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19th July 2023
Pray (ACts) Read - Mark 12:28-34 Message Alan Burke If you skipped Monday’s devotion we were beginning to think of what is knowing ‘The Greatest Commandment’ as one of the teachers of the law asks the question “Which commandment is the most important of all”. Jesus responds to the man and quotes from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Now that you are brought up to speed compare the words that I have quoted from Deuteronomy 6 with what Jesus says in Mark 12:29. While there is only a slight difference it is significant none the less. Jesus adds to the requirement to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might, he adds “with all your mind”. The heart in scripture, doesn’t speak of the organ that pumps blood around the body but the seat of your emotions, your will, your motivation, your affections. At the end of the grinch stole Christmas his heart grew three times that day and he gave all the presents back so even in popular culture we get what is being meant here. The soul, well that’s our life, in Jewish thought it spoke of the soul as the life, vitality that you have. Without a soul the body is lifeless and the imagery is given to us in Genesis 2:7. So you have the imagery of heart, the seat of our emotions, the soul the life that we have and then in the Shema we are given strength. Strength, well we may feel that we are lacking the strength that we had but it refers to our physical strength, our capacities, our abilities, what we have that we can use for the Lord. And to these Jesus adds, “with all your mind”. Why does Jesus add this, why is this necessary, for we have our heart, our emotions, our souls our very life, and our strength, our capacities and abilities using them for the Lord but why mind. Well our love of God has to do with more than our emotions, more than our life, more than our strength it involves our mind, our intellect too, when our mind is engaged it is not possible just to go through the motions, it is not possible just to play act. Think about this, think about the reaching implications of this, because it’s not enough to have a preschool understanding of God, it is not enough to simply think we know all that we need to know and we have got our ticket as long as we show up on the Lord’s day just for good measure. No, Loving the Lord demands our emotions, our life, our strength but also our mind our intellect, has your understanding of who God is this week increased, have you got into his word and through through some of the eternal truths, are you going to chew the fat or are you happy for Christianity light? If you are unsure what I mean by Christianity light it’s ‘more me, less God’, it’s an anaemic relationship, lacking in what it should be. The thing if we are all honest Jesus gives this command to Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength and none of us can say that we love the Lord our God as we should. But as we repent and believe because of his grace there is not one sin or many no matter how egregious that can cause that grace to be removed from us, but we should never be willing to just settle of mediocrity in our walk with the Lord, instead we should desire to Love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q102 What do we pray for in the second petition? In the second petition, (which is, Thy kingdom come, (Matt. 6:10)) we pray, That Satan’ s kingdom may be destroyed; (Ps. 68:1,18) and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced, (Rev. 12:10–11) ourselves and others brought into it, and kept in it; (2 Thess. 3:1, Rom. 10:1, John 17:9,20) and that the kingdom of glory may be hastened. (Rev. 22:20)
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18th July 2023
Pray (ACts) Read (Matthew 27v11-31) Although the chief priests and elders had made up their minds that Jesus must be killed, there remained one last line of defence in the man called Pilate. Pontius Pilate was an obscure Roman official who by the merit of his interaction with Christ has become one of the most famous Romans in all of recorded history. Surely he would see Christ's innocence? Jesus continued to remain silent to the accusations of the chief priests and elders but when Pilate asked "are you the king of the Jews?" the Lord replied "You have said so." (v11). Pilate was amazed at the amount of charges levied against Christ and further amazed when Jesus did not answer a single charge (v14). What was to be done with the Christ? Pilate sought to release Him. There was a custom in Roman law that allowed a governor to set free a condemned prisoner and so Pilate offered the crowd a choice between Barabbas and Jesus (v17). Who was Barabbas? He was "a notorious prisoner" (v16) probably involved in rebellion against the Romans. Would the crowd choose a rebel or Christ? Pilate knew that Jesus had been delivered to him "out of envy" (v18) and again we realise that the Roman was no fool. Nevertheless, he refused to stand firm against the growing conspiracy and was further guided by a warning from his wife. She sent word to her husband “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.” (v19) We don't know much about Mrs. Pilate's dream but some have taken it negatively and others positively. She called Jesus "that righteous man" and urged her husband to "have nothing to do" with Jesus. Was she seeking Christ's freedom? Was the dream from God? Or perhaps the dream found its origin in hell? We aren't to know but Pilate remained indecisive. He asked again who he should release and was told once more "Barabbas" (v21). In response Pilate posed the question “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” (v22) and he was met with the cry “Let him be crucified!” (v22b). I find myself somewhat sympathetic to Pilate's plight as it would appear that by this stage he had lost the run of himself and the proceedings. The crowd stood before him and became more and more unruly. Pilate asked finally “What evil has he done?” (v23) to which the only answer was a shouted “Let him be crucified!” The crowd had become so boisterous that Pilate feared a riot and so he took water and symbolically washed his hands in full view of the crowd (v24). “I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.” said Pontius Pilate, to which the people replied “His blood be on us and on our children!” (v25). How true this would be when the Romans would surround Jerusalem in the year 70. So the innocent Jesus was rejected in favour of the guilty Barabbas (v26). Pilate's hands may have been wet with water but they were certainly not clean. He had found no guilt in Christ but had lost control to the mob. Instead of Jesus going free He was scourged (v26), stripped (v28), mocked with a scarlet robe and crown of thorns (v28-29), spat upon and scorned with the cry "Hail, King of the Jews!" (v29). Pilate's soldiers had their fun and soon led Jesus away to be crucified (v30). The last line of defence had fallen. Message (Scott Woodburn) Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q101 What do we pray for in the first petition? In the first petition, which is, Hallowed be thy name,” we pray, that God would enable us, and others, to glorify him in all that whereby he maketh himself known, and that he would dispose all things to his own glory. 17th July 2023
Pray (ACts) Read - Mark 12:28-34 Message Alan Burke It was the Beatles in 1967 that released the non album single ‘All you need is love’ and you know they weren’t far wrong. Ok the song written by John Lennon is fairly simplistic and repetitive but the chorus when it says ‘All you need is love’ is true. As we come to this portion in Mark’s gospel which is usually entitled ‘The Greatest Commandment’ Jesus tells a teacher of the law what is required of him and it is love, to love God and our neighbour. That is what required of us, to love and on one level it sounds simple and it would be but we all have a wee problem, one that we don’t like to talk about or even acknowledge and that is we are sinful and as sinners we fail miserably at this, to love. Yes I’ve seen some wonderful examples of love, of sacrificial love, but they all fall short of the love that is required of us to love the Lord your God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength.’ And then to ‘love our neighbour as ourself.’ This interaction in Mark’s gospel is unlike much of what has preceded it while Jesus is in the temple, this is a man, a teacher of the law who comes with a genuine desire to have his question answered by Jesus. This man was one who taught the law, he was an expert in the law and he asks the question “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”. In a sense this wasn’t an easy ask, for in the Torah, also known as the ‘book of Moses’ or the ‘Law of God’, which is the first five books of the bible there are 613 commands. Out of the 613 commands there are 365 in the negative and 248 in the positive, ie there were 365 things that you don’t do and 248 that you were to do. That’s a big list for anyone. In regard to the 613 commandments 365 things that you don’t do and 248 that you were to do what had happened over the years is that Rabi’s had sought to summarise them like a parent with the child about to go into the party when they say ‘be good’. What they had tried to do was to give a summary to live by, and the teacher of the Law is asking Jesus to give him, his own interpretation, his own summary to live by. Jesus responds quoting from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 what is known as the Shema and this is what he says; 29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’. This is known as the Shema, it is recited daily by Jews it is the first pice of scripture a Jewish child is taught, if you were to go to the synagogue you would hear it as the opening words as the call to worship. Many Jews say the Shema three times a day: in the morning, in the evening and before they go to sleep. The Shema comes as the people are about to enter the promised land and they are being given covenant stipulations, basically you keep your part of the agreement and things will be fine, you keep the decease and commands that are being given to you and all will be well, that is how the Shema is introduced, it is a covenant stipulation and how are God’s people to live. We’ll think more about the wording of the Shema and what Jesus says on Wednesday but for now in this command, what is being required of us is total devotion to the Lord. Let me ask, how’s that going for you? If you’re honest like me it’s not going too well. Yet while we may fail miserably the good news is that there is a Saviour who has done what we cannot do, the Lord Jesus Christ. Even though we fail miserably we can give thanks, that through his work, by the Spirits work of faith in us, (Rom. 5:19; 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 4:6, 11, 10:3) his righteousness is imputed to us. So that when God looks at us He doesn’t see our failure to love Him, he doesn’t see our sin but the perfect righteousness of Christ. We will always fall short but Jesus has perfectly lived this out. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q100 What doth the preface of the Lord’ s prayer teach us? The preface of the Lord’ s prayer, (which is, Our Father which art in heaven, (Matt. 6:9)) teacheth us to draw near to God with all holy reverence and confidence, as children to a father, able and ready to help us; (Rom. 8:15, Luke 11:13) and that we should pray with and for others. (Acts 12:5, 1 Tim. 2:1–2) 15th July 2023
Pray (ACts) Read (Matthew 27v1-10) Message (Scott Woodburn) Amazingly the names of some of the Apostles have crept into everyday speech. To the man who isn’t convinced we often say that he is a “doubting Thomas” and to the woman who betrays us we often describe her as a “Judas”. Between you and me I would rather be a Thomas than a Judas. To this day the name of Judas Iscariot is synonymous with betrayal and deceit. But what do we know about Judas Iscariot? Not very much, but we can be reasonably sure that he is the only disciple who did not come from the region of Galilee. Additionally, within the twelve he performed the role of treasurer. Judas also bears the name Iscariot which separates him from the other Judas who is more commonly known as Thaddaeus. There has been plenty of discussion over the meaning of Iscariot. Most likely it describes where Judas has come from. Isacriot means “man of Kerioth” which is a region of Judea (Joshua 15v25). However some have suggested that Iscariot comes from an Aramaic term meaning “false one” with others suggesting that Isacriot comes from a Latin term meaning “assassin”. Both suggestions would suit Judas Iscariot well. John tells us that even before the betrayal of Christ, Judas wasn’t to be trusted. Judas complained about Mary wasting expensive ointment saying “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” (John 12v5) But Judas had no concern for the poor. John explains the motives behind Judas ’ statement “ Judas said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.” (John 12v6) So Judas, the man of Kerioth, was a thief and was the man who would betray Christ. He is an utterly tragic figure. As Jesus made His way to Pilate (v2), Judas was filled with regret and brought his thirty pieces of silver back to the chief priests and elders (v3). Iscariot had come to realise his sin and understood the innocence of Jesus (v4). Nevertheless, the ruling authorities saw this as Judas' own problem not theirs and curtly responded “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” (v4). How did Judas see to it himself? There is no evidence of his repentance but instead he went and took his own life by hanging (v5). The chief priests followed Deuteronomy 23v18 and refused to put Judas' "blood money" into the treasury and so they bought "the potter's field" which was then used as a graveyard for foreigners, bringing fulfilment to Zechariah 11v12-13. In Acts 1v8-10, Luke addresses this event by saying "(Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)" It seems difficult at first glance to harmonise these two accounts but let me suggest the following. The field was bought by the chief priests with Judas' "blood money", therefore the field can rightly be described as both "Judas' field" and "the Field of Blood". Furthermore, there is a suggestion that this same field was where Judas hung himself. Perhaps Judas heard what had been done with his money and chose the field as the appropriate place for his death? It appears that Judas hung himself, his body remained unburied and eventually it rotted, fell and burst open in the field set aside for foreigners. The field bought with blood money was watered by the blood of an enemy of God. The story of Judas is written for our instruction and it is an incredibly tragic tale. We can only imagine the things that he saw and the things that he heard. Judas walked and talked with Jesus! He spent hours with Christ! He spent years with Christ! Yet when push came to shove this same Judas went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” Judas loved money more than he loved Christ and so “the betrayer” turned Jesus over to wicked men for just 30 pieces of silver. I once talked to an old man who had visited Israel many times. He talked vividly about the magnitude of his experience and he would always tell me that as he walked the streets of Jerusalem it was so easy to imagine where Jesus had been. Judas didn’t have to imagine, he saw with his own eyes and yet rejected Christ regardless. This generation is not hard done by because we haven’t physically seen Jesus. Indeed the Lord once told Thomas “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20v29) Dear Christian, today you do not see but know that one day, with your own eyes, you will see Jesus. He will not betray you, nor will he leave you ashamed. But to the one who rejects Christ...repent for the hour of His return is at hand. Do something with the Word you have heard. Do something with the sermons you have sat under. Do not allow yourself to walk Iscariot’s path - hearing Christ yet rejecting Him and slowly making your way to Hell. To the thief, the betrayer, the liar, the sinner...Jesus calls you to be saved. Repent and believe the Gospel! Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q99 What rule hath God given for our direction in prayer? The whole Word of God is of use to direct us in prayer, but the special rule of direction is that form of prayer which Christ taught his disciples, commonly called, The Lord’s Prayer. 14th July 2023
Pray (ACts) Read - Mark 12:18-27 Message Alan Burke In this interaction between the Sadducees and Jesus, Jesus challenges them by saying “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?” I don’t think I’ll crack out that verse the next time I’m engaging with someone when we disagree, but notice what Jesus does, because it is important for he takes them to the word of God. The word of God is where we need to go at every stage, everything we believe should be founded upon and agreeable to it, it has to be our rule and guide. While the Sadducees only believed that the Torah, the first five books of the bible often referred to as the book of Moses, which here the Sadducees speak of as the word of God, it is nonetheless the word of God and Jesus takes them to it to challenge their error. Jesus takes them to the scriptures, there would have been no point of Jesus appealing to 1&2 Kings, ( 1 K17:17–24, 2 K 4:18–20, 32–37, or Job (19:25–27, Or the psalmist (16:8–11, 49:13–15, 71:20, Isaiah (26:19–20, 53:10–11) Ezekiel (37:7–10), Daniel (12:2–3), Hosea (6:1–2) or Jonah (1:17–2:2, 6–7, 10) but to name some of the clear references to the resurrection, Jesus takes them to the only part of the Scriptures that they believed in, the Torah, he took them to Exodus 3. From where God speaks to Moses from the bush. In the account of the bush we have Moses before the burning bush and the Lord speaks from the bush saying "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”. He is not the God of the dead but of the living, you are badly mistaken. Now tense is important in speech, for any of us, we don’t talk using past tense for things in the present, we don’t talk in present tense for things that have happened in the past. If God had said I was the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, then it is in the past tense, therefore it is no longer the case. Whereas the tense that is used is present, I am, and not I was. In Exodus 3:6 And he (God) said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” (Ex 3:6). Jesus doesn’t giver them an option to respond but instead tells them He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!” (Mk 12:27). Badly mistaken, there are some things that people can try to debate all that they want when it comes to what they believe, they can say I think, I feel, I believe but the truth is the truth. The Sadducees were wrong that the torah did not teach the resurrection, for while it may not have been explicit it was implicitly taught, what we have is a good an necessary consequences of is taught in the Torah, our God is God of the living (Deut 5:26), while other gods are wood and stone our God. You know there is truth, there is truth that people may try to debate or ignore but it doesn’t chance the truth. To finish I want to take you to the hope of the resurrection that we have, for this world may be far from how we would want it or desire it to be, we may have had our hopes dashed, disappointed, we may have experienced trial, suffering, strife but this world, this life and the worst that we experience now will one day be but a distant memory, it in a sense is the only hell that we will ever experience. And for the unbeliever this life is the only heaven they will enjoy. God’s word does not give us many details of that new creation and the resurrection, we may have questions, how old will I be, if I die at 95 will I still be a 95 year old, the truth is we don’t know, will I recognise my family and friends, most likely for the disciples were able to recognise Jesus resurrected body (Jn 20:11-18). But there is in truth much that we do not need to know, it is enough to know that the Lord says it will be better than what we enjoy now. He is trustworthy and we know that He only speaks the truth. The best thing about heaven is that Christ will be there, and He will satisfy our deepest longings for goodness, truth, beauty, and love. Knowing God And His Word Gives Us Hope And Comfort. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q 98 What is prayer? Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, (Ps. 62:8) for things agreeable to his will, (1 John 5:14) in the name of Christ, (John 16:23) with confession of our sins, (Ps. 32:5–6, Dan. 9:4) and thankful acknowledgement of his mercies. (Phil. 4:6) 13th July 2023
Pray (ACts) Read (Matthew 26v47-68) Message (Scott Woodburn) The difference between Jesus and His opponents was laid bare at the scene of the Lord's betrayal. Jesus who always spoke truth was betrayed by His former disciple Judas who sleekitly kissed Jesus to positively identify the Lord for His would-be captors (v48-49). Jesus who laid hands on people in order to heal them was seized abruptly by the crowd (v50). Jesus who brought salvation to humanity was confronted by those who brought swords and clubs (v47). Indeed when Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of a man called Malchus, Jesus didn't call His disciples to war but instead commanded them to put their swords away before healing the injured man. The discrepancy between the captors and the Lord was highlighted further when Jesus asked “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” (v55-56). The unruly mob sent out against Jesus were puppets of cowards (v47) who lacked the courage to seize Jesus publicly. Instead they put their plan into motion under the cover of darkness. Nevertheless, these men were not in control. Christ was clear that everything happening to Him was so that the prophets would be fulfilled (v56). At that very moment, just as the Lord had predicted, all the disciples turned tail and fled (v56b). Perhaps the Lord's accusers would restore their integrity by giving Jesus a free and fair trial? No. The process that began in shadow continued in treachery. The chief priests sought out "false testimony" against Christ (v59) in order that they could impose upon Jesus their predetermined punishment of death (v59b). Many false witnesses came forward and finally two stood who said “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’” (v61). Jesus had indeed spoken in this way saying “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2v19) but Christ was not promising to take a hammer to the physical temple. Jesus is the true temple and therefore He was speaking about the temple of his body (John 2v21). The council made no effort to find the true meaning of Christ's words and soon the high priest pressed the silent Jesus by asking “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” (v63). You might say that the high priest "cut to the chase", he "adjured" Christ to answer "by the living God" and as such Jesus was placed under oath and was honour bound to answer. Christ did not shrink or attempt to dodge the question, He said “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (v64) Jesus claimed to be "the Son of Man" of Daniel 7v13 to whom "the ancient of days" gave an everlasting kingdom. Additionally Jesus claimed to be the one exalted above David and seated at the right hand of God (Psalm 110v1). The Lord's claims were not trivial, in response to the high priest's question Jesus declared that "from now on" His accusers would not see Him as a criminal to be questioned but as the King of kings who would one day return in power. The Lord's response was too much for the high priest who tore his robes and declared “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment?” (v65-66). The council answered “He deserves death.” (v66b). With that pronouncement, the floodgates of abuse opened further and Jesus was spat upon, struck, slapped (v67) and mocked (v68). I am always struck by the dignity of our Lord at His arrest and trial. He was lied about, mocked, beaten and scorned and yet He carried Himself in a humble manner. He could have called twelve legions of angels at any moment (v53) to destroy His enemies but instead He was obedient even unto death. May we be humbled by Matthew's account of the Lord's final hours. "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth." (Isaiah 53v7) Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q97 What is required to the worthy receiving of the Lord’s Supper? It is required of them that would worthily partake of the Lord’s Supper, that they examine themselves, of their knowledge to discern the Lord’s body, of their faith to feed upon him, of their repentance, love, and new obedience; lest, coming unworthily, they eat and drink judgment to themselves. 12th July 2023
Pray (ACts) Read - Mark 12:18-27 Message Alan Burke You may have had your dreams shattered or felt like you wont the lottery on Monday when we thought about the words of Jesus and realised that there will be no marriage in heaven and as we think of this passage once more let’s look to the question of the Sadducees and remember as we do it that they did not believe in the resurrection. Their question is asked in the framework of the levirate law found in Deuteronomy 25:5-6. But they are coming with an assumption, the assumption that they are making is that at the resurrection life will be no different from life as we experience it in the here and now. Ok they might have assumed that it was maybe a little bit different but just a continuation of this life, just better, no sin, no dodgy back. Yes while there will be no sin or dodgy backs in the resurrection it would be wrong to call the resurrection a continuation of this life. That’s what I’m often confronted with at gravesides, especially among individuals who do not who do not share the hope that we have in Christ Jesus, yet they have some vague hope of something, that is based more on wishful thinking and years of television shows. The sentiments that are often conveyed when people loose loved ones often sound lovely are nothing more than platitudes based on wishful thinking rather than the word of God. For the believer there is one destination and for the unbeliever there is another. The word of God teaches that when a believer dies that The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, (Heb. 12:23) and do immediately pass into glory; (2 Cor. 5:1,6,8, Phil. 1:23, Luke 23:43) and their bodies, being still united to Christ, (1 Thess. 4:14) do rest in their graves, (Isa. 57:2) till the resurrection. (Job 19:26–27) (WSC37). This is known as the intermediate state, it is called that because it is not the final destiny God has for His people. It’s often what people mean when they speak of heaven, they’ve gone to heaven, and for the believer this happens immediately, that’s why often you have in the New Testament it speak of falling asleep in Christ, you fall asleep here and wake up with Christ. But that is not the final destination for believers who have died in Christ, it is not the final hope for the believer, for we await the time when Christ will return and consummate his kingdom. Then at the resurrection, believers being raised up in glory, (1 Cor. 15:43) shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, (Matt. 25:23, Matt. 10:32) and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God, (1 John 3:2, 1 Cor. 13:12) to all eternity. (1 Thess. 4:17–18). So the Sadducees who didn’t believe in the resurrection, who believed that this life is it! And the response of Jesus to there question is; “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? But it is true, generally that is where our error comes from, it is why we have lots of little different groups of churches, lots of independent churches in Northern Ireland, there are no shortage of places to go to worship because people don’t always agree on their theology, that’s a bit of an understatement, even in one congregation you can have diverse options, disagreements, some who are polar opposite. I want you to see here the response of Jesus towards the Sadducees because he is telling them that their theology is wrong, just because they thought they were right, just because they believed there was no resurrection, just because they felt it was true does not mean it was. Jesus doesn’t here say, well that’s true for you, that’s right for you so it’s ok, we can agree to differ, that’s your truth, I have my truth and it’s ok, we can work together for the sake of what we both hold to be true, while those are more often than not our responses, Jesus corrects them. There is truth, we should guard it, but are you willing submitting to the truth, the word of God, even when it confronts our sin and challenges the societal norms around us are you willing to accepts its truth or do we prefer to ignore it or follow a lie? Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q 96 What is the Lord’ s supper? The Lord’ s supper is a sacrament, wherein, by giving and receiving bread and wine, according to Christ’ s appointment, his death is showed forth; and the worthy receivers are, not after a corporal and carnal manner, but by faith, made partakers of his body and blood, with all his benefits, to their spiritual nourishment, and growth in grace. (1 Cor. 11:23–26) 11th July 2023
Pray (ACts) Read (Matthew 26v36-46) Message (Scott Woodburn) Every year the President of the United States gives an address called the "State of the Union". The USA is made up of fifty different States which are united into one larger country and so the State of the Union address speaks to the current health and fortune of the United States of America. Closer to home we often speak about our own "precious union" and we proudly raise the Union flag of our country. But before I stir your patriotic feelings, today we are going to consider the most precious union of all - the hypostatic union. Jesus took His disciples to the garden of Gethsemane where He told them to sit and wait while He prayed (v36). Why did Jesus need to pray? Because He is true God AND true man - we call this the hypostatic union. Jesus wasn't a hybrid man nor was He a lesser God. In the person of Christ there are two natures, the divine and the human. Jesus entered Gethsemane carrying an unspeakable weight. The darkness of hell was approaching and the cup of God's wrath would soon be poured out upon Christ and so He prayed. Gethsemane means "oil press" and so it seems fitting that the weight of Christ's burden pressed down upon Him in the garden. He told Peter, James and John “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” (v38) Jesus wasn't sad or a little bit upset, He was experiencing a dreadful and crushing anguish. J.C. Ryle explains the Lord's sorrow in this way “How can we account for the deep agony which our Lord underwent in the garden? It was caused by the burden of a world’s imputed sin.” He left His disciples and fell face down praying “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (v39). The first Adam fell in the garden as he freely chose the path of disobedience. Christ the second Adam knew awful anguish but freely walked the path of obedience. He prayed “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” and “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” Here we see Christ's humanity and perfect obedience. He asks if there is another way that is in keeping with God's saving plan. Did salvation require the beating, scorn and shame of the cross? Frederick Leahy answers “For Christ to be our Saviour there was no other way than the way of the cross. God’s righteousness demanded it, our sin required it and Satan feared it.” Jesus would bleed, He would suffer, He would know agony and torture but Christ the man would not buckle or break - "your will be done" He said. Christ the true man, the perfect obedient servant proved to be the true Adam in Gethsemane. The Lamb would die for the sins of His people. As Christ was pressed on all sides, His disciples slept (v40,43). They may have been willing to stay with Christ but they succumbed to the weakness of the flesh (v41). One commentator puts it his way "The sleepers for whom Christ would die have lost their opportunity to gain strength through prayer. By contrast, Jesus has prayed in agony but now rises with poise and advances to meet his betrayer." The quiet anguish of Gethsemane was broken by the noise of betrayal as Judas and a great crowd approached (v45-46) No matter how bad things get for us, we will never know an experience like Gethsemane. The garden was endured by Jesus and Him alone, nevertheless, in the moments that we are pressed on all sides, we can do no better than to pray. Furthermore, we would do well to journey to Gethsemane frequently where our sinful arrogance is turned to humility. Ambrose of Milan explains the garden like this “Jesus grieved for me, who had no cause of grief for Himself; and, laying aside the delights of the eternal Godhead, He experiences the affliction of my weakness.” Christ was pressed in the garden for our sake, He endured hell so that we might rejoice in heaven. I thank God for the hypostatic union, Gethsemane and the Gospel - how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q95 To whom is Baptism to be administered? Baptism is not to be administered to any that are out of the visible Church, till they profess their faith in Christ, and obedience to him; but the infants of such as are members of the visible Church are to be baptized. 10th July 2023
Pray (ACts) Read - Mark 12:18-27 Message Alan Burke We look at a passage this week that will fill some of you with delight and others it will fill your eyes with tears. The reason why is that it deals with marriage in at the resurrection and for some of you it will be a relief from what feels like a life sentence but for others who couldn’t imagine a day without your other half or marriage will be no more. What we often miss when we think about marriage is that its purpose is to point us to something else. That something else is Christ and is Church, that is what Paul in Ephesians reminds us as he quotes from Genesis 2:24 in Ephesians 5:32 saying; “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”saying ”This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church' (Eph 5:32). This passage reminds us of the wonderful hope that we have as believers, a hope that is based on what God has done from beginning to end, on his power. Since arriving at the temple Jesus had been challenged about his authority, had a political hot potato thrown at him and now it moves to theology. For the first time in Mark’s gospel we are introduced to the Sadducees. They were one of a a number of Jewish groups in the first century, there were a few things that marked out the Sadducees, they believed that only the Torah, that’s the first five books of the bible were the word of God. To them anything beyond Deuteronomy was as good as reading the News Letter to direct us how to glorify and enjoy God. The Sadducees give Jesus a senecio, now there are a few things that jump out of us from the page, firstly they preface it with ‘Moses wrote for us’. What they are referring to is known as the levirate law found in Deuteronomy 25:5-6. The Levirate law provided a way for allowing the family name to continue, to keep property intact, to allow a woman and her children a level of protection that otherwise wouldn’t have been there. Although you might be thinking, thank goodness that this law as it falls under the civic requirement for God’s people no longer applies. This levirate law was given and now the Sadducees give a scenario to Jesus in v19f. The Scenario may sound far fetched, absurd, improbable but the situation they give is not impossible. Given what has just been said we might expect the Sadducees to ask a question on an aspect of the law relating to marriage but instead they ask a question while it is to do with marriage it is on the resurrection, while this doesn’t surprise us after all we were introduced to the Sadducees who didn’t believe in the resurrection in v19 ultimately their question is just another attempt to trap Jesus by his words, by another group who didn’t really like him. I want to jump ahead for today, look what Jesus then says, v25, how when the dead rise they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. To Jesus the resurrection here is a certainty, the question of the Sadducees and the scenario would have made if the resurrection was a continuation on of this life possibly all of the bothers guilty of adultery, (Lev 18:16, 20:21). Their question in presuming like many people that the afterlife is a continuation of this life does reveal an issue. Now I know that for some of you who are married the idea of spending eternity with your better half might sound like the stuff made of dreams, for others it might be the stuff made of nightmares. But Jesus here says we will be like the angels in heaven. Jesus again is challenging these sadducees for they did not believe in the resurrection or in angels and both exist. On the final day, when God recreates the heavens and the earth, when God gives us new, glorified, perfected, resurrected bodies, then will we finally and perfectly experience that which we were created to do. Then we will finally know what it means to glorify and enjoy God perfectly, without the burden of sin laid upon our backs, forever! There will be no more tears, death, mourning pain, there will be no more dodgy backs, no more falling out with our shadows, no more disappointments, no more of any of that (Rev 21:4). Instead we will live as Adam was always intended to live, in a covenant relationship with fullness and depth with our God (Rev 21:2), where we will enjoy God’s presence, where we will be his people (Rev 21:3). Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q 94 What is baptism? Baptism is a sacrament, wherein the washing with water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, (Matt. 28:19) doth signify and seal our ingrafting into Christ, and partaking of the benefits of the covenant of grace, and our engagement to be the Lord’ s. (Rom. 6:4, Gal. 3:27) 8th July 2023
Pray (ACts) Read (Matthew 26v30-35,69-75) Message (Scott Woodburn) I had a friend in P7 who I sat beside every single day for a year. We were like peas in a pod who spent much of our time talking about Star Trek and drawing pictures of spaceships. Unfortunately towards the end of P7 my friend became the victim of some fairly vicious and sustained bullying. What did I do to help him? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I stood by and watched and remained quiet when I should have spoken up. He asked me one day why I never did anything to help him and I had no answer. Things were never the same between us and although I haven't seen him since 1990, I am still filled with regret over my inaction. Jesus knew that Judas Iscariot would betray Him but tragically, the Lord also knew that all of the other eleven disciples would scatter when the time came. Zechariah 13v7 would be fulfilled "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered." Jesus would be raised to life and He would see His disciples once more (v32) but before that day He would be left alone to face the wrath of His opponents and the wickedness of the cross. Peter was sure that he would never leave Jesus alone, telling the Lord “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” (v33) But Jesus was sure that before the rooster crowed, Peter would deny Jesus three times (v34). The apostle was unconvinced and he and his brothers all agreed that they would die before they would ever deny Jesus (v35). How did it all pan out? Judas betrayed the Lord, the disciples scattered and although Peter followed Christ closely, when the time came he denied Christ three times. “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” (v69). No. “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” (v71). No! “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” (v73). NO! As Peter cursed himself and denied knowledge of Christ for a third time, the rooster crowed and Peter wept bitterly (v75). I suspect all of us value loyalty in our friends and no doubt we like to think that someone will have our back when we need it most. But truth be told, at times it is easier to say nothing, it suits us to let a friend take the heat and we prefer to keep the head down for the sake of a quiet life. Jesus was left alone but never treats us in the same way. Where is Jesus now? He is at the right hand of the Father and it is there that He is praying for His people. Hebrews 7v25 says "he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them." When you believe that no one cares and no one has your best interests at heart, the Lord is interceding for you. You will often betray Him, you will often forget Him, you will often wander from Him. But thanks be to God for the grace of the Gospel! The One who was betrayed has truthfully said “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13v5) Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q93 Which are the Sacraments of the New Testament? The Sacraments of the New Testament are Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. |
Alan
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