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6th September 2024
Pray (ACts) Read (Matthew 5:13-16) Message (Alan Burke) What does light do, it illuminates. When there is light darkness is dispelled, that which is hidden is disclosed and what ever is concealed comes into the open. When a power cut comes, and it’s something many of us have experienced, we can be left fumbling in the dark trying to find a torch or a candle, actually for most of us finding the candle isn’t the problem there are lots of them scattered about the house that you dare not touch because they are there just to look pretty, the problem is finding the matches. When you’ve finally found the matches and light the candle you put the candle is somewhere that it will illuminate the room, put it somewhere that will enable us to see and not walk in to things and do ourselves an injury. There is a sense here where Jesus is just staining the obvious, it’s unnecessary, of course a city in a hill cannot be hidden and you don’t put a lamp under a bowl, you put it on a stand so it gives light. Well since we are the light of the world we are to let our light shine. How are we the light of the world, well think to John’s gospel for a moment one of the I am sayings of Jesus where we are told in John 8; “…Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12). Jesus is the lamp of God who has come to bring light and revelation of the kingdom of God, it illuminates the dark and the light of Christ is in us by the work of the Holy Spirit. When we come to know Christ, we have been illuminated by the light of Christ by the work of the Spirit are to manifest this light. Our task as the church as those who have been called from darkness to light is to live in the light and to make known the light of God’s kingdom in how we live and as we proclaim the good news of the Gospel about Jesus Christ the saviour of the world. This is what we are to do, in all that we do and the reason as v16 concludes is “that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” So does this mean we do things that are clear for other people to see? Well Jesus also says in chapter 6:1“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. (Mt 6:1). Then to v6 when Jesus says “6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Mt 6:6.) Remember where this teaching comes, it comes right after the teaching on persecution, if you are going to be persecuted there is the desire to act like a chameleon, when you face suffering for the sake of Christ it would be easier to try and blend but we are to let our light shine. It means then that we are not trying to get people to look at us, but we are not hiding that we belong to Jesus, we belong to him and we live for him, it will mean that we live differently, it means we live consistently, faithfully according to the word of God. In doing so we should be living in a way that shows forth what we are, that we are the Lord’s that we love him. By living in accord with what the scriptures teach us we live counter culturally, we live as the salt and light that we are and we show a world that is decaying a better way. If you know and love the Lord Jesus Christ, if you are a believer, then believer, no matter how rubbish you think you are doing in your walk with the Lord Jesus notice what Jesus says, it is not “try to be salt or light”, but “you are” declares you to be salt, he declares you to be light. This is what you are, he has called you to himself and live on knowing that he will help you to live as you have called to be right where you are. There are days that that will be tough, that you think you’ve made a mess of it but you are Salt, you are Light because you belong to Jesus. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q83. Are all transgressions of the law equally heinous? A. Some sins in themselves, and by reason of several aggravations, are more heinous in the sight of God than others.
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5th September 2024
Pray (ACts) Read (Obadiah 1v1-9) Message (Scott Woodburn) Obadiah’s message was short but for someone called “Edom” it was of vital importance. God’s servant Obadiah had received a vision that directly concerned Edom and so the Prophet had been sent out to the nations to proclaim his God given message (v1). Who was Edom? Edom is both a person and a place. Edom’s inhabitants were called Edomites who were descendants of Esau. Perhaps you remember Esau? He was Jacob’s older twin brother and when he was born he was hairy earning the name Esau, which means hairy (Genesis 25v30). Later in his life he sold his birthright for some red stew (Genesis 25v30) which got him another name Edom, which means red. Later still Esau took foreign women as his wives and settled in a place called Seir (Genesis 36v2). Seir also means hairy and so it was an appropriate place for Esau to make his home. If you were in any doubt, Moses couldn’t have been clearer when he wrote “Esau is Edom” (Genesis 36v8) and needless to say, the Edomites were natural enemies of the Israelites. Why was this so? The Lord told Jacob and Esau’s mother Rebekah “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.” (Genesis 25v23). This prophetic word was proved true throughout the Bible. On numerous occasions Edom stood against her cousin Israel and her attitude is best described by the Lord who said that Edom “cherished perpetual enmity” (Ezekiel 35v5). That’s a tragic statement. Edom also called Esau also called Seir, preferred strife rather than peace. They took numerous opportunities to oppose Israel until one day Edom fell under God’s judgement and was no more. I am always amazed at how many people give no consideration to their standing with God. They kid themselves that there is no God or if He exists He won’t judge anyone. In the meantime they happily live as they wish, burning bridges and destroying others if it helps them climb life’s ladder. Brothers and sisters, the summer is over and autumn approaches. What will this year be like for you? Another year of “perpetual enmity” or perhaps a new attitude of grace and forgiveness? I doubt that the Edomites realised their peril but you and I have no excuse. The Lord knows and sees all. May our pressing business with Him be addressed for it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10v31). Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q82 Is any man able perfectly to keep the commandments of God? No mere man since the fall is able in this life perfectly to keep the commandments of God, but doth daily break them in thought, word, and deed. 4th September 2024
Pray (ACts) Read (Matthew 5:13-16) Message (Alan Burke) Salt gets a bad rep these days. Not so long ago I was taking a bible class on this passage and salt was the predominate topic of conversation. The reason why is that many of the teenagers couldn’t get their heads round that salt was actually a good thing because they’ve been taught how bad it is for you, fluid retention, can negatively affect your kidney function, cause high blood pressure, but at the same time too little salt in your diet can be a problem but the thing is most of us eat too much of it. I digress but must of us know that salt was an important commodity. Salt added to meat slows down the growth of bacteria, even stopping it all together. Salt draws moisture out of the cells through a process called osmosis, when you put salt on meat it sucks the moisture out and without the water the meat can last longer added to that salt creates an acidic environment, it doesn’t support bacteria growth. Look what Jesus says v13 “You are the salt of the earth”. Remember Jesus is talking to his disciples in the main, yes there were crowds there but this is for the disciples of Jesus, they are the salt of the earth, if you know and love Jesus this is what you are the salt of the earth and what salt does is it preserves. Think of that piece of meat without the fridge, freezer or the salting process to cure it and you wrapped it in a cheesecloth and hung it in a cool place away from sunlight. Maybe stick it in the spare bedroom wardrobe that’s full of clothes you never wear but are too precious to part with. Well give it a few days and you’re going to have some reek. Like get a whiff of that, it will be a feast for the nostrils but not the belly. Salt preserves, without the salt decay sets in, things become rotten, putrid. Well we are the salt of the earth, Jesus is teaching us what we are, we are the salt and without us in the world, without us we backward Christians who believe that marriage as between one man and one woman, that sex is within marriage, that life starts at conception, that those who are aged need to be cared for those who are dying, it is the Lord who gives and takes away, we treat the sabbath as a holy day not an every day, and there are lots of things we could add to that list. But without us in the world, without backward believers, who are out of touch with reality, who lives with kingdom values that are counter cultural to this world that we live in then if we think it’s bad now, the rot would hasten, the decay would speed up. Without true believers, the salt of the earth, then the decay of this world would hasten astronomically. It doesn’t take many believers to have an impact on the culture around us. Look how Jesus continues; “But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” But real salt can’t loose its saltiness and of course we know that, salt is salt. For the believer they can’t stop being what they are, they can’t loose their salvation, they can’t stop being salt and if we truly are salt we are going to live as salt, we are going to live in a way that is consistent with the profession of faith that we have made. There are though people who claim to be the disciples of Jesus, who are outside and inside the church but are not salt. For those who are disciples the proof is in not only the words that they say it is in how they live, they can say all the right things but if their lifestyle is inconstant with their profession then they are not what they claim to be. Now of course none of us are sinless and we all have the potential to fall into shocking sin. What Jesus is talking about is those who might have the vestiges of religion but aren’t disciples of Jesus. If we are those who claim to be Christ’s, if we are salt then we are people who love his word and precepts even if there is a cost to ourselves. Is the confession that we make credible, have we been transformed by the gospel or this world? Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q81. What is forbidden in the tenth commandment? A. The tenth commandment forbiddeth all discontentment with our own estate, envying or grieving at the good of our neighbor, and all inordinate motions and affections to anything that is his. 3rd September 2024
Pray (ACts) Read (Obadiah 1v1-21) Message (Scott Woodburn) I once read someone say that the Minor Prophets are usually the cleanest pages in anyone’s Bible. This wasn’t a comment about the content of the Minor Prophets, rather it was an observation that the average Christian doesn’t tend to read the Minor Prophets and thus those pages are free from greasy fingers or pencil marks. Perhaps this applies to you and so allow me to offer this gentle reminder of who the Minor Prophets are. If you take your Bible and go to the back of the Old Testament you will find twelve books running from Hosea to Malachi. These are the “Minor Prophets” as opposed to Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel & Daniel who are often referred to as the “Major Prophets”. This isn’t to say that Isaiah and his three friends had a more important message in their five books, just that their books are much larger than the “Minor Prophets”. Take Jeremiah for example - between the book of Jeremiah and the book of Lamentations the Prophet wrote fifty-seven chapters which is just ten less than all of the Minor Prophets put together. So the “Majors” wrote much more than the “Minors” but both are equally important for the one who loves the Lord. If we are ever tempted to ignore the “less important” parts of the Bible we would do well to remember Paul’s word to Timothy “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3v16-17). The smallest of the Minor Prophets and the smallest book in the Old Testament is Obadiah which consists of just one chapter with twenty-one verses. By God’s grace we’ll consider Obadiah’s message over the month of September and perhaps this ancient word will encourage us to make the “clean pages” a little less pristine. The book begins with the simple introduction “The vision of Obadiah.” (v1). Who was Obadiah? We aren’t sure. Obadiah means “the servant of the Lord” and there are around twelve individuals who bear the name Obadiah in the Old Testament. There is a tradition that links Obadiah with the reign of Ahab and the ministry of Elijah (1 Kings 18v3), whilst another tradition identifies Obadiah as an official in the days of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 17v7). Ultimately we can’t definitively identify Obadiah nor is there a unified consensus on when Obadiah received his vision. Some place Obadiah’s message during the rule of Jehoram from 852-841BC, while others argue that Obadiah was speaking in light of Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of Jerusalem in 586BC. We can debate all day long about Obadiah’s identity and historical setting but that would be to miss the point. Even in the midst of the uncertainty around this short book we will see that the Lord is certainly in charge of human history, He is certainly not blind to the actions of the nations and He will certainly bring His purposes to fruition. In our uncertain day and age Obadiah’s message is as relevant as ever. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q80 What is required in the tenth commandment? The tenth commandment requireth full contentment with our own condition, with a right and charitable frame of spirit toward our neighbor, and all that is his. 2nd September 2024
Pray (ACts) Read (Matthew 5:1-12) Message (Alan Burke) Today we begin a series on the Sermon on the Mount, we will be working through it until mid December and in it Jesus is teaching his disciples of how to live as people of the kingdom of God. These first verses are probably some of the best known of the sermon, known as ‘The Beatitudes’ they speak of those who are blessed. The word ‘blessed’ speaks not of happiness in this life, but a transcendent happiness, one that there is joy, blessing in more than temporary circumstances or feelings of happiness after all, could you honestly read though these verses before us and say, like v11 happy are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you. That’s not what I perceive happiness to be, I don’t like it when I’m insulted no matter what some of you seem to think, I’m not happy when people persecute me or falsely say all kinds of evil against us, none of us are. Our understanding of happiness in our temporal circumstances rob the teaching of Jesus here of the blessedness he speaks of, it is something more than this life has to offer, better, it isn’t promising a happy life in the here and now, that is never promised in the scriptures. What does it mean to be blessed, it speaks primarily of our relationship with God. Being blessed by God is receiving his favour. Think of the Aaronic blessing in Numbers 6 (22-27), the 24 “ ‘ “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” While the crowds are there with Jesus he’s taking the role of the scribes, the disciples came to him and he began to teach, while the crowds are there they are not the focus of the teaching of Jesus, rather it is the disciples. It is the church for whom the sermon on the mount is focused. For this of us who are his disciples, the church, those who claim Jesus as we go through this is a manual on our discipleship that it deals with ethical and moral principles that we are called to live by. Today we’re not focusing on all that is taught in these verses rather I want to focus on how it ends in v11-12. We are told blessed are you when you are reviled, persecuted, evil is uttered against us on Jesus account and how we respond is to rejoice and be glad for our reward is great in heaven. Persecution has been the experience of the church throughout the ages. While it has been fairly easy for us here in the west there are places that you live in fear for your life for being a follower of Jesus, now that isn’t to belittle what you face but rather help us to see the truth of what Jesus warned when he said that we would be persecuted for his sake. It almost seems perverse that we are told to rejoice and be glad in this, but it is because we know that this is the only hell we will ever experience because of Jesus and don’t miss how Jesus here is identifies Himself as the Lord. You could sum up what we are being told here with the word suffering, blessed are those who suffer for Jesus sake because just as those who are poor in spirit, they will receive the kingdom of heaven. Why will they also receive the kingdom of heaven? Well because those who are poor in spirit who know that they come bringing nothing and those who are persecuted and reviled, those who suffer for Jesus because the Lord is pleased when his people live for him even when their is a cost in this life, for their reward is not here, it is in heaven. The idea that you come to Jesus and it will be well is knocked on the head by Jesus throughout the gospels but what we receive is an eternal reward. For the believer no matter what we face in this life it is the only hell we will experience. Being blessed is something more than this life has to offer, it isn’t promising a happy life in the here and now, that is never promised in the scriptures. It is a blessing that is eternal, and the future hope that we have as believers that is described to us in Revelation 21 where we will dwell with our God, see his face in the New heaven and the New Earth where there will be no more sin or its consequences for these will have passed away, for the believer, theirs will be the kingdom, eternal life before the Lord our God, Great Our Reward In Heaven Will Be! Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q79. Which is the tenth commandment? A. The tenth commandment is, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s. |
Alan
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