- Morning worship online has moved to start at 10am and JAM at 11:15am on the Zoom platform.
- You may want to use some of the Engage Worship resources for daily worship during this week.
- The Messy Church At Home information is now available on our church website www.broughtybaptist.org.
- We will be continuing the Prayer Livestream at 7.00pm. This will be another significant time of national prayer for us. Please join in and, if you don’t already do so, would you let your fellowship know about this and put it on your social media. The link to access the event is here.
JAM Kids’ focus:
Here are the links to the new series from Out of the Box for JAM Kids age group.
Worksheet to accompany this talk.
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
Call to worship: Psalm 89:1-2, 5-8:
I will sing of the LORD’s great love for ever;
with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known
through all generations.
2 I will declare that your love stands firm for ever,
that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.
5 The heavens praise your wonders, LORD,
your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD?
Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings?
7 In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared;
he is more awesome than all who surround him.
8 Who is like you, LORD God Almighty?
You, LORD, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.
We are grateful to Helen Rice for selecting the songs for worship for this service
Our opening song of praise and worship is: ‘Waymaker’
We continue to worship the Lord in our second song of praise and worship: ‘All who are thirsty’.
Opening prayer
Thank you Lord that You are amazing. We come with a sense of awe and wonder at what you have done in bringing this world into being and sustaining it year after year. We are such a privileged people to live in this beautiful part of Your creation. We are so conscious that we live in a troubled world with so many problems and difficulties.
However, we are so grateful that we can come with boldness in the name of Jesus into the presence of our heavenly Father with our praises and our prayers. We so much appreciate the blessed Holy Spirit working in our lives enabling us to accomplish all we have done in the past week.
As we gather today we come humbly confessing our sins and asking once more for Your forgiveness. Thank You for the reminder in the Bible that: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).
We also ask for the enabling power of Your Holy Spirit to strengthen and equip us for the week that lies ahead of us. Speak Lord through Your Holy Word that we may sense You speaking into our lives in accordance with our needs, during this time of worship. We bring our praises and our prayer in the wonderful and precious name of Jesus, 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.
Children’s (All Age) Talk
by Helen Rice
During this pandemic we have heard about normal people being described as Heroes as they have stepped out and bravely helped our communities and our nation. Our NHS staff, Care Home workers and Social care workers, Police, Paramedics, Teachers in hubs, Shop workers, delivery drivers to name just a few who have worked either on the frontline or in direct contact with the public. Others are volunteering to help their community and we’ve heard of stories of tremendous fundraising such as Captain Tom Moore and plenty more who we won’t have ever heard about.
When you hear the word Hero you might think about Super Hero’s such as Spiderman, Superman or Batman. They all look very normal too but each of them can change into a superhero with super powers. Jesus also looked very normal, in fact, that’s why many people didn’t believe he was a King. Spider man, Super Man and Bat Man are make believe with make believe powers. But Jesus is Real with Real supernatural powers!
We not only have a Real Super Hero watching out for us but he also wants to be our friend too and has done something amazing for us as we will hear about in this video of Jesus helping his good friend Lazarus.
Let us pray – Heavenly Father, we are thankful that Jesus is our Best Friend. We praise him, we love him, and we thank him for dying on the cross so that we might have everlasting life. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
The All Age Song – Superhero
Prayers for others
Thank you Lord once more for the privilege of praying for other people:
We give thanks that we are Jesus’s hands and feet on earth and can give a voice to the voiceless. We pray for issues of injustice, inequality and poverty whether locally, nationally or globally and ask that God would show each of us how we can partner with him in bringing justice to these situations.
We pray for those today who may once have worshipped God in our churches and who now find themselves jaded, faded, perhaps disillusioned by church and far from God. Pray that God might fan into flame any embers in their hearts during this time – perhaps through communication from a Christian friend.
In the Baptist Union of Scotland today we remember to pray for:
Peter Dick (Finance Director, BUS) – Please pray for Peter as he seeks to diligently manage BUS finances so that we can continue to support our churches across Scotland with many different kinds of resources.
Easterhouse BC – Pray that during this unprecedented time, God would continue to do new things in our hearts personally and together as a Church, as we seek to be His people in our families, frontlines and community. Pray we will receive His rest and look to Him for fresh vision in these days as we go forward into an exciting & new phase of the Church’s life.
Elgin BC – Like many other churches we are seeking to adapt to the challenges and opportunities that the current crises brings upon us. We are grateful for the technology that enables us to ‘meet’ and pray that through it all God will be honoured and glorified drawing many to Himself In these days.
Ellon BC – Please pray for God’s leading as we journey through these unusual times. That we would be a church that cares and sustains each other and that others will see something of Christ in that. Pray too for us as we look for new ways to serve the local community and that the current ways would also prove to be a blessing. We ask too for God’s leading and wisdom as we seek to make final decisions on a building project.
Erskine BC – Give thanks that we have been able to create a weekly online programme which is then made available through our church Facebook page and You Tube and that we can then use Zoom for fellowship. Give thanks that telephone calls and video meetups have kept the majority of our members, and regulars, in touch.
We pray too for the ongoing work of the Christian Churches in our land that You will help us be the best witnesses we can be in our local communities at this time. We thank you for the other churches in our local community and ask Your blessing on their work as we pray similarly for our own activities this week. In particular we pray for other people with particular needs that are connected to our own congregation:
The Nyguist family after John’s recent death and the Ford and Goodfellow families after the recent funerals of Jim and John respectively; we pray that You would comfort and uphold them and other families recently bereaved at this time.
We pray for Claire M and her family at this time after Bill’s death yesterday. We also remember Nina G after her recent admission to hospital and pray for a full recovery of her health and strength. We are aware of other, particularly older members who have ongoing health difficulties and pray for God’s strength for them at this time.
We pray for those exhausted with heavy work schedules that you would renew their health and strength, and for those struggling with the limitations of lock down that you would give them Your peace at this time. In particular, we remember … In addition, we bring our own needs to You at this time … in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, Amen.
Bible reading
When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
2 The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshipped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, ‘He is good; his love endures for ever.’
4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD. 5 And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty-two thousand head of cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the people dedicated the temple of God.
6 The priests took up their positions, as did the Levites with the LORD’s musical instruments, which King David had made for praising the LORD and which were used when he gave thanks, saying, ‘His love endures for ever.’ Opposite the Levites, the priests blew their trumpets, and all the Israelites were standing.
7 Solomon consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the LORD, and there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar he had made could not hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat portions. 8 So Solomon observed the festival at that time for seven days, and all Israel with him – a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt.
9 On the eighth day they held an assembly, for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival for seven days more. 10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people to their homes, joyful and glad in heart for the good things the LORD had done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel.
11 When Solomon had finished the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the LORD and in his own palace, 12 the LORD appeared to him at night and said:
‘I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.13 ‘When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there for ever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
17 ‘As for you, if you walk before me faithfully as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, 18 I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, “You shall never fail to have a successor to rule over Israel.”19 ‘But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple which I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 21 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and say, “Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?”
22 People will answer, “Because they have forsaken the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshipping and serving them – that is why he brought all this disaster on them.”’
II Chronicles 7:1-22
Before we come to listen to God’s Word let us sing: ‘Speak O Lord’
The Message
Pre-recorded video message available below.
II Chronicles 7:14 If My people…will humble themselves and pray
Introduction
Many years ago when fountain pens and ink were used by children in school and desks were still issued with ink wells, the following incident apparently took place in a classroom. It began with a question out of the blue from a child to the teacher: ‘Is God everywhere?’ asked the child. ‘Yes dear’ said the unsuspecting teacher keen to move on to the work in hand. ‘Is he in my inkwell, then?’
A significant pause occurred as the teacher sensed the conversation might be heading in an unprofitable direction. A less than convincing ‘yes dear’ was repeated by the teacher. The child then quickly blocked off the top of the inkwell and exclaimed triumphantly: ‘Got him then!’
What is your understanding of God –who He is and what He is like? It is easy to smile at this child’s naivety, but how big is your view of God and mine? Do we try and fit God into a metaphorical ‘box’ of our own creation. Do we try and limit Him to work in ways that we have already determined? In effect, are we simply using prayer as a means to get Him to confirm what we have already decided is going to take place already?
Our vision of who God is will have a significant impact on how we pray and the passion with which we pray for Him to work. Solomon had at this time grasped something of who God is and this motivated his passion to pray for his nation. II Chronicles 6:18 states: 18 ‘But will God really dwell on earth with humans? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain You. How much less this temple that I have built! 19 Yet, Lord my God, give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in Your presence.
Do you have a glimpse of this awesome God who reigns? Do you stand in awe of this majestic King who reigns over the universe? Do you bow with a sense of awe and wonder at the prospect of the return of the Lord of Lords who will come to reign for eternity?
We serve an incredible being, One who is too marvellous for human words to describe; too pure to tolerate iniquity; too holy to look upon sin, but too gracious to treat us as we deserve because of our sins. Instead showering His great love upon us in Jesus whose once-for-all-time sufficient sacrifice for sin took in full the punishment for our sins, so that instead of condemnation we might be welcomed into God’s family. This is our God! Do you know Him? Do you love Him? Do you serve Him?
II Chronicles 6-7, Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the Temple, are central to the theology of the books of Chronicles and at the heart of the Jewish faith concerning the covenant between the children of Abraham and Yahweh, who made that agreement with their forefather Abraham roughly four thousand years ago. It is a powerful restatement of where these people and their nation stood in relation to the promises of the covenant with their Sovereign Lord. Solomon will plead the promises of God. He is determined to ask the Lord to honour His own name through deliverance of His people from a series of unwelcome situations.
The culmination of this encounter with the Lord will come in II Chronicles 7:12-14: The Lord appeared to him at night and said: ‘I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a temple for sacrifices.13 ‘When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among My people, 14 if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
What a glorious promise! What an incredible invitation! What a solemn responsibility! God here invites His people on earth to participate in His glorious work through intercessory prayer. We are not called to say prayers, instead to pray from the heart crying out: ‘Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’.
Solomon and his prayers (II Chronicles 6:14-42)
(a) The One addressed in prayer (6:14-15) 14 He said: ‘Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven or on earth – You who keep your covenant of love with Your servants who continue wholeheartedly in Your way. 15 You have kept Your promise to Your servant David my father; with Your mouth You have promised and with Your hand You have fulfilled it – as it is today.
Do we have this confidence in God as he did that day? It is the basis of successful praying that we believe in the One to whom we bring our petitions. We can take prayer for granted or even our relationship with God, but to grasp the amazing honour that is ours in coming directly into the presence of the King of Kings is an amazing privilege. To keep before us what is truly the significance of prayer will keep us active in it when we are tempted to drift in our prayer life and neglect to safeguard its place in our daily routine.
(b) The past relationship with God (6:14-17) 17 And now, Lord, the God of Israel, let Your word that You promised Your servant David come true.
On the basis of Your past promises I come with a sense of expectancy concerning what You will do in the present and into the future. God is unchanging. Psalm 90:1-2: 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.
Hebrews 13:8 reminds us: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today for ever.
Our time on earth is but a moment in the context of eternity, but we come to One who knows the end from the beginning before the world began. Therefore we come with confidence to Him.
(c) The plea to God (6:18-21) Yet, Lord my God, give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. 20 May your eyes be open towards this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays towards this place. 21 Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray towards this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling-place; and when you hear, forgive.
In Jesus’ name we have free access to come to God in prayer (see Hebrews 4:16); ancient Israelites had to come through a human priest.
(d) The special occasions when people will pray (6:22-40) taking oaths in legal matters (6:22-23); after a defeat in war (6:24-25); in a time of drought (6:26-27); when natural disasters strike (6:28-31); when the country is going to war (6:33-34); when experiencing captivity and exile from the promised Land (6:36-40); each of these are seen as major collective crises where particular divine intervention is required.
(e) His concluding plea to God (6:41-42) God will You glorify Your name, in accordance with what You have promised, which by definition must be for the collective good of Your people also. In effect, Lord align our heart’s desires to seek that which is according to Your will –now that is powerful praying – how did God respond to that powerful plea?
The Response from God (II Chronicles 7)
(a)God’s visible response by fire (II Chronicles 7:1-10) When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshipped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, ‘He is good; His love endures for ever.
This was neither the first nor the last time when God manifested Himself to Israel with this particular visible sign. After the appointment of Aaron and those with him to their priestly and serving roles, and all the appropriate ceremonies and sacrifices had taken place, Leviticus 9:23-24 states:
Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. 24Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell face down.
Our God reigns! Another example of the same phenomena came in the time of David’s rule after he had sinned by ordering a census of the armed forces. On the very place where God had directed David to purchase the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite and offer a sacrifice as atonement for his sin- and collectively that of the nation –something carried out in full. I Chronicles 21:26 records:
David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the Lord, and the Lord answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. What is especially significant is that a generation later on that very spot Solomon stood praying for the nation and pleading with God: When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple…(II Chronicles 7:1).
This was holy ground, because God was in that place. God had been exalted and His people – and visibly their king –had humbled themselves before Him, and seen their prayers answered. Does it matter enough to us to see God answer our prayers for His glory and consequently our good? Covenant blessings are conditional on covenant obedience by God’s people Jew or Gentile in every generation.
(b) God’s answer to His praying people (II Chronicles 7:11-18) 11 When Solomon had finished the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, 12 the Lord appeared to him at night and said: ‘I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. 13 ‘When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among My people, 14 if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
15 Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that My Name may be there for ever. My eyes and My heart will always be there.17 ‘As for you, if you walk before Me faithfully as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe My decrees and laws, 18 I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, “You shall never fail to have a successor to rule over Israel.”
Notice the key revelation from God was not dramatic or in public, but when Solomon was in bed one night thirteen years later (See I Kings 6:38-7:1, 9:10). Over the years in reading the Bible I have often failed to spot the lengthy time gaps between prayers for God to work by various people and the time it took to receive the answer to their prayers. How we need patience to wait God’s timing on so many things, in so many situations in our lives. The length of time is not determined necessarily by the earnestness of our prayers or the holiness of our lives, though both are important aspects of Christian discipleship.
God works on a much longer timescale than we do –failure to grasp this can cause us to become discouraged because of a lack of a visible response to the Gospel when we reach out to people, but when we do grasp it we can put into perspective current blessings and challenges. God is not like a heavenly version of Santa Claus who delivers his gifts because it is that date on the calendar again. If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves– what does that mean in practice here?
It requires a changed attitude with respect to oneself, a renunciation of putting self on the throne where God alone should be honoured and adored. This is one of the hardest things you and I can ever do. Humility is despised in our culture and taken advantage of –yet it was a characteristic of Moses [Numbers 12:3: Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth], who led a demoralised bunch of slaves and transformed them into a nation on the verge of inheriting a land God had promised to them.
It was a characteristic of our Lord Himself that the apostle Paul highlights in that hymn of praise in Philippians2:8: And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death –even death on a cross!
We sing: ‘It’s all about You Jesus…When the music fades All is stripped away And I simply come Longing just to bring Something that’s of worth That will bless Your heart I’ll bring You more than a song For a song in itself Is not what You have required You search much deeper within Through the way things appear You’re looking into my heart I’m coming back to the heart of worship And it’s all about You, It’s all about You, Jesus I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it When it’s all about You, It’s all about You, Jesus –Michael W Smith [CMP1016]
This is so easy to say but so hard to practise. Why? Because there are key moments in our lives when we so desperately want a particular outcome to our prayers that we cannot conceive of an acceptable alternative outcome! Do you / do I need the help of the Holy Spirit to come to this place in our lives? Undoubtedly on some occasions more than others –what about today? This is not something we can do in our own strength –only in His! If there have not been any times in your life when you have not seriously struggled with either accepting God’s will or finding it as a Christian then you are an exceptional person, as it is the norm.
It was for Jesus in the wilderness before He started His earthly ministry and endured the temptations of the evil one and as His ministry drew to its climax on the cross in Gethsemane and probably on a number of occasions in between. Wrestling with injustice, wrestling with tough choices for ourselves or other people is part of our human experience. Anyone who thinks following Jesus means your problems are over has been seriously misled.
What He promises is to stand with us in the storms of life and in humble dependence on Him be overcomers in Jesus’ name. Humility, that is a conscious heartfelt desire to put God and His will first in our lives, in whatever circumstances, is the position with which we come to the other requirements from God in this verse. and pray… this is the opposite of self-assertion, acknowledging God’s right to make decisions and ‘judge’ our life choices. The word in Hebrew here rendered pray is related to a verb meaning ‘judge’ in Hebrew. …and seek My face this is a single-minded determination to find out as best we can what the Lord wants us to do with our lives, sometimes in more general terms and on other occasions in very specific terms. …and turn from their wicked ways… this points to a conscious act of will; after discerning what God would have us do, the decision is made to follow that course of action, not just for a day but for the rest of our days, as far as we are able with His help.
This is what the human author of these words was inspired by God to write for our instruction and walk with God. The theory of being a Christian is the easy bit. The hard bit is living it in real situations with flesh and blood human beings in daily life.
(c) God’s warning to His people (II Chronicles 7:19-22) 19 ‘But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uproot Israel from My land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple which I have consecrated for My Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 21 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and say, “Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?” 22 People will answer, “Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshipping and serving them – that is why He brought all this disaster on them.”’
Covenant blessings in Abraham, or New Covenant in Christ are two-sided God’s part and ours; both parties must be faithful in fulfilling their obligations for blessing to follow. God has not changed. He will keep His promises. Let us pray…! Amen
Our song before we come to communion is: ‘O breath of life’
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: There is a Redeemer
Closing Prayer
Thank you God that you are interested in us both personally and collectively in our families and church families, as well as in our wider nation; Help us as a country to honour You in the laws we pass in our parliaments and in the way we live our lives as citizens. As Christians we want to be bold in speaking the truth of the Christian message, but also desire Your help in living out our faith in practical ways in our daily lives. Grant us the strength we need to accomplish all that we need to do this week, in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Saviour, 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
Remember tonight the national online prayer service at 7pm on Facebook.