Coming to the end well, we come to the very end of our series on Isaiah 1:12, darkness to light, God's salvation. In Isaiah 1:12, there's still studies available out there, three different parts. Pick them up, feel free to take them. Certainly gives you opportunity to delve into some of the things we've had to skate over pretty quickly in our sermons. And there's also out there some. Some studies for those groups that don't shut up shop too soon. There are some studies for Advent. They don't line up with our five sermon series in December, including Christmas Day, but overlap with the same kinds of passages that may be helpful for you to pick and choose from those in your study groups or just for your personal reflections over the Advent season. But as we come back to Isaiah chapter 11:12, we have seen, haven't we? In the mix of all that's been there, either in sermons or in studies, we've seen, I guess, the grim reality of the state of God's people. Right back in the beginning, we saw that they were a people who were far from God. God described their religion as worthless in pretty harsh terms. Their religion was going through the motions. It wasn't reflected in the lives they were living. And right through Isaiah, we've seen this dual thing happening. Isaiah pointing forward on one hand to a judgment that is certainly deserved and is coming. But on the other hand, he looks beyond that to a glorious future. And so through these rolling chapters, we find judgment. Then we find hope and promise. And those glimmers of hope certainly keep appearing. You remember back in Isaiah chapter six, that was when Rod was here preaching. We saw that even as Isaiah is told that the people are going to reject his message, that they're going to be ever hearing but never understanding. They're going to be ever seeing, but never perceiving. Even after those kind of words, there is still after that a glimmer of hope is given. In chapter six, we're told the land will be laid waste in judgment on the people. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land. The faithful remnant, the few who remain are likened to a stump, the stump of a felled tree that looks apparently lifeless, but there's still vitality in the roots. And right through chapter 7 to 10 over the last few weeks, this mixture of judgment and promise continue. And then, as we've heard this morning in chapter 11, this stump image from the end of chapter 6 reappears. And with it there is a glorious future that's anticipated. Chapter 11 as a whole is speaking of the time when the Messiah will come, when God's special anointed ruler, his special king, the king, the Messiah will come and establish God's reign and indeed sort out the mess that the people were in. The whole chapter, whole of chapter 11 is just full of images that do refer to the Messiah, not only in Isaiah, but in other parts of the Old Testament as well. Words like branch and root and spirit, anointed and banner all speak of Messiah. And there's graphic images, aren't there, of both judgment and of peace. There's a reference to that day, the day of the Lord, the day of judgment, the day of cleansing, all tied up with the coming of this promised Messiah. So let's pray and we'll look at it together. Loving heavenly Father, as we come to the end of these 12 chapters, we pray that we will hear what you have said through your prophet. And Lord, may we be struck afresh by the wonder of your plan of salvation. We confess how easily it is, just like the people to whom Isaiah spoke, how easily we can become complacent about you and indeed all you have done for us. So shake us from that we pray, open our eyes to see and our ears to hear. And we ask that we would respond with words of praise and thanks and with lives that reflect what you have done for us. Amen. Any country and western fans in the congregation? Not a few. A few kind of little nods. Nobody's really game to say they're into country and western except Ryan, who's also into whole raft of other music as well. Country and western. Anybody got a favorite country and western song? Or maybe a disfavorite? Kathy, what's yours? Oh, Keith Urban. Anything by Keith Urban. Who? Colin Buchanan. Yeah, he's kind of country sometimes, isn't he? Yeah. Yeah. Well, I've got a favorite country in western song. I'm not going to sing it, but it goes like this. Many many years ago When I was 23 I got married to a widow who was pretty as could be. The widow had a grown up daughter who had hair of red. My father fell in love with her and soon the two were wed. This made my dad my son in law Changed my very life. My daughter was my mother for she was my father's wife. To complicate the matter's worse, although it brought me joy, I soon became the father of a bouncing baby boy. My little baby then became a brother in law to dad and so became my uncle, though it made me very sad. For if he was my uncle, then that also made him brother to the widow's grown up daughter, who of course was my stepmother father's wife then had a son who kept them on the run. And he became my grandson, for he was my daughter's son. My wife is now my mother's mother and it makes me blue because although she is my wife, she is my grandmother too. You're keeping up. If my wife is my grandmother, then I am her grandchild. And every time I think of it, it simply drives me wild. For now I have become the strangest case you ever saw. As the husband of my grandmother, I am my own grandpa. Yee haw. Now I know you're thinking that's a novelty song, but you know these country music people. I say no more. I am my own grandpa. He claims it's the strangest case that he's ever seen, but it's happened before and we've actually read about it in Isaiah 11 in this chapter that we've already noted. He's speaking about the Messiah, about the promise to Savior King. Now we have the the benefit of knowing that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the promised Christ Messiah. The Old Testament Hebrew word Christ, the New Testament Greek word. Actually, not a bad passage to land on today because I don't know if it's been mentioned earlier, but for those who follow the traditional church calendar, you'll know that today, Sunday, the Sunday before Advent, is Christ the King. So not a bad passage to land on. But what we want to look at is what does this chapter tell us about the Messiah's identity? So, well, it's there in verse one, isn't it? If you got your Bible or your app or your sheet or whatever, keep an eye on it. Because in verse one it says a shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse and his from his roots, a branch will bear fruit. So this coming messiah is called a shoot. A shoot from the stump of Jesse. So who's Jesse and what's he got to do with anything? You know who Jesse is? Yeah, yeah. So Jesse is the father of David, the father that is, of King David. Now we used to. Aren't we hearing the Messiah being spoken of as being the son of David, as in a royal kingly descendant of David. But here we've got a reference to Jesse and I guess it seems to indicate, doesn't it, that this Messiah, that this shoot is not just another descendant in the king, a king in David's line. But Kind of like another David. You remember how in the Old Testament all the kings get kind of compared to their father, their ancestor David, around this time. Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king and he reigned in Jerusalem 16 years. Unlike his father David, he did not do what was right the eyes of the Lord his God, or Hezekiah, or he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. So they often compared to their father David. But among the kings is only David, who's ever referred to as being the son of Jesse. Everything then starts from him. So we've got this unexpected reference kind of to Jesse appearing in Isaiah 11. And so it kind of should hit us with a bit of, oh, I wonder why it says that. But when Jesse produces a shoot, it must be. It must be a David, must be David, must be a new David. David, the ideal king. And now there's to be a new shoot from Jesse, a new David, someone who will be the ideal king. David. Well, not quite perfect, was he? We know that. We know the biblical account. But yet God could still say of him, david, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do. And so the prophets, not only Isaiah, but the prophets, could speak of this coming Messiah. They could call him a son of David, or sometimes they just simply referred to him as David, this new David, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, around this same kind of time, a little later, they will serve the Lord their God, writes Jeremiah and David, or God says through Jeremiah, they will serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them, another David, a new David, this coming Messiah, this shoot, would be the true king, a true David, like David, but better. And of course, we look back on this, we know, don't we? We know that that's fulfilled in Jesus. Do you remember what the angel says to Mary? You'll give birth to a son and you're to give him the name Jesus. Yeah, you remembered that part, didn't you? The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end. This is someone who's going to be far beyond any of the other kings in that line, even greater than David. But how can we expect this kingly Messiah, this shoot from Jesse, this branch, how can he do this when all the others have failed? Well, verse two tells us, if you've got your Bible there, have a look at verse two. It tells us the spirit of the Lord will Rest on him, the very Spirit of God resting on this shoot. And then you hear the description of the Spirit that follows. The Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. Now there's a whole sermon just in that verse, isn't there? We're not doing it. Not today. But suffice to say, I think that with the Spirit of the Lord resting on him, then this Messiah, this the Messiah, will get it right. And as we read on in Isaiah, particularly in the latter sections, we find that it's very clear that the Messiah is the one who is fully endowed with the Spirit. Of course, other people in Old Testament times were given the Spirit, weren't they? But often in the Old Testament we see the Spirit of the Lord come on. Just a person for a particular task, just for a particular time. So what's the deal with the Messiah? Part of the difference comes from the fact, I think, that the Messiah, the shoot, having been given the spirit of the fear of the Lord, that is, one who will stand in awe of God. Well, we're told in verse three that then this Messiah, this shoot, will actually do. It will actually delight in the fear of the Lord, will live a life with that right recognition of God. Now, in David's line, king after king failed. Even the good ones had their shortcomings. But this king, this shoot, this promised Messiah, is going to live in perfect response to God's spirit resting on him. And again we know, we see this fulfilled in Jesus. Remember when he was baptized, heaven was opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And then Jesus, the one who, as we know, is conceived by the Spirit as well, has the Spirit rest on him. And then he lived in perfect response to God through the temptations that follow that baptism, through the temptations that were there, through his whole ministry, even confronted in his trial, and then, well, to death he lived with a perfect obedience to God. Well, that's all fine, isn't it? That's fine. But what's I and my own grandpa got to do with any of that? Well, you may ask. I'm glad you did. Have a look at verse 10. Have a look at verse 10 and you'll see that the image changes in that day. The root of Jesse, it says. So you got that change back in chapter 11, verse 1. The Messiah, about whom this whole chapter is about, is the shoot that comes from the stump of Jesse. But now in 11, verse 10, it calls him the Root of Jesse, the Messiah being spoken of in both halves of the chapter, the Messiah is the root of the stump and the shoot coming from the stump. The root is the shoot, the shoot is the root. So in this tree, you've got the root, then you've got Jesse, and then you've got the shoot. So if you kind of picture that, you think, okay, if that's a well, that makes. That would make the root effectively the grandpar of the shoot. You're with me, you're keeping up. And since the root is the shoot, the Messiah can actually sing, I am my own grandpa. That's profound. The Messiah is the root of his own family tree. He's the root cause of his family. And at the time of Isaiah, as he writes this, he's awaiting the day when within that family he will finally shoot forth. How can the root be the shoot? How can he be his own grandpa? Jesus actually picks up that tension, doesn't he? And he asks the Pharisees a question. You remember that time when he says, what do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he? And of course, they respond, the Son of David. And then Jesus quotes from a psalm and he says, well, how is it then that David calls him Lord? If David calls him Lord, how can he be his son? Because the Son is always lesser than the Father. But now David is calling the Messiah in that psalm, his Lord. How can he be both? How can the descendant of David be greater than David? How can the root be the shoot? How can the Messiah be his own grandpa? Well, the answer comes, doesn't it, from the fact that Jesus, fully human and fully divine in his humanity, is the shoot from Jesse in his divinity. He is the root of Jesse. John puts it this way in his Gospel, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling amongst us. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus, truly human, truly God. It's not uncommon as you read through the Old Testament prophets, to find God speaking through them and saying that he's going to send some. I'm going to send this Messiah. Yep, that's good. And then a verse or two later, God says, I'm going to do it myself. Ezekiel 34 is probably the classic passage on that, where God says, he's going to shepherd his people. I'm going to come and shepherd my people. And then a few verses later, he says, I'm going to put my servant David as shepherd over you people. You go, well, which is it, God? Are you going to come and do it? Or are you going to send a Messiah, the Son of David? And what's the answer? Yes. The answer is yes. Both true at the same time. And it can sound strange, can't it? But it makes perfect sense, doesn't it? The God would have to do that. It was God who would come. But he comes in the person of Jesus Christ. Because after what, a couple of thousand years of God and his people. You've had the patriarchs, you've had the leaders, you've had judges, you've had prophets and priests and kings, and read the Old Testament. At least part of it is showing the total inability of any human who God sends to do anything, to actually get it completely right. And in the fullness that it needs, no one fully and actually truly lives for him. And no one is able to bring about. I mean, there might have been glimmers of it, but no one's able to bring about the full redemption that humanity needs. The only one who can do it is God himself. And so God the Son takes on humanity, becomes fully human, yet is fully divine. He has to do what a human needed to do. But only God could do it. And that's why we get even these jumps. In Isaiah 11, we jump from Messiah to Lord in verse 10, the root, this is the Messianic figure, is the banner. And then the Lord actually raises this banner in verse 12. Like this complexity of who are we talking about here? And isn't this the wonder of Christmas? And I know it's not Advent until next week, and I. Well, we've snuck into it the last few weeks, haven't we? This is the wonder of Christmas that God enters his creation. He becomes a man, wraps himself in human skin so he can be with us. So he can be Emmanuel, what, two weeks ago, chapter seven. He does that. So he can be the child who is born, the Son who is given, who is also wonderful. Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, that we saw last week in chapter nine, Wonder of Christmas, that God enters into our creation, our Creator becomes one of us, so indeed he can be our Savior. I Am My Own Grandpa might be a clever, funny, vaguely entertaining novelty song. And if you want to work out that family tree, you can certainly go to Google and find people who have tried to draw that family tree. But I'm more interested in this family tree. I'm more Interested in Isaiah 11 and the root and the Shooting, because that's not a clever novelty song. That's just mind blowing magnificence of God in his plan to save his people. And if this is the one who the Messiah is, if this is who the anointed king who brings God reign is, what will his kingdom be like? It's unavoidable to see that the Messiah and his kingdom will actually come bringing judgment. The early chapters have certainly spoken of that. But he will judge with righteousness and justice, verse 4. That will result in the demise of the wicked. And that's a consequence of judging with justice. And it's only by grace that any of us stand. The Messiah needs no display of power, even though some of that imagery is used in the chapter, but simply in verse 4. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. And the flow on from that is a. Is a place, is a kingdom of peace. And see how Isaiah paints the picture of that, really using lots of kind of Eden type language. It's pictured as a restored Edom Eden. The coming of the Messiah will transform the world into a new creation. And the reconciliations and hostilities, they are gone. And there's a change in nature and the peace is so secure, verse 11 and sorry, verse 6 and verse 8, that even a child will be able to exercise the dominion over creation that was originally given to Adam. Of course, it's not just Eden, is it also verse 9. It's God's holy mountain pervaded by peace and holiness. The knowledge of the Lord, that phrase in our Bible is full of the knowledge of the Lord is probably best understood in the sense of full of knowing the Lord, not just knowledge about God, some kind of abstract truth out there, but it's actually relationship, knowing the Lord, personal communion with him. I mean, how good is that? This shoot from Jesse, this king, this new David, this Messiah, in perfect response to God's spirit resting on him, reigns in a kingdom where people live God's way, God's people living his way in relationship with him. But not only that, the picture of a restored Israel is also used. You remember after King Solomon, David's son, the kingdom divides into two, the north Israel, the south Judah. And here speaks in terms of a reunification of that Israel, or Ephraim as it's called here, Ephraim used interchangeably with the northern kingdom of Israel. But Israel and Judah, not just a political reunification, but true unity. And we see there with jealousy and hostility gone. And even the way that Israel is restored, is pictured in the sense of being a new Exodus, the exodus from Egypt, in a real sense, the formation of Israel, of a nation. And remember that phrase that you get in talking about the Exodus, that God delivers his people by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm occurs in Deuteronomy and so forth there. And what do we read here in verse 11 of chapter 11? In that day the Lord will reach out his hand. Second time we get the idea of a repeat, but perhaps on a bigger scale, of God's saving in the time of the Exodus. Because God in verse 11 is reclaiming his people not just from Egypt, but from Assyria and Cush and Elab and Babylonia and Hamath, the islands of the sea, because they are scattered so much further. It includes the nations, the exiles of Israel, the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. Exodus imagery, right through there, the Lord will dry up. Verse 15, the Gulf of the Egyptian sea, but not just that. Also the Euphrates river. From west to east, the obstacles are being removed by the outstretched hand of God. And it's quite explicit in verse 16, isn't it? There will be a highway for the remnant of his people that is left from Assyria, as there was for Israel when they came up from Egypt. But even then, as we read this, there's still more. The kingdom of the Messiah is bigger than just a restored Israel. In that day, verse 10, the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the people, and the nations will rally to him. Messiah's kingdom, not only Israel, but the people, the nations, the Gentiles are incorporated, just as God had promised to Abraham. We've already noted, haven't we, as we've gone through it, and we know it well, that the Messiah, that this root and shoot of Jesse is of course, Jesus. In his coming, he inaugurates his Messianic kingdom. He preached that the kingdom of God was near. He even gathered 12 disciples, didn't he? Kind of like an echo of 12 tribes of Israel. And remember what happened when Jesus stands on the mount of transfiguration. Moses and Elijah appear to him. And we read in Luke 9 that they spoke with him about his Exodus. Sometimes our English translations hide that word for some reason. It's deliberate. They spoke with him about his Exodus, which he was about to bring to fulfillment in Jerusalem. And how does he bring about that Exodus? From slavery to us, from slavery to sin. He brings it about through his death and resurrection, that he is heading to Jerusalem to undergo. And what does Jesus do? As he returns to heaven. Last thing he does, he commissions his disciples to be his witnesses. We heard that a few weeks ago from Paul Sampson from Bush Church Aid. You will be my witnesses. Jesus says in Judea, the southern kingdom, effectively, I guess Samaria, the remnant of the north and to the ends of the earth, the nations, the people, the Gentiles. And right through Acts we see that unfold. As the gospel goes forth, the good news about Jesus is proclaimed as Jesus Christ, who is the shoot from and the root of Jesse. His name is held high. And indeed the Gentiles do rally to him. Now, as I wrote this down 700 years before Jesus. And we have the privilege of living in the time after this, in that day phrase, that after that day has indeed dawned in the coming of Jesus. In Jesus, God has reached out his hand a second time. And we know that as we accept by faith what God has done for us in Christ, that we can be part of his kingdom now forever. Ephesians 2 Although by nature we are objects of God's wrath and deserving of his righteous judgment, although we know where we stand there we read, God who is rich in mercy, makes us alive in Christ. It is by grace we are saved. But of course there's still more, isn't there? The ultimate fulfillment of Jesus kingdom will be when he returns. And so we can be with him in that place described in verse nine, even more so than we experience now, a place pervaded by peace and holiness and full of knowing the Lord. And if you're wondering, should we see Isaiah 11 being fulfilled by Jesus? Well, we read in the last chapter of the Bible, in Revelation, chapter 22, verse 16 I this is Jesus speaking in John's vision. I am the root and the offspring. I wish he'd said, shoot there. But you know, the root and the offspring of David. And he goes on and the bright morning star. And in the very next verse there in that last chapter of the Bible, we encourage, I guess don't be like the ever hearing and never perceiving people of Isaiah's time. But Revelation 22:17 says, Come, and then let the one who hears, let them also say come. Let the one who is thirsty come. And let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. So how should we respond as those who live in the light of the morning star? How should we respond as those who live in the light of the dawning of that day? Well, we don't have to guess because this is Isaiah 11, 12 we've read 11 turn the page and we'll read Isaiah chapter 12. In that day you will say, I will praise you, Lord, although you are angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. In that day you will say, give thanks, Give praise to the Lord. Proclaim his name. Make known among the nations what he has done and proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things. Let this be known in all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion. For great is the Holy One of Israel among you. And so we come to the end of our series. Darkness to light, God's salvation. In Isaiah 1:12. Done, dusted and we go. All right. No, because it's not the end, is it? It's not the end. Did you hear those responses in Isaiah 12? 2 Responses, I think, praising and thanking God for the salvation that we have in Christ. But then there's another response. Making known among the nations what he has done. As we conclude this series, may that be our continuing life, a life lived. Praising God in response to what he's done for us and then making that known so others can join the kingdom. Please pray with me. Loving Heavenly Father, we thank you for the, I guess the wonder of the root and the shoot, the wonder that you, Lord God, entered your creation to bring us back to yourself. We are so grateful for your love, for your mercy and for your grace. And we pray that even as we look at these Old Testament passages that we will just see how wonderful and marvelous it is what you have done for us in Christ. We pray that we will live that out day by day and that we will not hold that to ourselves, but that we will overflow and share that good news. That we would make known among the nations what you have done and that, Lord Jesus, we would hear your words. And even starting in Jerusalem, starting where we are, that we would be your witnesses. And in your mercy over this will lead up to Christmas. Particularly, we pray that you would give us the words to say that help people see the reality and wonder of who you are and what you have done. And in your mercy, Lord, please call many to yourself. And we do ask this in. In Jesus name and for his glory. Amen. We're going to sing again. We are. Well, it's a good response, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. I'LL let you introduce it. Couldn't help himself, but it's a great. This is a great response to that message. It picks up very clearly the theme that Cameron's been talking about. It's called We Belong to the Day. The day that we belong to is the day when Jesus will return and living that eternal life now and forever for the glory of the King is in our hearts on that day the faithful will rise Will you stand as we sing? We belong to the day, to the day to the day that is to come when the night falls away and our Savior will return all the glory of the King in our heart on that day we will be seen for what we are we belong to the day of journey the light put on faith put on love and our humble fight and the promise of salvation in our eyes on that day the ground of old painful cry we belong to the day we were born Jesus Christ who belongs as the judge in the hour of his word we must tell of his salvation all the way all the day When Jesus comes with me today, okay, we're going to have the Lord's Supper together. I hope you really enjoy it. All jokes aside, though, what's the Lord's Supper mean for you today? I always enjoy reflecting upon the preparation. I'm excited that Michael wants to make sure we include all those parts in the service and we're going to do all. I know it's already 11 o'clock, but let's take our time and reflect upon what this means for us. I thought I'd use the passage that Cameron helpfully preached upon because really we've heard about Jesus Christ, the one who is to be born and his life and everything was going to happen. And yet we sometimes think, oh, that's somewhere else in the Bible. But I want to link, not just deliberately try and bring some of the passage verses back in. As we think about this, let me start with Isaiah. You don't have to put them up on the screen. I just wanted to include them. Isaiah 11:16. There will be a highway for the remnant of his people that is left from Assyria, as there was for Israel when they came up from Egypt. The journey in faith, the travel that we might have been on to get to this place today has it felt like a bit of a highway? It was coming into town just now from St. Paul's but the point would be, what's the journey been just at this time in your own walk with Jesus Christ? And then we come to something we call the peace. And then Isaiah 11:12. Verse 12 of chapter 11 says this. He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel. He will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. We often think about that as mission, which it truly is as we go out from Acts 1:8. But really as brothers and sisters, we come together from wherever we've come from in our lives to be together on this day and share a genuine peace, the joy, the love and the grace and peace as we come to Advent. So we won't get up and move around and do the big hugs. But you can do it morning tea if you want to. Let's just greet each other with a wave. Something appropriate to greet each other with. Peace. What if there's another way? In other countries, people do peace. Is there any other signs of peace you might know? Okay. God, the waves. Indeed, the waves. We're not far from the waves today. Are we also those terms of peace with each other come into the confession and then we think about what does it mean to confess? What does confession hold in your heart and mind today? Let's take a moment to reflect quietly. I won't read out the verses, but verses 13 and 14 speak about jealousy and vanish and destroyed hostile and other things. When we confess, we come together to say sorry for all those differences that may have impacted upon others, let alone our own walk with Jesus Christ. That's happening. Isaiah. It's happening in the same way today. It's time to confess. Let us do this together. Merciful God, our Maker and our judge, we have sinned against you in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves repent and are sorry for our sins. Father Jesus, pray, I obey you in newness of life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Again, I talked about the peace at morning tea and lots of hugs and warmth. But at the same time, if there's something you wish you hadn't said or thought about in regards to another brother or sister in Christ, why not this morning or today? Make that contact. Reach out and let the Holy Spirit move in that conversation. Okay, what do we all believe? We go to the next slide, of course, which we call the Apostles Creed. And we read in Isaiah 11, 2 and 3, the spirit of the Lord will rest on him the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord. And he will delight in the fear of the Lord. I was reflecting upon the idea of the Holy Spirit moving amongst the people in 323 AD in modern Turkey, to come together with the words we still say today of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. So let us now say together, I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day, he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. Holy Spirit, holy people to the church. Communion of Church resurrection It would be a long straw to try and draw some of the Isaiah 11 passages. Now into what happens if Jesus Christ broke that bread? But what does it mean for you on a day like this? Was it just a simple and a very small meal? Or is the scale of the meal meaning the whole change of your own life with Jesus Christ? So the Church of Corinth, of course, representing what we understand even today, 2,000 years later, the words that Jesus has given to us. For I received from the Lord what I also pass on to you. The Lord Jesus, on the night of his betrayed, took bread and when he had given you thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way after supper he took the cup, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes again. So it's now time for those who are assisting with the distributing of the bread in the cup. It is gluten free bread and it's just grape juice. Just so you know, if you're visiting with us and if your faith in Jesus Christ is in strength and belief, then you're welcome to come forward. There's no set Covid rules, we have to come in certain directions. But just be generous in coming forward now to collect a piece of bread and a cup and then hold it together before we share it in a few moments. If you can't come forward, we'll also come to you. Sa, please raise your hands if you've not received a piece of bread or a cup. So rather than Isaiah reading, I'm going to read the two verses. Firstly, for verse 16 of Revelation 22. We take the piece of bread and these words speak to us. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David and the bright morning star. We are thankful for the offspring of David, the bread of Jesus Christ. Let's remember him on this day and now as we take the cup. Verse 17 of Revelation 22. The Spirit and the bride says, come. And let the one who hears say, come. Let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who wishes to take the free gift of the water of life. We are thankful. The blood of Christ has given us that opportunity. So just hold that cup for the moment before we then pray a prayer that Jesus taught us from Isaiah 11:1. A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse from his roots, a branch that will bear fruit. And so the graft of Jesus, words and life is now captured in this prayer that is fruitful for us all as we can say together. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Give us sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen. Amen. It's my privilege to bring just a few updates and announcements. Carol, I didn't get to speak to you before. Do you want to walk around during this time? Yes. So, Carol, just be passing along maybe, and Carol will start to collect them for you. It's okay if we hear a few clinks because it makes us feel like we're having a celebration. Then cheers announcements for the day. Let's enjoy firstly, a couple of things that happened last Friday, a week ago. Just go through a little bit slower, sue, so we can enjoy some pictures. I think they're the next ones, aren't they? Of a wedding. Yep. That's St. Paul's who's not been out to St. Paul's before, raise your hand. Okay. It's a massive church. It seats actually about 70 to squeeze, but it was a beautiful setting. So Mervyn and Heather, as you probably are aware, members of 8 o'clock play the organ beautifully there in violin. They've also been out to West Wyalong twice now, and they're going to come into primetime in May next year and show their Gifts. It was a beautiful occasion. And Ben, up on the right side there is the young organ player who's developing under great tuition and he'll be leading the service on 22nd December at our combined. And we'll have lots of carols. Look forward to that. We'll go to the next slide. Thank you. A reminder, wave your hand. Stuart, you're the man to speak to. Stuart, are you a friendly sort of guy? You try to be. You are awesome at being friendly and connecting. So these events for men and for women, are they just for exclusive members who've been coming for a long time? No. Sue at the back two you can speak to there. It is the last one for the year, sue, isn't it? So it's carpooling for those who need to get out to yalla, speak to sue after church, if you want to know more. Very relaxed, friendly, bring friends. Stuart's saying bring some mates along and we'll have a good time on Saturday the 30th, stonewall round the corner or yalla. Let's do that together to fellowship. We move on. Okay, not long now. Cameron, did you want to say anything about that? Praying for good weather. It's going to be a carol service as well at 5. There'll be no 6pm Service next week. We're trying to integrate. You might choose to come to the 10 o'clock and then come back even just for the five, even if you want to. But connecting with people, welcoming people, that's the goal. Bringing them to the next level. We also need to be praying for this week going ahead. Before I do, talk about the carols at Minnamurra. The prayers last Sunday afternoon were a deep encouragement as we prayed for the Children's and Families Minister for the Future. We have got some applications to consider, which is good, but probably would like some more. And we need to pray, particularly about the next few days up to Wednesday the 27th. There's going to be a 9 o'clock prayer meeting this Wednesday and we'll certainly want to focus again on that day for we would receive the right people that God would provide for us to serve and grow this ministry. So, Nikki, would you come out? Nikki, you sure wasn't wagging church this morning, were you, darling? Or were you in the car with me? Because you came out to St. Paul's we're driving back this morning and Judy McCombs shared about this particular event and you were just so inspired by it. What's happening for Judy McComsey inspires me always. She is the most creative thinker and she's come up with another one again. So this is the Jerusalem Travel Agency and she's organized a Holy Land winter tour for the Minamura Carols. And you will be provided with a travel pack. And in the travel pack you'll be given a route and a map. You'll be given instructions on handling your donkey, because it's a donkey. You're traveling either on donkey or walking. And you'll be given an accommodation voucher for the Bethlehem Inn. And she was saying out at Minamurra that it's only Mary and Joseph that are poor and have to be out in the stable. She'll actually provide the voucher for everybody to stay in the inn. There will be a Roman census form. There will be coins provided. Of course, you do need to bribe the brigands around Samaria, apparently. And gold, frankincense and myrrh gifts for the new baby so that you can give a gift to the new baby. So it's going to be an awesome event and I was just privileged enough to be there today to be excited by it. So the 3rd of December, it'd be really worth being there. Thanks, Nick. So you notice that the 7 o'clock start deliberately because the goal is to link things together. John Hazeltine said there's a probus event every year. They have around the boat ramp at 5:00 or 5:30, they have lots of sausage sizzles and people gathering together. And then we're going to invite them to come across and walk them over into 7 o'clock as well. So that's a good link opportunity. Let's keep thinking about how we can link these things together. So it's time to think again about linking. Cameron, I wasn't here for the start. Do you want to say anything about Advent to us, the series? I appreciate hearing it from you. Blake did say it. I didn't see. Okay, I think that's ticked all the key boxes. Unless I've missed the page. Oh, yes. Oh, there is one more very important thing. Sorry, Mr. Roos. No, I know it's not big on you, but I look to you because you're heart and I know. Stuart, there's two guys. This is the Berkeley aisle. No, jokes aside, it's coming up. Yeah, let's do a big clap for that. It is. We're not narrow thinking at Berkeley, are we? Just like they aren't. They're thinking broadly. Whilst it's really been a difficult year for some, the Booth family and the Havoco family. And Bruce, you've had your own stent of issues, haven't you? Extent can talk to you about what that means later. The point would be there's a lot been happening which doesn't stop us still reaching out to people. It can be very subtle ways and meaningful ways. We're not just trying to get money for the sake of money, but the gift vouchers. The craft group have made beautiful cards and there's a chance also to then link with people, giving it to the right people with the right sort of gift cards. We don't want you buying the gift cards because we're trying to work out they need some Kmart things or Target, depending on who the people are, let alone Coles and other things. So next Sunday's the last day. If you can send it in by then, you can speak to some of the main players in our church or send it in through the office. Make it clear if it's eft that it's for Berkeley, you can put in there. So it's a little envelope. Thanks. Good on your vow. She's so organized. We're actually doing a carols event at Blue Haven, by the way, on the 19th. It's a bit of a way off. We'll tell you about it next week. You can come up. You have to be a member of Blue Haven to be there. We want to reach out to people. We're going to use the village centre filled with people singing great carols. So many good things to look forward to. I think it's time to probably start heading out to morning tea shortly. Oh, I do have one more. Did you see the Insight? We're trying to do puns and jokes about trains and strikes and all that. And it all changed suddenly because it didn't strike. But much more than trains, it's the meal train. Tilly actually did have to go for a significant family event. That's why she couldn't come up and share. But just take a read of the Insight and also think about the fact we're not just trying to give it to people who are necessarily really, really ill or. That's a key area. But there might be some key connecting pastoral moments where we think just a meal might make a big difference. Small things are big things. We receive them through my hip surgery and while Nicky can cook. But just some days were really hectic and busy. A dog was dying at the same time in our family. And that was a really helpful moment, wasn't it, sweetie? So it doesn't matter who it is and how it is. But if you can think about adding your availability and also making connections with Tilly or Jeanette, we'd love to keep thinking about how we can grow people's relationship. More than just a meal, though, but through the Lord's Supper, that's the most significant meal you'll ever have. Thank you. Is that long enough? Do you want me to go longer? Nope. Oh. Ow. Nope. Get off. I'm not a rector warden anymore. Oh, dear Joyce, I'm sorry. Let me pray for the gifts that we are that have been given to us. Joyce graciously came up here and I completely missed her out of the corner of my eye. So let me apologize for that. So. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are a God of all provision. You give us so many things. You give us great gifts. And, Father, we give them back to you in part for the work of your church here and throughout the world. We thank you for Joyce and for Val as they look after the offertory box. And we pray, Father, for your blessing upon them. But we pray, Father, for your blessing upon those gifts, that they might bring people into your kingdom, that they might come to know you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. As Cameron said, this week's Christ the King feast of Christ the King and our last song today is called the King has Come. So will you stand as we sing that song as well? And I will sing my song from holy cross the earth. The king has come the king of. The king has come the king of love has gone but cannot sin with no such joy because of Jesus Christ Christ faithful sinful man Accepted child forgiven son because of Jesus and I will sing my song of love holding out across the earth the king has come the king of the world I will let the wolf come down Mighty nice to have you here. Won't you know them before much love before such grave I will let the wolf come down and I will sing my soul for love calling out across the earth the king will come the king of love has come Trouble kind There is no sea cap G the king has come the king of all the throne and I will sing my songs of love rolling out across the earth the king has come the king of love has come and the trouble might know his feet have gave up and be released the king has come the king of love has come Got there in the end let's say the grace together. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit Be with us all evermore. Amen Go in peace to love and serve the Lord in the name of Christ. Amen. Please stay and have some morning tea with us. This morning they didn't pick up. They came in, like, too bad. And I was like, I thought, you'll catch up. And I thought, no, they're not going to catch up. The problem was I had a H going through I looking at the words, but I got a H going through my head. I got. That's where the intro makes all the difference. Yeah. The problem with a lot of hymns is that you've got the similar center. You've got the same chord going on. And if you land like, that's why it's great. That's why it's great to start with chorus, either the back couple of bars that way just. And then you know how to start. Oh, they'll put the hands in the head. Yeah, you watch and watch again if you want. So you enjoyed anything in particular? Oh, yeah. Okay. All right, great. No, just. Just hold on to them. There's no room. Absolutely no. We're probably not going to watch them together for a long time. We're so busy at the moment. We don't have a kitchen. It's all been stripped out. So I feel like we're camping out at the moment. The new kitchen installation, kitchen tomorrow, hopefully we'll have it all done and done by Christmas, but not relying on it by Christmas because we're actually having Christmas about one of our daughter's places. That house has been like a tip, because in an average kitchen, you've got all sorts of things in cupboards, things that you use every day, something you might use weekly or monthly, some stuff that you should probably have thrown out, use for heat, you know, in the outer reaches, in the back, bottom corners that are hard to reach. And when you. When you renovating by putting a new kitchen in, you empty out all those cupboards and think, oh, my gosh, I didn't realize we got so much stuff and where's it going to go in the meantime? Because if you're trying to live through it, rather than say, well, we're just out of here until it's finished, you've then got to say, well, wherever we put it, wherever we found space for it, we're going to need access to it. And what I've done, our kitchen was effectively a long. Two walls facing each other. And then there was a. Take the counter unit of the original kitchen and moved it over to the other side of the room. So we still got that. And I Took the kitchen sink, which was a large bowl, small bowl grinder. I took an angle grinder to it and cut the large ball off. So that just got the small bowl and the grinder. And that sits on top of the washing machine with the small bowl actually inside the laundry seat. So it actually works very well. So we've actually got the working kitchen sink, albeit a small bowl drainer and tumble dryer that was stacked on top of the washing machine. That top that's behind us, there's another piece of wood over the top. It's like crazy, but it works. So we've got all this improvised temporary kitchen that we're working from. Well, you know, there's no. It's not just the kitchen unit. Stripped out the two call the gyproc off the ceiling and taking gyprock off the walls. They've stripped out a lot of the electric, the wiring, the sockets. Put sockets and fresh wiring in in different places. For the new kitchen layout, gas has been distributed the gas cooker top because we're having an induction electric cooktop instead. But that induction cooktop draws so much power that it can't go on any of the existing circuits. We'd have to run a new circuit from the power board up to the through the top attic to get a two story building and then down the cavity and back across the kitchen wall. It's like crazy. And then they put new ducting in for a ranch or the ducting runs across the ceiling of the kitchen now and go out through a brick in the wall outside and they just put all the gyprock back on the ceiling and put the all the trim around and like what a message. Yes. Every, every contractor, every tradie, he's had his victor do the electricians, the plasterer, the plumber. This is the mess. That stuff has been stripped out to you. Oh gosh. This is one direct. Well, it's starting to look okay because we've got the ceiling back in now which hides all of the mess that was there before. We were really concerned for our cat.