Mexborough Baptist Church Sunday 11th July 2021
Opening Prayer
Let us be still for a moment as we draw near to worship God... Take just a few seconds to remind yourself why we are gathered together today... Listen, God speaks even through the background noise of the world around us...
Lord God, in this short time together, open our ears and our eyes to see your vision for this place and our part within it. Teach us, hear our prayers and enable us for service wherever you might take us, to your praise and glory. Amen.
Call to Worship
How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young – a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.
Psalm 84:1-4
These verses speak of God's temple as a home, a place of comfort, security and welcome, and our first hymn echoes these thoughts - 'Let Us Build A House' click on the link
Prayer
Our Lord, we praise you that your love reaches out to all, your arms are open to welcome all. Your love reached out to us and welcomed us; we have found our home with you. Teach us and help us to be channels of your love to all those around us. Help us to make this building a place where all are welcome. Amen.
Family Corner
Our call to worship from Psalm 84 speaks of God's dwelling-place, his courts, his altar and his house. Do you know where it was? It was in Jerusalem. Had it always been there? Watch this video and you'll find out! click on the link
Here's a song with actions about 'Building up the temple' click on the link
Thank you to Merys for sharing her thoughts with us....
During this time as we return to the physical building of our church my ears pricked up during the Thought for the Day segment on Radio 4. The presenter was talking about the account in the Bible where the Hebrews are taken to Babylon as slaves. The history of the Hebrews' captivity is covered in Chronicles. Their banishment was a direct result of their disobedience, yet God continued to protect and teach them and ensure they were able to return to their home. The Hebrews in captivity yearned to return to their country and worship their God, Jehovah, in the temple in Jerusalem. The Jews suffered greatly and faced powerful pressure to adopt the customs and religion of their captors, however they maintained their national spirit and religious identity. Community leaders supervised the Jewish communities, and several prophets, Ezekiel, Habakkuk, Jeremiah, Ezra, Zechariah and Haggai reminded the Jews of their relationship with God and to continue to serve Him in good faith and make sure that they knew what work was ahead of them. We also know that God used the period of captivity to witness to the people of Babylon of His power and faithfulness through the exciting stories of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
As God had promised, the Jews returned with the blessing of the Babylonian kings (with some exceptions!). They were given money and other support. They were given the Temple treasures to take with them and protection to return safely. However returning to Jerusalem was only a part of the work ahead. Their commitment to rebuilding was a frequent reproach of the prophets, the work was difficult and there were setbacks. Ezra 3:11-13 - With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: “He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.” And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.
We have returned to the building where we love to worship and we are glad of it but there is work to do………..
I have copied this article directly from a lesson by Chuck Swindon as part of his larger study on God's Masterwork...
What's the big idea?
Ezra’s narrative reveals two main issues faced by the returning exiles:
1. The struggle to restore the temple (Ezra 1:1–6:22) and
2. The need for spiritual reformation (7:1–10:44).
Both were necessary in order for the people to renew their fellowship with the Lord.
A broader theological purpose is also revealed: God keeps His promises. Through the prophets, God had promised that His chosen people would return to their land after a seventy-year exile. Ezra’s account proclaims that God kept His word, and it shows that when God’s people remained faithful to Him, He would continue to bless them. This is why Ezra emphasizes the temple and proper worship.
God keeps His promises; he is faithful. Let's sing 'Faithful God' click on the link
How do we apply this in our lives?
God moved the hearts of secular rulers (Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes) to allow, even encourage and help, the Jewish people to return home. He used these unlikely allies to fulfill His promises of restoration for His chosen people. Have you encountered unlikely sources of blessing? Have you wondered how God can really work all things together for the good of those who are called by His name (Romans 8:28)? Take time today to acknowledge God’s sovereignty and mercy in your life. Recommit to Him your trust, your love, and your obedience.
We are looking into our future here as a people of God on Windhill. We have a challenging journey in front of us. We have remained faithful and are ready to do God’s will. We need to consider as different parts of the body of the church how we will continue to worship and what tasks we need to tackle. Take a minute to think of something practical here in the building that you can commit to. Consider your skills, talents and energy. There are many jobs that need a person to put their name to. Think of all the things that the Church does and which of those you could do if not immediately with some help and training.
Prayer
Dear Lord, we come to you as we must to ask for Your help. We cannot do this on our own. God, we want to worship you, we want to learn more about You, we want You to hear our prayers, we want to share Christian fellowship but everything has changed. God, we need more hands to share the work of your church here on Windhill. You are a faithful and gracious king and we are ready to move in the direction that pleases You. Let us continue to speak with You so that You may put in our hearts and minds what is Your will and what you would have us do. Make us brave and tireless to take on new responsibilities and humble to do less attractive tasks. Let our hearts be open, as Samuel said, "Speak, Your servant hears." We are many parts of Your church, please show us how we can work together to Your glory and continue to serve You in Your church on Windhill. All this we ask in the name of your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
Psalm 127:1 says "Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain." Merys reminded us that God is faithful; he keeps his promises. And he has promised to build his church. Last week we had the song "I will build my church." This week we have a song that reminds us that the church that God is building is the people of God - 'For I'm building a people of power' click on the link
Our closing song is a prayer 'Lord, Build Your Church' click on the link
Benediction
You, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Amen.
1 Peter 2:5,9
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