Riverside Church, Birmingham, Uk

TEACHING SERIES: Letting The Light In SERMON TITLE: Abandonment BY: Nathanael Ballew DATE: Sunday 17 March 2024 BIBLE PASSAGES: John – Chapter 18, verses 15-27 EXCERPT: Every now and again you hear a truly tragic story about a person being abandoned by those who are meant to look after them. Most of us will never face such tragedy. But on a much smaller scale, at various times in life, we can all feel a bit abandoned. Whether it be our friends, family, spouses or employers, many of us identify with feeling abandoned, forgotten or ignored. As he approached the cross, Jesus went from being heralded by the crowds to being all alone. Even those closest to him abandoned him. But, as if that wasn’t enough, we remember the words he cried on the cross, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.’ To feel forsaken not just by your closet friends, but by the God of the universe. That is abandonment! But what if that completely changes how we see our own feeling so being abandoned, forgotten or ignored. ‘And when you