Pastor Lloyd Ashworth

We have looked at five different stories where the question is asked ‘what do you see’? I’m amazed at how people see different things in the same event. If ten of us went to a rugby match and then afterward spoke about what we saw – we would have a range of different contributions. One might be the ebb and flow of the game, another the skill of the ball carriers or kickers, someone else might like the colours of the uniforms or the atrocious referee decision… we all watched the same event, but saw something different. When God asks us what we see - he asks for a specific reason – and that’s to help us understand what he is saying or doing. Now here is exactly the challenge – if I was to ask you the question – what is God doing in the world today? We would get a wide range of answers. Yet this question surely has to be high on our list of important considerations. Today’s message is entitled ‘I can see clearly Now’ – and it comes from a rather unusual story – a man born blind whom Jesus prayed for and it has a rather surprising outcome. It’s the only case in the Bible where partial healing took place in Jesus’ ministry. Let’s read together from Mark’s Gospel 8:22-26.