Mexborough Baptist Church Sunday 15th August 2021
We welcome everyone to our service today. Wherever you are, whether at home, on holiday or meeting together in church, may God bless you in this service. We can worship and praise God any time of day or night. Come, now is the time to worship click on the link
Prayer
Maker of heaven and earth, you rule over all the nations. As we think of your unfailing, eternal, enduring love, we look forward to the day when we will worship you in eternity. Your throne will be surrounded by people from every tribe, tongue and nation, all testifying that you have remained faithful. We will all see that you have kept every single promise you made. We will all see your goodness and grace. We will all be transformed by your glory. We ask that we would glimpse that glorious future as we gather today. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.
We have been very blessed through the lockdowns and restrictions by the rich variety of songs and hymns on Youtube. They have helped us to worship God in different ways - loudly and quietly, exuberantly and reflectively, with laughter and tears, faith and hope. We join in with Songs of Praise at Beverley Minster in a song which bids us to 'Be still for the presence of the Lord is here' click on the link
The Bible reading today is Psalm 46....
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
10 He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.’
11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Merys is now going to share with us her reflections on this psalm....
The verse that stood out for me from this psalm is verse 10 where He says “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
The psalms bring a wealth of knowledge about our God, knowledge about ourselves and knowledge about our relationship with God. As Enid has brought to our attention, the Psalms are when we talk to God. In prayer we are talking to God about whatever is in our hearts and minds. During the period when we were unable to worship together our prayers of intercession have been a blessing. Knowing that we could pray for one another and knowing that our congregation was praying for us has been a comfort and a joy. The prayers in the Book of Psalms are not dissimilar in that there is not a single theme for the different psalms. Some are cries of joy and thanksgiving for the Lord's grace and mercy, some are pleas for continued protection and recognition of the love and safety in God’s care, some like Trevor shared with us are a plea for righteousness to be brought onto the wicked and others are a pitiful plea to be allowed back into the Lord’s presence following a sinful thought or act.
As ever I have chosen a verse that may seem to be counter to the themes that we have been looking at as a church. Since we have reconvened at Mexborough Baptist Church in person we are encouraging each other to find ways of being more active in the life of our church and more industrious and busy in doing things, in taking on tasks, taking on roles and responsibilities - the opposite of being still!!!!!! In exploring this verse I have read several articles including Charles Spurgeon’s Treasury of David and it seems this verse is often misrepresented. We are not being urged to do nothing but rather the opposite. The stillness refers to a patience in being able to partake in the ‘protection of His grace’.
Pause and think at each of the points under the headings below. What does it mean to you? Can you do it? If not, why not?
The verse that stood out for me from this psalm is verse 10 where He says “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
The psalms bring a wealth of knowledge about our God, knowledge about ourselves and knowledge about our relationship with God. As Enid has brought to our attention, the Psalms are when we talk to God. In prayer we are talking to God about whatever is in our hearts and minds. During the period when we were unable to worship together our prayers of intercession have been a blessing. Knowing that we could pray for one another and knowing that our congregation was praying for us has been a comfort and a joy. The prayers in the Book of Psalms are not dissimilar in that there is not a single theme for the different psalms. Some are cries of joy and thanksgiving for the Lord's grace and mercy, some are pleas for continued protection and recognition of the love and safety in God’s care, some like Trevor shared with us are a plea for righteousness to be brought onto the wicked and others are a pitiful plea to be allowed back into the Lord’s presence following a sinful thought or act.
As ever I have chosen a verse that may seem to be counter to the themes that we have been looking at as a church. Since we have reconvened at Mexborough Baptist Church in person we are encouraging each other to find ways of being more active in the life of our church and more industrious and busy in doing things, in taking on tasks, taking on roles and responsibilities - the opposite of being still!!!!!! In exploring this verse I have read several articles including Charles Spurgeon’s Treasury of David and it seems this verse is often misrepresented. We are not being urged to do nothing but rather the opposite. The stillness refers to a patience in being able to partake in the ‘protection of His grace’.
Pause and think at each of the points under the headings below. What does it mean to you? Can you do it? If not, why not?
Be still
- Stop talking
- Switch off your phone
- Stop commenting
- Listen
- Stop arguing
- Stop questioning
- Stop moaning.
- Stop doubting
- Be sure
- Have faith
- No second opinion.
- God is Almighty
- God is in control
- God is love
- God is King
- God is my hope. Rock. Fortress.
- God is ever-present, a help in times of trouble.
- God is my father.
- God is my shepherd.
- He will lead me, nourish me, protect me and restore me.
Take a few moments to look at this picture. How does it speak to you of stillness? Give your thoughts to God.
The second part of the verse reminds us that God says ‘I will be exalted among the heathen.’ It is our mission to ensure that all shall hear of our mighty God for He is Jehovah. Jehovah will yet be honoured by those who have not yet come to know Him.
‘The prospects of mission are bright, bright as the promises of God. Let no man’s heart fail him; the solemn declarations of this verse must be fulfilled. I will be exalted in the earth, among all people, whatever may have been their wickedness or their degradation. Either by terror or love God will subdue all hearts to himself. The whole round earth shall yet reflect the light of His majesty. All the more because of the sin, and obstinacy, and pride of man shall God be glorified when grace reigns unto eternal life in all corners of the world.'
‘The prospects of mission are bright, bright as the promises of God. Let no man’s heart fail him; the solemn declarations of this verse must be fulfilled. I will be exalted in the earth, among all people, whatever may have been their wickedness or their degradation. Either by terror or love God will subdue all hearts to himself. The whole round earth shall yet reflect the light of His majesty. All the more because of the sin, and obstinacy, and pride of man shall God be glorified when grace reigns unto eternal life in all corners of the world.'
This next song continues the thought that the light of God's majesty, His glory, will one day cover all the earth - 'God is working his purpose out. click on the link
Merys leads us in our prayers.....
Dear God, we have a wonderful promise in You. Your love for us means that we have nothing to fear as Your faithfulness is absolute. We pray that we continue to develop our understanding of Your Word so that it may be a blessing to us. Let us continue to study Your Word in order to serve You by living as You guide us. Let us find new ways of speaking to You as the psalmists did with reverence and honour. Help us to find new ways to serve You as we plan our future here in Windhill. Put in our hearts what You would have us do and let Your Holy Spirit protect and energise us to complete Your work. We know that You will be exalted now and for evermore. We know that every knee will bow before You. You are our God and we are Your people. You have given us countless blessings which we are often slow to thank you for. Thank you for our many blessings.
Take time to think of one blessing which God has granted you this week and offer it to God.
Coming to You now we claim our promise that through the sacrifice of Your son Jesus Christ we will one day be in your presence. Until then may we continue to do Your work here with a cheerful bold heart, sure that our labour is pleasing to you. Amen.
Dear Lord, we come before you as You grieve with us for the people in Plymouth today. The loss of life, including a child, is a tragic reminder that life is precious and fragile. We ask for your love and protection to surround the families of those lost. We ask for Your love to reassure the community and help lessen their fears.
We pray for the people of Haiti, following the earthquake yesterday.
We pray for the leaders of this country to use their positions and power to ensure that no-one gets left behind as we continue to wrestle with the devastating effects of the COVID pandemic. Let us be your salt and light to protect and advocate for the most vulnerable in our communities so that all may come to know of Your love and power.
All this we ask in the precious name of Your son Jesus Christ. Amen.
Merys leads us in our prayers.....
Dear God, we have a wonderful promise in You. Your love for us means that we have nothing to fear as Your faithfulness is absolute. We pray that we continue to develop our understanding of Your Word so that it may be a blessing to us. Let us continue to study Your Word in order to serve You by living as You guide us. Let us find new ways of speaking to You as the psalmists did with reverence and honour. Help us to find new ways to serve You as we plan our future here in Windhill. Put in our hearts what You would have us do and let Your Holy Spirit protect and energise us to complete Your work. We know that You will be exalted now and for evermore. We know that every knee will bow before You. You are our God and we are Your people. You have given us countless blessings which we are often slow to thank you for. Thank you for our many blessings.
Take time to think of one blessing which God has granted you this week and offer it to God.
Coming to You now we claim our promise that through the sacrifice of Your son Jesus Christ we will one day be in your presence. Until then may we continue to do Your work here with a cheerful bold heart, sure that our labour is pleasing to you. Amen.
Dear Lord, we come before you as You grieve with us for the people in Plymouth today. The loss of life, including a child, is a tragic reminder that life is precious and fragile. We ask for your love and protection to surround the families of those lost. We ask for Your love to reassure the community and help lessen their fears.
We pray for the people of Haiti, following the earthquake yesterday.
We pray for the leaders of this country to use their positions and power to ensure that no-one gets left behind as we continue to wrestle with the devastating effects of the COVID pandemic. Let us be your salt and light to protect and advocate for the most vulnerable in our communities so that all may come to know of Your love and power.
All this we ask in the precious name of Your son Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our closing hymn is a version of Psalm 46 set to music - 'God is Our Strength and Refuge'
Benediction
May the strength of God sustain us; may the power of God preserve us; may the hands of God protect us; may the way of God direct us; may the love of God go with us this day and forever. The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make His face to shine upon us, and be gracious unto us. Amen.
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