e-Service - 16 May 2021

Mexborough Baptist Church Sunday 16th May 2021

We welcome everyone to the service today. On Thursday it was Ascension Day - 40 days after Easter when Jesus ascended (rose up) into heaven, 10 days before Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came down upon the first disciples in Jerusalem. We celebrate Easter and Pentecost but somehow, in the Free Church, Ascension Day is often overlooked. All our hymns today speak to us of Jesus and his ascension into heaven. We begin with 'Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise' click on the link   

We see Jesus,  

crowned with glory and honour.  

Jesus, for a little while, was made lower than the angels  

and suffered death among men.  

Because he suffered death,  

God has crowned him with glory and honour.  

God's living word of life was made flesh  

and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.  

He alone, he the first of men to ascend into heaven,  

was the first and only-begotten Son of God who had come down.  

He is given to us, but not to grasp for ourselves,  

since he ascends to his Father and to our Father.  

He did not grasp for himself his own divinity,  

but humbled himself, 

he took the form of a servant,  

was born in the likeness of men, and became obedient unto death.  

Therefore, God has highly exalted him,  

that at the name of Jesus every need should bow.  

To the glory of God the Father, let us confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,  

as did the first apostles, whose first act was to see him ascend.  

Like them, let us wait upon the Father for the keeping of Christ's promise to send the Holy Spirit.  

Baptist Praise and Worship no. 277  

Jesus' ascension was the seal on his death and resurrection. When Jesus died the curtain of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51), signifying that the way to God was open; the ascension is Jesus physically entering heaven and taking his place as the eternal priest and king. Our proper response is worship, not just singing praise but laying our lives before him as our next song reminds us - 'Jesus is King and I will extol him' click on the link   

The ascension is recorded by just one of the gospel writers who happens to be Adrian's chosen New Testament character. Thank you, Adrian....  

Two weeks ago, we read about Aquila and Priscilla. Today we learn about Luke, who was widely held to be the author of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.

All three met Paul on his second missionary journey. Having set out from Luke’s hometown of Antioch in Syria (Acts 15:35,36), Acts 16:8-12 tells the story of Paul meeting Luke at Troas (where Luke probably worked as a physician) and travelling with him to Philippi in Macedonia. Paul left Luke at Philippi and continued via various Macedonian cities to the region of Achaia where he met Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth before travelling with them to Ephesus in Asia. It is possible all three were converted to Christianity by Paul, or at least they learned much about the faith from him.

Luke did, however, spend much more time with Paul. Joining him again seven years later during Paul’s third missionary journey, Luke was Paul’s constant companion all the way from Troas to Jerusalem (Acts 20 to 21). Later, Luke accompanied Paul to Rome (Acts 28). Luke never mentions himself by name in Luke-Acts, but there are various “we-passages” indicating Luke was there, confirmed by Paul in a few of his letters.
Read Philemon 23-24, Colossians 4:14 and 2 Timothy 4:9-11

These few short verses (the only ones that refer to Luke by name) speak volumes about the relationship between Paul and Luke. Paul certainly seemed to appreciate Luke, calling him a “fellow worker” and “the beloved physician”, whilst Luke showed great commitment and loyalty to Paul, staying with him during his imprisonment in Rome when others, including Demas, abandoned him.

Pause and think: Can you imagine how Luke and Demas felt, and why they acted as they did? Who do you most relate to: Luke, who remained loyal and persevered in serving the Lord when times were tough, or Demas, who either gave up or tried to serve the Lord in an easier way?
In sticking with Paul, Luke risked his life. It’s easy to assume Demas, faced with possible martyrdom, gave up his faith but perhaps his faith just wasn’t strong enough or he felt he could better serve the Lord by remaining alive.

Pause and think:  Can you remember a time when you took the easier path or gave up on something that just seemed too difficult?

If you can remember such a time, don’t be too hard on yourself. The Lord understands our weaknesses (remember Peter who denied Jesus three times?), and Luke, the great pastor, tells us many stories in Acts of the unstoppable spread of the gospel driven by the Holy Spirit, despite or even because of opposition and human weakness. Many times, the early Christians left cities or were scattered when they faced suffering and opposition; but this just served to spread the gospel further. Perhaps that’s what happened with Demas when he left Paul for Thessalonica.

I called Luke “the great pastor”. Luke seems proud of Philippi (see Acts 16:12) and it is quite likely he was a pastor or leader of the church there. But Luke was a pastor to many churches. Like me, you have probably read Luke-Acts as a history of the early church (see Luke 1:1-4). Exciting and Holy Spirit led, but still just a history. Yet, ancient histories always were written to serve other purposes. Luke probably had many such purposes. From studying Luke-Acts, I now believe his primary purposes included providing pastoral support and encouragement to churches involved in personal witness and mission in the face of suffering and opposition. That makes even more sense when you consider how much effort Luke invested in mission alongside Paul.

So, Luke was a physician, an historian, a theologian, the author of Luke-Acts, a loyal companion and co-worker with Paul, and a pastor. Luke may have been the only New Testament writer who, like us, was a gentile (for example, Colossians 4:10-16 suggests he was uncircumcised). Traditionally he ended his life as a martyr in the year 84 AD.
Read Acts 28:28-31

Here Paul is speaking to his fellow Jews in Rome. But Luke ends the story rather abruptly: we never find out what happens to Paul in the end, or about the ongoing mission to the gentiles, or what happens to his Jewish brethren in Rome. Luke’s final words are about the proclamation of the kingdom. Why did Luke end his book like this? Many believe that it is because the story of the kingdom is one of ongoing mission and witness. So, the story continues. It is still being written today.

When I think of Luke and his writings, what stands out more than anything else is his zeal for mission. More than that: Luke understood our witness is driven and enabled by the Holy Spirit. Merys wrote last week that “Fear trumps faith, if we let it.” What Luke tells us is that when we meet opposition, encounter difficulties or things seem to go wrong, we need not fear. The Holy Spirit will turn it around. Knowing we are beloved children of the Lord; we can simply dust ourselves off and try again.

Luke also promotes loyalty and the need to support and encourage each other. We need to continue to hear each other’s stories and pray for each other as we live out and share our faith on our frontlines, wherever we are, whatever we do, day by day. The News Extra emails from Denise and Paul are an important part of this – but perhaps we need to make even more effort to reach out to each other while we are scattered due to the pandemic.
Luke’s emphasis on the Holy Spirit driving our personal witness reminds me of Merys’ words: We are commanded to “go and make disciples”. Merys told the story recorded by Luke in Acts 8 of Philip, prompted by the Holy Spirit, witnessing to just one person, an official of the Ethiopian royal court. None of this could happen without the gift of the Holy Spirit and so Merys invited us to pray as follows: “we pray for the Holy Spirit to guide and strengthen us, may the Spirit also give us the opportunities, courage and words to reach out to others.”
I believe this would be Luke’s prayer for us too. May it continue to be our prayer as we look forward to Pentecost next Sunday.

Our next hymn was written by William Chatterton Dix as a communion hymn for Ascension and majors on the theme of Jesus' kingship and priesthood expressed in communion, that, even though he is in heaven pleading for our salvation, he is still with us. We sing 'Alleluia, Sing to Jesus' click on the link  

Intercessions  

Forgive us, Father, when we are rooted to the earth, unable to see beyond the present, blind to the glory of your presence. We become engrossed in what is happening now and forget all that you yet have in store for us. We are so concerned with what is immediate, temporary, and short-lived that we leave ourselves no time for the things that are eternal and full of your love. Lift up our heads, Father, that we may see Christ in all his glory and all things in their true perspective. We ask this with the forgiveness of our sins, in your name. Amen.  

Baptist Patterns and Prayers for Christian Worship  

Let us continue to pray for the people we long to see coming to know Jesus as Saviour and Lord. Pause and pray now for them by name.  

Pray for medical professionals, especially those known to you - your GP and surgery staff, dentist, physiotherapist, chiropractor .....  

Pray for medical missions across the world, bringing salvation and spiritual healing as well as physical healing....  

Pray for the sick and troubled, especially those known to you ....  

Pray for families, friends and neighbours ....

Family Corner  

Adrian has shared with us that Luke was a loyal companion to Paul and a pastor to the churches - a wonderful caring friend. Being a friend is also being kind and here are several young people giving us good reasons to be kind click on the link

In what ways can you show kindness to your friends and people who are not yet friends?  

Our closing hymn also celebrates the ascension of our Lord Jesus; we sing together 'The head that once was crowned with thorns' click on the link    

Benediction  
Almighty God, as we believe your only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, so may we also, in heart and mind, ascend and remain with him continually, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.  

Baptist Praise and Worship no. 278