In touch	Check-in	Intercessions
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In touch

Up-to-the-minute jumping-off points for sermons, linking the reading to the latest news and global issues

 

Never ever forgotten

Others may forget you, but your Father God never will. (Isaiah 40:21-31)

 

Context

• Over 900 former Post Office workers have gained national attention since it was proven that the computer software Horizon wrongly made them out to be stealing money from the branches they managed. The Post Office scandal is being called one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in UK history.
• As far back as 2019, the Post Office stated that it would pay compensation to the 557 people who won the associated lawsuit – but many of these people still have not been compensated and are still waiting for their convictions to be overturned.
• Comparisons have been drawn between the Post Office scandal and the Windrush scandal, uncovered in 2018.
• Many of the Windrush generation unjustly impacted by the scandal still have not received the payouts promised to them in 2018. Of the number promised compensation, 44 have died while still awaiting a redressing of the wrongs done to them.

 

Ideas for sermons or interactive talks

• Human beings are wont to let us down. The promises made by government ministers – which remain unfulfilled – regarding both the Post Office and Windrush scandals clearly demonstrate this. God is not human (Isaiah 40:25; Numbers 23:19); God won’t forget us (Isaiah 49:15-16) and won’t change his mind! God is our perfect
  Father (1 John 3:1) and keeps his promises.
• When we do not see the unmistakable handprints of God in the areas in which we desire breakthrough, we may think he is not acting at all. It is this feeling of despair which the prophet Isaiah expresses in verse 27: ‘‘My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God". Imagine you were one of the Post Office workers or Windrush generation affected by the injustices outlined above. You, too, would likely feel forgotten and devalued. It is precisely in these moments that we should ‘wait on the Lord’ (v.31). God will always take our side when we have been wronged (Romans 12:19) and, as we wait, he will never forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8).
• Waiting on the Lord is not like waiting on human beings – whether they be our political leaders or our pastors! Waiting on our Father God gives us supernatural strength (v.29-31). Entrusting our futures and concerns to God gives us the wonderful opportunity to see his greatness on a larger scale, as when we are weak, he is strong (2 Corinthians 12:9). As the prophet lays out in verse 28, our God is ‘everlasting’, and one of his many superpowers is that he never grows faint or weary. Even if our breakthrough does not occur according to our timelines, God will make all things beautiful in his time (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

 

Questions for discussion

• In what areas are you waiting on the Lord for breakthrough?
• How does it make you feel that with God’s help, not only can you run and not be weary and walk and not faint, but you can soar on wings like eagles?
• How do you feel when you picture the palms of God’s hands, with your name inscribed on them? (Isaiah 49:16)

Ruth Akinradewo loves to advocate for the voiceless. She does this mainly as Communications Manager at the Caribbean and African Health Network, and as a trustee for Beauty for Ashes Refuges.

 

 

Check-in

Connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues for young people

Last Saturday, the youth team that I work with ran a sleepout to raise money and awareness about homelessness. I am not someone who enjoys camping, so this is not my favourite event!

People who are homeless might justifiably feel that life has not treated them fairly. I am miserable after sleeping outside for one night, to do it every night could make people feel unseen, even abandoned, by God. This was the fifth time we have camped out, and we have already started planning for next year. The thought of doing it again, that people will still be homeless, fills me with despair. I wonder what, if anything, we have achieved in this time.

Yet, the passage this morning describes a powerful creator God, who would know if a single star in the sky was missing. This is a God who sees and cares about every one of us. A God who gives strength to the weak, and power to those who have none. It is not for us to despair or achieve; if we rely on our own strength, we will tire. Rather we are called to trust in God, to look for where God is at work in the world, and to listen for where we are being called to join in with that work.

Where is God at work in your school, church or community?

How is God calling you to join in with that work?

Victoria Etherington is children’s, youth and family’s ministry leader for the Yorkshire North and East Methodist District. Find out more about the ways in which you can support Carecent and Inspire North.

 

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