The worship service was deliberately arranged in a guided reflection format.
Scripture Reading: Heb 4:15-16; 5:7-8
Introduction: (Straits Times 2 Apr 2002) The mother who threw her eight-year-old daughter down a rubbish chute from her fifth-floor flat was sentenced to 2½-years' in jail yesterday. The maximum sentence for her offence, culpable homicide, is seven years' jail. Imagine the child in the chute, among the rubbish, in the darkness of the chute and the surrounding stench.
What does it feel like to be abandoned, to be excluded and nobody stands with us?
Nearing the arrest of Jesus, he was alone bearing the weight of anguish at the Garden of Gethsemane, his closest companions: Peter, James and John, could not share in the hour of prayer. They fled at his arrest. While hanging on the cross, Jesus experienced separation from God His father. There was no one to comfort him as he tasted the full wrath of God on his own. His cry of abandonment was real. It wasn't just the brutal physical separation, but a profound spiritual separation from God because He is holy.
1. Sin separates us from God, He does not take sin lightly. God has forgiven us because Jesus had been forsaken by His father, carrying all of our sins. When we consider the depth of what Jesus went through, do we then continue to cheapen the grace he has given to us? When we think that we can come before God without confession, we are presumptuous and belittling God . Do we just worship with our lips, will we come before God to confess our sins before him? Will we, could we continue to break God's heart through our disobedience. Grace is given to enable us to walk away from our past and start again in a totally new direction. Have you misunderstood the grace that you have received?
2. Jesus remained faithful to the Father's Word even when no one was with him, when no one understood what in the world he was doing, submitting himself to be crucified, when nobody appreciated his sacrifice. Will we be faithful to the task and call that God has given to us when no one understands, when no one thinks the same way?
Questions for Reflection:
1. God has forgiven us and pardoned us from sin. What's our attitude towards sin? Do we belittle God, are we presumptuous when we come into his presence?
2. In trying to be faithful to God, do you feel at times, all alone, abandoned? Remember these times when you were in despair and hurt when no one stood by you? Jesus understands these moments well, he wants to draw close to you. Will you tenaciously hold on the way Jesus held on to his call and mission?
Pray for:
1. Yourself and your relationship with God.
2. People you know who is experiencing these moments of abandonment.
3. Charis' Leaders whom you know struggle to be faithful to the task God has given.
Scripture Reading: Heb 5:7-8
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