Notes of Meeting – 12th May 2024
Worship led by Dawn Budd
Psalm 33 v 1-3 “Sing joyfully to the Lord you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy”
This Psalm instructs us to sing- it's not an invitation (Would you like to?) or an option ( you can if you want to) but an instruction. Sing, play, shout!!
SING 496 Shout for joy
Deuteronomy 32 v 3 “I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh praise the greatness of our God”
1 Chronicles 16 v 25 “For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise, he is to be feared above all gods.”
SING 145 Great is the Lord
Psalms 145:1-3 “I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.”
Some versions say his greatness is unsearchable - meaning beyond comprehension, understanding or explanation. So, quick quiz question…
Have a guess, how many planet Earths could you fit inside the sun?? Answer: 1.3 milli
See this basketball? If the sun was the size of this basketball how big would Mercury be?
Answer: The size of a grain of sand.
If you shrunk our solar system down to the size of a basketball, our whole solar system would still be 5 miles in diameter. We can't even imagine the equivalent distance in space!
Northern lights pictures – not reproduced here.
I'm sure we've all been amazed by the pictures this weekend of the Northern Lights. The sheer beauty of the colours was mind blowing and an absolute masterpiece.
Colossians 1 16-17 “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things were created through him and by him. And he is before all things and in him all things hold together.”
YouTube song Indescribable- Chris Tomlin
Great people, how many can you think of? Winston Churchill- British Prime Minister who led our country through World War 2 ;Albert Einstein- German physicist; Julius Caeser- Roman General and statesman; King Arthur- British warrior and King; Charles Dickens- British novelist; Alan Turing - Computer Scientist; God- creator.
279 I will sing unto the Lord
Prayer.
Heavenly Father, Almighty God, You are author of life. We are in awe of your creation. The vast oceans reflect your majesty. The ever-changing skies renew our lands. The deep valleys carry your peace and shelter. You are saviour of the world. We are amazed at your grace. The nations find peace in your forgiveness. The sufferer hope in your healing hands. The burdened rest in your promise of heaven. You are unconditional love. We are privileged to be filled by your presence. The youth are filled with your vision. The old are filled with your wisdom. The oppressed are unchained by your freedom. Almighty God, Father, Son and Spirit We worship you!
SING 218 I just want to praise you
Psalm 40 v 16 “But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you, may those who long for your saving help always say “The Lord is great!”
Ken Cowell’s Message
The Call of Samuel 1. Samuel 3. 1-20
I remember many years ago watching various dramas on TV only to be disappointed at the end of the programme with the words “To be continued.” That meant I needed to wait another week before I could see next episode. These days with channels like BBC I player you can see all the episodes one after the other with no pause.
Last Sunday Steve spoke on the wonderful prayer of Hannah from 1. Samuel 1. But the story doesn’t end there so I felt I should talk on part 2 to continue the story. That prayer began a mighty change in the nation of Israel. Here we see the importance of prayer in God’s work on the earth. It is through our prayer that God begins to move. When Jesus is talking to his disciples about the preaching the good news of kingdom the first command is “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” When we seek to work for God, prayer isn’t to be an afterthought but the first priority. It is prayer that brings God into the picture that allows him to work through us.
What was the outcome of Hannah’s prayer? She was given a baby boy and that was what she asked for. So you would expect her to be satisfied. But there was something more she desired. She longed and prayed for this baby to grow into a boy who would know the Lord and become His servant. When Jesus called people to believe in him that wasn’t the end of their call. We are not only chosen to come to him for salvation but to go and bear fruit in his service. It was a new beginning of walking with him. Hannah had the same vision for Samuel. She not only wanted her son to know the Lord but that he would lead others to know the Lord as well. That pray was answered for he became one of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament sharing God’s word with many others. May we be encouraged to pray to God for him to raise up more people to speak for God in these challenging times. There was a real need at that time for God’s word to come through Samuel for the nation of Israel had forsaken God.
How could this baby boy become a great prophet? First he had the prayers of his mother. Her prayers were instrumental in his birth. But her prayers also continued for him after his birth for his spiritual growth. It is a great blessing to be prayed for. No Christian should be a “lone ranger.” just going along on their own. We are called to pray for each other. The prayer diary is a very good way to pray for different things related to the church. But alongside that, it is a real blessing if we could pray for every person in this church even just once a month. If we want to see spiritual growth in the members of this church the first thing we can do is to begin pray regularly for each other. Hannah also dedicated Samuel to the Lord and when he was three she took him to the temple to stay. So Samuel stayed at the house of the Lord and became a servant to Eli the priest.
Samuel had been serving the Lord in the temple assisting Eli the priest for a number of years. When he was about 12, one night he heard God’s voice calling out his name.
He thought it was Eli calling him so he went to him, only to find out that Eli hadn’t called him and was told to go back to bed. The same thing happened twice. Why didn’t Samuel recognise God’s voice? The answer is given in verse 7, “Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.” Even though his mother was a believer and prayed for him and he worked in the temple, he still didn’t know the Lord. He believed in God’s existence and served him in the temple but he still didn’t know him. The word know that is used here speaks of an intimate relationship with God. Though Hannah his mother knew God it didn’t mean that Samuel was automatically a believer. Also being surrounded by temple worship and service didn’t mean it was natural to know God. He needed his own personal encounter with God. There are so many people in our country like Samuel. They believe in God’s existence, go to church, know much about God but they don’t know him and have that personal relationship with him.
How did Samuel come to know God? It came through God’s call coming to him. It was God who took the initiative. Had God never called Samuel he would never have come to know him. Samuel heard God’s voice calling his name, but he thought it was Eli calling him because he still didn’t know God. Eli after the third time Samuel came to him, realised it was God calling him and he told him how to respond to God’s call. He told him to say to God, “Speak Lord for your servant is listening.” Just as he needed Hannah’s prayer to be born physically he needed Eli’s help to born spiritually. Most of us have come to believe in Jesus through people who told us about him.
Eli taught Samuel two important things to do in order to get to know God. The first one was to pray to God. God’s promise to us is, “when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you,” (Jeremiah 29.13-14) There are many people who have come to know God through the booklet “Try Praying.” To pray to God indicates our desire to know him. We have God’s invitation to draw near to Him and he promises to draw near to us. The prayer that Eli taught Samuel wasn’t about talking to God about his problems, but listening to what God wanted to say to him. We often think of prayer as going to God with a shopping list asking him things we we would like him to do for us. But prayer is also listening to God seeking to know what He wants us to do for him. Prayer should be a two way conversation with God where we should be quiet and give God time to speak.
Nicky Gumbel, in his book Questions of life compares prayer to a visit to the doctor, he writes, “Suppose I go to the doctor and say, “Doctor, I have a number of problems: I have a problem of fungus growing under my toenails, I have piles, my eyes itch, I need a flu jab; I have very bad backaches and I have tennis elbow,” Then, having got through my list of complaints, I look at my watch and say, “Goodness me, time is getting on. Well I must be off. Thanks very much for listening.” The doctor might want to say, “Hang on a second. Why don’t you listen to me? If whenever we pray we only speak to God and never take time to listen, we make the same mistake.”
Eli was showing Samuel it is not enough just to hear God’s voice but to listen to what God wants to say. Samuel heard God’s voice speaking his name but that alone didn’t transform his life. Hearing the voice of God speak his name was to get his attention so he would listen to what God wanted to say. Samuel’s life was changed by listening and understanding God’s message. There is a big difference between hearing someone and listening to someone. Chris often tells me I’m not a good listener and it is true. One of my failures is interrupting Chris whilst she is still speaking. That shows I am not listening to her words and giving her my full attention. I need to become a better listener.
One night a family with multiple children was noisily chattering away at the dinner table when the youngest, a four year old, stood up on his chair and shouted. “PASS THE BUTTER.” His parents sat in stunned silence for a moment and then sent the young, bad-mannered child to his room. The father of the family later told his noisy bunch that he had sound recorded the evening meal. On playback a quiet voice was heard asking, “Please pass the butter.” A few moments later the voice called out a little louder, “Could someone PLEASE pass the butter.” A few moments later there was the thundering shout everyone remembered from the meal, PASS THE BUTTER!
Often it isn’t that God didn’t tell us something, it is that we weren’t listening. Maybe there is too much noise and activity around us that we fail to recognise the still small voice of God speaking to our hearts.
The Hebrew word for listen in this passage is “shama.” The word carries a greater depth of meaning. It’s not just about hearing; it’s about understanding and obeying. It’s about giving heed to the voice that is speaking. It’s listening with a view to obeying. Samuel also uses the word “servant,” “Speak for your servant is listening.” A servant doesn’t just listen to his master’s word just to understand what he is saying, but to do what he is saying. Samuel at 12 years old realises he is a servant of God and obedience is the proper response after listening to what God has said. We are commanded not just to be hearers and listeners of God’s word but also doers of it. Knowing God’s will is just the introduction to doing God’s will. After Jesus had washed the disciples feet he gave them the challenge as he said, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done to you…Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” We experience true blessing from Godwhen we not only listen to his word but do it.
When was Samuel obedient to God’s word? Did he wait till several years had passed before he spoke God’s word? After all he was only 12 years old. It was the next morning that he obeyed God’s word. It certainly wasn’t an easy message to give to Eli for it was message of judgement from God on Eli and his two sons. Eli had failed to discipline his sons in their sinful behaviour as priests and in the near future they would all die receiving God’s judgement.
Why would God chose a young boy to be his servant? As well as a servant is obedient he also has humility. The servant knows his true place before his master. One day when the disciples were arguing about who is the greatest. Jesus then brought a little child before the disciples and said that to be great in the kingdom of heaven they had to humble themselves like the little child. To be great in God’s kingdom is to have his approval and recognition and be pleasing to him. That comes by humility and service. It is not age or experience that is most important in serving God but the right attitude before God. The child has an attitude of humility, trust and obedience. Greatness in the kingdom of God is not for a selected few but for all with humility, trust, obedience and a serving spirit to bless others.
Why was Samuel able to obey God and become a great prophet? We read “that the Lord was with him as he grew up.” As Jesus sent the disciples to go and make disciples of all nations how were they possibly to do it? It was just one thing they needed and Jesus supplied it. “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” That didn’t mean they wouldn’t make mistakes for they made quite a few but Jesus still continued to use them.
Samuel was still growing as God used him. He wasn’t perfect for he himself made mistakes. God also used a young shepherd boy to slay the giant Goliath. Jesus used a little boy’s lunch to feed over 5000 people. God uses “jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is form God and not us” (2 Corinthians 4.7)
1. A church lost its pastor and set a search committee to find a new pastor for the church. Some of its members were a little picky about applicants. About that time an interesting application letter came in. It said:
"To the pastoral search committee:
“I would like to apply for the position. I can’t say that I preach very well. In fact, I tend to stutter when I speak. I do have a lot of experience, since I am over 75 years old. I have only just recently had an encounter with God. As far as people skills go, I do tend to lose my temper every once in a while. I’m also inclined to want things done my way and get cranky if it’s not taken care of right away. Once I even killed somebody. But you’re gracious people and believe me when I say that’s all behind me now. I intend on leading you into a brighter future."
The committee was horrified. An old man with no seminary training, who’s arrogant, temperamental, hears voices, an ex-murderer as their pastor? Who had such colossal nerve? “Who signed the letter of introduction?” The committee member eyed them all keenly before she answered, "It's signed, ‘Moses’."
Moses didn’t have the right qualifications from a human viewpoint, but that didn’t stop God calling him to serve the people of Israel.
May God help us to listen to his message and seek to obey, realising we are not alone but he will go with us and enable us to do what he calls us to do. “The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5.24).
Song: Master, speak thy servant heareth
Notices
- Wednesday 10.30 am – Coffee Morning
- Next Sunday, the planned Alpha discussion has been postponed; the service will be largely “open” for contributions by the congregation.