e-Service - 13 June 2021

 Mexborough Baptist Church     Sunday 13th June 2021   

Jesus said, "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God." (John 3:19,21)  

We sing together 'Light of the World'  click on the link    

Here we are to worship you, our Lord and our God, our Light and our Life, our Redeemer and our Friend.  Thank you for your love that calls us into your presence and your grace that makes us able to come in.  Open our eyes that we may see you more clearly, our ears that we may hear what you are saying to us and our lips that we may speak of your grace and glory.  Amen.  

Family Corner  

We have received some coloured-in sunflowers...  

We would like a whole field full of sunshine on the church wall for our first gathering in church, at least one from each family please, so we've attached the sunflower picture again for you to print out and colour in.  If you have already done one, please feel free to do another!  

There was a man who wanted to talk to Jesus but didn't want anyone to know about it - here's his story click on the link    

Nicodemus was a bit scared, wasn't he?  And sometimes it's scary for us all to say that we believe in Jesus but here's a song that reminds us that God is with us and we don't have to be so scared - 'Be bold, be strong'  click on the link   

Prayer (inspired by Genesis 12:1-4, John 3:1-17 ~ posted on the Brummhart Publishing website - Link here.)  

God of Abram and Nicodemus, God of all of us who think we are too old or too poor or too small or too weak or too busy, God of all of us daunted by the sheer wonder of the plan you lay out before us: we come to you now, aware of all you have done for us, and yet still struggling with our doubts.   
Birth us all anew, O God; hear us and help us on our journey.  

God of Abram and Nicodemus, we pray for this world where so many wander homeless
not by choice, but out of necessity, where so many are looking for milk and honey or a great Name to rescue them.   

We pray for all the people in this world, especially . . .  
We pray for the women and men who lay down their lives for the safety of brothers and sisters and neighbors . . .  
We pray for those who lead us . . .  
Birth us all anew, O God; hear us and help us on our journey.  

God of Abram and Nicodemus, we pray for all those who long for a new beginning:  
      those who are imprisoned. . .  
      those who are estranged. . .  
      those who have left loved ones behind. . .  
      and those who are ill or infirm, especially . . .  
Give them all new life by the power of your Spirit.  Help us to see how we can be present with them as your hands and feet.
Birth us all anew, O God; hear us and help us on our journey.  

God of Abram and Nicodemus, we pray for your holy Church . . .  
Give us the courage to leave everything behind and follow you.  
Give us the faith to act on what we do not understand.  
Bless us to be a blessing to everyone in your Name.  
Birth us all anew, O God; hear us and help us on our journey.  

Birth us all anew, O God.  Hear us and help us on our journey.  
Help us to grow up again, to accept not only earthly things but heavenly things, to lift up your Son and be lifted up ourselves, to let your Spirit move us beyond our understanding.  
God of Abram and Nicodemus and all of us, hear us and help us even as surely as the Spirit blows among us, all for the sake of your dear Son, who taught us when we pray to say:  
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.  

Enid shared with us last week about one half of a duo of New Testament characters - Joseph of Arimathea.  Now Trevor shares with us about the second character - Nicodemus.  Thank you, Trevor....  

Please read  John ch 3 v 1 – 21  

As we read in the gospels the life of Jesus and His ministry, for the most part, we see Jesus surrounded by ordinary people, but here we have a man who was one of the aristocracy of Jerusalem.  A man of great wealth.  His name is Nicodemus.  The only mention of him is in John’s Gospel and we are told he was part of a sect called ‘the Pharisees’.  Being a Pharisee, he would have pledged himself to spending all his life observing every detail of the written law.  The law was to be found in the first five books in the Old Testament, where God set out the wide range of noble principles for living a life that is pleasing to God.  In the time of Jesus these religious fanatics had extruded from the God-given law an infinite number of rules and regulations to try and cover every conceivable situation in life and so for the Pharisee to please God, they changed the great God-given principles into a religion of legalism, trying to earn the salvation of God and the praise of men, through good works and a good life.   

Nicodemus was a sincere man and took life and belief seriously.  He was an important man in Jerusalem, a member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council over the Jews and its justice system.  It is astonishing that this man who had given himself to that kind of life of obedience in the conviction that he was pleasing God, should wish to talk to Jesus at all.  If he was so sure about his own conviction of belief, why would he be seeking an appointment with Jesus – this young Rabbi who was teaching things that Nicodemus himself questioned, and why come at night?  It is a wonder why Nicodemus would come at all, with his background, to Jesus.  The whole meeting is a miracle of grace that Nicodemus overcame his prejudices, his background, his upbringing and his whole view of life to come to Jesus at all.  The fantastic thing about God's love is that He specializes in finding and changing people we consider as no hopers.  People whom we consider to be out of the reach of Jesus’ touch.   

Why did Nicodemus come at night?   

1. He was afraid of being observed and what effect that would have on his reputation as a leader of the Jews.   

2. He came at night because he wanted Jesus to himself and during the day it would have been impossible with all the crowds around Jesus.  Neither would a long talk have been feasible during the day, only at night time.  

Nicodemus wanted to know more about this young teacher.  He himself was a teacher, an academic with all the honours that went with it, and yet he was a puzzled man.  There was something lacking in his life, an emptiness that needed to be filled.  He was looking for light in the darkness within himself and he knew Jesus had some of the answers.  We know that because of his opening approach, John 3 v 2,  “No-one could perform the signs you are doing, if God were not with him.”  

Nicodemus had intellect and was well educated, was earnest in his belief but in his search for God he didn’t allow any of these attributes to get in the way.  He came to Jesus with an open mind and heart.  In his enquiries, he probably got more than he expected.  He left his encounter with Jesus a changed man in the knowledge of how to acquire a new life and a new relationship between himself and God.  
In this conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, we have that great, well known, verse of John 3 v 16.  The Gospel in one verse.  This has changed the hearts of millions, “to be born again.”  Nicodemus knew that the kingdom, v 3, would be ruled by God and that it would incorporate all of God’s people.  For Nicodemus this meant only the Jews, but Jesus was saying something more revolutionary, more fantastic.  This Kingdom of God was for the whole world and it was not about how good your living and actions were or how much you knew, it was about being reborn.  Reborn through repentance and claiming God's free gift of new life because of God’s great love for all mankind and not just for a nation.  For all his learning and knowledge, Nicodemus would miss out and he wouldn’t be part of all that is promised unless he was personally born again – that spiritual birth from God.  Jesus talks to him about ‘eternal life’, not everlasting life as some say today.  Everlasting life can be in hell but eternal life is the life of God born within us as we commit our lives to him.  It is that quality of God’s goodness flowing out from our lives, not out of anything we can do but what God does through us.  No wonder Nicodemus was on a life changing journey after his appointment with Jesus even though, as we shall see, not everything fell into place immediately.  He still would face battles within himself.  

The second incident that brings Nicodemus to our notice is of a timid defence of Jesus, John 7 v 45-52.  The chief priests and Pharisees had come together to have Jesus arrested for causing a disturbance, that of breaking their ceremonial laws.  It is Jesus’ radical teaching and the claims that he states referring to himself that make them angry to the point of wanting to kill him. They send the temple guards to arrest Jesus but they come back empty-handed, mesmerised by the wonderful things Jesus was saying.  The religious leaders, fierce in their contempt, cursed the ordinary people calling them a mob and knowing nothing of the religious laws, and regarding them as ignorant fools.  Nicodemus does not defend Jesus directly but his statement is bold in the circumstances, v.51.  He says “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”  Being the scholar he is, Nicodemus knows what God says to Moses, Exodus 23 v 1,2 about the laws of justice and mercy and not to follow the crowd in doing wrong.  And in Deuteronomy 1 v 16, 17 about judging fairly both the small and the great alike.  

These were laws the Pharisees were brought up on, but their vicious anger and hatred was bursting at the seams and had blinded the rest of these Pharisees to the truth.  Nicodemus did not carry his protest any further.  What he had personally encountered in meeting Jesus, his heart was telling him now to defend Jesus but his head was telling him to do the easy thing and not take the risk.  Even so, the Pharisees flung their abuse at him, taunting him whether it was possible that he had connections with the Galilean rabble and so Nicodemus said no more.  Think of the time when you may have been in a similar situation, knowing that a word said on Jesus’ behalf would bring laughter and ridicule upon you.  Remind yourselves what Christ says on the matter, Matthew 10 v 32,33.   A comment from one learned scholar said, “Loyalty to Christ may produce a cross on earth, but brings a crown in eternity”.  

Our last mention of Nicodemus comes from what was shared with us last week about Joseph of Arimathea who was a secret disciple of Jesus.  Both Nicodemus and Joseph may have kept their interest in Jesus from each other, both fearful of the repercussions on their reputations and the consequences if word got out, but they acknowledged each other now and it is the courage of Joseph that brings Nicodemus out of the shadows of secrecy.  The death of Jesus unites them publicly in their actions.  The fear and cowardice were gone, the cross of Jesus unites them to witness openly to whom they have pledged their lives, John 12 v 32.  Joseph supplies the tomb and the grave clothes, Nicodemus the spices, enough fit for a king.  In a matter of hours, the power of the cross of Christ was turning cowards into heroes and waverers into declaring Jesus as their King.  In all the gospel accounts about placing Jesus in the tomb, it was all done in a rush to get the preparations completed before the Jewish sabbath which began at 6 p.m. in the evening of that day.  Little did Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea realise how temporary an arrangement it would be.  Hallelujah!  

Joseph and Nicodemus were both secret believers but eventually openly showed their faith in Jesus and allegiance to him.  Like them, may we not be ashamed to own our Lord as we sing together now.  click on the link  

Benediction  

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”  Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.  Therefore, go in faith to love and serve the Lord.  Amen.  

Romans 1:16,17, Hebrews 11:1