Title: Time
Structure:
- Introduction
- Time is a gift
- Time has a purpose
- Conclusion – reflection stations
Introduction:
With today being the start of daylight savings the theme of our all-age service this morning is time
– There’s two things I want to say about time
– Firstly, that time is one of God’s gifts to us
– And secondly, that time has a purpose or a goal
Time is a gift:
We often hear it said that ‘time is money’
– This is wrong in that it leads us to think we somehow earn time by working
– The truth is: time is not money – time is a gift from God
– We don’t do anything to earn time, we receive it freely
– We don’t all get the same amount of time and none us knows when our time will run out – so we need to make the most of each day
Time is God’s gift to us and it’s a multifaceted gift
On the wall here is a picture of a Swiss Army knife
– A Swiss Army knife has a range of different uses
– It can be used as a bottle opener, a screwdriver, a pair of scissors, tweezers, a tooth pick, a cork screw and so on
In God’s hands, time is a bit like a Swiss Army knife
– God uses time in a whole variety of ways to accomplish his purpose
For example, we are not born fully developed – God gives us time to grow and to learn
– When we are sick or hurt in some way, God uses time to heal us
– Or, if we have suffered some kind of loss then God gives us time to grieve and accept our loss
– When we pray God gives us time by listening to us
– And when we are tired God gives us time to rest
– When we make a mistake or get off track God waits for us – he gives us time to come to our senses and return to him
– God uses time to achieve his purpose with us and for us
God is generous in giving us time
– When someone is generous in giving us time we call that patience
– God is patient with us
Time is God’s gift to us and time has a purpose, an end goal
Time has a purpose:
We might think of time sort of like a wheel on a bicycle
– Like a wheel, time goes round and round in circles but always moving the bicycle forward toward a destination
We see the cyclical nature of time in the days, the months & seasons of the year
– The sun rises, it’s day time, the sun sets and it’s night time, then the sun rises again and sets and so on
– Summer follows spring and autumn follows summer and winter follows autumn and then we are into spring again and so the cycle goes
– In the ancient world, in which the Bible was written, the year was structured around the annual cycle of farming:
– Planting, growing and harvesting crops
Like a wheel on a bicycle God uses time to bring things to fulfilment
Fulfilment is a word which means to complete, to make perfect or whole
– A bicycle fulfils its purpose when it gets its rider to her destination
– A seed fulfils its purpose when it grows into a tree and bears fruit
– A caterpillar fulfils its purpose when it becomes a butterfly
– Wisdom fulfils its purpose when justice is done
– Medicine fulfils its purpose when a person is made well
– Guilt fulfils its purpose when the wrong doer repents
– Grief fulfils its purpose when we make peace with our loss
– The law fulfils its purpose when we love God and our neighbour
– We human beings fulfil our purpose when we become like Jesus
The point is God uses time to fulfil the purpose of things
– Whether it’s a seed or a caterpillar or a human being, God uses time to make his creation complete, perfect and whole
What about time itself – what is the fulfilment of time?
– Well, eternity is the fulfilment of time
– Eternity is time made complete, time made perfect and whole
Conclusion:
Time is God’s gift to us and time has a purpose
Tawa Baptist 