Notes From Meeting Sunday 10th January 2021

Lee Street Church

Notes of Meeting for 10^th January 2021

The Worship time was led by Sue Clarke

Ephesians 1 v3-8 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding”.

John 1 v12 “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”.

Song: Father in heaven      (96)

We lift Your name in all the earth.

May Your kingdom be established in our praises

As Your people declare Your mighty works.

Blessèd be the Lord God Almighty,

Who was and is and is to come;

Blessèd be the Lord God Almighty,

Who reigns forever more.

Bob Fitts.

Copyright © 1985 Scripture in Song,

            a division of Integrity Music/Adm.

            by Kingsway’s Thankyou Music.

What really struck me during last week’s service were the comments that showed so many of us were really appreciative of the little gestures from others during these difficult, strange times, and how much we valued the support of everyone during the course of the whole year.  It gave us all a sense of knowing how much we each mean to others within our church community.

To me this last year has really epitomised the fact that we are a real family. Just like any family we could call on others for practical support, and prayer support, which kept us all going and raised our spirits.

Like any family we are all different but somehow just all fit together because we are united by, and through God’s love.

Even though we are physically apart and not able to meet all together, we can still be united in our desire and ability to offer up our worship, praise and thanks to God.

Romans 15 v5-6 “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

Song: Come people of the risen King

Come, young and old from every land -
Men and women of the faith;
Come, those with full or empty hands -
Find the riches of His grace.
Over all the world, His people sing -
Shore to shore we hear them call
The Truth that cries through every age:
"Our God is all in all"! REFRAIN
REFRAIN
Rejoice, Rejoice! Let every tongue rejoice!
One heart, one voice; O Church of Christ, rejoice!

Words and Music by Keith and Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend Copyright © 2008 Thankyou Music/ Copyright Control

I know that Lee Street is like an extended family to us all and that, even though we are small in number compared to other churches, we’ve always felt a tremendous sense of the love that binds us all together. I feel that whereas these current Covid circumstances could have caused us to become lethargic and insular, yet, in a way I feel we are stronger and more united.

Ken last week was talking about how the pandemic had actually meant that Christians in some areas of the world had been able to break through barriers that previously couldn’t have been imagined. The world is finding out that they can’t manage without God’s input.

As Christians, we have the knowledge and assurance of being Heirs to the kingdom

Romans 8 v15-17 “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory”.

We have to continue to trust in God and know that He has the whole world in His hands.  Individually we might think, even more during these times, that we have little to offer God. In fact, the opposite is true, as we rely more and more on Him and less and less on ourselves. We have to place everything in His hands and do whatever we can to show and share God’s love in our daily lives.

Song: An army of ordinary people    20

AN ARMY OF ORDINARY PEOPLE,

A kingdom where love is the key,

A city, a light to the nations,

Heirs to the promise are we.

A people whose life is in Jesus,

A nation together we stand.

Only through grace are we worthy,

Inheritors of the land.

A new day is dawning,

A new age to come,

When the children of promise

Shall flow together as one.

A truth long neglected,

But the time has now come

When the children of promise

Shall flow together as one.

A people without recognition,

But with Him a destiny sealed,

Called to a heavenly vision,

His purpose shall be fulfilled.

Come, let us stand strong together,

Abandon ourselves to the King,

His love shall be ours forever,

This victory song we shall sing

1 John 15 v5-9 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”

Ephesians 2 v19-22 “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

 Ephesians 4 v2-6

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Our last song really is a prayer that states the power of God’s love and unity. “That the world may surely know that You have power to heal and to save.”

Song: You are the vine           (629)

YOU ARE THE VINE,

We are the branches,

Keep us abiding in You.

You are the Vine,

We are the branches,

Keep us abiding in You.

Then we’ll grow in Your love,

Then we’ll go in Your name,

That the world will surely know

That You have power to heal and to save.

Brian’s Talk

Jesus - Saviour

A brief reading from Titus 2: 11 – 14.

As we looked once again over the past few weeks at the coming of Jesus into our world, we were reminded of what was told to the shepherds by the angels: Luke 2: 11 – “a SAVIOUR has been born to you – he is Christ the Lord” – and it’s this word Saviour that I want to focus our thoughts on briefly this morning.

The thought of God as a Saviour was not of course new – David in the Psalms in particular spoke many times of God as his Saviour, the prophet Isaiah wrote many times about the saving power of the Lord, his God. And of course the nation of Israel could be thankful for the many times God had graciously shown them his saving power in times of national distress.

A Saviour – something many of us may be thankful for in other much more mundane areas of our lives.

I don’t know how many ex-rock-climbers or mountaineers we might have out there, or would-be mariners – we’ve certainly got one sea-hardy member who must have many experiences of life on the ocean waves. And in facing up to extreme conditions in pursuing their careers or pastimes, these folk often find themselves in situations where they need help.

The mountaineer – dangling from a multitude of ropes which were intended to take him safely to yet another unconquered peak, he finds himself helpless – he can’t go up, he can’t go down. All he can do is cry out for help from a rescue team. They may take hours or even days to reach him before he can hopefully be released from his predicament.

The sun-worshipper – on his light-weight inflatable – dozing off a short way from the beach and being carried far out to sea by the currents, finding himself further and further from land, with no means of telling anyone of his situation. If he is very lucky, someone on shore might have noticed, and called the emergency services for help – in which case a life-boat or helicopter could be on its way to rescue him.

Two quite common instances of people needing someone to rescue them from a dire situation – they each needed a saviour.

Maybe we’ve fallen over, hurt our back or broken a limb or two, and someone has turned up at just the right time to give us much-needed assistance.

And there are of course more common instances where we need the help of others – where they have turned out to be literally our saviours.

Following a satnav route through a town we’ve not visited before – cry from back of car “are you sure this is the right way ? Why are those cars all flashing their lights?” – before we realise we are going the wrong way along a one-way highway, which could have disastrous results.

In most of these cases I’ve used as illustrations, the person involved had basically two options – to accept the help offered, or to reject it and suffer the consequences.

The rock-climber or the man drifting out to sea really had little option but to accept the help being offered. The alternative was to suffer an agonising death from the elements around them.

But each of the examples I’ve just given are of people in need of help – someone to be a saviour to free them from their various predicaments.

The Bible tells us very clearly that mankind needs a saviour. Paul gives a graphic description of man-kind without Christ in Ephesians 2:12 “Remember you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world” – what a terrible situation, cut off from our creator God, alienated from him because of our sin.

But how wonderful that God himself took the initiative and provided a way back for us – a Saviour. He was to have to pay the price for our salvation – God demanded a perfect sacrifice be made for the sin of the world; because He loved mankind so much, He sent the only sinless person into the world to pay the price – literally death on a cross.

God made us the offer of salvation – a Saviour whom He provided at the right time – to set us free from the condemnation of sin.

But why is it that so many people don’t listen? Why are they so reluctant to accept help?

The first problem is that many don’t realise the seriousness of their situation – they are content to go on living their lives without giving any recognition to their maker. In spite of all the evidence in the world around them that an amazing hand has been at work to create the very lives that we enjoy, and the immense universe that we are only beginning to understand, man still persists in the notion that he is in control, and can manage his affairs without help from God. He prefers to live life as he pleases, without any reference to his maker.

How sad that man has turned his back on the one who came to give us an abundant life, full of purpose, if only we acknowledge Him as Lord of our lives.

The second thing that gets in the way is that old enemy “pride” – I can do it on my own, I can manage, really I can…. , just give me time.. How many lives have sadly been lost simply because someone has considered themselves too self-sufficient to even consider allowing someone else to help, even in times of dire need.

Matt 9: 13  tells us that “Jesus came to seek and to save what was lost”.

John 3: 17 – the words of Jesus himself “God didn’t send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

There’s an old chorus we used to sing at Crusaders when I was a junior some 70 years ago - we sung it to the tune of “The Lincolnshire Poacher” - “He did not come to judge the world, He did not come to blame. He did not only come to seek, it was to save He came. And when we call Him Saviour, and when we call Him Saviour, and when we call Him Saviour then we call Him by His name.”

I love that reminder that Jesus doesn’t come into our lives to condemn us for all our faults and failures, and neither should we spend precious time condemning everyone else or even ourselves for that matter for our past misdemeanours.

What we do need to do is to ensure that we accept the hand of Christ as He reaches out to us with that offer of salvation; He truly came to save you and I.  May none of us allow pride to get in the way of us accepting God’s way of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

The third thought that might come into people’s mind is “There must surely be another way”. If the mountaineer I talked about earlier saw a helicopter about to pick him up and noted it was made in Russia he might well, and with some justification, say “I don’t trust that machine – send it away and get me another”. Sadly, that’s rather the approach some people have towards God when He begins to touch their lives. You know the sort of things people might say – “Do I really have to accept all that Bible stuff? Surely I can satisfy God if I try my best to live a good life - all that “loving one another” is really a bit tough, I’m just not that sort of person.”

In response to that idea of “another way”, we must listen to the words of Jesus himself again when He was speaking to Thomas “I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me”. God has provided just one way back to himself for mankind – as Peter proclaimed after Pentecost “Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved”.

One way – God’s way – which He provided at such a great cost to Himself. The Saviour Jesus was born to give you and I a way back to God – a way out of the impasse between a holy God and sinful mankind.

A fourth possible response might well be “thanks for the offer – let me think about it. Let me weigh up my options – perhaps something better will turn up, so thanks, but not for now”. We’ve all got conditioned to look at any offers with suspicion, particularly those which turn up in the post or in unwanted phone calls – often with tempting rewards if we make up our minds there and then. And we all know the truth of the swaying that “if it looks too good to be true, it probably is”.

The bible shows us clearly there is but one time to respond to God’s gracious offer of help – for Him to become our Saviour – and that is now.

2Cor 6: 2 “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation”

God offers salvation to all people. Many people put off accepting it, thinking there will be a better time later – perhaps when it won’t interfere with their own plans for their lives. Sadly, they might easily miss the opportunity all together. There’s no better time than NOW to accept Jesus as Saviour and to receive God’s forgiveness. Don’t allow your doubts and fears to get in the way – open up your heart to Jesus right now. And remember that, although God’s free offer of salvation might appear to be too good to be true, because it’s come from the eternal God himself it really is true because God cannot lie.

We thought earlier about people in need of help in various circumstances. There are of course some amazing instances in the scriptures of people crying out for help.

Maybe the best-known is that of Jonah. He had been called by God to leave his own country and go to preach in the city of Ninevah. He knew it would be a hard task, so promptly headed off in the opposite direction. But God kept track of him, and Jonah finds himself in the belly of a giant fish. Only then after 3 days does he come to his senses and cries out to the Lord for help. “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me”. Yes, God heard his call for help – and despite his earlier rejection of God, God now hears his plea, and graciously frees him from captivity by getting the fish to spew him out on to a beach. Jonah then agreed to obey God’s call and set off to serve him in Ninevah.

King David made it known that when he called to God for help, he was heard – Psalm 18:2 “in my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.” David as a leader of the armies of Israel had been victorious over a number of hostile nations, including the Philistines, and he was used to calling out to God for his help and guidance. And we read “The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.” Yes, he knew where to go for help .

And there is one further cry for help – for mercy – that I would like to mention. As Jesus hung on the cross outside Jerusalem, between two criminals, one of them cried out “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” – a plea for forgiveness in the closing minutes of his life. He was rewarded by hearing the comforting words of Jesus as He responded by assuring him “Today you will be with me in paradise”.

Just three examples from scripture of people who, when in otherwise helpless situations, found the sense to cry out to God. I wonder, have you ever cried out to the Lord for help? Have you acknowledged that only He can free you from the burden of sin which is separating you from God? If you haven’t yet done it, as I said earlier, now is the time.

What does it mean for us to be saved?

It is of course a privilege – it’s not something we’ve earned, it is solely a free gift from God. But as with most privileges, it comes with responsibility.

Yes, if we’ve accepted God’s offer of salvation, we know that our sins, past, present and future have been wiped out – God has “cast them into the depths of the sea. “Gone, gone, gone, gone, yes my sins are gone” – the chorus goes. So we shouldn’t waste our time dwelling upon them. When God says He’s forgiven them He means it!

So, how does that affect us? Surely it means that we are set free to serve God, to do His will for our lives, no longer burdened by doubt and guilt.

But we must never forget that our freedom has been bought at a price – Jesus became our Saviour when he paid the price for our sins on the cross – as he hung there, bearing in his precious body the sin of the world. What a sacrifice – the sinless Son of God taking upon himself the punishment that should have been ours.

I love the words of the hymn:

“Because the sinless Saviour died, my sinful soul is counted free:

For God the just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me”

What love – what mercy – what grace – truly amazing!

But He doesn’t just leave us to get on with the task of serving Him on our own – no, he has given us another gift, his precious Holy Spirit, to direct and empower us in a world which still prefers to go its own way. It was a hard path for Jesus – so we shouldn’t expect an easy pathway ourselves.

Being a true follower of Jesus means that we should be willing to accept the same treatment that the crowds sometimes handed out to him – the rejection by his own people, the aggression against him that often forced him to move on to preach elsewhere. We know little of persecution because of our faith in this country at present, but our fellow believers in many parts of the world today are suffering severely because of their faith in Jesus which they will not deny.

Our opening reading gives us an idea of what God expects from us, as we await His second coming.

May God help each of us to make sure we have accepted God’s great offer of salvation, and that we are seeking to show our thankfulness to Him by being his loyal servants in the world today.

Our closing hymn takes look at the price our Saviour paid to set us free, and reminds us too that He is now exalted in heaven, awaiting the time when He will return for all His people.

MAN OF SORROWS! what a name

For the Son of God, who came

Ruined sinners to reclaim!

Hallelujah! what a Saviour!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,

In my place condemned He stood;

Sealed my pardon with His blood:

Hallelujah! what a Saviour!

Guilty, vile, and helpless, we;

Spotless Lamb of God was He:

Full atonement—can it be?

Hallelujah! what a Saviour!

Lifted up was He to die,

‘It is finished!’ was His cry:

Now in heaven exalted high:

Hallelujah! what a Saviour!

When He comes, our glorious King,

All His ransomed home to bring,

Then anew this song we’ll sing:

‘Hallelujah! what a Saviour!’

Notices