Powerpoint Pictures: Brother Andrew; Suitcase full of Bibles; VW Beetle

What do you miss about not being able to go to church on Sunday? [This talk was given when the church was unable to gather due to country being in lockdown as a result of Covid-19]

Is it the biscuits?

Is it seeing your friends?

Is it Sunday school?

Is it singing?

Is it seeing and hearing me in person and not on a screen?

Is it just being altogether?

Hopefully it won’t be too long until we can do these again.

But imagine you were never allowed to go to church.  In fact, you weren’t even allowed to watch a church livestream on your computer or tablet or tv.  You weren’t allowed to sing hymn.  You weren’t even allowed to own a Bible.  It was against the law, and doing any of these would get you arrested and put in prison.

Well, there are countries around the world where that happens.  Where Christians can’t go to church or own a Bible or tell other people about Jesus.

Now about 65 years ago, there was a man who saw that there were lots of countries where Christians couldn’t meet or buy a Bible because it was banned.

And he wanted to help them.

The man’s named was Brother Andrew.  He is still alive today – He’s 92 and lives in the Netherlands, which is where he’s from.

And the way Brother Andrew decided to help these Christians was by getting Bibles to them.

These Christians needed Bibles, like we do, to help them follow Jesus.  Psalm 119:105 tells us that “[God’s] Word is a lamp for our feet and a light for our paths.”

So, how did Brother Andrew get Bibles to them?  Because he couldn’t just go to these countries holding Bibles in his hands.  The guard on the border wouldn’t let him in if he knew he had Bibles with him.

He needed to smuggle them into the countries.  He needed to sneak them in, which he did by hiding them in his VW Beetle car.  This car became known as ‘The Miracle Car’ because the guards and soldiers and police never saw the Bibles he had stuffed into it.

Brother Andrew had a prayer he would pray as he snuck Bibles and Christian literature across the border: “Lord, in my luggage I have Scripture I want to take to your children. When you were on earth, You made blind eyes see. Now, I pray, make seeing eyes blind. Do not let the guards see those things You do not want them to see.”

Over the years Brother Andrew smuggled thousands of Bibles into countries where they were banned.  He also started an organisation called Open Doors which supports and helps Christians in countries today where it is hard to meet together or own Bibles or speak about Jesus.