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let us pray
loving God as we meet to you in your word
what we see not, show us
what we know not, teach us
and what we are not, make us
for Christ sake, Amen
the words on your motto card and from psalm a hundred and twenty six in
verse three
the Lord has done great things for us
and we are
filled
with joy
well it's good to be here, thank you so much for your welcome, but i must
apologize for my somewhat somber clothing but i'm wearing today
i was hoping to wear various gifts I've been given during my presidential
year
but when i suggested to your superintendant minister that i might wear my Ghanaian
robes, he said remember the Nigerians
so then i said well in addition to Ghanaian robes, perhaps i could wear
my nigerian stall
to which he said remember the South Africans
which i said but in addition to my Ghanaian robes, and my Nigerian stall,
perhaps i could remember my...i could wear my South African shirt
to which he replied remember the Ethiopians
so then i said
what would it be if I wore both by Ghanaian robes, and my nigerian stall,
and my South African shirt and my Ethiopian hat?
to which he replied remember that you will look like a Christmas tree and we've
just got rid off one of those
so i can
as i am
but actually you know remembering
is important
it's the first
word on the strap line of our motto card
as during this year two thousand and twelve
we get ready here to celebrate the Centenary
of this place
remembering
is important
and it's only when we go upstairs and quite forget what we went up for
or we find ourselves driving along the road and we don't i don't know how
we got there or how we got there in the first place
all more seriously when we or another suffers memory loss
and live with the frustration
and the deep sadness of that
but we realize how important
remembering is.
but you know you can get spiritual
memory loss to
that's what happened here in psalm a hundred and twenty six
it's the year
five hundred and thirty eight bc
Cyrus has conquered Babylon
the oppressor of God's people
he issues a decree
ending the captivity of the Jews
and ordering the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem
it's amazing
they could return home
no liberation fighters on the streets
no shots fired in anger
no rigged or worthless elections
they were free
it was like a dream
but it was true
no wonder we're told but they laughed
they probably cried too
but you know it was only when the nation's around about them said
that the Lord has done great things for them, that the penny dropped, and they remembered
and they said the Lord has done great things for us
it's not chance, or chance or coincedence
this is the Lords doing
and it's a marvelous in our eyes
i wonder what you are in danger
of forgetting
perhaps in this special year, this special
building
erected not so much to bring glory to Methodism as to bring glory to God
and at the heart of this great city
to make a known in word and deed the goodness
and the greatness of God
and God's love for all people
perhaps sometimes we forget to those million Methodists
who gave a guinea each to build this place
my father used to tell me how generous his father had been in this regard
so it was a little embarrassing when i couldn't find his name on the
historical role at all
so i think kindly of someone who i'd never met
and can only presume that he gave anonymously
but the giving of so many
should still be a reminder too us of our connection with the worldwide Methodist
church
and of its people
of how much we need each other
to fulfill Gods mission
or perhaps we've forgotten the privilege of being a part
of this church family today
a large ethnically diverse congregation
worship that is both varied and vibrant
a staff team that most churches would give their eye teeth for
if you doubt any of that
perhaps accompanying me as president during these next few months
would not only open your eyes
but bring you to your knees
in thankfulness for this place
out for these people
so i hope
that during this year there will be many occasions
when you will remember and have reason to say the Lord has done great things for
us
for us
and for you
i do hope so
yes even
in this past year
a prayer answered
a relationship restored
and new step of faith taken
healing and wholeness a part of your experience
an addiction over come
a conflict past
and at every turn of the journey the grace and the
faithfulness of god
you know you might have forgotten
for it's terribly easy in the hustle an bustle of our lives to do so
or worse still to take these things for granted
rather than make them a cause for thankfulness
so i was glad to meet a lady recently
who during these past twelve months
has kept a journal
and a jar
in that journal she's jotted down
most nights the ways in which she's seen Gods work in her life
or in the life of those around her, or in the church, or in the world
next morning she's put ten pence, sometimes a little more,
for charity
in a jar for each entry that she's written
and she was amazed
by how much money she'd raised at the end of the year
it was for her a simple way
of remembering
to remember
the Lord has done great things for us
and said the Psalmist
we are filled
with joy
so remembering leads to rejoicing, that second word
on our strap line
on the motto card
so i pray for you
that rejoicing will be a characteristic of your church's life
and of your Christian life
in these coming days
i hope the rafters will ring and your hearts will sing often in praise
and thankfullness to God
but what if that rejoicing
goes wrong
what if it becomes selfish
we've no thought for the sadnes
and the sorrows of others
what if it becomes sentimental
and simply amounts to having a good time
what if it becomes subjective
entirely dependent on whether things are going well for us
what if it becomes stagnant and stale
a going
through the motions
well you see that was the situation described in psalm a hundred and twenty
six too.
did you notice how in that psalm
the mood changes
you see
their remembering and rejoicing was for the past
but it had become stuck there
would there be any further course for remembering and rejoicing
or where their glory days behind them
God forbid says the psalmist
so now he prays
for the renewing of the people of God
renewing
that third word on our
motto card
is the story of an Australian outback family who came to Sydney
for the very first time
they'd never been too a large city at all
the father and his son left the mother in the car while they went
to the foyer
to check in
and they couldn't get over these two doors that kept opening and shutting
people would be walk in
and then a few minutes later a different group of people would walk out
when buttons were pressed
it was as though by magic
they'd never seen anything quite like it
and as they watched
they saw and elderly lady
frail and dowdy
walk in too
what was of course the lift
few seconds later
a stunning blonde
appeared as the doors opened
father turned to his son and said quick
go and get mum and we'll see if it'll work for her as well
well, that's one kind of renewing i guess
but i don't think it's the kind the psalmist has in mind here
rather this renewing is more akin to the renewing of our car tax
or our tv licence
or our library book
when we say yes
what happened in the past
i want to see continuing into the future
in the context of this commute...covenant service
it's asking in the words of the four readings that we often hear at this
service
that God would renew our wills that we might serve him
that God would renew our hearts that we might love him
that God would renew our minds that we might think for him
that God
might renew our whole being that we might be routed and grounded in him
and to what end?
well notice how the psalmist prays
turn again our
fortunes Lord
our streams return
to the dry south
he has in mind the dry gulley known as the neegew or the kneegev
in the southern-most part of Judah
it extended down towards the Sinia peninsular,
in summer, just a
few drops of rain would fall
but in winter the streams of water would
flow bringing life to all around
and so the psalmist prays Lord, now, today
let the rains com
let the water flow
we've seen a trickle of your grace and mercy in the past and we are thankful
and we are filled with joy but let it become a torrent
flood of the nation's
with grace and mercy
let our tears
be a longing
to see your kingdom come
quench the
thirst of all who are looking for you
saturate us by your spirit
soak us in your grace that we might be a part of it all
that in this year
and in every year
our remembering and are rejoicing maybe continuely renewed
and so we
renew our covenant today
we say yes
to Gods yes to us
Lord has done great things for us
and we are
filled with joy
but in faith we believe that we ain't seen nothing yet
Lord let it be so
and in this and in every place
receive all the praise and the glory in Christ Jesus
now and always, amen