Mexborough Baptist Church Sunday 25th April 2021
We're looking forward to a time in the summer when we will be meeting together in person, in church, to worship the Lord together. A number of the Psalms reflect the desire of God's people to be in God's house; they're called 'songs of ascents' as they would be sung as people climbed the hill to Jerusalem and the Temple. One of these is Psalm 122 which begins 'I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” Our first hymn is based on this psalm - 'How pleased and blest was I' click on the link
Another song of ascent is Psalm 134
Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who minister by night in the house of the Lord.
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion, he who is the Maker of heaven and earth.
This psalm is appropriate for the New Testament character Enid will introduce us to later in the service and there is a song based on this psalm too - 'Come bless the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord' click on the link
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I open my heart to You. You are the One who came for me, died for me, and rose for me. You are my Saviour! Thank You for being present in my life as my Daily Bread, my Living Water, my Word of Life, my Prince of Peace, and my Song of Songs. I acknowledge You as the Guardian of my way, the Keeper of my heart, the Provider of my needs, the Security of my future, the Sustainer of my hope, and the Foundation of my faith. In darkness I receive Your light, in weakness I receive Your strength, in uncertainty I receive Your wisdom, in conflict I receive Your victory, and in hard times I receive Your overcoming grace. Thank You for being the Way that leads me to the Father’s heart, for being the Truth that keeps me from confusion, and for being the Life that can never be depleted or taken away. Amen!
Dayspring
Isn't that a beautiful prayer, giving thanks to Jesus for who he is and what he has done and still does for us today. Let us continue to Give Thanks With A Grateful Heart click on the link
Family Corner
Today we have a video about two very old people who met a very young Jesus. Enid is going to tell us about one of them shortly - which one do you think it is? click on the link
The video tells us that both of these people prayed, which means they talked to God and God talked to them. Jesus taught his followers how to pray (Matthew 6:9-13) and this is the prayer he taught them click on the link
Thank you to Enid who now shares with us about ANNA - her name means gracious.
I first learnt about Anna as a child when I was in Sunday School many years ago and remember thinking, “What! – She spent most of her life in church?!” I thought that was very boring. None of our Sunday school leaders lived at church – poor Anna. What on earth would she do all day? Over the years I thought every Christmas when her name was mentioned, poor Anna. Even as I got older, I still thought of ‘poor Anna’. She’d had a short marriage, no children, lived in church and what would she possibly do for fun? (A vital part of life, is it not?) I did know as I got older about some church leaders who had it said of them –‘they almost live at church’ – meaning the long hours they put in, I suppose, but I knew that they went home sometime. Then – Trevor and I came to live in Mexborough. Trevor left the steel works and became full time minister. To cut a long story short, I spent a lot of time in the church. Not just for services but during the week. There was always something going on AND I LOVED IT.
There was one particular occasion I remember, and it wasn’t a Christmas time, but I was in the building on my own all day, and lots of different things happened. I had one or two practical jobs to do and a number of people came popping in and out, some strangers, some wanting to know where a particular address was and some just to share a chat, others looking for the minister, and I remember thinking “Anna would have loved a day like this.” I suddenly realised, for the first time in my life, just how much Anna had not lost or missed. She would have counted her blessings each day, and on that day I did too. Anna had a great life after all!
We're going to sing right now 'Count your Blessings' click on the link
Having sung it, let's do it! Pause and count the blessings in your life.
Please read Luke ch 2 v 36-38. This is all we know about Anna. Her father was Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, she had only been married 7 years and been widowed for 84 years. She was a really, really old lady. She was known as a prophet. That bit is amazing too, because it meant she would have held a higher position in the temple than Simeon did, she would have had some authority - and I never knew that before this study.
The writer Judy Allen says: "Anna was recognised as a prophetess – in itself that is enough to make her fascinating. Messages from the Lord were not at all common during the days when Anna lived, and a prophecy from a woman was even rarer. Anna was probably not thought very important by the people of her day. She was a woman of the lost tribe of Asher after all, but that did not bother God. God delights in people who are ‘nobodies’. Age is of no consequence to God either. He can use us at any age. Don’t count yourself out because you are too young or too old."
Living in the temple Anna could worship day and night, she was accustomed to fasting and prayer and she knew many people and recognised their faith. She was there in the temple when Mary and Joseph presented Jesus! She recognised Jesus as the Messiah, as had Simeon, and she then shared the good news with the others – she actually gathered together all those who (she knew) were ‘looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem’, that is, all those who were hoping and waiting for God to send his Saviour soon. She gave thanks to God and she spoke to those who were searching, excitedly, I reckon, about this child she recognised as Saviour. Amos 3 v 7 tells us, “Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets”. She was the first missionary in fact. Is that not our hope and wish, to speak to others who we know are looking for the Saviour.
Well, it's over a year since any of us have been able to spend any time in church at all and we have all missed each other. Gloriously though, we have still been able to worship, praise, and be in unity together, through our email services and also very much through our EXTRA. Every single week we have acknowledged that we are a ‘scattered church’ yet we have not lost touch with each other or our Saviour. We worship united. Each in our own home. We are aware, though, of each other's needs for prayer: we know about each other's missions among our families, friends and neighbours. We have shared our joys and our sorrows. Gloriously, we have seen children worshipping again! We have seen our fellowship grow, not only in numbers. Remember how many prayers have been said - for each other - for the families of our church fellowship - for the neighbours of our church fellowship and even for the friends and families of the neighbours of our church fellowship! We have prayed for our beloved pets and the animals we care for. We have prayed for hospitals and care homes where we cannot go yet and we have all had our missions where we live recognised by the whole fellowship. God has been good to us. God has called us to be His people and to share in His mission wherever we are, in or out of the building.
Our news extra on 19th April said, Pray for each other this week, and that the love of Christ in us may spread to the people around us, family, friends, neighbours, colleagues. May we continue every week!
Intercessions
Think about your family - thank God for them and talk to him about their needs.
Think about your friends - thank God for them and talk to him about their needs.
Think about the people who live either side of your house and others you know nearby - talk to God about them.
Think about the people you work with - paid or voluntary work - and talk to God about the joys and difficulties you share with them.
Ask the Lord how he wants you to share about him with your family, friends, neighbours and colleagues and keep your ears - and eyes - open for his answer.
It has been said that prayer is the believer's vital breath and it's true. It's also a conversation between friends because Jesus is such a great friend to us as the Celebration Choir reminds us in our closing hymn - What A Friend We Have In Jesus click on the link
Benediction
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. And the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4, 13:14
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