Mexborough Baptist Church Sunday 7th February 2021
Wow, a week of February gone already! Later in our service we will be celebrating communion; you may like to get your Bible, bread and wine/juice ready now.
We begin with our call to worship from Psalm 105 followed by a resounding opening hymn 'O for a thousand tongues' click on the links
Prayer
Our Lord God Almighty, you are great and wonderful - God of righteousness and justice, God of mercy and grace, God of truth and faithfulness, God of peace and love, Creator, Sustainer, and Saviour of the world; we worship and adore you. We bring our prayers to you in the words that Jesus taught us...
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
Family Corner
Thank you to Lisa for sharing this craft with us...
There's a story in the Bible about a man who couldn't see what he wanted to see. Binoculars hadn't been invented then, so he had to do something else. click on this link
I wonder how small Zacchaeus was? The smallest person in our church is Ivy Rose. She is 29" tall, 9 months old, wearing 12-18 months clothes and size 4 shoes!
Today we thank Trevor and Judith for sharing with us their reflections on their chosen New Testament character Zacchaeus. They will also lead us in our communion and intercessions. Before they do that, let's sing a song about Zacchaeus - 'Zacchaeus was a very little man' click on this link
Restore us, Lord God Almighty, make your face shine on us that we may be saved (Psalm 80 v 19)
Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector in the city of Jericho. He was a Jew, working directly for the Roman Empire and considered a traitor to his nation. Jericho generated rich taxes for the Romans, many tax collectors lived and worked in Jericho and were supervised by Zacchaeus. There were no laws at that time protecting hard-working, tax-paying Jews; they paid taxes to a foreign government and the tax collectors openly added taxes for themselves.
Zacchaeus was a rich man; he had used his position to make as much money as he wanted and the people were powerless to stop him. The name Zacchaeus means 'pure' and is Greek in origin.
It was the time of the Passover, Jesus and His disciples were making their final journey to Jerusalem; they would have travelled from Galilee, and a large crowd was following Him. He taught them as He walked along, and His teachings were authenticated by miracles (Luke 18:35-43)
Read - Luke 19:1-10
The journey would have taken several days and they passed through many towns. We read that Jesus and His followers entered Jericho and were passing through.
Zacchaeus had not met Jesus before, but he would have heard about His teachings and miracles. Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus for himself but there was a problem in that he was a short man and could not see over everyone else, so he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed up a sycamore-fig tree where he would be able to see Jesus.
The people of Jericho hated Zacchaeus and they would have seen these actions themselves to be shameful and beneath a respectable member of the Jewish community. Jewish men did not run because it was seen to be undignified and they would never climb a tree because they would be exposed to those who passed beneath them. Zacchaeus' plan was to run ahead, climb up one of the sycamore trees, hide himself among the leaves and watch and listen as Jesus passed below him.
Zacchaeus was not happy with his life, he was rich and powerful but in reality money made him miserable. He knew something was missing, he was a sinner by nature and by practice. But Jesus had come to Jericho for the purpose of seeking out Zacchaeus.
Jesus, the disciples and the large crowd came to the tree where Zacchaeus was. Jesus looked through the crowd into the tree and called Zacchaeus by name to come down. Not only that, He invited Himself to his house, telling Zacchaeus that “I must stay at your house today"(v5). This made Zacchaeus very joyful but the crowd “grumbled” or murmured in a complaint that Jesus “had gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” But God had sent Jesus to Jericho to save Zacchaeus.
After arriving at his home Zacchaeus said to Jesus, “Behold, Lord, half of my wealth I give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything I will restore it fourfold.” These actions would have depleted Zacchaeus of his wealth, but he didn’t care about that, all he cared about was following the Lord. Money didn’t matter any more, he could gladly give it up to follow Jesus.
Jesus knew of Zacchaeus’ desire to change, and after Jesus reached out to him Zacchaeus changed his ways and his actions, revealing that his repentance and faith were genuine. He finally gave up his past and lived up to his name - PURE.
Jesus then announced that salvation had truly come to his house, for Zacchaeus is truly a descendent of Abraham, which indicates that all things are possible with God and a rich man can be saved by his actions. Jesus had just taught how hard it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God; it is hard but not impossible for a rich man to be saved. Zacchaeus shows that he is also a true son of Abraham not just a natural descendant. (Luke 18:18-30)
The large crowd heard Jesus invite Himself to Zacchaeus’ house to stay the night, acting as though he was his friend, and were shocked that He was going to stay with a man they hated, who was a sinner. They began muttering and complaining among themselves; these mutterings were probably the beginning of what was to follow after Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
Jesus’ presence alone and His love for us will lead us to do things we never thought we could do: even admitting where we have been wrong and making things right. We can easily assume that Zacchaeus lived a different, fuller life after this encounter with Jesus. And we can have the same experience.
Jesus said that salvation had come to Zacchaeus' house that day. Not because of anything Zacchaeus did or said he was going to do, but because of God's love and grace. Our next song tells us that 'Salvation Belongs To Our God' click on this link
COMMUNION
“COME TO OUR TABLE”
Come to the table of Jesus our Redeemer!
Jesus invites you here as part of the people of God.
Come to the table humbly, not because you have earned a place here, but because you need mercy and help.
Come because you love God, and want to love God more.
Come because Jesus first loved you, and gave himself to you.
Come because you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Come because you want to experience the mystery of God’s grace.
As we come to the table, we sing together 'Turn Your Eyes' click on this link
On the night He was handed over, Jesus had a meal with his friends. He took a loaf of bread and after giving thanks to God, He broke it and gave it to His disciples. He said “Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me."
After supper Jesus took the cup of wine; and after giving thanks, gave it to them and said,
“Drink this all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, remember me.”
Let us pray:
God our Creator, thank you for the gift of your son Jesus Christ, whose love pursues us our whole life long.
Thank you, Jesus, for giving your life to us in word and deed, even unto death, even death upon the cross.
Come Holy Spirit, feed us with your love that we may be filled with power to love God with all our hearts and souls and minds.
When you are ready, take the bread and wine.
Prayer of response
We have come to the Lord's table, we have eaten the bread of heaven and drunk the blood of the new covenant. God is the one who will transform us so that we can see with Jesus’ eyes, hear with Jesus’ ears, speak with Jesus’ mouth; so that we can be the body of Christ in the world, proclaiming the good news of God's reign. Come Lord Jesus! Amen
Intercessions
Humankind has been brought into life by God. We owe our very existence to him. Let us pray to him now.
We pray for each living person inhabiting your world with us, with all the needs, emotions and experiences we share. We pray that we may recognise one another as brothers and sisters
sharing the same Heavenly Father.
Lord in your mercy hear our prayer.
God of Love, We pray for your world, and the worldwide Christian Church. We pray especially for those churches who meet together in difficult and dangerous circumstances, and at this time of the Pandemic for all those churches who cannot meet in person but only online. May they feel your abiding presence to uphold their courage and strengthen their faith. As we pray for our churches we bring before you all those who lead and inspire our worship.
Lord in your mercy hear our prayer.
God of Love, we thank you for providing the skills to scientists who have worked together and are continuing to work together to develop vaccines against COVID 19. We pray also for all who work for peace and unity and for all world leaders to seek an end to suffering.
Lord in your mercy hear our prayer.
God of Love, we ask for your blessing on our scattered church as we proclaim the saving love of Christ. Give us all a passion for caring for those in our local communities, being aware of, and sensitive to, their needs. As we reflect on the life of Captain Sir Tom Moore, we give thanks for the lives of the older generation in our church family and local community, and celebrate that their lives will enrich us all. We also remember the young families and the children who are struggling with lives that have changed so much due to the pandemic, give them your blessing, and we ask you to increase our love for one another across all age groups.
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Trevor and Judith said that Jesus’ presence alone and His love for us will lead us to do things we never thought we could do and to live a different, fuller life. May that be our experience as we continue to shine like stars whoever we are, wherever we are and whatever we do, seeking to serve God better day by day. We sing together "Higher Ground (I'm Pressing on the Upward Way)" click on this link and watch to the end
Amen!
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