God had asked the Israelites to trust Him to provide free food for them in the desert when they came out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses more than three thousand years ago. The reality was that a group of over two million people could not have survived naturally in that arid environment as there would have been insufficient resources to go round. However, would the Israelites accept the deal God put to them? How willing are we to trust God to provide for our needs? If we are honest most of us have some times when we do really well in placing our faith in God regarding our daily needs, but at other times, and not necessarily in tougher times, we really struggle.
Living by faith is easy to proclaim, but because of our sinful humanity little (or big!) doubts can creep in and cause us problems. Exodus 16:16-27 gives the details of what happened with the Israelites following their exit from Egypt under the leadership of Moses:
16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer [an ancient unit of measurement equal to one person’s daily food needs] for each person you have in your tent.’ “17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed.
19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”20However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as he needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away.
22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’ “24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it.
25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a Sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”27Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none.
There are two examples here of a lack of trust. First of all in verse twenty there were people who did not dare eat all the food in their tent in case there was none tomorrow, despite the assurances they had received from God through Moses. What is this example saying to us? The first group of people were extremely risk averse. They didn’t want to exercise trust in Moses and by implication in God, to provide for their needs in this very different time.
Stepping outside their comfort zone was to be avoided at all costs. Well we could as individuals and as a church take the same approach in the current Covid-19 virus crisis and do very little indeed. Or, by contrast, we could entrust ourselves to God and say what can we do, while obeying the public health guidelines for social distancing and limited interaction in the physical world?
In our communities it is inspiring that so many individuals have taken this latter attitude and offered to help in any way to serve other people. Think of Captain Tom Moore aged 99, for example, who walked on his zimmer on laps of his garden to raise money for the NHS. If anyone was entitled to ‘put his feet up’ and rest surely he qualified. He aimed to raise £1,000 but it is over £23 million pounds.
It is also remarkable how many businesses and charities and indeed churches within an incredibly short space of time set up online meetings and activities to continue their work. Within our own congregation, I am extremely grateful to those who have creatively in different ways helped us rise to the challenges we face and for those who gave many hours to set up our meetings and services on the zoom video conference platform.
Then there were a second group of Israelites in Exodus 16:27 who did not collect twice as much on the Friday, as God had suggested because He would not send any on the Saturday. These people were unwise in a different way. They were unwilling to plan for the future. They expected God to do for them miraculously what they could easily have done for themselves.
Sometimes there is no substitute for sheer hard work and putting in some long hours. Anyone who has achieved significant success in starting a business or honing a musical or sporting gift, for example, will have spent years of effort to prepare for future success. Gary Player, one of the greatest golfers of all time, once remarked that the more he practised the luckier he became in professional golf tournaments.
We are genuinely in unprecedented times and seeing ways forward will take steps of faith for churches and businesses as well as individuals and families. Church buildings are closed, but churches are alive. Four times as many people have participated in a Christian worship service (on-line) since the covid-19 crisis began than attended in person in the months before it.
The majority of churches through their members are in contact with more unchurched people in their communities than ever before. Neighbourhood conversations have flourished at a safe distance! Our lives will be demonstrably different for the foreseeable future, of that there is no doubt. However, let us seize the opportunities to build friendships, care for those in need and develop forms of Christian service and ministry that will in the future be significantly better than what we left behind.
Our church Bible verse for the year is Ephesians 3:20-21: Now unto Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.. What are you and I praying for and what are you seeking to do to help make this a reality to the glory of God here in the place where God has placed us? I hope when we are finally back together as a church in one physical place that we will have so many stories to tell of amazing things that have happened… What might your story be? Amen.
Our song for reflection today is ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death’
The approach Jesus directed His first disciples to use in prayer is centred first of all on God the Father, who He is and how we should approach Him. It then turns to highlight the primary purpose of praying for the child of God. It is to ask Him to prompt us to desire the things that He most wants to happen on earth. It is half-way through the model for prayer before it turns to us and our requests.
Matthew 6:11 states: Give us this day our daily bread. Notice it is ‘we’ and ‘us’ not ‘me’. It is community-centred praying at its best. If our prayers to God are primarily centred on me and what I want then this model for prayer commended by Jesus is a radical challenge to it. Do I or you need to stop and consider how closely aligned are our priorities in prayer with those of God as revealed to us by Jesus?
I have the privilege of working in the local food bank at the present time. It is not something I had ever planned to do, but when needs arise in a community as has happened in the last couple of months there are many individuals who want to make a difference. It is so encouraging that across our city of Dundee there have been many people able and willing to contribute in a variety of capacities.
In the early days of our work after the Covid-19 virus related lock down began there were some difficulties in obtaining certain food items. It was not often that bread was raised as one of the sought after items, as there appeared to be a regular supply of bread products in the shops. So what is the point of this petition then and now, is it really just about obtaining ‘bread’?
There are probably only a few people in the UK who could not afford a loaf of bread each day. So why should we pray this petition? It is a daily recognition that God is interested in even the small things going on in our lives. It is also an acknowledgement that the ultimate source of our ‘daily bread’ comes from God. James 1:17 reminds us: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father. Or as Paul puts it in I Corinthians 4:7-8a: For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? 8Already you have all you want…
In context, Paul’s words were spoken to some comparatively wealthy people in his day who did not appreciate how fortunate they were to have such blessings. They needed to be more sensitive to the needs of others who were struggling to afford even such basic necessities of life. In our materialistic culture with the constant advertising of new products that has the intention of enticing us to purchase things we will never need and in all honesty don’t really want. It is so easy to lose a sense of perspective. Jesus wants us to come to a state of contentment with the provision of our needs and to inculcate a sense of gratitude for that provision.
As Paul put it in I Timothy 6:6: But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothingand shelter, we will be content with that. To honour this aspect of prayer that Jesus has commended to us is to ask God to enable us to be freed from the materialistic spirit that saturates our culture and from which Christians have not been immune.
The challenge that Jesus is giving us here is to ask our Father in heaven to help us discern between our needs and our wants and to cultivate a spirit of gratitude when the former are met and to move towards the place where we do not miss some of the things that we might want.
Our song for reflection today is: ‘All I once held dear’
Jam Kids Focus – Join us every Sunday from 9.30am for the next 5 five weeks for our Navigate Family series. This series will give you an opportunity to explore the Bible together as a family and find out about what it means to be a follower of Jesus today.
A worksheet to accompany the video is also available here.
Another option for children is the Virtual Sunday School sessions which give an activity idea too.
JAM young adults Ignite Live have a separate programme at 11:15am on the Zoom platform –parents of teenagers can get a link code by contacting Gary Torbet on garytorbet@btinternet.com
Sunday Evening Prayer Livestream – We will be continuing the Prayer Livestream at 7.00pm, celebrating the theme of Resurrection Hope with live prayer and news from churches around the country. This will be another significant time of national prayer for us. Click here to access.
Call to Worship
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; 2 for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. 3Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. 5 They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Saviour.
Psalm 24
We are grateful to Gary Torbet for selecting the songs for worship for this service. Our opening song of praise and worship is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smrq6hc-vcU
Build MyLife
We continue to worship the Lord in our second song of praise and worship:
Lord Reign in Me
Opening prayer
Heavenly Father, once more we gather together to worship You on another Sunday at the start of this new week. We confess that it is difficult to distinguish between the days in this season of lock down, but we are thankful that each new day is a blessing we gratefully receive from Your hand.
We admit that it is so easy to focus on what we cannot do and to dwell on things that have had to be cancelled or family members and friends that we cannot meet at this time, rather than the good gifts of food and health and shelter and for some of us the opportunity to work.
We are so thankful for the good community spirit that prevails in our land as we seek to stand together through this difficult time. We come with humble gratitude for the dedicated service of NHS and Social Care staff who have helped save the lives of so many and continue to support many others in need.
Lord we thank You that You did not complain in the years spent on earth carrying out Your ministry about the tough times that were experienced, but as Hebrews 12:2 reminds us: Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
We pray that by Your Holy Spirit that we may be equipped and empowered to live for You in the coming days, Speak once more to us as we sing Your praises, read Your Holy Scriptures and listen to it being explained, to the glory of Your wonderful 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.
All Age talk – Fergus R
As we all grow up physically, this means we are not babies anymore and we have grown up. We also grow up mentally, making wiser decisions through having more experiences. At the same time as we grow physically and mentally, we also need to grow spiritually. This involves having a relationship with Christ as it says in 2 Peter 3:18 ’’But grow in the grace and knowledge of our lord and saviour Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever! Amen’’. To grow in Christ we need to talk to God and to do this we can pray to him.
Think of people that you are friends with, how did you become friends? Did you just stand there and talk to them and not give them an opportunity to talk back to you? Or did you create a good friendship and have a two-way conversation where you both got to know one another?
It’s the same when we talk to Christ, we need to pray, listen and live in him and we get to grow in him. In John 10:27-28 it says “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out my hand’’. This shows us that when we listen to Christ Jesus then we grow in him and we receive the greatest gift of all, eternal life!
So, my challenge to you all this week is to not just pray but to create a time for God to speak to us. And if you feel God speaking to you then I encourage you to listen to him, maybe go somewhere quiet or somewhere you can relax and just focus your attention on to God.
Let God rule your week and let him decide how we should spend our time wisely.
Thank you Lord for the opportunity to pray for other people as well as ourselves, While many of us are using the internet as a means to stay in touch with people, we pray today for families who cannot afford the internet and who also don’t have a TV in their house.
We give thanks for the food banks and other community agencies who are supporting people in this situation at this time. We praise You for the excellent working relationship between the agencies involved in this work in our city and pray that this may continue along with the many individuals who so willingly offer to serve those in need in our midst at this time.
We are conscious that at a time when many people are doing their very best to live their lives appropriately that in some homes and families strained relationships are causing tensions that we trust can be reduced in the coming days.
We particularly pray for those who sadly are experiencing domestic abuse in our nation, for whom staying at home is not a safe option at this time. We also pray for agencies working to help victims during this very challenging time. We remember too those who are supporting the vulnerable children and young people in our country in social services and schools.
We continue to remember day by day our health service and social care workers, together with other workers engaged in providing essential services in our country. We remember in particular those known to us…. Strengthen them and their colleagues at this difficult time.
For others in education seeking to support younger people through their education, grant wisdom particularly as they assess the work of pupils in crucial examination years. We pray that each one may know your peace during this time of uncertainty.
We pray for our Governments conscious at this time of review of lock down regulations that there is a need to speak as far as possible with one voice of clarity. Grant each one wisdom in the making of decisions that may have such serious implications for some people’s lives in the coming weeks.
In our Baptist Union of churches in Scotland we pray for:
The Continuing Ministry Development workshops taking place online this week. We pray for those leading the workshops (‘Leading an Evangelistic Course’ and in ‘Transformations, Generations and Innovations’) and those connecting in with the training sessions. In particular for:
David Vogan (Chaplain, Nethenvale and The Retreat, MHA Auchlochan) – We pray today for David Vogan as he seeks to support, strengthen and provide spiritual comfort, via phone, to residents and staff as much as he is able to during this Covid-19 crisis.
Dennistoun BC – We thank God for how He has provided for them in multiple ways. Bridges are being built through their outreach ministries and opportunities to share and talk about Jesus are becoming more frequent. God is opening a door for them to reach another areas of the city and we continue to pray that He would grant them all they need to do this in His power and for His glory.
Denny BC – We give thanks for people coming to faith and for the continued attendance by non-Christians as well as the increase in our community involvement. We pray for plans for more structured corporate missional activity over the coming year through courses like Christianity Explored, and for the redevelopment of our leadership structure.
Dingwall BC – We praise God for good relationships with our local community, through school chaplaincy and groups who have been using our building. Also, that some young families have joined us over the past few years. However, we value prayer for God’s provision of leaders for the next generation at DBC.
We also pray:
For other churches in our local area that God will help each one continue their work and witness at this time.
We especially remember those who live and work in the Care Homes that our church led services in – Ferry House, Orchar, Elder Lea Manor, Ballumbie Court, Moyness and Balcarres. We pray also for our neighbour, Lochleven Care Home. We pray that you would give strength to exhausted staff as they seek to cover for absent colleagues and to support the many residents who have been unwell. We especially pray for the families of staff and patients who have died in recent days both in hospitals, residential care homes and in their own homes.
We come now to pray for particular people on our hearts at this time. These include: Jan and Jim F with Jim’s ongoing health challenges; Jean, John H’s mother in Orchar, who has contracted the covid virus; also for Ali T’s mum Norah in hospital and for her dad Frank at home. Thank you Lord for hearing our prayers as we bring them in the wonderful name of Your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen
Bible reading
17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.
20 So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. 22 Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!
23 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.
27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.
29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and ill, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. 32 Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.
33 So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together. 34 Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further instructions.
I Corinthians 11:17-34
Before we come to listen to God’s Word let us sing: ‘Jesus shall take the highest honour’
The Message
Introduction
In the first decade of the twenty-first century in England there was a profoundly sad event, the death of a young child. However, the nature of this death was the reason for the national attention. The date was the child’s birthday aged one or two. The parents had decided that the child was too young for a party and put the child to bed on that evening, having invited adult friends to celebrate the occasion downstairs.
It was a winter’s evening and all the guests had heavy winter coats that were laid down on a bed, the child’s bed. Somehow I’ve forgotten the details but the medical report of the cause of death I believe suggested that the child had been smothered by the coats. The point of that celebration had been missed and would indelibly be fixed on the minds of every adult at that event, not least the grieving parents.
The apostle Paul in writing about public worship in Corinth in general and in this passage the Lord’s Supper in particular suggests that they too had been missing the point of the celebration.
1. The problems at Corinth (I Corinthians 11:17-22)
The apostle Paul is in Ephesus in another country Turkey, and receives a visit from some of Chloe’s household (I Corinthians 1:11) to report their serious concerns about the behaviour of certain members of the congregation in Corinth. They could not text, phone, email, tweet or even write their concerns in a letter that could be posted to the recipient, as all those forms of communication were unavailable to members of the public. Only Governments had access to a basic postal system.
In recent weeks police forces in various countries in the Western world have had to deal with numerous phone calls from people reporting their neighbours for breaking the lock down regulations. In some authorities apparently a majority of calls to the police have been to report this kind of offence. Clearly this family were so deeply distressed by what was going on in their church that they took some weeks off to undertake an arduous journey at their own expense to deliver this message. What was it that caused such a problem?
Corinth was a city like Edinburgh until relatively recently with a very wealthy elite few together with a majority of poorer people. There was little social interaction between the two. Meetings at this church had become a scandal. As well as members of Chloe’s family, Paul had also been visited by Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus (I Corinthians 16:17) men of high Christian integrity who may also have confirmed the difficulties that the church was experiencing.
The other problems listed in the first letter to the Church at Corinth were bad enough but to behave as they did at the agape meal and communion was as bad as anything Paul had ever come across. The wealthy minority who provided all the food and drinks, as the slaves and very poor would have had nothing to bring, were eating to excess and getting drunk having started before the arrival of the poorest members who may have eaten nothing that day and to add to their misery got almost nothing at church as well. What kind of witness was that?
Paul has already stated what is happening in communion in I Cor.10:16: Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation[fellowship /sharing] in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? How true was this of Corinth church? It was the exact opposite!
In fact in I Corinthians 12:19 Paul expresses serious reservations about whether some of the most serious offenders have ever truly trusted the Lord as their Saviour at all because there was no evidence of Christ-like character in the way they treated other people. What were the future implications for the church if their behaviour continued?
Quite bluntly Paul says if you cannot behave in a Christian manner then you had better stop the pretence of such folly and close down altogether! Every church should ask the question – how do people outside our congregation view us? The result might be quite a shock in some cases. We might also individually ask a friend who to offer their thoughts about how we are practising our faith!
2. The Preparation for the Lord’s Supper (I Corinthians 11:27-34)
Paul here indicates to us that it is to our spiritual profit to prepare to come to worship services, especially when coming to the Lord’s Table.
(a) How can I or we do that? (i) Pray for People taking part in the services I would want to encourage you to pray for the people taking part in our worship services, not just for me or whoever is preaching, though I would desire that, but for all who are taking part in some aspect of Christian ministry at a worship service, that at the present time also includes those operating the zoom platform for our online service. To start to do that will ensure we recognise just how many people offer their gifts and time as an offering of worship to the Lord. Paul here indicates to us that it is to our spiritual profit to prepare to come to worship services, especially when coming to the Lord’s Table.
(ii) Pray for other people and for yourself as you come to church that God may minister into each person’s life what He wants us to hear. It may be a word of encouragement, or a word of rebuke; a word of challenge or a word commending patience, or of some actions to take or words to speak to another person;
It may be confirmation of guidance from God, or step along the way on an issue about which God has been speaking to you, a conviction over the need to repent of some sin or a call to get involved in a form of ministry in the church or even a call to mission overseas.
(b) What does Paul suggest here? (v28) In this specific context it is about coming to the Lord’s Table but the principle is applicable to other parts of worship services as well. 28A person ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
Paul speaks here of self- examination. Is there some sin I need to confess to the Lord in thought word or deed? If nothing specific comes to mind then a general silent prayer of confession of sin.
In Psalm 24:4 David speaks about how we should enter God’s presence in worship. He refers to the person who has clean hands and a pure heart. Right with God but also right with other people in our conduct; the early Christian manual for worship, The Didache (c.100AD) in its guidelines on attendance at the Lord’s Supper stated: ‘Let none who have a quarrel with his fellow join in your meeting until they are reconciled, lest your sacrifice be defiled’.
This teaching is based on Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:23-24: Therefore if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift –these words of Jesus were a general principle not simply restricted to the Lord’s Table. The key issue is our attitude of heart as we come to His table as His invited guests.
(c) What are the Consequences of failing to act? (vs 27, 29-34) 27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord 29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30That is why many among you are weak and sick and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.
Before I comment on the consequences here of wrongful participation.
(i) What does Paul mean by an unworthy manner or unworthily (v27)? These are words spoken to Christians. This passage is not a criticism of someone who in good faith took communion when offered it in the past prior to coming to Christ. These words are addressed to believers in the Lord Jesus. What does it say to us as Christians?
First of all we are required to come with reverence to receive the bread and wine. The elements are bread and wine, but it is what these natural elements represent in symbolic form as we receive then by faith as visible tokens of our Lord’s sacrificial love for us.
Secondly we have a time of quiet at the start of communion in order to allow each of us to pray and prepare our hearts in order that we may partake of the bread and wine. None of us are good enough to be invited on merit. However Jesus was good enough and just as God accepted His sacrifice for us on the cross, in like manner He welcomes us to His table as His honoured guests.
(ii) What are the Consequences of failing to do what God says? (vs 29-30)? 29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30That is why many among you are weak and sick and a number of you have fallen asleep.
Paul says that some of the Corinthian Church had become unwell as a result of their sin and in the most serious cases God has shortened the earthly life of some believers there for the same reason so that they will stop bringing shame and dishonour to His name. This passage is a challenge to live a life of integrity. On what areas of my life do I need to work on at the present time?
3. The Purpose of the Lord’s Supper (I Corinthians 11:23-26)
(a) Thanksgiving Episcopalians call Communion ‘The Eucharist’, that is the Greek word for thanksgiving, giving thanks to God with a grateful heart for what the Lord has done for us on the cross. We must always have the element of thankfulness in our prayers as we come to His table.
(b) Fellowship Communion is not a solitary act rather it is a sacred communal gathering of a local church sometimes with other Christians also joining in this act of worship. I Corinthians 10:16 draws attention to this aspect of the observance of the Lord’s Supper. The same word in Greek also means ‘communion’, ‘participation’ and union in Christ. It is a family celebration. The Bible knows nothing of ‘solo’ Christianity outside a community of faith in a local church.
(c) Memorial Jesus said: do this in remembrance of Me. This was a parallel to the reminder God gave to the Jewish people concerning their festival of Passover in Exodus 12:14: This day shall be to you as a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations (NKJV). There are many things we need to remember in our lives but this act of Jesus 2,000 years ago tops the list of essential items!
(d) Obediencedo this what we are doing today is not simply a regular and good habit like cleaning our teeth, it is a command of the King of Kings we are required to obey. The Bible does not specify how often each year a local congregation should hold communion services or the form they should take, only that we do it with a reasonable degree of regularity, which in the majority of Scottish Baptist congregations is most Sundays.
(e) Evangelistic When we reflect how much it mattered to God to ensure you and I can have salvation then it must matter to us. This in turn reminds us of our need to share the good news of Jesus with other people. Are you praying for named people in your private prayers to come to Christ? I hope so! God may choose to use you as the human instrument used to answer your prayer.
(f) Eschatological (this word refers to the end of the world when Jesus returns) we hold communion services for a limited period of time: until He comes. Each week it is once more, but also once less until the return of Jesus. In heaven we will be with Jesus Himself no more need there for symbols to remind us of Him –then we will see Him in all His resplendent glory.
(g) God’s Purposebefore theyeat (v28). God does not put this passage in the Scriptures to keep us from His table; on the contrary He wants us to benefit more from it by recognising more and more its wonderful significance for us as His children. May we each be able with great joy to come now to His table for His glorious name’s sake, Amen
Our song before we come to communion is: In Christ Alone
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.’
Prayer: Thank you Lord Jesus for the privilege of participating in this special act to remember Your costly sacrifice in our place. Help us in this coming week to live our lives in a way honouring to You, for the glory of Your wonderful and holy Name, Amen
Our closing song is Behold our God
Closing Prayer
Thank you Lord for the amazing privilege of knowing Your investment in our lives that demonstrates so clearly how much You love and care for us. As we come to the close of this service we prepare to enter another week with Your strength confident that You will go with us into every situation we experience. Thank you Lord for all You have done for us, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen,
Benediction: The Grace
May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore, Amen
For us as adults this is a big issue with which most of us struggle at one time or other in our lives. Of course most of the time things that happen are okay and we ‘go with the flow’, but there are a number of other times maybe disappointments over how a career has progressed (or not as the case may be); or a serious illness in the family circle; or a marital breakdown or the infidelity of a spouse or the death of a child or a whole series of possible things that can arise which can give us major problems to address.
Some people appear to rise above their problems and grow stronger in their faith as a result –others often with what appears on the outside to be lesser challenges can falter and fail and backslide or at least lose their passion for the Lord for a time. I doubt if there is anyone reading these words that has not had at least one situation in life in which you have struggled to reconcile events in life with your confidence in the providential care of God?
We may never have shared the issues with anyone apart from the Lord, but they are there in the background of our lives. Yet in all life’s ups and downs Jesus invites us as His followers to come to our Father in prayer and to say Your will be done in earth as it is in heaven with complete sincerity and trust in His provision for our needs and His guidance for our lives.
Jesus has set the context in which we utter these words. He has first reminded us of the nature of the person to whom we come –Our Father in heaven. He has then shared with us the passion of His heart, and He desires it to be ours as well, that at the top of our list of practical concerns in life is the honouring of His name hallowed by Your name. Following on from His top priority Jesus sought to enlarge the vision of His followers to see not only their own concerns and those of others around them but to pray from a much bigger perspective in our prayers by sensing what God is doing in the world and seeking to follow Him.
To pray Your kingdom come…on earth as it is in heaven is to recognise that we are part of something so much greater than we could ever imagine; that our small contribution may be much more significant in eternal terms than we had ever realised; As ambassadors for the King of Kings we have a part to play in the realisation of what human beings and the rest of this world were created for! This is the context in which we are called to pray Your will be done (in my life as in the rest of this world) on earth as it is in heaven.
However, let us remember and never forget:
1. The power of prayer Prayer does change things. The Bible is full of extraordinary answers to prayer. It is good to remind ourselves of that fact. In Genesis 24, for example there is the account of Eliezer, the chief servant of Abraham, being given the responsibility of finding a wife for his master’s son Isaac. His brief is very specific. The young lady in question must not be from the Canaanite people who live in that country, instead he is required to go to Syria to find Abraham’s relatives and from that family network choose a bride for Isaac.
He has never met the family before and although he may have been given some names of people to ask for he only knows that they live in the vicinity of the town of Aram Naharaim in north-west Mesopotamia. Eliezer’s prayer was simple, and it is recorded in Genesis 24:42-52. In summary, he said: God bring the woman who will marry Isaac to meet me at the spring of water on the edge of this town. Let me know she is the one because she offers not only to get me a refreshing drink of water but will offer to attend to the needs of my camels as well! In exceptional circumstances there can be extraordinary supernatural intervention. This is to remind us that nothing is impossible with God. Do you need to receive that encouragement today?
It is not an alternative to using all appropriate means at our disposal to attempt to reduce the difficulties we face. Some medical and social care staff in our hospitals and residential care homes at the present time may be praying for divine protection as they carry out their duties, for example, but this would be in addition to, not instead of, using the best personal protective equipment available as well. In that scenario, the rest of us will be praying that they do indeed get the best logistical support possible in such a critical time as this.
However, there is another side to the picture:
2. The Paradox in Prayer Why do we need to pray? If God is sovereign and His will is done in the world, where do our prayers fit in to all this? If prayer isn’t trying to ‘make’ God change His mind, like a little child trying to wear down a parent! What exactly are we doing? There are many paradoxes in the Christian life and in the Scriptures. For example, God is sovereign yet we are responsible. Jesus is human, but equally divine. God is one yet also in three persons, Father Son and Holy Spirit. The biblical authors were responsible for their books yet equally God the Holy Spirit inspired them to convey God’s truth without error.
However, just as an earthly judge allows representations re mitigating circumstances prior to passing sentence on a guilty defendant, so our heavenly Father takes into account the prayers of His people when He is taking action on the earth. Genesis 18:16-33 records the extraordinary account of God inviting Abraham to offer prayer with respect to the forthcoming judgement on Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis 18:17: Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? The remainder of the chapter records the interchanges of Abraham in prayer with God. Yes, you did read those words correctly, that your prayers might be taken into account by God to the degree that they have a bearing on the outcome of that difficult problem. Now that is incredible!
But we cannot presume that we know exactly what God’s will is with respect to things we pray for. We pray because Almighty God has invited us to do so and have to trust Him with respect to the outcome in response to our petitions to Him. However, never forget that it is not just great Christian men and women whose prayers are heard. Every believer has the right to bring our petitions to Him, although we cannot assume a particular outcome on the vast majority of occasions, yet in our best moments what we want is that: Your will [is] done on earth as it is in heaven.
Our song for reflection today is: ‘Behold our God’
What is the point in praying? It is important to ask this question because a major survey produced by one of our respected polling organisations Com Res, published last weekend, found that one in twenty people in the United Kingdom had prayed to God for the very first time in their lives during this corona virus pandemic.
Is there an overall purpose behind the activity that the majority of the world population engages in at some time in their lives? After all committed Christians (and people of other faiths) hopefully are engaged in it on a daily basis! Prayer is one of the most difficult things we will ever do, yet it is also one of the most natural activities a child of God can ever take part in.
It is acknowledged that Jesus spent significant amounts of time engaged in prayer and had extended times for it at the key points of His ministry. Over the history of the Christian Church the major figures all testified to its importance in their own lives and numerous quotations have been cited over the years from their writings.
What is the reason for all this activity and what have they (and we) been praying for? The answer in general terms should be contained in the two petitions contained in Matthew 6 verse 10, that these things may be done on earth as it is in heaven. In this message we will look at the first of these two petitions –Your kingdom come…The Bible draws our attention to two main things on this subject:
1.The plan for God’s kingdom Some of us like to be organised and plan out our lives days, weeks, months or even a year or more ahead of time. Other people by contrast are happy to go with the flow and let things drift. What does the Bible indicate are God’s plans for humanity?
In Genesis 1:26-30, right at the beginning of the history, it states that we are created in the image of God with responsibility for the planet. We have a privileged position to rule over other creatures, but we also have the greatest responsibility for taking care of our world.
How well are we caring for the planet? Any report that was remotely truthful would suggest we have caused a lot of damage to the environment by our lifestyle choices as a species. For example, in the twenty-first century billions are spent on armaments, yet to our shame an alarming proportion of the world’s population don’t have access to clean drinking water or adequate toilet facilities, is this acceptable? I hope not! The pollution of our oceans with all kind of waste especially various forms of plastic products is truly shocking.
It has been a wake-up call seeing the regeneration of rivers and the incredible improvements in air quality in parts of Asia after lock down was introduced. How will we contribute to keeping it that way when restrictions on our activities are lifted? These are big questions,
God also planned for human beings to be in a relationship with Him and to enjoy fellowship with Him. In Genesis chapters eleven to twelve we see a focus by God on calling one man Abraham and his family to promote God’s good news to the world.
God had made it plain that His rule and principles would be proclaimed by this man and His descendants and out of His family would come Jesus Christ, who would usher in His kingdom. Yet this blessing would not be only for Israel but for the nations, indeed all peoples of the earth would share in this blessing as they acknowledged His lordship.
The rule of this descendant of David would last forever. From the 120 people present in Jerusalem on the day the Christian Church began, the good news is that there are people in every country of the world who seek to live for Him, approximately 2.3 billion people. God’s kingdom is growing, as Jesus predicted it would, from small beginnings. Have you put your faith and trust in God through Jesus? God invites you personally to be a part of what He is doing in the world? What is your response?
2.The prayers for God’s kingdom
What should I be praying for? Where do I begin to pray for a very needy world? It begins first of all with a personalresponse to God to say: ‘God, I am sorry I have been living for me and what I want, rather than thinking about You and what you desire. I want to play my part in bringing in Your kingdom, of changing this world into more of the way it should be.
We can feel inadequate to make any difference at all, but Jesus reminded us in the parable of the mustard seed (Matthew 13:32-33) that it begins in a small way and will grow incredibly large. Our calling is to change the world one situation or one person at a time. But what is most important, said Jesus, is getting our priorities right about what is most important.
In the Sermon on the Mount, He gave this challenge to those present: But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well(Matthew 6:34); the prayer Jesus taught His disciples was an incredible challenge to change their and our thinking to conform to what God wants to happen in the world. May Your kingdom come…on earth as it is in heaven. May this be our prayer today and in coming days.
Our song for reflection today is: ‘Great is the darkness that covers the earth’
Has anyone attempted to visit Her Majesty the Queen when in residence at Buckingham Palace or the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street in London without prior permission to do so?
The answer from us all is likely to be ‘no’, of course not! No-one could do that without being stopped and questioned by the police, and with good reason given the number of terrorist attacks in London in recent years.
But even without the relatively recent security upgrades there was absolutely no chance of visiting either of these two people. There had to be a very good reason for you to be in their presence. However, even assuming you got through the police security cordon and stood in their presence you might wonder what on earth you would talk about with them.
But don’t waste time worrying about that! A much more serious and important question concerns how we speak to God in prayer;
Jesus said: ‘This then, is how you should pray: ‘“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name… What does it mean to ‘hallow’ or ‘to honour’ God’s name? A name then stood for the whole character of the person. Therefore, the name of God stands for the nature, character and personality of God.
David in Psalm 9:10 wrote: Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.That is, the people who know what God is like, through His revelation to us in the Bible, will trust Him.
David in Psalm 20:7 declared: Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. The same principle is in evidence in the New Testament. In John 17:6 in the New International Versionwe read these words in Jesus’ prayer to His Father in heaven. I have revealed You to those whom You gave Me out of the world. They were Yours; You gave them to me and they have obeyed Your word. However, a more literal translation of the words of Jesus, records Jesus as saying: I have revealed Your name to those whom You gave Me… Your Name is simply an expression signifying God Himself.
So what is Jesus saying to His followers?
1. Don’t misuse His name The standard Old Testament statement on this subject came at the time of the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses. Exodus 20:7 declared: You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name.
Be careful how you use God’s name in your conversations. Orthodox Jews when reading the Old Testament in synagogue services, I understand, when they come across the divine name in the text say ‘Adonai’ (Lord) so as not to use God’s name.
This reverence for the name of the Lord is good, as long as it is matched in daily living with respect to God’s ways, though sadly we have all fallen short of the standards we proclaim.
Time and again the Psalmists remind us of the name of the Lord and associate it with His character and issue a call for reverence in the light of what He has done. Psalm 111:9 would sum up the Jewish approach to God’s name. He provided redemption for His people; He ordained His covenant forever— holy and awesome is His name. Something to think about: Do you misuse His name? Do you refer to God in your speech as an exclamation mark filling in between things you wanted to say? Or are you careful with your choice of words?
2. Do honour His name! Jesus in His earthly life was primarily concerned with honouring His Father’s name. In John’s Gospel chapter twelve Jesus showed His deepest concern for the honour of His Father’s name at a Passover Festival in Jerusalem.
He had been speaking about His forthcoming death and was overwhelmed with emotion. He cried out: Father, glorify Your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” When the veil is drawn back and we can see the heart of Jesus in His prayer life in John 17. His supreme concern was the name and honour of the Father.
In John 17:6 He said I have revealed Your name to those whom You gave Me… was His firm and truthful assessment of the way He had lived His life on earth. What would you and I have to say to the Father about how we have honoured His name in our generation, amongst the people with whom we regularly mix? The Covid-19 virus crisis has been a reality check about the way human beings were using and misusing our planet. God has entrusted care of this world to us. But if other creatures on earth could speak, how would they view our track record as human beings? In summary, what do you and I need to learn most about honouring God’s name today? Take time to reflect quietly on what this might mean for you personally
Our song for reflection is: Restore O Lord the honour of Your name!
As we come to the middle of another week in this corona virus pandemic it is time for reflection and prayer on what is happening in the world, in our local communities as well as in our church families and within our circles of family and friends.
There are always issues for which we need to pray for one another, but also things that encourage us. One of these is a collaborative effort by a selection of worship leaders and singers from a varied network of Christian churches in the United Kingdom that have produced a song based on the Aaronic blessing from Numbers 6:22-27:
22 The Lord said to Moses, 23 ‘Tell Aaron and his sons, “This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: 24 ‘“‘The Lord bless you and keep you;25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you;26 the Lord turn His face towards you and give you peace.’” 27 ‘So they will put My name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.’Take a few minutes to play this song and let its message minister into your life and circumstances today.
Let us look very briefly at this passage of Scripture and reflect on its message for us today.
This is how you are to bless the Israelites…. In the secular Western world people hope or aspire to success or fame or material prosperity, but in ancient Israel there was a desire deep within them to have the favour of God on their lives articulated through the recital of a blessing on them.
This form of words in Numbers 6:24-26, many scholars believe, was already fixed as a familiar blessing used in the Israelite community before it was written down as part of the text of Numbers chapter six. The framework of the blessing is in the plural, but the actual words of the benediction itself are in the singular The Lord bless you… The blessing was for the community of God’s people collectively, but like the gift of God’s unmerited favour in salvation through Jesus Christ, it was received individually and personally. Where does seeking God’s favour and blessing rank in your priorities in life?
The context is clearly the community of faith. 27 ‘So they will put My name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.’ The blessing of God is experienced as His people seek together to worship Him, live out His values in daily life and serve others in His name collectively. It is my hope and prayer that the rediscovered emphasis on community and ‘togetherness’ we have experienced in recent weeks will continue once this virus crisis fades into history.
The people of God must prioritise gathering together for worship and fellowship, as well as going out for witness and service in the wider community. Solitary Christianity is not an expression of the faith envisaged by Jesus or the Early Church. Belonging to and actively participating in the life of a local church is something Jesus envisaged as He is building His Church.
There are three sections to the actual blessing recited over the Israelites:
First: The Lord bless you… what kind of blessings were these first recipients hoping for? Undoubtedly this declaration includes aspirations to be loved and to love, which for some might include the gift of marriage and the blessing of children; for many of them it would certainly include the gift of close friendships; there would certainly be a hope for the joy of a place to call home and the provision of the necessary food and other essential supplies required each new day.
The Lord keep you; If blessing was about provisions, this declaration was about divine protection. For example, Exodus 23:20 where God said to the nation of Israel through Moses: See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. It is the same word used by Joshua, the second leader of the nation of Israel after Moses, at the end of his life in Joshua 24:17. He has spoken of the miracle of the Exodus from Egypt, but goes on to speak of so much more from God: He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we travelled. Our God is the One we have confidence in to provide all our needs.
Second: the Lord make His face shine on you…It was a plea for God’s divine pleasure to be revealed through answered prayer for His servants. Let Your face shine on Your servant; save me in Your unfailing love (Psalm 31:16). Remember Moses who led the Israelites out of Egypt and who spent a long time in God’s nearer presence receiving the Ten Commandments. Exodus 34:29b: His face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. The declaration is a call for divine approval on the recipient…. and be gracious to you; grace is given to the undeserving.
Exodus 34:6b-7a contains some precious words about the character of the One who gave Moses the Ten Commandments: ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. So soon after this gift of the Ten Commandments the Israelites fell into sin and needed a call to repentance to restore them to God’s favour.
Do you actively desire God’s favour on your life? If you are serious about it then it will affect your behavioural choices. Or do you need God’s grace and forgiveness? If this is a genuine desire to say sorry to God for something, then He sees our heart and forgives us, because of Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross in our place around 2,000 years ago.
Thirdly: The Lord turn His face towards youand give you peace [Shalom].When someone looks you in the eyes you know you have their full attention at that moment in time. Here the call is for God to do that towards us as individuals! What is the culmination gift of this entire blessing? It is Shalom. It is much more than the absence of conflict. It includes the gift of contentment and for a sense of purpose and fulfilment in my life. Do you need to seek God’s shalom for your life today?
Listen to ‘The Blessing’ song again before we come to prayer.
Prayer Time for Wednesday 6 May 2020
What blessings in particular do you want to thank God for today? Take some time to praise God for who He is and then thank Him for the things we can be grateful for in our lives.
Pray for the many vulnerable countries, that they would receive the financial and humanitarian aid they need to prevent virus spread and meet people’s basic needs. And that aid may be distributed fairly within countries so that minority Christian and other faith communities don’t miss out on essential supplies in countries like Pakistan and India, for example.
Continue to pray for the Government in Scotland and in the wider UK and for their clinical and scientific advisers, may they have the wisdom they need to make the right decisions at the right time.
Pray for the physical, emotional and mental health of the staff and residents in Care Homes. Pray that supplies of the right equipment would get through to meet their needs. Pray for residents as they may struggle with the need to stay in their rooms and not having visitors. Please especially remember those who live and work in the Care Homes that our church led services in – Ferry House, Orchar, Elder Lea Manor, Ballumbie Court, Moyness and Balcarres. Pray also for our neighbour, Lochleven Care Home.
Please continue to remember the NHS workers, whatever their role, as each one plays their part to ensure that we can access care when it’s needed. Pray for those who you know by name and ask God to sustain them.
Pray for teachers, especially those known to you. Ask for God’s help for them as they adapt to new ways of teaching and for help with the frustrations that can bring. Pray that those working in school hubs would be able to work in safe ways and wouldn’t be put at unnecessary risk.
Pray for parents who are trying to support their children with school work at home, particularly while trying to do their own work too. Pray for patience and understanding. Remember children and young people who have additional support needs and are now struggling with a big change to their routines and a reduction in their usual support services.
Remember those with ongoing health issues in our church family just now, pray for the NHS to resume its usual services as soon as possible to attend to those waiting for operations, treatment plans, tests and check-ups.
Pray for those recently bereaved that they may experience more of God’s love and comfort at this time.
Pray for ourselves, ask God to help us to seek Him first in everything that we do and to always make time each day to read His word and spend time in His presence.
After an amazing response to our last Messy Church at Home, we will have another online session on Saturday 9 May 2020. The material will be released by 10am. 🎉
All of us have relationships with other people that require us to relate to them in different ways in particular contexts. A woman may be a teacher, a mother, a wife, a daughter, a church member, a friend, amongst other things; or a man might be a footballer, a father, a member of a school Parent Council, a husband, a son, a church member amongst his various roles. I have quickly picked up these examples which are far from exhaustive for both genders.
In fact many of usmight have at least as many roles as the two examples selected here. This is quite normal and expected and we adapt ourselves quite easily, most of the time, to the different roles we play in particular social contexts. Part of growing up is adjusting to the roles we play and this is something that young children can find hard to accept at times.
As Christians we too can find it difficult on occasions to know how best to relate to our heavenly Father. The disciples of Jesus struggled to pray in a meaningful way and on at least one occasion asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. Do you have any particular struggles in prayer at the present time?
One thing that was a pressing problem then and now is this: how do we relate to the Creator of heaven and earth? The One who brought the Universe into being by His spoken word and who upholds it by that same power?
We are creatures made out of the elements of the dust of the earth, living in one small part of one planet in one galaxy and even there we are only one of approximately 7.8 billion individuals alive at the present time! How does Jesus want us to relate to Almighty God? The answer He gave shocked His contemporaries as they held a view that God and people were distant from one another and that no-one should dare to attempt to come close to God. This was presumptuous and disrespectful, argued the Pharisees. Yet how does Jesus advise His followers to address God in heaven? This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven… (Matthew 6:9a).
What does it mean to call God ‘Father’?
(a)It is a special relationshipThis, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven… (Matthew 6:9a).
This is a unique privilege available to children of God. We by God’s undeserved favour have a right to come directly into the presence of our Father in heaven. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews exhorts us in this way: Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
We can take this for granted because we know that as Christians we can come directly into His presence. Paul put it this way in Romans 5:1-2: Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, wehave peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
Can you remember a time when you entered His family by putting your faith and trust in God through Jesus? Or could today be the day you take that step of faith?
(b) It was a sacred relationship In Galatians 4:6 Paul wrote: 6Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
In his letter to the Church in Rome he wrote: 15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15);What an extraordinary privilege we have been granted. Abba (a respectful form of Daddy) was the first word spoken by a Jewish child and is an incredibly intimate form of address. We stand on holy ground and should seek to grasp a glimpse of how remarkable this is. How amazing that mere creatures can address their Creator with such tender affection and extraordinary devotion. As a Christian have you retained some sense of this incredible privilege?
(c) It was a social relationshipThis is how you [plural] should pray: Our Father… our faith although personal is in communion with fellow believers reflecting in pale imitation the communion between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In Western culture we have since the eighteenth century ‘enlightenment’ emphasized the individual and their rights at the expense of the place of the individual in community and their responsibilities to other people.
We have a lot to learn, for example, from Asian or African cultures where there has been retained a much greater respect for elders in the family and other people in the extended family and in other social contexts. Here Jesus assumes His followers are part of a local gathering of His people who worship God together, pray together, share their faith together and serve their community together in an organisation called the local church.
The New Testament assumes each follower of Jesus is committed to a local community of believers – are you? In lock down our contacts are limited to virtual fellowship on line, but we look forward to the day when we can meet together once more to give praise and honour to our Father in heaven.
Our song for reflection today is: ‘Father God I wonder’
