Morning all!

Monday 27/04/20

Morning all, it's a lovely new day today in Civray, south of Poitiers in France and we praise the Lord for it! 

I hope you managed to watch the Worship on line yesterday morning. We enjoyed it very much and it felt as if we were all together as the children of God exalting His holy name. 

There was no technical problems either phew!

 If you have missed it, these were the readings followed by Steven's notes.

Psalm 98:1-9 Psalm 116:1-19 Luke 24:13-35 Acts 2:36-42 

1 Peter 2:1-9

The Beginning of the New Era of the last Days
Acts 2:36-42

Introduction

I have chosen to look at the Acts reading this week because herein we see what is effectively the birth of the Christian Church and the advent of the Kingdom of God breaking in and reaching out to all nations.
Possible only because of: Passion / Resurrection / outpouring of the Holy Spirit
This passage is part of public declaration of the good news of the Kingdom and brings us to the first part of the responses to it.

Currently church is functioning in a different mode and beyond the lockdown, as with many other things, we may find ourselves making changes - who knows?
Going back to day 1 and just beyond, takes us to a very different place and not one we can go back to, but, we see principles that are still relevant and of which we need frequent and good reminders, so, under each of my 5 headings. I am going to list 5 reminders!

1. What God Did - v 36

"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah."
1st reminder - God has to be in what we do and say and we should allow His voice to be heard through 'us'.
Lord and Messiah - the truth but highly subversive in the then political setting and for the next 250 + years
Caesar - was solely lord in the Roman Empire and later would be worshipped as such
Messiah - another king - see above and remember at the trial of Jesus 'we have no king but Caesar'
Today the message of Jesus, if not subversive, is certainly a serious challenge to people's allegiances: is Jesus King in our lives? To call Him Lord, biblically, is declaring Him to share the divinity of God!

2. What the People asked - v 37

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
2nd reminder - we need to be drawing a response from people, not provoking but drawing a response. Too many will either stay where they are or go with the flow.

I think it was the revivalist preacher 'George Whitfield' who asked, after his evangelist students returned from preaching assignments, something like 'Were any converted? - did any react against you?'
If they answered 'no' to both questions then he told them they hadn't preached the gospel!
We are called to be catalysts - people, who in the name of Jesus, bring forth responses from others!
So, they asked what they should do!

3. What Peter told them - v 38-39

"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-for all whom the Lord our God will call."
3rd reminder - we need to guide people clearly. I think at times we soften matters too much.

Peter mentions three things to glance at

1. Repent for forgiveness of sin which comes in the name of Jesus and of course through what he did on the cross
2. Be baptised - a sign of belonging and identifying with Jesus and what he did on the cross and through resurrection - so, in baptism we die to sin and self going into the water, and rise to new life as we come up and out.
3. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit who:
a. is God's mark of ownership on us,
b. the one through whom we are adopted as God's children
c. brings the presence of Jesus to us
d. enables us to be the people we are called to be in Christ

There are scriptures behind all of those and if you would like them so you can think more about that, then please email me.

4. What Peter warned them - v 40

With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."

Peter's sermon wasn't short or quite as we have in Acts 2!

4th reminder - we all need to be realistic about society in general and the world at large. We need to see what is good and wholesome but we must also see what is bad, corrupt and down right evil.

5. What happened - vv 41-42

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

5th reminder - when God is at work through his people, lives and ministry should be changing as we go along.

The first part reminds us of the huge response on the day of Pentecost - a massive start to the new era of the Kingdom.
The second, reminds us it isn't just about 'bottoms on pews' as the saying goes.
There was an 'active' response from those people
They involved themselves in a host of activities which would inform and energise them in their faith and living of the Christian life Being mature in Christ is not automatic but takes input, effort and output!

Conclusion

Someone wrote a parody based on the 1st verse of the hymn, 'Onward Christian soldiers'. I picked it up through David Watson:

"Like a mighty tortoise
Moves the church of God
Brothers we are treading
Where we always trod"

And I'll stop there as that was the relevant part of the quote.
Right now we are not! That is, treading where we've always trod!

The matters to consider are, amongst others:
1. How are we moving and changing
2. What you and I are doing so we grow in our faith and then can contribute more to the life of the people of God
3. The new paths we have to tread now and along the way and,
4. right now how we can use this different mode of gathering to invite people who may now enter a building! This is a new and different opportunity , so, invite family, friends and whoever - share the posts and videos - let's see what God does and says as we move on and out.
In the end we are here to glorify Him as was on that first day when Peter preached the gospel.

You are all welcome to watch the service LIVE and here is the link 

Steven Abram

At calvary!

A beautiful worship song 

Courtesy of Susan Tuck

Calvary

Thank you Lord, you bore the pain
You wore the crown, took all my shame
And thank you Lord, you died for me
Upon that cross at Calvary

Chorus
At Calvary, at Calvary
At Calvary, at Calvary
You took my sin and set me free
And now I live to worship thee

Thank you Lord, that I should know
The Son of God, Your Love to show
And thank you that you died for me
To set this lonely sinner free

Chorus

Risen Lord, eternal King
God’s only Son, above all things
I bow before Your heavenly throne
And seek Your kingdom, eternal home

Chorus

This man has done nothing wrong!

The Crucifixion of Jesus
32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him.They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”  

36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Source: Luke 23 

19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
20 Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek.
21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews."
22 Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."
Source: John 19:19-22

My song is love unknown.

I discovered this old hymn last month in church, made a note of its title on my phone and then forgot about it. Tonight to my surprise, I started to hum it and I had to google it to find the lyrics! It was written by Samuel Crossman  in 1664. Usually I prefer modern songs, still I will make an exception for this one.. not just because the music is beautiful but also the lyrics are incomparable, more powerful than poetry, starting with the title, love unknown that almost summarises the verse John 3:16  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

My song is love unknown,
  My Savior’s love to me;
Love to the loveless shown,
  That they might lovely be.
    O who am I,
    That for my sake
    My Lord should take
    Frail flesh, and die?

He came from His blest throne
  Salvation to bestow;
But men made strange, and none
  The longed-for Christ would know:
    But oh, my Friend,
    My Friend indeed,
    Who at my need
    His life did spend.

Sometimes they strew His way,
  And His sweet praises sing;
Resounding all the day
  Hosannas to their King:
    Then “Crucify!“
    Is all their breath,
    And for His death
    They thirst and cry.

They rise and needs will have
  My dear Lord made away;
A murderer they save,
  The Prince of life they slay.
    Yet cheerful He
    To suffering goes,
    That He His foes
    From thence might free.

In life, no house, no home
  My Lord on earth might have;
In death, no friendly tomb,
  But what a stranger gave.
    What may I say?
    Heav’n was His home;
    But mine the tomb
    Wherein He lay.

Here might I stay and sing,
  No story so divine;
Never was love, dear King,
  Never was grief like Thine.
    This is my Friend,
    In whose sweet praise
    I all my days
    Could gladly spend.

So who was Samuel Crossman (1623 – 4 February 1683)?  He was a minister of the Church of England and a hymnwriter. Born at Bradfield Monachorum in Suffolk, he earned a Bachelor of Divinity at Pembroke College, University of Cambridge, and was Prebendary of Bristol. After graduation, he ministered to both an Anglican congregation at All Saints, Sudbury, and to a Puritan congregation.. Crossman sympathized with the Puritan cause, and attended the 1661 Savoy Conference, which attempted to update the Book of Common Prayer so that both Puritans and Anglicans could use it. 

The conference failed, and the 1662 Act of Uniformity expelled Crossman along with some 2,000 other Puritan-leaning ministers from the Church of England. He renounced his Puritan affiliations shortly afterward, and was ordained in 1665, becoming a royal chaplain. He received a post at Bristol in 1667, and became Dean of Bristol Cathedral in 1683. He died on 4 February 1683, at Bristol, and lies buried in the south aisle of the cathedral at Bristol. Several of Crossman's hymns are preserved in the Sacred Harp. 

Blessings. N.

Source: http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/nt/96#ixzz2Q0tPHG4j

Why are You so good to me?

Here is a beautiful song that was sent to me on by a friend on You Tube. Just click here or follow the link as for some reason I could not embed it!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iECMJ1Jr5U&feature=relmfu

Through the bustling crowd, to the faraway places,
I can't find such love like Jesus'.
He soothes my heart, He embraces my soul
With His love unrequited* and unfathomable.
(*not asking for returns)

For me He's born, for me He dies,
For all my weakness He feels sympathy -
with His tender calling, with His patient waiting,
with His unceasing love, no complaints or regrets.

Chorus:
Why is He (are you) so good to me?
Bad as I am, He listens (you listen) to my every prayer
In a quiet morning, or in a sad night.
Why is He (are you) so good to me?
Unworthy as I am, He still loves (you still love) me like treasures.
How high and deep is Christ's love! Lord, why are you so good to me?

I will add the original lyrics in Chinese:

Original lyrics in Chinese: 為何對我這麼好？

走過熙攘人群，踏遍海角天涯
找不到一份愛像耶穌
祂撫慰我心，祂懷抱我靈
測不透的、不求回報的愛情

愛到為我降生，愛到為我受死
愛到體恤我一切軟弱
祂柔聲呼喚，祂耐心守候
永不停息、無怨無悔的愛情

副歌：
祂(你)為何對我這麼好？
我雖然不好，祂(你)卻聽我每個祈禱
或在寧靜清晨，或在傷心夜裡
祂(你)為何對我這麼好？
我雖然不配，祂(你)還愛我如同珍寶
此情山高海深，主你為何對我這麼的好？
May the Lord bless you. Your sister in Christ. N.A.

In His death is my birth

Hallelujah, my Father

For giving us Your Son

Sending Him into the world

To be given up for men

Knowing we would bruise Him

And smite Him from the earth

Hallelujah, my Father

In His death is my birth

Hallelujah, my Father

In His life is my life

When I heard this worship song for the first time, I thought that it was so powerful as it contained the whole message of the Good News about Jesus. We praise our Father who is in heaven, we are part of His family, adopted sons and daughters. Why? We praise Him because He sent His only Son, Jesus through whom he revealed Himself. The apostle John talks about this. John 1: 1. And also. John 1:14. Jesus knows that He is going to die and tells his disciples who are not very impressed. Nobody wants to hear that your best friend, the one who has transformed their life personally, in their community and beyond, the one who healed so many, the one who talked with authority in front of various rabbi, the one who agreed that he was the Messiah:  Mark 14: 61-63 'But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”, the one whom they had waiting for as the prophets had announced for thousands years was going to die. Peter dared to contradict Jesus, in Mark 8  31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said....” Jesus who is sinless dies for us, sinners so that whoever believes in Him, can be reconciled with our Father and be blessed abundantly 2 Corinthians 9:7-9  and ultimately, when we die, we are saved from the wrath of our Father by his grace and live with him in a new creation, new Heaven and Earth...where there won't be any tears.

Have a blessed evening. N.

The second coming of Jesus

Third Sunday before Advent
Reading, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Gospel, Matthew 25:1-13, the parable of the ten bridesmaids.
What is the context of the parable? Jesus talks to his disciples during the final week before his crucifixion, the cross is hours away. He has been questioned by people who tried to downgrade and ridicule him. He also has spoken firmly to challenge people. Last week, I watched a documentary on King Arthur, was it a great enlightening ? Who reads David Crockett, the Lone Ranger, Robin Hood. Take King Arthur! Was he from Yorkshire? or was he born in Cornwall? The documentary put him in Scotland. We don't know where he lived either! Part of the documentary says that Arthur is coming again to save the world and that we do not need to worry. Arthur lives in our hearts and minds. I thought that it sounded very familiar!
Take Jesus though! We know who Jesus was, the name of his followers. We know where he lived, Israel, we know how he died and that he rose again. Lots of things that he said have been written down not thousand years later but forty years after he resurrected, in AD 70, this is because the temple was destroyed that year and if it had happened, it would have been mentioned.
Lots of documents, the whole of New Testament, half of the Codex Sinaiticus tell us about him. Those Christians took the word of Jesus seriously and wrote everything down accurately. No other contemporary of Jesus is documented as well as him...
I cannot prove He is alive but I can taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:8) He is doing things in our life and this is no sheer coincidence. Jesus says: I am coming again and in this parable of the Ten bridesmaids, his message is 'be ready!' The oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit. If God is with us, we cannot live and ignore his message. Jesus has paid the price for us and has given us a new life. ' I am the resurrection and the life' (John 11: 25) You will never die. Do you believe it? Christ is claiming his bride, the Church.  Jesus says some tough things.
 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
S.A.
I took those notes last Sunday in Sandon church so I post them with some delay. Have a blessed week-end! Yours in Christ. N.