May 10, 2009

Morning Meeting

• Hymn 62— In the Lord we have redemption
• Scripture :1 Peter 1:18 & 19
• Hymn 316 — We are by Christ redeemed 

• Scripture: 

  • Exodus 12:7,13 — This was the blood of redemption that the people of Israel displayed in Egypt.
  • Leviticus 16:11—4 — This is the blood of atonement; it is not displayed, but secretly sprinkled on the mercy seat. This was for God.
•  Hymn 1 — Of all the gift thy love bestows

• Scripture :

  • Genesis 3:21 — We know that after Adam and Eve sinned, they made themselves aprons of leaves. Now, God made them coats of skin; in order to have those skins, blood had to be shed.
  • John 19:24 — The Blood that was shed by the Lord Jesus was infinitely more efficacious than all the blood that was shed in the whole Old Testament.
• Prayer 
• 1 Corinthians 11:23 — 26
• Breaking of Bread   
• Hymn 37 – Th’ atoning work is done
• Scripture : Revelation 1:5 – 7 
• Prayer

Ministry — Norman Burgess

Revelation 1:5-7a: *“And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.** *Behold, he cometh.”

Children’s Meeting — Norman Burgess

Hymn 248 – O happy day, that fixed my choice

Prayer

We know that Noah was a builder; today, we’re going to see how Noah was a bird-watcher. Read Genesis 8:5 – 12. Why didn’t the raven come back? It’s because the raven found food: ravens are scavengers, which means they eat dead things, roadkill. The dove didn’t like that kind of food, so it returned to the ark. After a week, it could find something to eat; so Noah knew that the waters were going down. After another week, the dove didn’t come back.

So what we’ve seen here is two different birds with two different natures. What’s a nature? Well, you don’t expect to find robins on the water, or ducks foraging in the grass: that’s not their nature. Hummingbirds have a nature that likes sugar water, and Blue Jays have a nature that prefers peanuts. So, part of a nature is what the bird likes. 

What about people? Is there a human nature? Left by itself, human nature is similar to roadkill in God’s eyes. So what can we do about it? When we are saved, we get another nature: a new nature. After that we have two natures: one that wants to do right and one that wants to do wrong; then we have struggles between the two natures. 

We need to let the new nature have it way, because there will be a constant struggle between good and bad. It’s been said, “Feed the dove, starve the raven.” If we feed on the Bible and other heavenly things, our new nature will be stronger and we will have a greater desire to do right. 

Reading Meeting —Nehemiah 2:17 – 3:4

Last week, we saw how Nehemiah surveyed the walls of Jerusalem; however, he didn’t tell anyone until afterwards what he wanted to do. The lack of a wall was a reproach and disgrace to the Jews; they had no protection against the enemy. For us, a wall is practical action, and should be a concern of all those who are part of the body of Christ. The wall was to keep the enemy out; however, we must know who our enemies are if we are to guard against them: the world, the flesh, and the devil are our primary enemies.

So after Nehemiah exhorted the Jews to start building, he encouraged them with a report of God’s goodness to him. Nehemiah is not alone in this: God is working through him to build the wall. It was God’s hand of judgement that had broken down the wall; now He is rebuilding it with Nehemiah. “So they strengthened their hands for this good work”. It took only one man to get the project going; yet, remember that he initiated it with much prayer to God!

V. 19: So, when we try to work for the Lord, will we have opposition as Nehemiah did? We certainly will. We’ve seen opposition from the inside in our lesson from Noah, but Nehemiah is primarily facing outward opposition: Sanballat and Tobiah. In Exra, the enemy offered to help with the building, but they only offer Nehemiah ridicule. There are things that an unsaved person can do when they try to worship (in Ezra, they were building the temple), but they will not build a wall separation. So they mocked Nehemiah; and we tend to shrink from that. We are often mocked for what we believe about God and the Bible.

Nehemiah’s enemies also accused him of rebellion. But the king had endorsed this project, and so Nehemiah was not frightened by this charge. He boldly told them that God would prosper their work, and that they had no part in it. Sanballat and Tobiah did not have a portion in Jerusalem because they were Gentiles. We have a portion too, as did the Jews: it is in Heaven, and we should be working towards it.

Hymn 290 – Praise the Saviour, ye who know Him

Prayer