There are some sheets of paper up around the hall with the words tired and stumbling on them.  There will be some people you know who are tired and I am not just talking about lack of sleep – they are tired of things being the way they are, tired of being on their own, tired of struggling at maths, just tired,…..

There will be some other people who have stumbled, they will have made a decision they now wish they had not made, they perhaps got involved in something that they should not have done, they have stumbled,…

Go and write their first names down on the pieces of paper.  Don’t be shy, write down as many names as you can think of.  Work colleagues, people here at the Bridge, someone who you live with, someone who you met in the street last week, a friend on Facebook…

This evening we spend our third and final week looking at where we are going over the next year at the Bridge.  And it is to do with all of the people who we have written down on these pieces of paper. After discussion, prayer and reflection Tim along with David, Joy and the Core Team think that the image of the eagle soaring in the sky, its two wings outstretched, balanced and graceful is the picture that God has given us as a community.

The two wings for our community at the moment are discipleship and outreach.  Both have to be in balance and active.  But what does this mean?

Well, within our community we are all on a journey exploring what God means to us and what God sees in us.  Discipleship means that as a community we need to care for and nurture each other as we journey together.  Exploring prayer, bible reading, healing, meditation, acts of service and so on are all aspects of us journeying together.

At the same time we must not lose sight of the fact that the reason this community exists is to provide a welcome and a home for those who would not normally go to church or would not expect to find answers to their questions there.  Sometimes these people are called the unchurched.  We must always challenge ourselves with the question – would this make it harder for someone to hear what God may be saying to them?

But it is not about choosing one over the other, indeed that I think has been the mistake too often within the wider Church and for individual Christians.  The eagle will not fly if it does not beat with both of its wings.  A bird with one wing stronger than the other will fly in circles or plummet to the ground.  Our two wings as a Bridge community must be to reach out to unchurched people at the same time as offering opportunities for a deeper discipleship for each existing member of this community.  We don’t need to be sorted in our own lives before we can reach out to those around us who struggle to hear and see God at work in their lives, otherwise we would never start! And its OK for us to admit that at times we find it hard to hear and see God at work.

The picture of the eagle is used to good effect in Isaiah 40 where Isaiah writes that “those who wait upon God get fresh strength.  They spread their wings and soar like eagles.  They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.”

Over the next few weeks we will explore more of what Isaiah means in this chapter.  The whole section of our Bible reading Isaiah 40: 27-31 reads as follows:

Why would you ever complain, O Jacob,

or, whine, Israel, saying,

“God has lost track of me. He doesn’t care what happens to me”?

Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening? God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine.  He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath.  And he knows everything, inside and out.

He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts.  For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.

Isaiah 40; 27-31 (The Message)

He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts.  For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.

Now do you see where these people fit into where we are heading in the next year.

God energises those who get tired

God gives strength to dropouts

Those who wait upon God find fresh strength

Those who wait upon God spread their wings and soar like eagles

Those who wait upon the Lord will run and not get tired.

Those who wait upon the Lord will walk and not lag behind.

Activity

Pray for the people who we have written down.

Sit and wait upon God

Find a piece of paper, write down the names of the 3 people, put it in  your purse, wallet and carry them for the next month. Pray for them during Lent.

Chat with a person next to you about how this might impact you.