Worship led by Dawn Budd
As we come together this morning, let's focus solely on God and what He's done for us.
James 4 v 8 " Come near to God and He will come near to you." What a fantastic promise! Let's give our service to God.
Heavenly Father, we come to you now in thanksgiving and praise. We thank you for everything you've done for us and that you will continue to do. We ask that you will open our eyes, our ears and our hearts to your word this morning. Quieten our minds as we come to worship you. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.
SING 443 Open our eyes, Lord.
In Luke's account of Jesus's healing of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, we read of Bartimaeus crying out to Jesus, asking him to restore his sight. I was thinking, how often do we cry out asking Jesus to help us see? To open our eyes? Not physically, but spiritually. Our next song has the lines 'you stepped down into darkness, opened my eyes, let me see'.
SING 1419 Light of the world
Did Bartimaeus deserve Jesus's healing? The crowd didn't appear to think so, in fact, they told him to be quiet! But Bartimaeus insisted, shouting" Son of David, take pity on me!" His words showed his faith in Jesus as the Messiah as Jews believed that the Messiah would be a descendant of David. How often have we shouted about our faith in Jesus?
SING 1630 Wonderful grace
Poem: See the cross
Life was dark but Jesus found me
Stumbling in my hour of need
He spoke, just as His light shone round me,
'Follow me, and I shall lead'
Christ released me from my blindness
And a joy came to my soul
Filled with tender loving kindness
My dear Lord had made me whole.
I asked Him ' Why do you love me?'
And my Lord softly replied,
'See the cross that hangs above me,
On that cross for you I died
I died for men of every nation,
Bearing all their sins away.
I died that they might have salvation,
If they followed in My Way.
'Lord' I cried ' I don't deserve you,
Yet you touch me with your grace.
Grant me strength that I may serve you,
Seeking you in every place.
Then with evening shadows falling
As my life draws to an end,
May I hear your sweet voice calling
'Welcome home, dear faithful friend '
SING 633 You laid aside your majesty
John 3 v 16 " For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life " God gave his Son, a sacrifice that we just cannot imagine making. I can't even begin to understand the depth of his love. Last week, when we were in our Alpha discussion groups, a few of us were talking about when, during Breaking of Bread, it can be quite overwhelming and emotional. To think that Jesus would have died just for me. I'm not anyone special, in the grand scheme of things, but he died, for me. Let's close by singing
SONG: " Amazing Grace". Our chains are gone, we've been set free, because of his great love for us, that we were blind, like Bartimaeus, but now we see!
Breaking of Bread
Exodus 4. 29-31 Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, 30 and Aaron told them everything the Lord said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, 31 and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshipped.
It is interesting to see to the development in the people’s response to the message that Aaron and Moses brought to them from the Lord. Firstly, they heard that the Lord told Moses that the nation would be delivered from Egypt. That message was confirmed to be true by miraculous acts of power before their very eyes. That resulted in the people believing in the Lord.
But there was one more thing that caused them to bow down and worship the Lord. They had heard the Lord was coming to save them. But they also learned why he was coming to save them. The Lord had seen their suffering and great need of salvation and that he had compassion toward them. When they realised that God’s love for them was so great that he would come to save them, it was at that point they just bowed down and worshipped him. They marvelled that God loved in their lost and hopeless condition so much that he would come to save them. They looked forward with eager anticipation to the demonstration of that love which would save them, but they worshipped even now before it had happened.
This morning we have far much more reason to worship God than they had. The demonstration of God’s love for us has taken place The nation of Israel looked forward to redemption in expectation whereas we look back in remembrance. As we see the bread and wine on the table, we rejoice and are thankful that,“God demonstrates his own love for us in this. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Let’s bow down and worship God this morning that He loved us and sent His Son to die in our place.
HYMN: 780 How deep the Father's love for us
Prayer Time
Please continue to remember in your prayers:
- Celine – She had her operation on Monday, which went well. Expects to be home Tuesday (26th).
- Jan and Pete, as he has his procedure on Thursday at 1.30pm
- Ted’s niece Norma as she has chemotherapy; also John and Peter Caff, and Ted & Connie’s next door neighbour Chris, awaiting test results
- Give thanks that Lia (Phil’s mother) has made a remarkable recovery from her stroke last Monday.
- Paul and Pam, as Paul’s sister Allison passed away on Sunday. Pray for them as they travel to Dorset on Monday, and for Paul as he begins the task of sorting out Allison’s estate.
Ken’s Message
Pride
1 Peter 5. 5-6 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves, therefore under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”
A minister, a boy scout and a computer expert were the only passengers on a small plane. As they sat there they noticed the plane was having engine troubles. The pilot came back to the cabin with a distraught look on his face. He said there were only three parachutes on board the plane, whilst there were four people. The pilot stated since he had a wife and three small children so he should get one of the parachutes. Then he took one and jumped out of the plane. The computer expert said rather proudly, “I should have one of the parachutes because I am the smartest man in the world and everyone needs me.” So he took one and jumped. The minister turned to the boy scout with a sad smile and said,“You are young and I have lived a rich life, you go ahead and take the last parachute and I will go down with the plane.” The boy scout looked at the minister and said, “Relax pastor, the smartest man in the world just picked up my backpack and jumped out.” Pride can be an ugly thing, and as our story illustrates and can get us into a lot of trouble. In actual real life pride can have far more serious consequences. This morning I want to talk about pride and some of its subtle deceit and fatal dangers.
What exactly is pride? It is an attitude which usually results in action where a person sees him or herself more important than others and even God! It’s comes from the heart and is part of our human nature. We don’t teach children to be self-centred and wilfully disobedient to their parents, it is just part of what they naturally do. It is not sinning that makes us sinners but we sin because we were born in sin. It is part of our nature that we inherited at birth. At the centre of pride is selfishness. The middle letter of the word pride is I, as also is I the middle letter in the word sin. The definition of sin in the Bible is “going my way.” It says “We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;” (Isaiah 53,6.) In the same verse it says “and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” The sin for which Jesus died was our selfishness and pride to go our own way. None are excluded for it says “We all like sheep” and “each of us has turned.” The Bible says it clearly. “There is none righteous, not even one”(Romans 3.10) That is why we all need the salvation that Jesus provided through his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead.
Many see pride as just a mistake that I need to live with, but it is a serious sin I need to get rid of. Pride isn’t just something that happens, it’s a choice I make. It starts in the mind and if it isn’t rejected it will become an action. Pride as an attitude is a sin which God hates. C. S. Lewis calls pride spiritual cancer. It is the root of sin which causes so much pain and suffering in our world. We know how serious cancer can be as it often results in death. Just like pride sent Adam and Eve away from God’s Presence so it can keep us out of heaven. Most of us think pride doesn’t apply to us, but it certainly does.
I want think of two ways where we can see pride at work in our lives. First let’s consider spiritual pride. Our pride can be clothed with religion so it is not easy to detect. Let’s read a parable Jesus told to show what spiritual pride looks like. (Luke 18. 10-14) Jesus speaks of two men who went to the temple to pray. It gives the reason why Jesus told this parable. Jesus addressed this parable to those who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else. The first man to pray was a Pharisee who was a religious leader of the day. He recited to God how good he was because of the many religious duties he observed. He was boasting of his moral and religious achievements. He looked down and criticised the tax collector for his sin maybe of betraying his country by collecting taxes for the Roman government. Instead of comparing himself with God’s perfect standard and seeing how sinful he really was, he just compared himself to this tax collector’s apparent ungodliness. That is something we often do. He was deluded about himself, for he thought he was accepted by God because of what he did and what he did not do. In his short prayer he used the pronoun I four times. He made no contact with God because he just prayed to himself and about himself.
The Pharisee was proud of his prayer and acts of righteousness and at the same time looked down on the prayer of the tax collector. Jesus gave the verdict on these two men. The Pharisee went home as he came. He had no relationship with God for he just prayed about how good he was. He was a hypocrite and went home unforgiven. The tax collector was honest about his sin and truly showed repentance. He did not think of himself as one sinner among many but as the sinner who was unworthy of anything from God. He knew where his greatest problem was, and he called to God for mercy. “God be merciful to me the sinner.” He knew he didn’t deserve forgiveness but just asked God for his mercy. If we are trusting in our good works to be forgiven then this is God’s warning to us. Our spiritual pride in our moral and religious life will keep us away from God and heaven. The only thing that brings forgiveness is God’s mercy and grace when we acknowledge, confess and turn from our sin. Our only passport to heaven is not our good works but the work of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus. As we confess, repent of our sin and trust in Christ alone we can receive forgiveness and eternal life. The Pharisee’s pride condemned him but the tax collector’s humble repentance and faith saved him.
Another form of pride which can keep us from entering heaven is pride in our self- sufficiency. Jesus told another parable to explain the terrible danger of this kind of pride. This pride has nothing to do with religion. Let’s read about it. (Luke 12 15-21) Again before Jesus tells the story he gives the reason why he tells it. It is a warning of the priority of material possessions and the false security they give. It is the story of a farmer who was very successful at his business. No doubt he was a very hard worker which is commendable. He had a bumper harvest so had to build bigger barns to store his grain and goods. He now had everything carefully planned for many years. We can see two big mistakes he made in his life. In describing this farmer’s life in three verses the word I appears 6 times. What he thinks, decides, does and says all revolve around himself. Pride begins in self-centred thinking which leads to self confident action resulting in self sufficiency. You can see the pride coming out of his words “Take life easy: eat, drink and be merry.” His second big mistake was thinking life was just about accumulating more possessions and living only for his present time on earth. He though about his future on earth but forgot about his future after death. We don’t read he did anything immoral or terribly sinful. He would be regarded by many as a very successful business man. The things he did weren’t so bad, but his priorities were completely wrong. He lived for himself no doubt very busy, but had no time for God. His pride was centred in his possessions which he believed gave him satisfaction and security. How wrong he was. He never thought his life would end so quickly. We also can’t predict when we die. The important thing is to be ready when that day comes. The night he died and God called him a fool. That was his worst legacy. Whatever other people said of him. The most important thing is not what people say about me now but what God says about me after I die. Sadly he will say “You fool.” to many who have left God out of their lives. But he will say to others, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Come and share your master’s happiness.”
It is foolish to build our lives on the things we possess which only plan for our time on earth. Someone has defined a fool whose plans end at the grave. The greatest tragedy for the farmer was not what he left behind, but what lay before him: eternity without God. The important question are we just trusting for security in this life alone and ignoring planning for our eternal security? May we not be guilty of spiritual pride trusting in our religious deeds, but in Christ alone for our salvation. Also may we not be deceived by the pursuit of material possessions which only last for this life but store up our treasure in heaven which is completely secure and has eternal rewards.
Pride not only hinders a person becoming a Christian but it also one of the main causes of failure in the Christian life. Paul gives a very clear warning about the danger of pride. “So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall.” (1. Corinthian 10.12) As the famous saying goes “Pride comes before a fall.” Notice pride begins in the mind. What I think about myself can tell if pride is in my life or not. The text quoted at the beginning about pride comes from 1.Peter 5.6-7.
Peter is one prime example of how pride caused him to fail when he denied Jesus three times. Jesus gave Peter several warnings but he didn’t take any notice. Here are 5 things to do to avoid pride and falling into sin.
1. Take Satan seriously.
Jesus informed Peter where the temptation to deny him would come from. “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat” (Luke 22.31) It appears Peter didn’t take Satan seriously. If we do that we shall soon been deceived by him and fall. Satan had used Peter before to try and deter him from going to the cross and Jesus rebuked him saying “Get behind me Satan.” He is our arch enemy and we need to be alert and wearing the whole armour of God to stand firm against him.
2. Listen carefully to Jesus and trust his word completely
Jesus said “You will all fall away” Peter replied “Even if all fall away, I will not.” That really shows pride to not believe what Jesus says. We must believe his word even if it is something we don’t want to happen or do.
3. We must not compare ourselves with others.
As Peter compared himself with the other disciples he felt and believed he was stronger and better than they and would be faithful to Jesus unto death. After saying this he must have felt deeply sorrowful and ashamed when he denied Jesus before a woman. When we compare ourselves with others we will either feel superior or inferior. Both are bad but pride is something that God hates.
4. We must pray so we will not fall.
Jesus commanded the disciples to pray so they wouldn’t fall into temptation. “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” (Luke 22.40) Peter needed God’s power to overcome the temptation of the devil. That power can be ours through prayer. It was through prayer that Jesus was given the strength to over the devil’s temptation in the Garden of Gethsemane. If Jesus needed prayer to overcome temptation how much do we?
5. We must seek earnestly to be humble.
Peter himself gives the answer, “Humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand.” That is a choice we must make, but there is a wonderful reward, “that he will lift you up in due time.” God will exalt us in His time.
Is it completely wrong to boast and be proud? In Galatians 6.14 Paul says we should boast in the cross alone for our salvation. In the Galatian church there were those who were boasting in their religion said you must keep other rules as well believe in Christ. Paul would only boast in the cross for the death of Christ was totally sufficient for salvation and didn’t need anything else to be added.
May God give us victory over pride that would cause us to stop trusting in ourselves for salvation but trust wholly in Christ’s death and resurrection. Also as we seek to live the Christian life may we be saved from trusting ourselves. We want our faith to be in him for without him we can do nothing. May we have that desire to be humble so that his grace and power will be seen in us and we will glorify his name.
Closing song: 646 All I held once dear
Notices
- Our speaker next Sunday will be Brian Mills
- Our Harvest Thanksgiving will be on 8th October