CHURCH
AT
HOME WEEK 15
28/06/2020
Welcome to our Church at Home thoughts and service on this Sunday
morning. This week we begin a new series looking at the theme of:
Jesus Shows Us How To Live. Today is all about Being Rock Solid.
All you will need for the service and to help you in you thinking can be
found on these sheets.
Welcome
Psalm 84 v. 1 - 4 NLT
How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord Almighty.
I long, yes, faint with longing
To enter the courts of the Lord.
With my whole being, body and soul,
I will shout joyfully to the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home there,
And the swallow builds her nest
And raises her young—
At a place near your altar,
O Lord Almighty, my King and my God!
How happy are those who can live in your
House,
Always singing your praises.
SONG
SUGGESTIONS
Cornerstone
Light of The World
Call to Worship
Bible Reading Luke 6 v. 37 - 49
New International Version (NIV)
Judging Others
37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you
will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38
Give, and it
will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together
and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure
you use, it will be measured to you.”
39 He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will
they not both fall into a pit? 40
The student is not above the teacher, but
everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.
41 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and
pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42
How can you say to
your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you
yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take
the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the
speck from your brother’s eye.
A Tree and Its Fruit
43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good
fruit. 44
Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs
from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45
A good man brings good
things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings
evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks
what the heart is full of.
Church at
Home Thought Over the next several weeks we
will be looking at the way in
which Jesus: ‘shows us how to
live’. The first part of each of our
thoughts will be set in the first
person, followed by some
thinking around the passage that
we have read together.
I walked a long way to hear him,
this man called Jesus - all the
way from the coast with some
friends. I'd heard about the
miracles, of course (and saw
some myself once we finally
caught up with him), but it was
his teaching that really interested
me. I'm a builder you see!
What I build is straight and true.
That's why I have a sense of
what is straight and true in the
words of teachers and preachers.
Not many of them impressed me,
but this Jesus had a reputation
for being one of the best, so it
was worth missing a few days'
work to find out about him. I was
keen to see what sort of man he
was.
The Wise and Foolish Builders
46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
47 As for
everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into
practice, I will show you what they are like. 48
They are like a man
building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock.
When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake
it, because it was well built. 49
But the one who hears my words and
does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the
ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house,
it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
My first impressions? Well, he
was nothing special to look at,
but he'd drawn a huge crowd and
it looked as though most of the
people there had planned to stay
all day. I settled down and
listened too.
A good measure
Natural justice, that was one of
his subjects. In Luke 6 v. 37, 38,
he said: ‘Stop judging others,
and you will not be judged.
Stop criticizing others, or it will
all come back on you. If you
forgive others, you will be
forgiven. If you give, you will
receive. Your gift will return to
you in full measure, pressed
down, shaken together to
make room for more, and
running over. Whatever
measure you use in giving –
large or small – it will be used
to measure what is given back
to you.’
Now I've known a few folk who
would have benefited from
listening to Jesus speak about
that! Maybe your one of them!
People who think that justice
doesn't apply to them. They
reckon they can be just as
critical, unforgiving and mean as
they like and get away with it -
then they're surprised when they
get back what they've given out.
The result is that they have
miserable lives, cut off from
everyone and even from God.
You know, the more I listened,
the more I realised how well
Jesus put things, 'Whatever
measure you give you'll get
back.' It works both ways. If you
give kindness, joy and
acceptance, you'll get the same
measure back, and even more -
as much as you can carry in the
fold of your cloak (Luke 6 v. 38)!
A speck in the eye
What Jesus was saying made a
lot of sense to me. 'Don't accept
advice from the apprentice,' is
the way I would have put it.
Nobody can teach what they
don't know. Nobody can lead
people where they can't see
(Luke 6 v. 39 - 42).
Have you ever met someone who
criticises everything? They think
they’re always right, there’s no
telling them any different.
There's a man like that in my
home town, Tyre. He's a builder
too, just like me. He watches me
at work sometimes and points out
little details that are not quite
right. I don't mind being put right
when it's needed, but on one
occasion I got a chance to look at
his work. The whole structure
was out of line and built without
proper foundations! I reckoned it
would fall down if there was a bit
of bad weather. Perhaps he'd
have spent his time better looking
at his own work critically instead
of poking his nose into mine. I
prefer to build on solid
foundations, not on sandy soil!
House on the rock
I'm with Jesus on this too (Luke 6
v. 46 - 49). Build well and be true
in all you are, and be good to
others. Let Jesus' message into
your heart because if you don't,
you'll be in trouble of the worst
kind, facing destruction.
Rock solid, built on firm
foundations, grounded in every
way, that's what I want to be, so
I'll be thinking a lot about what
I’ve heard Jesus say as I travel
home. There's power in the
words of Jesus you know.
Imagine a football manager
discussing a new game plan with
his team. At the end of the
session the manager dismisses
the players and says, 'See you
next week, when we'll discuss
another game plan.' That team
wouldn't do very well! Yet this is
often how we treat Christ's
teaching.
We come to church week by
week, hear the game plan, but
then leave and do nothing about
it. We don’t analyse it, we don’t
think about it, we just carry on
doing our own thing.
Today's passage teaches us that
we've got to put into practice the
things we're taught.
So what can we learn from the
passage that we have read today
about our walk with God?
BOTH HEARD, BUT
ONLY ONE ACTED
(Luke 6 v. 47, 48)
It's very easy to think that being a
Christian is about coming to
church, praying each day,
listening to sermons and not
much else. Jesus shows us that
we are to obey God's word - not
just in the private 'religious'
areas of our lives but also out in
the wider world, where it's much
harder.
BOTH BUILT, BUT
ONLY ONE HAD
FOUNDATIONS (Luke
6 v. 48, 49)
Each one of us is building
something with our lives. On the
outside it may look nice, strong
and secure. But deep down only
some of us have real
foundations, a secure trust in
Christ's death for us and in his
teaching which we've responded
to and obeyed.
BOTH FACED THE
STORM, BUT ONLY
ONE SURVIVED (Luke
6 v. 48, 49)
Everyone faces difficulties sooner
or later. When that time comes,
the depth of our faith will be
shown for what it is. Without
foundations our lives and 'faith'
will fall apart.
The successful football team is
the one that practises what
they've heard. A true Christian is
someone who listens to God's
Word, and then goes out and
obeys it.
Think about which of the
directives from Luke 6 v. 37 – 45
that you particularly need to do,
then decide to go and put it into
practice this week.
SONG SUGGESTION
How Deep The Father’s Love
Open The Eyes Of My Heart
Questions to
Ponder • Is my ‘walk’ with Jesus in tune with what he wants for my life?
• Is my spiritual growth built on Biblical facts or is it built on what
I think the Bible says?
While we are unable to meet physically at church and are therefore not
able to give of our finances to the work that goes on in the church, why
not consider what you would normally put into the offering, and then
put this aside until we meet again. We can then all give with a grateful
heart and praise God for all that he has given to us.
Our Giving
To God
Pray don’t find fault with the man who limps
Or stumbles along the road
Unless you have worn the shoes that hurt
Or struggled beneath his load
There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt,
Though hidden away from view
Or the burden he bears, placed on your back,
Might cause you to stumble, too.
Don’t sneer at the man who’s down today
Unless you have felt the blow
That caused his fall, or felt the same
That only the fallen know.
You may be strong, but still the blows
That were his, if dealt to you
In the self same way at the self same time,
Might cause you to stagger, too.
Don’t be too harsh with the man who sins
Or pelt him with words or stones,
Unless you are sure, yea, doubly sure,
That you have no sins of your own.
For you know perhaps, if the tempters voice
Should whisper as soft to you
As it did to him when he went astray,
‘Twould cause you to falter, too.
Poem
Intercessions Lord Jesus Christ, you said that you were one with the Father and you
gave your Spirit to the disciples, offering them your peace; we pray for
the unity of your Church and the peace of your world.
Lord God, forgive us the fears and suspicions, the half truths and
ignorance which reinforce our divisions.
We pray that your Spirit of truth will open our minds so that we might
learn from one another.
We pray that your Spirit of love will fill our hearts so that we might
forgive and encourage one another.
We pray that your Spirit of unity will work in our lives, binding us
together in you, our only God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We pray for your world, often broken into hostile camps by fear, hatred,
suspicion, greed, and the pursuit of power.
We pray for all those who are working for peace and understanding,
the reconciling of conflicts, and the healing of divisions.
We pray for those who are caring for the casualties of conflict, used by
your love in caring for the down - trodden and oppressed.
We pray for those who are leaders in communities, that they might lead
with wisdom and in a spirit of service.
We pray that the search for unity in your Church might serve the
search for unity in our divided world, for there is one God and Father of
all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.
Glimpses of
God Glimpses of God is our new section of Church at Home looking at how
people at our church are experiencing God while we can’t gather. This
section is all up to you! If you want to get involved, contact
This week’s submission for Glimpses of God comes from Noah Lovell
Let’s face it, lockdown life has its ups and downs, and all of us have been experiencing a wide range of emotions and challenges that each day brings. That might be dealing with loneliness, changing our daily routines, learning new skills, or jumping from one online meeting straight into the next. Whatever we feel, there is one thing that remains the same; that our God is constant.
At the beginning of Lockdown, I heard a little poem/thought that included the words ‘we are not all in the same boat, but in the same storm.’ Which, looking at now, has been very true. We all have two major things in common; lockdown, and God.
Often, it isn’t until we slow down that we take the opportunity to reflect
and that’s what lockdown has provided. It’s given many people the
opportunity to see where God has been and is right now.
Since being in lockdown, there have been a few occasions that I have
seen glimpses of God.
May the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
The Love of God,
And the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
Be with us all now and for evermore.
AMEN
Blessing
SONG SUGGESTIONS
How Great Is Our God
One of the things that I have seen God in is the weather. While in
lockdown the weather has generally been quite nice, although there
have been a few rainy days. But I suppose you can’t expect anything
different from British weather, besides, we need the rain occasionally. I
believe that God’s hand has been there, for if the weather was
constantly raining I think everyone’s moods might have been very
different. We have God to thank for the lovely weather.
There are many different ways that God has and is working in
lockdown, and the weather is just one of them. But the more you look,
the more that you can see where God is working. Churches coming
together to provide support for the community and adapt their services,
the weather that we have had, the opportunities to share our
knowledge of the love of God with others. The list is endless.
But there is one thing that we all know. Our God is GREAT!
Although at the moment, the church may be locked, we are not gone!
In fact, we are still an active church! Just for the moment, it’s online.
Over the coming weeks, and possibly months, we are trying our best to
stay connected as a fellowship.
At the moment, we are:
• Sunday - publishing ‘Church at Home’. Our engaging Sunday
services in an online format
• Monday - sharing ‘Monday Prayers’. ‘Monday Prayers’ are our
collection of prayers and thoughts for you to start the week
• Tuesday - hosting a Zoom meeting every Tuesday. Contact
[email protected] for more details
• Wednesday - publishing a Bible Study. The studies are from the
book of Hosea and will follow the overall theme entitled: God’s
Persistent Love
• Once a month - Creating our ‘Monthly Prayer Diary’ - Prayer is an
important part of the life of our church, so why not join in praying with
us over the course of a month?
Over the coming weeks, we are working on different ways to make
what we are doing, more interactive for you!
If you haven’t already, go check out our Facebook Page -
@SalendineNookBaptistChurch - to keep connected with us, visit our
website - snbch.org.uk - or contact the relevant people using the
contact sheet below.
News
Address
Salendine Nook Baptist Church Moor Hill Road Salendine Nook Huddersfield West Yorkshire HD3 3SF
Telephone Number
01484 651845
E-mail Addresses Minister - [email protected]
Secretary - [email protected]
Treasurer - [email protected]
Web Administrator - [email protected]
Graphics and Media - [email protected]
Facebook - www.facebook.com/SalendineNookBaptistChurch
Website - www.snbch.org.uk
Contact
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