love our brother then we abide in the light and do not cause either ourselves or our brother to stumble (v10). This is the Christian path and the one we must walk as we seek to honour Christ in this wicked generation.


Brothers and sisters, do you love as you have been loved? Are you quick to forgive or do you prefer to hold grudges? Do business with the Lord today and respond by heeding His word. The old commandment is made new in Christ - love one another.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


Q44 What doth the preface to the ten commandments teach us? The preface to the ten commandments teacheth us, that because God is the Lord, and our God, and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all his commandments.