Sunday 28th June 2020

 

Sing along on YouTube: Jesus what a beautiful name lyrics

Read, hum or even sing these lyrics, then thank God for all he has done for you.

Jesus, name above all names Beautiful Saviour, glorious Lord;

Emmanuel, God is with us, Blessed Redeemer, living Word.

(Naida Hearn © 1974, 1979 Thankyou Music)

Less than 100 years after Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection and ascension this is how Christians were described by someone who wasn’t one. Philosopher Aristides who lived in Athens wrote this to Emperor Hadrian in 125AD

They walk in all humility and kindness,

falsehood is not found among them,

and they love one another.

They do not despise the widow or grieve the orphan.

He that has, distributes liberally to him that has not.

If they see a stranger they bring him under their roof,

and rejoice over him as if he were their own brother;

for they call themselves brothers (and sisters),

not after the flesh, but after the Spirit and in God.

I wonder how our non-church-going neighbours would describe us?  

If you google the above quotation you are likely to discover that it tells you it was written in 125CE! Our neighbours, colleagues and family may live in the 2,020th year of the Christian Era (CE) but we live in the 2,020th year of the Lord – in Latin that is Anno Domini (AD). While the original calculation in now known to be wrong, giving us the anomaly of Jesus being born around 5BC (Before Christ) it doesn’t alter the fact that each time we write the day’s date we can remember that everything changed when Jesus the Christ came to earth to be our Saviour!

The Philosopher Aristides saw in the Christians he encountered what we are all instructed to do.

Read Philippians 2: 5-11 These are familiar words, so perhaps read them in a version of the bible you don’t usually use.

Did the version you read, in v.6 use the word ‘grasped’ or ‘exploited’ or ‘use for his own benefit’? The Message paraphrase tell us that Jesus had ‘equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status…’ The Greek word Paul has written isn’t used anywhere else in scripture so that makes it difficult to know which of those translations he would prefer. They are all helpful and build up a picture of what Jesus did so that he could come and be our Saviour. If you have the bible as an App or use the BibleGateway website read this passage in the Amplified Bible.

In v.7 there is another word which may differ in various translations; most say that Jesus took on the nature of either ‘a servant’ or ‘a slave.’ None of us have the experience of being servants or slaves, but for a moment think about what you know about the lives of servants and slaves. What are the differences between the two? Also think about who Jesus came to serve and then consider what it means for us to do what v.5 tells us we should do and ‘have the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus.’

If you continue to read Philippians chapter 2, you quickly come to a phrase we looked at last year on our ‘Away-day’, where we are told in v.15 to ‘shine like stars in the universe.’ Those Christians who lived in Athens in the125th year of our living Lord probably never knew what had been written about them. They didn’t know that they had shone like stars and caused Aristides to notice them. They were just doing what they always did – or always tried to do since acknowledging that Jesus is their Saviour and Lord.

We too will never know who has noticed the way we live our lives, but would they be as positive in their observations of us as Aristides was in his report to Emperor Hadrian about those Christians in Athens?

Use these familiar words to begin to talk to God about how you want your life to shine for Him.

As we gaze on Your kingly brightness so our faces display Your likeness,

ever changing from glory to glory: mirrored here, may our lives tell Your story

shine on me, shine on me.

Shine, Jesus, shinefill this land with the Father's glory;

Blaze, Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire.

Flow, river, flow, Flood the nations with grace and mercy;

Send forth Your word, Lord, and let there be light!

(Graham Kendrick © 1987 ThankYou Music)

Listen to YouTube: Matt Redman Shine Lyrics

If you aren’t joining today’s Zoom Meeting I would appreciate an email or text telling me which 2 of Wednesday’s descriptions of God you found most helpful. You can read the article again on the church website on the ‘Archive’ page

If you haven’t been emailed a link to join our Zoom meeting at 5pm today, then send an email request to turvesgreenbaptists@gmail.com At this meeting you will be to share which 2 descriptions of God from Wednesday’s article are most helpful at the moment.

I will write again on Wednesday – Stephen

Page last updated: Tuesday 30th June 2020 7:56 PM
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