Mexborough Baptist Church Sunday 2nd May 2021
For our call to worship and first hymn, please click on the links
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for joy unending that comes from lingering long in Your presence and then remembering Your presence all day long. Please draw my heart ever closer to Yours, that You would be the first One I run to when my cup runs over with good news and celebration. Because after all, You are the Giver of my cup and every single thing in it. It’s in the name of my Saviour, Jesus Christ, that I pray. Amen.
Jennifer Clarke
Family Corner
Noah, Seth and Arla have been having fun this week making a tent indoors by draping sheets over the bed to create a den underneath...
They had a torch to see and a book to read and a mattress and pillow to lie on. How would you make your tent and what would you take inside? I think l'd have to have some bug repellant, mosquito net and a hot water bottle!
Paul has also been thinking about making tents this week and now shares with us his chosen New Testament characters....
If I asked you to name some of the married couples in the Bible, you would probably come up with Adam and Eve, Mary and Joseph, Abraham and Sarah, Samson and Delilah, maybe Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel, David and Bathsheba. Aquila and Priscilla probably wouldn't spring immediately to mind but in their own quiet way they were quite important for the spread of Christianity in the first few years after Jesus' death, resurrection and ascension. Who were they and what did they do? Let's find out. Read Acts 18:1-28
Aquila and Priscilla are both Latin names - Aquila means 'eagle' and Priscilla means 'ancient, venerable'. Priscilla is also a diminutive of Prisca which may indicate that she was related to one of the great families of Rome. Aquila was born in Pontus which is now northern Turkey, along the southern shore of the Black Sea. We can only guess at how he came to have a Latin name and end up in Rome and suppose that he met and married Priscilla in Rome. But they were no longer in Rome (Acts 18:2); they left when Emperor Claudius ordered all the Jews to leave Rome in about 49 a.d. The Roman historian Suetonius wrote in about 120 a.d., that this expulsion was because the Jews were “indulging in constant riots at the instigation of Chrestus.” Many people think this is a misspelling of 'Christus' and that the introduction of Christianity into one or more of the synagogues in Rome had led to this rioting. We don't know whether Aquila and Priscilla were Christians at that time, but it's 99% certain that they were Jews - why else would they leave Rome at that time? How and when did these two Roman citizens, who were possibly part of the Roman aristocracy, become Jews? We don't know, but their Jewish identity had become so much more important to them than their Roman heritage and family connections that they became refugees rather than return to their old life. Pause and think. How important is your Christian identity to you, compared to your ethnicity or family?
Incidentally, we also don't know how Christianity got to Rome. As we read Acts, it's easy to get the impression that Paul, almost single handedly, brought Christianity to Turkey, Greece and Rome, but there were already Christians in Rome before Paul even thought of going there. It was only on his way to Jerusalem in the next chapter, Acts 19:21, that he expressed a desire to see Rome, and he wrote his letter, Romans, to a church already existing in Rome that he hadn't planted.
Aquila and Priscilla arrive in Corinth about the same time as Paul and somehow bump into him. They have things in common - they are all Jews, Roman citizens and tentmakers, so they set up in business together. Presumably they also go to the synagogue together and Aquila and Priscilla hear Paul reasoning and arguing with Jews and Greeks alike, sharing the good news of Jesus and trying to persuade them to follow Jesus. Paul stays for 18 months in Corinth (Acts 18:11) and then an unspecified 'some time' longer (Acts 18:18). If they weren't Christians already, at some point during this 18 months plus Aquila and Priscilla become Christians and grow in their faith and knowledge. Pause and think. How do your words and the way you work communicate the good news to the people you work with? How can you become more attractive and persuasive to draw your colleagues to Jesus?
When Paul moves on, heading for Syria, Aquila and Priscilla go with him, but only as far as Ephesus, where Paul leaves them (Acts 18:18-19). Did they decide to stay in Ephesus or did Paul intentionally leave them there with a mission to carry out? Again, we don't know. They continue going to the synagogue (Acts 18:26) where they hear Apollos speaking about Jesus. They have been so well taught by Paul that they recognise that Apollos hasn't quite got things right, although he teaches accurately what he does know. They invite him to their home and "explain the way of God more adequately." And this enables Apollos to be a 'great help' to the believers in Achaia (the region around Corinth) (Acts 18:27-28). By the time Paul comes back to Ephesus in chapter 19, about 53-54 a.d., and writes his first letter to the Corinthians, Aquila and Priscilla have a church meeting in their house (1 Corinthians 16:9).
Apparently, Aquila and Priscilla then move back to Rome and have a church in their house there, because in Romans 16:3-5 (written from Corinth about 56 a.d.) Paul asks the Roman Christians to greet them and the church that meets at their house. And then at some point they move back to Ephesus. When Paul writes his second letter to Timothy in Ephesus from his prison in Rome in about 64 a.d. he asks Timothy to greet Aquila and Priscilla (2 Timothy 4:19).
Aquila and Priscilla are a couple devoted to God so that they accept expulsion from Rome rather than renounce their faith. They learn so well from Paul that they are able to help Apollos, and presumably others, to understand better and more completely about Jesus and Scripture so that, in turn, Apollos and others can pass on that knowledge to still others. They are hospitable and prepared to have a church meet in their house. In Romans 16:3-4 Paul calls them his co-workers in Christ, who had risked their lives for him (we don't know when but possibly during the riot in Ephesus in Acts 19) and says that he and all the Gentile churches are grateful to them. Pause and thank God for the Aquilas and Priscillas in your life - people who have
- opened their homes to you
- "explained the way of God more adequately" to you
- done something for you that has been risky for them
How can you follow their example at home, in church, with friends and family?
Apollos knew something about Jesus when he came to Ephesus; he knew a lot more after Aquila and Priscilla "explained the way of God more adequately" to him. They would have explained to him more about who Jesus is and what he does for us. Our next song reminds us that 'Christ Is the World's Light' and peace and life click on the link
Our communion and intercessions are led for us today by Trevor Hughes....
Communion
Let us begin with the comforting words of the 23rd Psalm:
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul, he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me,
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul, he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me,
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies, thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. Amen.
GREETING
In the name of God Creator, Redeemer, and Comforter, peace be to this house and to all for whom this is home.
INVITATION
Hear these words of Jesus Christ, "I am the bread of life, anyone who comes to me shall not hunger, anyone who believes in me shall never thirst."
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies, thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. Amen.
GREETING
In the name of God Creator, Redeemer, and Comforter, peace be to this house and to all for whom this is home.
INVITATION
Hear these words of Jesus Christ, "I am the bread of life, anyone who comes to me shall not hunger, anyone who believes in me shall never thirst."
In Luke’s Gospel we read that Jesus, at the table with two of the disciples, took bread and blessed and broke it, and gave it to them, and their eyes were opened, and they recognised the risen Christ in the breaking of the bread. In the Acts of the Apostles we read that as the church was gathered, often in the homes of believers, Christians devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and community, to the breaking of bread, and to prayers.
Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life, we gather at your table to know you in the breaking of the bread.
CONFESSION OF SIN AND ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS
Scripture tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but if we confess our sins we know that God will forgive. We offer our silent prayer of confession (pause for silent prayer) and find comfort in these words: If you repent and believe in God’s redeeming mercy, your sins are forgiven. Trust in God’s promises and begin anew your life with God and all people. Amen.
BREAKING BREAD AND POURING WINE
We remember on the night of his betrayal and desertion Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, and gave it to the disciples saying “This is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me."
The body of Christ, broken for you.
Take and eat the bread.
In the same way Jesus also took the cup, after supper, saying “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me."
The blood of Christ shed for you.
Take and drink the wine/juice.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Eternal God, Heavenly Father, you have graciously accepted us as living members of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, and you have fed us with spiritual food in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood. Send us now into the world in peace, and grant us strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life, we gather at your table to know you in the breaking of the bread.
CONFESSION OF SIN AND ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS
Scripture tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but if we confess our sins we know that God will forgive. We offer our silent prayer of confession (pause for silent prayer) and find comfort in these words: If you repent and believe in God’s redeeming mercy, your sins are forgiven. Trust in God’s promises and begin anew your life with God and all people. Amen.
BREAKING BREAD AND POURING WINE
We remember on the night of his betrayal and desertion Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, and gave it to the disciples saying “This is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me."
The body of Christ, broken for you.
Take and eat the bread.
In the same way Jesus also took the cup, after supper, saying “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me."
The blood of Christ shed for you.
Take and drink the wine/juice.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Eternal God, Heavenly Father, you have graciously accepted us as living members of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, and you have fed us with spiritual food in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood. Send us now into the world in peace, and grant us strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Intercessions
In the knowledge that God is here present with us let us pray together.
Lord, as we bring to you our prayers of intercession, we ask you to open our eyes to behold your glory, open our ears to hear your voice, open our hearts to receive your grace, open our lips to show forth your praise.
Direct our hearts, O Lord, to love you more and more.
We thank you for all in our scattered church family, for each one who serves you in small and quiet ways, for those who use their special gifts with inventive ways to keep us all connected, during this time and to those reaching out to people in need.
Direct our hearts, O Lord, to love you more and more.
God of Compassion, we pray for our troubled world, for countries with conflict where people are fleeing for their lives, for people who are starving or those struggling with drought or lack of fresh water. We pray too for the people of India who are struggling to cope with the demands of Covid, may they all know of your love and protection. Show us ways where other countries can help bring about urgent action.
Direct our hearts, O Lord, to love you more and more.
Loving God, we bring to you the sufferings of those we hold dear, those struggling to cope, those who are sick either at home or in hospital, those who are lonely or frail. In your great mercy bring them comfort, relief and reassurance that you are always with them.
Direct our hearts, O Lord, to love you more and more.
Lord, as we go out into this new week, we rejoice that Jesus is the name above all names and that He calls each one of us by name. With that knowledge, whatever circumstances we are facing, enable us to carry out your ministry, reaching out to others in love and respect.
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
Lord, as we bring to you our prayers of intercession, we ask you to open our eyes to behold your glory, open our ears to hear your voice, open our hearts to receive your grace, open our lips to show forth your praise.
Direct our hearts, O Lord, to love you more and more.
We thank you for all in our scattered church family, for each one who serves you in small and quiet ways, for those who use their special gifts with inventive ways to keep us all connected, during this time and to those reaching out to people in need.
Direct our hearts, O Lord, to love you more and more.
God of Compassion, we pray for our troubled world, for countries with conflict where people are fleeing for their lives, for people who are starving or those struggling with drought or lack of fresh water. We pray too for the people of India who are struggling to cope with the demands of Covid, may they all know of your love and protection. Show us ways where other countries can help bring about urgent action.
Direct our hearts, O Lord, to love you more and more.
Loving God, we bring to you the sufferings of those we hold dear, those struggling to cope, those who are sick either at home or in hospital, those who are lonely or frail. In your great mercy bring them comfort, relief and reassurance that you are always with them.
Direct our hearts, O Lord, to love you more and more.
Lord, as we go out into this new week, we rejoice that Jesus is the name above all names and that He calls each one of us by name. With that knowledge, whatever circumstances we are facing, enable us to carry out your ministry, reaching out to others in love and respect.
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
Having learned from Aquila and Priscilla, Apollos went on from Ephesus to Corinth equipped to preach the full gospel. Our closing hymn tells us to "Go Forth And Tell!" click on the link
Benediction
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, 23-24, 28
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