Worship led by Dawn Budd
Psalm 47 v 1 "Clap your hands all you nations. Shout to God with cries of joy"
Isaiah 12 v 6 "Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you".
Psalm 98 v 4 "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music
Song: Shout for joy and sing 496
When I was thinking about today's worship, I really wanted God to give me something. Sometimes it’s a verse, a story or maybe a song. But this time- nothing. Last Sunday afternoon I prayed about it. And suddenly, the thought popped into my head, " Why do I need to wait for something when He's given me so much to praise him for already?"
I often choose songs before I add in some bible verses, so I knew I wanted to begin today's worship with “Shout for joy and sing” as I'd chosen it for the second line 'and let your praises ring' but when I found verses to marry in with my choice in song, I began to realise how God was working. The verses linked with Ken's message last Sunday morning about Christian joy. We have so much to be joyous for, so many reasons to praise him.
We all praise God in different ways. You might like to spend time in prayer or reading your bible. I like to praise Him in song. How ever you choose, we are all here together this morning to praise together.
Song: We are here to praise you 567
Song: I just want to praise you 218
Psalm 34 v 1 "I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips "
2 Samuel 22 v 50 "Therefore I will praise you Lord, among the nations; I'll sing the praises of your name"
Song: I will worship 859
The subheading to “I will worship” is “You alone are worthy of my praise”. Meaning only God is worthy of my praise. And why is He worthy? Because of the sacrifice He made for me and you at Calvary.
Poem: On the Cross of Calvary
You were beaten and bruised,
for the sinful likes of me;
three nails pierced Your flesh,
as You were hung… at Calvary.
An unthinkable act of Love
was cruelly executed for me;
for You took the punishment,
that had been… meant for me!
With forgiveness on Your breath,
You requested a pardon for those,
who carried out judgment on You,
as a death sentence was imposed.
A spear was thrust in Your side,
as Your demise was underscored;
when it was mundanely removed,
both blood and water had poured.
On The Cross of Calvary,
Love was broken-hearted;
Salvation was paid in full;
Grace’s flow was started.
We don’t fully understand,
God’s goodness towards us;
Sin’s debt was wiped out,
by the sacrifice of Jesus.
We adore Him, since Christ
had truly loved us first;
He bore the painful brunt
of payment for Sin’s curse.
(Joseph J. Breunig 3rd)
And because of this, I get to call Him
Song: My Jesus, My Saviour 935
Notes of Message by Lee Jerrome
Subject: Colossians 3: 1 – 17.
In Paul’s time, Colosse was a mixed Jewish /Gentile region of Asia, and he wrote this letter to sort out some of the false teaching which had invaded the Christian Church.
In our worship last Sunday, we looked at Col 3:16 – 17 “Let the word of Christ ……………….” Today we shall look at what Paul said earlier in the same chapter of his letter.
Col 3: 1 – 4.
The focus of our hearts is to be on things above, not on earthly things.
Seek –
- Specifically look for
- Look upwards to where Christ is
- Eph 1 v3 remind us that we’ve been blessed with “every spiritual blessing in Christ in the heavenly places.
- Remember the warning of Jesus in Matt 6 v21 “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”.
- One heresy at Colosse was that Christ was just one of many emanations coming out of God. No, Christ is the one and only, seated in the place of power at the right hand of God.
Set your mind –
- What preoccupies our thought?
- Our need is to focus not on earthly things, but on ther eternal.
- Are our pursuits merely earthly ones, or do they have eternal consequences?
- How do we truly “die to the world”? – By letting the word of Christ dwell in us richly.
Col 3: 5 – 11
The passage speaks about “putting to death”, “putting off” our old natures, so they no longer have any power over us. Elsewhere Paul speaks about our old self being crucified with Christ – remember that crucifixion is a long slow process.
“putting off” – like clothes, what do we wrap ourselves in. What we wear can be an identification – do we identify with the world with garments of anger, malice, slander for instance? These were what we walked in (see v7) in the past.
The personal battle is like having 2 dogs inside us – pulling in opposite directions Which one wins? The one we feed the most!
We can win – if we “let the word of Christ dwell in us richly”.
Col 3: 12 – 15
The focus here is “putting on”, or “clothing yourselves”.
“Putting off” without “putting on” just creates a vacuum, and will lead to us falling back./
We are called to put off the flesh, but to be filled with the Spirit. With the Holy Spirit living in us, we will show forth godly characteristics, the fruit of the Spirit (Galations 5:22).
So we need to put off (evil things) to make room for God to fill us with good things.
Col 3: 16 – 17
“LET the word of Christ dwell in you richly …..”
The call is firstly to LET - we have a choice, to allow, or to give permission – assent to, don’t stop it.
Secondly, the word is to dwell in us – to be at home in us, living in us.
Finally in v17, Paul tells us that whatever we are doing, to do it in the name of Jesus. If we can’t do it in His name, then we probably shouldn’t be doing it at all.
So the choice is ours – let’s make a decision today to “Let the word of Christ dwell richly in us, each one”
Closing Song: When I was lost you came and rescued me.
Notices
Next Sunday – Open meeting, with Breaking of Bread. Please come with maybe a verse, a passage, or a thought to share with others. Or just a song which has been a blessing to you recently.
Sunday 7th May – Coronation weekend – there will NOT be a service at Lee Street.
Sunday 14th May – service led by Sue Clarke and the Worship Team.