16 November 2016
Opening Prayer/Worship
Hymn: Hark! hark, my
soul! angelic songs are swelling
Theme: Spirit Divine
Topic: New life in Christ
Reading: Isaiah 65:17-25
17 For I am about
to create new heavens
and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice for ever
in what I am creating;
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy,
and its people as a delight.
19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and delight in my people;
no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it,
or the cry of distress.
20 No more shall there be in it
an infant that lives but a few days,
or an old person who does not live out a lifetime;
for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,
and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
21 They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They shall not labour in vain,
or bear children for calamity;
for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord—
and their descendants as well.
24 Before they call I will answer,
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
the lion shall eat straw like the ox;
but the serpent—its food shall be dust!
They shall not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.
and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice for ever
in what I am creating;
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy,
and its people as a delight.
19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and delight in my people;
no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it,
or the cry of distress.
20 No more shall there be in it
an infant that lives but a few days,
or an old person who does not live out a lifetime;
for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,
and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
21 They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They shall not labour in vain,
or bear children for calamity;
for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord—
and their descendants as well.
24 Before they call I will answer,
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
the lion shall eat straw like the ox;
but the serpent—its food shall be dust!
They shall not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.
Introduction
There are
two aspects to the Christian life- earthly and heavenly. Our life on earth should have the same level
of attention as our hope of eternal bliss with the Lord. We should not be so heavenly conscious that
we become useless in the world we live in, and vice versa. When we put our faith and trust in God, we
join the family and army of God, and as such become ambassadors of Christ. We do not become Christians just to be
blessed by God but also to be a blessing to the people in our lives. This is important because the Scripture instructs
us to be salt and light of the world.
Prior to becoming Christians we were selfish by nature, but as followers
of Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ lives in us. One of the proofs of our new life in Christ
is that people bear witness to our good works and glorify our Heavenly Father.
Questions/Discussion
1)
What is your understanding of new life
in Christ?
Canticle 3, BAS (Isaiah
12:2-6)
Refrain: You shall draw
water with rejoicing.
Surely,
it is God who saves me; I will trust in him and not be afraid. For the Lord is
my stronghold and my sure defence, and he will be my Saviour. Therefore you
shall draw water with rejoicing from the springs of salvation. R And on that
day you shall say, Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name; make his
deeds known among the peoples; see that they remember that his name is exalted.
R Sing the
praises of the Lord, for he has done great things, and this is known in all the
world. Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy, for the great one in
the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel. R
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
From
now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from
a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new
creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself
through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world
to himself, not counting their trespasses against
them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is
making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled
to God. 21For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that
in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Ephesians 2:1-9
You
were dead through the trespasses and sins 2in which you once lived, following the course of this world,
following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work
among those who are disobedient. 3All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh,
following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of
wrath, like everyone else. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with
which he loved us 5even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive
together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6and raised us up with him and seated us with him
in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable
riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— 9not the result of works, so that no one may boast.
2) What are the lessons for
us in Luke 21:5-19 regarding having
new life in Christ?
Luke 21:5-19
When some were speaking
about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated
to God, he said, 6‘As for these things
that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another;
all will be thrown down.’
7 They asked him,
‘Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to
take place?’ 8And he said, ‘Beware
that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, “I am he!” and, “The time is near!” Do not go after them.
9 ‘When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be
terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow
immediately.’10Then he said to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom; 11there will be great
earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be
dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.
12 ‘But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and
persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will
be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 13This will give you an opportunity to
testify. 14So make up your minds
not to prepare your defence in advance; 15for I will give you
words and a wisdom that none of
your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. 16You will be betrayed even by parents and
brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17You will be hated by all because of my
name. 18But not a hair of your
head will perish. 19By your endurance you
will gain your souls.
3) How do we receive and
maintain new life in Christ?
Matthew 5:13-16
‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste,
how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is
thrown out and trampled under foot. 14 ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill
cannot be hidden.15No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket,
but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In the same way, let
your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give
glory to your Father in heaven.
Colossians 1:24-29,
2:1-7
I am now rejoicing in my
sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in
Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. 25I became its servant according to God’s
commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26the mystery that has been hidden throughout
the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. 27To them God chose to make known how great
among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ
in you, the hope of glory. 28It is he whom we
proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may
present everyone mature in Christ. 29For this I toil and
struggle with all the energy that he powerfully inspires within me.
21-7 For I want you to know
how much I am struggling for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for all who
have not seen me face to face. 2I want their hearts to
be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of
assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ
himself, 3in whom are hidden all
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4I am saying this so that
no one may deceive you with plausible arguments. 5For though I am absent in body, yet I am
with you in spirit, and I rejoice to see your morale and the firmness of your
faith in Christ. 6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord,
continue to live your lives in
him, 7rooted and built up in
him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in
thanksgiving.
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Now we
command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep
away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the
tradition that they received from us. 7For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate
us; we were not idle when we were with you, 8and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but
with toil and labour we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any
of you.9This was not because we do not have that right,
but in order to give you an example to imitate. 10For even when we were with you, we gave you this
command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. 11For we hear that some of you are living in
idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. 12Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord
Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. 13Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is
right.
Intercession/Worship
Conclusion
One of
the proofs of our new life in Christ is that people bear witness to our good works
and glorify our Heavenly Father.
Closing Prayer (Collect
for Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost)
Almighty God, you sent your Son Jesus
Christ to be the light of the world. Free
us from all that darkens and ensnares us, and bring us to eternal light and
joy; through the power of him who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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