Mexborough Baptist Church Sunday 11th April 2021
Today we will be sharing communion later in the service; you may wish to get your bread and wine/juice ready now. You will also need your Bible handy.
As evening fell on Good Friday, everyone thought it was all over. Jesus' family and disciples grieved and contemplated life without him. The Jewish religious leaders rejoiced that the heretic blasphemer was dead. The Roman governor was pleased that he had averted a riot and got rid of another troublemaker. That was Friday evening. But then came Sunday morning...
We sing together Low in the Grave He Lay click on the link
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we praise you that you rose from the dead on that first Easter Sunday morning and proved that you are stronger than death. You took all our sin and shame and bore it in your body on the cross, paying the price of our ransom, wiping out our debt, dying the death that was rightfully ours. Your rising from the dead validated your sacrifice on the cross and is the seal of our salvation. We praise you and worship you for you have become our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen. click on the link
I've been impressed with our children this week and the ways in which they have engaged with Easter - they're wonderful! I would have liked to compare them with children in the New Testament - but there aren't any! Have you ever noticed that, apart from Jesus' own childhood, Jairus' daughter and the centurion's son, there are no individual children mentioned in the New Testament? Just 'children' - plural. Jesus tells his disciples off and says, "Let the little children come to me." (Matthew 19:14, Mark 10:14, Luke 18:16). Paul encourages children to "obey your parents." It's right and it pleases God. (Ephesians 6:1, Colossians 3:20) Paul also says, "Fathers (or parents), do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4)
I love this photo of Elsie and Granddad reading "The First Easter" booklet that was in the children's craft bags. For some reason it reminded me of Mary Jones. Mary was the daughter of devout Methodist parents and became a Christian herself when she was just a couple of years older than Elsie. The family didn't have a Bible of their own; the nearest one was at a farm 2 miles away. Mary wanted her own Bible and started saving her money. It took her 6 years to save enough - 6 years! Then, in 1800, when she was 15, she walked 26 miles barefoot to Bala in Wales to buy a Bible. Rev. Thomas Charles was the man who had the Bibles for sale and he was so impressed with Mary's determination to have one that he proposed to the Religious Tract Society that they should set up a society to supply Bibles to Wales. Eventually this became the British and Foreigh Bible Society - now the Bible Society - which works to supply Bibles to the whole world. This great work was inspired by one teenage girl so desperate to have her own Bible that she saved for 6 years and walked barefoot 26 miles to get one. And it keeps going because today there are Mary Jones's in other parts of the world - children and young people desperate to have their own Bible, sometimes saving for a long time and travelling a long way to get one.
Here's a catchy little song about the Bible - The Bible Alphabet Song click on the link
Please watch this little video clip - click on the link
Did you catch Noah saying "Jesus is alive ... again."? Pauses are quite expressive. Sometimes they represent the speaker searching for the correct next word or idea. Sometimes the speaker makes a deliberate pause to allow the hearers to process what they've just said before moving on. Sometimes it's what we call 'timing', thinking especially of comedians and the way they use a pause to set up a punchline.
We say it every Easter Sunday, don't we, "Christ is risen!" We sometimes say it in our communion services "Christ is risen!" We repeat the words and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus ... again. And so we should - it's a huge event; the death and resurrection of Jesus on that first Easter has been called the 'hinge of history'. All that went before is called into question, shifted in a new direction, superseded, especially the religious history and practice of the Jews.
Please read Hebrews 9:1-15, 24-28.
The Old Covenant (or Testament) came in through Moses and defined the relationship between God and his people - laws to be kept, rituals to be observed, sacrifices to be made. The most important sacrifice was the one on the Day of Atonement when, once a year, the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies with the blood of an animal to make atonement for the sins of the people. That really was ... again, and again, and again...... every year. And then Jesus died on the cross; the great curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple was ripped apart. The sacrifice was complete, totally effective and only had to be done ... once. Jesus rose from the dead ... once. Jesus will come again for those who believe and trust in him ... once.
Here is a song by CityAlight that takes up the truth of the crucifixion being a once-for-all event - "It Was Finished Upon That Cross" click on the link
Did you see the Prime Minister's Easter greeting? Here it is click on the link
This is Arla in her Easter dress, making the same point as Boris Johnson - Easter bunnies and chocolate eggs are all very nice, but Easter is really all about Jesus - his death and resurrection. This is also something we say every year ... again. Why? Because people prefer the trappings to the truth.
Understandably - fluffy bunnies and sweet chocolate are much nicer than the blood and gore of scourging and crucifixion, the uncomfortable stories of betrayal, injustice, fear and doubt, and the disturbing idea that "it was for us he hung and suffered there." Bunnies and chocolate might make us feel better, but they can't save us - only the uncomfortable truth can do that.
When Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me", he added, "and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Pause and think. What did he mean?
Many commentators have written about the trusting nature of children and the ease with which they believe what they are told, often contrasting that with the critical, even cynical, nature of grown-ups and their demand for proof. Read John 20:19-29.
I'm sure the commentators are right - there is an innocence in children. There's also a boldness, even fearlessness, in children. They'll speak out what they want to say; they'll wear the dress or t-shirt with the challenging slogan, they'll read the Bible in public - all without embarrassment or worrying about how people will react.
Jesus tells us not to hinder them. How can we not only not hinder them but help them to come to know Jesus for themselves, grow in their faith and be able to share it with other people? "Go and make disciples" applies to children as well as grown-ups, not only helping them to become disciples but also helping them to become disciplemakers. It's often said that children are the church of the future; all our children have the potential to become the church leaders of the future. How do we help them, nurture them, train them to realise that potential? What should church look like in the near future to facilitate this? These are questions not just for the diaconate but for all of us to think and pray about in the coming days.
This picture may be familiar to you - it pops up on social media from time to time. Let us pray....
Father God, we pray for our children: Oliver, Oscar, Lily and Hannah, Levi and Elsie, Noah, Seth and Arla, Ivy Rose (add the names of children in your own family). We thank you for these children and the joy they bring us. We pray your protection over them; Lord, keep them safe from harm. May they be taught truth and come to know you as their own personal Lord and Saviour. Lead them into the future you have planned for them.
Creator God, who made all the animals and care for all your creation, we pray for Lola, Crossley, Toggi and India that you may heal them and keep them well. We pray also for their owners who are worried and anxious; Lord, give them peace.
Ruler God, we pray for our Queen and her family as they mourn the death of Prince Philip; be their peace and comfort at this time of sadness and loss. We pray also for our government; give them wisdom, teach them truth, inspire them to seek righteousness and justice, that they may lead this nation in your ways.
God of peace, we pray that you will bring calm to Northern Ireland and all places in the world where there is conflict and division.
God our healer, we pray that you will have mercy on our world and bring coronavirus to an end. We pray especially for Brazil that the virus may be brought under control.
Lord of the Church, we pray that you will guide us as we consider what church should like when we re-enter our building. Thank you that you have your plans for our church; open our eyes to see them and give us the will and energy to see them come to be. Amen.
Communion
Communion is for those who will come and see in broken bread and poured out wine symbols of his life shed for us on the cross and raised again on the third day. The Risen Christ is present among his people and it is here that we meet him.
Communion is a remembrance of the sacrifice of Christ for the sin of the world; an encounter with the Risen Lord; a feeding on him in faith; a communion with one another in his body, the Church; and a looking forward to the day when he will come again.
Therefore, we need to come in faith, conscious of our weakness, renouncing our sin, humbly putting our trust in Christ, and seeking his grace for Christ is Our Hope in Life and Death click on the link
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 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.” 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.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Prayer
We thank you, Father, for Jesus' redeeming death on the cross for all humanity, of which this bread and this cup are the symbol and sign, and for raising Jesus to life again and exalting him so that we might call him "Lord", as we offer him our allegiance and seek to share his way. Amen.
The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread and, when he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." Take the bread, break and eat it, remembering that Christ died for you.
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." Take the wine/juice and drink it, remembering that Christ rose from the dead for you.
Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. And Jesus' promise is, that when he comes, he will raise us up to eternal life with him click on the link
Benediction
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. Amen.
1 Peter 1:3-5
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