BCUC values week 1 : Prayerfully Listening - 9 Feb 2025

This week we are starting a four-part sermon series on our church’s values.  If you look at the BCUC website you will read that “we aim to be a church that by the wonderful grace of God seeks to live out the following four values:  prayerfully listening; learning love; encouraging friendship; and spreading joy.  I’ll be starting off the series with the first value, ‘Prayerfully Listening.’  When we originally adopted these values, the church leadership defined this value as:   “Prayerfully dependent on God and listening to the Holy Spirit, we have an expectation that God will speak to us.  To listen is to actively hear and respond to God and each other.”  But in this fast-paced world with so many things vying for our attention, and a cacophony of noise filling our ears, how do we prayerfully listen to God and each other? I will be looking at two Godly encounters, and using them to suggest a simple framework that can help us to prayerfully listen.   In 1 Kings 19:9b-13 we find Elijah running for his life, and encountering God not in the razzmatazz of wind, earthquake or fire, but in a gentle whisper.  In Mark1:35-39 we find Jesus praying in a solitary place.  Their motives were very different, but by stopping, seeking a quiet place, talking to God and waiting on Him, they were able to hear His voice and respond in obedience. In our busy lives, God is calling us to stop, find our solitary place, pray, listen and respond.  He loves to listen to us, His children, and He loves to speak to us too.  May we grow in being able to hear His loving voice gently whispering into our hearts.