Mark McKeown closed the family service by talking about the world being in God’s hands:

When we think about arms, we realise how versatile they are and how we can communicate effectively using our hands (thumbs up, thumbs down, handshakes, hugs etc.) We use expressions such as ‘tight-fisted’ to convey meanness or ‘open-handed’ to convey generosity. Whatever our strength, however, all people have limitations, but God never grows tired or weary (Is 40:28-31) and His strength and grace are always available to us (see 2 Cor 12:9, Phil 4:13). God even arms us with strength at times (see Ps 18:31-32) and gives us His peace (Jn 14:27), upholding us with His righteous right hand (Is 41:10-13).

God reminds us that He is our provider (Phil 4:19) and because of this, we don’t need to worry (Matt 6:25-34). God is no man’s debtor (Mal 3:10) and we can be generous people because He has provided all we have (1 Chron 29:14). Our refuge is in God’s arms (Deut 33:27); there’s no safer place to be.

Since we couldn’t literally look up God’s sleeve, we played a game called ‘What’s Up Diane’s Sleeve?’. where we had to guess (by asking questions that Diane could only answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’) what she was hiding up her sleeve:

Various things were hidden, including bubbles, cheese nibbles, a bathroom loofah and a magnifying glass!

We also had a birthday to celebrate:

The Phil Wickham song ‘Safe’ reminds us of the fact that God’s arms are powerful, strong and safe.

To the one whose dreams have fallen all apart
And all you’re left with is a tired and broken heart,
I can tell by your eyes you think you’re on your own,
But you’re not alone.
Have you heard of the One who can calm the raging seas,
Give sight to the blind, pull the lame up to their feet
With a love so strong, it never lets you go?
No, you’re not alone.

Did you know that the voice that brings the dead to life
Is the very same voice that calls you now to rise?
So hear Him now, He’s calling you home. You will never be alone.

These are the hands that built the mountains, the hands that calm the sea;
These are the arms that hold the heavens and they are holding you and me
These are the hands that healed the leper, pulled the lame up to their feet
These are the arms that were nailed to a cross to break our chains and set us free

You will be safe in His arms. You will be safe in His arms.
The hands that hold the world are holding your heart.
This is the promise He made, He will be with you always.
When everything is falling apart, you will be safe in His arms
You will be safe,
You will be safe,
When everything is falling apart, you will be safe in His arms. (‘Safe’, Phil Wickham & Timothy Palmer)

Tonight’s family service looked at the question ‘What’s Up God’s Sleeve?’ Apart from discovering a variety of different names for sleeves, this question really enabled us to look at what the Bible has to say about the hands or arms of God.

A raglan sleeve

A calypso sleeve:

A leg o’mutton sleeve:

When we talk about the hands of arms of God (not literally, of course, since God is Spirit!), we are generally talking about His power and authority. Deut 5:15 (see also Deut 11:2) says ‘Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.’ The Exodus is the greatest sign in the Old Testament of the power of God. First of all, the plagues God brought on Egypt demonstrated His superior power to the Egyptians, but then the parting of the Red Sea conclusively proved God’s ability to save His people. There is no power in people to save like this (see Is 59:16), but God’s arm is not too short to save (Is 59:1), as is comprehensively demonstrated at Calvary. Our amazing Creator God, who made both the heavens and earth by His great power and outstretched arm (Jer 32:17), is the one who came up with the great plan of salvation and not only thought of it but actually carried it out. Paul says ‘God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.’ (2 Cor 5:21) God thought of this divine exchange and He was prepared to take on human flesh and die for our sins so that we can become children of God.

God’s arms are strong enough to carry us through every trial and difficulty we face. Deut 33:26-27 says, ‘There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides across the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.’ God is not only strong enough to save us, powerful enough to defeat death and sin and hell at the cross; He is also therefore strong enough to be our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble (Ps 46:1), close enough to hold us safe, close enough to be our hiding place. In these verses from Deut 33, God gives us a promise of His personal help. He ‘rides across the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty.’ (Deut 33:26) He will ‘drive out your enemies before you, saying “Destroy them!”’ (Deut 33:27) Because of this, Israel were promised safety and security (Deut 33:28), often the very things we crave the most. ‘Jacob will dwell secure in a land of grain and new wine, where the heavens drop dew.’ (Deut 33:28) The promise is for abundance – a land of grain and new wine, where the heavens drop dew. Because of God’s presence and promises, Israel are called blessed: ‘Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord?’ (Deut 33:29)

God’s arms are also welcoming arms. In the Parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15:11-32), we read of the father who waits every day for his prodigal son to return. Eventually, we read how the son decides to return home and then it says, ‘But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.’ (Luke 15:20) God is not indifferent to us. He is not uncaring. He wants to welcome us home with open arms, with love and mercy and forgiveness. There is a welcome in the arms of God. Jesus took the children in his arms and said, ‘Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.’ (Mk 9:36-37) We can be sure that when we come home running,God is running out to meet us, arms open wide, ready to welcome us home.

Having spoken about kindness last week, Dave looked at the story of David and Mephibosheth in more detail this week as a practical example of God’s grace and kindness in action.

In 2 Sam 9:1-12, we read the story of how David remembered his promise to Jonathan and made every effort to trace his descendants so that he could bless them. This is in stark contrast to the usual behaviour of kings, who wanted to cement their position by getting rid of any legitimate claimants to the throne. David’s friendship with Jonathan, Mephibosheth’s father, was such that the promise he made to him to remember his family with kindness was something he determined to do. Mephibosheth, living in poverty and crippled after being dropped at the age of five when fleeing from David, was living in L0-Debar. He was a nobody, living in a place of no pasture, but David took the initiative in seeking the lost, just as God did with us (see Rom 5:12, Luke 19:10). All have been damaged by Adam’s sin and can do nothing worthy to be saved; moreover, we are not even interested in God (see Rom 3:11), but God has taken the initiative because of His loving kindness. (Eph 2:4-10)

Mephibosheth was fearful of David’s summons, presuming death awaited him at the end of that long journey from Lo-Debar to Jerusalem, but although the conviction of the Holy Spirit troubles those who are living in sin and guilt, ultimately His presence in our lives leads us to repentance in the same way that when Mephibosheth actually arrives in David’s presence, all he finds are love and forgiveness.

David spoke tenderly to Mephibosheth, calling him by name. God speaks tenderly to us too, calling us by name as He did with Zacchaeus and Paul (see John 10). God gives us restoration and invites us to dine at His table, just as David allowed Mephibosheth to eat at his table and ensured there were servants looking after him for the rest of his life. 2 Cor 12:9 reminds us that God’s grace is sufficient for us; it satisfies us and provides for us and gives us a new position, raised with Christ in heavenly places.

Mephibosheth came just as he was and was welcomed by David. In the same way, we come just as we are to God and are welcomed and accepted. Eph 2:4-8 reminds us of God’s mercy and grace to us. We can rejoice because of God’s loving-kindness towards us.

This Sunday is our family service, starting at 6 p.m. Come along to hear God’s Word, share in fellowship and activities and worship and prayer.

Next Sunday (13th March), our morning service will be at Cherry Tree Court in Highgate. Come along to bless the residents there and pray for opportunities to share the gospel at this meeting.

In the evening (6 p.m.) we will be having a dedication service. In our church, we don’t christen babies but dedicate them to God, as Hannah did with Samuel and Mary and Joseph did with Jesus. We are grateful for the gift of new life and know that we need God’s help in bringing up our children. A dedication service is always a time of rejoicing and thankfulness as well as a time for us all to make solemn promises, for a child is part of the church family. As we looked at during the Women’s World Day of Prayer, Jesus welcomed children and reminded us we can all learn so much from them, so we are praying for great blessings at this service. Please bring refreshments to this service as we’ll be sharing a meal afterwards.