Author: feefsmall

JAM Kids’ focus:

Here is the video for Sunday 10 January 21 Virtual Sunday School: ‘John the Baptist and the locust eating challenge’

JAM young adults Ignite Live have a separate programme at 11:30am.  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 next on Sunday 7 February, 2021 7.00–7.30pm. 

Call to worship

I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise Your name for ever and ever.
² Every day I will praise You
and extol Your name for ever and ever.

³ Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
⁴ One generation commends Your works to another;
they tell of Your mighty acts.
⁵ They speak of the glorious splendour of Your majesty –
and I will meditate on Your wonderful works.
⁶ They tell of the power of Your awesome works –
and I will proclaim Your great deeds.
⁷ They celebrate Your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of Your righteousness.

Psalm 145:1-7

Our opening song of praise and worship is ‘Tell out my soul’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqwoqRo9N6E

Opening prayer

Heavenly Father,

Many of us have struggled to adjust to the events of the past week. We had expected some tighter restrictions as the virus pandemic infection rates had increased, but as the reality sinks in of tougher times for the foreseeable future, it has been an emotionally difficult week.  

At the start of this new week it is a relief and a privilege to come into Your holy presence as Your children. Thank You for the honour of calling You our Father. Thank You that it is not earthly rulers who are in ultimate charge of this world. We are so grateful that we can come to You honestly and openly to honour and to glorify Your name as we sing and listen to songs of praise and worship; as we read Your Word and reflect upon it.

We come confessing our sins and asking for the forgiveness of them and the fresh empowering of Your Holy Spirit this week. We would not forget to express our thankfulness for all our blessings of family and friends; of food and the other necessities of life and so much more, we bring our prayers in Jesus’ name Amen.    

Let us say together the words Jesus taught His disciples when He said:

‘Our Father in heaven, 
hallowed be Your name. 
Your kingdom come, 
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 
Give us this day our daily bread, 
and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'”       
For Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever Amen. 

We continue in worship as we sing: ‘The splendour of the King’ 

All- Age Talk:   ‘Being strong or being weak?’

How do we decide if someone is strong?

Is it how thick a branch someone can break with their bare hands?

Is it the ability to open a vacuum sealed jar in the kitchen without one of these tools?

Is it the ability to pick up your son or daughter and hold them safely in the air with only one arm?

How do you decide if someone is strong?

Is it the ability to keep going when life is very hard and things keep going wrong?

Is it being able to be happy with someone else when they share their good news – at a time when we are struggling to keep going?

Is it being able to keep encouraging other people at a time when we are feeling discouraged or even sad inside us? 

All of us may have suggestions about something really good someone did for others when they could easily not have done it, because it took their time or their money or just the effort to help someone else.

However, we don’t need to pretend we are strong or fine or okay when we are not. Life is very difficult at the moment for many boys and girls and also for many adults. 

There are many people who are working who are so exhausted because their work is harder physically or because of longer hours of concentrating their minds on work on a computer. Other people have health problems that may be giving them daily a lot of discomfort or pain.   Maybe you are finding it hard keeping up with your school work with all the changes that have happened in the last year? 

Other people are feeling under great pressure for so many reasons, health issues for themselves or others, someone special may have died, or they may struggle to pay their bills or pay for enough food to eat.     

What is really important?

We must not be too hard on ourselves or other people when we or they are struggling at hard times like this.  We must try to be more patient and kind and understand why someone else might not be okay.

We have not failed when we are not okay. We are human beings not robots. The apostle Paul took a long time to learn this lesson. He wanted always to be strong and okay, but he had to learn to accept his times of weakness and struggles and when he was not okay at all. It was in such times he had to rely even more on God. In a letter Paul wrote to a church in the city of Corinth in Greece these words that God has given to him: 

But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I [Paul] will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (II Corinthians 12:9-10)

I hope each one of us will be able to be honest with ourselves about how we are getting on and be able to rely more on God, one day at a time, to get through the tough times we are going through at the moment. 

Prayers for others

Lord Jesus,

In I Timothy 2:2 we are encouraged to pray for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

We have to confess that though we find it easy to comment on politicians and the choices they make, we are not as consistently willing to pray for them as they exercise the responsibility of governance in our country. We are conscious of the heavy pressures upon them at particularly difficult times like this and ask that You would grant them the necessary wisdom to lead and govern with choices that are beneficial for all, but particularly ensuring that the poorest and most vulnerable people are cared for in our midst. 

It is appropriate to remember other countries that have serious problems with governance at the present time. We pray for our friends in America and ask that You would guide the law enforcement officials to act in a way that ensures a peaceful transition of power this month.

We plead for the people of Hong Kong whose political leaders of the opposition parties have been arrested for engaging in democratic politics. Lord have mercy upon them. We pray that pressure may be brought to bear on the Chinese president to honour the political settlement for Hong Kong and also ease the suffering imposed of the Uigher Muslims and on our Christian brothers and sisters in Mainland China.

We also continue to remember that in August 2020 there was a presidential election in Belarus. We are aware that the current President has closely protected his power through political oppression and control of media for 26 years. That election was widely agreed to have been rigged. Massive peaceful protests followed the election, but were met with police violence, abuse and torture. Over 7000 people were arrested in 3 days alone. The peaceful protests have continued for over two months, as have the political arrests and abuses. We pray that the hearts of the leadership and police would be softened and the violence stop, that God would bring peace and justice to Belarus.

In our own land we ask for the necessary strength for so many people to carry out their duties in health, social care, education and so many other spheres of work. Help us to be kind and encouraging to one another at this time looking out where possible for others around us. We are very aware that so many people are struggling with their emotional and mental health and pray that those individuals needing assistance may get the necessary help they need at this time.  

We pray for the following chaplain and churches:

Marylee Anderson (Chaplain, Aberdeen University) – We pray for Marylee as she seeks to support both students and staff in her chaplaincy role. We pray for strength, wisdom and good opportunities for her to help people in their time of need.

Airdrie BC – We pray for their search group, as they are in the process of asking God to lead them to a new Pastor. Their Sunday morning service had started with half the fellowship attending on alternate Sundays. We pray that they all stay safe and that their live stream works well. We praise God for their Zoom Bible study on a Sunday evening and also for their Zoom prayer time on Wednesdays. Both of these meetings have many participants – much more than anticipated. We praise God for all the little kindnesses shown to the older people in their fellowship and they thank Him for the renewed interest by many friends.

Alexandria BC – We give thanks for the church fellowship in Alexandria. We pray for this small fellowship as they faithfully meet together week by week. 

Alloa BC – They give thanks for the generous financial giving for the support of the local Church and BMS. They are encouraged by the number joining through Zoom for the mid-week prayer meeting. They are grateful that the dry rot problems in their church premises have been treated and for the time to redecorate. They pray for a fresh outpouring of God’s Spirit upon their small church – that they would seek to ‘shine for His Glory’. 

Alness BC – They praise God for a real sense of God doing something new among them! We pray in particular for their ongoing building revitalisation work as they seek to be a hub within their community. They give thanks to God for the faithfulness of God’s people serving the local community in many different ways living and loving like Jesus.

We come to pray for the needs in our own congregation:

We are grateful for the improvements for Betty Watson and the good news that she is now home. We thank you that she has regained sufficient mobility to return to her own home and pray that she will continue to make further progress in regaining her health and strength. We particularly remember Ali and Gary T after the death of Ali’s dad Frank. We pray for Your comfort for Ali’s mum and each member of the family as seek to plan funeral arrangements. We also remember Bill D who was taken into Ninewells Hospital and pray that You will heal Him and enable Him to be restored to better health so that he will soon be able to go home. We continue to pray for Nicola L’s dad, Lawrie, as he recovers from major surgery and continue to remember others with ongoing health problems. We also pray for Isdale’s dad who has been experiencing problems swallowing food that he might get the right medical treatment. We give thanks that Shona H’ niece, Lynne, has responded well to her cancer treatment. We pray for her complete recovery.

We continue to pray for those with ongoing health conditions and bring them before You now…

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

‘Yet you have not called on Me, Jacob, you have not wearied yourselves for Me, Israel.
²³ You have not brought Me sheep for burnt offerings, nor honoured Me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with grain offerings nor wearied you with demands for incense.

²⁴ You have not bought any fragrant calamus for Me, or lavished on Me the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened Me with your sins and wearied Me with your offences.

²⁵ ‘I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more. ²⁶ Review the past for Me, let us argue the matter together; state the case for your innocence. ²⁷ Your first father sinned; those I sent to teach you rebelled against Me.
²⁸ So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple; I consigned Jacob to destruction and Israel to scorn. 

‘But now listen, Jacob, My servant, Israel, whom I have chosen. ² This is what the Lord says  – He who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: do not be afraid, Jacob, My servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.³ For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, and My blessing on your descendants. ⁴ 

They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams.⁵ Some will say, “I belong to the Lord”; others will call themselves by the name of Jacob; still others will write on their hand, “The Lord’s,” and will take the name Israel.

Isaiah 43:22-44:5

Before we come to listen to God’s Word let us sing: ‘Jesus You are changing me’

The Message 

Pre-recorded version of the message

Isaiah 43:22-44:5 Our hope for the future

Introduction

Here in Scotland we have many monuments about the past history of this nation. The vast majority are statues of great people, or monuments erected in honour of heroes from the past. What they did was deemed a success. Yet not all of them point to past successes.

Another part of our heritage acknowledges gallant losers –people admired as courageous for their cause such as the Presbyterian Covenanters who were killed for rejecting the Stuart monarchs’ restrictions on practising their faith in this country in the seventeenth century. Their monuments are found in central or south-west Scotland.

However, a better known monument to a cause that in its day was unsuccessful is found on the road from Fort William to Malaig in north-west Scotland. I refer to the Glenfinnan Monument. It was erected in 1815 as a tribute to the men who had rallied to the standard of Prince Charles Edward Stuart on 19 August 1745 when he launched formally the final attempt to reclaim the British crown for the deposed Roman Catholic Stuart monarchy. Several thousand highlanders and their chiefs rallied to his cause and in the months to come would march down into England with a surprising degree of success.

However, the task was always beyond them and eventually on the battlefield of Culloden, outside Inverness, this army of Highland Scots was defeated by another composed primarily of lowland Scots and allied to the Protestant Hanoverian (German) monarchy, in whose honour the national anthem was composed!

On 16 April 1746 the final attempt to overthrow the representative democratic form of governance under a Protestant monarchy was defeated. The Glenfinnan Monument was not built immediately, that would not have been permitted by a Government nervous about revolutions, not least in the light of the French Revolution under Napoleon Bonaparte.

However, his revolution was destroyed at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815 by a combined British and German army thus securing the position of the British Government and its empire. Jacobite supporters could erect a monument then as their small numbers were no longer a threat to the Government. The Monument was a reminder for them of a past failure, of what might have been, but it gave no hope for the future. This fact is in complete contrast with the argument of Isaiah in this encouraging message to the Jewish people whose hopes had been dashed and whose country had been brought to ruins by the Babylonians. What had happened in the past was not the final word, because the God of Israel was and is sovereign over His people and His creation.

1. A Past to be addressed (Isaiah 43:22-25)

‘Yet you have not called on me, Jacob, you have not wearied yourselves for me, Israel.
²³ You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings, nor honoured me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with grain offerings nor wearied you with demands for incense. ²⁴ You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me, or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your offences. ²⁵ ‘I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more. 

God has created each of us with different temperaments. There are some people who have absolutely no interest in anything that happened in the past. Yesterday to them is history that cannot be changed and as a result their focus is entirely on the present and especially what might happen in the future.

Now being forward looking is a positive thing and commendable as we cannot rest on our laurels when there is so much still to be accomplished for God and for other people and for ourselves! However, sometimes such people can have no comprehension that their past mistakes or actual sins have negatively affected other people and cannot simply be put out of sight and buried deep in our memories. The past has to be faced up to; we have to come to terms with what has previously taken place; good and bad, encouraging and discouraging, in order to live more effectively in the present and to prepare more confidently for the future that God has in store for us. 

How can we do that most effectively? Look at the start of verse twenty-five with the emphatic statement from God. I, even I, am He… In their past were real issues that got between them and God; and there was a clear acknowledgement that the people of Judah had not done very well in seeking to remedy the situation. Either they had failed to offer the appropriate sacrifices prescribed in the Levitical law or they had kept the letter of the law, but were not serious about getting right with God in their hearts. God knows our hearts so we can never put on an act before Him. This was not a new issue for Isaiah. As early as Isaiah chapter one the prophet gives this strong message to Judah and Jerusalem.

‘The multitude of your sacrifices – what are they to me?’ says the Lord. ‘I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. ¹² When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? ¹³ Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations – I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. 

¹⁴ Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. ¹⁵ When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood!¹⁶ Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. 

¹⁷ Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. ¹⁸ ‘Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. ¹⁹ If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; ²⁰ but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. ’For the mouth of the Lord has spoken (Isaiah 1:11-20);

The past was a problem but never beyond resolution with God. What had been missing was God in His central place. The outward ritual practices had continued as normal but there was a problem with failing to honour Him. This wasn’t the only time the nation needed to be reminded about God in their midst, the great I AM. In Exodus 3 Moses, who had been required to live in the remote desert south of the borders of Egypt as a result of seeking to accomplish God’s work by inappropriate means, sees a bush burning but it is not consumed. In the course of the revelatory encounter Moses asks about the identity of the One who has invited him to meet with Him. Exodus 3:13-17 states: 

Moses said to God, ‘Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is his name?” Then what shall I tell them?’ ¹⁴ God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: “I am has sent me to you.”’ ¹⁵ God also said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites, “The Lord, the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob – has sent me to you.” ‘This is My name for ever, the name you shall call Me from generation to generation. ¹⁶ ‘Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, “The Lord, the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. ¹⁷ And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites – a land flowing with milk and honey.”  

In essence, the Israelites in Egypt, like their successors in Isaiah’s day are in need of a reminder of the One who is really in charge of their situation. Now in human terms the Israelites of Moses’ day were slaves at the beck and call of their Egyptian masters. The people of Judah of Isaiah’s day felt extremely vulnerable in the light of the proximity of the Assyrian and Babylonian empires, superpowers that greedily gobbled up kingdom after kingdom on their borders.

The gods of the other nations didn’t appear to make a difference when their followers were in crisis – would it be any different in Judah?  It can get more complicated because there may have been genuine committed believers crying out to God for years for an end to slavery in Egypt with nothing visible to show for it or for a relief from the possibility of a brutal war in the later era which they had no chance of winning. Deep down some of them may very well have doubted either God’s ability or willingness to act on their behalf. In part this may have been because of their recognition of personal or national sin that had not been atoned for. Were they a nation beyond redemption? Are there hopeless cases? What does Isaiah 43:25 remind us? 

‘I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more. 

You and I individually and collectively have sinned and made mistakes in the past, but praise God that is not the last word. What does this verse tell us? He who blots out your transgressions… and remembers your sins no more. 

The past failures and mistakes that have been repented of and dealt with before the Lord are beyond His recall. The devil may try and accuse you and me of not being good enough to serve God or live for Him – remind him on such occasions what our heavenly Father has done with our past! Why has He done this? Is it to please us or is it an arbitrary decision? No! for My own sake… It is in order to bring glory to His name. He wants to work in us and through us both for our good and supremely for His glory.

Unlike the Glenfinnan Monument that forever reminds Jacobites of their failure in 1745 and 1746, God has erased our past failings and any obstacles to His working in us in the present and the future. Is there anyone here who needs to let go of past disappointments or failures or sins that are potentially hindering you from being the person God wants you to be? Take encouragement from these words from God through Isaiah. They are just as true today as they were 2,750 years ago. 

2. A Present to be acknowledged (Isaiah 43:26-28)

(a)The Challenge from God (Isaiah 43:26) ²⁶ Review the past for Me, let us argue the matter together; state the case for your innocence.  

The next verses are ironic in tone. God through the prophet invites the people of Judah to respond and give detailed information if they think God has erred in His handling of their cause over the years. Presumably when Isaiah delivered this message orally that he paused for a few moments at this point, like a minister pausing in a wedding service after asking the congregation if they know of any reason why the couple standing at the front of the church may not be married legally and in the sight of God! It is likely that people had complained to Isaiah that God was not treating them fairly.

Maybe even with the confidence demonstrated by football fans as they enthusiastically communicate to a referee that he has been less than fair to their team! If a few people had spoken the words, presumably more had though these sentiments in their heads. Maybe you and I have thought hard thoughts about our lot in life at times? We all know deep down that life isn’t fair in many respects, but how we understand that may reflect on how we interpret God’s superintendence of the world He has created.

Here the people of Judah were put on the spot and asked –if you have a grievance against God to make it plain. If you believe you are completely innocent and without sin and not needing God’s grace then please let Him know! All of us have known times when in a minor or major way we nursed a grievance against someone, but when we tried to articulate it audibly even in private the strength of the matter somehow seemed less convincing – maybe it actually was not as significant as we had previously thought?

On occasions we only have part of the picture and can misjudge the motives of other people or misunderstand how God has chosen to respond to our prayers. God appreciates honesty in our prayers. In the book of Job He didn’t mind the patriarch raising his concerns in his prayers, but in turn asked Job to reflect on a series of questions that indicated that there was a bigger picture than even this godly man had grasped. Equally important God was less than impressed in that story by Job’s friends who had everything cut and dried and who had made his trials worse by their pastorally disastrous theology! God here is genuinely being gracious allowing His people to share their concerns prior to His confirmation of humanity’s fall into sin.          

(b) The Confirmation from God (Isaiah 43:27-28) ²⁷ Your first father sinned; those I sent to teach you rebelled against Me.²⁸ So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple; I consigned Jacob to destruction and Israel to scorn. 

God’s response begins with the fall of humanity in the Garden of Eden where each of those present passed the buck and said: ‘It wasn’t my fault it was….’s fault!’ Adam bore the ultimate responsibility leading to the separation of our first human parents from the close fellowship they had previously enjoyed with God. Now they were excluded from the Garden of Eden and thrust into a new and much harder way of life. The one repeated refrain in the first human genealogy in Genesis 5 are the salutary words: …and then he died.

From the father of the nation Abraham to all the prophets, priests and kings, all without exception failed to live up to God’s standards. The story of the children of Israel throughout the Old Testament is a cycle of sin, repentance, good behaviour, before the pattern is repeated again and again, generation after generation. It is not as if there had been no warning of God’s judgement. Moses, in his final messages to the nation before his death passed on these words from God in Deuteronomy 28:58-63: 

If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name – the Lord your God – ⁵⁹ the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. 

⁶⁰ He will bring on you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. ⁶¹ The Lord will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed. ⁶² You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left but few in number, because you did not obey the Lord your God. ⁶³ Just as it pleased the Lord to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please Him to ruin and destroy you. You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess. 

Exile for a disobedient nation was inevitable. However it would not be the last word. 

As Christians we can take the gospel story further than was revealed in its clarity in Isaiah’s day. The I AM whose message was relayed by the prophet Isaiah took human flesh and was born as a baby in Bethlehem. The purpose of that coming was explained so clearly by Paul in Galatians 4:4-5: 

But when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. 

John the apostle, in the opening verses of his Gospel presents something of the wonder and significance of that event. John 1:14-17 states: The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.¹⁵ (John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying, ‘This is the one I spoke about when I said, “He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.”’) ¹⁶ Out of His fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 

On seven occasions in John’s Gospel the writer is directed to explain aspects of Jesus’ identity through the use of the I AM sayings, for example, I am the Light of the World (John 8:12); I am the resurrection and the life (John 11:25); in Jesus we have genuine hope for the future, because although the consequences of unrepentant sin are extremely serious, the blessing to the recipients of His grace are out of this world. Paul sets this out very clearly at the end of Romans 6. 

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:22-23).  

Have you received this grace from God? Have you known a time when your sins have been forgiven? Have you had your past shortcomings erased by God and released to be the person He created you to be in Christ? On our own there are many situations in life which appear hopeless. When the Lord Jesus Christ is in the picture our predicament is completely transformed. We have to be honest that on many occasions the way God chooses to work in people’s lives can be very different to what we had either hoped for or expected, but the One who has invested so much in us through Jesus must only want the best for us –even if we cannot see it at the time.

3. A Future to be anticipated (Isaiah 44:1-5)

(a) The Assurance (Isaiah 44:1-2) ‘But now listen, Jacob, My servant, Israel, whom I have chosen. ² This is what the Lord says – He who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: do not be afraid, Jacob, My servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. 

The opening two words here signal a change of direction: But now… we have had the bad news, here is God’s good news! He speaks in covenant language of the people whom I have chosen in verse 1; and in the language reflecting the creation account in Genesis 2 in verse 2 here. These words of assurance in this section are similar in intent to Jeremiah’s familiar encouraging words to the exiles in Babylon in Jeremiah 29:10-13: 

This is what the Lord says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfil My good promise to bring you back to this place. ¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. 

The circumstances in which God’s people find themselves at any particular time may be less than encouraging, but God hasn’t changed and His promises are still as reliable as ever. It is supremely important to grasp that God chose us in Christ and loves us through the atoning sacrifice which He offered once for all time so that we might have fellowship with God the Father both now and into eternity. God wanted to stress a number of things to these fearful Israelites in Jerusalem. Here in Isaiah 44:1-2 it is an assurance of His amazing love to us, from eternity to eternity.

As Jesus explained it to His followers at the Last Supper there is a purpose in God’s plan In John 15:16 Jesus said: You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last – Jesus has His hand on your life and mine as well. His message is exceptionally clear. You are in My plans for the future!  You may not this side of eternity understand all the way I work, but I want you to be assured that the work I have begun I will bring to completion on the day I return in glory. Do you need to hear Jesus’ words of assurance today?    

There is a play on words here in the original Hebrew in the contrast between the two names used in verse 2: Jacob, My servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen… Jacob as I am sure most of us know means ‘deceiver’. Jeshurun means ‘upright’. God sees both from where we have come from our sins and by His grace, together with where we are going with His help. He sees the potential in every one of His children and is excited at the thought of it being fulfilled in all our lives.

God is not playing a game here. He knows of our sins and failures, but will do everything in His power to ensure that all of His children complete their earthly journey in His grace, prepared for their eternal future. Do you find it exciting that God has invested so much in you and me? We all have a past. We are all living in the present, but most of all here God wants to assure His children of the blessings He has in store for us in the future.  

(b) The Promise (Isaiah 44:3)³ For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, and My blessing on your descendants. Isaiah has already drawn attention to God’s plans to bless Israel in the future in Isaiah 35:1-2: 

The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, ² it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendour of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendour of our God. 

This encouraging prophetic passage concludes with these words: But only the redeemed will walk there, ¹⁰ and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away (Isaiah 35:9b-10).

The people of Judah in their despair could only see ‘the desert’, whereas, God could see a future flourishing landscape in the Holy Land.

In our culture we speak of two types of people; those who see ‘a glass half-full’ and those who see it ‘half-empty’. Here the contrast is between a glass that is truly empty, with one overflowing with blessings from God. However, the blessing is a future one which needed to be claimed by faith. It required a people thirsty for God who would continue to seek His blessing and favour until they saw it come down on their land.

Are we a people who will keep on praying for people to come to faith, come back to the Lord or whatever the need might be until it happens? Will we make the time for both personal and collective prayer to that end? Over the centuries, sadly, church prayer meetings have been the poorest attended gatherings of Christians.

Have we missed out on some blessings because we have not sought them seriously enough? What are your expectations over these next few years, or the next decade for Him working in our midst?  Too often our timescales are shorter than those of God. Many blessings are generational in which parents or grandparents cry out to God for blessings that a younger generation will experience.

What is the promise here? I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, and My blessing on your descendants… There is undoubtedly a fulfilment of the promise on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) at the launch of the Christian Church. The prophet Joel proclaimed at some point prior to the exile to Babylon this message from God: 

And afterwards, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. ²⁹ Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. ³⁰ I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke.³¹ The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. ³² And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls (Joel 2:28-32).

The secret here, though, is not simply greater effort or greater prayer from God’s people but a plea for a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit to cascade God’s blessing on His people in an extraordinary manner. To which we cry out: ‘Lord please do it again’ in this our generation! 

(c) The Blessing (Isaiah 44:4-5)⁴ They will spring up like grass in a meadow,  like poplar trees by flowing streams.⁵ Some will say, “I belong to the Lord”; others will call themselves by the name of Jacob; still others will write on their hand, “The Lord’s,”and will take the name Israel. 

To whom did the Lord send these words of encouragement? To a people in despair who were on the verge of giving up hope of God working in their midst in the future. God’s exhortation to them and to us was not to be afraid; not to allow past failures, sins or disappointments to rob us of our confidence in God’s future blessings.

However, this passage also hints that such blessings will be granted to those who are earnestly seeking them from God and have an expectation, despite the lack of visible proof that God will work in our midst. Is that you and me? For some people like old Jacob it takes desperate circumstances, in his case in the battle with the heavenly being at Peniel before he would say to God: I will not let you go unless you bless me (Genesis 32:26b). Oh, may that be the spirit with which we seek God’s face in prayer and that same spirit by which we serve Him day by day, for Jesus’ sake, Amen.

Our song before we come to communion is: City Alight’s song ‘Ancient of Days’

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: ‘Rejoice, rejoice Christ is in you’

Closing Prayer: 

Lord You are the giver of hope in our lives. It is You who encourages, strengthens and supports us in our times of need.  As we enter this new week we do so with confidence in You that You will supply all the resources we need to persevere in tough times, the wisdom we need when choices have to be made and the courage to continue when it would be easier to draw back. Help us in all we do to live lives pleasing to You, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. 

Benediction:  The Grace 

                

                     

Welcome

Thank you for visiting our Church at Home online service, at the start of this new year! We will be focusing on our bible verse for this year:

Baptist Union of Scotland National Prayer Livestream The monthly prayer livestream takes place on Sunday 3 January, 2021 7.00–7.30pm. You can access it here.

JAM Kids’ focus: The Virtual Sunday School. Here is the video for Sunday 3 January 21 Virtual Sunday School: ‘Moses and the burning bush’

Out of the Box were running a Christmas series and the episodes can be accessed here.

The older JAM Kids might like to check out some Bible stories about people who also experienced ‘lockdown’. The videos along with a link to some questions to think about together, can all be found here.

JAM young adults Ignite Live have a separate programme at 11:30am.  Please contact Martin Leiper on jmleiper@btinternet.com for more details of today’s programme.

We are grateful to Isdale Anderson for leading and selecting the songs for worship for this service

Call to worship: 

Your unfailing love, O Lord is as vast as the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.
Your justice is like the ocean depths.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
Your justice like the ocean depths.
You care for people and animals alike O Lord
How precious is your unfailing love, O God!

Our opening song of praise and worship is: ‘Behold Our God’

Opening prayer

Lord, we are aware that many of the Psalms in the Book of Psalms in the Bible encourage us to praise You. Psalm 100 begins with these words: Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. ²Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. ³ Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; 

Thank you heavenly Father that we can state these words with real joy in our hearts with the assurance of Your amazing love to us through Your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. We begin another New Year with confidence that despite out struggles and our fears, our failures and our tears in 2020 we come grateful for Your goodness and mercy to us over that year as well. Once more we begin a New Year not knowing what will take place during the next twelve months, but we know that the future is in Your hands and we come to commit ourselves to You.

Once more we confess our sins and ask for Your forgiveness and request the empowering of Your Holy Spirit to equip us to live effectively for You in our homes or places of work or in any other setting, that through our attitudes, speech and conduct You may be honoured. Speak by Your Holy Spirit into our hearts and minds today from Your Holy Word and give us receptive hearts to take notice and act on what You say to us. May all that takes place in this service be honouring and glorifying to You heavenly Father, for Jesus’ name sake Amen.     

Let us say together the words Jesus taught His disciples when He said:

‘Our Father in heaven, 
hallowed be Your name. 
Your kingdom come, 
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 
Give us this day our daily bread, 
and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'”       
For Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever Amen. 

We continue in worship as we sing: ‘Guide me O Thou Great Jehovah’

Prayers for others

Dear Lord,

At the start of this New Year, we pray that Christians in Scotland would rise up together in 2021 to share the good news of Jesus and to partner with God in all that He will do in Scotland this coming year. There are so many people anxious about the future, please give us the words and the wisdom to know how and when to speak and how best to point them to You the living God. 

We are very conscious that there are real causes for concern about the rate of the spread of the new variant of the Covid-19 virus. We pray that You would grant wisdom to the politicians leading our country together with the scientists and the medical staff in our NHS to know how best to contain it as well as to administer the vaccination programme as effectively as possible in the coming months. We pray too for staff in our schools, colleges and universities as they prepare to go back to work educating our children and young people. We ask that the right choices are made regarding in person or on-line learning in the coming weeks. 

We pray too for all other workers preparing to return to their employment after the Christmas and New Year break. We do not forget to remember those that have lost employment and are seeking new work opportunities and pray that they may soon be able to obtain some alternative employment. 

We pray too for the Pre-Accredited Ministers Conference of the Baptist Union of Scotland being held online on Thursday 7 January. We pray that they would have a good time of fellowship together, as well as encourage one another in the vocation to which they have been called. 

We pray for the following churches:

Abbeyhill BC, Edinburgh – We praise God for His continuing provision and care for them during these uncertain times. We pray for them as they seek to develop a new vision for a church family that seeks to live for Christ wherever He has placed them around the city. Let this congregation have the good grace to listen for His word of instruction and the wisdom to pick up or let go of the things He brings to their attention. 

Aberdeen Christian Fellowship – We give thanks for the work and witness of Aberdeen Christian Fellowship (ACF) and for the Christmas Hampers they gave to those in need in their community over Christmas. We pray that 2021 would be a great year of worship and witness for Christ at ACF. 

Aberfeldy Community Church – We pray that they can continue to unite as one small fellowship in the body of Christ in the midst of the ongoing restrictions and wisdom to proceed in future. We pray that the Lord would send other labourers to join them in the harvest here in Aberfeldy and the Tay valley. Also we pray for the children in the fellowship that they would know God’s help in their struggles and find significant fellowship with others.

Adelaide Place BC, Glasgow – We pray for this busy city centre church in Glasgow. We pray for the ongoing ministries and connections the church has in the local area. We pray for their missional communities as they seek to come alongside people in different communities and in different ways.

We come to pray for the needs in our own congregation:

We particularly remember Ali and Gary T after Ali’s dad Frank died on Thursday. We pray for your comfort for Ali’s mum and each member of the family as they come to terms with their loss. We also remember Bill D who was taken into Ninewells Hospital and pray that You will heal Him and enable Him to be restored to better health so that he will soon be able to go home. We give thanks that Betty W is being discharged from hospital to her home tomorrow. We continue to pray for Nicola L’s dad, Lawrie, as he recovers from major surgery. We give thanks that Shona H’ niece, Lynne, has responded well to her cancer treatment. We pray for her complete recovery.

We continue to pray for those with ongoing health conditions and bring them before You now…

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

Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf. ⁹ All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of their gods foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, ‘It is true.’ 

¹⁰ ‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after Me. ¹¹ I, even I, am the  Lord, and apart from Me there is no saviour. 

¹² I have revealed and saved and proclaimed – I, and not some foreign god among you. You are My witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘that I am God. ¹³ Yes, and from ancient days I am He. No one can deliver out of My hand. When I act, who can reverse it?’ This is what the Lord says – your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘For your sake I will send to Babylon and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians, in the ships in which they took pride. 

¹⁵ I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel’s Creator, your King.’ ¹⁶ This is what the Lord says – He who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, ¹⁷ who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: 

¹⁸‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. ¹⁹ See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. ²⁰ The wild animals honour Me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to My people, My chosen, ²¹ the people I formed for Myself  that they may proclaim My praise. 

Isaiah 43:8-21

Before we come to listen to God’s Word let us sing: ‘Speak O Lord’ 

The Message

Isaiah 43:8-21: Looking Back – Looking Forward 

Introduction

A New Year has begun. An old year has passed. But these plain statements barely scratch the surface of the past twelve months or prepare us for the year to come. Who on 1 January 2020 foretold the experience through which we have passed?  No astrologer or occult practitioner, newspaper columnist or politician not even a religious leader can truthfully state that they anticipated the growth, spread and impact of the Covid-19 virus pandemic.

For others it is a matter of healthcare received or delayed in 2020. And for a proportion of the population there has been a real fear of either death through catching the virus or of being a contributory cause to the death of someone else by inadvertently being an asymptomatic carrier of the deadly virus. 

In the middle of this pandemic we can look back and see the damage caused by its spread, but we can equally be thankful to God for the creation and production of vaccines in record time that point to a future when this virus will either be greatly diminished and at worse become like annual versions of the flu, or even better that it will be eliminated eventually altogether.

The promise of a return to a more normal life is on the horizon, but not yet in sight of being our daily experience at the beginning of 2021. The passage from which our verse for the year as a church has been chosen is Isaiah 43:8-21. It is a part of a message to the crushed people of God in Babylon (Iraq) who had experienced the devastation of their country by the super power of that day and all hopes and dreams they had had for the future had been crushed beyond repair.

But was that the last word on their situation or potentially on some of our hopes today? No! Absolutely not! God through His servant Isaiah brought a wonderful message to them to give them hope for the future. They were invited to look back to see what God has done in the past, in order to gain a perspective to turn round and prepare to play a part in what God was going to do in the future. There are no hopeless cases or situations where God is involved.    

1. Looking back to see what God has done (Isaiah 43:8-17)

Getting a sense of perspective in all kinds of situations is essential in life. A problem can arise that we have to deal with, but at first we might be overwhelmed with what confronts us and not see a way out of the difficulty or even the crisis. Once we get over the shock that the problem has arisen in the first place, we may sense feelings of hopelessness or despair because it is far too difficult for us to resolve.

It can be even worse if we feel that there is no-one to whom we can turn for assistance. This last scenario was the situation experienced by many of the first hearers or readers of these words from Isaiah. They needed to hear and to understand fully that there is no hopeless situation where God is involved. Is there someone reading or hearing this message who needs to grasp this point as well today?

In 2020 we have experienced such a range of emotions and for many of us serious struggles to keep a sense of perspective on what is going on. But God is on the throne and He wants to reassure us that there is nothing that will separate us from His love and grace in 2021 or any other year. What does God through His servant Isaiah want His people then and us today to consider from this passage in the Bible?   

(a)A test for the people (Isaiah 43:8-9) Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf. ⁹ All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of their gods foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, ‘It is true.’  

The imagery quite commonly used by Isaiah is of a court scene in which witnesses are invited to come forward to testify to something. In this case it is representatives of the gods of the surrounding peoples to share how their deities can do the things that the God of Israel has done for His people over the centuries. What is the scene that is witnessed? It is clearly one where the witnesses are unable to convince their hearers of the validity of their case.

They are pictured as the equivalent of blind people testifying about what they have seen or deaf people about what they have heard. Isaiah is supremely confident that there is no god who compares with the Holy One of Israel. However, this declaration which is obvious to us who are Christians would not have been seen in this way by some of Isaiah’s audience at that time. In the ancient world gods were often viewed as territorial and when one country conquered another it was seen as the god of the victor being more powerful than that of their defeated foe. 

In 2021 Isaiah might have broadened the appeal to proponents of non-religious world views as well. He would still ask the question of all witnesses for evidence from the past that their worldview or religion provides the best answers for meaning and purpose in our world for the future.

The Christian response might include some of many biblical examples of God’s interventions in history or sometimes from later history, but supremely we point to Jesus Christ who entered out world to show us how to live and later died in our place on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins so that we might, by faith, become part of God’s family for ever.

The life, death and resurrection of Jesus point us to the best evidence of God the Father’s love for us as His children. However, please don’t forget your own testimony of God at work in your life. Someone may challenge what you believe, but will have much greater difficulty doing the same with your lived experience of God at work in your life. Why not pray for an opportunity this coming week to share something of your faith journey with another person.       

(b) A testimony from God (Isaiah 43:10-13) ¹⁰ ‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after Me. ¹¹ I, even I, am the  Lord, and apart from Me there is no saviour. ¹² I have revealed and saved and proclaimed –  I, and not some foreign god among you. You are My witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘that I am God. ¹³ Yes, and from ancient days I am He.No one can deliver out of My hand. When I act, who can reverse it?’ 

The assumption in the courtroom drama is that the witnesses for other gods were unable to convince the jury of the strength of their case. God intervenes and asks the Jewish people to step forward to testify to what God had done for their nation in its earlier history. The greatest example available was the miraculous intervention of God in Egypt that delivered the Israelites from the hand of Pharaoh in the time of Moses and opened up the Red Sea to allow them to walk through on dry ground.

In the modern era we are more cautious in making such claims, but in former generations we had National Days of Prayer throughout the land and at the time many people not just regular churchgoers attributed divine intervention as the best explanation of the miraculous successful evacuation of the British Army in May 1940 from the beaches at Dunkirk. On May 24, 1940 King George VI addressed the nation:

“Let us with one heart and soul, humbly but confidently, commit our cause to God and ask his aid, that we may valiantly defend the right as it is given to us to see it.”

On May 26, at Westminster Abbey, the Archbishop of Canterbury called on God to protect the troops. Across Great Britain, tens of thousands of people responded to the king’s call, uniting as never before. Cathedrals and churches, mosques and syna­gogues were packed to overflowing. At Westminster Cathedral, the line extended for blocks and hundreds kept vigil outside.

The people didn’t know exactly why they were praying, yet they prayed even so. “Nothing like this has ever happened before” was how one English newspaper described the scene. It seemed like disaster was inevitable as allied troops were cornered in a small stretch of territory, but as the people around the UK and elsewhere were praying Hitler inexplicably ordered a halt of the German tanks for three whole days.

No wonder Prime Minister Winston Churchill in his speech in the House of Commons on 4 June 1940 described it as a miracle. God can and does act in history, for which we give Him all the glory and praise.   

[https://www.guideposts.org/inspiration/miracles/gods-grace/the-four-miracles-of-dunkirk accessed 30.12.20] 

Most Christians can identify times when we have earnestly prayed to God and received real encouragement when our prayers have been answered as we had hoped in those times. We are well aware that in His sovereign wisdom God chooses sometimes to say ‘yes’, sometimes ‘no’ and other times ‘not yet’. It is so helpful to keep a written record of the encouraging answers to prayer so that we can read and recall them to be encouraged when life is particularly hard for us. 

(c) A promise from God (Isaiah 43:14-17) This is what the Lord says – your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘For your sake I will send to Babylon and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians, in the ships in which they took pride. ¹⁵ I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel’s Creator, your King.’ ¹⁶ This is what the Lord says – He who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, ¹⁷ who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: 

What assurance can be given to these vulnerable emotionally crushed people in exile in Babylon? First of all it comes from the description of the One making the promises to them. He is, first of all, your Redeemer (Isa.43:14). ‘Actions speak louder than words’ is a common saying in our cultural context. God redeemed Israel from enslavement in Egypt and created out of them a nation.

The events in Egypt that led to their freedom were miraculous and culminated in the parting of the Red Sea to allow them all to cross before the waters came back to swallow up the  Egyptian cavalry that had been sent to harass them or even bring them back to be slaves once more for Pharaoh. God overruled Pharaoh and opened up a way for their future.

Now the recipients of this message are in a similar position with no rights as slave workers in another Empire. What Isaiah communicated loud and clear to them was this: you cannot see a way to freedom, but God can do what seems humanly-speaking to be impossible. Even more remarkably, God revealed to Isaiah the name of the ruler, yet to be seen in public office who would set them free once again (Isaiah 44:28-45:1)  

What is the principle point for us from this passage? Nothing is impossible with God. There is no hopeless situation. God can find a way through it. Are you despairing of your situation today? Then this message of encouragement is for you. This time of trial will not go on forever.

There are so many things you or I might struggle with, even apart from the impact of the virus pandemic. God’s message through Isaiah is this: Remember who I am, the holy Almighty God. Look at what I have accomplished for Israel in the past. Trust Me with your future. Let Me guide and direct your life in 2021. For some readers this might be the time when you commit yourself to follow Jesus and start a new year as His follower for the very first time. It will be the best decision you have ever made if you take that step today.  

2. Looking forward with confidence to see what God is doing now (Isaiah 43:18-21)

Having looked back to see what God has done in the past and taken encouragement from that, how should we go forward into this New Year 2021? What is God’s message to us as well as to the first hearers of this message? 

(a)The proclamation (Isaiah 43:18) ¹⁸‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. These words seem very blunt and a bit extreme. Are we really expected to wipe our memories like the hard drive on a computer can have all its files erased beyond recall? Praise God that ‘No’ is the quick answer! This is not what God is saying through Isaiah here. What then is being asked for by God? It is an acknowledgement that however much we love the happy memories of the past they are over.

We cannot repeat those years. We cannot act as if events of the recent past had not happened carrying on blindly into the future on that basis. It was clear and completely understandable that these, in many cases, traumatised people simply wished their nightmare to be over so they could go home again and carry on life as before. But that world did not exist any longer.

Their cities and towns had been destroyed, deliberately, building by building. All that was left of most of their homes was ruins. Their few possessions of any value had long since taken by the invaders. Few if any people they knew were still living in the districts they once called home. It was an awful reality to face. But though the past was over, God was inviting them to be a part of what He would do next in the future. A different chapter of life could, and would by God’s grace, open up to them.

For you and I living through 2020 and the Covid-19 virus pandemic and all the disruption this invisible foe has caused has been very difficult.  There can be few people and homes untouched by this challenge. As we enter a New Year in 2021 it is clear that although the vaccination programme is beginning we still have months of uncertainty to face. This fact will mean that in many families, for example, health issues, work pressures, financial challenges and so much more will not simply go away, although we can catch a glimpse of the end being in sight.

For us it is probably wise to stop and take a short time to process this year that has finished and then commit it to the Lord. Take time to name before God the challenges you have had to live with or have come through or know will continue into this New Year. Thank Him for the grace you have been given to still be standing at the end of 2020.  Then take time to name your blessings or the good things that have happened this year. Bring them also before God one by one. Commit them to the Lord acknowledging that He has enabled us to come through one of the toughest years in our countries history, at least in recent decades.

The world has changed for ever through the events we have experienced but alongside the bad things there have also been some good things. For example, the technological advances that have allowed the church to meet online on zoom for services and for our outreach courses.

We thank God for the several hundred new friends who take our Wednesday or Sunday services in some online form week by week across the world. We are encouraged by the people signing up for our introductory courses in the Christian Faith and the numbers that have already signed up for Discipleship Explored that starts later this month. 

What do you most thank God for this year?  Make sure you write it down and keep it visible in a place where you can be encouraged by it in your home in 2021.

(b)The perspective (Isaiah 43:19-21a) ¹⁹ See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. ²⁰ The wild animals honour Me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to My people, My chosen, ²¹ the people I formed for Myself… 

What is God saying to us or showing us about the way forward as a church going into 2021?  I think the biggest thing is ‘Trust Me’. I have provided for you in 2020 and got you through things that have been tougher than you ever expected.  You can trust Me to provide for all your needs in 2021 as well. We must acknowledge that it has been difficult to keep in touch with some of the people associated with our church or others who are friends who attend various of our activities throughout the week.

We pray that God will help us find a way to have closer connections in 2021. I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.  We know that God has surprised us this year. For example in March 2020, He gave us the opportunity to partner with others in our community to run a Food Bank, one of many that sprung up across our city. It was one we rightly embraced; and thank God for the wonderful partnerships across the city that have been so incredibly successful in meeting the needs of vulnerable people and others who needed temporary assistance at different times in 2020. I am thankful that many churches have contributed to this effort in our city. It raises for me the big question: what doors of opportunity will we receive to serve others as a church or as individuals in 2021?

God alone knows the answer, but this community of Jewish exiles in a Middle Eastern country were told by God through his servant Isaiah: I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. It was a declaration that there was hope and a future for them. They could not see it, but God was already at work preparing that good future for them. We cannot see what will happen in 2021 and few of us would dare to attempt to make predictions after the year we have had. I believe that God is preparing a way for our future as well, as we entrust our lives to Him.

We are disappointed that our Christmas outreach events were not large gatherings of people in person, as we would have liked, but under the circumstances we can be very pleased that we were able to attempt so much as we sought to encourage people in our community, for example through the extensive distribution of The Good News Newspapers and the All Age online services. 

We are especially grateful to those who worked so hard with the new technology that has allowed us to have online services and courses that opens up fresh ways for enabling people to participate in services or find out about the Christian faith in person, but still in their own homes. We are so thankful to all those who recorded items for Christmas services including the pre-recorded one on the website and those who week by week have provided the technical support we needed. We can see a little of the incredible potential in this new technology in future years.

We rejoice in the friends in other countries who have attended or spoken at meetings or services, together with the growing number who receive online versions of services in different parts of the world. As the pastor I am thankful to God for the privilege of speaking at online services in India and Pakistan and growing links with pastors and other church leaders in a variety of countries.

Also to have a little time to pray with and for some of these fellow servants of the Lord Jesus; I am not a great fan of New Year’s Resolutions, but maybe instead of writing down a resolution, you might write down and keep for the next twelve months a written statement of what you are hoping and praying God will do in 2021, in our own lives, our families, our church family and in our wider community.      

(c) The purpose (Isaiah 43:21b) …that they may proclaim My praise. Why would God do what He had declared through Isaiah for them? In order that they might truly acknowledge Him as their Lord and Saviour and give Him the praise and honour He deserves. Prior to the crisis they had gone through, so many of them, like so many in our own land, were good people who were not against honouring God or acknowledging Him, but the thought or action was simply crowded out of busy lives.

Then and now in the current virus pandemic God has allowed us the time to stop and reflect on what is most important in our lives. The question that challenges us now at the start of this year is this: Have I ever committed my life to God through faith in Jesus? If the answer is no, can I encourage you to take that step today. There is no better time to do it.  If you are already a Christian, where is God in your list of priorities –does He have the first place in your life? If the answer is ‘yes’ then pray that God will help you maintain that way of living through 2021. If the answer for 2020 has been ‘no’, God had a place, but not the priority He deserves, then the question to face is this: What changes do I need to make to honour Him as Lord of my life in 2021? The promise from God through Isaiah will only be realised by the person who takes this step, for Jesus’ sake, Amen

Our song before we come to communion is: ‘I do not know what lies ahead’

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: ‘Lord for the Years Your love has kept and guided’

Closing Prayer: 

Thank you Lord that the future, our future, is in Your capable hands. We have no idea what this year will bring but we are happen to entrust it to You in expectation that You will work things for our good and for Your glory. We bring our prayers in Jesus’ name Amen

Benediction:  The Grace 

Welcome to our Christmas Day service, the first time our church have gathered using technology to give thanks to God for the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus. 

You can watch our Christmas Eve Facebook service here.

Scripture verses: 

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi  from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.’  (Matthew 2:1-2)

Opening Carol   O Come all ye faithful

Opening prayer

Lord Jesus, We come with hearts full of praise to worship and adore You on Christmas Day as we want to mark this day with thanksgiving for your entrance into our world two thousand years ago. We have never sung as well as the angels but we confess that it is frustrating that we have been unable to sing Your praises when we have gathered in person for services on worship in the last nine months.

However, in our hearts and in our homes or cars many of us have sung the well-known carols or other songs of worship to our Lord and Saviour. The hymn writer whose familiar words we have heard sung expresses so well the desires of our hearts today too: ‘Yes, Lord, we greet You, born that happy morning;Jesus, to You be glory given! Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing! O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord’ Amen.

This song is sung by the Brisbane Chorale in Queensland, Australia, and includes in its ranks Nigel Robb, a regular attender of our church online services.

Bible Reading

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, ‘Where is the One who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.’

³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ ‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’ they replied, ‘for this is what the prophet has written:

⁶ ‘“But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd My people Israel.”’

⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find Him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship Him.’

⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Matthew 2: 1-12

Prayers for others:

Lord, on the day when because You demonstrated Your love for us by entering our world as a baby in Bethlehem, it is very fitting for us to pause to remember in our prayers other people this day.

We remember those living in war zones for whom ‘Peace on earth’ seems a distant dream. We particularly remember those driven from their homes by the long-running conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen, as well as in more recent conflicts in Nagorno Karabakh where hundreds of thousands of Armenians were unjustly driven from their historic homelands and most recently in Ethiopia.  

We remember particularly today fellow Christians who are suffering persecution for their faith in places like Northern Nigeria, Somalia or North Korea. In particular we remember….   

We pray for those who are homeless in our own land and other countries at this time and pray too for the magnificent volunteers and other full-time workers who make a special effort to reach out to those sleeping on the streets at this time of year. In particular we remember…

Lord, for many of us we have time off work or other responsibilities today but we acknowledge a debt of gratitude to those who have to work over the Christmas season, especially in the National Health Service caring for those who are particularly unwell.  In particular we remember…  

Lord, for those living in Care Homes and their Carers we pray Your blessing on them today as well. In particular we remember… 

Lord, for those living on their own who because of the virus pandemic restrictions may not have visitors today, grant them the strength to get through the day without feeling too great a sense of loss, trusting that very soon family and friends may once more be able to visit. In particular we remember…

Lord, for ourselves and our families, they are precious to us.  This year most of us will spend time with considerably less people than usual, but we want to express our appreciation for the people we will be able to see. However, we want to bring our family members to You.  In particular we remember…

 In Jesus’ name we bring our prayers, Amen

Pre-recorded version of the message

Message – Matthew 2:1-12 What are you looking for this Christmas?

Introduction

It was the week before Christmas and Tom had still to buy a present for his wife Sarah. He knew what she really wanted for Christmas but their limited funds simply wouldn’t stretch that far. What was it Sarah had wanted?

It was straightforward. Years earlier she had inherited a grandfather clock from her granddad. It occupied a significant place in their home, but there was one problem it wasn’t working. A few friends had had a go at fixing it but none of them succeeded in their attempts. A professional company had claimed they could fix it and had estimated that the repair would cost several hundred pounds more than they possessed.

What a pity, Tom thought. Anyway they decided that year to get each other an unusual present –something quite unexpected. While up in the attic soon afterwards he found a metal object for which he couldn’t figure out any use. He had a bright idea and polished it so that it shone beautifully. Then he put a ribbon on it and wrapped it up and duly presented his present to Sarah that Christmas.

On Christmas day she opened it declared it ‘beautiful’ and ‘just the thing’ but followed it up –after some slightly awkward silence with- ‘what is it?  Tom confessed he hadn’t a clue. It was duly placed on the mantelpiece in the lounge where it stayed that Christmas and then reappeared over the next few Christmases.

The clock meanwhile was still out of action. Several years later Andy, a friend of Tom’s, was doing some work in the house, He noticed this unusual object on the mantelpiece and went to get a closer look. Andy like many friends before him had been told the story of the clock that no-one could get to work because something was missing. Out of the blue he called to Tom: ‘Would you mind if we turned the clock over on its side so that I can have a look inside?’ Tom agreed thinking no harm could be done and Sarah wouldn’t know as she was out at the time.

For approximately an hour Andy fiddled around with the inner parts of the clock. Various bits came out and were put back, and eventually he asked Tom to help him lift the old clock back into its upright position. Soon he had it working just as it used to do – but where was the unusual object from the mantelpiece? No prizes for guessing. It was the missing part without which the clock wouldn’t work. With it the clock was complete and reliable once again [Evangelicals Now, December 2013]. 

It could have been working years earlier, but no-one connected with the clock knew what they were looking for to fix the problem. In our lives we can be searching for meaning and purpose or a sense of fulfilment –but not know where to go to find it. Is that your situation this morning?

Jesus said in Matthew 7:7-8, in the Sermon on the Mount, these words: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Will you persevere until you find it? Two thousand years ago a group of influential and learned men were willing at significant financial cost to search for the one whose birth they had predicted as a result of seeing an unusual star. Their search took time –as may yours and mine, but their search was ultimately successful as ours can be today and in the years to come.

1. People seeking after truth (Matthew 2:1-2)

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.’ 

(a) Who were they? The Magi were a mix of astronomers and astrologers in their approach to the stars. This learned group of people collectively served as government advisers and senior civil servants in the Babylonian and Persian Empires (modern day Iraq and Iran).

Any research on the frontiers of knowledge in their day would have been carried out by them. As a result their arrival in Judah making enquiries about a new-born king would not have been as big a surprise at that time as we might expect as other journeys were undertaken by wise men. One of the best known was a delegation of men from this group who went to Rome in 66AD to consult with the Emperor Nero. It would be extremely doubtful if they learned anything from him as his sanity was seriously under threat by that stage of his life.

For our purposes the fact that a group of learned men travelled as far as Rome nearly two generations after the birth of Jesus is confirmation that the Magi were earnest seekers after the truth. Like many peoples in the ancient world there was a vague awareness that a special king, a Messiah, was to be born in Judah who was to have significance not only for His own people but also for the whole world. They did not know when this baby would be born or where in the land of Judah. But this did not deter them from setting out on their journey. Are you as determined as they were to find the truth? To search for Jesus and to come face–to-face with His transforming power; the birth of Jesus was not only significant for the world of 2,000 years ago it is equally important for us today!

(b) How serious was their search? What did the search for truth mean for them? It was a very long journey with a great deal of expense incurred and a huge time commitment as they were away from home for at least weeks if not months at a time. This journey on camels with provisions likely to have been carried on donkeys would have been very slow.

There was no public transport system or tarmac road. Muddy or sandy paths would have been their lot for much of the trip. Accommodation costs and fear of bandits in unknown territory would have added to their stresses, but nothing would deter them from undertaking this journey. How many were there of the wise men? Some early Christian sources give the total as twelve; much later when pious imagination was in full flow, maybe even for a Christmas presentation the number was reduced to three and names mysteriously appeared to accompany the three named gifts.

We don’t know how many there were, nor how many people they employed to carry their goods along the way. What mattered is that they all made the journey determined not to miss what God was doing in His world. Have you come today with a similar determination to seek God until you find Him? To follow Jesus as He leads you put your faith and trust in Him. If God had gone to such lengths to bring a Saviour into the world, they reasoned, the least they could do was to find Him and worship Him. Will you do the same?

(c) How accurate was their search? Their logic was impeccable. A king must be born in a royal palace. The capital city of Judah was Jerusalem. Therefore, this was the obvious place to visit. However, the outcome of deductions depends on the accuracy of your presuppositions!

It was no surprise that they convinced themselves of the plausibility of their position, but they were wrong- close but still wrong! In addition, the present king must both be aware of the new arrival and be rejoicing at His coming.

Unfortunately they asked the wrong person in the wrong place. What they did was so similar to many people’s spiritual journey today. Sincerity is in no doubt but on its own it is insufficient to find the truth. People today are searching for the truth in all the wrong kind of places. Jesus said: I am the truth (John 14:6).

The Bible is the book to read to find out more about Jesus and how He can become our Lord and Saviour. Have you read it, studied it and begun to grasp more clearly what God wants to say to us. God brought you here today to hear His Word. As you listen to this message the Holy Spirit can apply it to your heart and life and bring you to faith in Jesus.

2. People apathetic about the truth (Matthew 2:4-6)

⁴ When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ ‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’ they replied, ‘for this is what the prophet has written:⁶ ‘“But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.”’  

One of the most fascinating parts of the story that we often overlook is the series of meetings that took place in Jerusalem and the impact of those meetings on the participants. 

First of all Herod the King while not a believer himself, knew who to ask to find this important piece of biblical knowledge. For a man who guarded his throne as Herod did –with a fanaticism that implied a degree of mental imbalance together with an unbelievable sense of insecurity –why had he never obtained this information before? 

Second the information was forthcoming from the priests, Sadducees, yet ironically this sect of the Jewish faith was very liberal in its theology accepting only the first five books of Moses while rejecting the rest of the Old Testament.

They also did not believe in miracles so any miraculous events in Scripture were disregarded. In addition, predictive prophecy was dismissed as impossible. In line with liberal theologians today they would have regarded such a belief as impossible and in written texts that the author wrote the predictions after the events had taken place, but couched it in words that implied some kind of divine foreknowledge. For these men no amount of evidence could break into their worldview.

The extraordinary events unfolding in the village down the road from them did not even register! Is your mind closed to God? If the Lord is speaking to your heart and mind could you listen to Him –could you sense His voice in your conscience?

How many people even in our own community will know in their heads the basic outline of the Christmas story yet have no desire to allow its significance to impact their lives at this time?

Matthew Paris, the well-known journalist, apparently once wrote an article about the basic Christian Gospel and declared: ‘If I really believed this was true (and sadly he didn’t) then it would revolutionise my whole life. My priorities would be completely shaped by this amazing revelation and wouldn’t care that some people thought me mad or crazy for sharing it with them.’ It is interesting isn’t it that sometimes familiarity with this amazing story can cause us to lose something of its extraordinary nature and significance.

3. People alarmed by the truth (Matthew 2:3, 7-8, 12)

³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find Him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship Him.’… ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. 

It was not the religious people who took the message seriously, they ignored it completely, but Herod the sceptic was different. The same evidence was put before three groups of people.

The learned seekers of the truth from outside the faith were committed to finding the answer no matter what the cost. The evil dictator Herod was equally determined to find this child, ironically because he took God at His Word and believed the Bible for entirely the wrong reason. Yet the formally religious people were indifferent to the truth. 

Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸He sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and make a careful search for the child (Matthew 2:7-8) As soon as you find Him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.

Herod’s words were a lie, but he had grasped something of the extraordinary significance of the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem. For him and his appalling evil lifestyle the coming of Jesus was something to fear at all costs. His life is an ideal illustration of the teaching given in John 3:19-21: 

This is the verdict: light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

We must be careful how we share our faith –with gentleness and respect (I Peter 3:15), but there will be some people whose reaction to even the most gracious presentation will be aggressive and hostile. Why? It is possible that their consciences have been convicted and they want to carry on living in a manner which is contrary to the Gospel of Jesus. The negative response in that context is not to the messenger but the God whose truth has hit home and shone a light into their life. This was Herod to a tee; he knew exactly what he was doing –and that it was morally wrong. But he could do it because he was in power and could exercise it in any way he liked- or so he thought.

To us his threats to the baby Jesus and the slaughter of the babies and young children in Bethlehem that followed are so extreme and barbaric that we cannot even begin to process what went on in his mind at that time. Thankfully people like Herod are a small minority in most countries, but what damage they can do in carrying out their evil desires!

What we need to remember when we give out invitations to special services or events or share something of our faith journey that people hear us in different ways.  Some may be very negative and dismissive; others indifferent, yet others still may be sympathetic and although  may not come that time may do so on a future occasion- if they see our profession of faith lived out in our daily lives. However, thankfully also there are people seeking the truth who are responding positively to Jesus. 

4. People who accepted the truth (Matthew 2:9-11)

Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. 

(a) A successful search (Matthew 2:9-11a) ⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped Him. 

How did they react when they came face to face with Jesus? They were overjoyed (v10); how did you hear about Jesus? Maybe it was through a neighbour or a friend? Possibly, you heard as a result of the witness of a work colleague or family member? However, what is most important is the fact that we come to meet with Jesus.

I hope and pray that each one of us put our faith and trust in Jesus. If you are genuinely seeking Him then there is no doubt that God will put people on your pathway who can point you to Him and He will use all kinds of circumstances to bring you to faith.

The joy that they experienced can also be yours through Jesus. Some people come to faith soon after the first time of hearing the good news. Yet others hear on many occasions and it is years later when they acknowledge Jesus as Lord of their lives. That is between the individual and Jesus, but for those of us who are Christians we need to keep on praying for our friends and family who are yet to come to faith so that they too may in His time come to faith.

(b) Generous gifts (Matthew 2:11b) Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

What should we get for the baby? All of us have asked that question at some time or other? I have no doubt that your possible gifts never included the three things recorded on this occasion and with good reason! Gold was the gift for a king or some other form of ruler (see Isaiah 60:6). It was beyond the purchasing power of ordinary citizens to choose such a gift and only a very select few would have been its recipient. 

Frankincense was a gift for a priest and used, for example, in the Temple offerings at the 3pm service each day in Jerusalem. Jesus was being honoured as one who would carry out priestly duties despite coming from the tribe of Judah not from the priestly tribe of Levi. He would have a special position in directing the people of His day in the worship of Almighty God, but in a manner far greater than they could ever have imagined. 

Myrrh was used in a variety of contexts in the Old Testament including the being an ingredient in the anointing oil used on the special furniture in the Tent of Meeting and on the bodies of the priests on duty (Exodus 30:22-33). It was used to adorn people for celebrations (Esther 2:12), as well as an ingredient in a form of anaesthetic given to people in great pain (Mark 15:23), and anointing bodies for burial (John 19:39). Usage in all these contexts was applicable to events in the future life of Jesus. Here was confirmation for Mary and Joseph about the future life and significance of the baby in the manger.

(c) Are you looking for Jesus this Christmas? It is a beautiful story yet if that is all it is then the whole point of Jesus’ coming will have been missed. Jesus is not looking for a token gift. He desires that each one of us commits our whole lives to Him. I pray that God will enable you to take that step and as a result bring joy among the angels in heaven because you have become a follower of the Saviour of the World, for His name’s sake, Amen. 

We will now close our service with this familiar carol: ‘Joy to the world’

Closing prayer

Thank you, Lord, for the determination of the wise men to follow the star. Thank You that they continued on their journey until they reached the place where Jesus was born. Help us in this our time in history to be equally determined to find You, put our faith and trust in You and then live our lives in obedience to You. We ask Your blessing on the rest of our day and this Christmas season, for Jesus’ name’s sake, Amen.  

You can watch our Facebook live Christmas Eve service by clicking here.

Welcome

Thank you for joining us for our All Age Christmas Service, online version. Our service on Zoom and at Panmurefield was led by Moraig Piggot. Our service today is based on the following verse:

Jam Kids – Virtual Sunday School

The older JAM Kids might like to check out some Bible stories about people who also experienced ‘lockdown’. The videos along with a link to some questions to think about together, can all be found here:   https://outofthebox.me.uk/lockdown-stories/

JAM young adults Ignite Live have a separate programme at 11:30am.  Please contact Gary Torbet on garytorbet@btinternet.com for more details.

Baptist Union of Scotland National Prayer Livestream

Baptist Union of Scotland National Prayer Livestream

The monthly prayer livestream takes place on Sunday 3 January 2021, 7.00–7.30pm. The theme will be ‘Come, Lord Jesus’ and we will be praying for our churches during Advent and for our nation, particularly at this time of pandemic. It will be available here on 3 January.

Call to Worship

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. ³ You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before youas people rejoice at the harvest…For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:2-3a, 6-7)

⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ¹⁴ ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,and on earth peace to those on whom His favour rests.’ (Luke 2:9-14)

⁴⁴ Then Jesus cried out, ‘Whoever believes in Me does not believe in Me only, but in the One who sent Me. ⁴⁵ The one who looks at Me is seeing the One who sent Me. ⁴⁶ I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should stay in darkness (John 12:44-46)

Opening Praise

Baptist Union of Scotland Video

This Sunday is Advent Video week four on the theme of Joy

Opening prayer

Heavenly Father,

On this last Sunday in Advent, as we approach within a few days of the day on which we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour, we come with humble hearts and deep thankfulness to You for granting us the strength and grace to come through many tough weeks in this most difficult of years. Advent has allowed us to turn our minds, at least some of the time, from the Brexit negotiations between our government and the European Union and the Covid-19 virus pandemic, to something of greater ultimate importance, the vision of God for His people in His world revealed through the birth, life, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus, Your Son,

Our Saviour. Help us, we pray to honour and glorify His name today as we celebrate His coming that first Christmas two thousand years ago. Once more we confess our sins and ask for Your forgiveness, knowing that His coming had this purpose as revealed by the Angel Gabriel to Joseph: you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).Empower us afresh by Your Holy Spirit so that we may honour and glorify You in the new week that lies before us,in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen     

Let us say together the words Jesus taught His disciples when He said:

‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'” 
For Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever Amen.

Worship Song

Prayers for Others

Heavenly Father, we give thanks for the wonder and excitement that we can have in our hearts as we prepare to welcome the Christ-child again and remember the amazing love of God, who came and dwelt among us. We pray for those who find Christmastime a difficult time of year for many reasons. We pray that these folks will know peace in the midst of their sorrow and a sense of hope in the midst of their darkness. We pray that, in the midst of the tinsel and turkey, nut roast or less seasonal fare, that we would pause and give thanks for the birth of our Lord and Saviour over 2,000 years ago.

We give thanks that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son. We also give thanks that Jesus is the Light of the World and that the darkness cannot overcome the light (John 1:5). We pray for those for whom this is going to be a challenging Christmas due to the loss or hospitalisation of loved ones with Covid-19. We pray that Jesus might be the light in the midst of their darkness. We pray too for those working so hard even in this Christmas time to provide necessary public services or to serve us in the retail sector, together with those in the health service and social care sectors who are looking after those unwell in hospitals or who are in the later years of their lives in residential care homes. We bring before You in the silence the particular people who have come to mind as we pray…

Although we rejoice that the kidnapped Nigerian school boys were returned home to their families this week, we cry out to You for peace in the troubled country of Nigeria. We pray that the government there and its army will work effectively to eliminate the terrorist threat, especially in the north of that country. We remember others too in places like Syria, Nagorno Karabakh and Yemen where many thousands of people will spend Christmas in far from ideal conditions as they suffer the ongoing impact of the violence and killings in these and other lands. We bring before You in the silence particular people or places on our hearts today…   

We remember in our prayers other local churches in our community who are gathering in person or on-line to worship You today. With our Baptist Union of Churches we also remember:

Uddingston BC – We pray for the church fellowship in Uddingston as they seek to worship Jesus and serve Him faithfully.

Viewfield BC, Dunfermline– We praise God that He is on the move even in these challenging times. They have just welcomed in a further nine new members and in recent times have appointed two new staff members. We pray for Ali their new Children and families worker and for Jo their Drop-in Co-ordinator. We pray for these areas of their church life.

Westray BC, Orkney – We would particularly like our wider Baptist family to uphold us as we begin to implement plans for returning to in-person Sunday services. We pray that Holy Spirit might inspire them as they look for God’s hand and opportunities in the midst of the Covid pandemic, and as they consider proactive changes that they might make. We also join them in thanksgiving for God’s palpable nearness in these times.

Westwood BC, East Kilbride – We praise God that despite (maybe because of) their hands being tied by the current restrictions God is at work in ways beyond their hopes bringing people to faith and bringing prodigals back to Him. We pray for their Vision: to be a people balanced in building Discipleship, Community and Witness, and that they will have spiritual insight to continue this development even under the current restrictions.

Lord, we particularly want to remember those people and families who will spend this season acutely aware of the absence of precious loved ones who died in this year. We remember in our prayers those from our own congregation and community known to us, but also in the silence mention other individuals and families to You today…

Lord, we also want to bring before You those individuals in hospital or care homes and others who may be working far away from home who will have no opportunity to meet their loved ones in person this Christmas. We pray particularly for those feeling lonely and ask for Your comfort for them. We name those individuals on our hearts this morning who might be in this position today…

We also remember the Christian workers connected with our church who are serving in other countries. We think of Hamish R in Nice, Christine K near Paris, Helen and Wit in northern Thailand, David and Helen H with SIM worldwide, and Igor and Anita in Serbia. We also remember in the silence other Christian workers serving God at this time…  

We also remember those with ongoing health issues and in the silence mention their names before You…      

In addition, we bring our own and other needs on our hearts to You today…, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, we pray, Amen.

Worship Song

Bible Readings

For to us a child is born,to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

Instant Nativity

You can download the script used in our Church service and work through the slides, below. Thanks to the Bible Society for preparing this.

Worship Song

Online Christmas Bake Off

We held an online Bake Off on our Zoom service. We were challenged to make a nativity scene. You can find a list of ingredients here. Here are some of the creations that our church made!

All Age Talk – Moraig Piggot

So I wonder which day you enjoy most at Christmas? For me it’s got to be the 27^th because by then it’s all over and peace can be restored! I mean it’s quite stressful for me co-ordinating Christmas in our house. I need to make sure my Mum cooks the turkey, Simon my husband has got all the vegetables sorted, reminding my mother law that she is bringing the soup, checking my children Freya and Hamish have set the table to my standards and well don’t even get me started on having to spend 3 days in the company of my sister Fiona, that’s enough alone to want the 27^th to come quickly!! It’s that feeling of waking up on the 27^th to silence, knowing there is no more rushing around but instead a day of perfect peace. I am sure I am not alone craving peace, we all probably do and not just at Christmas, we will all want times of peace.

This year I have been thinking about this idea of peace and a verse from the bible was brought to my attention- “May the God of Hope fill you with all Joy and Peace” Romans 15:13. This made me stop and think about what my idea of peace really is. You can search for peace in a lot of things—relationships, money, hobbies, the absence of problems, or even a move away, but only one thing brings you true peace. Real peace is found in a very special person. What if this Christmas we paused to think, consider and wonder what it means that Jesus is the Prince of Peace? What if this Christmas we fixed our eyes on Jesus and rested in what he came to do for us?

As we have heard this morning through our instant nativity a miraculous, amazing, and fantastic thing took place over two thousand years ago. The Son of God came to live among us. But that’s not all. Jesus didn’t come just to live among us, he came to do something. He came to redeem and restore what was broken. He came to heal the hurting, find the lost and save sinners. He came to bring peace on earth. But not just any peace, the peace that comes from knowing God and being known by him. Jesus the Prince of Peace, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

Christmas is a reminder that God is here, but because He is here, peace is also here. The idea of peace was communicated first by the angels announcement of his birth to shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night. The truth of peace was also told by Jesus throughout His time on earth. God’s ideal for us is that we would be people who continually experience peace. This Christmas, let us seek to know the One who is our true Christmas peace. The good news for all of us is that God is great enough to guide us through all of life’s changes and pressures. No matter what life throws at us, our reservoir of peace, God himself is inexhaustible. We can experience peace in the midst of tough times and we need to replace worrying with prayer.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

Peace is not the absence of pain. Jesus had pain. He knew the pain of rejection. He knew the pain of the cross and death. And you know what? He knows your pain. When Jesus says that “in Him” we have peace, He is not saying that we will not experience pain. In fact, He gives us this encouragement, because He knows we will have pain.

Peace is not the absence of problems. Jesus knows our problems and that’s when he draws closer to us and surrounds us by his love and support.

Peace is a person. Peace with God and an eternity in Heaven is through Him. I am convinced that we will never have peace in this life until we have peace about the life to come in Heaven. This is the starting place to real peace. We can say that because God is here, peace is here. If peace is in Him and He is here, we can have peace in a relationship with Him. We are “to bide” or “remain” in Him. Again, the relationship brings the peace.

So… This Christmas and in the year to come when you seek peace, seek the right kind of peace “May the God of Hope fill you with all Joy and Peace” Romans 15:13. True peace comes from God and not from us seeking a few hours of time out from life. That may give you some instant relief (my 27^th December story), but it will not sustain you through everything life on earth brings you be it good or especially in the not so good.

You do need of course to make a commitment to God to experience the true peace we have heard about this morning. So if you are listening today and don’t know God as your Lord and Saviour then please don’t let another year go by without discovering what this means. We will put up a power point slide to let know the different ways we can help you with this.

When you leave here today, leave knowing this. We trust in Him for everything including our eternal life in Heaven. We find our peace in His peace, not our own peace. We need to talk to Him about everything. Jesus our Prince of Peace. Amen

Our closing song

Please join us for our Zoom service at 6.30pm on Christmas Eve. You can contact us for an invite.

Sunday 20th December 2020 – All Age Service
Lead by – Moraig Piggot

This year we are very determined to ensure that you truly experience the hope, joy and peace that the Christmas story brings. We held a virtual instant nativity and encouraged everyone to come on Zoom dressed as a character from the story.

We also held Broughty Ferry Baptist Church’s first ever ‘Bake Off’ live on Zoom.

You can access the online version of the service, here.

Thursday 24th December 2020 – Christmas Eve Service

Time – 6.30pm
Location – On Zoom and Facebook Live
Lead by – Moraig Piggot

Friday 25th December 2020 – Christmas Day Service

Time – 10.00am
Location – On Zoom and read online
Lead by – Rev Dr Brian Talbot

Join us for a short service marking this very important day in the Christian calendar.

Send an e-mail with your full name and e-mail address to webmaster@broughtybaptist.org if you would like an invite.

Intimations

• We give you all a very warm welcome to our Broughty Baptist service today, to those attending at Panmurefield Baptist Centre and all those on Zoom as well as those receiving the service on our website. We give a special welcome Pastor Munir Kakish joining us from the Holy Land.
  
• You are all so welcome as we lift our praise and worship to the Lord Jesus!
  
• Christmas Services 2020 – We will be holding services on 20th December 10am over Zoom and in our Panmurefield building. We will also have a Christmas Eve service at 6.30pm on Zoom and Christmas Day at 10am on Zoom. Click here to find out more. If you would like a Zoom invite please e-mail us at webmaster@broughtybaptist.org
  
• Sunday 20^th December All Age Christmas Service – what you need to know!
  The service will be led by Moraig Piggot and she is planning to have a virtual nativity. We would love to see everyone dressed up whether you are coming in person or on Zoom. Our service will also include Broughty Ferry Baptist Church’s first ever live “Bake Off” and to take part you will need the following ingredients (or as close as you can manage!) to make a nativity scene – 
  Biscuits – rectangular shaped biscuits for the Nativity scene structure (e.g. Go Ahead crispy slices, Nice or Malted milk?)
  Mini Gingerbread People – at least two to represent the characters or you could use jelly babies instead
  Tube of Piping Icing – you can buy this from the supermarket or make some of your own icing at home with a piping bag
  Mini Jelly Babies – the kind you get in the Haribo packets are perfect but the big ones work too
  Chocolate Stars – chocolate cake decorating stars and a jar of miniature chocolate star sprinkles or ‘Magic Stars’ 

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Jam Kids

The older JAM Kids might like to check out some Bible stories about people who also experienced ‘lockdown’. The videos along with a link to some questions to think about together, can all be found here.

Out of the Box are also running a Christmas series and the episodes can be accessed here.

JAM young adults Ignite Live have a separate programme at 11:30am.  Please contact Gary Torbet on garytorbet@btinternet.com for more details.

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Call to Worship

Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress.
In the past He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, 
but in the future He will honour Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan –

² The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
³ You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice before You
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
when dividing the plunder.

⁴ For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
You have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor…

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on His shoulders.
And He will be called
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

⁷ Of the greatness of His government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and for ever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.  

(Isaiah 9:6-7)

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We are grateful to Rev Gary Torbet for selecting the songs for worship for this service

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Baptist Union of Scotland – Video on the theme of Love

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Opening Prayer

Heavenly Father,

In this season of Advent when we focus on the coming of Your Son two thousand years ago, and look forward to His return in glory, it is a wonderful assurance to know that You are Lord over history. We live in a world with so much uncertainty. Although we rejoice in the progress of producing a vaccine for the Covid-19 virus, we have no idea when sufficient immunity in the wider community is produced to allow life to return to some form of normality.

We are so grateful to live in a country where our basic needs are met, but we do not deny real uncertainty over the outcome of the Brexit negotiations, and so many other things we could mention.  However, Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever. Our access in prayer and with our praises directly into the presence of our heavenly Father is guaranteed and we come with joy today to bring our offering of praise and worship to You the living God.

We rejoice this week on the announcement of the normalisation of ties between Israel and Morocco, but continue to pray for the complex challenges of the Holy Land where the Christmas story took place two thousand years ago.

As we come to ask for the forgiveness of our sins and the fresh empowering of Your Spirit at the start of another week, we also seek Your peace and reconciling grace for all the peoples of the Holy Land. We ask that You would encourage Your people there with the blessing of more people recognising the Saviour of the world as their Lord this Christmas. We bring our prayer and praises in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Let us say together the words Jesus taught His disciples when He said:

‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'”      
For Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever Amen.

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All Age Talk – Rev Gary Torbet

For our All age time we are going to watch “God’s Story – Christmas” and then have a short reflection.

In verse 16 after the Shepherds received the message from the angels which Pastor Kakish will reflect on shortly, they “hurried” – they “made haste”

Now I’m not saying it is good to hurry all the time – in fact we are always in too much of a hurry – but in this instance – I’ll let the shepherds off!

But when they heard this – “Good news – a Saviour the Lord has been born to you – that will bring JOY to ALL PEOPLE  – and you will recognise him by finding a baby wrapped in snugly cloths lying in a manger”

When they heard this news – they hurried and they went to see Jesus – WOW!!

So my encouragement to all of you, boys, girls, young people, adults, older people – EVERYONE – ALL OF US – is this – Let us be like the Shepherds

Who when they heard the Good, amazing, wonderful news of the Saviour of the World – and don’t we need some good news – they wanted to not just hear about it –

But to experience it – may we all experience this afresh this Christmas – maybe even for the first ever time – the loving presence and grace of Jesus.

GOD COME TO US – GOD WITH US – AMEN!

We continue in worship as we sing: ‘O Come O Come Emmanuel’. This version was prepared by volunteers from a number of Baptist Churches across Scotland.

Prayers for others Laura, Thomas and Tabitha Kobine

Let us pray

Heavenly Father, we come before you this morning to offer you our prayers, both for others and for ourselves. We come with gratitude in this advent season, that we can celebrate the wonderful gift of your son to us, and of his subsequent death on the cross and the promise to us of eternal life. We thank you that we are able to celebrate this, when so many in the world either do not know this good news, or are unable to profess their faith without persecution. Lord, we thank you that we live in a place where we are able to praise you and celebrate your word and your promises to us. We bring our prayers to you this morning in the certain knowledge that you will hear us, and respond to our needs.

Dear Lord, please be with all schools; please bestow wisdom onto the head-teachers to make decisions that allow learning to continue. Please be with all the pupils who have been affected by the cancellation of exams, and please help these pupils to work hard and receive the grade they want.  We pray for the teachers and pupils as they try to teach and learn in these unfamiliar times. Please allow university students to return home safely, and for everyone to enjoy the Christmas holidays as best as possible. Please keep everyone safe and allow us all to return to school and university carefully after the holidays.

We pray for all leaders in our country as they try to successfully negotiate a Brexit deal, at the same time as facing the many Covid challenges. We recognise they are under a lot of stress in the run up to the holiday season, help us to be accepting of what the future will hold and support one another into a New Year with it’s inevitable changes. We pray for other countries who are still battling to get the Covid virus under control, sometimes with far fewer resources than we have here. You have plans for this world, help us to hear what you wish us to do, and behave as you would wish us to behave.

Dear God, we thank you for the hope of a successful Covid vaccine and we thank you for the successful start of it’s trials. We pray for continued success in this area and that, with the help of this, we will soon be able to go back to living life as normal.

We continue to pray for all the NHS and other healthcare workers, especially those within our own congregation, who are protecting us and selflessly looking after others. We thank you for all of the sacrifices they have made especially in the past year, and we pray that you will keep them safe in the coming months. We ask that everyone in hospital, whether because of Covid or other reasons, will feel supported and cared for in the run up to Christmas, and will be able to hear the Christmas message.  

We now bring our prayers for those within our fellowship to you Lord. We know of many people who are finding the present time difficult, either because of ill-health, anxiety over treatment delays, loneliness because of Covid restrictions, bereavement that has happened this year, job insecurities or reasons known to themselves and to you Lord.

We particularly bring before you John and Ann S as they come to terms with the death of their niece Rachel this week, and as they prepare for her funeral on Wednesday. Please be with them, give them the strength to face the week ahead and as they try to support Rachel’s immediate family. We ask that your Holy Spirit surrounds the whole family at this time, and especially her children.

We thank you for the improvement in the illnesses of Laurie and Ian McF, and ask that you continue to be with them as they still face the recovery ahead.

We bring Peter and Maureen S, Dorothy G, John C, Jim and Helen S, Betty W, Alva D, Anne M and Margaret, Ann W’s sister before you, and ask that you bring to each of them the strength to face each day ahead, and the knowledge that you have promised to be with us through the difficult times. You know the needs of each and every one of us, and have promised us a future that is secure in your love.

We give thanks for Gwen P who had her 99^th birthday this week, and we remember her and others in our fellowship who are unable to be with us because of care needs. We ask that you draw near to each and every one of these people, and that they will feel our continued concern and prayers for them. As Christmas approaches we pray earnestly that they will feel your love surrounding them, and be able to celebrate the gift of your Son at this time.

We pray for those members of our fellowship and any others known to us who are still living with strict Covid restrictions. Their isolation has gone on so long and we ask that they continue to feel your love for them, and our supportive presence as a fellowship. Give us as individuals, the means to continue to support them and respond to their needs.

We now pray silently for anyone known to us who is in need of our prayers…..

Lord, we thank you for the many blessings in our lives; our homes, our families, our health, our daily needs that are met, and above all your love and grace that is a constant part of our lives. We give you praise for all that is good in the world, and for the chance to come here this morning to worship you. We ask your forgiveness for the times when we have been less than you would wish, and for our sins this past week. We bring our lives before you this morning, and ask that you fill us with the desire to go out this week and live for you, with kindness, thoughtfulness, and compassion for others.  Guide us to where you would like us to be, and help us to honour you in all that we do.

We bring all these prayers before you in Jesus’ name,

Amen.

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Bible Reading

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom His favour rests.’

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

(Luke 2: 8-20)

Before we come to listen to God’s Word let us sing:

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The Message – The Angels’ Message to the Shepherds Luke 2:8-20

From Rev Dr Munir Kakish from Ramallah

Hope-Filled Expectation Matthew 11:2-5 & Isaiah 35:1-10

Introduction

Greetings to you my brothers and sisters! I am speaking to you from the Holy Land!  I live not too far from Bethlehem.  We are in the season in which we are preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem 2000 years ago.  Jesus came here and was born in Bethlehem.  Bethlehem is not too far from Ramallah where I have a church. I am really thankful today I can bring you greetings.  Also, I bring you a very brief message from God’s word about Christmas.  It is a happy season and I am thankful to have this opportunity.

I would like to speak from Luke 2:8-20.  The title of my brief message is the Angels’ Message to the Shepherds.

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared unto them and the glory around them.  They were terrified.”  The angel said, “Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy.  Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you.  You will find the baby wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger.   Suddenly a great company of the heavenly hosts appeared with the angel praising God and saying “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to men.”  When the angels had left them, the shepherds said to one another let us go into Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened.   So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in a manger.” When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning him.  All who heard were amazed.  But Mary treasured these things in her heart and pondered them.   The shepherds returned praising and glorifying God for all the things they had seen and heard.

I have a better opportunity than you as I live here.   I have visited the place where Jesus was born many times.  A privilege you might not have had, but I invite you to come and visit the Holy Land and visit us in Ramallah, the town in which I pastor the church.

From the angels’ message to the shepherds, I would like to emphasize three words.

First, do not be afraid. When the angels appeared to the shepherds in the Bethlehem area, the shepherds were afraid and terrified.  Every one of us has fears, perhaps because of wars, covid 19, or sickness.  We understand the feeling of fear.  Do not be afraid.  We live in a time when we are all afraid of something. Whatever you are of afraid of today the message of the angel from heaven is the same.  Do not be afraid.  Do not be afraid of what you hear. This is the message for the whole world.  The angel came to give us comfort.  This is the message today is not for the shepherds alone, but it is for the whole world.  You may ask why you should not be afraid.  Verse 10 says do not be afraid for I bring you good news for all people.   

The second word is joy.   I bring you joy. You need to be joyful regardless of what we go through.  Verse 11  tells us why we need to be joyful, and why we should not be afraid.   The angel said, today, in this town of Bethlehem a saviour is born to you.   The angel said the name of the saviour was Christ the Lord. 

I want you to come with me in your imagination.  You are on a hill in Bethlehem.  Imagine there are fences, sheep, and goats.  The shepherds are watching over the sheep.  It is dark. Suddenly the angel of the Lord appears and says do not be afraid, be joyful. 

If there is something we need today is someone to save us from fear, from sickness, from sin from depression.  To save us from anything that is stopping us from being joyful in the Lord Jesus Christ. Rejoice with me that we have a saviour today and this saviour is for everybody, to save us from fear and deliver us from our sins. Hallelujah!  Do not be afraid!  We have a Saviour! He is for everybody! He is alive!  His name is Jesus Christ. He is in you!  He is watching you!  He is opening his arms saying come unto me, I will help you.  I will carry that fear in your heart about life and about the future.

The third word is peace. The angel continued his message in verse 14.   Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, goodwill to men. God wants to give us peace.  This peace is to you, peace on earth, peace to men.  There is something missing in the Holy Land and in the Middle East. We have trouble everywhere.  Peace is missing perhaps in your area also, the peace that passes all understanding is missing.

I have lived here for 42 years.  There is tension all of the time. Almost daily there are fights, tear gas, bombs, check points, etc. If there is a time when we need peace in the Holy Land it is now.  If there is a time we need peace in our world, it is now.  If there is a time you need peace in your life, it is now.   This peace is offered by the angels to the shepherds and all people.  The promise is for peace that passes all understanding.

Isaiah 9:6 says, “for to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders, and he will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” 

In conclusion, let me say. The word Saviour is the brightest jewel in the crown of Christmas.  It’s meaning is found in these words, Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.

May the Lord Bless you, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Rev. Dr. Munir Kakish

Check our  website to become acquainted with our ministry in the Holy Land.

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Our song before we come to communion is:

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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.’

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Our last song is:

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Closing Prayer

Loving Heavenly Father, We thank you for the opportunity to worship you today.

May we take the message from the Angels to the Shepherds to our hearts today. That you sent us the Saviour in the form of a tiny baby, help us afresh to see this Good news and it is for us. Enable us by the power of your Holy Spirit to know this love in our hearts this week and to share it with others this week.

What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a Shepherd
I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart.

May we do that this week for your glory. Amen

Intimations

• Baptist Union of Scotland Prayer Livestream – The monthly prayer livestream takes place on Sunday, 6 December, 7.00–7.30pm. You can access the prayer livestream by going to the Baptist Union of Scotland YouTube channel. This month’s theme is ‘Come, Lord Jesus’ and we will be praying for our churches during Advent and for our nation, particularly at this time of pandemic. 
  
• Today we held our first Sunday service in Panmurefield Baptist Centre since March. If you are interested in attending in person on 13th or 20th December at 10am please contact us. You can also join us on Zoom at 10am, please let us know if you would like an invite.
  
• Advance Notice – We will having our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services on Zoom. Contact Us if you would like an invite

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Jam Kids

The older JAM Kids might like to check out some Bible stories about people who also experienced ‘lockdown’. The videos along with a link to some questions to think about together, can all be found here.

JAM young adults Ignite Live have a separate programme at 11:30am.  Please contact Gary Torbet on garytorbet@btinternet.com for more details.

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Call to Worship

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on His shoulders.
And He will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ Of the greatness of His government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over His kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and for ever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Isaiah 9: 6-7

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We are grateful to Helen Rice for selecting the songs for worship for this service

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Baptist Union of Scotland – Video on the theme of Hope

The Baptist Union of Scotland is producing four Advent videos. In total there will be four videos, each around 5 minutes long, on the themes of Hope, Peace, Love and Joy. Each video will contain an introduction, scripture reflection, a story from one of our churches and a spoken carol. This Sunday is Advent Week Two on the theme of Peace.

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Opening Prayer

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Opening prayer

Heavenly Father,

In this Advent season we come with real joy and expectancy to acknowledge today who You are and what You have done for us. When we consider those amazing words spoken with respect to the baby born in Bethlehem: He will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

There is no parallel to His amazing entrance into our world with all its frustrations, disappointments, sadness and evil. Yet You created this world to be a perfect place for humans and other creatures to inhabit, but we as the species with the responsibility for caring for it have failed time and again and continue to do so across the world.

Lord have mercy upon us. Even in 2020 in the midst of a virus pandemic the insanity of terrorist conflicts and wars go on as before as if nothing unusual was taking place this year. Yet we have hope-filled expectation that it will not always be this way. We look forward with great joy to Jesus second coming, with confidence because His first coming took place just as the Bible had declared hundreds of years earlier.

We live in the tension of our struggles and worries of health issues, work pressures and so much more, but bring them to You today. We confess our sins once more confident of Your forgiveness in the name of Jesus, and seek a fresh empowering by Your Holy Spirit for the demands of another new week. Speak into our lives today as we gather for this act of worship, we pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son our Saviour, Amen.

Let us say together the words Jesus taught His disciples when He said:

‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'”      
For Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever Amen.

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Prayers for Others

Thank you Lord once more we can come before You with our prayers for others at the start of another new week. We come with thankful hearts that the first vaccine against the Covid-19 virus has been licensed for use by the regulatory authorities in our country. We are very conscious that it is extremely difficult to transport and thus presents logical challenges for getting it to some of the most vulnerable people in Care Homes.

We pray for wisdom for the medical staff overseeing the distribution of this vaccine and pray that it will soon start to have an impact on the number of those catching this illness and on those requiring hospital treatment. We are well aware that inoculating millions of people will place an extraordinary strain on Health service workers as they balance this work with existing care for other patients. Grant them all the necessary health and strength to persevere through these next few months of carrying out this important task.

We pray too for the many businesses suffering severely as a result of the limitations on their operations. We ask that where possible funding might be provided to allow them to remain afloat and be able to recommence their work as restrictions ease further at some point in the New Year. Lord for all who are struggling with life and their responsibilities at this time we pray that You would give a send of Your peace and assurance and the strength to persevere through to better days.   

We now bring before You the particular things of concern to us personally in the wider world …  

We also bring before You other churches including:

Stranraer BC – We pray for the Baptist church family in Stranraer as they meet week by week either online or in person for some people. We pray that they will know the nearness of God during this time.

Strathendrick BC – We thank God for their church family and the ability to remain connected to each other through modern technology and reach new people through their Facebook services. We thank God that their young people are able to take part in Youth Alpha again. We pray for those struggling because of lack of physical contact in their fellowship due to lock down. We pray for wisdom in deciding when it is the right time for them to open up their physical church services again.

Stromness BC – We pray for Stromness Baptist in Orkney as they continue to seek to make Christ known on the island. We give thanks that our churches in Orkney work well together and pray that this unity would increase kingdom witness in Orkney

We also remember in our prayers other people with particular needs that are connected to our own families or congregation:

Lord we continue to remember those with ongoing health issues remembering Peter and Maureen S and Ian McF, Dorothy G and John C. We also continue to remember Lawrie, Nicola L’s Dad, Betty W, Alva D and Anne M as they seek to make further progress in the recovery of their health and strength, together with the Steer’s niece Rachel and Ann W’s sister Margaret at this time as well. We pray also for other with ongoing health needs that You would grant them the strength that they need at this time

We continue to pray for those of our number who even without the virus-pandemic restrictions would be unable to meet with us for worship.  We pray Your blessing upon them at this time.    

In addition, we bring our own and other needs on our hearts to You today…, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, Amen.

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Bible Readings

The desert and the parched land will be glad;the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, ² it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendour of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendour of our God.

³ Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; ⁴ say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, He will come with vengeance; with divine retribution He will come to save you.’

⁵ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. ⁶ Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

Isaiah 35: 1-6

When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples ³ to ask him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’ ⁴ Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵ the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.

Matthew 11@ 2-5

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. ⁸ You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. ⁹ Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! ¹⁰ Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered.

James 5: 7-11a

Before we come to listen to God’s Word let us sing:

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The Message

Hope-Filled Expectation Matthew 11:2-5 & Isaiah 35:1-10

Introduction

Our lives are a mixture of expectancy of things that we trust will take place in the future as well as a response to what has happened in the past or is currently taking place in the present. We live very much in the present, but for the vast majority of us we have hopes and dreams of a better future, if not for ourselves then for our children or grandchildren, or some other people.

It is not just a human experience, but one for the natural world around us as well. In winter as we look in our gardens or in other places where plants and trees flourish it seems so bare. The apparent absence of life is obvious, but we know that in the seasons of nature it is a period of waiting in expectant hope for what lies around the corner. We are well aware that the leaves have fallen, the flowers are gone and things look grey and bare. However, we also know that there are seeds and bulbs planted in the ground, hidden and dormant, but you might look out at your garden or at the flower beds in the park and wonder whether the colour and life of spring will ever return.  

‘Are we nearly there yet?’ every parent of a young child has heard these words from the back seat of the car on a long journey. The adult or adults in the car are well aware of the expected time length for the journey, but this would not be true for the children. The child may grasp fully that this a special visit to your grandparents. It might even be a birthday celebration or Christmas. But the difference between fifty miles or 150 miles is something that they have yet to understand. The child’s mind is fixed on arriving at their destination and on spending time with the people they are looking forward to meeting.

As adults we may keep quiet or articulate quite differently the same kind of longing for our hopes to be fulfilled. It can be a little thing like waiting for a parcel to be delivered at home and you are hanging about for the four to six hour time window allocated. You want it to come at the beginning of the waiting time, but it seems that the majority of times it is much closer to the end of the allocated time slot. There are much more serious waiting times, for example, a senior high school pupil sitting external exams or a student their university finals and waiting the months for the results to come out. All of us can recall our own examples in family life or the workplace of the tension of waiting for something that was important to us.

To change tack for a moment, in our Christian lives there are times of waiting not for Spring to come or the end of a car journey, or whatever example came to mind in your own life, but waiting for God to do something. There are lots of things we pray for, but there is either no apparent answer or even worse circumstances changing so that God’s answer appears to be a ‘no’ when we were convinced that a ‘yes’ to our request had to be the right way.

Have you been or are you currently disappointed with God about a situation that hasn’t turned out the way you thought it should do. It is really tough coming to terms with a situation where our hopes for the future appear to be dashed or that absolutely nothing has happened that you can see in response to your many prayers to God about something. We need to be honest and bring our disappointments to God in our prayers. Let Him know how we are feeling. God can handle us being honest with him about how we feel.

1. The prophetic declaration (Isaiah 35:1-6)

The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, ² it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendour of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord,the splendour of our God. ³ Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; ⁴ say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, He will come with vengeance; with divine retribution He will come to save you.’ ⁵ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. ⁶ Then will the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. (Isaiah 35:1-6)

John the Baptist knows this passage and others from the Bible and saw his ministry as being that of a forerunner for Jesus to usher in God’s kingdom. His preaching majored on divine judgement on sin and a call for repentance from God’s people. A flavour of it is seen in Matthew 3:5-12:

People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. ⁶ Confessing their sins, they were baptised by him in the River Jordan. ⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptising, he said to them: ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not think you can say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 

¹⁰ The axe has been laid to the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.¹¹ ‘I baptise you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand, and He will clear His threshing-floor, gathering His wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.’

It is easy to picture this prophetic solemnity of the wrath of God against sin being pronounced and John took his work seriously and saw spectacular responses from the ordinary people of the day. They walked for miles to hear him preach and many lives were remarkably transformed for good. The nation was truly influenced by this man of the desert in the few years prior to the start of Jesus’ earthly ministry. It appeared that everything was on track for God’s future kingdom on earth being realised in his lifetime.

Put yourself in the place of John the Baptist for a moment. You  aveh proclaimed the coming Kingdom of judgement and fire. You have criticised the ‘powers that be’ and called them to repentance and radical life-change. You have seen Jesus baptised, sent out by the Spirit, and your hopes are well and truly set on Him being the fulfilment of hundreds of years of waiting.  But then, suddenly, you’re thrown in jail…

What might be the ‘spanner in the works’ for you? For some people addiction issues of drugs or alcohol bring them crashing to their knees in despair. For others a very serious or even a terminal health diagnosis is discovered and their perspective on life is totally changed in a few moments; a tragic death in the family or a relationship breakdown are amongst the other most serious things that can happen to someone; in 2020 the struggles of so many people to keep going in their workplaces or for some the loss of employment or businesses. We want to be hope-filled expectant people, but there are times when our ‘get up and go’ has gone. The uncertainties of our lives can be deeply unsettling. To return to John the Baptist:

2. John’s Disappointment (Matthew 11:2-3)

When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples ³ to ask Him, ‘Are You the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’ (Matthew 11:2-3) John the man of energy and passion striding around the Jordan Valley proclaiming God’s message to vast crowds of people suddenly sees his life’s work come to a complete halt when he was thrown into prison. He suddenly had endless amounts of time on his hands and very little to do most days. John was expecting Jesus to preach in a similar style to his own and go a step further and lead some radical changes in society. For a start the occupying forces of Rome that many people hated are still in power.

Corrupt priests and teachers are still in charge of the temple. The vengeance and divine retribution promised by Isaiah is not yet in evidence. Where is the judgement and fire God’s Word said was coming (Matt 3:5-12)? It leads John to confer with some of his closest remaining followers and send them to Jesus to ask this question? ‘Are You the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’ (Matthew 11:3).

John seems confused, even disappointed. This wasn’t quite the glorious future he had imagined. Perhaps we can empathise with him in the areas where we have felt disappointed or discouraged. We should follow John’s example of being honest with God about our disappointments – asking questions, lamenting difficult experiences, handing them over to Jesus.

We see in this passage that Jesus is big enough to deal with our sadness and confusion. However, it is okay to admit we are not okay! If someone as prominent in God’s service as John the Baptist had doubts and fears, struggles and disappointments, then we too as human beings will also have our vulnerable moments. When times are particularly tough and our emotional and mental resilience is strained we will struggle with retaining a sense of perspective on our lives. But God knows and understands. Jesus, just a short time after this question was raised by John’s disciples, says:

‘Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.’ Let Jesus help you through what you are going through even now.

3. Jesus’ declaration (Matthew 11:4-5)

⁴ Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵ the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. ⁶ Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of Me.’ (Matthew 11:4-5).

To understand what is going on with John, we can think back to the themes we have already explored in the past weeks. One is that Jesus is a different kind of King to the one everyone expected. His Kingdom is not about power and might, but love and self-sacrifice. His victory doesn’t come with swords and chariots; instead it lifts up the poor and sick and vulnerable. He does not force or coerce people to follow Him; instead He reveals the heart of God to them and invites them to freely choose Him as their Lord. So Jesus responds to John: Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” (Matthew 11:4-5)

These are all fulfilments of Isaiah’s prophesy. Remember Isaiah 35:5-6: ⁵ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. ⁶ Then will the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. (Isaiah 35:5-6).

They are beautiful, remarkable acts of kindness and justice. They are not, however, the judgement and victory over their enemies that Israel had hoped for. This is not the goal that John had pictured, and he begins to doubt if Jesus is the Messiah after all. John has his mind so fixed on his idea of the destination that he is missing the journey. He imagined a future of judgement and justice which has not yet arrived, and he is allowing this to distract him from the signs of the Kingdom of God which Jesus is already displaying. Like John, we need to allow God to meet us in our waiting, to see how He is bringing His Kingdom around us even though we have not yet reached our final destination.

Jesus was not behind schedule or changing the direction of His ministry. Remember His opening sermon in the synagogue at Nazareth when His ministry began. In Luke 4:18-21 He states:

‘The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’ ²⁰ Then He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹ He began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’

The congregation present that day would never forget the opening words of that sermon as long as they lived. They might have accepted or rejected them, but they could not deny the clarity of Jesus’ claims. The problem was that like John the Baptist they had very fixed ideas of how God would work in the future and as a result so many of them failed to grasp Jesus’ true identity.

We too are human and not divine and our perspective on the present and the future is at best partial. There is no way, for example, that we could have anticipated on 1 January 2020 that church worship services would be mostly on a zoom platform and the a long list of other changes that have happened in each area of our lives this year. What are your hopes and fears? Take them to the Lord in prayer as Joseph Scriven’s old hymn ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’ repeatedly reminds us.

The way God works or plans to work in your life in the coming months or in our church family may be very different to what we had hoped for or planned in 2020. John the Baptist was struggling with his doubts and feeling very low in spirits, but in his cases his fears were misplaced. God was at work in the person of Jesus. John had rightly, earlier in his ministry, declared Jesus to be the coming Messiah the Jewish people had been waiting for. What he was now viewing as a setback at best or something worse was simply incorrect. He could not grasp how God was at work in and through Jesus on earth. Do you and I need to stop and ask the Lord to open our spiritual eyes to see how He is at work in His world at the present time? Do we need to ask the Lord to show us if we have had an inadequate grasp of how He is working in the world today?

The growth and spread of God’s kingdom will not be stopped by violent people, even though they do their worst. It will not be stopped by indifferent people who simply have no time for God in their lives. It will not be stopped by religious people who are so totally focussed on their practices that they forget it is about going God’s way not our own. God’s kingdom is a surprising kingdom where the last shall be first and the humble exalted and highlights grace-filled relationships between the followers of the servant-King. Are you a citizen of this kingdom? What was Jesus wanting here to teach John or anyone else?

4. God’s kingdom is a two-stage process (James 5:7-8)

 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. ⁸ You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near (James 5:7-8).

A key reason why John was disappointed is that he failed to see the two-stage process of what God was doing in Jesus. We spoke during the last two weeks about the “now and not yet” of God’s coming Kingdom. The promises of the Old Testament appear to say that in one decisive moment God would establish his Kingdom, judge wrongdoing, and put everything right. However, in practice it seems this plan has been split into two stages:

Stage One – Jesus, the Messiah is born to the world. He kicks-off the Kingdom of God on earth, bringing healing and truth and love. He dies to restore all of creation to God, and rises again the victorious King of the world. His resurrection body is like the first shoots of new life and growth coming out of the barren winter soil – a promise and a model of the new life which will come for all of creation.

Stage Two – God will complete the work He began in Jesus. The judgement of sin and injustice; the cleansing of heavens and earth; the putting right of all things; these promises have not yet been realised in their fullness; the New Testament writers make it clear that we live in between Stage One and Stage Two, and that we are to wait with patience and hope for Stage Two to arrive. In his letter, James uses an image of seeds planted in the ground to help us with this:

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. ⁸ You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near (James 5:7-8).

God has shown us the seeds of His Kingdom. We have seen glimpses of the new life that came with Jesus, and hope for the restoration of all of God’s creation. But right now, most of our seeds are still in the ground, and we won’t see the fullness of the crop until Jesus returns. So God calls us to be faithful farmers – imitating Jesus wherever we find ourselves: using our gifts, caring for the sick, reaching out to the lonely, tending God’s planet, proclaiming the good news – and trusting in that glorious day when the fullness of the harvest will come, and our disappointment will be no more. Our hope-filled expectations of Jesus’ return have at last been realized. Praise God for that, Amen.

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Our song before we come to communion is:

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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.’

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Our last song is:

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Closing Prayer

Thank You Lord for the wonder of Your coming as a baby in Bethlehem. You experienced the vulnerability of human life and understand when we too feel acutely our vulnerability and weakness. However, we are privileged to have hope-filled expectation of God at work in our lives this week because You promise never to leave us or forsake us. We look forward to Your coming in glory, but are willing to wait with patience confident in Your final victory. We trust You to provide for us all the strength we need, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Welcome to our midweek service of worship in our building here in Panmurefield Baptist Centre

Opening Scripture verses: Luke1:46-48:

And Mary said: ‘My soul glorifies the Lord
⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
⁴⁸ for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me – holy is His name.
⁵⁰ His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.

Opening praise:

Opening Prayer:

Lord we come with real joy into Your holy presence today and can do no better than to echo some of Mary’s amazing song of praise: My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour… for the Mighty One has done great things for me – holy is His name.His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.

We follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before us in the journey of Christian faith and as we enter another Advent season we do so with deep thankfulness to You for the first coming of Jesus in humility at Bethlehem. Yet we also come with a sense of expectancy for Jesus second coming in glory as the King of Kings and Lord of Lord. We come today confessing our sins and asking afresh for Your cleansing from sin and the fresh empowering of our lives by Your Holy Spirit so that we might bring more honour and glory to You in the way that we live in the coming days. Meet with us today as we gather for this brief service, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.  

Bible Reading: 

Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. ² I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Saviour through your apostles.³ Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. ⁴ They will say, ‘Where is this “coming” he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’ ⁵ But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 

⁶ By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. ⁷ By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the Day of Judgment and destruction of the ungodly. ⁸ But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 

⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. ¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

¹¹ Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives ¹² as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. ¹³ But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. ¹⁴ So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him. ¹⁵ Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom that God gave him.

II Peter 3:1-15

Intercessory prayer using II Peter 3:1-15:

Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. ² I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Saviour through your apostles.  Thank you Lord that we have not been left without a clear sense of direction for our lives. We thank you for the free access we have to Your Holy Word the Bible. 

We are a blessed people, I also want to thank You today for….

Lord, we live in a deeply challenging world right now, but we are not alone. It was the same in all previous centuries. Peter wrote: Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. ⁴ They will say, ‘Where is this “coming” he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’ ⁵ But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. ⁶ By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. ⁷ By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the Day of Judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

Lord, there were lots of people two thousand years ago who chose not to follow You. Therefore, we too will have our disappointments with some people we are witnessing to about our faith in You. However, we will persevere in praying for the lost.  In particular, I want to pray today for …. to come to faith in You –even this Christmas would be my heart’s desire! 

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him. Thank You Lord for this challenge to holy Christ-like living; help me this week to grow in my character and conduct more like Jesus. Lord I need help with … at this time. I ask for You to work in my life in the mighty name of Jesus…

We also want to bring before You the following people who are unwell or who have been bereaved in the recent past…

We also want to bring before You these other needs… or particular personal needs ….

Thank You Lord for hearing and answering our prayers in Jesus’ name, Amen

Message:  Active Patience II Peter 3:1-15

Introduction

As Christmas approaches I wonder: How patient are you when it comes to waiting? There is the chocolate test for some of us? How long does the bar or the box last? It is not really fair some of us manage so easily to space out our consumption of these chocolate treats, whereas others find it irresistible to consume another one and … They don’t make the boxes as large as they used to! I’m sure there used to be more in that brand box years ago!

What about Christmas decorations? If you had planned to put them up next weekend and your neighbours all did theirs a few days earlier, would there be a minor panic as you rushed to get started a day or two early? Or could you congratulate them on their colourful display without getting stressed that your decorations were still in their box in the garage!

Maybe it is Christmas shopping where your patience is tested?  Apart from 2020 when we are greatly restricted in what we do, how do you approach shopping for Christmas? Do you spread it out over the year or is it a mad dash round the shops in the weeks before Christmas? Or is this year a mad dash around online websites? Do your family preparations have to be ‘perfect’ or is there a bit of room for flexibility? Some of us struggle if things don’t quite go to plan. We can get really stressed if others around us don’t conform to what we had expected to happen. 

The issue here is concerning something much bigger than our personal Christmas celebrations. It is about getting a sense of perspective about our time in history and our personal tiny segment of time here on earth.  Where does my life fit in to this bigger picture? What is the significance of this time in history? It is fine looking back two thousand years to celebrate the amazing events surrounding the birth of Jesus, but what difference should it make to my life now if I take the time to reflect on what happened then.

But the bigger picture that is too often forgotten is that we are living between the two comings of Jesus. There are a tiny number of Christians for whom the second coming of Jesus is their dominant conversation topic or the object of their thoughts, but for the vast majority of us we veer towards the other extreme of relegating it deep into our minds. We acknowledge it will happen sometime in the future, but because we have pressing things to attend to now in the present it can easily fade from view as our attention focuses on the challenges of the here and now.

For other people it has been so long since Jesus was on earth that they begin to doubt if Jesus actually will return in person physically to this earth. And what is more the wonderful picture described in the Bible of God’s new creation at the end of this age seems too good to be true, given how much of a mess humanity has made of the one planet God has given us to care for.

In II Peter 3, one of the last New Testament letters to be written, Peter turns to address the concerns of the people of that time in the second half of the first century AD on this topic. What does he have to say?

1. ‘Why are we waiting?’ (2 Peter 3:1-7)

(a)A firm foundation (II Peter 3:1-2) Dear friend, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. ² I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Saviour through your apostles. Peter gives a simple reminder that we view the present through the lenses, of the Word of God and its promises and from the life and teaching of Jesus. We have a sure foundation on which to look at the world around us and to view the uncertain future before us. Or as Paul puts it in Ephesians 2:20: The Christian Church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone.

When we look around our land, for example, the retail landscape will be so different when this virus is under control and we can move around freely as before. The profoundly sad news of the closure of the Arcadia Group of well-known shops and Debenhams this week, although not unexpected is a sign of the damage done to the economy during this pandemic, although competition with online traders was already a serious challenge for the shops on the high street. Each of us will have other examples to give here, but Peter’s point is that God does not change. He is here for us and He will deliver on His promises. We may be restricted in our services and church ministries just now, but God is on the throne and by His Holy Spirit very active in the world as He always will be until the end of the age.

(b) A fervent denial (II Peter 3:3-5)³ Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. ⁴ They will say, ‘Where is this “coming” He promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’ ⁵ But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water.

It is now around three decades since Jesus went back to heaven. It is clear that many of the first Christian disciples had high expectations of Jesus coming back to earth within a relatively short space of time. Jesus had been very clear that a deadline or timescale would not be revealed to them; only God the Father knew how long it would be and the actual date. Jesus Himself had deliberately excluded Himself from knowledge of it (Mark 13:32: But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.)

In the light of these fervent denials by sceptics who were loudly proclaiming that it was not true that Jesus was coming back again, Peter sought to reassure other believers that this behaviour was totally expected. But the God who brought the world into being out of nothing (Genesis 1:1) would have no difficulty at all in planning the second coming of Jesus.

(c) A fair reminder (II Peter 3:6-7) ⁶By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. ⁷ By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

Peter, by way of evidence, not only points to the Creation of the world as evidence of God’s sovereign power, but he also references the worldwide flood of Noah’s day and warns that a final time of judgement is coming through which God’s world will be cleansed from the sin of humanity. God’s past interventions in history are a guarantee that His future plans will also take place.

Does this sound familiar to you? You might have heard sceptical comments about God or doubts about Jesus coming back from non-Christian friends, or even wondered about it yourself. Isn’t 2000 years a long time to wait for the return of Jesus? As if he anticipated that question Peter then addresses this point.

2. God is not slow He is patient (II Peter 3:8-9)

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (II Peter 3:8-9)

We live in an ‘instant’ age when everything has to happen quickly. When we switch the television or computer or phone, or whatever device you care to name, we get frustrated if it doesn’t work quickly and be connected as we are expecting. However, living on ‘fast-forward’ as many of us do in the Western world is not the only way to live and not the way God chooses to work. His timescale is so much longer than ours. Moses in Psalm 90:1-2 and 4, had this to say of God several thousand years ago:

Lord, you have been our dwelling-place throughout all generations. ² Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God… ⁴ A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.

This psalm gives us a glimpse into the divine perspective on time.  It is in the light of this knowledge that Peter responds to the concern of his readers that it is a long time since Jesus went back to heaven. It is only three decades, Peter might have said, which is nothing on the scales of time, let alone in comparison with eternity. Peter reminds us that there is a very different perspective with which to view the apparent delay in Jesus returning to earth. There are two key words to note:

(a)Patience In II Peter 3:9 he states:  The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you… Imagine going on a dinner date in a beautiful location with a number of hours to spend in the company of your chosen companion. The dinner that has been carefully prepared is served and your eyes feast on the contents of the plate before you. How do you eat the food? 

Apart from the obvious good manners with appropriate cutlery, the issue is this: do you wolf it down like a hungry dog or a stray cat finally getting a decent meal or do you savour the food and appreciate the smells and taste of that delicious food as well as enjoying the conversation at the table. I have a feeling that if you rushed the food down the other person might want to ask if you have another engagement that evening that was more pressing!

There is a place for taking your time. In the workplace many a craftsman or woman has spent hours shaping and moulding their creations into objects of beauty, a few of which will be selected to be observed by millions in national museums in later generations.

Here says Peter, God is patient. His plans for us and for His universe will come to pass. When Jesus asked His followers in their prayers to reflect on or even use these words: ‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…’ (Matthew 6:10), it was because we are asking God to do what He has already planned from before the beginning of time. He knows it will happen. Where does that leave you and me? Do you feel like you rush from one thing to the next? Are you always looking for the fastest check-out queue at the supermarket? Do you get annoyed when your computer seems to take an age to download something, or your child dawdles over putting on their shoes? Maybe we need to learn that what might feel like slowness to us can, at the same time, be a lesson in godly patience.

(b)Repentance Beyond this, Peter tells us that God has a vital reason why He is holding back his return: Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9b). Peter knew that the final return of Jesus would come with judgement over the earth. Jesus’ cross and resurrection mean that when we are by faith trusting in Him we have no fear of judgement. But entering into God’s Kingdom does require us to believe in Him and come in repentance. For this reason, God is patiently holding back the return of Christ, so that everyone on earth has the chance to respond to His gift of forgiveness and restoration. Have you taken this important step?

3. Cleansing Fire (II Peter 3:10)

Most seriously Peter explains why God requires repentance from our sins. He is a perfectly holy God and cannot allow anything or anyone sinful into His new perfect world beyond this life. In II Peter 3:10 he writes:  But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. The Jewish people heard the prophets speak of the ‘Day of the Lord’ in many messages about God’s judgement on human sinfulness. It was a solemn occasion when the wrongs of this world will be addressed. An example of this proclamation would be Malachi 3:1-3a where God the Father states:

‘I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to His temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,’ says the Lord Almighty. ² But who can endure the day of His coming? Who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. ³ He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver;

God’s judgement is described as a fire that will refine the earth until only pure gold is left. So the picture Peter is painting here is of God’s final judgement burning up all that is unjust, impure, ungodly, laying bare the earth until the old “order” of things has been destroyed and the original intention of God has been restored for His creation.

We must be very careful not to speculate as to exactly how God’s created universe will be transformed because the Bible only gives us glimpses of what God has planned. But it is with the purpose of gifting to His followers the opportunity to live the life He desired for humanity the first time round. Old Testament prophets longed for that day to come. In Isaiah 65:17-18a the prophet reported God as declaring:

‘See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. ¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create. This vision was not lost in the New Testament, especially in Revelation 21:1-4: Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling-place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death” or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

In Revelation, the City of God comes down from heaven to earth, the old order of things has passed away and God promises to be with us in this restored world and universe forever. Our conversion to Christian faith is pictured by Paul in II Corinthians 5:17 using this dramatic language: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here! What God can do in any one of His children, He plans to replicate in transformation of the entire universe! How amazing is that! 

Surely this must inspire us to an active expectation of Jesus’ second coming!

4. Active Expectation (II Peter 3:11-15)

 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives ¹² as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. ¹³ But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. ¹⁴ So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him. ¹⁵ Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom that God gave him. 

When you are waiting for something, knowing what you are waiting for changes how you wait. A child waiting for a Christmas present has a different attitude to a child waiting for the dentist. You wait for your wedding day in a very different way to waiting for your car MOT.

We are not waiting for an eternity sitting on clouds, or an endless church service, or an infinite sermon. We are waiting for the restoration of heaven and earth, with every good thing made new and abundant life for all. Knowing what God will do when Jesus returns ought to change how we live today. Since this is our ultimate goal, Peter says, here is how we should live. We should live in ways which please God, which imitate Jesus, which work for the good of His creation, which build community and society, which seek justice and fairness. We should communicate the Kingdom of God in how we speak and live and so not only proclaim it, but even somehow ‘speed its coming’. Amen Come Lord Jesus! 

Closing Song:

Closing Prayer:

Heavenly Father what a wonderful joy to know the amazing plans You have made for our future in eternity. What an incredible privilege to know that the best is yet to come for us as Your people, to enjoy You more fully and to experience more deeply all You have planned for us, we bring to You our heartfelt gratitude in the wonderful name of Jesus, Your Son our Saviour, Amen

The Benediction:

Intimations

• Baptist Union of Scotland Prayer Livestream – The monthly prayer livestream takes place on Sunday, 6 December, 7.00–7.30pm. You can access the prayer livestream by going to the Baptist Union of Scotland YouTube channel.
  
• Dundee Evangelical Christian Alliance (DECA) is holding its annual service on zoom this evening, Sunday 29 November at 6:30pm from St Peter’s Free Church. The service will be led by Jim Turrent, Minister of Central Baptist Church, Dundee. The service can be viewed online here.

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Jam Kids

The older JAM Kids might like to check out some Bible stories about people who also experienced ‘lockdown’. The videos along with a link to some questions to think about together, can all be found here.

JAM young adults Ignite Live have a separate programme at 11:30am.  Please contact Gary Torbet on garytorbet@btinternet.com for more details.

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Call to Worship

Before the World was created, the Word already existed; he was with God, and he was the same as God. From the very beginning the Word was with God. Through him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without him. The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.

John 1: 1-5

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We are grateful to Alison and Isdale for selecting the songs for worship for this service

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Baptist Union of Scotland – Video on the theme of Hope

The Baptist Union of Scotland is producing four Advent videos. In total there will be four videos, each around 5 minutes long, on the themes of Hope, Peace, Love and Joy. Each video will contain an introduction, scripture reflection, a story from one of our churches and a spoken carol. This week’s video is on the theme of Hope:

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Opening Prayer

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Opening prayer

Heavenly Father at the start of Advent we come in the name of the One who said: I am the light of the World. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12). We come as men and women, boys and girls, who are seeking to follow in His footsteps in living in a way that reflects God’s call on our lives to honour Him as our Lord and to show His grace and kindness to other people with whom we journey through life week by week.

We are living in a deeply challenging world that at times takes all the emotional, mental and physical energy we possess to keep going in our workplaces; or to battle through the health or family issues some of us are currently experiencing. Yet we come before You today with confidence because we are reminded that The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:5).

Purify us afresh of our sins of the past week and empower us by Your Holy Spirit for the week that is now commencing, as we continue in our worship, in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son our Saviour, Amen.

Let us say together the words Jesus taught His disciples when He said:

‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'”      
For Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever Amen.

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Prayers for Others

Heavenly Father, we thank You once more for the privilege of coming to You with all the concerns on our hearts today.

We come aware that so many people are exhausted physically, emotionally or mentally as a result of all the strains of the virus pandemic in their workplace. We bring each one before You today, whether in the health or social care services, schools or higher education, or a wider range of other forms of employment that have kept us going as a society over the last year.

We pray too for the many people in the retail and hospitality sectors as well as in travel and tourism who have genuine fears about the loss of their employment or the failure of their businesses as a result of the restrictions imposed by governments to curb the spread of the virus. We ask for wisdom for our politicians as they finalise the relaxation of guidelines for the Christmas holiday period that they will get the balance right under great pressure from some who wish to enjoy their traditional festivities at this time of year.      

We come with gratitude for the progress in production of possible vaccines, and marvel at the speed with which this progress appears to be being made. We pray, though, with our concerns that corners might be cut and safeguards ignored in the rush to be the producers of the first vaccine approved for use and the financial benefits for the companies concerned. We ask that all necessary health checks are in place to ensure that all may go well when vaccine use amongst the general public begins in the coming weeks.   

We pray too for people in other countries more severely affected by the economic disruption, particularly in the two-thirds world, where so many workers live on subsistence wages and have a very difficult task in providing for their families at the best of times. We pray that their governments can become more able to provide the basic necessities of life in these communities. We have particular concerns also for those in war zones in Syria, Yemen and increasingly in Ethiopia where the threat of civil war is very real, together with the many communities ravaged weekly by Islamist militias in North Africa and Christian civilians bear the brunt of these atrocities.  Lord have mercy…    

We now bring before You the particular things of concern to us personally in the wider world …  

We also bring before You other churches including:

We pray for all the other Churches here in Broughty Ferry as each one seeks to plan for a very different kind of Christmas; that You would help us all to proclaim clearly the good news of the Christian gospel at a time when for so many people Christmas will be very different to our usual celebrations. 

St Ninians Community Church, Stirling – We give thanks for their varied ways of meeting during this time using Zoom, and for the sense of community they are maintaining. We pray for those who have had recent health issues, and for the ability to maintain a presence in their community during this time.

Stenhouse BC, Edinburgh – We pray for their neighbours who have been affected by job losses and poor mental health. We pray that as a community, Stenhouse is able to rally together to get through these months. We pray that as a church they can shine Jesus’ light. 

Stirling BC – We give thanks for all the ways the church fellowship has been able to reach out to the local community through The Haven Centre, where local families can find support, children’s group, debt counselling and more. We pray that through this help, more people in Stirling will come to know Jesus.

Stonehaven BC – We give thanks for the church now meeting in person again (with all the Covid-safe measures in place). We pray that despite facemasks and restrictions there will be a sense of fellowship, community and worship of God.

We also remember in our prayers other people with particular needs that are connected to our own families or congregation:

Lord we thank you for the good news that Garry A has been able to raise all the funds required for his Christian Leadership course at the Teen Challenge Academy in Nottingham which he will start in January. We pray Your guidance and blessing upon Garry as he discerns Your leading and guidance on his life for the future.

We remember at this time Peter and Maureen S and pray for recovery of their health and strength at this time. We pray too for John C and his ongoing health challenges. We also continue to remember Lawrie, Nicola L’s Dad, Betty W, Alva D and Anne M as they seek to make further progress in the recovery of their health and strength, together with the Steer’s niece Rachel and Ann W’s sister Margaret at this time as well. We pray also for other with ongoing health needs that You would grant them the strength that they need at this time.  

We continue to pray for those of our number who even without the virus-pandemic restrictions would be unable to meet with us for worship.  We pray Your blessing upon them at this time.  In particular, we bring before You …     

In addition, we bring our own and other needs on our hearts to You today…, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, Amen.

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Bible Reading

²¹ At that time if anyone says to you, “Look, here is the Messiah!” or, “Look, there he is!” do not believe it. ²² For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²³ So be on your guard; I have told you everything in advance.

²⁴ ‘But in those days, following that distress, ‘“the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; ²⁵ the stars will fall from the sky and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.” ²⁶ ‘At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 

²⁷ And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. ²⁸ ‘Now learn this lesson from the fig-tree: as soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. 

³⁰ Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

³² ‘But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³ Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. ³⁴ It’s like a man going away: he leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

³⁵ ‘Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back – whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the cock crows, or at dawn. ³⁶ If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. ³⁷ What I say to you, I say to everyone: “Watch!”’

Mark 13: 21-36

Before we come to listen to God’s Word let us sing:

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The Message

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Holy Suspense: The ‘now’ and ‘not yet’ of Advent

Introduction

As a football fan of a team that likes to keep its supporters on the edge of their seats, it can be a very stressful experience watching a live game, particularly when promising performances peter out into disappointment. This is a familiar experience for most sports fans though as no team is invincible. For other people the suspense in a film you are viewing in the cinema or on your television at home can be equally gripping. A well-written novel may also have this magic quality keeping you turning the pages to find out what happened next!

Of course some tension can be a good thing. An archer using a bow and arrows would be unable to operate the bow adequately without it. Or a musician with a stringed instrument or a drummer with a traditional drum kit; in these contexts it is essential to have the right tension. Yet there are contexts where we can feel deeply uneasy with tension. For example, human relationships where two people are not getting on very well, but the matter is not resolved or begun to be addressed so the experience of being together in a home or a workplace could become decidedly unpleasant at times. 

In the Bible there is definitely a holy suspense at times as individual men and women seek to discern God’s will for their lives in the midst of the complexities of daily life. It is not so much the times when we know what we ought to say or do but don’t want to do it, instead it is those circumstances where we are open to making different possible choices, but cannot get our head around which way to go or option to accept. The message of Advent is definitely part of this suspense.   

1. The first and second comings of Jesus

The Jewish people of Jesus’ day had a strong belief that God would send a special person, His anointed king to rule over them. It was a message that would have been delivered with regularity in synagogue services. At a time when the country was occupied by the mighty Roman army, the idea that one day God would transform their situation through the Messiah was most encouraging.

The principle of the Messiah coming was agreed by the vast majority of the people and greatly welcomed, but few took the time to study the Bible for insight into the characteristics of this special person and how they would carry out their work on earth. The Bible references a few people like Simeon and Anna (Luke 2:25-40) who were prayerfully expecting this person in their lifetime. Luke tells us this of Simeon in Luke 2:25-33:

²⁵Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷ Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, ²⁸ Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: ²⁹ ‘Sovereign Lord, as You have promised, You may now dismiss Your servant in peace. ³⁰ For my eyes have seen Your salvation, ³¹ which You have prepared in the sight of all nations: ³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.’ ³³ The child’s father and mother marvelled at what was said about Him. 

What a remarkable man whom God chose to tell ahead of time that he would not die before this special child was born. Simeon spent some of his time in his senior years praying for this event to happen. Jesus’ first coming happened on time although God didn’t give enough information for anyone to work out a date for this event. This small group of people faithfully trusted that God would keep His Word and He did! The Bible teaches that Jesus is coming back. Does your heart respond –‘Come Lord Jesus!’ Do you pray believing that God will do what He has promised? I hope and pray each one of us will do that.

Simeon and Anna are two individuals of whom we know very little, but in these difficult times maintained their trust in God and their faithfulness in daily devotions and in living for God. They did not allow the difficult circumstances around them to detract from their dedication as believers. In an increasingly secular world there are places where Christians and others find it difficult to stand in public for their convictions. What many people have forgotten is that freedom of speech and religious liberty are two sides of the same coin.

If I want the opportunity to share my convictions then I have to allow other people with different views to share theirs as well; obviously this covers a wider range of opinions than over matters of faith. When influential voices in a society call for denying others the right to speak their views then it is a dangerous way to go. Just as Simeon and Anna did in their day so we should continue to serve God in ours with grace and with wisdom.

Times of change in a country like the present time are very difficult to negotiate. There is so much uncertainty as to how things will play out. The covid-19 virus pandemic has impacted every country across the globe, and this has a serious economic impact that no-one had anticipated a year ago. In Western Europe we had faced uncertainties over how the Brexit changes would impact relationships between the United Kingdom and the European Union; other countries in the world have faced increasingly severe extremes of weather patterns largely attributed to climate changes. However, whatever our particular challenges God has not changed and we can trust Him with our futures. 

The season of Advent that begins today allows us to reflect on the bigger picture of God’s work in His world over a much longer timescale than our own lifetimes. Advent means ‘coming’, in particular in this context it is a reference to Jesus’ first coming as a baby two thousand years ago. The birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus brought in a new chapter of the Kingdom of God on earth.

This was the beginning of the kingly rule and reign of God which had been long promised by the prophets. It might have looked very different to what people had expected, but it made a transforming difference in the lives of everyone who responded to it. Did everything begin to happen then that was prophesied of the special king or Messiah. The answer to that is clearly ‘no’. In His first coming Jesus came to show us how to live God’s way and in particular to die on the cross in our place so as to open up the way for us to enter into God’s family through His amazing grace and love to us. At the same time, the fullness of Jesus’ kingdom won’t be complete until He comes again.

As well as the first coming of Jesus as a human baby, there is also a second Advent, a ‘second coming’ of Jesus. This is a clear expectation which the New Testament church had: that Jesus would come again. Shortly before the Last Supper and His crucifixion Jesus gave an extended message to His first disciples about His second coming, recorded, for example, in Mark 13, Matthew 24 or Luke 21. The start of the Christian Church two thousand years ago could be described as ‘the beginning of the end’ or the launch of the countdown towards the start of God’s eternal kingdom over which Jesus will reign. We, unlike those first disciples, live much closer to the second coming of Jesus. What did Jesus want to highlight to His followers and to us in preparation for His return? 

2. Signs of the Times (Mark 13:21-36)

What did Jesus say in this summary overview of the times before His second coming? What should we expect to look out for?

(a)Religious confusion (Mark 13:21-23) ²¹ At that time if anyone says to you, “Look, here is the Messiah!” or, “Look, there he is!” do not believe it. ²² For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²³ So be on your guard; I have told you everything in advance.

All kind of voices will appear claiming that Jesus is directing them to hold certain views or conduct ministries that seem so contrary to the Bible. A very small proportion of individuals make messianic claims. The majority want still to be recognised as Christian or even Evangelical Christian while denying biblical truth or promoting lifestyle choices that go against the Bible. There is very little that is new in the world in terms of beliefs or lifestyles compared to previous centuries. The way in which these heretical views are presented or the vocabulary used to describe it may change, but there is nothing new under the sun. The gospel, God’s good news, does not change, because God does not change. The application of it will vary in different cultural contexts, but the message is unchanged.  

(b) Severe environmental change (Mark 13:24-25) ²⁴ ‘But in those days, following that distress, ‘“the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; ²⁵ the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.”

In the centuries towards the end of the Old Testament era up to the first century AD Jewish religious leaders used very dramatic language to picture the end times, in the Bible the book of Revelation is a good example. It is clear that not all the word pictures they use were intended to be taken literally, but the message about the future convey a clear sense of the times to come. The events Jesus is pointing to here certainly describe severe disruption of the natural world in which we live that will be particularly bad immediately prior to His return.

We speak about climate change and some speakers and writers certainly use quite extreme apocalyptic language about us being near the point of no return or complete disaster if there are not drastic changes in the way humanity lives. God alone knows the details of the future, but it suggests life on this planet will be considerably tougher for many people in the years leading to Jesus return.  

(c) Yet a time of hope (Mark 13:25-26) ²⁶ ‘At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ And He will send His angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. Jesus is coming soon. There are so many other passages that point to His return. For example, Hebrews 9:27-28:  Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, ²⁸ so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.

The question to answer is this: Are you ready if it happened today? Or if it happened in the next few weeks months or years? Have you put your faith and trust in Him? Or are you currently away from God and need to get back on track with Him? There is no second chance of salvation. The time is now which we must seize while the gift of salvation from God is available to us.

(d) The promise (Mark 13:27-32)²⁸ ‘Now learn this lesson from the fig-tree: as soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. ³⁰ Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. ³² ‘But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 

How many times does the second coming of Jesus get mentioned in the New Testament? I havn’t counted, but it has been suggested that it is at least 300 times (John Blanchard, Read Mark Learn, p.43). On the day when Jesus ascended back to heaven, the angel who spoke to those first disciples could not have been clearer. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.’ (Acts 1:11)  God has not told us when only to be ready at any time! Are you ready?

(e) The task (Mark 13:33-36 ³³ Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. ³⁴ It’s like a man going away: he leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.³⁵ ‘Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back – whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the cock crows, or at dawn. ³⁶ If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. ³⁷ What I say to you, I say to everyone: “Watch!”’ This belief in the return of Jesus shapes the whole of the New Testament understanding of what it means to be a Christian, and how we are to live in the world as we anticipate it. The aged apostle John in I John 2:28 wrote: And now, dear children, continue in Him, so that when He appears we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming.

3. Knowing what time it is 

The New Testament has two words for time. ‘Chronos’ refers to the time you example on your watch or phone or other device, chronological time. We are most familiar with that reference.  However, there is also another word ‘Kairos’ used of the right time for something. We all know there are contexts where we can speak about something, but sometimes we have to wait for the right time, to pick our moment. It has a sense of priorities of what really matters in life. Do I, do you, prioritise the things that are most important? In the New Testament we see this emphasis in the preaching and writing of the leaders of the Early Church. For example, Paul in his letter to the church in Rome:

And do this, understanding the present time: the hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light (Romans 13:11-12). 

Imagine that you wake up early the day of a great party – it could be your birthday, a wedding, or Christmas day. The night before is almost over, the sun is just beginning to come up. You’re full of excitement – and yet the party itself has not yet started. In this situation, you begin to live with both the anticipation of the day being almost here and frustration that it has not yet fully begun. You would begin to put on your party clothes and do all you could to make final preparations. But you would hold that in tension with knowing that the party in all its fullness was still a few hours away.

This is the ‘time’ we live in as Christians. The night is almost gone and the day of Jesus’ kingdom has started to dawn. And yet, that kingdom ‘day’ has not yet arrived in all its fullness. We live with the suspense that the full party has not yet started. Paul tells us to be aware that we are living in this ‘time’, this in-between daybreak stage. This is a huge tension in the Christian life, sometimes called the ‘now and not yet’ of the Kingdom:

‘Now’ Jesus is King, and at the same time his Kingdom is ‘not yet’ here in its fullness.

‘Now’ Satan is defeated, and at the same time we are waiting for all evil to be finally overcome and so our lives are ‘not yet’ free from temptation.

‘Now’ Jesus has healed the sick and has given us authority to do the same in his name, and at the same time we live in an era where sick people are ‘not yet’ healed.

 ‘Now’ Jesus is resurrected from the dead and we are seated with him in the heavenly places, and at the same time we live in the ‘not yet’ where all creation groans to be healed and resurrected.

This ‘now’ and ‘not yet’ calls us to a radical form of living. It asks us to be both hope-filled and also realistic. Life is not all roses and sunshine this side of Jesus’ second coming. We all struggle with pain, temptation, disappointment and loss. The earth continues to groan, the oppressed continue to cry ‘How long?’ And yet in the middle of these challenging realities we have seen the sun beginning to rise and we are called to live in its light.

4. How do we live at this time?

If the New Testament mentions so many times that we need to be ready for the second coming of Jesus, how are we advised to conduct our lives? There are two things to remember.

(a)Be clear what we expect to happen in the future (I Thessalonians 4:13-18) ¹³ Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 

¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Our focus today is on the broader picture regard the first and second coming of Jesus. Paul provided this summary of ‘what will happen’ to reassure these new believers that what they needed to know was not a detailed timetable of the end times, rather a reassurance that God had already planned out and taken care of the future. 

(b) Be clear about how we ought to live now In the light of the assurance of the future Paul urged the various churches he had planted to use their time wisely and effectively and not to waste it with frivolous activities or in appropriate lifestyle choices. In Romans 13:12-14 he wrote:

The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light. ¹³ Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. ¹⁴ Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

When we know a party is coming, we need to put on our party clothes and prepare all we can for the coming celebration. Similarly, when we know Jesus is coming we need to put on our ‘Jesus clothes’, for example the armour of God (Ephesians 6:10-20) and attitudes like compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Col 3:12b).

It is a calling to keep our focus to live in a God-honouring way.  His words were similar to the those uttered by Jesus around two decades earlier. He reminded the first disciples that their task was not to try and fix dates for His possible return, instead to avoid distractions and keep a clear focus on pleasing God through the way we choose to live. In Luke’s account of Jesus’ message on the end times he included these words in Luke 21:34-36:

³⁴ ‘Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. ³⁵ For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶ Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.’

In other words live now in a way that you will be comfortable accounting for when we meet with Jesus when our lives here have been completed. In effect, we are being asked to live in holy suspense knowing how to live now following the example of Jesus in His first coming, but equally wanting to honour Him and be found faithful in His service should He come back tomorrow. Are you prepared for eternity? If not please put your faith in Jesus today as Lord and Saviour. As a Christian, are you living in the light of His imminent return? I trust each of us could echo the words of Revelation 22:20 at the end of the Bible: He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ [and can give this response] Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Our song before we come to communion is:

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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.’

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Our last song is:

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Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus recalling Your first coming fills us with joy as we love to celebrate at Christmas the extraordinary events of two thousand years ago. Yet today we also want to thank You that our Father in heaven has also taken care of our future and planned Your return as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Help us to be bold witnesses for You in the coming days, assured that despite all the challenges we face in daily life that Your Holy Spirit will strengthen and encourage us through them in our remaining time on earth until You return or until Your call us home, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.