Central Presbyterian Church - Sunday Service

May 24

by Aubrey Botha https://cpcchurchimages.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/27003503/May-24-Sermon.mp3 [https://cpcchurchimages.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/27003503/May-24-Sermon.mp3] EZEKIEL 37:1-14 THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES 37 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath[a [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel%2037%3A1-14&version=NIV#fen-NIV-21403a]] enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army. 11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”   TRANSCRIPT (Transcribed by TurboScribe) Father, you are good. I need help. They need help. Thank you that we may stand before you in the name of Jesus. May we see Jesus and only Jesus. Amen. So last week I made a little mistake. I said we’re starting a new series today. I actually meant after Pentecost. Today is Pentecost and then next week we’ll start a new series. It’s going to be fun. The series is called At the Right Time and we’re going to talk a little bit about the life of a man called Joseph and see what God says to our lives about that. But today is the day of Pentecost where we celebrate the Holy Spirit and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Now I don’t know if you have ever noticed as you read scripture that it does not only have God’s answers to many of our life questions that we have. Many of the things that we go through in life that God gives us answers to those where we ask for that. But it also has God’s questions. Questions that God asks us about our lives, about who we are, about how we live, about how life around us looks like. Let me give you a few examples because these questions are meant for us to stop, take stock, look at our own lives. Ask, what is God asking of me? Way back when in the garden when Adam and Eve messed up and God came looking for them, they went and they hid. And what was God’s question? Where are you? Having them think for a moment, why are we hiding? What did we do? And God asks, where are you? And often he asks us, where are you? When Moses was reluctant when God called him to go and free his people from Egypt and Moses had all of these excuses one after the other, God asked him a question. What was the question? What do you have in your hand? There was only a staff, but that staff became a snake. That staff became that which changed the Nile into blood. That staff became that which parted the sea. That staff became that which hit the rock and the water came from the rock. And often God asks us, what do you have in your hand? There was this guy called Jacob, the heel grabber, the deceiver. When he came back to the land and there at the Jabbok, he wrestled with God and God asked him a question. Can you remember what the question was? What is your name? And he had to say the name out loud, Jacob, deceiver, the one who deceived my father, my brother, my father-in-law, who deceived them all. I am Jacob and now you will be Isaac. No, Israel. You will be Israel, the one that I have called. And then there was this man called Peter. Peter, the old loud mouth. Peter said, Lord, they’ll all deceive you and they’ll all turn their backs on you and all. I’ll never do that. Peter stands there at the fire and they said, ah, you were one of them. And he said, I don’t know who you’re talking about. I don’t know this man. And then Jesus meets up with him, John 21, at the sea of Galilee and Jesus asks him a question. Can you remember the question? Do you love me? Often God will ask. One more and then we’ll go to our question of the day. There was this man, Paul. He was on his way to Damascus on this road and the Lord stopped him and he asked him a question. Why are you persecuting me? The questions God asks us. They’re meant to stop me in my tracks and let me look at myself and say, why are you asking me the question, Lord? What do you mean by asking me the question? It makes me embark on that journey to look at my relationship with God and ask, when am I with you, Lord? It takes me on another journey where it asks me to look at this relationship with these loved ones that God puts all around me. How are you doing with them? What is your relationship? The questions God asks us. So on this Pentecost Sunday, there is a question for us and what better place to go than the book of Ezekiel chapter 37. I’m going to read verses 1 to 14. The hand of the Lord was on me and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley. It was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, and here is the question for today. Son of man, can these bones live? And I said, sovereign Lord, you alone know. And then he said to me, prophesy to these bones and say to them, dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. This is what the sovereign Lord says to these bones. I will make breath enter you and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you and you will come to life. And then you will know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together bone to bone. And I looked and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them. But, there’s the but, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to it, this is what the sovereign Lord says, come breath from the four winds and breathe into these slain that they may live. Can I just stop there for one second? The one thing that we miss when we read English and not Hebrew is that sometimes there are words that are used that have more meaning. The word spirit, the word breath, and the word wind in Hebrew are all exactly the same word. It’s difficult for Canadian tongue to say because there’s a rrr in there and there’s a rrr in there. Ruach, the spirit, the breath, the wind of the Lord. So look how the Lord uses those. The spirit brings him, then he prays for the breath to the wind and the wind brings the breath. Verse 10, so I prophesied as he commanded me and breath entered them and they came to life, stood up on their feet, a vast army. And then he said to me, son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say our bones are dried up and our hope is gone and we’re cut off. Therefore, prophesy and say to them, this is what the sovereign Lord says. My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them. I will bring you back to the land of Israel and then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord when I open your graves and bring you up from them. And I will put my spirit, my wind, my breath in you and you will live. And I will settle you in your own land and then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and I have done it, declares the Lord. So God takes Ezekiel, and this is in a time when God’s people are in Babylonian exile, when they’ve lost everything. God takes Ezekiel and he puts him in this dry valley through the spirit, looks at the valley and there’s the skeleton bones of people lying there, dead, dried out, and it represents how God’s people feel about themselves. Dry, hopeless, dead, just there’s nothing left. They’re sitting in this situation and they’re going nowhere. And in this moment, God asks the question, can these bones live? What a profoundly poignant question, not just for people who are in exile and have lost everything, but a question for today and for each one of us. Can these bones live? Because so many of us struggle with the dry bones syndrome in this world. People struggling with their lives, people struggling with things around them. This world’s struggling with itself right now. It is quite dry and dead and desolate despite the fact that we have AI and all kinds of other jazz going on. So many people struggle with a dry bone syndrome, but also in our faith walk, many folks struggle with dry bones. They go through the motions. We read, we pray, we sing, but it’s dry and it’s empty and there’s nothing. And the question is, can these bones live? Let me try three answers. Two of those, I think, will lead us down a path that’s a cul-de-sac. And then one of those, I think, is one that will lead us on a path of life. And these are not answers that I thought out. These are the answers that we see. Answer number one. Can these bones live? Lord, step back. Let me do this. I’ll show you how it’s done. I’ll show you how we get these bones going again. Answer number one. And then we do it. And it’s the I thing. I’m going to study more. I’ll learn about the word more. I’ll pray more. I’ll go for more studies. I’ll get the Bible and I’ll read it from front to back and from back to front. Watch me, Lord. And then these bones will live. Here’s the problem. It’s the Pharisee problem when we do that. Because those Pharisees, they knew the first five books, the Torah, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, knew them off by heart. They could recite them word by Hebrew word. They knew the Ten Commandments. They lived by them. They actually made 613 laws from those first five books. Do’s and don’ts. 365 of those were don’ts. One for each day of the year. They had it all. Stand back, Lord. We can do it. And they could tick them off. I did that one. I did that one. I did that one. I’m okay. The bones are alive. Remember what Jesus said to them? Matthew 23, 27. He said, Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees. On the outside, you look like beautiful whitewashed graves. But on the inside, you’re filled with dead bones. The dry bone syndrome. We cannot solve that by saying, step back. I’ll do it. I’m gonna do more. It’s not about more. Oh, I’ll do new resolutions. I’ll go pray earlier in the morning. I’ll get up four o’clock. Can I tell you something? I never pray four o’clock in the morning because even God does not want to deal with me four o’clock in the morning. Way too grumpy. And then we do that. And then the poor family gets up. And then I’m grumpy with them. And the rest of the day is grumpy. And instead of getting closer to the Lord, I’m actually getting further away. And the bones are just getting drier and drier and drier. Sometimes there’s a second answer. Can these bones live? I don’t think so. The answer. I don’t think so. That’s the answer of despair, of disappointment, of discouragement, of a life that’s kind of going nowhere. And I’m thinking when I look at what God’s expectations are, I don’t think I have it. I don’t think I can do it. I don’t think I’ll ever live up to that. I don’t think so. The problem with the first two is what you know me by now. I’ve said it a million times. It’s the I trouble. I trouble. Where we think I can do it. Leave it to me. I’m sorry to say it, my friends, but none of us can make those dry bones live again. Not on our own. We can’t. Maybe the third answer is the one that we need to think about for a second. Ezekiel, can these bones live? What was his answer? Sovereign Lord, you alone know. The question about life for dry bones is a question that only the living God can answer. Because it is only the living God that can give his living spirit, wind, breath, and blow that into our lives. It is only when God pours out that amazing gift of his Holy Spirit that those dry bones become life in all of its fullness and all of its abundance again. Because hear me, the Holy Spirit of God is not a ghost. The Holy Spirit of God is not some kind of it or power. The Holy Spirit of God is God in the present. It is God in his presence in my life and in your life that breathes the breath in us. Think about it. Genesis 1, when this world was formless and dark and it was nothing, who was the one that changed that? And the breath of God came over this formless thing and the breath of God breathed and it changed into the most beautiful creature. God made two little clay people and God breathed and the breath of God went into them and they became the most beautiful living images of the living. Oh the breath of God. When those disciples were so afraid after Jesus died on the cross, they locked themselves up in that upper room and they sat there like chickens on a perch on a day when there’s thunder and lightning and they’re so scared sitting in there. All of a sudden the Lord Jesus stands there and what does he do? He breathes on them and he says, receive the Spirit, the promise that was made. You will be my witnesses when the Spirit of God comes upon you. Just in that moment happens and after that breath, that man called Peter who denied and who was so scared, he would stand out there and he would preach and thousands would hear the word of the Lord. That same man, Paul, when the breath of God breathed on him, became a man who would go to the ends of the earth to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ despite the fact that his life was dry. He lived in prison for most of his life. How many times did he receive those 40 lashes on his back? How many times did he go without food and yet Paul always rejoiced in the Lord. Always, he said, rejoice. Why? Because that is what happens when the breath of God comes upon you and God breathes that breath. Oh Spirit of God, breathe on this church, Lord. Breathe on each one of us, Lord. Breathe that breath. Breathe it in and live the way that you would want us to live. How do we do that? How do we allow that? Maybe it starts by acknowledging that I need the breath of God. Anyone here need the breath of God? I’ll put both my hands up. There’s a beautiful story in the Jewish Talmud that tells about a young man who comes to the city gates because the wise men would always sit there. The elders of the community sit there and the young people would come ask them questions. This young man comes to this old man and he says to him, how can I have more of God in my life? The old man says, come with me and he takes him down to the river. When they get to the river, he asked the young man to kneel. As the young man kneeled, the old man comes from the back and he pushes his head into the water and he keeps his head down under the water. He holds him and he holds him until this young man starts kicking. Then he takes him out and as he takes his breath, the old man says to him, the day you need God as much as you needed this breath is when the breath of God will come into you. Maybe we need to learn how to breathe and acknowledge the breath of God. Lord, I need you is a song that we sing. Lord, I need you every hour. I need you by one defence, my righteousness. Oh, how I need you. Maybe we need to accept the promise of God. Verse 5, verse 6, verse 10, verse 14. This is what the sovereign Lord says, I will make breath enter you and you will come to life. Verse 6, I will put breath in you and you will come to life. Verse 10, so I prophesied as he commanded me and breath entered them and they came to life. Verse 14, but I want to start a little earlier with verse 12 and listen to the eyes, God’s eyes. My people, says the Lord, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them. I will bring you back to the land. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord. When I open your graves and bring you up from them, I will put my spirit in you and you will live. And I will settle you in your own land. And then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and I have done it, declares the Lord. Eleven eyes in these few verses. That is the promise of God. I will breathe on you. I will breathe my breath on you. If only you will receive and breathe in. Where we can say, breathe on me, breath of God, until I am holy time. That’s what we sing. Breathe on me, breath of God, and fill me with your fullness. Breathe on me, breath of God, when I am empty and lonely and stuck. Breathe on me, breath of God, when I am so dry that I’m just lying like bones in a valley. Breathe on me, breath of God, even when I don’t understand. Breathe on me, fill me with the breath, with the wind, with the fire of your spirit. Be quiet for a moment. Let’s allow the breath of God to breathe, will we? Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. Breathe, oh spirit of God in this place. Breathe your breath, your life, on each one of us. Thank you for the breath that breathes when we are broken and hurt. Thank you for the breath that breathes when we are filled with joy and happy. Thank you for the breath that breathes when we stand breathless before our King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Thank you for the breath that gives life in all of its fullness. Thank you for your work, Holy Spirit, our comforter, our friend, our helper, the breath of God in us. Breathe, spirit, breathe. We pray in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.

May 17

by Aubrey Botha https://cpcchurchimages.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/18115449/May-17-Sermon.mp3 [https://cpcchurchimages.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/18115449/May-17-Sermon.mp3] 1 THESSALONIANS 5:18 (MSG) 16-18 Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. MATTHEW 8:5-10A,13 (NLT) THE FAITH OF A ROMAN OFFICER 5 When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer[a [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%208%3A5-10a%2C13&version=NLT#fen-NLT-23327a]] came and pleaded with him, 6 “Lord, my young servant[b [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%208%3A5-10a%2C13&version=NLT#fen-NLT-23328b]] lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.” 7 Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. 9 I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! TRANSCRIPT (Transcribed by TurboScribe) We’re ending our series on prayer today, and starting a new series next week. The new series will be called, At the Right Time. You’ll have to come listen to know what it’s all about, but gonna have some fun with that. That’s a four-part series that we’re doing, kind of just before we hit the summer. And then I’m gonna be gone, I’m gonna leave you alone, and you’ll have some other people that’ll preach for you. Lord, thank you for your word. Thank you that the word always speaks into our lives, calls us to that moment to stand before you and ask, so, so Lord, what do you ask of me? In this morning, as always, we pray. We want to see Jesus. And only Jesus. The road of life can sometimes be long and hard, right? Especially when we hit those lonely, those desolate, those broken sections that seem to just kind of go on and on and on. And all you have is prayer. But it’s also true that even the most desolate road will sometimes have its moments of beauty and comfort and care. Maybe you’ll find it sitting in the shade on a hot summer’s day and just being alone for a moment and being able to speak your heart with the Lord. Just talk to him about everything in your life. Maybe it’s in finding that solution for a problem that’s been bugging you for so long and you’ve been struggling with so long. And all of a sudden, there’s the solution that you’ve been waiting for. Maybe it’s in an answered prayer when a prodigal son or daughter finally returns home. No, the thing is this. It is easy to be grateful and to give thanks when things are going well, things are working out for you. But it’s a little more difficult to say a prayer of thanks when life is hard and things are difficult and you’re struggling. So how do we do that? How do we live that? That first congregation that I told you about this morning was huge. But the cool thing about that congregation was it was 4,000 members strong. Just, it’s crazy. The average age was 43. So that’s why I baptised 23 babies. You’ll understand now. So we didn’t have a lot of senior folks there, but there was one beautiful, beautiful lady in that church. 75 years old. I think she was one of the oldest members in the church. 75. The most godly, God-fearing, Christ-following person that you could ever meet in your life sold out to the Lord Jesus. It just radiated from her. Served the Lord with everything in her. And then she got sick. And it was a horrible illness that there was no cure for. It just sucked the life out of her. And we just saw this just going down until at some stage she was bedridden. I would often go visit her. And one day I stopped at her house and we sat talking. I just could see it was a hard, hard day. And I said to her, I can see it’s a tough day for you. She says, oh no, I’ve never been better. And I said, yeah, you’re a good liar like most of us. I can see that. I said, you know, your daughter called me and she said, you’re not sleeping lately. She says, yeah, that’s true. I don’t really sleep much at night. She says, but you know what I can do when I’m awake? I can pray. I talk to the Lord. So every time I’m awake, I just have this wonderful time in the presence of the Lord, just talking to Him and giving my life to Him and allowing Him to speak into my life. And I sat there and boy did I have to swallow because I wanted to cry in that moment. And I’m supposed to be this pastor guy who’s there for her. I just was quiet for a little bit. And we spoke more and we read and we prayed together as we did. When I got in that car, I bawled my eyes out. It was about five o’clock that afternoon. I got a call from her daughter. She said, mom’s gone home to be with Jesus. How do we obtain this kind of victory? How do we die with gratitude despite what’s going on and the struggles and the hurts and the pains? How do we do that? How do we live that victory? Can I give you an answer? By living a life of gratitude. Listen to what the Word says. This is not me. The Bible says this. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 16 to 18. I’m reading from the message for you. Be cheerful no matter what. Pray all the time and thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. Be cheerful no matter what. Thank God no matter what happens. This is how God wants you who belong to Jesus to live. In Scripture, giving thanks is not just something that I could decide that I want to do every now and then. In Scripture, it’s written right there. It’s not a suggestion but a command. More than a hundred times you’ll find it written. Give thanks to the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. Do not be anxious about anything but through prayer and petition and with thanksgiving. Give your requests to God over and over and over. Give thanks. Thanks. How do we obtain that victory? By living a life of gratitude. I think the first sin was the sin of ingratitude. Remember the story right? This man called Adam and Eve or the man called Adam and his wife Eve. They lived in this beautiful garden called Eden. Eden that means this place of beauty and provision. God put them there and there was everything you could see, you could love, you could want, you could eat, everything. They needed nothing. It was so beautiful that God came and just walked through this garden. That’s how amazing it was. And then the snake slithered in and asked the question about a forbidden tree. They had everything they needed. But all of a sudden Eden was not good enough. There should be more said the devil. And ingratitude moved in like a bully on the block. Can you imagine what would have happened if gratitude won the day? If Adam and Eve scoffed at the devil and said, you get out here you snake. You have no idea. Have you seen this place? It’s got orange groves. It’s got strawberry patches. It’s got apple trees. It’s got blueberry bushes. It’s got it all. You want a tour? Get yourself out of here. But he hissed and he hissed and oh the hisses we hear every day. You need more. You don’t have enough. More cars, more horsepower, more money. More fame, more of this, more, more, more. Sounds like a song, doesn’t it? But here’s the thing. God has given us a way to break that and to step on that thing’s head. It’s called gratitude. Living before the Lord with thanks no matter what. Praying with thanksgiving no matter what. As I was preparing, I was looking for an example and I read this kind of funny, sad story. The lawyer won a case for his client and the client was really grateful for that. And he said, can I take you out for lunch to say thank you? And then we can just square up there. I’ll pay you your bill and everything is well there. But let’s go for lunch and just celebrate this. So they went for lunch, had a wonderful lunch. At the end of the lunch, the client took out of his jacket pocket a brand spanking new genuine leather wallet. And he handed that to the lawyer. The lawyer looked at the wallet, he gave it back. He said, no, no, no, I’m sorry. My fee is $500. Client smiled, took the wallet, opened it up. And he took out 10 $100 notes, counted out five, put five in the wallet. He gave him the wallet back, right? Don’t be too quick in your assessment of God’s gifts in your life. Also in the broken and the desolate and the difficult moments. Thank God every moment, every day, I think of that woman again. It’s been a tough, no, no, I’m doing well because I was in the Lord’s presence. You don’t sleep. Oh, but I’m awake and I can talk to God. Don’t be too quick in your assessment of God’s gifts in your life. Thank you. Father, you are good. Sermon number one. I need help. Sermon number two. They need help. Last week, today. Thank you. But there’s one little element that still comes with that. In the name of Jesus. Why? Another story for you. It comes from Matthew. For this one, I need my glasses because I couldn’t print it as big as the other one. Thanks, Ted. Matthew 8, 5 to 13. When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him. Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralysed and in terrible pain. Jesus said, I’ll come and heal him. But the officer said, Lord, I’m not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say go and they go or come and they come. And if I say to my slaves, do this, they do it. When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. And then I’m skipping to verse 13. And then Jesus said to the Roman officer, go back home because you believed it has happened. And the young servant was healed that same hour. This Roman officer understood authority because he stood under authority, but he had authority and understood to listen to him. But when he looked at Jesus, he knew what real authority was. You don’t have to come to my house. What you have, you can stand right here and you can heal that servant. He understood the authority of Jesus. Do we? Do you know the power of the name of Jesus Christ? Do you know the authority that it has when you speak that name? Do you know that Satan and all of his devils, every time we say that name, they cringe. When he was in their presence, you read that often. What did those devils do? Don’t hurt us. Don’t do this because in the name of Jesus Christ, there is so much power. Just think about it. The Roman authority, what did they try to do? They tried to get rid of Jesus. The false religion, they tried to silence Jesus. The devil tried to kill Jesus and they all failed. Even death couldn’t hold him. He could speak a coin from the mouth of a fish. The wind and the storm and the waves listened when he spoke. He spoke to a tree that died. He spoke to a basket and it became a banquet. That’s why we pray in the name of Jesus. Because does he not remind us, Matthew 28, 18. Anyone know what that one is? For I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. All authority. When we pray in the name of Jesus, we talk to our Father because of what Jesus did and because of what Jesus can do in our lives. When I pray in the name of Jesus, it’s not the talisman that I’m using. It’s a declaration. Sickness is not in charge of my life. Jesus is. The economy is not in charge. Jesus is. My grumpy old neighbour that thinks he’s in charge of the world is not. Jesus is. Because in the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he is the Lord. And we pray in the name of Jesus. Why do we pray? Because prayer matters. We pray because prayer is good because God is good. And when you come to those moments where you feel I don’t know the words, try this. Father, you are good. I need help. So do they. Thank you. In Jesus’ name, amen. Take a few moments, silent prayer. Father, you are good. Your goodness and your mercy follow us all the days of our lives. Even if we tried, we could not get away from your goodness. Many of us sit here today, Lord, and we say the words, good Father, I need help. And that might be a need for many things. Thank you that we know that you’re here, that you understand, and that you are there. But Father, there are other people too who need your help. And we pray for each other. We pray that you will hear the prayers of those that we love. We pray that you will hear the prayers of those that we struggle to love. Thank you that you love all of us compassionately. Lord Jesus, thank you for the name above all names. Thank you for what you are, who you are in our lives. We pray this prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

May 10

by Aubrey Botha https://cpcchurchimages.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/13224917/May-10-Sermon.mp3 [https://cpcchurchimages.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/13224917/May-10-Sermon.mp3] LUKE 11:5-10 5 Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ 8 But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.[a [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2011%3A5-10&version=NLT#fen-NLT-25382a]] 9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. ISAIAH 65:24 I will answer them before they even call to me.     While they are still talking about their needs,     I will go ahead and answer their prayers! JOHN 14:13-14 13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it! TRANSCRIPT (Transcribed by TurboScribe) Good morning. What an amazing church this is. I had to go for some tests this morning here at the hospital, and I wasn’t sure that I was gonna make it back, and sure what the tests were gonna do. So late night, I text my brother Jimmy, and I said, Jim, I know this is late night. I’m not feeling all that great, and I don’t know about tomorrow. Would you stand in and just be on call if maybe I need you to get up there and preach, and Jimmy said, not a problem. I’ll be there. He made a mistake, though. He said, if you want to, I can take your notes, and I said, Jim, you don’t read hieroglyphics. You won’t be able to read that, and Alexander, I just said, Alexander, maybe Jim’s gonna be there and take care of this and take care of that, and this morning I said to Scott, Scotty, if I can sit for a little longer, it will be really neat. Can you just do the prayer song, and Scott just did the prayer song, and what an amazing place this is, where people give and give freely of themselves. Thank you, Central. You’ve been like that. I’ve been here 25 years. You’ve been like that for 25 years. Our prayers go to David DeVisser’s family. David passed away. It’s in the bulletin. The funeral is Friday at 11 o’clock, Thursday evening, 6 to 8. We’ll have a visitation here at the church. Please continue to pray for David’s family. We’re gonna miss him. He was much loved in this place. As we, in these moments, prepare, Lord, to be in your word and to listen for your word. Thank you that you prepare our hearts. Thank you, Holy Spirit of God. Not only are you the one who inspired these words, but you are the one who takes them and puts them in our hearts, and then you guide us as we live the word. And this morning again, as we pray, it’s always that we want to see Jesus and only Jesus. In your precious name, we pray, Lord. Amen. The phone rings, and on the other end, you just hear this distraught voice of a friend or a loved one. And as they continue talking, and you hear the fear and the hurt and the struggle, and you hear the tears, you sit on the other end, and you wonder, what can I do when the challenge that comes to me from someone else is greater than I am? What I want to help but I feel so helpless, so hopeless. Where do I turn? What do I do with this? This is a problem that Dr. Helen Rosevere faced in her fourth year of 20 years that she would work in the Congo, way back, days before cell phones and all these great things. She was a missionary doctor from England working in the Congo at a small orphanage, a little bit of a hospital there as well. And on this day, in that fourth year of working there, Helen was helping a mother who was giving birth, but it was premature birth, and the mother died during giving birth. She left behind a little prematurely born baby and a two-year-old little girl. She sent one of the teacher midwives to go fetch a warm water bottle, fill it with water, and bring that because they had no incubators. There’s no electricity, none of this stuff to help this little baby. The nurse comes back, and she’s crying. She says, doctor, you won’t believe it. When I poured the water into the hot water bottle, it just burst, and that was the only hot water bottle we have. Here’s this little baby. What do you do? So, they set up a little team that would sleep with the baby and hold them close and put the blankets all over, and they would just do that through the night to keep this little thing going. Next day, during lunchtime, all of the kids of the orphanage was there as well, and Helen would always tell them what’s going on and pray with them. And this day, she told them about the little two-year-old and about the little baby. And their need. Because how would they get a warm water bottle there in the middle of nowhere? There’s no contact. The only way that would happen is if someone would send a parcel from England. But who’s going to send a hot water bottle to someone who lives on the equator, right? So, she tells them, and then they pray. And then this little girl, and you can go read this. Helen wrote this in a book called Living Faith. She writes, this little girl gets up. Her name is Ruth. She’s 10 years old. They all prayed, but one 10-year-old girl named Ruth took it on herself to take the problem directly to Jesus. Please, God, she said, send us a water bottle. It’ll be no good tomorrow, God. The baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon. And while you’re at it, would you please send a doll for the little girl’s sister so that she will know that you really love her. Helen said she struggled to say amen after this prayer, because how is this ever going to be possible? Where’s this gonna come from? In the four years she’s been there, she’s never even received a parcel from home. So, how? Went along the day, and she was working, and someone came running up and said, there’s someone with a car at your door. She ran out, got there, car was gone, but there’s this huge box, 22 pounds in weight, all beautifully wrapped. So, she thought this must be gifts for the kids. So, she calls the kids. They open the box. They unwrap it. She opens it up. Yes, there’s supplies, bandages, special wool for the folks with leprosy, some sultanas in a bottle, some raisins in cans, and then, as she calls them, jerseys, sweaters for the kids. And as she’s taking them out, her hand feels something, and she’s thinking, no, this can’t be. And she takes it out, and there’s a hot water bottle in the box. True story, I’m telling you right now. As she takes that out, little Ruth sees this, and she comes flying up to the box, and she says, if there’s a hot water bottle, there has to be a doll, too. And she’s in the box, and there’s this beautiful little doll. When Ellen looked at the label on the box, it was sent five months earlier from England. It reminded me of this beautiful word in Isaiah chapter 65, and Ted, you have that on the screen. I will answer them before they even call to me. And while they’re still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers. Do I have to preach? Here’s your sermon. I will answer them before they even call to me. While they’re still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers. The Lord answered little Ruth’s prayer even before she prayed that prayer. As I read that, I not only got emotional about this little girl, but I thought to myself, do I have that kind of faith? A faith that prays so boldly, God, we need a water bottle this afternoon. Tomorrow’s too late, and a little doll while you’re at it. Bold. Right there, right before the Lord accepting the challenge that Jesus gave us. Can you remember the challenge Jesus gave in John 14? It’s up there, Ted. Ask anything in my name, and I will do it. Why? To glorify the Father. Put the rest on there, Ted. Ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. Ruth took God up on that challenge. What about us? What about us? We all need help, right? We said that in the series. Father, you’re good. Last week we said, I need help. We need help for those moments when that engine light comes on and life breaks down, that God needs to step in, and we ask that. But here’s the thing. So do other people, that friend, that neighbour, that loved one that gets on that phone. And God who is faithful in his word and promises to meet my needs is also the God who promises to meet others’ needs. All we have to do is to ask. Father, you are good. I need help. So do they. And with those words, we intercede for other people. Asking God to do his miracles in their lives. It’s a huge gift to be able to do that, but it’s also this awesome responsibility. Father, they need help. Listen to what Jesus says about this. Here’s a scripture passage for the day, Luke 11. Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story. This is Jesus. Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, a friend of mine has just arrived for a visit and I have nothing for him to eat. And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you. But, here’s that biblical but, I tell you this, though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. And so I tell you, keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives. Everyone who seeks finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. See, this is intercessory prayer. In its purest form. It’s a combination of of paucity, that just being succinct, they need help, and audacity. Not tomorrow, Lord. Today, Father, they need help. I can’t help them. But you can. This is the kind of prayer that gets God’s attention. And even that grumpy old neighbour in the end actually got up and opened the door and gave. How much more will my heavenly Father open that door when I knock? The one who never slumbers or sleeps, the one who says my ears are not deaf, that they cannot hear, my hands will always give. How much more will he give when I knock on that door? Father, they need help. Think of Jesus, his whole life. He never refused any intercessory request. Peter brought his mother-in-law. The centurion brought his slave. Jairus brought his dead daughter. And one by one by one by one by one, Jesus continued to take those requests and fulfil them. I’m reading Mark for my own quiet time again, and you read those first three chapters. They just were bringing them to Jesus all the time, and just heal, and just do, and he just did that. He never refuses that. That is the joy of his heart. He did lose it on the disciples once. Matthew chapter 17. I don’t know if you remember the story. His father brought his son who was struggling with epilepsy, brought him to the disciples, and he said, please help. The disciples couldn’t help, so they said, sorry, we can’t help you. Go home. The father didn’t give up, and he went to Jesus. He said, they couldn’t help me, and that’s when Jesus lost it. Why didn’t you bring the boy to me? He said to them. And then he uses a word in verse 20 to explain a little something. He talked about this is unbelief. Belief is to take it to Jesus and to accept that Jesus can do what I cannot do. Unbelief is to say, well, I’m going to try it on my own, and if I can’t do it, sorry, there’s nothing I can do for you. His joy is to hear our requests and to take care of those requests, because here’s the thing. The privilege of intercessory prayer is that we are called, 2 Corinthians 5.20, we are called the ambassadors of Christ. It’s an interesting word in Greek. Here’s your Greek lesson for the day. Do you know what the Greek word for ambassador is? I still owe you a coffee, Dave, now that I think of it. I’ll have to make it two coffees for this one. The Greek word for ambassador is presbyteros, presbyterian. Same word, same word. Ambassadors. We are the ambassadors for Christ so that we speak for Him. We speak on behalf of our neighbours. We speak on behalf of our loved ones. We speak on behalf of those who have needs. You just did it this morning, Scott, and this wasn’t written in the sermon, but you just did it this morning. You prayed for people in the church. You prayed for me. You prayed for David’s family. That’s what we are, ambassadors for Christ to speak for the needs of others when sometimes they cannot speak for their own needs. Father, He puts that in our hearts. Father, they need help. I can’t help them, but you can. When we come and we intercede like this, we acknowledge that I can do it, my inability, but I also acknowledge God’s ability. I come with my empty hands, but I come with high hopes. Ephesians chapter 3. For He can do so much more than we could ever think or dream or fathom. Philippians 4. And He will provide for us from the fullness of His riches. All I have to do. Father, they need help. I want to tell you a little story and I’ll end with that from my own life where I experienced this and when you experience this gift of God, it’s just it’s overwhelming. Back in South Africa, we had this wonderful two people in our church. She was one of the most godly women, Anna Kroenier. Anna and Chris Kroenier. We would go there every Christmas. She would have this Christmas dinner for a few of us and we would just celebrate the birth of Christ with each other and share a meal. And we would always end with worship and prayer. This evening was a little sad because the couple that would always come with us couldn’t be there because the cancer was so intense in this woman’s life. That evening we decided that we were going to pray for her and we were going to lay hands on her. She wasn’t there, but we were going to lay hands on her just as we stood there and say, Lord, we’re doing this and we all stood in a circle and we lay hands on this woman who was not there and we prayed. Father, she needs your help. Father, will you bring healing? Two weeks later, she saw the doctor. They couldn’t find a single cancerous cell in her body. Our inability in intercessory prayers, God, it’s your ability. I can’t do it, but I can pray. I can ask for a hot water bottle in the middle of nowhere and you could do it. The thing that brings so much joy to Jesus’ heart is when we trust him audaciously. With the lives of others, bringing them to Jesus. And the moment I do that, he just opens that pantry door and he says, come on in and come and take as much as you need. We’re never closer to being like Jesus as when we pray for others. So please pray. Pray for those you love. Pray for those you don’t love. And knock. Don’t stop knocking. Father, you are good. I need help. But so do they. And then bring the biggest shopping basket you have because he’s going to fill that basket with so many blessings that you can take to them. Take a few moments of silent prayer. Father, you are good. They need help. And you know who they are. Thank you that we may pray. Thank you that we may be bold like little Ruth, Lord. Audaciously bold. Help us. Help us to remember who you are and what you can do. Thank you. We will pray, Lord. In Jesus’ name.

May 3

by Aubrey Botha https://cpcchurchimages.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/04214447/May-3-Sermon.mp3 [https://cpcchurchimages.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/04214447/May-3-Sermon.mp3] JOHN 2:1-10 THE WEDDING AT CANA 2 The next day[a [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%202%3A1-10%20&version=NLT#fen-NLT-26063a]] there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. 3 The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine.” 4 “Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” 5 But his mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons.[b [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%202%3A1-10%20&version=NLT#fen-NLT-26068b]] 7 Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, 8 he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions. 9 When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. 10 “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!” MATTHEW 20:29-34 TWO BLIND MEN RECEIVE SIGHT 29 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” 31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” 32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. 33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.” 34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him. TRANSCRIPT (Transcribed by TurboScribe) It’s been an interesting week in our household. You get one little germ factory coming home, and then Omar works with the other germ factories, and then she becomes a germ factory, and she comes home, and then germs go everywhere. So it’s been an interesting week. I think I’ve done the best of the three. So yeah, it’s one of those silly, silly weeks that happen. That anthem that the choir sang this morning, boy, you took me back many, many, many years. When I worked at the Christian radio station in South Africa, that was one of the favourite songs I played, but I can’t remember the artist who sang that. There was another woman. It wasn’t just Gloria. There was another… It’s still not the right one, but I’ll find it. She sang it better than any of them, but you did it so beautiful this morning. It just touched my heart, and I just thought of those words again. Jesus, you’re the centre of my joy. All that’s good and perfect comes from you. You’re the heart of my contentment. Jesus, you’re the centre of my joy. Isn’t that true? When we find Jesus, and he touches your life, you find that joy. Not the joy that the world brings that’s here today and gone tomorrow. The joy that carries you through happiness, that carries you through those moments when it’s just hard and tough and difficult, and you can still sing Jesus. You’re the centre of my joy. Thank you for the gift of your words, Lord. Thank you for the gift of prayer, and that we may speak of this amazing gift. May we in this morning, as we speak of our need before you, Lord Jesus, may we see you and only you in your beautiful name we pray. Amen. There’s nothing that can take you from being so happy and life is good to almost having a heart attack faster than when you’re driving in your car and all of a sudden, that little orange engine light comes on, especially if you’re in the middle of nowhere. Now, sometimes you’re lucky and it can still get you to where you need to go. Sometimes, car goes slower and slower, starts making some noise, and it stops. And you know, that’s it. I need help. Sometimes life can be like that too, right? We’re just cruising along on this wonderful path of life and all of a sudden, bam, and something breaks. And you know, I can’t fix it. I need help. So what do you do? Well, if your car breaks down, not so bad. Take out your cell phone. Hopefully, in the middle of nowhere, you have cell phone reception and you call CAA or you call a tow truck and you say, I don’t know what it is. This light came on, made a noise, stopped. I kicked the tyre, didn’t help. I got angry at the car and hit the steering wheel. That didn’t help. I need help. And in life, you tag someone. T-A-G. You take it to Jesus. You admit that you do not have the resources I need. Help. And then you give it to him in faith. You tag him. I need help. And then leave it there because we know in his hands, it’s safe, right? Is it that easy? We struggle a little bit. Maybe we’ll do the T and the A, but sometimes the G of the tag is a little more difficult, that giving it and leaving it. Let me tell you a little bit about a moment like this of being able to say I need help and then letting it go and leaving it. And some of you have heard the story and I’m sorry about that, but I think it’s the best story to explain it. We emigrated to Canada in the year 2002. We came from mid-summer in February to mid-winter. Landed on the 12th of February. What a shock. God, what did you do? And God was good. We ended up in this beautiful place called Central Church that loved us and has loved us for all these years. When we left, I left mom and dad. I’m an only child. Elsie had to leave her mom and her mom was really sick. We knew we would never see mom alive again. So we had to say goodbye to mom. Knowing that, we bought or we took extra money and we put it aside to buy Elsie a ticket to go back to go see her mom. Because when you emigrate, as the Fond of Estes, since they know all about it, it’s not that easy. You take a family of five, you take everything you have, you sell it, and then we divided by eight. I think you divided by 10 when you came. And the little bit you have, that’s what you make a life with. But we kept some there for Elsie because we knew that moment would come. It was June of that year that the doc called a friend of ours and he said, Elsie, if you want to see mom alive, you better come because I don’t think she’s going to make it much longer. So we said, thank you, Lord. We saved the money. Elsie could get on a plane. She went and Elsie went to go see her mother. She stayed for a month. Mom did not die. Elsie had to come back. Elsie came back. She was back one week. We were in the mall in Sears, that was still then of Sears, going down the escalator when the phone rang and her brother said, mom passed away. I could see it on Elsie’s face. She said when she came back, I’m okay. If mom passes, I’m fine. When she got that call, she was not fine. She needed to go bury her mother. We did not have the money. We really did not have the money. By then, we did not have credit. So what do you do? You take it to the Lord. We admitted that we did not have the resources and we gave it to him. Didn’t say anything to this church except on a Sunday morning, I stood and I said, would you please pray for us? Elsie just heard mom passed away this week. We need your prayers. That was it. I came into church that Monday. Why? I don’t know. Went to my office and as I tried to open the door, it was kind of stuck a little bit and I bent down and felt it was something under the door and took it out. It was an envelope and I looked at the envelope. It was thick. It says this is for Elsie to go bury her mother. $2,100. That was the exact amount that Elsie needed to buy a ticket to go bury her mother. I’m not telling a story. It’s the truth. To this day, I don’t know who did that, how that got there, but it did. It’s a true story. All we could say is, I need help. As I sat there and I was crying, it reminded me, Philippians, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition and with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God and the peace of God that transcends all understanding. Regard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. And I was reminded in that moment how faithful God is to his word. If only I can say those simple words, Father, you are good. I need help because you know what happens when I do that. That’s the moment where I take that stuff that I do not have the resources for and I put it in God’s hands and I let it go because God can do it in his time. Remember I said that road sometimes from A to B has ups and downs and twists and turns and sometimes feels that I can’t get to the end, but God can do it. All I need to say is, I need help. I said that this morning because I feel miserable as I stand here. So I sat there, I said, I need help. You know what? I’m going to get through the sermon. I know it. There’s a story that you know well and I’ve preached on this, I think three, four, five times in my life, but not this way. John chapter two. I love John. The easiest Greek in the whole New Testament. You can wake me up 12 o’clock at night and I can understand it. I’m not going to teach you Greek today. We’ll read it in English from the New Living Translation. The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’s mother was there and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. The wine supply ran out during the festivities. Now watch. Enter from the left, Mary, Jesus’s mother. So Jesus’s mother told him, they have no more wine. And we just stopped there for a moment. Mary identifies the need. They have no more wine. I need help. She’s not bossy. She doesn’t say, hey Jesus, time for you to show up a little bit. Go down to the corner there. There’s a beautiful vineyard. Bordeaux grapes. You go make those grapes. Immediately be ready. And then just turn them into those beautiful bottles of Bordeaux wine. Bring that up and serve the wine. You can do it, buddy. Go, go, go. Doesn’t do that. She doesn’t try and fix the problem because she does not have the resources. She doesn’t blame someone. She doesn’t say, yeah, this bridegroom, come on, he should have taken care of the wine. What does Mary do? They have no more wine. She states the problem. Now, if I read this correctly, and if you read the previous bit of this correctly, I don’t think Jesus had any intention of doing any work at this wedding except being one of the guests. So what’s his answer? Dear woman, that’s not our problem, Jesus replied. My time has not yet come. I don’t think he planned to turn the water into wine. But Mary had a need. I need help. Mary, typical mother. Oh, she’s so cool. But his mother told the servants, do whatever he tells you. I can see in my mind’s eye, Mary, little twinkle in her eye, just walks away. Do whatever he tells you. I have a need. Take it to Jesus. Admit that you can’t do it yourself and then give it to him and leave it with him. That’s exactly what she did. Do whatever he tells you. I wonder, I wonder what was going on in his mind. And I wish I could see his face. I think I could see this wry smile. Oh, mother. Oh, mother. And yet, she identified the problem. She brought it to him. She left it with him. And what happens? Standing nearby were six stone water jars used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold 20 to 30 gallons. So Jesus told the servants, fill the jars with water. When the jars had been filled, he said, now dip some out, take it to the master of ceremonies. So the servants followed his instructions. And the rest of the story is history, right? When the master of the ceremonies tasted the water, that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from, though of course the servants knew, called the bridegroom over. And he said, a host always serves the best wine first. And then when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now. Problem, presented. Prayer, answered. Crisis, averted. All we need to do is to say, I need help and take it to Jesus. Hear me when I say this and forgive me when it sounds a little harsh. I don’t take it to the LCBO because what’s that blue stuff? The bad blue or whatever, I don’t drink, so I don’t know this. It won’t help you. Being angry about it won’t help you. Taking it out on others won’t help you. Blaming it on someone won’t help you. Take it to the one who will help you and who can help you. And who wants to help you. And give it to him. Let it go. And I know sometimes we think, but this is just impossible. There’s no way. Because that bam that happened in my life, that’s just so huge. Well, can I end with another story? It comes from Matthew chapter 20. As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us. I have a need. The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder. Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us. I need help. Jesus stopped, called to them. What do you want me to do for you? He asked. Lord, they answered, we want you to do the impossible. We want our sight. And Jesus had compassion. Oh, there’s my Greek word. Sorry. There goes your Greeks. Plach nit somai. That which touches the heart and just turns it right over in itself. Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes, and immediately they received their sight and followed him. I need help. What can I do for you? Because he has compassion. He came into this world for you, for me. He came into this world so that we could see God for who he is, one who cares, one who loves, one who wants to take those things in life that go bam and stop us in our tracks. He wants us to speak to him because that’s why he’s there with his Father, to stand there for you and for me. All I have to say is, Father, you’re good. I need help. Amen.

April 26

by Aubrey Botha https://cpcchurchimages.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/27223739/April-26-Sermon.mp3 [https://cpcchurchimages.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/27223739/April-26-Sermon.mp3] LUKE 11:1-4 TEACHING ABOUT PRAYER 11 Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2 Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:[a [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2011%3A1-4&version=NLT#fen-NLT-25376a]] “Father, may your name be kept holy.     May your Kingdom come soon. 3 Give us each day the food we need,[b [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2011%3A1-4&version=NLT#fen-NLT-25377b]] 4 and forgive us our sins,     as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation.[c [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2011%3A1-4&version=NLT#fen-NLT-25378c]]” MATTHEW 6:6-8 6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. 7 “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. 8 Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! TRANSCRIPT (Transcribed by TurboScribe) Thank you for your words, Lord. Thank you for this new series that we may start today as we talk about prayer. Maybe we’ve spoken about prayer a million times. May we hear something new. But above all, Lord, not just hear something new, but may we, through this, be renewed in this wonderful gift that you have given us of talking to you and being able to be quiet and also listen to you. May we see Jesus and only Jesus. In your name we pray. Amen. Our first passage this morning comes from Luke chapter 11 verses 1 to 4, and I’m reading from the New Living Translation. Once Jesus was in a certain place praying, as he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples. Jesus said, this is how you should pray. Father, may your name be kept holy. May your kingdom come soon. Give us each day the food we need and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. And do not let us yield to temptation. Hello, my name is Aubrey, and I am a recovering prayer wimp. I have to admit that sometimes during prayer, I doze off. Sometimes my mind will zig and zag, and then it will zig again. And when the ADHD kicks in, I’ll start off with a prayer, and the next thing, I’m busy with a thousand other things, and I forget the thing that I started doing, and that was to pray. Now, it is also true that there are people that really excel at praying. They’re members of the PGA, the Prayer Giants Association. I am a card-carrying member of the Prayer Wimps Anonymous. Maybe you can relate. Maybe the little chuckles I heard tells me that you relate to what I’ve just said. Here’s the thing. Most of us pray to some or other extent. Sometimes we’ll pray when we’re happy. Sometimes we’ll pray when we’re sad. Often we’ll pray when we are in need, when the lump is deemed melanoma. The money runs out before the month runs out. The layoffs start, and we’ll pray. Am I wrong in my presumption, and I don’t want to use the word assumption because that’s not a good word, that most of us wish that we could pray better and deeper and even with a little more faith. So, for the next four weeks, let’s talk a little bit about that, and hopefully by the end of that, we’ll smile a little more about that, and maybe we can hand in our PWA cards and be members of the PGA. Someone used this beautiful image of prayer, said, prayer is like a road. It takes you from point A to point B. Sometimes the road is short. Sometimes the road is longer. It’ll often take you downhill and uphill, and there’s a few twists and a few turns, and sometimes it feels like it’s so long that you’re never going to get to point B, and oftentimes we’ll wonder, is it all worthwhile? It’s not always easy, this road of prayer. Here’s the thing. We’re not the first people to struggle with prayer. If you go check the sign-up list for Prayer 101, you’re going to find quite a few well-known names in there. Jacob, or some of you know him as James, and his brother John, and Andrew, and Peter, and if you don’t know who those are, they were disciples, and when this other disciple comes up and says, Lord, will you teach us to pray? The interesting thing that we find is this. None of those other disciples say, well, it’s you and Jesus. You guys try and sort it out. We’re okay. We’ve sorted prayer out. We’re good. We can go do our own thing. They all stay. It’s also very interesting, if I have my facts right, you’re going to go check me up on this one this week. Sorry, you’re going to check me up on this maybe, but if I have my facts right, this was the only thing the disciples asked Jesus to teach them. Lord, teach us to pray. Did you see Jesus’ response to that? It wasn’t a lecture. It wasn’t a sermon. It wasn’t a dissertation. It wasn’t a seminar. It was a simple, quotable, easy, repeatable prayer. So easy that, would you join me? Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. As simple as that. And we know it, and we can repeat it, and everything we needed to say is in there. I think sometimes we complicate prayer too much. Us preachers, we kind of make it difficult. It has to be this, this, this, and this. No, it’s nothing more than a conversation. So in the next four weeks, I’m going to put it into four little things. Each week we’ll talk about one of those, and maybe that’ll make it easier, easy. Father, you are good. I need help. They need help. Thank you, in the name of Jesus. When I wake up in the morning, and I think of the day ahead, Father, driving to work, or to school, or wherever I’m going, I need help. Standing in line, waiting, they need help. And when I come to the end of the day, and I look back on all of God’s grace, thank you, in Jesus’ name. Because that’s the thing about prayer. It is this gift that God gives us, where we can enter into this conversation with our Father. I speak, He listens. He speaks, I listen. And on this road of conversation, these are the moments in which God changes my life. And yes, it’s going to happen that sometimes on this road of prayer, we’re going to run into things that we do not expect. But the amazing thing, it’s nothing that God ever did not expect. Because God is the one who puts me on this road, knows this road, plans this road, and who’s going to get me from A to B, no matter how long it takes, or how up and down it’s going to be. He’s taking me to that point B, that we are talking about. All He asks of me is to take that first step, and get on that road, so we can start. Second thing I want you to notice, did you see the way in which Jesus started the prayer? Father, Abba, loving Father. For a moment, hold on to that, because that’s the important part. Just need to say this, some of us might have, not me, some of us might have grown up, and we do not have the best image of a Father. And if that’s you, I’m really sorry. It breaks my heart. Will you for a moment, if that’s you, just let that go, and just hear about this Father that we are talking about. Because this Abba Father, when the Holy Spirit calls in, Romans 8 says, the Spirit calls in through us, Father, loving Father. That’s who I’m talking about. One who cares, and one who loves, and one who knows you, and one who wants to be there for you, and is there to protect you. That’s how Jesus starts. For me, I see this little image. I don’t know if you’ve seen this in a while. These little kids, and maybe I see it more because I have a seven-year-old that I run around with. Little kids that go to the playground with their dads, and they’re hanging out, and they’re yelling, and they’re laughing, and they’re having a lot of fun, and they, Dad, push me on the swing, and Dad pushes on the swing, and they play tag. And it’s just, but you never hear them say, Father, thank you for being so gracious and driving me in thine splendid vehicle to this amazing place of frolic. Thine benevolence is beyond reproach. Thine care for me is amazing, and thou art so gracious, and neither does God want us to talk to him like that. He wants us to come to him like little kids. Hey, Dad, how’s it going? Hey, Dad, will you push me on this swing? Come to him just as I am. These little ones, they have no filter. Opa, you’re fat. Look at your boot pants. I won’t tell you what a boot pants is. South Africans will know what that is. They’ll just say it as it is, and God wants us to say it as it is. He doesn’t want us to beat around the bush. Thank you for thine benevolence. God doesn’t even want to know what that means, but when I say, God, I need you. Lord, I need you every moment of my life. I need you. That he understands. He doesn’t want us to come to him and to pretend. Hi, Aubrey, how are you doing? I’m fine, and God knows I’m lying through my teeth. He wants us to speak and say, Father God, this is me. This is who I am. We don’t need those words. Remember the old Pharisees and the teachers of the law. They would stand on the street corners, and they had these huge prayers, the thines and the dows and all those things, and they would go on and on and on. Do you know what God does when they do that? He plays them a Shania Twain song. You know which one? You don’t impress me much. Listen to what he says. Matthew 6. But you, when you pray, go away by yourself. Shut the door behind you and pray to your Father in private, and then your Father who sees everything will reward you. When you pray, don’t babble on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask. See, here’s the thing. Heaven does not have a prayer panel that sits with their paddles, and when I pray and I put all the words together, they’ll put up the paddle and say, oh, Aubrey, you got all the thines and these correct today. This is a 10 out of 10. God’s going to answer this prayer. And then the day when I doze off a little bit and my mind zigs and zags, I get a paddle come up that says, this is a two. Go back and try again. Prayer is that conversation between me and my Father who gets me because he made me. And all I have to do, it’s not meant to be judged. It’s not what prayer is. It’s that moment to say, Father, you are good, and I love you, and I know you love me, and Father does, and Father knows. Because you see, the thing about prayer with Father is, he wants to answer those prayers. It’s not judging them. He hears, and he answers, and he takes me on this beautiful journey. Sometimes I think we make the mistake of thinking, I’ll say a few words, and then I’ll go out there, and I’ll do it myself. And then we fail. Prayer is to give it, and to let it go, and to trust him. So can I challenge you? Next time before you face the world, go face your Father first. Father, you are good. So why don’t we try it tomorrow? Tomorrow’s Monday. So Monday morning, the alarm clock lives up to its name. And usually you get up, and the first thing you do is, you take your phone, and you start doom-scrolling on that phone. And you go for the coffee, and you’re still doom-scrolling, and by 15 minutes later, you are so down that you don’t even want to face the day. Can we change that tomorrow? When that alarm clock goes off, don’t reach for the phone. Go get a coffee, because I don’t think God wants to face us without coffee, because we’re way too grumpy. Go get that coffee, but instead of going for that phone thing, go find your favourite chair. Just go sit. And your hair might still be in a mess, and you still might have a little bit of the creases from the pillow. God doesn’t care. What he does care about is that moment of saying, Good morning, Father. It’s so cool to start my day with you. Thank you for your, and just to speak, and to give it to him, and see if maybe the day looks a little different, despite of the little things that are going to happen. Because you started by saying, Father, you’re good. I need help. They need help. Thank you for answering in Jesus’ name. Come sing. We have this song that we’re going to sing every week. Today, we’re just going to do the verse, one verse, and the chorus, and you’re going to start getting to know this. Gary was just dumped on her this morning. She just has to do it. So I’ll sing with you, but I’m going to sing from there. No, I’ll make a mess. Okay. When the night won’t loosen its grip on my chest, And the answers don’t come no matter how hard I confess, My strength feels borrowed and my hope feels thin. I’ll fall on my knees and begin again. When I don’t have the words, do you hear my heart? Even my silence knows who you are. I will pray when the road feels long. I will pray when the faith feels gone. I will pray through the tears and pain, till the light breaks through the rain. I don’t know how, I don’t know when, but I know you’re listening. So with every breath I have today, I will pray. When I’ve said all I can say, I will pray. When I’ve said all that I can say, Father, thank you. Thank you for that road that leads for the ups and the downs. And because as we travel this road with you, we learn so much more about you. And we learn to trust you, Lord. Freewheeling down that downhill and knowing that we’re going to get up the hill because that’s what you teach us as we pray. Thank you, Father. You are good. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.