Carpathian Aid has been working in Romania now for nearly 30 years and partners with various organisations to tackle poverty and discrimination and to show the love of God.
In particular they partner with Casa Harului, which is a Christian Holiday centre near Deva in mid-western Romania. They helped to build the centre in the mid 1990’s and have sponsored camps there and provided volunteers most summers since they started having camps in 1995. More recently they have been focussed on supporting camps with families whose children have disabilities.
We are all shocked and saddened to see the disturbing scenes in Ukraine, and the displacement of thousands of Ukrainians into wider Europe.
Maria & Dani at Casa Harului have been contacted by a Christian Pastor in Ukraine and some other organisations looking for safe haven for some refugees. They are now hoping to house 40-60 Refugees, but to do this they need to reset the centre, after being closed for best part of two years
Stage 1 – is to get the electric back on, the plumbing checked and frozen pipes repaired, and getting licences renewed for Fire Safety. They also have to clean the centre and to organise the rooms and make up beds in preparation for the arrival of refugees in the next few days.
Stage 2 – is to welcome the refugees, settle them, which will be very challenging remembering what these women and children have just been through. They obviously then have to feed & clothe them and supply them with toiletries and sanitary products.
A few people are asking, for how long?? This is a difficult question to answer, but certainly for the short to medium term these vulnerable refugees will need to be looked after, longer term will depend on how long the conflict lasts.
This will all cost a lot of money, so with the help of Broughty Ferry Baptist Church, a few volunteers have organised a “10,000 Steps a Day for March for the Ukrainian Refugees to raise an initial £5,000” You can find out more details on the Just Giving Page with the link below
It is no longer a legal requirement for those attending places of worship to wear a mask. However, you may still wish to do so out of sensitivity to the feelings of others and the current high level of infections.
When attending the service in person at Panmurefield Baptist Centre please note the following:
• Please do not come to the service if you have any COVID symptoms.
• Please do not come to the service if you or anyone in your household is self-isolating.
• Although social distancing is not required, please sanitise your hands on entering the building.
• Some windows and fire doors will be open to give maximum ventilation in the building.
• If you are able, it is prudent to take a Lateral Flow Test prior to attending.
• All the toilets are now available for use. Please sanitise your hands before going in and wipes are available to ensure it’s clean.
• Those who wish to give an offering, should do so by bringing the money/cheque in an envelope and placing it in the basket in the foyer. The best way of giving to the church is via bank transfer. For more information on this please get in touch with the church treasurer, bfbctreasurer@gmail.com
This Sunday 15th August at 10.30am in Panmurefield Baptist Centre we will have an all age service led by Moraig Piggot. We are excited to invite everyone back to the building and would be delighted to welcome visitors too.
We will be sharing a story from the Bible that involves a boat ⛵🛶 but which story about a boat will it be?
We are delighted to have our worship group back playing and singing live 🎶🎤
We will have activities for children too. Looking forward to seeing you all then 😊
Here is the link for Sunday 20 June 21 Virtual Sunday School is: ‘God the Father and the Prodigal Son’
JAM young adults have a separate programme Breakthru: 6.30pm – 7:45pm on zoom, an online social event as the weather forecast is poor. Please contact Gary Torbet on garytorbet@btinternet.com for more details of today’s programme.
Baptist Union of Scotland National Prayer Livestream The monthly prayer livestream takes place on Sunday 4 July, 2021 7.00–7.30pm.
This service is led today by Rev. Brian Talbot
Call to Worship: Psalm 67
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine on us – 2 so that Your ways may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise You, God; may all the peoples praise You. 4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth. 5 May the peoples praise You, God; may all the peoples praise You.
6 The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us. 7 May God bless us still, so that all the ends of the earth will fear Him.
Opening Song: ‘Give thanks to the Lord’
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we come with thankful hearts once more as we enter Your holy presence in the precious name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus, whose sacrifice in our place on the cross opened up the way for us to have fellowship with You through the Holy Spirit, Your precious gift to all who are Your children. We come as we are today from the varied circumstances we have experienced in the past week, to seek afresh Your forgiveness for our sins and the fresh empowering of Your Holy Spirit to live for You in the coming days. Speak to us from Your Word as we read and reflect upon it. Help us to grasp how privileged we are to be Your children and at the same time give us a renewed desire to want to share this good news with other people around us. We bring our prayers and our praises in Jesus’ name, Amen
Let us say together the words Jesus taught His disciples when He said:
All age Talk ‘Sharing good news’
‘Good news’ – what good news have you had this week or in the last few weeks?
When we are young birthdays and Christmas Days are very special. Most of us, if not all of us, hoped that we might have a lovely surprise in a present from our parents or another family member or friend. We might have some people round to play and be invited to stay for tea. Everyone sang ‘happy birthday’ and you got to blow out the candles. These are happy memories for us – though sadly in the last year and a few months it has not been so easy to meet up with other people for these kinds of celebrations.
What kind of good news might you have enjoyed this last week? Maybe you are glad there are not many days left before your summer holiday. I can let you into a secret that many teachers also may be thinking that too! You have all deserved your holidays from school when they come.
Some of the adults might be thankful that they have had a first or a second vaccine recently. They are pleased that the risks of getting this virus are greatly reduced. Some people put a picture or a post on social media letting everyone know they have had the ‘jab’!
I was so pleased and relieved when our First Minister confirmed a few days ago that there would be no change in the level of restrictions for our meeting and travelling around our country. I had fixed a time to visit my mother in England for a few days, having not been able to see her in person for eleven months. My ‘good news’ story of the week is being able to see her and some other family members;
As followers of Jesus, though, we have good news to share with other people. We can show that we love Jesus by the way we think and speak and act to other people. We can say a kind word to another child in the playground at school, or in the office at work to another colleague. It is not always doing something big. Often in life it can be the little things that make a difference. We can show God’s love to other people in many different ways, depending on the context.
Yet we also want to find times when we can use words to tell people about Jesus and what He means to us. In the second half of John chapter one, we can see John the Baptist sharing the good news about a special person who was still to make himself known to Israel. John’s disciples were encouraged to follow Jesus; and some of them, especially Andrew and Philip, went to tell their family members and friends about Jesus. If we read John’s Gospel, chapter one, there are some amazing things happening in his account. Most importantly, there are different ways people were able to tell other people about Jesus. Will you ask God for the opportunity this coming week to tell someone about Jesus? I hope each one of us will do that, Amen.
Our next Song is: ‘Colours of Day’
Prayers for others
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the privilege of intercessory prayer. We count it an honour to be able to pray for the needs of other people at this time.
We bring before You our governments in London and Edinburgh and pray for Your wisdom to be given to them at this time as they grapple with the need both to contain the spread of the virus, but also to allow businesses and other organisations to continue or restart their work.
We remember particularly at this time those working in the travel and tourism sector who have had a particularly hard time trying to plan for this summer and beyond. We ask that You would guide and direct them in their planning over the coming months.
Lord, we give thanks for church leadership teams who have been working so hard during these months to navigate their way through restrictions to provide worship services and pastoral care. We pray that the next few weeks over the summer will afford them a chance to rest, reset and find refreshment.
We pray for a national leader in the Baptist Union and other churches:
Martin Hodson (General Director) – We give thanks for Martin and his diligent service to our network of churches, particularly during this last sixteen months of the pandemic. We pray that You will give Martin refreshment and continued creativity and wisdom for the months ahead.
Erskine BC – We pray for Erskine Baptist as they seek to grow in Christ together and as they reach out into their local community within the town.
Falkirk BC – We give thanks that during the pandemic they have seen a number of new people start to attend FBC having engaged with them through their online service. They have also been largely unaffected, in terms of physical health, as a church by Covid-19 for which they give God thanks. We pray that as things move towards opening up again that they re-capture the momentum of growth and discipleship that they had pre-pandemic
Forres BC – We join them in giving thanks and praise that as a church they have used the lock-down situation to grow as disciples of Christ, making good use of the time. We join with them in praying for their building which was flooded back in February and is awaiting refurbishment, and thank God for the alternative accommodation He has provided for them to meet in.
Fort William BC – We give thanks to God for His faithfulness to them over the last year; for everyone they have been able to reach or teach and support through their on-line work; for the way the congregation have pulled together to offer support to one another and their extended church family. We join them in giving thanks for the new people that have attended their services in person recently. We pray with them as they look to the future that God will be at the heart of the plans that continue to unfold.
Heavenly Father,
We are very conscious that on this Sunday in the year we are normally celebrating all the range of children’s and youth activities that have taken place over the past year. We do pray Your blessing on Claire and Gary and those who work with them in Children’s and youth activities at this time. We sincerely hope and pray that we can return to some kind of normality in this work after the summer holidays.
We pray too for the baptismal service taking place next Sunday asking that You would bless it and speak to each one of us about our own commitment to You at this time.
We now pray silently for anyone else known to us who is in need of our prayers at this time…..
We pray also for our own needs…
We bring all these prayers before you in Jesus’ name, Amen
Bible Reading John 1:35-46:
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God!’37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning round, Jesus saw them following and asked, ‘What do you want?’ They said, ‘Rabbi’ (which means ‘Teacher’), ‘where are You staying?’ 39 ‘Come,’ He replied, ‘and you will see.’ So they went and saw where He was staying, and they spent that day with Him. It was about four in the afternoon. 40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas’ (which, when translated, is Peter). 43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, He said to him, ‘Follow me.’ 44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ 46‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked. ‘Come and see,’ said Philip.
Before we come to listen to God’s Word we will sing: ‘How shall they hear’
The Message
John 1:35-46 Taking opportunities for sharing our faith in Jesus
Introduction
What is the best good news you have heard today or in the last few weeks? In a more traditional in-person service in church where we are altogether I might even have asked if anyone wanted to give examples of good news they or others had received in the recent past. We are aware that good news has been in short supply since the pandemic began last year, but it is so good to hear of people’s good news stories. In our congregation as I write this message, I can think of recent examples of health improvements, success in passing university exams or the achievement of passing a driving test. For me the good news of this last week was the opportunity of being able to visit my mother in person for the first time since last July. It is so easy to give a long list of difficulties and challenges that so many people are facing at this time, but we must take encouragement when we ourselves or others receive some good news. The greatest good news we possess is the gospel of Jesus. At a time when so many people are struggling to retain hope for better days in the future, we have something to offer to share with them. In Mark’s Gospel we read these words in Mark 1:14-16: After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 ‘The time has come,’ He said. ‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!’
Many Jewish people of that day who were earnestly seeking to live for God had been so encouraged by the powerful ministry of John the Baptist. Vast crowds had turned out to hear him preach even in remote places in the desert and baptismal services were common. It was such an uplifting time as people shared their stories of faith in God and their desire to follow Him more closely in the coming days. Yet Mark 1:14 contains some really bad news: John was put in prison. How could good news come out of this situation? Prayers for John’s release and resumption of ministry would be shattered by his brutal killing on the orders of a corrupt monarch Herod. Yet Mark writes here: After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. There are many times when we may only see bad news and difficulties, but God is not confined. He can make a way through the obstacles that appear to hinder the progress of the work of His people. We must not allow the problems we face to cause us to give up hope, but instead to remember we are the people who have the best good news available to share with other people around us. It is in the most difficult times like the present that we need to be asking how can I communicate something of my faith with other people this even this week? Don’t worry about the ‘how’ – we simply ask the Lord to provide opportunities and over time as we do that we will see opportunities open up to us. The challenge to us is always this: what kind of witness am I for Him? How effective has my witness been this year? And how can I be more effective as a witness in the coming months and years, if the Lord grants me this amount of time. In John’s Gospel chapter one there is a record of the first disciples of Jesus coming both to follow Him together with their first attempts to invite others close to them to follow Jesus as well. What is clear from this passage is that there is more than one way to share our faith and communicate the gospel of God. Here it could be stated that there are four different methods on display.
1. The Preached Word (John 1:35-39)
The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God!’ 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning round, Jesus saw them following and asked, ‘What do you want?’ They said, “Rabbi‟ (which means “Teacher‟), “where are you staying?‟ 39 “Come,‟ He replied, “and you will see.‟ So they went and saw where He was staying, and they spent that day with Him. It was about four in the afternoon.
(a) An unpopular calling The apostle Paul in I Corinthians 1:21 stated: For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. In Corinth or Athens the cool way to attract a crowd was the philosophical lecture. Preaching was anything but cool and looked down on by in the ‘in-crowd’ 2000 years ago. Times have changed and new phenomena attract the masses for their public entertainment. Cock-fighting and bear-baiting are thankfully banned and hopefully soon the brutal sport of bull-baiting in Spain may go the same way. Today it may be the theatre or the cinema, sports facilities or social media websites where large numbers of the general public may be found. However, whatever is ‘in’ in one generation may not be so favoured a few generations later. What is constant over the generations has been the preaching of God’s Word. We now live in the internet age and especially in the midst of a virus pandemic have been particularly grateful for the opportunities it has provided to proclaim the good news of Jesus. In I Corinthians 9 Paul spoke about taking the opportunities presented to him. I am thankful to have had opportunities in different online formats including Facebook to give short messages of the good news of the gospel. Sometimes there appears to be little response and then at other times real encouragements from feedback from other Christians and even engagement with people of other faiths. The numbers of people who responded to the message have varied at different times in history, but God has not changed. The apostle didn’t change his message because it was deemed unfashionable. Humanity has never wanted to believe in the seriousness of the problem of sin; humanity never wanted to hear that only through the shedding of the blood of Jesus could they be made whole; humanity has never been thrilled that the good news is a gospel of grace to the undeserving. Yet over these centuries God has used ordinary ministers of the Gospel, together with great evangelists such as George Whitfield and John Wesley in the eighteenth century; D.L. Moody and Asahel Nettleton (USA) in the nineteenth; Billy Graham or Luis Palau in the twentieth centuries to proclaim this gospel pointing people to Jesus. Yet when people visibly respond it is usually the culmination of a process of God at work in their lives.
(b)Our personal responsibility Here it was the third day of a momentous week. On day one (John 1:19-28) the Jewish religious establishment had sent representative to quiz John as to whether he believed he was the Messiah. He gave the expected answer that he was not that person, but the detailed questioning of him in front of his followers must have caused them to think about what kind of person qualified to be the Messiah if it was not John? On the second day (John 1:29-34) the Lord Jesus Himself showed up at one of John’s meetings. John 1:29- 34 records John’s testimony on that occasion: The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, “A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.” 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptising with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.‟ 32 Then John gave this testimony: ‘I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptise with water told me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptise with the Holy Spirit.” 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.’ John was pointing people to Jesus. ‘Turn to Him’ is in essence what preaching is about. His closest disciples are listening carefully and are probably shocked at this pronouncement. After all John the Baptist drew the biggest crowds of thousands of people to his services, whereas this quietly spoken rabbi from Galilee might have as few as twelve disciples with Him on a journey. Yet John makes these extraordinary claims about Jesus. He is preparing the way for his followers in time to leave him and follow Jesus. There was no visible response that day. Instead these men were left with plenty to think about. Your witness and mine at times will do that. Sometimes from a seed of truth being sown to a person’s profession of faith there can be many years of reflection and struggle prior to their conversion. What is at issue here is that John was willing to step out in faith in public and proclaim these truths. Yet it didn’t happen just once, John continued faithfully to declare the truth. In John 1:35-36 he repeated the message: The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!‟ We will never know how many times it will take before a friend or family member or work colleague comes to Christ. However, it might be only one more invitation they need, will you be prepared to give it?
(c) The joy of conversions Then the response to Jesus in John 1:37-39: When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning round, Jesus saw them following and asked, ‘What do you want?’ They said, “Rabbi‟ (which means “Teacher‟), “where are you staying?‟ 39 ‘Come’, He replied, ‘and you will see.’ There is no joy like that when someone we have prayed for trusts the Lord Jesus. There are increasing challenges we cannot deny as our society becomes more secular and the knowledge gap and the lack of experience of prior church connections becomes a bigger issue. However, God is still at work in this land. Billy Richards aged twenty-six together with a small team of other people planted a new church in Slough in 1943 and stayed until his unexpected death in 1974 aged fifty-seven. They saw by conversion growth and by their own admission old fashioned methods of evangelism a congregation of 600 members established, with over 1,000 children attending their twenty-eight children’s and youth clubs in the district. It took place in a social context where almost every other Evangelical Church was struggling to reach new people for Christ [Grant Mason, ‘Old Time Religion in a New-Fashioned Way’, in SCH57, p. 352]. Last year in 2020, according to a brief news item on PremierChristiannews.com a Baptist church in Kent saw more than a hundred professions of faith during a very different kind of mission week. I don’t know any details of what happened but God is at work in our land. The timescale is in God’s hands, but we must have an expectancy of God at work in people’s lives and a willingness to be creative in seeking to find ways of praying for others and in seeking to share our faith with them. The personal challenge must be faced: Who are you praying for seriously just now? Do you retain a hope and expectancy for this person or these persons coming to Christ? I trust we will. Or are you participating in some form of our service today and in need of taking this step for the first time and now choosing to follow Jesus? Please don’t delay if that is you. Here the emphasis has been on public proclamation of the truth whether one-to-one or in formal meetings. Yet John records a second method of witness here.
2. The Personal Influence (John 1:40-42)
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas‟ (which, when translated, is Peter) The Gospel is never just for ourselves it is always for other people as well. Those who are nearest and dearest to us also need to hear the good news. (a)The impulse of a brother’s heart Andrew was so overcome with the blessings of knowing Jesus that the first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him…(John 1:41). So often in our evangelistic planning we emphasise reaching person ‘x’ who might walk in unexpectedly ‘from the street’. It is good to be concerned about strangers, but between 80-90% of people who trust the Lord have Christian family members or have a friend or work colleague who is a Christian and who has lived the faith and maybe shared with them about their need of Jesus. Andrew retained this evangelistic heart over the years. In John 6:8 he saw the potential of contacting a boy with a lunch of loaves and small fish. In John 12:20-22 it states: Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘we would like to see Jesus.’ 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. Andrew and here also Philip another evangelist at heart were always on the lookout for people who needed to meet Jesus. Oh that the Lord might give each of us a heart like Andrew for people.
(b) The message from a brother’s lipsand tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ) (John 1:41). I suspect they had had many previous conversations about God and trusting Him, but now was a special moment when God prompted Andrew to act. Are we open to God’s prompting of us to trust Him with our lives and our words and speak a word at the appropriate time for Him? Usually these things take years longer than we would like. Here the response seems very quick, but probably this is the last of many conversations between Andrew and his brother Peter about spiritual things.
(c) The reward of a brother’s devotion Simon Peter came to Jesus but had absolutely no idea what Jesus had in store for him. Had this accident-prone fisherman with foot-in-mouth disease got any idea of what following Jesus entailed? Almost certainly not! He was no different from us in that respect. Jesus would work on Peter’s rough edges and envisaged him years down the line as a ‘rock’. The Lord does the same with each of His spiritual children. He sees us not as we are just now, but what by God’s grace we can become as we yield our lives to Him and follow by faith. Behind the preacher on the Day of Pentecost was a faithful brother who loved him enough to share Jesus with him. Is there someone on your heart and mind that you love too much to not miss the opportunity to mention Jesus to them? May each of us be like Andrew in this regard!
3. The Direct Appeal (John 1:43-44)
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, He said to him, ‘Follow me.’ 44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. (a) Direct Supernatural intervention There are no human intermediaries here. Jesus speaks directly to Philip on the next day of this extraordinary week in the lives of the followers of John the Baptist. Philip had not been seeking Jesus, but Jesus sought and touched Him. There are examples of people being converted this way. A couple of decades ago in Liverpool a pastor recorded the extraordinary story of the conversion of a couple of unchurched people who had come to faith and joined the church he pastored. They had shown no interest in church or in becoming followers of Jesus. It was an ordinary Sunday morning. The husband had asked his wife to purchase the Sunday paper. She was away a long time. God met with her on the way to the paper shop and she ended up in that church where, after the service, she committed her life to Christ. Time had passed and she wondered what on earth her husband would think coming home with Jesus but no Sunday paper! Meanwhile at home the husband had sat down to watch the TV as normal on his Sunday routine. While he was watching television God convicted him of his sin and there in his own lounge with not another person in sight he committed his life to the Lord. Now he wondered what his wife would think when she returned home with the newspaper to a man who had previous shown no interest in God! How I wish it was always so simple, but it isn’t. (b) The use of Visions and Dreams In North Africa where Islam is overwhelmingly predominant many of the growing numbers of Christians have been converted through visions and dreams of Jesus meeting with them and bringing them to faith. Usually these are people who had never met a Christian and did not know where to find one. There are others who have been converted through access to the gospel on Christian TV or Radio, but that’s another story. However, the point here is that God can reach people in the most amazing of ways. He is not restricted to particular methods of evangelism or means of presenting the faith. Be encouraged to keep on praying for people you know who need Jesus, but who may have no contacts with Christians that you know of where they live. God can meet with them in the most remarkable of ways. Jesus called Philip as he was but to an extraordinary calling as a Christian Evangelist in the Early Church. Maybe Philip had no idea of this in those first years of following Jesus, but in time the gifts for that calling became self-evident to all concerned. Remember God deals with each of us as individuals. First this may be true in the manner of our conversion; secondly it may be true in the way He leads us to follow Him as His disciples. The calling you have from the Lord is unique to you, because God begins working in your life where He finds you, but with the intention of transforming you to be like your Lord and Saviour. Be encouraged in your witness and have great expectations of God at work in you and other people for their good and for His glory.
4. The Personal Testimony (John 1:45-46)
45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ 46”Nazareth! Can anything good come from there? ‟ Nathanael asked. ‘Come and see’, said Philip.
(a)The invitations of people not yet Christians Who can be a good witness for the Lord? Anyone! It doesn’t even have to be a Christian. There are people who will invite others to meetings at church who are unconverted. In another church I know a member when unconverted as a teenager invited a similarly unconverted friend to a special service not so that they might be saved, but so as to have someone to talk to during the service and not get bored that evening. God had other ideas and their friend came to Christ. I think of a pastor’s daughter who called herself the black sheep of the family because she had no time for church or Christian things. She and her husband had a close friendship with another couple who spent weekends in heavy drinking sessions as their social life. The friend remarked one day that she and her partner wanted to get married but were not sure how to go about it. Her pal said my dad could help you he’s a minister. The advice was taken. Soon after a meeting was arranged but her friend quickly became more interested in finding about Christians believed, why they went to church and what a minister did with his time! The wedding duly happened but shortly prior to it the friend committed her life to Christ. I am aware that there are a small number of people who take one of the versions of our service through the invitation of others outside our church. We serve an amazing God. Who said that only believers could invite others to find out about Jesus? Who said God was restricted only to using those already Christians to extend His kingdom and fulfil His purposes in the world.
(b) The testimonies of followers of Jesus Few of us can be public apologists like David Robertson or internationally like William Lane Craig. There are others too who have great ministries in these areas. However, what each of us does have as Christians is our own story. No-one can deny the fact of what God has done in your life. John tells us of Philip sharing his testimony in John 1:45-46: 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ 46”Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?‟ Nathanael asked. ‘Come and see,’ said Philip. Our calling is not complicated; it is to pass on what we have received. What the other person does with the good news is their responsibility. Too often we underestimate what difference a few words can make. Are you willing to be open to the Lord using you this week, this month, this year? Thank God for the openness of John the Baptist and his disciples 2,000 years ago. Fast forward to today the calling is given to you and to me –may we be found faithful in passing on the good news to other people, for Jesus’ sake, Amen
Our song before we come to communion is: ‘’O happy day that fixed my choice’
The Lord’s Supper
Jesus invites all Christian who have committed their lives to follow Him to participate in this act of worship. The apostle Paul wrote these words of Scripture in I Corinthians 11:23-26 to guide our observance of Communion.
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: the Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’25 In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Prayer: Choose your own words of prayer to give thanks for the bread and wine that represent the costly gift of His body and blood for us.
Take the bread: Jesus said: ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.
Take the wine: Jesus said: This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’
Our closing song is: ‘Go forth and tell’
Closing Prayer:
Lord, We thank You for this time in Your presence today. We are deeply thankful for all that You have done for us since the day we put our faith and trust in You. Help us this week through our attitudes, words and actions to show something of Your amazing love and grace to others. Help us to be sensitive to listening to Your prompting and guidance in the choices we make as we enter another new week. We brings our prayers in Jesus’ name, Amen.
JAM young adults have a separate programme JAM 11:30am to 12:30pm Please contact Gary Torbet on garytorbet@btinternet.com for more details of today’s programme.
This service is led today by Moraig Piggot with special guests Helen and Wit Boondeekhun, BMS-supported church-planters in Thailand.
Call to worship: Psalm 96:1-4a:
Our opening song of praise and worship is:‘Open the eyes of my heart’
Opening Prayer:
Thank you Lord for this new opportunity to gather to worship and honour Your holy name. We want to echo the words of the Psalmist who wrote: Sing to the Lord, praise His name; proclaim His salvation day after day.Declare His glory among the nations, His marvellous deeds among all peoples.For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise.
We are deeply thankful for all our blessings in this deeply troubled world in which we live. We are optimistic that in our own country there will be a further easing of pandemic restrictions in the coming weeks and are so grateful that so many people have taken care to act responsibly during this past year. Thank you that many of us have now been able to visit or meet with members of our families or close friends from whom we had been separated for some time.
Most of all, we thank you Lord, that You have been our anchor through these uncertain and unsettling times. Meet with us today as we seek Your guidance for our lives from the Bible, at the start of another new week. Cleanse us from our sins and fill us afresh with Your Holy Spirit as we seek to shine as lights for You in the midst of the dark clouds of challenges that still have to be worked through in the coming days. We bring our prayer in Jesus’ name, Amen
Let us say together the words Jesus taught His disciples when He said:
This time tomorrow video talk of their work from Wit and Helen Boondeekhun
Our next song is: ‘From heaven You came’
Prayers for others
Heavenly Father,
Thank You that at the start of another new week we can turn to You with both our praises and our petitions because You take delight in hearing our prayers.
We pray Your blessing and guidance upon each one of us as we live out our faith at school, college or university; in the workplace or in other places this coming week. Help us to remain true to the faith we believe in the way we live out our faith. Help us to be people of integrity who reflect the character and way of life of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
We also continue to pray for the young people preparing for their National 5s / Higher & Advanced Higher, or College / University assessments or exams. We pray that they may know Your peace at this time. We pray too for the staff who will mark or grade them, and hope that the approach taken will be both fair and appropriate for all concerned at the end of a difficult academic year.
We pray for our Baptist Union convenor and two of our churches:
We pray for our convenor of the Baptist Union Frances Bloomfield as she chairs various national meetings of our Baptist Union and who has also been representing us at the Church of Scotland Annual Assembly last week
Dumfries BC – In recent weeks, lockdown, coupled with the deaths of a number of their church family, one of which was to Covid19, has been a blow to this congregation. They are living out Romans 12:15 and ‘mourning with those who mourn’, but not without hope! We pray with them for those who are mourning the loss of loved ones. In the midst of this they are encouraged through their virtual online activities and services. They are particularly excited about their Alpha and Christianity Explored courses as well as the Church Centre Sports Hall being used as a Vaccination Centre. We give thanks with them that they can bear witness to Jesus through this activities.
Duncan Street BC, Edinburgh – They are praising God that He has blessed them in many ways over the past twelve months through the preaching, praying and ministering of the fellowship. They ask us to pray that He would help then to love the people in their communities well and that they would faithfully live and speak that message of hope that they find in Jesus.
We come to pray for the needs in our own congregation:
Heavenly Father,
We thank You for those who have been nominated for election as deacons at this time and pray for Your blessing on them. Guide and direct us as a church family as this process is completed in the coming weeks. We do thank You for all those who serve as Deacons or in other ministry positions in church life, that each one of us may know Your wisdom and guidance as we serve in Your name.
We pray too Your blessing upon Claire McNutt and those who work with her in our Children and Families’ work, and upon Rev Gary Torbet and the youth work team as they seek to respond to the slight easing of restrictions for our work with younger people. Likewise we pray that You would grant us wisdom as a church as we seek to adjust to the changing environment for our work and witness in the coming months.
We continue to remember quite a number of people in our church and others known to us who have ongoing health issues.
We pray for the people whom we cannot visit in residential care, and others who are at home on their own, together with others in our church family who are feeling the effects of increasing age and infirmity…
We now pray silently for anyone else known to us who is in need of our prayers at this time…..
We pray also for our own needs…
We also pray Your blessing on the Prayer courses taking place in the church at this time and ask that those of us participating in them may be enriched in our relationships with You.
We bring all these prayers before you in Jesus’ name, Amen
Bible Reading I Peter 2:1-12
Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like new-born babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.4 As you come to Him, the living Stone – rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to Him – 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6 For in Scripture it says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.’ 7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,’ 8 and, ‘A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.’ They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for. 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.
Before we come to listen to God’s Word let us sing: ‘Lord the light of Your love is shining’
The Message pre-recorded version from Wit Boondeekhun
The Message I Peter 2:12: ‘Let your light shine’
Good morning. I am delighted to be able to share with you this morning.
First of all, thank you for your faithfulness in supporting us through prayers and finance. Thank God for your generous gift that we have received.
We thank God for his Word. In such a time like this, during the Covid crisis, we are facing many challenges, but God’s Word reminds us of what is important:
“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2.12
Basically, God says that we should let our lives shine for Jesus. Live such a good life among those who do not know Jesus. Five years ago, we started our journey in going to plant a church amongst the indigenous Thai Buddhists, and we believe that He called us to live in the village of Wang Daeng, Uttaradit, Thailand. Thank God for his faithfulness to his promise, “Do not give up in doing good, if you don’t feel discouraged, when it’s the opportune time, you will reap the harvest.” Galatians 6.9, because now we have begun to see some fruit.
These are the questions we asked ourselves when we came to live in Wang Daeng:
Can people see Jesus in our lives?
Do we give honour and glory to Jesus in what we do and say?
The Apostle Paul instructed Timothy when he was a pastor at the church in Ephesus: “Command and teach these things. Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” 1 Timothy 4.11-12
As for us, God calls us to bear fruit. Jesus says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” (John 15.16)
We can see which one is a good tree when we see its good fruit.
God wants our lives to be transformed, so that we can shine the light of Jesus to others.
There are three ingredients for shining the light of Jesus:
1. We need to have a passion for thelost, just as Jesus did when He wept over the city of Jerusalem. He came to seek for the lost. Like the parable of the lost sheep, He left the 99 and went out to find the one lost sheep.
BMS vision is: The highest goal of everything we say and do is to bring people to faith in our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ and an experience the abundant life that only Jesus can provide.
When we meet with friends, neighbours, family or relatives, we should plan to share God’s love with them and tell them about the Good News.
2. We need to be motivated by God’s love. Paul says that God’s love compelled him to evangelise. Human love is limited but God’s love is limitless. God loves us to the end, even though the hardship and sacrifice that he had to make to die on the cross. I have asked the Lord ‘How many times do I need to forgive the people that I have reached out to?’ Because many times they accuse me of doing wrong, they reject me, or they refuse to listen to me because they know I am a Christian. If I was relying on my human love, I would have quit already, but God’s love that I ask him to keep pouring out on me, has enabled me to keep on loving. Here are some wonderful words from Amy Carmichael, a great missionary to India. She said, “You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.”
3. We are to be peacemakers. Do not get into an argument. You will never win people through your argument. If you win arguments but you lose people – what’s the point? Just swallow up your pride, even though you may be right. Do not get mad or angry, when you are accused of doing wrong. People often try to find fault with us because they know that we are Christians, but thank God, He has protected us and blessed us to be a blessing to people.
Our purpose of being a follower of Jesus is to make Jesus known, and to bring Him glory. This means that people should be able to see Jesus in our lifestyle.
We need to live in such a way that those who know us, but do not know God, will come to know God, because they know us.
This should be our plan, to let our lives shine for God. Let us be ‘donkeys’ for Jesus. Lord please use us to be witnesses for you, to share God’s love with others, and to share the Good News of Jesus with others.
Lord, help us to have a passion for the lost, help us to be motivated by God’s love, and make us to be peacemakers for you.
We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Our song before we come to communion is: ‘When I survey the wondrous cross’
The Lord’s Supper
Jesus invites all Christian who have committed their lives to follow Him to participate in this act of worship. The apostle Paul wrote these words of Scripture in I Corinthians 11:23-26 to guide our observance of Communion.
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: the Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’25 In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Prayer: Choose your own words of prayer to give thanks for the bread and wine that represent the costly gift of His body and blood for us.
Take the bread: Jesus said: ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.
Take the wine: Jesus said: This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’
Our closing song is: ‘To God be the glory’
Closing Prayer:
Thank You Lord that You have called us to live our daily lives in such a way that other people may see our good deeds and glorify God. Thank You for this reminder that our attitudes, speech and action should be honouring to You. Strengthen us by the aid of the Holy Spirit to live this way in the coming week, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen
This service is led today by Helen Rice with Rev Gary Torbet preaching the message
Call to worship
Praise the Lord O my soul All my inmost being, praise His holy name Praise the Lord O my soul And forget not all his benefits Who forgives all your sins and heals all you diseases Who redeems your life from the pit And crowns with love and compassion Who satisfies your desires with good things So that your youth is renewed like the eagles
Psalm 103; 1- 5
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. Amen.
Galatians 2: 20
Our opening song of praise and worship is: ‘O Praise the Name (Anastasis)’
Opening Prayer:
Loving Heavenly Father, Indeed we praise your name Jesus, we say Praise the Lord O my soul. As we gather before you today, we ask that we remember who you are God, that we might come into your Holy Presence. That we might come into your Holy Presence God. Who are we that, you care for us, you have created us and all that is within creation. May we lift our heads, to you our risen King today, our King who stooped so low in ultimate humility to save us.
Father we pray for our worship today – our songs, our prayers, the testimony we hear. As we gather around your word to reflect on what it means to be your disciples. Forgive us our sins afresh and by the power of your Holy Spirit, mould us into the people you call us to be, “For such a time as this”. We want to see you glorified Jesus in our church, in our lives. We want to see you name lifted high Jesus, and revered and hallowed again across this land. But we are here now Lord, praising you, have your way among us today – speak to us, challenge us we pray. For we pray all of this in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus. Amen.
All Age Talk ‘What is a Disciple?’ Helen Rice
In the message Gary is going to share with us an aspect of discipleship.
But what is a disciple?
If you want to learn something new, finding a good teacher is very important. Perhaps you want to learn to play the piano. Wouldn’t you want to spend time with the best teacher you could find? You would watch your teacher play the piano, listen to instructions, learn to read music, and hear what the music sounds like, and through practice you would try to copy what you have seen and heard.
Maybe you would like to learn how to build things. You could find a joiner who could teach you how to use various tools, how to work with wood, how to follow instructions and design.
When you study and spend time with someone who is helping you learn a new skill you may be called an apprentice or a disciple.
Jesus had 12 disciples; they were his followers. In the bible we see how Jesus teaches His disciples, and they faithfully follow Him wherever Jesus goes, spreading the good news of the Kingdom of God. Jesus trains them how to be more like him so they can continue his work when his is no longer with them.
In Matthew 28 verse 19, Jesus spoke with the men who were his followers and told them, “Go, and make disciples of all nations…”. He tells his followers to carry on his work and help others learn about God’s love. This is referred to as the Great Commission.
This invitation is extended to us as well. We can all be disciples of Jesus, learning how to receive God’s love and how to offer God’s love to others.
This next video gives us an example of what Discipleship can look like when we follow the command that Jesus made to his followers; to share His love and Hope and make disciples of all nations.
For the children there is a printable colouring sheet. It has D for disciple on it along with the 12 disciples’ names. As a follower of Jesus, you could add your name to the sheet too.
We come with grateful hearts for Your blessings to us over the past week. We continue to remember the many people in countries with fewer resources than in our country who are struggling to provide even basic food supplies and medical care at this time. We are also aware that several million people are on waiting lists in our own land to receive initial medical appointments or scans or surgery for sometimes quite serious medical conditions. We pray that You would give strength and assurance to those feeling particularly anxious at this time. Also, we pray for wisdom for the NHS staff who are seeking to reduce the length of time people are waiting to be seen after the backlog that has built up over the past year.
We also continue to pray for the young people preparing for their National 5s / Higher & Advanced Higher, or College / University exams. We pray that they may know Your peace at this time.
God, we thank You for the vaccine for Covid-19 and the protection it is bringing to the most vulnerable in our society. However, we pray against those who are intent on trying to prey on the vulnerable with many different scams at this time. God shine Your light on these crimes and bring forth Your justice.
We give thanks for church leadership teams and ministers today as they have worked hard over this season to give pastoral support and direction to their congregation. We pray that You would bless leaders and may they know today refreshment for their souls.
We pray for the following chaplains and churches:
Chris Withers (Army Chaplain, Ripon) – We pray for Chris as he journeys with the recruits in the barracks in Ripon and as he seeks to listen, support and encourage them. We pray for opportunities for him to be able to share the gospel with the recruits.
Drumchapel BC – We pray for the church fellowship in Drumchapel as they seek to be salt and light to their community at this time.
Dumbarton BC – We pray for Dumbarton Baptist Church as they reach out to their community with the love of Jesus. We pray for wisdom and guidance for the church as they witness during this season of restriction due to the pandemic.
We come to pray for the needs in our own congregation:
We also continue to pray for a restoration of health for other members of our congregation or members of their families…
We pray too for anyone else with ongoing health conditions and bring them before You now…
We pray for the people whom we cannot visit in residential care, and others who are at home on their own, together with others in our church family who are feeling the effects of increasing age and infirmity…
We now pray silently for anyone else known to us who is in need of our prayers at this time…..
We pray also for our own needs…
We bring all these prayers before you in Jesus’ name, Amen
Bible Reading Luke 14:1-14:
One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, He was being carefully watched. 2 There in front of Him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?’4 But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, He healed him and sent him on his way.
5 Then He asked them, ‘If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?’6 And they had nothing to say.
7 When He noticed how the guests picked the places of honour at the table, He told them this parable: 8 ‘When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honour, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited.9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, “Give this person your seat.” Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place.10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, “Friend, move up to a better place.” Then you will be honoured in the presence of all the other guests.11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’
12 Then Jesus said to His host, ‘When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbours; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’
Before we come to listen to God’s Word let us sing: ‘Yet not I but through Christ in me’
Message “Signs of Discipleship 1: Lessons from Jesus in Humility”
Series on “Signs of Discipleship: 1 – Lessons from Jesus in Humility”
Introduction
It is so lovely to be here again and to be with you at Panmurefield Baptist Centre and also everyone else joining in at home on Zoom.
Today and then on two Sundays in July I am going to do a series on “Signs of Discipleship” from the Gospel of Luke Chapter 14, and today we primarily focus on “Lessons by Jesus on Humility”
Just in this one little chapter, Jesus teaching gives us a fascinating and challenging insight into what it means to be a “disciple” of Jesus, for you see calling yourself a “Christian” means nothing if you are not a disciple of Jesus, for that is what biblically, a Christian is.
It says in Acts 11; 26 “And the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch”
Context
So, to start let us try and understand a bit of context, what is the backdrop to the story as this feeds into a better understanding of what Jesus is teaching at this stage and why?
Jesus, has been invited to dinner by the Pharisees, who were some of the religious leaders in the day, and you would think, “That is very nice of them – what a lovely thing to do” One would think?
However we need to notice in v1, “One Sabbath day….and the people were watching him closely” and we also notice in v2 “There was a man whose arms and legs were swollen” a sick man who had obviously been brought there at the invitation of the Pharisee as host.
We need to not miss and notice that it is Sabbath – that a sick man was there – invited by the Pharisee – Why? Because they were seeking to trap Jesus into what they saw as “wrong-doing” and discredit him. You see for the Pharisees and as it says “experts in the religious law”, the Sabbath was about necessity – if something could not be delayed – it was allowed, but if something could be delayed until after the Sabbath it was forbidden – and remember that the Sabbath was meant to be a “Hold Day unto the Lord”.
So Jesus turned their question into another question “Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath?” They refused to answer, “Silence from the Pharisees, from the experts in the law”– I thought they were experts? You see they knew that if they said “Yes” they would be law breakers of their own law, and if they said “No” they would be seen as heartless.
So what does Jesus do,he touches the sick man, releases him from his sickness and sends him on his way. Jesus, asks what is “permitted on the Sabbath” and as there is no response, Jesus shows that healing the man on the Sabbath is not simply permitted BUT REQUIRED!
The Pharisees, the so called “religious leaders” are “mute” before the authority of Jesus – Jesus was actually inviting them to “come off mute” – and they could not because they had no answer to his scriptural logic and compassion!!
V6 “Again they could not answer” reminds Luke’s readers then and us now, that there are people like the Pharisees who call upon Jesus, knowing who is, invite him to dinner, sit in His presence, even listen to His teachings and yet remain silent in the face of his concrete and clear call to discipleship and in this situation, to help a fellow human being who is in need!
I don’t know how many of you watch “Line of Duty”, which came to a conclusion a couple of weeks ago, but some of you might know the mantra of Detective Inspector Ted Hastings “There is only one thing I am interested in, which is to catch bent coppers” Police officers who are meant to representing the law and justice but their criminal actions do the opposite.
You see the people of Israel and especially religious leaders were meant to be “bearer of both God’s name Yawheh and His image” to others and Jesus was seeking to and being successful in exposing people who were meant to be living in a way to represent God’s holiness, his justice, his standards and live out his love – but were clearly not. This brings us back to the focus of this chapter in Luke 14, “Signs of Discipleship”, being “image bearers of Jesus” and what are some of the key components of following Jesus and living these out authentically.
The Pharisees and the “experts in religious law” are full of their own self-importance and adherence to man-made rules and Jesus now turns to story-telling, to sharing parables, prompted by the contrast between the self-righteous contentment of the Pharisee and the afflicted sick man. He does this to illustrate what is wrong and he warns now against the folly of self-promotion which is the root of the problem for the Pharisees.
Humility
So we now turn to Jesus teaching on Humility and we see in v 7 “those who had come to the dinner were trying to sit in the seats of honour near the head of the table”
You see banquets were public exhibitions of the social status of guests, the social pre-eminence was signified by proximity to the host – an obscure seat distant from the host was an unfavourable position.
It is, if we admit it, part of human nature to be first but Jesus insight tells us that there is danger in the undignified clamour for the best seats – and now Jesus is specifically teaching us in the way of being a disciple, and one of these signs is to exhibit HUMILITY.
As we will celebrate later in the service, in the laying down of his life for us, Jesus set the ultimate example in this!
The advice Jesus gives us here is that when a man succeeds in finding for HIMSELF THAT PLACE OF HONOUR, you, me anyone run the risk that later another guest may have more claim to it – in the eyes of the host, and then might end up in the lowest place, with all the shame and loss of face implied.
As we see in v10 “Instead, take the lowest place. Then when the host sees you, he will come and say “Friend we have a better place for you” The way to get to the top is to start at the bottom – if a man/woman, me, you chooses the lowest place as we put others importance in front of ours – the only way we can go is up!!
V11 says “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted”
Jesus is teaching his disciples and us, to be genuinely humble. The truly humble man or woman will finish up where we ought to be and receive the honour that is due – that is the way of Jesus, the way of true exaltation is humility.
What is God saying to you, to me, to us today?
What is God through his word, not me, for the word of God speaks for itself, speaking into our souls?
How is God challenging us to be transformed more into his image this week – by increasing our humility.
And where does Jesus take us next, but in an outworking of what humility is like in practice – and one of the ways is to show radical hospitality,
So in other words Humility leading to hospitality!
In v 12 – 14 “Don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives and rich neighbours for they will invite you back. Instead invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.”
We see Jesus deepening his emphasis on hospitality, but maybe not just in the way we are comfortable with, Jesus, in a way takes it a step further.
Humility in hospitality – Jesus is teaching here that another hallmark of discipleship, is to show hospitality to either those who cannot repay or without the need for a return invitation!
Jesus is saying to us “when I am willing to put myself in the lowest position and show humility in Christ”– it then needs to extend into how we are living our lives – the practical outworking – which includes hospitality – which is the way of Christ.
Hospitality is great isn’t it – and a really good thing to do and how I long to have my amazing Youth Ministry team round for a meal – something that so many of us have so missed during the pandemic – round for them to have a meal, where we create community, build team, have some food and then pray and plan together.
So yes it is good to do, but what Jesus is teaching here and the question he asked then and ask us now is “do we only offer hospitality to those from whom will come a return invitation?” But go deeper in your devotion to Christ and invite those who cannot repay you – WOW!!
Isn’t that amazing “Ok, so now yes I get it Jesus – If I’m claiming to be your follower, you’re disciple – out of my response to your grace and salvation – that is how you asking me to live – so that I can be a true “image bearer” of Jesus” to others.
Barclay the theologian puts it like this;
“If we give to receive reward, we will receive no reward, but if we give with no thought of reward – our reward is certain”, as it says in verse 14 and these are the words of Jesus himself – “For GOD will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.” Amen!
Now I get it Lord! Ok now Lord in the Power of your Holy Spirit help me on the other 6 days of this week, help me to live like that!
Application
So before we come to a worship song, for the Lord to confirm what He is saying to you – How can we apply the scriptures that we are reading today and take this into our week;
Let us not be like the Pharisees – Is our “religious” practice or even the concept we have of what it means to follow Jesus wrapped up in adherence of rules of men rather than a vibrant, dynamic, Holy Spirit filled relationship with you creator – through Jesus Christ.
You see the Jews of Jesus time have no monopoly on inconsistent beliefs.
Is the one above, God someone we acknowledge when it suits us, but we largely ignore, we claim to be “Christian” while denying what Christ says we ought to be?
Do some people believe and yet pay lip service to a “religion” that they neither have patience for or the courage and intention to follow, be it an hour at most at church on a Sunday??
As Barclay again comments “The man who wishes to pass through the narrow door of salvation, will have to discard such half baked religious notions before he can do so.”
Lessons on Humility from Jesus
And the link today you see is from how he saw the hearts of the “religious” the Pharisee, and how he teaches into our hearts – what he desires of us “Lord I give you my heart”
Where should our hearts be, as we give him our hearts and lives – a starting place is Humility – for the way to true exaltation is humility – let us this week follow the teaching of Jesus and his example in humility.
As the theologian Edwards illustrates;
“Christian discipleship is not self-promotion but freedom from it, freedom from self-obsession first – It trusts in the God who call us to give us our personal identity and honour and from there establish our place and purpose in life.”
And finally deepening humility in our hospitality this week – call people to your “banquet” that God calls you to invite – and you will be blessed!!
The Greek word “agape” is to give freely without thought of return, so in our discipleship & humility – who can you invite round for tea and a cake – and maybe for a meal – maybe someone lonely in our fellowship – hopefully all going well on Monday with Nicola’s announcement last week, whilst maybe yes with social distancing and ventilation! But could we do that? An exercise in humility and hospitality!
Wouldn’t it be great if the 40-50 people here or on the call were to out in humility this week and seek to be a blessing, where possible, in offering hospitality?
So what is God saying to you today, in our next song “Lord I give you my heart” let us listen to the Holy Spirit and see what is God calling to us this week.
The Lord’s Supper
Jesus invites all Christian who have committed their lives to follow Him to participate in this act of worship. The apostle Paul wrote these words of Scripture in I Corinthians 11:23-26 to guide our observance of Communion.
Firstly I will read from;
Philippians 2:5-11
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Let us leave a time of quiet to reflect on these words.
The apostle Paul wrote these words of Scripture in I Corinthians 11:23-26 to guide our observance of Communion.
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: the Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’25 In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Prayer: Choose your own words of prayer to give thanks for the bread and wine that represent the costly gift of His body and blood for us.
Take the bread: Jesus said: ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.
Take the wine: Jesus said: This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’
Our closing song is: Facing a task unfinished (we go to all the World)
Closing Prayer:
Thank You Lord for this opportunity today to gather in Your presence to worship You. Thank You also for the opportunity to meet and pray together as well as to hear and reflect upon Your Holy Word. Help us this week to live in a way that honours You and is a blessing to others around us, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
The monthly prayer livestream takes place on Sunday 2 June, 2021 7.00–7.30pm.
This service is led today by Alan McRobbie
Call to worship: Colossians 1:13-20:
For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.
Our opening song of praise and worship is:‘See What A Morning’
Opening Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we rejoice that once more we are privileged to enter into Your holy presence in the wonderful name of Your Son our Saviour Jesus of whom Paul wrote: For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross. Thank You for the cross; thank You for the sacrifice of Jesus in our place to reconcile us to You and You to us. Thank You for Your undeserving loving-kindness that has provided this amazing gift of salvation that is a free gift available to all who by faith receive it. We come once more seeking the forgiveness of our sins and the fresh empowering of the Holy Spirit as we begin another new week. Speak to us Lord through the songs that are sung, together with the reading and proclamation of Your Word, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen
Let us say together the words Jesus taught His disciples when He said:
All Age Talk A Loving Warning by Alan McRobbie
Have you noticed that loving warnings from those who have authority are all around us? Our parents or those who care for us lovingly warn us to protect us from harm, to keep us safe or to safeguard our future. The National Health Service lovingly warns us not to smoke cigarettes, to be physically active and to eat healthily to protect us from poor health. The Government lovingly warns us during the pandemic to wear face masks, to keep 2 metres apart and to restrict contact with others to reduce the risk of harm from the spread of COVID-19. But some of us might see these loving warnings as being told what to do and think. We resist and want to do things our own way which can sometimes lead to disastrous results for us or for others.
Jesus too gives us a loving warning. He has told us about how human sin separates us from a right relationship with God and what the disastrous results are for each one of us. His loving warning also tells us how we can be saved from the disastrous results of being eternally separated from God.
The Narrow and Wide Gates
Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).
This passage teaches us that the way to Heaven has only one way, but many find this difficult to accept or act upon. It is easy to follow our own way, but hard to give up everything and follow God’s way. Giving up everything to follow God’s way is the narrow road in life through the narrow gate. It cannot be done by ourselves, but we are able to do this with God’s help and worth the end result, which is Heaven with our Heavenly Father. Jesus told us to enter through the narrow gate. He says that he is the gate. We enter the gate by allowing Jesus to be our Master. When we surrender everything to him, then we walk along the narrow road. If we do not choose to have Jesus as Master of our lives, then which door do we chose? The wide one and that road, Jesus says, leads to destruction.
Please watch this short children’s video on the Narrow and Wide Gates at this link:
When you look at this video, my question to you is do you think Jesus’ words are there to save you from your sinful human nature that separates you from God or to ruin your life? Are his words the most unpleasant words said to you or the most loving warning you have ever heard? Jesus came to lovingly warn us and to rescue us. He is pointing to the one and only way to be in a right relationship with God. Is he being narrow-minded? Yes! Not because there are other ways to God but because he, as God the Son who knows more than we do, is saying that He is the only one who can save us. One day, you and I will have an appointment with Jesus Christ that we will not miss nor be late for. We will be asked to give an account of how we have lived (Romans 14:12). What will you do at that point? Has your sin been dealt with by Jesus? Are you ready to meet him?
If you want to walk through the narrow gate, contact Brian Talbot who will talk you through what is required.
All Age Song ‘Shine from the inside out’
Prayers for others
Heavenly Father,
Once more we pray for the people of India and any other country that is struggling to cope with the impact of the Covid-19 virus pandemic. We pray that the medical staff seeking to treat so many patients will be strengthened to continue their work and that may be provided with the medical equipment and vaccines needed to address this situation. We also pray for wisdom for the NHS and Social Care staff in our own country as we progress through this time of further change and openness as the pandemic recedes in our own country.
We also pray for the young people preparing for their National 5s / Higher & Advanced Higher, or College / University exams. We pray that they may know Your peace at this time.
We pray for those who have been elected to office in England Scotland and Wales at the different levels of government last week. We pray that they may be able to work effectively in their respective communities for the good of all who live and work there.
We pray for the following chaplains and churches:
David Vogan (Chaplain, Nethenvale and The Retreat, MHA Auchlochan) – We pray today for David Vogan as he seeks to support, strengthen and provide spiritual comfort, via phone, to residents and staff as much as he is able to during this Covid-19 crisis.
Dennistoun BC – We are thankful that despite the challenges of lockdown God has been growing His church in Dennistoun and bringing us together for prayer more than ever before. We pray that as they are about to purchase a new building in the area of Riddrie and as they reach out into this new area, that they would be equipped in every way for this exciting next step as a church.
Denny BC – We give God thanks with them for His continued faithfulness and guidance over the past year. We pray for their recent appointment of an Interim Minister who will help and support the church in the next phase of their work. We also pray for the leaders and congregation as they seek to serve God in Denny
Dingwall BC – We pray for the church family of Dingwall Baptist as they meet together to worship God and serve the local community in different ways.
We also continue to pray for a restoration of health for other members of our congregation or members of their families…
We pray too for anyone else with ongoing health conditions and bring them before You now…
We pray for the people whom we cannot visit in residential care, and others who are at home on their own, together with others in our church family who are feeling the effects of increasing age and infirmity…
We now pray silently for anyone else known to us who is in need of our prayers at this time…..
We pray also for our own needs…
We bring all these prayers before you in Jesus’ name, Amen
Bible Reading II Corinthians 10:1-18
By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you – I, Paul, who am ‘timid’ when face to face with you, but ‘bold’ towards you when away! 2 I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be towards some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. 3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete. 7 You are judging by appearances. If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do. 8 So even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it. 9 I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters. 10 For some say, ‘His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.’ 11 Such people should realise that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.
12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.13 We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God Himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you. 14 We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ. 15 Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand, 16 so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else’s territory. 17 But, ‘Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.’ 18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.
Before we come to listen to God’s Word let us sing: ‘Jesus hope of the nations’
The Message
Pre-recorded version of the message
II Corinthians 10 How do we handle unjust criticism?
Introduction
Words matter! What we say and our body language as we express it is important. In the modern age where words and actions can be recorded on a wide variety of devices, the choices we make can have a very long life online. In our multi-media age images can be incredibly powerful. In the Vietnam War in the 1950s to 1970s one image, that of Vietnamese girl Kim Phúc stands out as a window into the horrors of that conflict. The picture taken of her aged nine, together with others, fleeing a napalm bombing raid of the South Vietnamese Airforce on June 8, 1972. That image was taken by a well-known Associated Press photographer Nick Ut. Imagine how much more powerful that and other images from that dreadful war might have been in our internet age. However, it conveyed so powerfully legitimate criticism of the indiscriminate use of chemical munitions on a largely civilian population. On Wednesday evening 5 May 2021 Chelsea played Real Madrid in the Champions League Semi-final. After the game, former Chelsea player Eden Hazard was pictured smiling as he chatted with Chelsea players. A charitable explanation of the images would be that he was very sporting offering congratulations to the other team who had won the fixture. However, particularly in the Spanish media, suspicions were raised that he was being too friendly with former teammates; maybe they believed that it was linked to his poor performance in the game! Compared to the former image, this was one that will fade from memory soon, but the story around it raised the question of unfair comments being made about the actions of this individual. In I Corinthians 10 we see how Paul had been viewed by some individuals in the congregation at Corinth, as well as his critics from Judea. Their opinions expressed so openly were less than fair, but they were having an unsettling effect on a proportion of the congregation and could no longer be ignored. The difficulty, for Paul then and other people at other times, is how we react to this kind of situation.
1.Their criticisms of Paul(II Corinthians 10:1-7a)
By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you – I, Paul, who am ‘timid’ when face to face with you, but ‘bold’ towards you when away! 2 I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be towards some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. 3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete. 7 You are judging by appearances.
What was going on that caused this problem? There were a number of issues that contributed to this conflict. There were cultural issues and some religious differences as well. We have only limited information on which to make a judgement, but it is possible to highlight some of the differences. In the two letters in the New Testament addressed to the Church at Corinth it is clear that there were some doctrinal beliefs they held that Paul sought to address as well as issues of conduct. There were also problems over how the church leaders had been conducting worship services, especially concerning the observance of the Lord’s Supper after their shared evening meal each Sunday. However, in the last four chapters of II Corinthians the focus is on the person of Paul and his leadership style.
A proportion of this congregation in Corinth had warmed to the triumphalist rhetoric of the visitors from Judea. As we have noted in earlier studies in II Corinthians, they had brought with them glowing testimonials about the effectiveness of their ministries. They had boasted about their amazing spiritual experiences which were claimed as a validation of their ministries. It is possible that they were trying to take some credit from work that others had accomplished for the Lord as well. There is no doubt that their ministry style was incredibly different to that of Paul. They were very much into self-promotion, highlighting their apparent success in ministry, in contrast to Paul who kept pointing people to his wonderful Lord and Saviour. Their messages would have highlighted spiritual power and victorious Christian living, stressing their overcoming of the challenges they experienced. Of course, to some degree there is truth in these claims, but it is not the whole story. They were neglecting Christ-like qualities of meekness or gentleness; or teaching about servanthood and humility. Passages such as Philippians chapter two where Paul speaks about the humility of Jesus as God’s servant, even at a cost of death by crucifixion would have been absent from their messages. Of course, we have answers to prayer and encouragements as we serve the Lord, but there are also times when things don’t go the way we would wish. Are our prayers a failure when God’s answer is not what we wanted? Absolutely not! Remember Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane in Luke 22:41-42:He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 ‘Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done. Jesus would have preferred a different answer to that prayer.There is a costly obedience at times as we walk in the way of Jesus. Remember, in Mark chapter 8:34-35: what Jesus said to His first disciples: Then He called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and said: ‘Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me.35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me and for the gospel will save it. Paul’s opponents wanted highlight the final victory of God at the end of the age, but they were unwilling to admit that living the way Jesus lived in the present can be incredibly difficult at times. In parts of the world then and now there are Christians who die simply because they are followers of Jesus. Others face serious difficulties or actual persecution. Paul, himself, in II Corinthians highlights the hardships he has faced as a follower of Jesus and he will be more explicit about what he had endured in the next chapter of this letter. Does Paul try to overpower his critics in his response? No! By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you (II Corinthians 10:1a). Paul wanted to win over the people to whom he was writing more than winning an argument. He could, and later did mention his spiritual experiences in II Corinthians chapter twelve, but he sought gently to persuade them to adopt the way of Jesus.
It is not just Paul who acted in this way in the Early Church. In I Peter 3:15-18a the apostle Peter reminded his Turkish readers how they should share their faith with other people. But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.
In evangelism or pastoral work or any other form of ministry with other people we will only be fruitful in that service with the attitudes commended here by Peter and by Paul. The dominant coercive style may appear to work in some settings in the short term, but it is not an approach commended by our Lord and master. Good relationships are based on mutual respect. Effective team-working is based on a shared commitment to accomplishing agreed goals in so many different contexts, not just in church life.
How do we seek to live effectively as a Christian? Paul addresses this point in II Corinthians 10:3-4: The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Paul has already highlighted the attitude we should adopt, by the humility and gentleness of Christ, but he goes on to highlight the approach we should adopt. In the context of the pagan world then and in our secular world today we see too often the ‘might is right’ approach where individuals in positions of power use that influence in inappropriate ways to get their message across. It can happen in families, church families, businesses or even countries, such as China with Hong Kong and Taiwan or Russia with Ukraine and some other neighbouring countries. People might say to us in so many contexts that thinking of others as well as of ourselves will hinder our cause. It may in the short-term. When Jesus’ earthly ministry was completed, how many followers were left to start the Christian Church? It was a rather small number considering the task before them. Was His work a success or a failure? We all know the answer to that! There are Christians all over the world. The total number has increased year after year. Numbers aren’t everything, but they are an important measure of the effectiveness of our work. Paul’s message here is abundantly clear. Do not be deterred from doing Jesus’ work, Jesus’ way. Let others have their slick marketing and image campaigns, but never deviate from our clear calling as Christians. We are all commissioned to take the whole gospel to the whole world. We have an integrated holistic mission. Naturally, we want to keep our focus on the most important things. The most important of all is people coming to faith in Jesus and committing to living as His followers. However, an integrated holistic gospel includes seeking to meet the needs of people around us and of taking good care of the planet on which we live. We must keep our focus on being God’s people, proclaiming God’s message, living God’s way, in God’s world, entrusted to our stewardship.
2. Paul’s response to his critics (II Corinthians 10:7b-11)
If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do. 8 So even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it. 9 I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters. 10 For some say, ‘His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.’ 11 Such people should realise that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.
Paul has already hinted in this letter part of the problem in Corinth. In his previous letter to them he made the following point: Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign – and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you! 9 For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. 10 We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honoured, we are dishonoured! 11 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. 12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world – right up to this moment (I Corinthians 4:8-13). I can easily imagine Paul preaching these words! There had been a disconnect between their acceptance of the faith Paul proclaimed when the church was founded and their understanding of it under the influence of other preachers who held triumphalist ideas about how the Christian life ought to be lived. At its heart was a failure to hold firmly to the ‘now, but not yet’ aspects of the kingdom of God. The kingdom or rule of God that began in the life and ministry of Jesus was and is a foretaste of the perfect eternal kingdom of God beyond this life. Then in that perfect world there will be no sorrow or sickness, or all the other things that we might have to face at the present time, besides a virus pandemic! But we must not confuse life in God’s new creation with the first glimpses of it in the here and now. In this world, Christians can suffer ill health or from famine just like other citizens who do not share our faith. We can catch the covid-19 virus and even die from it just like anyone else in the world. Or in other countries where there is serious religious persecution and killing like Nigeria or Somalia, Christians know that they might experience it and a small minority be martyrs for their faith. The apostle Paul is very clear that the advocacy of a prosperity gospel where a few Christian leaders are incredibly rich living lives of luxury while millions of brothers and sisters barely survive is incompatible with the way of Jesus. The servant of God does not desire great titles, fame or status, but instead has a passion for reaching those who need Jesus by speaking and living out the gospel in many different ways. Paul could so easily have claimed Christian celebrity status. He was almost certainly one of the most intellectually able thinkers in the Early Christian Church. He had been a star pupil at the higher education institution in Jerusalem. He was a Roman Citizen. This was a prize status few possessed in the Empire. Even the Commander of the Roman Garrison in Jerusalem at the time of Paul’s arrest in the mid-first century AD had found it hard to obtain. The purchase of it was very expensive. Paul calmly reminded him that he was born a citizen. This disclosure caused Paul, then under arrest for his faith, to be treated very differently (See Acts 22:23-28). Yet Paul deliberately played down his higher social class background or any other privileges he had possessed. The way of Jesus was the way of humility, pointing people to his wonderful Lord and Saviour, rather than creating a culture where church members thought what a great man Paul is. This approach is the way Jesus lived and one He commends to us today. We invite others to join us on the journey of faith as equals, following our Lord Jesus in the way He directed us to live.
Paul was not particularly concerned by what others thought of him or his reputation. He did correct or challenge some misrepresentations of his beliefs or behaviour, and on occasions was happy to defend himself in a court of law. In the latter case, he was almost certainly seeking legal confirmation that Christians were free to practice their faith. A good example occurred in Corinth in the 50sAD in Corinth. For example, some Jews brought a case at the highest court in the region of Achaia (a Greek region –similar to Tayside in Scotland), claiming that what Paul was doing was unlawful, before the Proconsul Gallio. It was an overwhelming victory for Paul as Gallio made it clear in his judgement that the remit of that court did not include restricting the practise of the Jewish faith or any other religion (Acts 18:12-17). From Paul, we learn that there are times when for the benefit of the wider Christian Church court cases may need to be undertaken reluctantly.
He was most reluctant to respond publicly to criticisms of his appearance or his preaching.
A short work from some years later contained a descript of Paul’s appearance: ‘At length they saw a man coming (namely Paul), of a small stature with meeting eyebrows, bald [or shaved] head, bow- legged, strongly built, hollow-eyed, with a large crooked nose.’ [Acts of Paul and Thecla, written between 68 and 98AD] In Corinth, they liked their public speakers to be tall and handsome with charismatic personalities and individuals who possessed great skills in oratory, able to move a crowd to depths of emotion. Paul certainly impressed the country people in Lystra (Acts 14:8-13), but mainly as a result of a local man being miraculously healed after Paul prayed for him, but it was a different matter altogether in cities like Athens or Corinth where there were plenty of well-trained public speakers. Paul was following in the footsteps of Jesus who rarely defended Himself in the face of unjust accusations or ill-treatment such as in His trials before Herod and the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate (Luke 23:6-12; John 19:8-10). What can we learn from Paul and apply to our contemporary context? I think were he alive today that he would advise us to be wise in what we say on social media and certainly not respond to foolish comments that someone may have fired off without any proper thought. He would also be likely to advise us to take a little time to think carefully about why we want to respond and what we hope to accomplish by doing so. It can be quite disastrous in our instant age to fire back responses that we might later regret. In the days when everything was communicated by pen and paper, a wise approach might be to write down what was on your heart in a letter to the other person, but to sleep on it and re-read what you had written the next day before considering whether to post it or not. Paul was a good example of giving careful thought about when and how to reply to criticisms of his ministry. Other people will have a range of opinions for and against what we say and do, just as we have our views on the words and actions of others as well. Paul wanted to take time to reflect on how his course of action would reflect on his Lord and Saviour. Could I imagine that Jesus would want me to think, speak or act in this way? We will not gain definitive answers with this kind of reasoning, but it may help us avoid impulsive reactions when others have hurt us by their words or actions. Paul was certainly not a ‘door-mat’ allowing others to ‘walk all over him’, but he took time to frame his responses in the hope of restoring or retaining relationships, rather than in seeking to win an argument. The example of his communications with the church in Corinth show that even in quite unpromising circumstances, as here, his patient careful communications with them led to a restoration of relations with the vast majority of that congregation. God will honour us as we endeavour to live this way, although there are no guarantees concerning the outcome of our efforts. However, if we seek to honour the Lord by living in this way we will have done as much as is possible to resolve difficult situations.
3. Paul’s understanding of the bigger picture (II Corinthians 12:12-18)
(a)Improper boasting (II Corinthians 10:12) We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. Paul was reminding the Christians in Corinth about self-awareness. The person who needs to tell other people how wonderful they are, because no-one else has noticed has a problem! His critics from Judea were full of their own importance. All of us have met some people like that over the years. It is not a nice experience. None of us are better than other people. You and I are created in God’s image and therefore have a dignity and worth just like every other person who is alive. However, as well as accepting that wonderful truth, we need to live in a way that gives others their rightful place as well. I don’t want to succeed at a cost of denigrating other people. I want to make fair judgements about what they say and do. I will seek to think before I speak because I want to build up others by my words and actions not tear them down. When I have genuine criticisms to make, I will do my best to find something else to highlight that they do well or express my thoughts in such a way that communicates that my concerns are about a particular statement or action or course of action not an attack on the person in question. I will do it with a full awareness that I am an imperfect person who also will at times make mistakes in my attitudes, words or actions. My aim will always be to seek to build others up in my interactions with them. I will be able to do this better if I am self-aware of my own strengths and weaknesses.
(b)Legitimate boasting (II Corinthians 10:13-18) 13 We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God Himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you. 14 We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ. 15 Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand, 16 so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else’s territory. 17 But, ‘Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.’ 18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. There is a place for legitimate commendation of our own work. You could not succeed at a job interview without doing so! However, as Paul sets out the legitimate grounds for highlighting his own successes in ministry and that of his fellow team members, he points to the fact that it is fine to state accurately what we have accomplished. So, for example, a person in business can point to work done for other clients; they can rightly point the enquirer to satisfied customers who can testify on their behalf. A funding proposal for a research grant in a university setting might allow the writer to draw attention to the success of work done as a result of previous grants, something of particular importance if they are returning to seek further funding from that particular source. In his particular context, the problems were caused by critics from Judea who were so full of their own importance and wanted the church members in Corinth to recognise their greatness in comparison to the inadequate Paul! Here Paul has been willing where appropriate to address issues raised in his letters to this church that in time led to a resolution of the tensions that had arisen. However, he was uncomfortable boasting about his legitimate achievements, but was much more comfortable pointing people to his wonderful Lord and Saviour. This is why he concludes this section of the letter in this way: ‘Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.’ 18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. It is a point that we may also seek to bear in mind as we respond to the criticisms of others, Amen.
Our song before we come to communion is: ‘More about Jesus would I know’
The Lord’s Supper
Jesus invites all Christian who have committed their lives to follow Him to participate in this act of worship. The apostle Paul wrote these words of Scripture in I Corinthians 11:23-26 to guide our observance of Communion.
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: the Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’25 In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Prayer: Choose your own words of prayer to give thanks for the bread and wine that represent the costly gift of His body and blood for us.
Take the bread: Jesus said: ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.
Take the wine: Jesus said: This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’
Our closing song is: Amazing Grace (My Chains are gone)
Closing Prayer:
Thank You Lord for Your amazing grace given to us. We are so thankful that You modelled for us how to live our lives not only when things are going well, but also in the toughest of times. Your prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before Your crucifixion is an inspiration and a challenge to us all to live with that same desire of pleasing our heavenly Father in our attitudes, speech and conduct. Guide and direct us through all the circumstances we will experience this week, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen
JAM young adults have a separate programme Breakthru 7:00am-8:00pm Please contact Gary Torbet on garytorbet@btinternet.com for more details of today’s programme.
Baptist Union of Scotland National Prayer Livestream The monthly prayer livestream takes place tonight, Sunday 2 May, 2021 7.00–7.30pm. You can access on YouTube.
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Psalm 8: 3 – 4:
3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them.
Introduction;
We come to worship today a generous God.
We have so many promises that God has made to us, just like the one he made to Abram.
We have God’s generosity in the beauty and wonder of creation
We have God’s generosity in giving us life & breath.
Most of all we see God’s generosity supremely in the giving of Jesus Christ, his one and only Son, to come down from heaven, to show us the way to the Father
And to die for ours sins and be raised to life – in order that we need not fear death for those who are in Christ Jesus.
How should we respond, but in giving our lives afresh to God today – in worship and in praise!
Let us do that now and reflect on all of this as we sing;
Our opening song of praise and worship is: ‘Above all Powers’
Opening Prayer:
Loving Heavenly Father
As we gather for worship today, may we encounter you afresh, by the power of your Holy Spirit, touch our lives today. Wherever we are with you – may you today God give us the Holy Spirit, that as Paul prayed,
“to grow in wisdom and revelation, so that you/we MAY KNOW HIM BETTER.”
Might that be our prayer today that comes from our hearts, hearts that are open and expectant to be touched by you today. That we might know afresh “the hope to which you have called us”.
Thank you for your promises to us, like the promise to Abram, that bring us reassurance in the midst of troubled times. That the beauty of creation and the stars in the night sky will lift our minds beyond our circumstances, to a God who is the creator and sustainer of the universe and who is in control.
Thank you for Jesus and as we reflect on his example, may it inspire us – in the power of your Holy Spirit to be Jesus to the world around us. To generously give our time, our love, our compassion and material possessions to the needy world around us;
Come now Holy Spirit, our prayer is that we want more of you Jesus, may all we do in worship today bring you glory to the wonderful and powerful name of Jesus.
May none of us Lord – whether we are at Panmurefield or on Zoom, leave the same way as we came – change us, mould us Father into your image, we pray. Amen.
Let us say together the words Jesus taught His disciples when He said:
All Age Talk ‘Jesus & Zacchaeus – the generosity of Jesus’, Luke 19: 1- 10
A Little Man with a Big Problem
Have you ever been to a parade where you couldn’t see over the person in front of you? It isn’t much fun to go to a parade if you can’t see the marching bands, the floats, or the fire trucks with their flashing lights, is it? When that happens, a periscope may be just what you need. The periscope has two mirrors in it so that you can look in the bottom and see out the top. It allows you to see over tall objects or even around a corner. Periscopes are used in submarines so that the people in the submarine can see what is happening above the water. I have seen people using these at parades and at sports events where they may have difficulty seeing above the crowd.
Today’s Bible story is about a man who went to a parade, but couldn’t see above the crowd. The main attraction in this parade was Jesus. He had become quite famous because he had performed many miracles. He had raised Lazarus from the dead and had restored sight to a blind man named Bartimaeus, so when he entered the city of Jericho, the atmosphere was very much like a circus parade. People lined the streets hoping to get a glimpse of Jesus. One of the people in the crowd was a man who was very short. He was so short that he couldn’t see above all the people in the crowd. You probably know this man’s name, don’t you? That’s right, it was Zacchaeus. He didn’t have a periscope to help him see above the crowd, but he really wanted to see Jesus, so he climbed a tree and waited for Jesus to pass by.
As Jesus travelled through the streets of Jericho, he came to the place where Zacchaeus sat up in the tree. Jesus stopped, looked up in the tree, and he said, “Zacchaeus, you come down, for I am going to your house today.”
The people in the crowd were shocked! You see, Zacchaeus was one of the most hated men in all of Jericho. Why did the people hate him? Because Zacchaeus was a little man with a great big problem! He was a thief and a cheat! He was the chief tax collector and he had become very rich because he cheated people by collecting more taxes than they owed and keeping it for himself. The people could not believe that Jesus would go to the home of a man like that!
Zacchaeus knew that he had cheated people and when he and Jesus arrived at his house, he confessed and said that he was sorry for what he had done. He said to Jesus, “I am going to give half of all that I own to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
Because Zacchaeus was sorry for what he had done and confessed his sin, Jesus forgave him and said, “Today salvation has come to this house.” Yes, Zacchaeus was a little man with a big problem — sin! But he met Jesus and his life was changed. It doesn’t matter if you are short or tall, when you meet Jesus, he will change your life too!
Our Father, when we meet Jesus it is a life-changing experience. Thank you for your love and forgiveness. Amen.
If you follow this link you can Children’s activities related to the All Age Talk.
All Age Song – Zacchaeus was a wee little man
Prayers for others
Heavenly Father,
We come with heavy hearts once more to cry to You for the people of India and other countries where the virus pandemic is causing suffering on a scale that was feared might happen around the globe. Thank You for more nations who have resources being willing to assist the government of India in seeking to address this critical situation. Lord have mercy upon them.
We pray too for those countries suffering extreme violence and mass murder and pray for relief that pressure from the international community can be brought to bear on the Chinese government in its treatment of minorities and faith communities, especially the Uighur people group. We pray for Myanmar and the escalation of brutality by the regime that has extended its violence from killing non-violent political protestors around the country, to concentrated attacks on the Christian minorities in the north of the country and now medical staff in hospitals who are treating injured protestors. We pray too for the Christian community in north and central Nigeria where it appears the government has lost control to Islamist militants who raid and pillage at will. Lord have mercy upon them.
We pray for the young people preparing for their National 5s / Higher & Advanced Higher, or College / University exams. We pray that they may know Your peace at this time.
We pray as people of Scotland go to the polls on Thursday, that no matter which political party wins the election, that something of Your justice, mercy and goodness would be seen flowing in this land. We pray for fair policies and plans, which provide equity, provision and the ability to flourish for all.
We pray for the Baptist Union Accreditation Conference taking place online on Tuesday, as candidates engaged in the early years of some form of church or chaplaincy ministries finish their three year accreditation journey with a final interview. We pray that despite being online, that these meetings will result in wise discernment and be helpful to both the candidates and panel.
We pray for the following chaplains and churches:
Rebekah Sharp-Bastekin (Chaplain, Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow) – We pray for Rebekah and the work of the chaplaincy team at the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Glasgow as they seek to support patients, their families and the staff at the hospital.
Dalbeattie BC – We give thanks for the Baptist church in Dalbeattie and pray that they would know God’s presence with them as they meet together and witness to the community.
Dalkeith BC – We give thanks to God for the encouraging weekly fellowship they are able to maintain through technology, as they wait-out the Coronavirus storm at a distance from one another. We pray for them as they begin to consider how they might best ‘reset’ post virus, and move on in ministry in the pursuit of God’s glory.
Dedridge BC – We thank God for preserving a strong spiritual bond between them as a family through on-line study, prayer, book club, Alpha and social evenings. They are particularly conscious of this given early anxieties about more senior folk mastering the technology. We pray for the families that have lost loved ones to Covid, and other illnesses. The present climate with its restrictions has made their passing all the more difficult to bear
We come to pray for the needs in our own congregation:
Heavenly Father,
We bring before You today John and Shona H and other members of their family as they prepare for the funeral on Friday of his mother Jean. We pray that you would comfort and strengthen them at this time.
We continue to remember Mary D as she continues to cope with the ongoing problems with her left hand. We continue to pray for Your strength for Jim and Dorothy G as they cope with ongoing health issues at this time.
We remember Alison A as she copes with a lot of discomfort from torn tendons and a twisted knee. We also continue to remember Sheila and Jim B Betty R, Hamid and Alva D, Fiona Mc, Nicola L’s Dad Lawrie and Margaret – Ann W’s sister, Bill T, and the R family at this time.
We also continue to pray for a restoration of health for other members of our congregation or members of their families…
We pray too for anyone else with ongoing health conditions and bring them before You now…
We pray for the people whom we cannot visit in residential care, and others who are at home on their own, together with others in our church family who are feeling the effects of increasing age and infirmity…
We continue to pray for those who have been bereaved and ask Your comfort for them …
We now pray silently for anyone else known to us who is in need of our prayers at this time…..
We pray also for our own needs…
We bring all these prayers before you in Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Bible Reading II Corinthians 9:1-15
There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the Lord’s people. 2 For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action. 3 But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready, as I said you would be.
4 For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we – not to say anything about you – would be ashamed of having been so confident. 5 So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given.
6 Remember this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
9 As it is written:
‘They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures for ever.’
10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Before we come to listen to God’s Word let us sing: ‘God of justice, Saviour to all’
The Message
II Corinthians 9:1-15 The pattern for giving
Introduction
In chapters eight and nine of this letter to the church at Corinth we have a window into one aspect of the life of the Early Christian churches in the Mediterranean world. Here we see what the apostle Paul and his mission teams taught the members of the congregations they planted. They first were challenging to see themselves as part of a community of believers, not just in one local congregation, but as part of a wider Christian family with responsibilities to care for and provide where appropriate for one another.
This fellowship extended across racial and geographical boundaries. Giving was a privilege that was modelled on the example of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. Here the issue was famine relief and the necessity of doing what they could to provide for needy brothers and sisters in Judea. In the latter part of chapter eight Paul promoted the importance of integrity in how church life was administered, especially in the area of finance.
He wanted them to be a model of transparency as a public witness in this aspect of their work. In this third and final section on this topic the apostle speaks about the pattern for giving. Is there a regular pattern to this area of Christian discipleship or is it only a focus for intensive fundraising for a limited time when particular needs arise? What did Paul recommend to this local church in Greece, and by extension to later generations of Christian churches?
1. The organisation of our giving (II Corinthians 9:1-5)
(a)Paul’s scheme was planned in advance (II Corinthians 9:1-2) There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the Lord’s people. 2 For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action.
It will be no surprise to anyone to find that the New Testament pattern for giving is something that is regular and sustained and the approach to meeting particular needs carefully planned. We might think that this is the only way to do it, and in our cultural context it is natural to think this way, but in the majority world that is much closer in the way of living to the New Testament world many individuals and families live a precarious existence day by day.
There is little many of them can do to plan too far ahead. The congregation in Corinth was untypical in that some of its leader had higher than average incomes and may have been quite well off, unlike the majority of the membership. This small group almost certainly paid the bills as they arose and had complete control of church life. However, Paul wanted to enable the whole congregation here and elsewhere to have a stake in what was going on, including in sharing in financial giving. This fund-raising appeal would accomplish so much more than just raising funds for people in need. It brought both within and between the Early Christian congregations a greater sense of unity and shared purpose as they lived out their faith.
Church life is what we do together. It is not left to a few individuals while others applaud on the side lines. Here the issue is financial giving, but it may be about so many other things from inviting people to attend courses to explain the Christian faith, or engaging in various forms of ministry. We are all in this together. The question to ask is this: what is my part and how can I play it, in seeing this project come to fruition?
When Paul wanted to launch this appeal for the needy in Judea it had first gained the assent of the congregation, presumably at an in person meeting or service. It was a new situation, a crisis that had not been faced before like the covid-19 pandemic is for the vast majority of us today. However, the need had led to creative thinking and better ways of working had emerged. Please pray for our church and others that we may see clearly how God wants us to come out of this pandemic as a church and how we can best live out the gospel and communicate it more effectively to our community.
(b) It was a team effort (II Corinthians 9:3-4)But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready, as I said you would be. 4 For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we – not to say anything about you – would be ashamed of having been so confident.
Paul’s letter was to the whole church, encouraging each person as they were able to contribute to this relief effort. Each member of the congregation could play a part in ensuring this appeal was successful. Why did the Early Church see congregations growing and spreading to all the major cities of the Roman Empire within a generation? It was because each person recognised they had a part to play in evangelism, in living as a disciple of Jesus and working together effectively in a hostile environment.
Certain individuals like Peter, the most prominent public speaker amongst Jewish followers of Jesus; or James the leader of the Jerusalem congregation and the one who chaired the meetings of leaders when key decisions were taken; and Paul the apostle to the Gentiles occupied key leadership positions. Yet it is likely that the majority of those who came to faith in Jesus first heard the good news from ordinary men and women whose names are unknown to us.
Too often in Western Christianity, church life has reflected professional sport where a small number of people are doing the hard work and many more are supporting them from the side lines. If you doubt that, take a closer look at the Sunday attendance and active ministry by members of parish churches compared to the total numbers on the roll. In smaller Evangelical churches a greater proportion of the congregation are active participants, but as we come out of lockdown and beginning to return to something more like normality, it will require each of us to ask ‘what can I do?’ to play my part in proclaiming Jesus Christ in our community.
(c)People are required to administer it (II Corinthians 9:5)So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given.
The congregation in Corinth had committed itself to participating in this venture. However, it would only happen in practise if there were people in that local setting who were organised to promote it and willing to arrange the collections in line with what had been agreed. Of course, Paul and his missionary colleagues used this crisis to build stronger ties between these young congregations so that significant good emerged from it that had not been planned prior to the time of famine.
We live in a world where many good and bad things happen that are outside of our control. What matters, though, is how we respond to the challenges before us. It was far from certain how well this appeal would go in Macedonia and Achaia, two provinces of Greece, but through the willingness of Titus and his unnamed colleagues it was a remarkable success.
I thank God for each person in this church, whether through faithful dedication to the same form of ministry or through a willingness to serve in other ways who has stepped forward to make a difference over this very difficult year. May we be sure, though, not to neglect prayer, whether individually or collectively, because it is often the secret of the success of a church’s work when its children and adults are people of prayer.
James, leader of the Jerusalem church in his letter to the Churches reminded us of this in James 5:16b: The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (NIV). Or as the NLT version states: The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. How are you planning to serve in the life of the church in the coming year? Please pray for the forthcoming Deacons’ election that together we may sense God’s leading in this matter.
2. The nature of our giving (II Corinthians 9:6-7)
How does Paul characterise Christian giving? Obviously in this immediate context the issue is concerned with money, but the principles mentioned here in II Corinthians 9 are much broader than that. Paul highlights two characteristics that should be prominent in our lives as a whole as followers of Jesus.
(a)Generous (II Corinthians 9:6) Remember this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Paul is speaking here about our spiritual investment in the lives of others on so many different levels. The imagery works whether we are looking at a person planting seeds in their garden or an arable farmer sowing seeds for a commercial crop of grain or some other product. The reality is that not all the seeds sown will germinate. The fruitfulness of the crop reaped at a future date depends on so many factors including the type of soil and the weather. However, the principle being advocated is that the more generous the sowing of the seed, the greater the likelihood of a good harvest to come at a future date.
What is Paul saying in practise to us as individuals and as a Christian church? To reap a future harvest requires investment now. In terms of personal witness and evangelism, the more people we have contact with and with whom we share our faith, in whatever appropriate way, the greater the probability of a response over the medium to longer-term.
If we look at church life and see, for example, the investment we made into Children and Families’ work and youth work five to six years ago, it is most encouraging to note how much has been accomplished. The last year of a virus pandemic has disrupted everything in our society, but although the transition back to normality will not be easy, the principle of spiritual investment to reap a harvest is absolutely correct.
I thank God for the investment we have made in modern technology that has allowed us to hold zoom services and hybrid services in several forms. It has enabled people to participate who could never have done so in person during the last year on health grounds. It has enabled direct contact with mission partners overseas in a way that was not even considered just a short time ago. It is most remarkable what has happened in such a short time, albeit by necessity. The challenge to us as we go forward is this: what is God saying to us about the next stage of our ministries –what investment steps are required for the new situations we will face?
Our Bible verse for the year from Isaiah 43:18b-19: Do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I don’t have simple answers to offer. However, I am encouraging us both individually and collectively to pray that God will guide us in the way to go forward.
Jesus used the example of the investment of a poor widow in God’s work to teach His first disciples an important spiritual lesson in Mark 12:41-44: Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few pence. 43 Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.’
I am deeply thankful to God for the incredibly generous financial giving in enabling our church to get through this last year. Thank you to each person who has played their part in this important area of our collective life. However, we must never think what we can give not just of finance but of time or abilities is so small it doesn’t matter. Jesus in Matthew 12:42 spoke of the giving of a cup of cold water in His name was an action that would find favour with God. We never know how God might use what you and I have to offer Him.
(b) Willing (II Corinthians 9:7)Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. This was an echo of an Old Testament principle from the time of Moses. Deuteronomy 15:10-11:Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open-handed towards your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.
The immediate context of these words was to ensure that the poorest people would have their basic needs met in the newly formed nation of Israel as they settled in the Promised Land. The wider context in Deuteronomy 15 was the formation of an economic and financial structure that prevented the kind of appalling injustice seen in the bonded-labour system of modern slavery so familiar in countries like Pakistan today. However, Paul applies the principle that God wanted them to operate in the nation as a whole to their individual circumstances and by extension to churches as the family of God. Freely, willingly, we invest in God’s work for the good of others and for the glory of God.
3. The benefits of our giving (II Corinthians 9:8-15)
(a)Personal benefits (II Corinthians 9:8-10) And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written: ‘They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures for ever.’ 10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
Now, we do not give with a primary motivation of personal reward as a result. We give because we see a need and want to help meet it. There is no promise from God that His blessing will come in any one particular way. However, the individuals and churches that reflect the heart of our generous God will receive over time abundant blessings as a result of honouring God in this way. In the Old Testament there is the remarkable account of the action of a Lebanese woman who assisted the prophet Elijah during a time of famine (I Kings 17:7-16).
The story whichever way you read is so incredible. First of all, that God chose to use a desperately poor widow in a foreign country to be the means of providing for His servant in a time of crisis. It was not a means Elijah would have ever considered as the way by which God would answer his prayers. Her act of generosity in a time of famine in offering to share her last meal and that of her little child with this stranger is extraordinary. She was almost certainly thinking we are all going to die of starvation anyway there would have been only a bringing forward what was inevitable. However, Elijah had promised her that if she assisted him in this way God would guarantee her supply of oil and flour until life got back to normal. It happened! God honours those that honour Him.
In the New Testament, a story that appears in the gospels of a large crowd of people who had spent the day with Jesus, but had eaten no food that day and appeared to have no prospects of obtaining any for dinner. Jesus asked His disciples what they would do to meet this need. Mental panic was almost certainly the response! Philip, one of the disciples was doing the maths of the cost of feeding all of them and the figures he came up with were sobering. It is impossible to do it was his response. Yet another disciple Andrew took a different line. What could he do to contribute to meeting the need?
He clearly asked people present if they could help. The one person who came forward was a boy with a packed meal of bread and fish and who offered it to Jesus. A single person’s portion of food was on its own of minimal significance in meeting the need. Yet miraculously Jesus took what he offered and fed a vast crowd of people (John 6:1-13).
A lesson would be learned that day that no-one present would ever forget, especially they boy in question. He saw more clearly that day than many adults present, the principle that giving to God willingly and generously what we have can be an incredible personal blessing. Have you and I grasped this principle as we review our pattern for giving to God’s work and as our way of living?
(b)Church-wide benefits (II Corinthians 9:11-15) (i)It will lead to thanking God (vs 11-12)You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.
I have a feeling that the Corinthians or at least some of the people in that church were of the view that all the effort Paul was putting into raising funds for the famine relief in Judea would accomplish little. How many people would join in and support the appeal? We don’t know the figures raised, but it had the desired effect and covered the cost of the needs of the people concerned in Jerusalem and Judea. The total raised was clearly greater than they had thought possible. It led to a spirit of thankfulness to God that they were able with other believers to meet that need. What some deep down in their hearts had thought was impossible had happened. God has used them to contribute to this answer to the prayers of those in need.
Take a few moments today to recall and reflect on the thankfulness you felt when your needs were met through the generosity of other people. I expect particular people or situations will come to your mind.
(ii) It will overflow into the praise of God (v13)Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.
The thankfulness of God’s people for the generosity of others in helping meet their needs will naturally overflow into praise of our great and amazing God. In this case the believers in Jerusalem and Judea praised God for prompting Christians they had never met in Europe to provide the means of meeting their needs. Remember Paul’s words of praise to God that overflowed in his letter to the church in Ephesus.
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, 21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21).
Will you take time today to praise Him for some blessings you have received? Will we, not only individually, but collectively as a church be a people of praise, acknowledging all He has done for us?
(iii) It will strengthen ties between believers (v14) 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. There are people who come to your mind, and others to my mind, who have helped us in times of need in different ways over the years. There will be people who have become friends as a result of acts of kindness in the past. Living this way, Paul reminds us, will enrich our lives in ways beyond our expectations.
The incredibly poor Christians in the Macedonia region of Greece that gave so sacrificially to help fund Paul’s missionary journeys could not imagine what has resulted over the centuries from their generosity. This month, for example, Christian brothers and sisters in their thousands in northern Myanmar are receiving aid from our Baptist World Alliance as they hide in the jungle after the repeated bombing of their towns and villages by the military regime of that country. Why do we as Christians give in this kind of way? We remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:40: Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for Me.
(iv) It helps us appreciate more our generous God (v15) Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! In the light of His gift of Jesus to us 2,000 years ago, and then for us on the cross, we have a model for living and a pattern for giving of the resources entrusted to our care, for Jesus’ sake, Amen.
Our song before we come to communion is: ‘Wonderful Grace’
The Lord’s Supper
Jesus invites all Christian who have committed their lives to follow Him to participate in this act of worship. The apostle Paul wrote these words of Scripture in I Corinthians 11:23-26 to guide our observance of Communion.
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: the Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ 25 In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Prayer: Choose your own words of prayer to give thanks for the bread and wine that represent the costly gift of His body and blood for us.
Take the bread: Jesus said: ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.
Take the wine: Jesus said: This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’
Our closing song is: ‘And can it be’
Closing Prayer:
Lord Jesus, we are so thankful for the life You lived that modelled generosity as You focussed Your earthly life in the service of others. As we have been reminded once more in the act of communion, the sacrifice of Your life in our place on the cross was the greatest demonstration of Your amazing love for us. Help us this week and in coming days to be people who take delight in giving to others of our time and our abilities as well as at times other resources entrusted to us. We bring our prayer with all our praises to You, in Jesus’ name, Amen
