Medway Community Church

14/07/2026

14/07/2026

Gideon replied, . . . “Give me a sign that it is really You talking to me.” Judges 6:17

Read Judges 6:36-40 Jay owned a Gideon Bible, yet his analytical mind didn’t permit him to accept its miracles. One thing haunted him, though: the genuine faith of his friend. So Jay offered a strange prayer. He told God, “If you want me to believe in You, then do something I can’t explain.”

One day, something drew Jay to look for his Bible. It was gone. How could that be? He never lost track of things.

He drove in the rain to his teaching job at the University of Zurich. Stepping out of his car, he spotted a Gideon Bible on the wet pavement. That’s strange, he thought. Picking it up, he noticed the Bible was totally dry despite the rain. Something he couldn’t explain!

Gideon Bibles are named for an Old Testament hero of Israel. When God chose Gideon to lead Israel into battle against a vast army, Gideon had huge doubts. He told God, “I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece . . . , then I will know that You will save Israel by my hand” (Judges 6:37). God answered Gideon’s challenge not once but twice (vs 39-40).

Doubt-filled prayers aren’t a pattern for us to follow. They can, however, reveal God’s character. Gideon led a tiny army to a smashing victory (chapter 7). Jay put his faith in the Lord Jesus, recognizing that his prayer had been answered by a loving God who does things we can’t explain.

Reflection
What experiences have you had that seem beyond explanation? How do they help you see God at work?
Prayer
Thank You, dear Father God, that You hear my honest prayers and meet me where I am. Amen 👑👁️☝🏽✝️📖🙏🏼❤️✝️

13/07/2026

God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son. John 3:16

Read John 3:16-21 Daniel was born into a Romanian orphanage. For seven years, he only left his crib to go to the bathroom. When he turned eight, a family from another country adopted him. They knew about attachment disorders—that Daniel could have difficulty attaching to them as his parents. Slowly, Daniel started to trust them. Over time, though, he began to rage to the point his parents hired a bodyguard to protect them from Daniel’s outbursts. They decided on a controversial therapy: For the next five years they were never away from Daniel even if he had a meltdown. On his thirteenth birthday Daniel broke down and, for the first time, told his parents he loved them very much. His mother summarized the experience: “Creating love is not for the soft and sentimental. Love is a battlefield.”

We’re all born knowing that something or someone is missing. Like Daniel, we have an attachment disorder. But God “so loved the world” so much that He took drastic action—“He gave His one and only Son” (John 3:16), meeting us on earth’s battlefield in what we call the Incarnation. “Light has come into the world” (vs 19).

God took drastic measures to demonstrate His great love for the world. For you. His strong, determined Father-heart beats to hear from us the words Daniel’s parents finally heard: “I love you very much.”

Reflection
How have you felt that something or someone is missing? How can you respond to God’s drastic love for you?
Prayer
Dear heavenly Father, I love You very much. Thank You for loving me first. Amen 👑👁️☝🏽✝️❤️🙏🏼🫂✝️

12/07/2026

This mornings sermon by Dr. Pete Smuts:

Give Glory to God!

12/07/2026

Joseph . . . said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.” Genesis 50:25

Read Genesis 50:22-26 Pieter kisses a framed picture of his elderly parents every night. It’s been many years since he was last with them. As a young adult, when he became a follower of the Lord Jesus, his family and community pressured him to give up his newfound belief. When he didn’t, his parents disowned him. “In the Bible, God promised He’d help His children in difficult times, and I believed Him,” Pieter said. “Choosing to follow Him brought suffering, but He has helped me endure.”

Pieter has the assurance from God that He keeps His word, so Pieter is able to trustingly act on God’s promises. We read in Genesis that Joseph, at the end of his life, was also confident in the promises of God. He told his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (Genesis 50:24). Joseph was sure that God would keep His promise to take His people to Canaan. So he instructed the Israelites, “You must carry my bones up from Egypt” (vs 25).

Four hundred years later, during the exodus from Egypt, “Moses took the bones of Joseph with him” (Exodus 13:19). Eventually, “Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in Canaan” (Joshua 24:32).

Let’s follow Joseph’s example of faith (Hebrews 11:22), showing our faith in God’s promises by acting on them.

Reflection
What promises of God can you act on? What practical steps can you take?
Prayer
Faithful God, thank You for Your promises. Amen 👑👁️☝🏽✝️🙇🏽‍♂️🙇🏻‍♀️💒🙏🏼🫂❤️✝️

11/07/2026

Therefore, I endure everything . . . . 2 Timothy 2:10

Read 2 Timothy 2:1-13 Bulgarian lifeguard Yane Petkov won a world record for swimming with his hands and feet tied together. He swam 3,380 meters through the water but added something to intensify the challenge—he wrapped his body in a sack.

The patience and strength required to keep moving despite being so “tied up” amazes us. The apostle Paul also displayed rugged resistance to obstacles as he served God in the days of the early church. Despite facing fatigue, hunger, sleeplessness, and beatings, Paul continued to preach and write letters of encouragement and instruction to his fellow believers.

Paul penned his last letter to Timothy when he was isolated in a Roman prison, awaiting ex*****on. Although shackles restricted his body, he noted that the good news of the Lord Jesus could not be “chained” (2 Timothy 2:9). “Therefore,” Paul said, “I endure everything” to give others the chance to hear and accept the truth about Jesus Christ (vs 10).

God can help us endure any kind of difficulty that stands in the way of serving Him. Physical limitations such as illness, injuries, and disabilities require care and attention, but they can’t ultimately surpass God’s power, which is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Let’s give God the glory when He works through us to do things we cannot do on our own.

Reflection
What’s your greatest area of struggle as you consider serving God? How does He want to help you cope with the frustration that comes from your limitations?

Prayer
Dear Father God, I lay down my pride and ask for Your help to bring glory to Your name. Amen 👑👁️☝🏽✝️🫴🏽🦶🏽🙇🏽‍♀️🙇🏻‍♂️🙌🏽❤️🙏🏽✝️