Steve Davies preached from Is 52:1-10 last night. At this point in Israel’s history, God’s people were suffering from discouragement and a sense of worthlessness. They were defiled (v1), enslaved (v2), sold (v3, oppressed (by Egypt, Assyria and Babylon at various points in their history v4) and mocked (v5).

God promises deliverance to His people. His grace goes deeper still than any sense of worthlessness we may have. He wants to lift us up and treats us as a royal priesthood. Zion’s salvation, though, was never meant to be an exclusive experience, however, but was to be of benefit for the whole earth.

The good news of all that God has done for His people needs to be taken to all: “how beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!'” (Is 52:7) Philip, when meeting the Ethiopian eunuch, asked if he understood what he was reading, but the Ethiopian replied, “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” (Acts 8:31) Paul asks a similar question in Romans 10:

We can have the joy of being the ‘someone’ whom God uses! Our mission field may not be overseas, but He wants us all to be faithful to Him wherever we are, serving Him with all we have and are.

We also had a birthday to celebrate:

… and cake to eat!

You can keep up to date with Steve and Katuska by clicking on the blog link to the right.

Steve Davies, a missionary with One Mission Society who has been working in Ecuador but who hopes to go out to teach in a Bible college in Mozambique from July, was involved in the evening service last night. He spoke from Is 52:1-10 and Romans 10 about the call to mission and the need for us all to respond to that call, but he also spoke about how God is the one who restores and delivers His people and how he and his family came to be where they are today.

Steve’s wife, Katuska, is from Ecuador:

Steve himself is from Coventry:

They met while at Bible college (which was originally in Berwick-on-Tweed, but which then moved to Glasgow):

They now have three children: Samuel, Benjamin & Joseph.

They were involved in teaching at a Bible college in Ecuador, where they had the joy of seeing people come to the Lord:

Their next goal is Mozambique:

They will be involved in church planting:

They will also be involved in theological education and discipleship at the Maputo Bible Seminary:

Steve and Katuska work with OMS (One Mission Society) and are looking to raise support to leave for Mozambique this July. They need both prayer support and financial support. God is the One who calls us, equips us and provides for us, but it’s important to remember that we can all be a part of His work as we serve Him in whatever ways we can!

The sermon yesterday morning was from Revelation 2:4-5, challenging verses about the love we had for the Lord and for others and how we need to keep that love shining brightly. “You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.”

Love is the criterion for success in the Christian life. John, originally one of the ‘Sons of Thunder’, learned what it was to love from Jesus and constantly encouraged others then to live a life of love. The way back to our first love is three-fold:

1) Remember the heights from which we have fallen
We have to constantly remember all that God is and all He has done for us. Ps 42:6 reminds us to remember God from the heights when we are downcast. We have to work hard at remembering in order to ensure that we never forget God.
2) Repent
That about-turn away from sin and towards God starts with an attitude of surrender. We have to acknowledge that God is Lord of our lives and give up our tendency to try to work things out for ourselves.
3) Do the things we did at first
Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:28-29)
We may expect the things we have to do to involve more effort on our part, more works, more prayer, more study, more evangelism. But whilst all these things are good, they must be the result of our faith, not our attempts to get to faith. The Galatian church were condemned by Paul for starting with the Spirit but then trying to go on in the Christian life in their own strength (Gal 3:2-5). This is an age-old tendency that we have which must be avoided at all costs. The primary work we must do is to take God seriously and believe Him in every area of our lives. If we do that, then it will help to keep our love burning.

Church members have recently returned from a holiday on the Isle of Wight and I think this story bears repeating! One of the places they visited is called ‘Godshill’. The name ‘Godshill’ is said to originate from the foundations of the local church (which dates back to the 14th century) being moved from the bottom of the hill to its present location on the top of the hill on three occasions whilst it was being built. This was taken to be a sign from God that the church should be built on the hill, hence the name Godshill.

As you will see from the pictures, the village has everything: a church, a cider brewery, a chocolate factory and a husband creche! What more do you need?!

We finished looking at Romans 15 last night, focussing on two main themes:
1) the point of preaching
2) what happens when God’s plans aren’t the same as our plans

Paul says he wrote boldly to the Romans to remind them of God’s truth (Rom 15:15). He is convinced that they are “full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another.” (Rom 15:14) What is the point of us preaching the Word and teaching? Once people are saved, isn’t that the end of the story?

Preaching has many purposes. It builds us up in truth, washes us in the Word of God, transforms our thinking and guides our living. God’s Word is living and active, not just a factual book to study, but a life-giving book that shapes our whole lives. We need to progress from the milk of the Word (1 Pet 2:1-3) to solid food (Heb 5:11-14). There must be balance and depth to our preaching and teaching. Those who preach need to know that they are bringing God’s Word and study reverently and carefully. Those who listen need to have open hearts and be willing to receive God’s correction, discipline and encouragement. We all need food on a daily basis to survive and God’s Word has all the nutrients we need for healthy growth!

Rom 15:23-32 gives details of Paul’s plans to visit Rome. As Acts shows us, however, these plans did not work out in the way that Paul expected. He did indeed end up in Rome, but it was under armed guard. He spent years in prison. Acts 23:1-11 shows us the difficulties he faced, but he also had the encouragement directly from God that he would indeed go to Rome: “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” (Acts 23:11) We have to acknowledge God’s sovereignty in our lives, even when plans don’t work out the way we want them to. Even heartache, bereavement, loss and trial are worked into God’s plans and He works all things together for our good (Rom 8:28). We can’t see the full picture yet, but He has good plans for us, to give us hope and a future (Jer 29:11) and He is working all things out. We need to rest on what we know to be true of His character and trust in His refining power, even when things are not going our way, even when His ways are worked out differently from how we originally expected them to be.

This Sunday evening (11th March) we will be having a visit from a missionary, Steve Davies, who works with the missionary organisation One Mission Society (OMS). For the past four years, Steve and his wife (Katuska) and their three children have been in Ecuador, teaching at a Bible college in Cuenca. They are currently on Home Ministry Assignment and are looking to go to Mozambique later this year. You can find out more about them on their blog: http://maputobay.blogspot.com/ and of course, you will learn much more if you attend the evening meeting at 6 p.m. this Sunday!

Steve and I have been friends for nearly twenty-eight years now, having met in probably our first week at Oxford. You can read a little bit more about how he & Katuska came to meet (she is from Ecuador and they met in Glasgow!) and be working with OMS if you click on the ‘Newsletters’ link on their blog and read the December newsletter.