Mexborough Baptist Church Sunday 6th June 2021
We give a warm and sunny welcome to everyone joining us for this service. We will be celebrating communion later in the service; you may wish to get your bread and wine/juice and Bible ready now.
Many of us have been blessed this week with lots of sunshine, so it seems appropriate to open our worship today with the hymn 'Summer suns are glowing' click on the link
Gracious God, we praise you for your goodness to all your creation. You cause the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and send rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. You pour your blessings on us all, whether we deserve it or not and, truth be told, not one of us deserves it. We have all sinned and fallen far short of your glory. And yet you love us with an everlasting love, a love that comes from who you are and not from what we do. We give you all the praise and glory because you are worthy of it, you deserve it for all your goodness to us. Amen.
Family Corner
We hope the children enjoyed colouring in their sunflowers from last week, maybe some grown-ups did too. We've attached the sunflower again and we would love for every family to colour one in and bring it along to the first service - 10.30 a.m. Sunday 27th June, all being well - so that we can display them around the church. Lisa also will be making a sunflower craft with the children that morning.
Following on from the service last week, Eileen watched a film on Netflix called 'Miracles From Heaven' and thought it was wonderful the way God dovetails His truth over and over again to us. Eileen encourages us all to watch the film, which lasts 1 hour 49 minutes on Netflix. If you don't have Netflix, you may find it on another pay-per-view channel.
If you missed it on the extra-EXTRA last week, please watch this short video on the life of a sunflower click on the link
Now Enid tells us about the first of a duo of New Testament characters...
Have you ever had a secret? They can be such fun if you are planning a surprise or gift for someone. They can be frustrating when you are asked to guess what it is and they can be a burden sometimes because you wish you didn’t know and there are also times when you don’t want anybody to know your secret and such a relief when that sort of secret is out. Today we will look at a man who kept his secret very close to himself, but had to let it out – in the right way and at the right time.
“It is finished” – this was the final cry of Jesus. Jesus had completed his task and now all the disciples have scattered, but has it really all finished? Because now we meet two apparently secret followers and it is a reminder that things are not always what they seem. Both were members of the Sanhedrin (Council) and in our own minds we might not have given them a chance but God’s love is wider than our limited ideas of people and what we think about them. The two are JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA and NICODEMUS. This week we will hear Joseph’s story and next week, Trevor will talk about Nicodemus.
Amazingly, Joseph of Arimathea is mentioned in all four gospels and each time we read we get to know a bit more about him. There are only 15 verses in scripture regarding him so please read these few verses. Mark ch 15 v 42-46, Luke 23 v 50-56, John 19 v 38-42, Matthew 27 v 57-60.
So now we know that Joseph was a rich man, a member of the council, and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. He was a secret believer and, although he did not agree with the council when they wanted to have Jesus killed and probably even opposed it, yet because he feared the Jews, who did want Jesus killed, he did not declare his belief.
That is what being a secret believer meant to Joseph. He may have opposed the sentencing of Jesus but he never told them why. He did not dare to declare himself as a ‘follower’ to anyone in the council publicly because, if he had, he would probably have lost his job at the very least. Very few even suspected he was a believer, although I think that it is likely that he and Nicodemus would have had quiet conversations when no-one else was around. However, when the time came, Joseph acted. He acted in a way that made his faith very public. We always say “actions speak louder than words” and they certainly do here.
Joseph had boldly gone to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus. Pilate was surprised that Jesus had already died, but did give his consent. Joseph knew this bold request meant he would identify himself as a disciple of Christ, which in those turbulent days meant that he could lose everything: his wealth, his influence, his position as a member of the Sanhedrin, his reputation and even his life. Joseph risked all this because he knew now what God wanted him to do. So he and his friend Nicodemus took the body of Jesus down from the cross. They had brought what they needed with them to wash the body, wrap it in linen cloth with expensive spices, and placed Jesus in the tomb belonging to Joseph, which was in the garden near the crucifixion site. John 19 v 41. Joseph’s secret was out. There was no turning back.
Isn't that a wonderful cue for a hymn - “I have decided to follow Jesus – no turning back, no turning back.” Let's sing it together click on the link
Have you ever wondered about the story behind the hymn? click on the link
The love and care shown in John 19 v 38-48 as they prepared Christ's body for burial show that their actions came out of love for Jesus for He had given His life for them.
There is a passage in the Old Testament, Isaiah 53 v 1-9, where the life, crucifixion and death of the Messiah was prophesied. “He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. . . ." and it goes on to say, “He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death.” Joseph might have been a secret disciple, but it was his tomb that was ready when it was needed for Jesus. Eternal God had always had a plan for him. The commentator Matthew Henry says, “In the garden of Eden, death and the grave first received their power, and now in a garden, it was conquered."
Maybe, many of you, like me, find it very difficult to openly declare our faith in some situations and we keep our faith a secret from the general public in many ways – and yet we can and do show our faith, by our actions as Jesus told us to. “Be salt and light” to our friends and neighbours - Matthew 5 v 13-16. Jesus had finished his work on earth and now has passed it on to us. When we are caring for others, meeting someone’s need, befriending the lonely, feeding the hungry and giving what we have, our work continues and shows people that God's love is for everybody. This thought is carried on in our next hymn 'Go forth and tell' click on the link
Thank you to Trevor Mather for leading us in Communion...
We come to share in bread and wine. Though scattered, we are joined together by the love the Lord has for each one of us, shown to us by His sacrifice on the cross, for the forgiveness of sin. No matter how much you doubt or how much you believe, the invitation comes from the Lord himself to share in the breaking of bread and the drinking of wine, for it is here that we come to encounter our living Lord Jesus. It is here that He wants you to have that renewed relationship with Him as we experience Him anew. With these thoughts, let us sing the hymn 'My Lord what love is this' click on the link
The song reminds us of God’s amazing love and so it is with confidence we come. Lord, we come to your table trusting in your mercy and not in any goodness of our own. We are not worthy even to gather up the crumbs under your table, but it is your nature to have mercy and on that we depend, so feed us with the body and blood of Jesus Christ your Son, that we may forever live in him and he in us.
Take the bread and break it. Say – "When we break bread, is it not a means of sharing in the body of Christ?" Take and eat this bread in remembrance that Christ died for you and feed on Him in your hearts by faith with thanksgiving. Eat the bread and offer your own thanksgiving.
Take the wine with the words. "How can I repay the Lord for His benefits to me? I shall lift up the cup of salvation and call on the Lord by name. I shall pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people." Drink and remember that Christ’s blood was shed for you and use your own words of being thankful.
Hear God’s tender words of comfort for you. "Your struggles are ended, your sin is paid for. God will show you His glory, and you will receive the grace of forgiveness at His hand.”
Prayers of intercession, led by Trevor...
True and living God, in these days after celebrating Pentecost, we pray for ourselves and your church involved in the world and its mission. As we look towards a new season in the life of our church, pour out your Spirit upon us, fill us as you filled those first Christians, with an earnest enthusiasm to tell of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Take away our fears and replace them with courage. Fill us with vision and purpose, ready to share what we are and what we have with others. Empower us to be Kingdom People, ambassadors of Christ to the streets in which we live and to the neighbourhoods in which we belong. Help us to be risk takers and pioneers, adventurers, but not settlers, enable our lives and our actions to be a true witness to Gospel living. Fill us with a generous love for the lost in our communities and among our families and friends. Almighty God, take us as we are and make us into what you want us to be. This is our prayer.
Lord, we pray for those who are living with illness and finding it hard to bear and those who are sharing the suffering of illness with a loved one, through their caring.
Let us each now remember those whom we personally know and those on our prayer list.
Father God, may each of these people we have brought before you know your consoling presence and love. May the touch of someone’s hand or action bring a sense of healing into their situation.
We bring before you those who are in the caring profession. We thank you for their dedication and skill as they commit themselves to the wellbeing of others. We pray for those in government and those in authority that through our prayers they will be men and women of integrity. Open their minds to your ways as they seek the best for our nation.
Hear us, O Lord, as we cry out to you for the healing of our land, both physical and spiritual. As we learn the lessons from the pandemic, make us more aware of how human activity affects the well being of others. Help us, O Lord, to be more greatly aware that as our relationship with you grows, all these other things fall into place. Put within us a greater yearning for our land to experience revival in our communities and renewal of your Church.
All these prayers we bring in and through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our closing hymn is a prayer that the light of Jesus will shine on us and our nation - 'Shine, Jesus, shine' click on the link
Benediction
As the sun rises, Lord, let your light shine on me. Destroy the darkness about me, scatter the darkness before me, disperse the darkness behind me, dispel the darkness within me. Let your light shine on me. As the sun rises, Lord, let your light shine on me. The warmth of your Presence, the brightness of your love, the radiance of your joy, the shining of your hope. Let your light shine on me. As the sun rises, Lord, let your light shine on me. Your light to guide, Your light to lead, Your light to direct, Your light to brighten. Let your light shine on me. Amen.
Power Lines: Celtic Prayers About Work by David Adam
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