Notes from Meeting Sunday 15th November 2020
|
Lee Street Church Notes of Zoom Meeting 15th November 2020 We welcomed Jon and Clare Skipper and their family (in Barcelona), plus Jonathan’s parents from Luton, to our meeting today. Sue led our worship time. The Bible tells us to praise. It’s a decision we need to take regardless of our feelings. The word Hallelujah, as well as being an expression of worship is also an order to start praising the Lord. Psalm 34 v1: “I will extol (bless) the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips (shall continually be in my mouth)” Praise then stirs our emotions. v2” My soul will boast in the LORD;” David praised the Lord because he was commanded to. He then praised Him because he wanted to. Praise is contagious and changes the atmosphere around us, Psalm 34 v1-3: ”I will extol (bless) the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips (shall continually be in my mouth) My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify (magnify) the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together. “ Song: Bless the Lord O my soul-10000 reasons Bless the Lord oh my soul Oh my soul The sun comes up Bless the Lord oh my soul You're rich in love Bless the Lord oh my soul And on that day Bless the Lord oh my soul Songwriters
Nobody denies its difficult at the moment and we’re all out of our comfort zones. We’re not always sure what we should/ shouldn’t be doing to keep our families and friends safe, whilst also being there for them. It’s very easy in current times to become discouraged. Nehemiah 4 v14: “Don’t be afraid. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome.” Don’t just think about the problem, think about the Lord. It’s our thoughts that determine our feelings. We need to fill our minds with promises from God’s word and we will overcome discouragement. 1/Remember God’s goodness to you in the past. When you start to think about all the good things He’s already done in your life, your spirit will be lifted and your anxiety eased. Ephesians 1 v3 “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.” Psalm 103 v1-4 “Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion “ Remember God’s closeness in the present. What is He doing in your life right now? The truth is He is near you, whether or not you feel His nearness. Hebrews 13 v5: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Remember God’s power for the future. He will give you strength for your needs. Jeremiah 29 v11: “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Philippians 4 v13: “I can do all everything through Him who gives me strength.” Romans 5 v1-2: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” Psalm 148 v13 “Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his splendour is above the earth and the heavens.” Song: Come people of the risen King Come, people of the Risen King, Who delight to bring Him praise; Come, young and old from every land - Men and women of the faith; Words and Music by Keith and Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend Copyright © 2008 Thankyou Music/ Copyright Control
Galatians 2 v20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Hebrews 6 v19: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Song: Yet not I but through Christ in me What gift of grace is Jesus my redeemer There is no more for heaven now to give
To this I hold, my Shepherd will defend me
To this I hold, my sin has been defeated
To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus
Summary of Clare’s Talk Claire outlined the reasons for their move across the city earlier this year to Castelldefels, west of Barcelona. Their new home is in a pleasant and convenient location near the sea, and more importantly only a 10-minute bike ride from Jon’s workplace at the IBSTE Bible College. Their family are adapting well to their new schools, and enjoy walks and cycle rides in the nearby woods. They have settled well into a local church, which is proving excellent for the children too. Clare continues with her teaching, and is hoping to enlarge her current group of on-line students, particularly through the teaching of “Theological English” to give students access to a greater number of English books. Besides thanking Lee Street for our prayerful support, Clare asked for our continued prayers for:
Summary of Jonathan’s Talk “Living by faith in uncertain times” Jon began by reading Hebrews 11: 1-2 “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for” - Confidence and Assurance. The call is for us to walk by faith in uncertain times. We like stability, because this makes us think we are in control. But uncertain times like the present reveal our anxieties. We are called to walk by faith, because only with God can we face the future with confidence. Faith is not just hoping that things will sort themselves out. Faith really is just having confidence in what we hope for and being sure about the future. In Hebrew 11, the writer goes on to speak about Abraham in verses 8 – 11 “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country;…. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” God had made a number of promises to Abraham – about having a son, and being the father of a great nation, and Abraham had complete confidence in these promises because they came from God. It was no bravado on his part – as we might use by saying “We’ll win today”, when we can’t really be sure about it. Abraham’s was a quiet confidence that God would keep his word. V13 reminds us that Abraham and his descendants were living by faith when they died, and were looking forward to a heavenly country (v14). That’s what we can all look forward to, the promise of being with God in His city which He is preparing for us. We can therefore face uncertain times here and now in the certain knowledge of a better time to come because He has promised it. Going back to v1, “faith is the assurance of what we don’t see”. We need to accept and take God’s promises as truth – He has revealed his promises to us in His word, the Bible, and He has given us the Holy Spirit to live in us and teach us. We therefore need to act in accordance with the promises God has given us. In v27, we read about Moses who “persevered because he saw him who is invisible”. We can be sure of the unseen presence of the Almighty God, and confident that his gracious hand is with us in the uncertain times we have to endure. Hebrews 11 speaks of many people who lived by faith, and in vs 32 – 35 tells of the victories granted to them because of their faith. When we live by faith, we will see God doing amazing things. But vs 35 – 38 speaks about others who didn’t experience the same victories – some were tortured, put in prison, or even stoned to death. Did they lack faith? No, their victory was perseverance under the strains of trials and distress. As we seek to live by faith, we may or may not see His blessings here and now. We may be called to suffer – if so, we are called to persevere in our faith, knowing we have a certain promise of future glory. And we are promised that He will be with us, whatever our circumstances. Having spoken about all these men and women of faith, Hebrews goes on to encourage us “to run with perseverance the race set before us, … and to fix our eyes upon Jesus”. Keep looking to His promises to give us strength for each new day. Song - By faith By faith we see the hand of God In the light of creation's grand design By faith our fathers roamed the earth With the power of His promise in their hearts We will stand as children of the promise We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward By faith the prophets saw a day When the longed-for Messiah would appear By faith the church was called to go We will stand... By faith this mountain shall be moved And the power of the gospel shall prevail We will stand as children of the promise We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward We will stand as children of the promise We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward We'll walk by faith and not by sight Songwriters: Keith Getty, Stuart Townend, Kristyn Getty
NOTE: The last 2 songs can be found on Youtube by several groups. Notices Foodbank – in desperate need of Egg Boxes (6-egg size) – so don’t just throw them away, please keep and we’ll arrange to get them to Foodbank. Our Wednesday Bible Studies (at 7.30pm on Zoom) begin a new series in the gospel of Mark (ch 1 this week). |
