21 January 2015
Opening
Prayer/Worship
Hymn: Trust
and Obey
Theme:
The Body of Christ
Topic:
The Lord is Speaking, Are You Listening?
Reading:
1 Samuel 3:1-20
Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days;
visions were not widespread. 2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight
had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 3the
lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of
the Lord, where the ark of
God was. 4Then the Lord called,
‘Samuel! Samuel!’ and he said, ‘Here I am!’ 5and ran to
Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call;
lie down again.’ So he went and lay down. 6TheLord called again, ‘Samuel!’ Samuel
got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said,
‘I did not call, my son; lie down again.’ 7Now Samuel did not
yet know the Lord, and the
word of theLord had not yet
been revealed to him. 8The Lord called
Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I
am, for you called me.’ Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy.9Therefore
Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” ’
So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 Now the Lord came and stood there, calling
as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is
listening.’ 11Then the Lord said
to Samuel, ‘See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears
of anyone who hears of it tingle. 12On that day I will fulfil
against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13For
I have told him that I am about to punish his house for ever, for the iniquity
that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not
restrain them. 14Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the
iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering for
ever.’ 15 Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the
doors of the house of the Lord.
Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16But Eli called
Samuel and said, ‘Samuel, my son.’ He said, ‘Here I am.’ 17Eli
said, ‘What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to
you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.’18So
Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, ‘It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to
him.’ 19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the
ground. 20And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that
Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord.
Introduction
God loves
to fellowship and commune with us His children.
He enjoys hearing from us, and having us listen and obey Him
continually. However, as humans we can
sometimes doubt the fact that the Lord communicates with us. Such doubts are most common in the time of
trouble despite evidence to the contrary in the Scripture. Inexperience with the ways of God could also
prevent us from listening and hearing from God, as illustrated from the story
of young Samuel. Thanks to guidance from
Eli, Samuel eventually heard from the Lord, and later became one of the greatest
prophets in the Bible. The Lord is still
reaching out to us today in countless ways- Scripture, sermon, hymns,
testimonies, and so on. We need not only
listen but also understand what the Lord is saying to us today and live by it.
Questions/Discussion
1. Discuss
some of the ways the Lord communicates with us.
Numbers
12:1-9
While
they were at Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the
Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had indeed married a Cushite woman); 2and
they said, ‘Has the Lordspoken
only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?’ And theLord heard it. 3Now
the man Moses was very humble, more so than anyone else on the face of the
earth. 4Suddenly the Lord said
to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, ‘Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.’ So
the three of them came out. 5Then the Lord came down in a pillar of
cloud, and stood at the entrance of the tent, and called Aaron and Miriam; and
they both came forward. 6And he said, ‘Hear my words:
When there are prophets among you,
I the Lord make myself known to them in visions;
I speak to them in dreams.
7 Not so with my servant Moses;
he is entrusted with all my house.
8 With him I speak face to face—clearly, not in riddles;
and he beholds the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?’ 9And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed.
When there are prophets among you,
I the Lord make myself known to them in visions;
I speak to them in dreams.
7 Not so with my servant Moses;
he is entrusted with all my house.
8 With him I speak face to face—clearly, not in riddles;
and he beholds the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?’ 9And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed.
Hebrews
1:1-4
Long
ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by a
Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through
whom he also created the worlds. 3He is
the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he
sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had
made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on
high, 4having
become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent
than theirs.
Hebrews
4:1-2, 12-16
Therefore, while the promise of entering his
rest is still open, let us take care that none of you should seem to have
failed to reach it. 2For
indeed the good news came to us just as to them; but the message they heard did
not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who
listened. 12 Indeed, the word of God is
living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides
soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and
intentions of the heart. 13And
before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes
of the one to whom we must render an account. 14 Since, then, we have a great high priest who
has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our
confession. 15For we
do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but
we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. 16Let us therefore approach
the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace
to help in time of need.
2. What
are the lessons for us in John 1:43-51 regarding listening to God?
John
1:43-51
The
next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him,
‘Follow me.’ 44Now
Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have
found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of
Joseph from Nazareth.’ 46Nathanael
said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him,
‘Come and see.’ 47When
Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an
Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ 48Nathanael
asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under
the fig tree before Philip called you.’ 49Nathanael
replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ 50Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you
that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ 51And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you
will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the
Son of Man.’
3. What
are the challenges to hearing from the Lord?
How do we overcome them?
Psalm
139:1-5, 12-17
Refrain: Your works are
wonderful, O Lord.
Lord, you have searched me out and known me;
you know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts from afar.
You trace my journeys and my resting-places and are acquainted with all my
ways. Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, but you, O Lord, know it
altogether. R You
press upon me behind and before and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is
too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain to it. R For you
yourself created my inmost parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I
will thank you because I am marvellously made; your works are wonderful, and I
know it well. R My body was not hidden from you, while I was
being made in secret and woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my
limbs, yet unfinished in the womb; all of them were written in your book; they
were fashioned day by day, when as yet there was none of them. R How
deep I find your thoughts, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I were to
count them, they would be more in number than the sand; to count them all, my
life span would need to be like yours. R
1
Corinthians 6:12-20
‘All
things are lawful for me’, but not all things are beneficial. ‘All things are
lawful for me’, but I will not be dominated by anything. 13‘Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for
food’, and God will destroy both one and the other. The
body is meant not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14And God raised the Lord and will also raise us by
his power. 15Do you
not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the
members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16Do you not know that whoever is united to a
prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, ‘The two shall be one
flesh.’ 17But
anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits
is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself. 19Or do you not know that your body is a temple of
the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your
own? 20For
you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.
James
1:2-8, 19-27
My brothers and
sisters, whenever you face trials
of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, 3because
you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; 4and let endurance have its
full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God,
who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. 6But ask in faith, never
doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed
by the wind; 7, 8for
the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to
receive anything from the Lord. 19 You
must understand this, my beloved: let
everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20for your anger does not
produce God’s righteousness. 21Therefore
rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome
with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not merely
hearers who deceive themselves. 23For
if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at
themselves in a mirror; 24for they look at
themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like.25But
those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being
not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing. 26 If any think they are religious, and do not
bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. 27Religion that is pure and
undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in
their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
Intercession/Worship
Conclusion
The Lord
is still reaching out to us today in countless ways- Scripture, sermon, hymns,
testimonies and so on. May we be
diligent in listening and obeying Him.
Closing
Prayer (Collect for Second Sunday after the
Epiphany)
Almighty God, your Son
our Saviour Jesus Christ is the light of the world. May your people, illumined
by your word and sacraments, shine with the radiance of his glory, that he may
be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.