Welcome
Thank you for visiting our Church at Home online service, at the start of this new year! We will be focusing on our bible verse for this year:
Baptist Union of Scotland National Prayer Livestream The monthly prayer livestream takes place on Sunday 3 January, 2021 7.00–7.30pm. You can access it here.
JAM Kids’ focus: The Virtual Sunday School. Here is the video for Sunday 3 January 21 Virtual Sunday School: ‘Moses and the burning bush’
Out of the Box were running a Christmas series and the episodes can be accessed here.
The older JAM Kids might like to check out some Bible stories about people who also experienced ‘lockdown’. The videos along with a link to some questions to think about together, can all be found here.
JAM young adults Ignite Live have a separate programme at 11:30am. Please contact Martin Leiper on jmleiper@btinternet.com for more details of today’s programme.
We are grateful to Isdale Anderson for leading and selecting the songs for worship for this service
Call to worship:
Your unfailing love, O Lord is as vast as the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.
Your justice is like the ocean depths.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
Your justice like the ocean depths.
You care for people and animals alike O Lord
How precious is your unfailing love, O God!
Our opening song of praise and worship is: ‘Behold Our God’
Opening prayer
Lord, we are aware that many of the Psalms in the Book of Psalms in the Bible encourage us to praise You. Psalm 100 begins with these words: Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. 2Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His;
Thank you heavenly Father that we can state these words with real joy in our hearts with the assurance of Your amazing love to us through Your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. We begin another New Year with confidence that despite out struggles and our fears, our failures and our tears in 2020 we come grateful for Your goodness and mercy to us over that year as well. Once more we begin a New Year not knowing what will take place during the next twelve months, but we know that the future is in Your hands and we come to commit ourselves to You.
Once more we confess our sins and ask for Your forgiveness and request the empowering of Your Holy Spirit to equip us to live effectively for You in our homes or places of work or in any other setting, that through our attitudes, speech and conduct You may be honoured. Speak by Your Holy Spirit into our hearts and minds today from Your Holy Word and give us receptive hearts to take notice and act on what You say to us. May all that takes place in this service be honouring and glorifying to You heavenly Father, for Jesus’ name sake Amen.
Let us say together the words Jesus taught His disciples when He said:
‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'”
For Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever Amen.
We continue in worship as we sing: ‘Guide me O Thou Great Jehovah’
Prayers for others
Dear Lord,
At the start of this New Year, we pray that Christians in Scotland would rise up together in 2021 to share the good news of Jesus and to partner with God in all that He will do in Scotland this coming year. There are so many people anxious about the future, please give us the words and the wisdom to know how and when to speak and how best to point them to You the living God.
We are very conscious that there are real causes for concern about the rate of the spread of the new variant of the Covid-19 virus. We pray that You would grant wisdom to the politicians leading our country together with the scientists and the medical staff in our NHS to know how best to contain it as well as to administer the vaccination programme as effectively as possible in the coming months. We pray too for staff in our schools, colleges and universities as they prepare to go back to work educating our children and young people. We ask that the right choices are made regarding in person or on-line learning in the coming weeks.
We pray too for all other workers preparing to return to their employment after the Christmas and New Year break. We do not forget to remember those that have lost employment and are seeking new work opportunities and pray that they may soon be able to obtain some alternative employment.
We pray too for the Pre-Accredited Ministers Conference of the Baptist Union of Scotland being held online on Thursday 7 January. We pray that they would have a good time of fellowship together, as well as encourage one another in the vocation to which they have been called.
We pray for the following churches:
Abbeyhill BC, Edinburgh – We praise God for His continuing provision and care for them during these uncertain times. We pray for them as they seek to develop a new vision for a church family that seeks to live for Christ wherever He has placed them around the city. Let this congregation have the good grace to listen for His word of instruction and the wisdom to pick up or let go of the things He brings to their attention.
Aberdeen Christian Fellowship – We give thanks for the work and witness of Aberdeen Christian Fellowship (ACF) and for the Christmas Hampers they gave to those in need in their community over Christmas. We pray that 2021 would be a great year of worship and witness for Christ at ACF.
Aberfeldy Community Church – We pray that they can continue to unite as one small fellowship in the body of Christ in the midst of the ongoing restrictions and wisdom to proceed in future. We pray that the Lord would send other labourers to join them in the harvest here in Aberfeldy and the Tay valley. Also we pray for the children in the fellowship that they would know God’s help in their struggles and find significant fellowship with others.
Adelaide Place BC, Glasgow – We pray for this busy city centre church in Glasgow. We pray for the ongoing ministries and connections the church has in the local area. We pray for their missional communities as they seek to come alongside people in different communities and in different ways.
We come to pray for the needs in our own congregation:
We particularly remember Ali and Gary T after Ali’s dad Frank died on Thursday. We pray for your comfort for Ali’s mum and each member of the family as they come to terms with their loss. We also remember Bill D who was taken into Ninewells Hospital and pray that You will heal Him and enable Him to be restored to better health so that he will soon be able to go home. We give thanks that Betty W is being discharged from hospital to her home tomorrow. We continue to pray for Nicola L’s dad, Lawrie, as he recovers from major surgery. We give thanks that Shona H’ niece, Lynne, has responded well to her cancer treatment. We pray for her complete recovery.
We continue to pray for those with ongoing health conditions and bring them before You now…
We now pray silently for anyone else known to us who is in need of our prayers at this time…..
We pray also for our own needs…
We bring all these prayers before you in Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Bible reading
Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf. 9 All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of their gods foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, ‘It is true.’
Isaiah 43:8-21
10 ‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after Me. 11 I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from Me there is no saviour.
12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed – I, and not some foreign god among you. You are My witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘that I am God. 13 Yes, and from ancient days I am He. No one can deliver out of My hand. When I act, who can reverse it?’ This is what the Lord says – your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘For your sake I will send to Babylon and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians, in the ships in which they took pride.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel’s Creator, your King.’ 16 This is what the Lord says – He who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, 17 who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
18‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. 20 The wild animals honour Me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to My people, My chosen, 21 the people I formed for Myself that they may proclaim My praise.
Before we come to listen to God’s Word let us sing: ‘Speak O Lord’
The Message
Isaiah 43:8-21: Looking Back – Looking Forward
Introduction
A New Year has begun. An old year has passed. But these plain statements barely scratch the surface of the past twelve months or prepare us for the year to come. Who on 1 January 2020 foretold the experience through which we have passed? No astrologer or occult practitioner, newspaper columnist or politician not even a religious leader can truthfully state that they anticipated the growth, spread and impact of the Covid-19 virus pandemic.
For many people 2020 has been like a rollercoaster ride at the fairground wearing a blindfold. We will get to the end of the ride, but it will not be a pleasant journey. What has your experience been like? As you stop to reflect on its impact on your home, family, workplace, social settings or church family our stories will have both similarities and differences.
For others it is a matter of healthcare received or delayed in 2020. And for a proportion of the population there has been a real fear of either death through catching the virus or of being a contributory cause to the death of someone else by inadvertently being an asymptomatic carrier of the deadly virus.
In the middle of this pandemic we can look back and see the damage caused by its spread, but we can equally be thankful to God for the creation and production of vaccines in record time that point to a future when this virus will either be greatly diminished and at worse become like annual versions of the flu, or even better that it will be eliminated eventually altogether.
The promise of a return to a more normal life is on the horizon, but not yet in sight of being our daily experience at the beginning of 2021. The passage from which our verse for the year as a church has been chosen is Isaiah 43:8-21. It is a part of a message to the crushed people of God in Babylon (Iraq) who had experienced the devastation of their country by the super power of that day and all hopes and dreams they had had for the future had been crushed beyond repair.
But was that the last word on their situation or potentially on some of our hopes today? No! Absolutely not! God through His servant Isaiah brought a wonderful message to them to give them hope for the future. They were invited to look back to see what God has done in the past, in order to gain a perspective to turn round and prepare to play a part in what God was going to do in the future. There are no hopeless cases or situations where God is involved.
1. Looking back to see what God has done (Isaiah 43:8-17)
Getting a sense of perspective in all kinds of situations is essential in life. A problem can arise that we have to deal with, but at first we might be overwhelmed with what confronts us and not see a way out of the difficulty or even the crisis. Once we get over the shock that the problem has arisen in the first place, we may sense feelings of hopelessness or despair because it is far too difficult for us to resolve.
It can be even worse if we feel that there is no-one to whom we can turn for assistance. This last scenario was the situation experienced by many of the first hearers or readers of these words from Isaiah. They needed to hear and to understand fully that there is no hopeless situation where God is involved. Is there someone reading or hearing this message who needs to grasp this point as well today?
In 2020 we have experienced such a range of emotions and for many of us serious struggles to keep a sense of perspective on what is going on. But God is on the throne and He wants to reassure us that there is nothing that will separate us from His love and grace in 2021 or any other year. What does God through His servant Isaiah want His people then and us today to consider from this passage in the Bible?
(a)A test for the people (Isaiah 43:8-9) Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf. 9 All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of their gods foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, ‘It is true.’
The imagery quite commonly used by Isaiah is of a court scene in which witnesses are invited to come forward to testify to something. In this case it is representatives of the gods of the surrounding peoples to share how their deities can do the things that the God of Israel has done for His people over the centuries. What is the scene that is witnessed? It is clearly one where the witnesses are unable to convince their hearers of the validity of their case.
They are pictured as the equivalent of blind people testifying about what they have seen or deaf people about what they have heard. Isaiah is supremely confident that there is no god who compares with the Holy One of Israel. However, this declaration which is obvious to us who are Christians would not have been seen in this way by some of Isaiah’s audience at that time. In the ancient world gods were often viewed as territorial and when one country conquered another it was seen as the god of the victor being more powerful than that of their defeated foe.
In 2021 Isaiah might have broadened the appeal to proponents of non-religious world views as well. He would still ask the question of all witnesses for evidence from the past that their worldview or religion provides the best answers for meaning and purpose in our world for the future.
The Christian response might include some of many biblical examples of God’s interventions in history or sometimes from later history, but supremely we point to Jesus Christ who entered out world to show us how to live and later died in our place on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins so that we might, by faith, become part of God’s family for ever.
The life, death and resurrection of Jesus point us to the best evidence of God the Father’s love for us as His children. However, please don’t forget your own testimony of God at work in your life. Someone may challenge what you believe, but will have much greater difficulty doing the same with your lived experience of God at work in your life. Why not pray for an opportunity this coming week to share something of your faith journey with another person.
(b) A testimony from God (Isaiah 43:10-13) 10 ‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after Me. 11 I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from Me there is no saviour. 12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed – I, and not some foreign god among you. You are My witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘that I am God. 13 Yes, and from ancient days I am He.No one can deliver out of My hand. When I act, who can reverse it?’
The assumption in the courtroom drama is that the witnesses for other gods were unable to convince the jury of the strength of their case. God intervenes and asks the Jewish people to step forward to testify to what God had done for their nation in its earlier history. The greatest example available was the miraculous intervention of God in Egypt that delivered the Israelites from the hand of Pharaoh in the time of Moses and opened up the Red Sea to allow them to walk through on dry ground.
In the modern era we are more cautious in making such claims, but in former generations we had National Days of Prayer throughout the land and at the time many people not just regular churchgoers attributed divine intervention as the best explanation of the miraculous successful evacuation of the British Army in May 1940 from the beaches at Dunkirk. On May 24, 1940 King George VI addressed the nation:
“Let us with one heart and soul, humbly but confidently, commit our cause to God and ask his aid, that we may valiantly defend the right as it is given to us to see it.”
On May 26, at Westminster Abbey, the Archbishop of Canterbury called on God to protect the troops. Across Great Britain, tens of thousands of people responded to the king’s call, uniting as never before. Cathedrals and churches, mosques and synagogues were packed to overflowing. At Westminster Cathedral, the line extended for blocks and hundreds kept vigil outside.
The people didn’t know exactly why they were praying, yet they prayed even so. “Nothing like this has ever happened before” was how one English newspaper described the scene. It seemed like disaster was inevitable as allied troops were cornered in a small stretch of territory, but as the people around the UK and elsewhere were praying Hitler inexplicably ordered a halt of the German tanks for three whole days.
Bad weather prevented the German Airforce bombing the stranded soldiers and the amazing sight of hundreds of small boats over a number of days ferrying in excess of 338,000 men to safety across the English Channel.
No wonder Prime Minister Winston Churchill in his speech in the House of Commons on 4 June 1940 described it as a miracle. God can and does act in history, for which we give Him all the glory and praise.
[https://www.guideposts.org/inspiration/miracles/gods-grace/the-four-miracles-of-dunkirk accessed 30.12.20]
Most Christians can identify times when we have earnestly prayed to God and received real encouragement when our prayers have been answered as we had hoped in those times. We are well aware that in His sovereign wisdom God chooses sometimes to say ‘yes’, sometimes ‘no’ and other times ‘not yet’. It is so helpful to keep a written record of the encouraging answers to prayer so that we can read and recall them to be encouraged when life is particularly hard for us.
(c) A promise from God (Isaiah 43:14-17) This is what the Lord says – your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘For your sake I will send to Babylon and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians, in the ships in which they took pride. 15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel’s Creator, your King.’ 16 This is what the Lord says – He who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, 17 who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
What assurance can be given to these vulnerable emotionally crushed people in exile in Babylon? First of all it comes from the description of the One making the promises to them. He is, first of all, your Redeemer (Isa.43:14). ‘Actions speak louder than words’ is a common saying in our cultural context. God redeemed Israel from enslavement in Egypt and created out of them a nation.
The events in Egypt that led to their freedom were miraculous and culminated in the parting of the Red Sea to allow them all to cross before the waters came back to swallow up the Egyptian cavalry that had been sent to harass them or even bring them back to be slaves once more for Pharaoh. God overruled Pharaoh and opened up a way for their future.
Now the recipients of this message are in a similar position with no rights as slave workers in another Empire. What Isaiah communicated loud and clear to them was this: you cannot see a way to freedom, but God can do what seems humanly-speaking to be impossible. Even more remarkably, God revealed to Isaiah the name of the ruler, yet to be seen in public office who would set them free once again (Isaiah 44:28-45:1)
What is the principle point for us from this passage? Nothing is impossible with God. There is no hopeless situation. God can find a way through it. Are you despairing of your situation today? Then this message of encouragement is for you. This time of trial will not go on forever.
There are so many things you or I might struggle with, even apart from the impact of the virus pandemic. God’s message through Isaiah is this: Remember who I am, the holy Almighty God. Look at what I have accomplished for Israel in the past. Trust Me with your future. Let Me guide and direct your life in 2021. For some readers this might be the time when you commit yourself to follow Jesus and start a new year as His follower for the very first time. It will be the best decision you have ever made if you take that step today.
2. Looking forward with confidence to see what God is doing now (Isaiah 43:18-21)
Having looked back to see what God has done in the past and taken encouragement from that, how should we go forward into this New Year 2021? What is God’s message to us as well as to the first hearers of this message?
(a)The proclamation (Isaiah 43:18) 18‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. These words seem very blunt and a bit extreme. Are we really expected to wipe our memories like the hard drive on a computer can have all its files erased beyond recall? Praise God that ‘No’ is the quick answer! This is not what God is saying through Isaiah here. What then is being asked for by God? It is an acknowledgement that however much we love the happy memories of the past they are over.
We cannot repeat those years. We cannot act as if events of the recent past had not happened carrying on blindly into the future on that basis. It was clear and completely understandable that these, in many cases, traumatised people simply wished their nightmare to be over so they could go home again and carry on life as before. But that world did not exist any longer.
Their cities and towns had been destroyed, deliberately, building by building. All that was left of most of their homes was ruins. Their few possessions of any value had long since taken by the invaders. Few if any people they knew were still living in the districts they once called home. It was an awful reality to face. But though the past was over, God was inviting them to be a part of what He would do next in the future. A different chapter of life could, and would by God’s grace, open up to them.
For you and I living through 2020 and the Covid-19 virus pandemic and all the disruption this invisible foe has caused has been very difficult. There can be few people and homes untouched by this challenge. As we enter a New Year in 2021 it is clear that although the vaccination programme is beginning we still have months of uncertainty to face. This fact will mean that in many families, for example, health issues, work pressures, financial challenges and so much more will not simply go away, although we can catch a glimpse of the end being in sight.
For us it is probably wise to stop and take a short time to process this year that has finished and then commit it to the Lord. Take time to name before God the challenges you have had to live with or have come through or know will continue into this New Year. Thank Him for the grace you have been given to still be standing at the end of 2020. Then take time to name your blessings or the good things that have happened this year. Bring them also before God one by one. Commit them to the Lord acknowledging that He has enabled us to come through one of the toughest years in our countries history, at least in recent decades.
The world has changed for ever through the events we have experienced but alongside the bad things there have also been some good things. For example, the technological advances that have allowed the church to meet online on zoom for services and for our outreach courses.
We thank God for the several hundred new friends who take our Wednesday or Sunday services in some online form week by week across the world. We are encouraged by the people signing up for our introductory courses in the Christian Faith and the numbers that have already signed up for Discipleship Explored that starts later this month.
What do you most thank God for this year? Make sure you write it down and keep it visible in a place where you can be encouraged by it in your home in 2021.
(b)The perspective (Isaiah 43:19-21a) 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. 20 The wild animals honour Me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to My people, My chosen, 21 the people I formed for Myself…
What is God saying to us or showing us about the way forward as a church going into 2021? I think the biggest thing is ‘Trust Me’. I have provided for you in 2020 and got you through things that have been tougher than you ever expected. You can trust Me to provide for all your needs in 2021 as well. We must acknowledge that it has been difficult to keep in touch with some of the people associated with our church or others who are friends who attend various of our activities throughout the week.
We pray that God will help us find a way to have closer connections in 2021. I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. We know that God has surprised us this year. For example in March 2020, He gave us the opportunity to partner with others in our community to run a Food Bank, one of many that sprung up across our city. It was one we rightly embraced; and thank God for the wonderful partnerships across the city that have been so incredibly successful in meeting the needs of vulnerable people and others who needed temporary assistance at different times in 2020. I am thankful that many churches have contributed to this effort in our city. It raises for me the big question: what doors of opportunity will we receive to serve others as a church or as individuals in 2021?
God alone knows the answer, but this community of Jewish exiles in a Middle Eastern country were told by God through his servant Isaiah: I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. It was a declaration that there was hope and a future for them. They could not see it, but God was already at work preparing that good future for them. We cannot see what will happen in 2021 and few of us would dare to attempt to make predictions after the year we have had. I believe that God is preparing a way for our future as well, as we entrust our lives to Him.
We are disappointed that our Christmas outreach events were not large gatherings of people in person, as we would have liked, but under the circumstances we can be very pleased that we were able to attempt so much as we sought to encourage people in our community, for example through the extensive distribution of The Good News Newspapers and the All Age online services.
We are especially grateful to those who worked so hard with the new technology that has allowed us to have online services and courses that opens up fresh ways for enabling people to participate in services or find out about the Christian faith in person, but still in their own homes. We are so thankful to all those who recorded items for Christmas services including the pre-recorded one on the website and those who week by week have provided the technical support we needed. We can see a little of the incredible potential in this new technology in future years.
We rejoice in the friends in other countries who have attended or spoken at meetings or services, together with the growing number who receive online versions of services in different parts of the world. As the pastor I am thankful to God for the privilege of speaking at online services in India and Pakistan and growing links with pastors and other church leaders in a variety of countries.
Also to have a little time to pray with and for some of these fellow servants of the Lord Jesus; I am not a great fan of New Year’s Resolutions, but maybe instead of writing down a resolution, you might write down and keep for the next twelve months a written statement of what you are hoping and praying God will do in 2021, in our own lives, our families, our church family and in our wider community.
(c) The purpose (Isaiah 43:21b) …that they may proclaim My praise. Why would God do what He had declared through Isaiah for them? In order that they might truly acknowledge Him as their Lord and Saviour and give Him the praise and honour He deserves. Prior to the crisis they had gone through, so many of them, like so many in our own land, were good people who were not against honouring God or acknowledging Him, but the thought or action was simply crowded out of busy lives.
Then and now in the current virus pandemic God has allowed us the time to stop and reflect on what is most important in our lives. The question that challenges us now at the start of this year is this: Have I ever committed my life to God through faith in Jesus? If the answer is no, can I encourage you to take that step today. There is no better time to do it. If you are already a Christian, where is God in your list of priorities –does He have the first place in your life? If the answer is ‘yes’ then pray that God will help you maintain that way of living through 2021. If the answer for 2020 has been ‘no’, God had a place, but not the priority He deserves, then the question to face is this: What changes do I need to make to honour Him as Lord of my life in 2021? The promise from God through Isaiah will only be realised by the person who takes this step, for Jesus’ sake, Amen
Our song before we come to communion is: ‘I do not know what lies ahead’
The Lord’s Supper
Jesus invites all Christian who have committed their lives to follow Him to participate in this act of worship. The apostle Paul wrote these words of Scripture in I Corinthians 11:23-26 to guide our observance of Communion.
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: the Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ 25 In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Prayer: Choose your own words of prayer to give thanks for the bread and wine that represent the costly gift of His body and blood for us.
Take the bread: Jesus said: ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.
Take the wine: Jesus said: This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’
Our closing song is: ‘Lord for the Years Your love has kept and guided’
Closing Prayer:
Thank you Lord that the future, our future, is in Your capable hands. We have no idea what this year will bring but we are happen to entrust it to You in expectation that You will work things for our good and for Your glory. We bring our prayers in Jesus’ name Amen
Benediction: The Grace
