A worship service was held at 10.30am in the church building on Sunday 21 June. The service was simultaneously broadcast on the Church Facebook page.  For the next four weeks, you can catch up here.

The Bible passage are Genesis 21:14-20; Matthew 10:29-31; and Revelation 1:9-18. Duncan MacPherson led the service and preached.   We also heard from David and Jo Whillis, who told us about their recent visit to Ukraine, part of a group led by Simeon Ewing of Children’s Ministry Ukraine.  David and Jo described the work the group was doing – helping to repair a flat which had been damaged by a Russian missile, visiting a local school and orphanage, meeting with Ukrainian Christians and hearing their stories of privation and bereavement, of courage and endurance during the long war. The group’s presence was a sign to the Ukrainians that they are remembered.

Duncan’s sermon this morning centred on Matthew 10:29-31:

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Matthew’s gospel was, it’s believed first read  by Jewish Christians in what is now Turkey who were facing persecution by those who regarded them as heretics.  They are reminded of Jesus’ words about the value of each one of us as human beings to God, and about God’s knowledge of everything about us.

However we may be feeling, whatever we are facing we have not been forgotten: rather we are loved and remembered by God.  As Duncan put it:

‘Jesus’ message for these early Christians and indeed for the world today is good news in the midst of all the carnage and trauma.

No matter what, we are seen and we are known by God. The very hairs on our head are numbered:  ‘Don’t be afraid you’re worth more than many sparrows’.

From 1st century Syria, to 21st century Ukraine, to every human being questioning today whether they have any value or worth, feeling perhaps forgotten, the message of Jesus is that we are uniquely priceless to God.

This is the good news of the gospel in a world where we so often fail to value others in the way that God does. Whatever happens in life, and life can bring unbearable suffering and struggle, our identity as human beings, beloved of God, is never in doubt. Don’t be afraid Jesus says. You are seen by God, known and loved. This is the good news today and we are called to share it and live it, and like Jesus to speak to others and to treat others in the light of the value that Jesus places on every human being. “Love your neighbour as yourself” ‘.

Duncan also unpacked for us a story from 1000 years before the time of Jesus, (Genesis 21:14-20) about a woman and her son, cruelly treated, alienated, facing death who were helped by the God whose messenger said ‘Don’t be afraid!’ and then intervened to help.

Finally, Duncan reflected on a passage from the last book of the Bible, Revelation 1:9-18  to demonstrate that ‘this message of God’s care flows through the whole Bible. In these verses, John the Apostle is given an awe-inspiring, symbolic vision of Jesus (vv 12-16).  But then again come the words ‘Do not be afraid!’  (vv 17-18)

And Duncan concluded ‘Don’t be afraid. You are seen! You are known!  We are never alone in our struggles.  We have a God who draws close to us and has counted every hair on our heads.’

John reflects:  In the story about Hagar and Ishmael, the older story which Duncan outlined, and the words from the Gospel, the context is fear of hostile people and the hostile environment in which we find ourselves.  In the verses from Revelation, the words ‘Do not be afraid’ are said in the context of a powerful, overwhelming vision of Christ.

It reminds me of the immensity of a God who knows intimately the detail of each molecule in the universe, and the power and the dazzling perfection of this God.  And I wonder if some of us are fearful of God:  fearful perhaps because of the sheer bigness of God, or fearful because we think we’re not good enough, that we can’t please God, that we deserve God’s judgement, that we can never know God’s blessing, that we are unforgivable, that we are not one of God’s people.  So I’m glad John is told in Revelation ‘don’t be afraid.’

We are loved in the immense love of God. Like the Father in Jesus’ famous story God welcomes us with joy as we come home at last. We are loved, forgiven, washed free of guilt and fear, we are pronounced to be daughters and sons of the Great Love.

Come home to the One who loves you, who says ‘Do not be afraid.’