Just as they're coming up to read, just to remind you of something else I forgot to say.
One life, what's it all about?
Christianity Explored will be starting that in February.
The details there of the course are on the back.
There's flyers there.
You can pick one of these up.
Come if you can.
And if there's somebody who you would like to bring with you to that, even better.
You might like to invite a friend or somebody who you work with who would be interested in coming along.
So you can pick those up there.
So the first reading is from Psalm 95, which is on page 602.
Psalm 95, page 602.
If anybody would like a Bible, if you haven't got one, just put your hand up and Jonathan will bring it to you.
Psalm 95, verses 1 to 7, and Shane is going to read that.
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord.
Let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extoll him with music and song.
For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us bow down and worship.
Let us kneel before the Lord, our maker.
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.
Our next reading is in Matthew chapter 2, which is page 966 in the Church Bibles.
Matthew chapter 2, verses 1 to 12.
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the time of King Herod,
Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked,
Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews?
We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.
When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law,
he asked them where the Christ was to be born.
In Bethlehem in Judea, they replied, for this is what the prophet has written.
But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,
for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
Go and make a careful search for the child.
As soon as you find him, report to me so that I too may go and worship him.
After they had heard the king, they went on their way,
and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them
until it stopped over the place where the child was.
When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary,
and they bowed down and worshipped him.
Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod,
they returned to their country by another route.
So please keep your Bibles open at that passage from Matthew chapter 2, 1 to 12.
I'm not sure of the dates there.
In verse 1 it talks about after Jesus was born.
I'm not sure of the length of time.
We celebrated his birth last Sunday,
so I think we're well on track by looking at a passage like this,
whatever the actual date after it was.
We'll see what it has to say.
Let's pray and ask for God's help.
Amen.
For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
Come, let us bow down in worship.
Let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker.
For he is our God.
We are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
Father, we come as your people under your care right now
as we listen to your word,
asking that your word would speak into our lives.
It would teach us more of who you are.
And it would teach us of what it is to worship you correctly.
How we should worship you with all of our lives.
Teach us to be a people who worship you well.
And we pray for your help.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, today starts the beginning of a new year.
So a happy new year again to you all.
So I wonder for this new year,
what do you hope to do?
What are your plans?
Maybe you've already talked about it with people.
What would you like to achieve in 2012?
What things would you like to be different?
Or would you want to change?
Well, I'm sure we all have dreams and desires
for this coming new year.
Well, what we do and where we spend our time
all depends on what or who we worship.
Our worship shapes and directs our life.
In fact, our worship is going to set the agenda
for the new year.
Matthew's account that we had read to us in chapter 2
introduces us to the whole theme of worship.
And in this section, we meet two kinds of people.
We have the Magi, who are well-educated people
who've come from the East.
And we also have Herod, a man of great influence and power.
Both these groups are worshippers.
The difference is what or who they worship.
The Magi, look at verse 2,
say that they've seen his star,
that's the star of Jesus in the East,
and have come to worship Jesus.
Herod also wants to know where Jesus is.
Look at verse 8.
He says,
Go and make a careful search of the child.
As soon as you find him, report to me,
so that I too may go and worship him.
But as we'll discover,
the worship of Herod is actually directed elsewhere.
The point is, they are both worshippers.
And crucially, what or who they worship
will shape and direct their life.
Their worship sets the agenda
for the kind of people they will be.
And our worship is going to set the agenda
for the kind of people we're going to be
for 2012.
You see, the truth is,
whether we're religious people
or irreligious people,
we are all born to worship.
The author, Richard Keyes,
put it like this.
I've got it up on the screen
so you can follow through.
He says this,
When we cease to worship God,
we do not worship nothing.
We worship anything.
We do not just eliminate God.
We erect God's substitutes in his place.
A God's substitute can be
a physical object,
a property,
a person,
an activity,
a role,
an institution,
a hope,
an image,
an idea,
a pleasure,
a hero,
anything,
can substitute for God.
You see,
in our hearts,
we are always actively worshipping.
We are always trusting,
desiring,
following,
loving,
serving,
someone,
or something else.
So when we are thinking about worship,
don't just think about religious activity,
or church services,
or coming together on a Sunday morning,
and think,
this is worship.
Yes,
it is a part of worship,
but worship is so much bigger and broader than that.
Worship is about where your heart is.
What you give your life to,
or who is most important to you,
will become the object of your worship.
Whatever you love the most,
whatever you trust the most,
will become what you serve.
Because we are all born to worship,
and we will all worship someone,
or something.
Now,
while we are born to worship,
we are told that there is only one,
who has been born to be worshipped.
And that is the whole point of Matthew in chapter 2.
Look at verse 1.
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea,
during the time of King Herod,
Magi from the east came to Jerusalem.
Herod has been appointed king over all Judea,
by the Roman Senate.
They put their man in place,
and his brief was simple.
He was told to keep the peace,
and to squash any revolt,
made by the suppressed Jews.
That was his job.
Now we are told in verse 2,
that these Magi have come,
and they are asking the question,
where is the one who has been born,
king of the Jews?
Well, they should know that.
It is supposed to be Herod.
But they say,
we saw his star in the east,
and have come to worship him.
So we have got a bit of a problem,
haven't we?
In a couple of verses,
we have been introduced to two kings,
both claiming to be king over the same people,
and both claiming the people's worship.
But there is a difference between these two people.
Herod was made king by people.
Jesus was born a king by God.
Because that is what Matthew has introduced us to already.
If you go back to chapter 1, verse 1,
we have a record of the genealogy,
the whole line of Jesus.
And verse 1 simply reads this,
a record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David.
Jesus comes from the line of David.
David was the great king of Israel in the past,
the greatest king they ever had,
and Jesus comes straight from that pedigree.
But as we read through chapter 1,
we learn that Jesus is so much more
than just a human king.
In verse 23, we read this,
that the virgin will be with child,
will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Emmanuel,
which means God with us.
So Jesus is the God King,
the eternal ruler over the entire universe.
And nobody else can claim that title or position.
Kim Il Jung or Kim Il Ung,
as he is now the new leader,
nobody, whoever you are in this entire world,
cannot claim that title.
Therefore, Jesus is introduced to us here
as one to be worshipped.
And we are born to worship him.
In fact, Jesus makes it clear
when he was tempted by Satan.
If you just go across to chapter 4
of Matthew's Gospel,
this is after Jesus has grown up
and before his ministry starts,
he finds himself out in the wilderness
being tempted by Satan.
And we pick it up in verse 8 of chapter 4.
Verse 8 of chapter 4.
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain
and showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world
and all their splendour.
All this I will give to you, he said,
if you will bow down and worship me.
Just serve me.
Just acknowledge who I am
and I will give you all of this.
It's all yours.
Right now, if you bow down and worship me.
Jesus said to him,
Away from me, Satan.
For it is written,
Worship the Lord your God
and serve him only.
Of course, the implication is
Jesus is God
and so we worship
and serve Jesus only.
So we're introduced to
the one who is born to be worshipped.
So let's have a look at Herod
and the Magi
and see how their worship
sets the agenda
for their life.
First we're going to look at Herod
and false worship.
Herod was doing so well,
getting on with his job
of being king and ruling the people.
Then these Magi arrive
claiming that there's another king.
Verse 3, chapter 2.
So when King Herod heard this,
he was disturbed
and all Jerusalem with him.
To Herod, this was not just
a threat to his kingship
and to his kingdom,
but this was a threat
to his own personal desire
for control and power.
And something needed to be done.
Verse 7.
So King Herod called the Magi secretly
and found out from them
the exact time the star had appeared.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
Go and make a careful search
for the child.
As soon as you find him,
report to me
so that I too may go and worship him.
But, verse 12.
Having been warned in a dream
not to go back to Herod,
the Magi returned to their country
by another route.
Verse 16.
When Herod realized
that he had been outwitted
by the Magi,
he was furious
and he gave orders
to kill all the boys
in Bethlehem
and its vicinity
who were two years old
and under
in accordance with the time
he had learned from the Magi.
Such was his desire
for personal power
and control
that he would go
to as extreme lengths
as murdering
little baby boys.
You see,
the arrival of Jesus,
the God King,
confronts
and challenges
us all.
Not just Herod.
His arrival
into this world
confronts us all.
And it asks us
the question,
who
or what
will we worship
this year?
Will we worship
the one born
to be worshipped
or will we erect
our own God substitute?
Will we put
something
or someone
in place of Jesus
and serve that?
For Herod,
he chose to worship
power and control.
For him,
his position
and his status
were the priority
in his life.
He could not bear
being knocked
off his perch.
So he worshipped
his status
and his position.
But the problem
of worshipping
something
or someone
other than God
is
it will destroy you
and break you.
Isn't that what
happened to Herod?
His personal desires
began to control
him
and to consume
him in the most
terrible of ways.
He became a very
bitter
and an angry
man.
Jealous
and frightened.
All because
this little baby
was born
claiming to be
king
and it
frightened him
and he got
angry
and it all
came out
in the destruction
and the murder
of these little
tiny babies.
You see
like Herod
we can erect
our own
God's
substitutes.
We worship
and serve
other things
and other people
and they can be
all sorts of things.
We can make
our work
our God's
substitute.
We can make
money
the priority
in our life.
We can make
our family
our children
the very
centre
of who we
are.
They consume
us
they drive
us.
When we wake
up in the
morning time
these things
can be
our immediate
thought
where our
thoughts go
to and
this is what
gives us
meaning and
purpose in
life.
We even
look to
money and
family and
work and
hobbies for
our pleasure
and our
happiness.
We look to
them to give
us something.
them to
be
but sooner
or later
rather than
give to you
what you
want they
begin to
take from
you.
They begin
to control
you and
to consume
you.
And when
these things
are challenged
when we feel
that like we're
losing our
grip on them
or we begin
to lose our
hold on our
family or our
money or our
work and we
somehow don't
have it
together
we become
jealous and
we get
frightened because
we're not in
control anymore.
And when they
don't deliver or
give to us
everything that
we want we
get bitter and
we become
angry because
we don't have
it what we
want.
And eventually
those feelings
and emotions
of jealousy
and fear and
anger and
bitterness they
don't just
become feelings
and emotions
they become
actions in
uncontrollable
ways.
Just what
happened to
Herod.
This fear
this jealousy
this anger
that he was
feeling inside
just broke
out in
uncontrollable
ways when he
went out and
killed all those
people.
We are
born to
worship and
Jesus was
born to be
worshipped.
But when we
worship someone
else or
something else
it will break
us and it
will destroy
us and we
will begin to
live in ways
that we thought
we would never
live.
So false
worship will
destroy you
and break
you.
But then
there's true
worship and
we see this
with the
Magi.
The Magi
were not
particularly
religious people
in fact they
were astronomers.
They were
people who
studied the
stars and
they looked
for direction
and guidance
from creation.
And like
Herod God
also confronted
and challenged
the Magi.
Were they
going to
continue to
worship creation
or would
they turn
and worship
the Creator?
You see
in ways
we're not
told God
led them
to Jesus
Christ.
Look at
verse 9.
After they
had heard
the King
they went
on their
way and
the star
they had
seen in
the east
went ahead
of them
until it
stopped over
the place
where the
child was.
When they
saw the
star
they were
overjoyed.
these guys
didn't have
a Bible
they didn't
go to
prayer
meetings
or they
didn't
go to
church
but when
they were
confronted
with the
truth
by God
in the
way that
God
communicated
to them
that Jesus
was born
to be
worshipped
look at
their response
verse 11
on coming
to the
house
when they
saw the
child
with his
mother Mary
they bowed
down
and worshipped
him.
their whole
life and
livelihood
was caught
up in
the practice
of magic
and astrology
this is what
they looked
to for
meaning and
purpose
this is where
they sought
their pleasure
and their
happiness
from
but when
they were
confronted
with the
claims and
the truth
of Jesus
they let
go of
their God
substitutes
and they
made Jesus
Christ the
sole object
of their
worship
Jesus
became their
priority
Jesus
became their
greatest
desire
they went
on the
search
until they
found him
because Jesus
was of most
value to
them
this is what
true worship
is all about
rather than
break you
and destroy
you as a
person
it will
save you
and it
will satisfy
you
that's what
true worship
will do
it will save
you and
satisfy you
when
Herod
tried to
find out
about
the
king
who
was
to
be
born
he
consulted
his
religious
advisors
look at
verse 4
when he
had called
together all
the people's
chief priests
and the
teachers of
the law
he asked
them
where the
Christ
where this
king
was to
be
born
well they
looked up
their
bibles
they knew
their
bibles
and they
said in
Bethlehem
in Judea
they replied
for this
is what
was written
in the
prophets
but you
Bethlehem
in the
land of
Judah
are by
no means
least among
the rulers
of Judea
for out
of you
will come
a ruler
who will
be the
shepherd
of my
people
Israel
this new
king that
was promised
in the
past
through the
prophets
this king
was going
to be a
shepherd
king
not just
of sheep
but of
people
and we
get a
wonderful
picture
of what
this
shepherd
king
will be
like
you can
turn back
to
Ezekiel
keep your
finger
in
Matthew's
gospel
and go
back
to
Ezekiel
and I
haven't got a
page number
so the
first one
there
could help
us all
by finding
it
it's not
too far
back
Ezekiel
chapter
34
thank you
it's on
page
8
6
5
Ezekiel
chapter
34
so the
prophets
tell us
that he
would be
a shepherd
of the
people
and here
we get
a bigger
picture of
what this
shepherd
king will
be like
it's a
wonderful
passage
a great
description
Ezekiel
34
and we'll
start at
verse 11
for this
is what
the sovereign
lord says
I myself
will search
for my
sheep and
look after
him
as a
shepherd
looks after
his scattered
flock
when he is
with them
so will
I look
after my
sheep
I will
rescue
them
from all
the places
where they
were scattered
on the
day of
the clouds
and darkness
verse 14
I will
tend them
in a good
pasture
and the
mountain heights
of Israel
will be
their grazing
land
there they
will lie
down in
good grazing
land and
there they
will feed
in a rich
pasture
on the
mountains
of Israel
I
myself
will
tend
my
sheep
and
make
them
lie
down
declares
the
sovereign
lord
I
will
search
for the
lost
and bring
back
the
strays
I
will
bind
up
the
injured
and
strengthen
the
weak
but the
sleek
and the
strong
I
will
destroy
I
will
shepherd
the
flock
with
justice
and in
case
we're
unsure
as to
who
this
shepherd
is
well
we're
told
in
verse
23
he
says
I
will
place
over
them
one
shepherd
my
servant
David
and he
will
tend
them
and he
will
tend
them
and be
their
shepherd
of course
we know
that
David
Jesus
is
the
true
David
he
is
the
ultimate
David
the
true
king
Jesus
is
the
God
king
who
comes
born
into
the
world
to be
the
true
shepherd
and he
is
the
one
who's
entered
into
our
world
to
save
us
to
do
everything
that
shepherd
is
being
said
he
would
do
he's
going
to
rescue
us
he's
going
to
tend
to
us
to
care
for
us
to
provide
for
us
he's
the
one
who's
going
to
save
us
from
the
emptiness
of
all
our
God
substitutes
he
is
the
one
who's
going
to
satisfy
us
with
all
that
is
good
and
beautiful
everything
that
we
need
and
desire
is
found
in
the
shepherd
king
the
Lord
Jesus
so
when
we
begin
to
look
at
things
and
people
the
things
that
we
worship
how
many
of
those
things
and
people
are
like
this
shepherd
how
many
of
those
things
and
people
that we
worship
and give
our time
to
search
for the
lost
and bind
up the
injured
and strengthen
the weak
and care
and tend
and provide
who are
faithful
all
those
other
things
will
destroy
you
and break
you
but
Jesus
the
shepherd
has
come
to
save
you
and
to
satisfy
you
and
to
fill
you
with
everything
that
is
good
and
beautiful
and
all
that
we
long
for
and
desire
is
found
in
him
in
fact
Matthew's
gospel
will go
on to
tell us
that
this
shepherd
the Lord
Jesus
will be
slaughtered
on a
cross
he
will
die
for
you
he's
going
to
give
his
life
for
you
he
will
take
the
blame
for
all
the
wrong
that
you've
done
so
that
you
can
have
true
eternal
life
a
satisfied
life
a
full
life
a
complete
life
that
is
only
found
in
Christ
you
see
we
are
born
to
worship
and
Jesus
was
born
to
be
worshipped
and
when
we
worship
Jesus
he
will
save
you
and
he
will
satisfy
you
and
give
to
you
all
that
you
long
for
and
all
that
you
desire
so
what
is
our
worship
going
to
look
like
in
this
new
year
how
can
we
reorientate
our
lives
to be
a
people
who
are
going
to
worship
correctly
well
look
at
verse
11
because
I
think
this
is
a
way
in
which
we
can
worship
and
the
way
we
should
worship
look
at
verse
11
it
says
on
coming
to
the
house
they
sorry
we're
back
in
Matthew
chapter
2
Matthew
chapter
2
verse
11
on
coming
to
the
house
they
saw
the
child
with
his
mother
Mary
and
they
bowed
down
and
worshipped
him
and
they
opened
their
treasures
and
presented
him
with
gifts
of
gold
and
of
incense
and
of
myrrh
the
first
thing
they
do
as
they
come
is
they
bowed
down
they
saw
the
child
and
they
bowed
down
and
worshipped
him
it's
an
act
of
submission
to
one
who
is
supreme
it's
this
outward
expression
if you
bow
down
to
someone
it's
an
outward
expression
of
an
inward
reality
that
you
are
saying
that
Jesus
Christ
has
complete
authority
over
my
life
he
rules
my
work
he
rules
my
family
he
rules
my
children
he
rules
my
money
he
rules
my
heart
he
is
number
one
he
is
the
priority
he
is
the
one
who
deserves
first
of
everything
it
is
nothing
less
than
a
genuine
repentance
for
the
magi
were
worshipping
other
things
and
in
other
ways
but
now
they
come
to
Jesus
and
they
bow
down
and
worship
him
they
turn
from
loving
and
following
and
serving
other
things
and
instead
they
now
love
and
serve
Jesus
it's
an
act
of
repentance
bowing
down
in
worship
is
repentance
it's
turning
from
our
own
plans
our
own
priorities
our
own
desires
for
this
year
and
no
doubt
we've
all
thought
of
what
we
want
to
do
and
what
we
want
to
happen
for
this
year
what
do
what do
I
want
to
happen
in
my
life
we
need
to
turn
from
our
own
plans
and
priorities
and
make
Jesus
our
goal
and
our
aim
bow
down
in
worship
to
him
surrender
to
him
all
of
our
plans
all
of
our
ambitions
and
make
him
supreme
ruler
over
everything
that is
the first
step
in what
true
worship
looks
like
the
second
step
of
true
worship
is
the
other
half
of
repentance
which
is
faith
they
presented
their
gifts
look
at the
rest
of
verse
11
they
opened
their
treasures
and
presented
him
with
gifts
of
gold
and
of
incense
and
of
myrrh
these
gifts
were
not
buy
two
get
one
free
nothing
like
that
these
gifts
were
of
great
value
and
great
cost
gold
frankincense
and
myrrh
were
of
great
value
not
everybody
had
these
they
were
tremendous
costs
in
other
words
they
symbolised
that
Jesus
the
God
King
deserves
everything
that
they
had
not
just
their
possessions
but
it's
symbolically
saying
you
deserve
my
whole
life
everything
that
I
have
all
that
I
am
it
belongs
to
you
I
think
it's
nothing
less
than
genuine
faith
because
here
they
were
giving
of
all
that
they
had
of
their
wealth
to
King
Jesus
in
other
words
they
were
putting
aside
something
else
to
say
that
in
Jesus
we
find
everything
that
we
desire
more
precious
than
gold
much
better
than
anything
else
we
could
ever
find
or
have
we
find
everything
we
need
in
Jesus
it's
an
act
of
faith
knowing
that
trusting
and
desiring
and
loving
Jesus
above
all else
is going
to truly
satisfy
you
and save
you
is what
faith
is about
and that's
what true
worship
is
it's not
just something
we do
once in
our life
but we
do it
continually
and we
will need
to do
it
throughout
2012
continually
repenting
of the
God
substitutes
that we
erect
and put
them to
one side
and bow
down to
Christ
and present
to him
our lives
and to
find in
him
that he
will
satisfy
us
and he
will
fill
us
with
all
that we
ever
need
as we
step out
into
2012
we're
all
going
to be
worshipping
people
we were
born
to
worship
and we're
all going
to worship
someone
or something
whether we
go to
church
or whether
we don't
we will
all worship
and whether
our worship
is true
or if
our worship
is true
we will
experience
joy
and peace
and love
and hope
and satisfaction
in the deepest
of ways
even in the
most difficult
of circumstances
and I do not
know what is
going to happen
to us
in 2012
but if our
worship is
true
even in the
most difficult
of times
we will
experience
joy
and peace
and hope
and love
but if our
worship is
false
the things
that we
desire
the things
that we
want
and we
fill our
lives
with
it will
just lead
to anger
to bitterness
to fear
to jealousy
and it will
lead to
uncontrollable
actions
where we
will say
things
and do
things
we never
thought
possible
direct
our worship
to Jesus
he alone
was born
to be
worshipped
so let's
together
individually
and as a
church
worship him
for 2012
and make
him
our desire
and our
priority
let's pray
together
in the
quietness
let's just
use those
two images
of repentance
and faith
think
of the
things that
we do
worship
the things
and the
people
let us
repent
and to
turn from
them right
now
the things
that consume
us
and control
us
and let
us turn
and bow
and submit
to the
Lord Jesus
and let
us turn
in faith
offering
our lives
and all
that we
have
trusting
that in
Jesus
we find
our deepest
needs
are met
in Jesus
we are
completely
filled
and satisfied
in Jesus
we will
lack
nothing
but we
will have
all that
we want
and all
that we
need
Lord
please
will you
reorientate
our lives
around
you
help
us to
worship
you
for this
year
help us
to worship
you
with our
lives
pinpoint
the areas
that we
need to
change
give us
the grace
be that
kind
gentle
and caring
shepherd
rescue us
help us
in our
weakness
come to
us
and restore
us
and
gently
lead us
in your
paths
for your
ways are
always good
and they're
always beautiful
and they're
always right
help us
to worship
you
and you
alone
we pray
this in
Jesus name
Amen
amen
good
how
a
man
has