Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Revelation – The Lamb becomes central

Revelation 6v1  “I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals … .”

Last week, we saw how the Lamb is the one who has the authority to open the seals of the scroll which contains world history. The history of the world and the future of the world lie in his hands. (I launch into this section of Revelation with some trepidation as I know there are polarized views, but I believe this book has deep relevance to us today!)

In this chapter, the first four seals (v1-8) release “horsemen” who bring suffering in the world. They are sufferings associated with (i) those determined to gain power over others, (ii) those who are divided and slay each other, (iii) famine and the inability to afford food, and (iv) death whether by sword, famine, plague or misadventure. It would seem that our world is little different to the time of John.

By contrast, the fifth seal (v9-11) opens heaven to us and we see all those who have been martyred “because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained”. They are offering prayers to God for him to exercise judgment and justice on the earth. Yes, believers who have died are now in fellowship and communication with the Lord, and they share his hatred of injustice. The Lord replies that the time for his judgment and justice is not yet. He also affirms that he knows all those who will give their lives for his sake, though this is also not yet complete.

The sixth seal (v12-17) gives all the prophetic imagery of an old world order drawing to an end for a new one to come in (e.g. see Joel 2v28-32). It portrays the sun, moon, stars and mountains falling in – they represent the things which we normally count on to be stable and reliable – the things we even worship: they are brought to an end. Understandably, the result is great fear in all mankind. Sadly, in their fear, they seek refuge in the very things which are crumbling rather than seeking refuge in Him!

The seventh seal is not going to be opened until chapter 8 – history is not yet finished! But there are three key things to draw from this vision:

• Jesus has authority over history, he knows what is going on and what is going to come, including the various sufferings the world is going through. For those of us who belong to him, we can draw great comfort and peace in this.
• Whatever we suffer in this life, those who belong to Christ will be with him when we physically die. We have a hope and a future.
• Such is the hardness of people’s hearts that they continue to cling on to the things which are crumbling rather than turn to God. This should spur us to prayer for God to have mercy and open spiritual ears, eyes and hearts to him at this time.

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week 

Revelation – The Lamb becomes central

Revelation 5v6-8  “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the centre of the throne … he took the scroll [which no one else was worthy to open] and the four living creatures and the twenty four elders fell down before the Lamb.”

In heaven is a scroll. It is the scroll that states the destiny of the world. There is a lot of detail contained in it, and so both sides are written on (5v1). It is sealed with 7 seals so that only a part of it is released at a time (5v1). But seals can only be broken by authorized persons – who has that authority?

With this, the focus of heaven shifts to a Lamb. It looks as if it had been slain and is standing in the centre of the throne. This is a clear reference to Jesus: “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1v29). He is the one who has been slain for our sin: and yet he rose again. He still has signs of his crucifixion on his hands (as shown to Thomas in John 20v27), yet he is now standing right in the centre of heaven.

Moreover, Jesus is the one declared to have the authority to break the seals of the scroll of world history. The history of the world and the future of the world lie in his hands. You may not know what lies ahead, but Jesus does. You may not understand why various things happen in life, but Jesus has a plan. In the chapters that follow, we will see how tough life on the earth can be, but the difficulties we face do not undo the truth of Jesus being in ultimate authority.

Finally, the elders and the creatures who were worshipping God on the throne are seen and heard worshipping Jesus as they fall before him and sing a new song (5v9). Their song of praise celebrates his authority over history and his salvation of people of every nation. This praise party is joined by “thousands upon thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand” angels who sing, “worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive … honour and glory and praise.” This mega praise party is further joined by all of creation singing, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.”

As we worship, we are joining in the activity of the angels. Even if we are physically alone in the room as we do so, we are not spiritually alone – you have one huge backing choir!!

Let’s turn our eyes to Jesus, join with the heavenly creatures in bowing down, and join with all the angels in song!

With love and blessing,

Roland

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Revelation – Worship in Heaven

Revelation 4v8  “Day and night they never stop saying; ‘ Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty, who was and is and is to come.’”

John is given the privilege of a “door standing open in heaven” (4v1). Have you ever seen a door standing open and wondered what was inside? John is invited in to have a look. What he sees is an awesome throne with God on it. Much of the imagery is carried from the Old Testament (e.g. Ezekiel 1v4-28). Around the throne are 24 “elders” and 4 intriguing “creatures”.

Both the creatures and the elders are worshipping God. Let’s consider their worship. Firstly, notice that their worship comprises three elements:

• What they say (“Saying …” v8, v10)
• Their posture (“falling down” v10), and
• Their actions (“laying their crowns before the throne” v11)

Secondly notice what they are praising and worshipping God for:

• His holiness (“holy, holy, holy” v8) – which means his total perfection and completeness
• His role as Creator (“you created all things” v11) – these beings worshipping him are created by him just like everything else. God is the only creator.
• His nature as Eternal (“who was, and is, and is to come” v8) – God is without beginning and without end – which is hard for us to fully comprehend.

As Christians, much of our worship rightly centers on Jesus.  But this first scene in Revelation focuses on God being worthy of worship, even without the provision he has made for us in Jesus.

Maybe it is time for us to participate with John in his vision, and allow our spiritual eyes to enter the door of heaven and see what John saw. Meditate on these words in this passage. Use this passage or other songs to keep your mind on the greatness, the holiness, the eternal nature of God. Let this worship rise up in the words of your mouth, the posture you take and the actions you make.

May our worship correspond to who God actually is,

With love and blessing,

Roland

Prayer

• Give thanks for your access to the holy and eternal creator!
• Continue to pray that God would send workers into this harvest field in Telford and that we would each be fully equipped. On that note, let’s pray for the Reassure courses running currently.
• For all those struggling with health at the moment.
• For all those in education as schools plan to return the week after next.

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Revelation – The Spirit speaks

Revelation 2v7  “These are the words of [Jesus] … he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

These words occur 7 times in Revelation 2 and 3: one time for each of the 7 churches. They are the common element of each message to each church.

The words are attributed to both Jesus and the Spirit. Jesus and the Spirit speak together. What the Spirit says is never incompatible with what Jesus says. This is why we can test what we believe the Spirit is saying against the words of Jesus recorded in the gospels. He is not going to speak out of tune with those words.

We can be tempted to think of God as either super-stern or as super-gracious in what he says. In reading Revelation 2 and 3, we see that Jesus and the Spirit bring both words of praise, rebuke and encouragement to different churches. What are Jesus and the Spirit praising you for today (e.g. 2v2-3)? What are they rebuking in you (e.g. 2v4-5)? What are they encouraging you to do (e.g. 2v10)?

Jesus and the Spirit encourage us to “hear”. This does not mean just an audible hear, but a heart-hearing. A willingness to take on board what the Spirit is saying and to apply it in our lives. This is true discipleship: as Jesus says at the end of the sermon on the mount, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice …” (Matthew 7v24)

Lord, may our spiritual ears be open and our hearts be responsive to you,

With love and blessing,

Roland

Prayer

• Give thanks for the roll out of the vaccine.
• Continue to pray that God would send workers into this harvest field in Telford.
• For all those who are struggling with ill health at the moment.
• For our church family as we persevere in this time.

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Rising Up

Isaiah 40v31  “… but those who hope in the LORD will… soar on wings like eagles”

I believe God wants us to rise up in Him. I would like to just contemplate some Bible verses concerning “rising up”:

1. It depends on us trusting in God – “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.” Psalm 20:7-8
2. Evil can rise up against us – “Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me!” Psalm 3v1
3. Though we may fall, in Christ we can rise up again – “For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.” Proverbs 24:16, NIV
4. We call on the LORD to rise up “Whenever the ark set out, Moses said, ‘Rise up, Lord! May your enemies be scattered; may your foes flee before you.’” Numbers 10:35
5. We can be sure the LORD will rise up to rescue us  “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” Isaiah 30:18
6. There is a time for us to rise up and act – “‘Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it.’” Ezra 10:4
7. The reason we can rise now is because his glory rises upon us – “ ‘Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.” Isaiah 60:1-2
8. We look forward to a time when we will rise to be with Christ forever – “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven … and the dead in Christ will rise first” 1 Thessalonians 4:16

You may also like to meditate on this theme using the following songs:

• I will rise (What a peace I’ve come to know) by Chris Tomlin  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzBFv3Bzn3o
• It’s rising up by Matt Redman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzBFv3Bzn3o

With love and blessing,

Roland

News

• Sundays 10.30am through Lockdown – a reminder as previous weeks:
  • If you are able to join us by Facebook/Youtube and Zoom, please do so over the coming weeks:
    • Facebook live https://www.facebook.com/HopeCommunityChurchAdmaston/live
    • Youtube on Hope Community Church Admaston channel: https://youtu.be/om36aPJQpQY
  • If you are not able to join as above, you may meet physically at Admaston House in accord with our policy of exceeding government guidelines.

• Recommended book – Time to Act
  • Last Sunday I recommended “A call to Act – Building a poverty-busting lifestyle”. It the latest of 3 books by Martin Charlesworth and Natalie Williams who head up Jubilee+ . This is a vital part of our whole-life discipleship.
  • You can see videos about the book here acalltoact.co.uk/
  • A good place to purchase the book is here, though it is also available on Amazon at a higher price. standrewsbookshop.co.uk/product/a-call-to-act/

Programme – Please contact roland@hopeadmaston.org.uk if you would like to join any of our meetings via Zoom.

Sunday morning worship is now live-streamed on both Youtube and Facebook from Admaston House at 10.30am.

Prayer

Give thanks:

• For our church famiily together.
• For the good promises that are ours in Christ Jesus.

Prayer:

• For those of us who are unwell or recovering from Covid-19.
• For each of us to “rise on wings as eagles” at this time.

Other general information

Pastoral Care during Lockdown 3 – If you are in isolation and need support (e.g. shopping), please contact natalie@hopeadmaston.org.uk who will arrange with the team of helpers.

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Staying Up

Ephesians 6v13  “… and after you have done everything, to stand.”

So this coming Monday is what is sometimes called “Blue Monday” – the day is described as the most depressing of the year due to the combination of various seasonal pressures including the weather and post-Christmas blues.

Don’t let it bite you: God gives us a strategy to overcome such things:

• Take every thought captive – to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10v5). We have a responsibility to control our thinking so that each thought we have is in line with Christ.
• Focus on Jesus and what he has done for you (Hebrews 12v1-3). That control of our thinking is best done by focusing our attention on Jesus: consider the suffering he went through for you so that you could be a forgiven child of God; consider how he has filled with his Spirit and has prepared heaven for you. You can lead your thinking in this way through whatever means suit you. Keep focusing on Him until a spirit of thankfulness rises up in you.
• Approach God with your difficulties, but also with thankfulness (Philippians 4v4-7). So now, with that spirit of thankfulness also in you, you are able to present all your requests to Him. The result is that his peace will guard your heart and mind.

May it be for you a day of the joy of the Lord,

With love and blessing,

Roland

News

• Sundays 10.30am through Lockdown – as on WhatsApp earlier in the week:
  • If you are able to join us by Facebook/Youtube and Zoom, please do so over the coming weeks:
    • Facebook live https://www.facebook.com/HopeCommunityChurchAdmaston/live
    • Youtube on Hope Community Church Admaston channel: https://youtu.be/om36aPJQpQY
  • If you are not able to join as above, you may meet physically at Admaston House in accord with our policy of exceeding government guidelines.
    • Mask on
    • Sanitise hands on entry
    • Go straight to a seat (households are spaced at least 3m apart).
    • Do not intermingle.
    • You may contribute to the Zoom call via the roaming microphone.
    • Leave the premises as soon as you have left your seat.

• Bible verse Testimony
  • Thank you very much to all who have come back to me with regards to sharing a verse of Scripture and explaining why. I am encouraged and may the Lord bring much light to the hearts of many through your verses.
• Christmas Appeals
  • Thank you to those who contributed to the Breadtrust Christmas Appeal. Our Shropshire churches gave a total of just over £7000 towards the work of developing a Foundations for Farming Centre of Excellence in Zambia and towards physically and spiritually feeding Roma people in Ukraine .
  • We were also able to give £240 to the Telford foodbanks as a result of the Carol Service offering.

Programme – Please contact roland@hopeadmaston.org.uk if you would like to join any of our meetings on Zoom.

Sunday morning worship is now live-streamed on both Youtube and Facebook from Admaston House at 10.30am.

Prayer

Give thanks:

• For our church family together.
• For the implementation of the vaccines. There are several in the church who have either had it or are about to have it.

Prayer:

• For those recovering from covid-19.
• For our young people and teachers with the changes in their education and exams.
• For the light to shine brightly from us Christ-carriers!

Other general information

Pastoral Care during Lockdown 3 – If you are in isolation and need support (e.g. shopping), please contact natalie@hopeadmaston.org.uk who will arrange with the team of helpers.

Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Down is Easier than Up

Philippians 3v12,14  “I press on … I press on … heavenwards”

To go down is to submit to the pull of gravity, and requires little effort. When I am out cycling, going uphill requires effort and takes time; by contrast, coming down enables freewheeling and is all over so quickly.

I am minded as we see some of the events in the US of how fragile the privileges and the blessings we have in this world are. Let us take care to protect what we have and move upwards rather than downwards. Moving upwards together often requires us to disadvantage ourselves and our views. As we enter another lockdown, we also find the removal of our normal freedoms, and we disadvantage ourselves for the sake of the whole.

What is 2021 going to mean for you? What are your ambitions for the year? How spiritually ambitious are you? Are you going to drift downwards this year or move on upwards? Up will take effort, and sometimes be a hard slog. In the Bible, the glory of God’s presence is often encountered on the mountain (think Moses on Sinai, Elijah on Carmel, Jesus being transfigured). It takes effort to get up a mountain, but the reward vastly outweighs the effort.

In John Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress”, one of the handicaps poor Christian has is the baggage he takes with him. What baggage is holding you back on your spiritual journey? What is it that you need to cast off?

Many things may get in the way of goals you set for 2021, but your relationship with God is down to you – it is not up to other people, and God is always open and faithful.

May 2021 be a year of adventure in the Lord for you as you discover more of the wonders of his love and purpose for you. Press on!!

With love and blessing,

Roland

News

• Coming Sundays through Lockdown
  • We are offering physical meeting at Admaston House as well as online this coming Sunday in accord with government guidelines.
    • We want to enable everyone to participate in the way appropriate to them.
    • To mitigate risk, we will exceed government guidelines in terms of our leading of worship and the spacing of chairs.
    • No intermingling is permitted which will mean that all attendees must go to their seat on entry. Attendees must also leave the premises as soon as they leave their seat rather than interact with others.
    • The Zoom time will be able to continue as normal with the use of a roaming microphone in the room.
  • Facebook live https://www.facebook.com/HopeCommunityChurchAdmaston/live
  • Youtube on Hope Community Church Admaston channel. https://youtu.be/om36aPJQpQY

• Testimony
  • Over the coming weeks, we will be refocusing our testimony slot for the broadcast. We would like each of you to share your favourite Bible verse and explain why it is your favourite. What do you think? Are you up for participating with that? If so, please contact Roland and he can timetable a Sunday for you.

Programme – Please contact roland@hopeadmaston.org.uk if you would like to join any of our meetings on Zoom.

Sunday morning worship is now live-streamed on both Youtube and Facebook from Admaston House at 10.30am.

Prayer

Give thanks:

• For our church family together.

Prayer

• For all those who are impacted by the latest lockdown and by the changes in our relationship with the EU. Let’s pray too for the US at this time.
• For our young people and teachers with the changes in their education and exams.
• For Hope to overcome fear!

Other general information

Pastoral Care – If you are in isolation and need support (eg shopping), please contact natalie@hopeadmaston.org.uk who will arrange with the team of helpers.