Roadmaps and road signs - these are two essentials for traveling by automobile in unfamiliar country. The maps tell us which way we should go, and the signs let us know if we are going the way we should.

Life is a journey - we are always going from wherever we are to somewhere yonder. There is usually a best way, sometimes an only way. Before Christians were ever called Christians, we were known as "the people of The Way;" this was our first name, and with good reason.

In our life, wherever we are at the moment, we have never been here before: we are always in unfamiliar country. And we need to follow a road that will take us through.

We have a whole library of roadmaps - the Bible, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, our conscience, our mind, the Community of Faith, and the entire accumulation of the human experience from the dawn of time until now.

How well are we following? We need occasionally to check on this, to check the road signs against the roadmaps, seeing where we actually are in the light of where we ought to be.

The time of worship is a check-up time. "Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith," says 2 Corinthians 13:5. In other words, check up to see if you are in the right way, on the right road. To do this sincerely and honestly is one of the great values of worship.