[0:00] at a time like this. And so I felt led this morning to this particular scripture where the woman is asking Jesus for some water. Do you remember at the well? And a little bit later in the narrative, he says this, Jesus declared, believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, nor in the chapel. So it doesn't say that. You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know for salvation is from the Jews and from that particular Jew, Jesus Christ. Yet a time is coming and has now come when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. So if you are hoping to worship God in the chapel, sorry, not possible for a little while, but I pray that you come today wanting to worship Jesus in spirit and in truth. We say amen to that. So shall I just help us as we come? Let's come to the Father, call out to him, asking him for help as we get used to a different setting for our gathered worship. Let's pray. Loving Heavenly Father, thank you that you are seeking worshippers and we desire to be your worshippers today. We desire to lift up the name of Jesus
[1:38] Christ today in this place. We desire to see you better, to know you better, Lord Jesus. And we know that none of this is possible unless you come amongst us and fill us afresh with your lovely Holy Spirit. So we welcome you, Holy Spirit of God. Breathe on us. Cover us with your lovely presence, we pray. Hear our prayer. Amen. Would you like to stand and we're going to worship God with two songs.
[2:14] Let's sing out our praises to him. Let the Lord.
[2:36] You're the word of God the Father, since before the world began. Every star and every planet has been rationed by your hands. All creation fells together by the Father of your days. Let the stars declare your glory, let the land and sea switches. You're the author of creation. You're the Lord of every man. And the quiet love brings out across the land.
[3:20] Let the know of the past.шейlor reform comes with two friends. Let the master at a bereft wickedness. He'll be placed on a bottom of his way too. All creation. And the lightelles 25 rays make them up to the жен. And you love the light and ничего. One is the one in your Sacrifice. You have seen aenterown. Not only in your life but not only in your life but in your lives.
[3:33] Whose inslette boat. You are the lives of threeになります. Come in your expenses. And you are what they archive words. Make money. You understand, we come to dwell. I'm not only in your life. You're already able to stay back to those visions. You fed the hungry with a word you still see.
[3:46] Yet how silently you suffered by the guilty made of three. You're the author of salvation.
[3:57] You're the Lord of every man. And a cry of love rings out across the land. In a shout, you rose victorious, resting victory upon the grave.
[4:16] And ascended into heaven, they made captives in your way. Now you stand before the Father, interceding for your own.
[4:32] From each tribe and target nation, you are leading sinners whole. You're the author of creation.
[4:44] You're the Lord of every man. And your cry of love rings out across the land. Amen.
[5:01] And we continue in worship. Amen.
[5:30] As fast as the ocean, loving kindness as the flood, and the Prince of the White, our ransom, shed for us his precious blood.
[5:50] Who his love will not remember, who can cease to sing his praise, he will never be forgotten throughout hell's eternal days.
[6:11] Grace takes my sin, calls me friend, pays my debt completely.
[6:23] Love rescued me, seasoned me with my faith forevermore.
[6:41] On the mount of crucifixion, fountains open deep and wide, through the flood gets our God's mercy.
[6:59] Grace and love stood precious tight. Grace and love like mighty rivers, born in sins and from above.
[7:14] Heaven's peace, art book and justice, kiss the guilty world of love. Grace takes my sin, calls me friend, pays my debt completely.
[7:35] Love rescued me, seasoned me with my King forevermore.
[7:47] Let me all your love accepting, love you ever all my days.
[8:05] Let me seek your kingdom only, and my life be to your praise.
[8:15] You alone shall be my glory, nothing in this world I see. You have lent and sanctified me, God himself has set me free.
[8:35] Grace takes my sin, calls me friend, pays my debt completely.
[8:46] Love rescued me, seasoned me with my King forevermore.
[8:58] I think the angels are joining us there.
[9:12] Do take a seat. And just want to, we've got, I imagine Mark already knows we've got quite a lot of feedback. We were sort of ironing out some of the technical issues.
[9:23] I'd like to introduce you to Woolly. Have you met Woolly before? Just want to, yeah, okay, do you want to wave to him? Now I noticed when I was sharing Ben with you, he had his mouth rather open rather a lot.
[9:36] So I'm going to try to keep his mouth a bit more closed, if that makes sense. So yeah, so Ben, so Ben, sorry, Woolly, Woolly. You know, how has the summer been?
[9:51] Hold on, you think he's got something to show? He says it's been completely brilliant. Does anybody else agree with that? The summer's been completely brilliant? Thank you, that's good.
[10:05] One person is not, oh, two people, that's excellent, wonderful. Right, now I want to ask Woolly why it's been completely brilliant. So would you like to know why?
[10:16] Look at me, don't look at the people over there. Okay, hold on. He said it's that lovely thing called rain. It makes the grass grow.
[10:30] And if you're a sheep, this is heaven. Well, I think that's lovely, isn't it? Aren't you pleased for Woolly that he's had such a good summer, that the rains come and the grass has grown?
[10:44] We've had to cut the grass a lot in our back gardens. Does anybody agree with that? Or is it just, or have you gone for the natural look? You know, anyway. Now, I know that Ben's had a bit of a difficult time too.
[10:59] Now, I don't know whether he's willing to share that. I'll just have a chat with him. He says, only if I do it sensitively. Okay. Well, you see Ben, what?
[11:12] Ben? It's his best friend. Ben is another puppet, sorry. But Woolly is definitely here. But it's more fun when you get it slightly right. Anyway, Woolly, Dawn's going to, she's like, I don't believe it.
[11:28] Woolly is going to just, well, let me tell you about something which was very, very difficult. I think it was about two weeks ago. It was very wet. And he looked at the river.
[11:41] You know on the dike, there's, not the dike, the other side, there's a river on the rye. Do you know the kind of thing? And he looked and he saw, he saw grass that was thick.
[11:54] We're still getting some feedback, Mark. That was thick, really big bits of grass. Woolly, I think that wasn't actually grass. They were reeds.
[12:05] Can you remember seeing those just as you come across by Trinity? There's some reeds. And he thought to himself, I need that grass. So he looked at the water.
[12:17] He thought, that's not too deep. Even Woolly, with his little feet, will be able to get to the, anybody been in there? Anybody been little paddling? No, no, I'm not suggesting you do that.
[12:29] Well, he paddled over to the reeds. And he started chewing them, but, you know, they didn't taste very good. And then, because of all the rain, the water started taking him.
[12:44] And initially he thought, this is fun. You know, just floating along. And then it got faster and faster. And then his coat got wet and he started to sink down.
[12:56] Can you see why this wasn't very nice for Woolly? Am I doing it sensitively? I'm not sure I am. But anyway. And then, then he could see there was this kind of weird thing that he was going to have to go over.
[13:08] And it was going to squash him. And then to the rescue came Dawn. She didn't know this was going to be in the story, actually.
[13:19] Dawn, she thought, I must look after Woolly. And so she pushed through the stingers, stinging herself. Little clap there. And then she jumped into the water.
[13:34] It was a bit of a splash. And then she went over and she grabbed hold of Woolly. And she put Woolly. We had a similar thing, didn't we, a few weeks ago? She put Woolly over her shoulders and she carried him out of the water.
[13:49] And he was safe. He said it was very, very scary, though. Really, really scary. Until she was saved and helped.
[14:03] Oh, that's bad. So I think we should give thanks that Woolly was saved from possible drowning, which would have been really bad, wouldn't it?
[14:14] And we give thanks that, as we're going to be learning today, that we have been saved from death and from sin by Jesus Christ. So let's come and give thanks to God, shall we?
[14:27] So, Father, we want to thank you that when we were helpless and could do nothing to save ourself, that you came and you rescued us in your son, Jesus Christ.
[14:42] Thank you that he is the great shepherd of the sheep and we worship him. We pray today as we meet as adults here in the Memorial Hall that you will teach us wonderful things about your great love for us and your great salvation.
[14:58] Hear our prayer in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Well, I've got a few notices. Woolly's just going to stay here while I do the notices. First of all, we have a bazaar.
[15:11] Do you understand that term? It's quite an old term, isn't it? Stephen said we've got a bazaar. And I thought that's bizarre. Anyway, it's down in the information room and there are vases and there are chairs.
[15:25] There are choir chairs. And apparently, if you sit on these choir chairs and stand, you suddenly are able to sing beautifully. So it's not true, not true, not true. Anyway, we do have about 12 choir chairs still to go.
[15:38] 28 have found good homes. Isn't that good? Yeah, isn't that wonderful? So if you think, ooh, maybe, maybe, then do go and have a look in the information room.
[15:49] Is there anything else in there I should mention? Other bits and pieces. Not the sack barrows. Not the sack barrows. Is there... No, don't take the kind of push-along things kind of thing.
[16:02] And if you were thinking, oh, no, I missed out on all the fun yesterday, then Stephen has got more fun coming up.
[16:14] So if you'd like to help, speak to Stephen or contact the church office and we can let you know how you can get your hands dirty or, you know, use them for the Lord during this time of change.
[16:26] Is there... Oh, yes. Next week, we have our service here again. And then at the end of the service, I think Roger's going to do a little bit to sort of mark the end of dawn and I being here at Union Baptist Church.
[16:40] So just to let you know, that will happen as part at the end of the service. And then we'll have coffee. And then, weather permitting, we will go onto the rye and have a picnic.
[16:51] So do bring a picnic along and celebrate or, you know, commiserate or whatever. Be with us. Giving thanks to God at that time next week. And if there is awful weather, we will have the picnic here.
[17:04] So picnic will happen one way or another. If you haven't noticed, you should have done. Life groups are starting in September. And if you haven't picked up a leaflet about that, they're just down in the main hall and in the reception area.
[17:23] Is there anything else I should have said, Lynn? Stephen, forever hold your peace. Marvellous. In which case, I think Judith is going to...
[17:33] Oh, no. We're going to pray for the children and young people as they go to their groups. And we probably need some guidance on that, don't we? But who's going to give me that guidance? Ah.
[17:46] I think that the explorers are going... Explorers are going... Staying where they normally are. And all the other children in the Memorial Lounge. All children in the Memorial Lounge.
[17:57] And young people, so... They're with them as well. They're with them as well. How wonderful. Right. So, is that okay? So, yeah. Memorial Lounge and the lower lounge. Let's pray for our children and young people.
[18:10] Loving Father, we do thank you for all stages of life when we're young, when we're a little bit older. And we pray that we would learn more and more about your great love and your gospel truth at every stage of our life.
[18:24] We pray for our children and their leaders and we ask a blessing on them as they share the good things of your kingdom. Hear our prayer, Lord. Amen. Well, do go to your groups.
[18:37] And while they're doing that, why don't you say hello to the people around you? Do you want to sit down?
[19:10] Do you feel free to call people to order? Do you feel free to call people to order?
[19:24] Good morning!
[19:38] Good morning! Am I going to have to sing? Good morning! Good morning! Good morning! Good morning!
[19:50] Good morning! Good morning! It's wonderful to be back! Now as I sat thinking and praying about our intercessions this morning, I felt compelled to come down yesterday to see what was happening, to feel the energy, to see the amount of work that had to be done.
[20:15] And I was overcome by a sense of anticipation, but also a sense of uncertainty and some fear.
[20:27] And I know change is not easy in the best of times. And for some people it's just downright hard. So I have, by the Spirit, fitted my prayers around change and comfort for us brothers and sisters in a time where we don't know how long we're going to be meeting like this, but let's look at the bright side.
[20:53] I joked with Veronica this morning that we're all on the same level. There are people upstairs and downstairs. We're all on the same level, which says we're in this together.
[21:07] So let us just come to God for the peace that he promises. His word reminds us in Philippians 4, verses 67, Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
[21:31] And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
[21:44] Let's pray. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for loving us completely. You are constant, faithful, and true.
[21:56] Our lives are often embroiled in change, but we have your assurance that you never change. In every season of our lives, you will never leave us nor forsake us.
[22:12] Father, we anticipate and thank you for your very visible hand at work during the Livingstone Project, guiding and protecting us.
[22:24] Help us to see where we can strengthen our worship and draw closer to you during this season of change, and to give you all the honor and the glory for each day.
[22:40] Anoint us all with your peace, Lord, as you promised in Philippians 4, verse 7. Fill us with patience and perseverance while the work proceeds.
[22:51] Keep us thankful, joyful, and hopeful, even when we cannot see or hear progress. We thank you for our ministers and leaders who have listened to your voice and to our voices in this season.
[23:08] We also thank you for the Livingstone's team who provide clarity in the considerations and continue to keep us informed. Thank you for our administrative team who have given time, who are managing the day-to-day needs of all users of these buildings in a time of unprecedented change.
[23:32] Bless them as they continue to show so much grace, creativity, and patience, Lord. And Lord, help us to be patient when we perceive things to have slipped through the cracks.
[23:48] Thank you for all who have given time to clear away the many, many years of accumulated stuff, storing what is to be retained, removing the pews, breaking down the platform, and preparing the Memorial Hall for services going forward.
[24:08] Thank you for the technical teams who have relocated the required technology to allow for sound amplification, projection, and live streaming.
[24:20] Father, please abundantly bless everyone as we carry out the tasks in the weeks to come. As the time draws near for Malcolm and Dawn to leave us, Lord, we give you thanks and praises for sending them to us.
[24:38] We thank you for their love and devotion to your whole world and the application of that to our lives. Bless them richly in the next season of their lives.
[24:51] We lift each member of their family to you now, Lord, and ask a special blessing on them. Father, as we prepare to hear your word, we ask your blessing upon Hannah.
[25:05] Use her, Lord, to convey your message as you open our ears. Give us teachable hearts. Thank you for inspiring Roger as he prepared the sermon.
[25:17] Bless him as he speaks your truth to us now. Empower each word by your Holy Spirit to form us more and more into the shape of Jesus.
[25:30] Lamentations 3, 22 to 23 says, We praise you, Lord, because of your great love. We are not consumed, for your compassions never fail.
[25:44] They are new every morning. Thank you, Father God. Great is your faithfulness. Amen. We're reading all of Psalm 22.
[26:10] So if you've got a church Bible, we're on page 554 and on to page 555. Amen. Amen. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
[26:28] Why are you so far from saving me? So far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer. By night, but I find no rest.
[26:43] Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One. You are the one Israel praises. In you our ancestors put their trust. They trusted you and you delivered them.
[26:54] To you they cried out and were saved. In you they trusted and were not put to shame. But I am a worm and not a man. Scorned by everyone.
[27:08] Despised by the people. All who see me mock me. They hurl insults, shaking their heads. He trusts in the Lord, they say. Let the Lord rescue him.
[27:19] Let him deliver him, since he delights in him. Yet you brought me out of the womb. You made me trust in you, even at my mother's breast.
[27:30] From birth I was cast on you. From my mother's womb you have been my God. Do not be far from me, for trouble is near. And there is no one to help.
[27:42] Many bulls surround me. Strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. Roaring lions that tear their prey, open their mouths wide against me.
[27:55] I am poured out like water. And all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax. It has melted within me.
[28:05] My mouth is dried up like a potsherd. And my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You lay me in the dust of death. Dogs surround me.
[28:18] A pack of villains encircles me. They pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones are on display. People stare and gloat over me.
[28:29] They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment. But you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength. Come quickly to help me.
[28:41] Deliver me from the sword. My precious life from the power of the dogs. Rescue me from the mouth of the lions. Save me from the horns of the wild oxen. I will declare your name to my people.
[28:54] In the assembly I will praise you. You who fear the Lord, praise him. All you descendants of Jacob, honor him. Revere him, all you descendants of Israel.
[29:05] For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one. He has not hidden his face from him, but has listened to his cry for help. From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly.
[29:18] Before those who fear you, I will fulfill my vows. The poor will eat and be satisfied. Those who seek the Lord will praise him. May your hearts live forever.
[29:31] All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord. And all the families of the nations will bow down before him. For dominion belongs to the Lord. And he rules over the nations.
[29:43] All the rich of the earth will feast and worship. All who go down to the dust will kneel before him. Those who cannot keep themselves alive. Posterity will serve him.
[29:54] Future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness. Declaring to a people yet unborn. He has done it. It's the word of the Lord.
[30:04] Just before Roger comes and shares this word with us, we're going to sing, All Hail King Jesus.
[30:20] This psalm is speaking. It was speaking about lots of things, but it is definitely speaking about the Lord Jesus. And we'll be seeing that unpacked. And also, as Roger shares with us, he's going to offer his sermon in two halves.
[30:32] And there'll be a song in the middle as well. So, yeah. We were wondering whether to give out ice creams for the intermission. But no, that isn't happening. So let's worship God, shall we? And then we look forward to God's word being opened to us.
[30:45] Shall we stand? O Hail King Jesus O Hail Emmanuel King of kings Lord of kings Lord of kings Bright morning star Every day you give me well I'll sing your praises And I'll reign with you Throughout eternity All hail King Jesus All hail King Jesus All hail Emmanuel All hail Emmanuel
[31:46] King of kings Lord of kings Lord of kings Bright morning star Every day you give me well I'll sing your praises And I'll reign with you Throughout eternity Please be seated I hope you have access to a Bible Because we are going to refer to various verses in Psalm 22 They won't possibly be on the screen Because I've asked Paul to put some points up as I go along Back in 2018 We had a summer of Psalms
[32:46] And I was given Psalm 23 to preach on That was the most easy one Six verses Comforting We love it Now I've got Psalm 22 31 verses It really needs four or five sermons to do it justice But I've tried to simplify it this morning And as Malcolm's told you We're going to do it in two parts With a song in between It's clearly It's clearly A prophecy Can somebody tell me a prophecy of what In the New Testament What does it describe?
[33:26] It's the crucifixion My God, my God Why have you forsaken me? It's the very words Jesus cried out Isn't it? So I've entitled the first part A prophetic psalm See what comes up Good I can't see one at the back And I'm going to look at seven aspects of it In verses 1 to 21 in particular And I'm giving them a key word each And that phrase I've just said to you Is the key word anguish Anguish This is point number one Anguish It's the very thing Jesus cried out on the cross A thousand years after this was written by David Jesus would have known this psalm He knew the Old Testament probably better than anyone else in his time But at that moment He wasn't just quoting the psalm He was actually experiencing separation from God
[34:27] He'd never been separated from his father in his life Can you imagine? No I can't You can't What separation from God must have meant for him My God, my God Why have you forsaken me?
[34:42] He cried out We don't know what agony he was in But that's anguish And then let's move on to verse 7 All who see me mock me They hurl insults shaking their heads You know that is very reminiscent of what was happening at the crucifixion Those who passed by hurled insults at him Shaking their heads As Matthew says in his gospel And by the way the soldiers had already mocked him in the barracks Dressing him in that robe and crowning him with the crown of thorns So he faced being mocked Point number 2 And that leads directly on to verse 8 He trusts in the Lord Let the Lord rescue him Let him deliver him since he delights in him Well, I've called that one temptation Why?
[35:35] In Matthew 27 In Matthew 27 The chief priests The teachers of the law And the elders mocked him He saved others, they said But he can't save himself He's the king of Israel Let him come down now from the cross And we will believe in him He trusts in God Let God rescue him now if he wants him For he said I am the son of God You know, Jesus had already been tempted to back out In the garden of Gethsemane You remember that prayer?
[36:03] Lord, if there's any other way But your will be done And now he was being tempted again Via Satan Via the chief priests and the leaders To come down from the cross To cut it short But no He endured the six hours Of agony Of separation from his father Of all the physical torture Because he knew He had to do that for us For all of us Who would believe in him And by the way Verses in between Three to five And nine to eleven Yet Yet He didn't lose his trust And when David wrote that psalm David must have also been In the time of anguish Yet He still trusted in God Let's look at point number four Which I've called suffering And there's Some examples of it In verses 14, 15 and 17
[37:03] My bones are out of joint My heart has turned to wax My strength is dried up You lay me in the dust of death I can count all my bones People stare and gloat over me Isn't that a picture Of Jesus hanging on the cross And although There's no direct Reference to those verses In the Gospels We know he was suffering Because one of them ran And got a sponge He filled it with wine vinegar Put it on a stick And offered it to Jesus to drink That was Matthew 27, 48 And yet Jesus didn't drink it Because he took The entire wrath of God On his shoulders To bear the sin Of all of humankind For you and me For everyone Who would believe I've called point number five Cruelty And that's verse 16
[38:03] Here's a direct reference They have pierced My hands And my feet That's a reference Isn't it To the exact form Of execution That a thousand years later The suffering servant The Messiah Would suffer Hard iron nails Being driven through his hands Through his feet Isn't that cruel And the references I've put Are actually just Little references To this When Thomas said Unless I see The nail marks In his hands And put my finger Where the nails were And put my hands Into his side I will not believe it Yes Those marks Are still there Before the Father So that we Will never have to suffer In the way he did Those marks In his hands And his feet They are salvation For us
[39:04] And the axed one says You put him to death By nailing him To the cross And John also says They will look On him Whom they have pierced It's all so Incredibly Moving Isn't it That it A thousand years before That David should write An exact description Of The crucifixion And Then there's The sixth word Which is robbed And that's Verse 24 They divided My garments Among them And cast lots For my clothing That is exactly What the Roman soldiers Were doing Wasn't it And in fact That's a direct quote If you read If you read That verse John 19 24 It refers you Back To this verse Isn't it remarkable How David Was inspired To write this song This psalm So long ago And by the way It is a song It says at the top Of it To be sung to
[40:04] The tune of People were meant To sing this To remember That there was Suffering And that somebody Would come Perhaps in the future They didn't know Did David know He was prophesying The exact way The Messiah Was going to suffer And die For us And then again In verses 19 to 21 There's that sense But you oh Lord Be not far off Come quickly To help me Deliver me In all of the agony That Jesus suffered He still trusted in God To save him So what's my seventh reference Well It's the rest of the psalm It's verses 22 to 31 And I've called it Victory Look at these verses Verse 22 I will declare your name To my brothers 24
[41:06] He has not despised The suffering Of the afflicted one 27 All the ends of the earth Will remember And turn to the Lord And all the families Of the nations Will bow down Before him For dominion Belongs to the Lord For he rules Over the nations Wow Is that victory And then look at Verses 30 and 31 Future generations Will be told About the Lord That's you and me They will proclaim His righteousness To a people Yet unborn For he Has Done it Does that remind you Of something Jesus said On the cross He has done it It is finished Salvation is complete You and I Will never have to suffer The suffering The cruelty The agony The anguish That Jesus went through For us
[42:06] I think we've got to Pause at this point And reflect on it As we sing together The musicians will join me The song When I survey The wondrous cross And I've asked For a particular tune As well Just as David did I hope When I surveyed the wondrous cross On which the prince of glory died
[43:11] My richest gain I count but loss And pour contempt on all my pride Who bid it, Lord, that I should go Saving the death of Christ my Lord Lord, I hate this, that you only boast I sacrifice them to his blood See from his hands, his hands, his feet
[44:20] Sorrow and love flow leading down Did as a trial and sorrow meet Our thrones compose the rich crown With the wow of nature mine That were an only part of your soul What so amazing, so divine To enhance my soul
[45:26] My life, my all Please be seated Part two It was a prophetic psalm, that's no doubt But was it also a personal psalm?
[45:56] Question mark We know from the psalms that David wrote That he was a very sensitive man There were times when he was full of praise to God And other times when he seemed to be in the depths of despair And although he perhaps didn't realise he was writing this incredible prophecy Maybe he was writing some of this from some of his own experiences Let's have a look at those seven words again Because I think we can relate it to parts of David's life For example, anguish, number one David had been anointed to be king of Israel after Saul Because Saul had been put down really The prophet Samuel had anointed David to replace him But Saul clung to power And he hated David And hunted him He and his armies hunted for him in the wilderness Did David suffer anguish?
[46:58] I bet you he did What about mocked? Earlier in his life The young shepherd boy Arrived at the scene of the Israelite army Facing the Philistines and Goliath And his brothers mocked him What are you doing here?
[47:15] And that was the day he defeated Goliath He was mocked again by the way Later in his life After his son Absalom had taken the throne And he was driven out of Jerusalem And a man called Shimei Mocked him as he went from Jerusalem Insulting him Hurling stones at him One of David's followers wanted to kill the man But David said no, let him be So he put up with mockery Was he tempted?
[47:43] Boy, he was tempted Do you know in 1 Samuel Chapters 24 and 26 If you read He had two golden opportunities To get rid of Saul And to take the throne I won't go into all the details now But he resisted Just as Jesus resisted the call to come down from the cross He didn't cut that time short He waited on the Lord Who was going to make sure he became the King of Israel Did he suffer?
[48:16] He must have suffered greatly During those years When he was fleeing from Saul All across the wilderness Hiding in caves He suffered again many years later After he'd been a successful king And he was driven out By his own son Absalom Another time when he was being hunted So he was often on the run from enemies During his life Cruelty Well, that was the reference to the piercing Now, there's no specific reference to piercing in David's life Although he says it in this psalm They've pierced my hands and my feet And by the way His psalm is in the first person I My So that gives you a clue that He was feeling this himself Not like Isaiah When he talked about the suffering servant It was a he Him He was talking about someone else So For this one The nearest I can come to it
[49:17] Is the fact that when David was a young boy Playing the harp In the palace To calm Saul When he had evil moods And Saul was very jealous of him He flung javelins at him Well, that's the nearest you can come to being pierced So he suffered cruelty Was he robbed?
[49:37] Absolutely He was robbed of his throne After many years of success and victory He was thrown out Of his own city His throne By his own son He was robbed of his palace Even his wives That was a really hard time In his life So We know David went through A lot of the same Sorts of things Not in the same intensity That Jesus would have But I think Some of this psalm Was written We don't know exactly When it was written But from some of David's experience And through it all You can say David also experienced victory Because In 2 Samuel chapter 8 And verse 6 It says The Lord gave David victory Wherever he went When he did finally come to the throne For many years David had victory over his enemies The Israel kingdom was established And so In spite of all the trials
[50:39] That he must have suffered He had victory Now my last line on the screen Will be Application Can we Can you Can I Identify With any of this You know Paul wrote to Timothy All scripture is God breathed And is useful for teaching Rebuking Correcting And training in righteousness All scripture Even some of these parts That don't seem to apply to me Well Maybe they do Have you ever suffered Anguish Have you ever cried out In anguish to God I have When one of my best students Was drowned off the coast of New Guinea God what are you doing I didn't use the same words But boy I felt the anguish Of the loss Of a boy I'd love Like a son When I was caring for Tina Yes I cried out to God At times I expect you Have had similar experiences
[51:39] Have you ever been mocked For sharing Our faith Living as a Christian Among Unbelievers I expect some of us Have Ever been tempted To cut short The experience That you're going through Not waiting on God Yeah I was tempted In that way To try to Return to New Guinea Before God Had planned for me to And I'm so glad I didn't I'll tell you why later Not now Suffering And by the way Of course the psalm's About physical suffering But there's mental suffering There's emotional suffering And perhaps some of us Have endured some of that too Robbery You know Tina and I Were robbed five times Over the years Once in Papua New Guinea Four times in Britain Including a break in To our house
[52:39] And yet God was with us He provided for us We trusted in him And we can be sure That whatever We might be asked To go through In our lives It will never Ever be as intense As what Jesus Suffered for us It will probably Never be anything Like David suffered But we will Have victory The seventh word Dwell on that one Because Paul tells us Thanks be to God Who gives us The victory Through our Lord Jesus Christ Amen Amen Just a little bit of time For us to reflect For a moment On what Roger
[53:39] Shared with us Perhaps we can just Be still Perhaps close your eyes And reflect On this wonderful psalm This prophecy This personal experience Of David Perhaps reflecting Something of your experience How has God spoken to you?
[54:01] Amen nouvelles He doesn't콘 He knows He knows That2 wildly His What is house He says He knows How is hos Who gives us Why the Holy Spirit, we invite you to reveal what it means that Jesus is our sacrifice.
[54:44] We've been here many times before, but we need a fresh awareness, a fresh revelation of the Lord Jesus dying for me, dying for you.
[55:00] Thank you that you understood and understand the times we've gone through.
[55:16] For you have been tested in every way, Lord Jesus. And therefore you can sympathise with us as we go through times we don't understand and are too difficult.
[55:30] By your Spirit, minister your grace to us this morning. Reveal to us Jesus, our Saviour, our King.
[55:43] Amen. I invite you to stand as we prepare to take communion together. Amen. Jesus Christ, I thank the Lord your sacrifice.
[56:05] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Many times So I've wondered at your gift of life I'm in that place once again I'm in that place once again And once again I look upon the cross where you died Come huffled by your mercy And broken inside Once again I thank you Once again I pour out my life Now you are exalted to the highest place King of the heavens
[57:07] Where one day I'll bow But for now I marvel at this saving grace I'm full of praise once again I'm full of praise once again And once again I look upon the cross where you died I'm humbled by your mercy And broken inside Once again I thank you Once again I pour out my life Thank you for the cross Thank you for the cross Thank you for the cross Thank you for the cross
[58:13] Thank you for the cross Thank you for the cross My friend Once again I look upon the cross where you died I'm humbled by your mercy And broken inside Once again I thank you Once again I pour out my life Amen Amen Do take a seat And those deacons who are serving Perhaps you can come and sit on the seats at the front here That would be great Once again we come I was glad we got some Excellent Thank you Anthony And anybody else?
[59:11] Marvelous Let's hear some words of scripture To encourage us Jesus said to them I am the bread of life Whoever comes to me will never be hungry Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty Are you hungry and thirsty for the Lord this morning?
[59:35] Then come and feed here God proves his love for us While we were still sinners Christ died for you and for me How kind How merciful How gracious our God is And I wonder how you are After your week Or your year Or yesterday Come to me All you who are weary And carrying heavy burdens And I will give you rest Take my yoke upon you And learn from me For I am gentle And humble in heart And you will find rest For your souls For my yoke is easy My burden Is light Let's pray Father
[60:38] Father it has seemed for some of us That we've been caught in the River Sometimes it's felt like we're drowning And danger is ahead Come rescue us Lord Jesus Take us upon your shoulders Take us upon your shoulders Take us upon your shoulders Take us upon your shoulders Take us upon your shoulders Cover us with love Save us Now save us for eternity We look to you We look to you We can look to no other We come weary and burdened We lay it all down Before you Lord Jesus Strengthen us As we share this meal together May the bread be to us Your body May the wine be to us Your blood May we have that wonderful Mysterious encounter with you As we act by faith Obeying your call To regularly take this meal
[61:41] In memory of you Hear our prayer Lord Come quickly to save Amen Do invite all who Truly believe in the Lord Jesus And are trusting him For their salvation Repenting of all they know To be wrong To share this meal with us And we have an open table So everybody is welcome To take bread and take wine If for you that's Not right this morning Then take the time When the bread and the wine Goes round To see how the Lord Is speaking to you As you watch others Take bread and take wine This is what Paul said At the institution of this meal The Apostle Paul tells us Of the institution of the Lord's Supper And he said For I received from the Lord What I also handed on to you That the Lord Jesus On the night when he was betrayed Took a loaf of bread And when he'd given thanks
[62:41] He broke it and said This is my body that is for you Do this in remembrance of me In the same way he took the cup After supper Saying this cup Is the new covenant In my blood Do this as often As you drink it In remembrance of me For as often As you eat this bread And drink this cup You proclaim the Lord's death Until he comes again It'd be nice It's lovely being in this place Where we can hear one another A bit easier We often say a prayer Of thanksgiving But I just would be lovely If we just say Thank you Lord for Maybe something that Roger has revealed From the word of God Perhaps two or three Could just say Thank you Lord Thank you Lord for Something that you remember About this meal And we'll all join in the Amen So let's give thanks For this meal together As brothers and sisters Amen Amen thank you Lord our Father make us more and more thankful every day for this gift the gift of your son may he be our treasure our greatest treasure may he be the song on our lips the words in our mouth speaking of his sacrifice and his love so as we take bread reminding us of the Lord the body that was given given for us as we take wine reminding of his life blood that he poured out to give us eternal life we pray that you would meet with us and bless us Amen I'll go and get a bit of bread and just remind you that the Lord has broken it for us as a blessing and then as you receive the bread just perhaps as you pass it along the rose say the body of Christ given for you and just pass it along the bread that's in the small little stainless steel container is gluten free so that's for you if that's what you need let's get the bread brothers and sisters the body of Jesus was broken for you feed on him in your hearts with thanksgiving Amen draw near with faith receive the body of Christ may he strengthen you embody mind and spirit thank you amen well amenbor
[66:43] Thank you.
[67:13] Thank you.
[67:43] Thank you.
[68:13] Thank you.
[68:43] Thank you.
[69:13] Thank you.
[69:43] Thank you. Thank you.
[70:43] Thank you. Thank you.
[71:43] Thank you. Thank you.
[72:43] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[72:57] Brothers and sisters, let us drink and be thankful.
[73:27] Your death, O Lord, we commemorate. Your resurrection we confess. Your final coming we await. Glory be to you, O Christ.
[73:44] We thank you that when we were far off, you met us in your Son, dying and living. He declared your love. May we who share Christ's body live his risen life. We who drink his cup bring life to others.
[74:03] We whom the Spirit lights give light to the world. Father, keep us firm in the hope you have set before us. So we and all your children shall be free and the whole earth live to praise your name. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Amen.
[74:26] Thank you very much, deacons. And we've got the joy this morning of welcoming two members into our church. So Catherine and Andy, if you can come up on the stage. We want to make sure everybody knows who you are.
[74:40] And then we're going to ask you some questions, if that's okay. If you come and stand just here, that would be lovely. You haven't got that. Do you want me to help you out? You're okay.
[74:57] Haven't got that rail, have we? We'll have to... Hold my hand there. Well done. Well done. Well done. Excellent.
[75:08] There we go. This is Catherine and Andy. Many of us will have been at their baptism some months ago. And so we're delighted that they have chosen to come into church membership.
[75:19] Mike Birmingham wants me to say to you that he's really sorry he can't be here today. But he's preaching at Oak Ridge. Shall we let him off? Maybe we will. Yes. So in the name of our Lord God, it is our joy to welcome Andy and Catherine into membership of this church.
[75:36] They are committed to serving God in this community. And today we acknowledge and thank God for their commitment. So I've got some questions, which are going to go up on the screen, but you've got them in front of you as well.
[75:49] I hope they tie up. So on to the next one. So here we go. So do you believe in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, your creator and redeemer and the sustainer of all things?
[76:02] Arthur. Brilliant. Do you believe that God has led you to share in the worship, life, and witness of this local congregation? I hope. And will you share with us the gifts God has given you that together we may serve God in our local community and in the wider world?
[76:19] I hope. Brilliant. Now, as Baptist Christians, we covenant together as a community of the disciples of Jesus Christ, baptized in his name. We share the joys and the responsibilities of fellowship.
[76:31] We gather for worship and to discern the mind of Christ. Together we seek the kingdom of God through prayer, witness, and service. We seek to build one another up in love.
[76:45] Will you share with us this common life and service? And will you walk together with us before God in ways that are known and yet to be made known?
[76:58] That's it. And I'd like to ask you some questions in your support of Catherine and Andy. Do you welcome Catherine and Andy into the membership of this worshiping community?
[77:09] We do. Brilliant. God has given us the gift of Andy and Catherine and through them has given us gifts of ministry in the name and the witness of this congregation.
[77:20] Will you support Andy and Catherine in Christian service and in the responsibilities of church membership? We will. Will you pray for Andy and Catherine and encourage them through hospitality, friendship, and prayer?
[77:35] We will. In the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus Christ. Shall we pray for Andy and Catherine now? Let's pray.
[77:47] So loving Father, I want to thank you for Andy and Catherine. Thank you for bringing them together in marriage. Thank you for taking them through the waters of baptism as they put their trust in Jesus Christ for their salvation in this life and in the future.
[78:04] And we pray now that you would pour out your gifts upon them. We pray that you would sustain them in the struggles and the joys of life.
[78:16] And that you would knit us together as the body of Christ here. Help them to really feel like they belong here, Lord. Thank you, Father.
[78:29] Amen. Amen. I welcome you into the membership of the church. Welcome. Let's hard welcoming you. God bless.
[78:40] Now, shall I help you? Shall I help you down? There we go. I feel like I'm baptizing you again. No, thank you. Well done.
[78:53] Well done. That was a very memorable one. Lovely. Thank you, Father. Yeah, don't have a splash this time. Oh, my God. I don't want to. Well done.
[79:06] Excellent. Well done. Well done. Well, we're going to lift up the name of the Lord Jesus as we sing our final song, Crown Him with many crowns. Shall we worship Him? Thank you.
[79:46] Thank you.
[80:16] Thank you. Thank you.
[80:48] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[81:20] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[81:32] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[81:44] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[81:56] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All hail, Redeemer, hail, for thou hast died for me.
[82:13] Thy praise shall never fail, forever throughout eternity. Wonderful, wonderful.
[82:29] Hear these words from Jude and receive them as a blessing. Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy.
[82:45] To the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord before all ages, now and forevermore.
[82:56] Amen. We do take a seat and then I've just got one or two things to say. Oh, do you want to come up? Roger has something.
[83:08] This is his third part of his sermon. No. Not scripted. I know there's a few people that like to have some notes from a sermon. I used to preach with notes and hand them out.
[83:19] That was years ago. So I've put a few on the side there. It's basically what was on the PowerPoint screen. So you're welcome to help yourself. Thank you very much. It's very kind, isn't it?
[83:31] I wanted to say a massive thank you to our technical team and musicians for sort of dealing with this new environment. God bless you. Should we give them a clap? Thank you.
[84:10] We are in a new room and therefore there are new fire escapes. So, yes. When we meet like this, can I just let you know that this is a fire escape here. You can go down there straight out.
[84:22] We meet in the grass just in front of the cottage if there is a fire. And you'll know that by a big blaring noise. And you can go out that door there. And that takes you down through reception. And if there were to be a sort of a noise of a fire alarm, then Gary would quickly whisk that camera out the way.
[84:41] Gary, is this right? That's right. It would just go whoosh and it would be disappearing. And we could all go charging, not charging, walking very carefully down the stairs and straight out. Do you realize this is a very good place for a fire, isn't it, actually?
[84:54] So many exits. So many different ways to get out. So that's good. Don't forget that we've got tea and coffee down in the main hall.
[85:06] And don't forget the bazaar in the information room. And God bless you. Have a wonderful week. Don't forget to volunteer to do some service by mentioning to Stephen or to Lynn.
[85:18] God bless you all.