21st August 2026

I own up to being a member of the Forgetful Club sometimes. I won’t give you more than a couple of examples: I have left the house and forgotten my mobile and I have come home to find that I left without locking the back door. 

However, God is keen on encouraging us to remember – but not about locking doors. The first four books of the Bible are full of instructions to the Israelites to remember. So are the Psalms. Look through them, and you’ll find the writers recalling God in times of distress and sickness; in times of temptation; through sleepless nights, and even in times of ease too. They bring to mind many of the different attributes that God has, such as his kindness and mercy, his redeeming power, and his great works and miracles. 

And here, in the second letter to Timothy, Paul instructs Timothy to remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead and descended from David. Yet Timothy could hardly have forgotten  Jesus. So why did Paul tell Timothy to remember him? 

Paul was writing in a time when persecution was falling on the church; he was imprisoned and facing death. These were troubling times to be a Christian. Given this background, Paul thought it important that Timothy should remember two particular aspects of Jesus: that he was risen and that the eternal throne of David was his, along with all power in heaven and earth. 

As the Psalmists remembered God at different times and for different reasons, Paul urged Timothy to remember Jesus’ risen power and kingship.  Depending on the situations we may be encountering in our lives, we can remind ourselves of a particular aspect of Jesus’ life, character, and power and be encouraged. He is our Lord and King; he is our high priest, our mediator, our Saviour, our healer, our burden-sharer, our redeemer, our teacher, our brother and the one who has power over death – just to name a few. 

Local congregation:
Grace Communion in Lewes
The House of Friendship
208 High Street
Lewes  BN7 2NS
Meeting time:
Sunday 11:00 am 

Local congregational contact:
Hilary Buck
Email:  lewes@gracecom.church
Like us on www.facebook.com/Grace Communion Lewes 

Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church