Welcome and Greeting
Another week has gone by and you should have received a note from us explaining, as much as we know, of the future of our services. We know that some churches are meeting again, with very limited congregations and no singing. We continue to review the situation weekly. It was good to meet with many of you in our Zoom Morning Tea on Thursday.
Thank you for joining with us this evening. May God bless this worship and bring us into His presence as we praise and worship Him.
Opening prayer
God has made us, with all the saints from every generation, one in Christ.
He has set his seal upon us and, as a pledge of what is to come, has given the Spirit to dwell in our hearts. Thank You that You are here with us tonight and that You love the worship of Your people. Please help us to open our hearts to You now.
Peace to you from God our Father who hears our cry.
Peace from his Son Jesus Christ whose death brings healing.
Peace from the Holy Spirit who gives us life and strength.
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you
Song: Blessed Be Your Name
Verse 1
Blessed be Your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name
When I’m found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be Your name
Pre-Chorus
Every blessing You pour out
I’ll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in
Lord still I will say
Chorus
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
Verse 2
Blessed be Your name
When the sun’s shining down on me
When the world’s all as it should be
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there’s pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name
Pre-chorus
Chorus (x2)
Bridge
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord blessed be Your name (x2)
Chorus (x2)
© Beth and Matt Redman
CCLI Lic No 384593
Psalm 145
8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
9 The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.
10 All your works praise you, LORD; your faithful people extol you.
11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might,
12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.
14 The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.
Matthew 11: 15-19; 25-30
15 Whoever has ears, let them hear.
16 “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:
17 ‘We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’
19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”
25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Devotion: Robyn Wisdom and Rest July 5, 2020
As you probably now realise, Matthew is a teaching gospel. While it does relater the many miracles of Jesus and His dealings with so many people, each is interspersed with His teaching. As you flip through the gospel you find His teaching on judging others, adultery and divorce, worry, judging others, love for enemies, being salt and light, giving to the needy and so on. Then of course Matthew also has the teaching on the Lord’s Prayer and the beatitudes. The Beatitudes. Matthew outlines, or those who confess to be Christians, the instructions that Jesus gave to them on true discipleship and pastoral care in the church.
Matthew begins today’s reading with
V15 ‘Whoever has ears, let them hear.’
Was Matthew getting a little frustrated that Jesus’ directions were not being followed? He then gives an example of why he said that.
V16 -17“To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:
“ ‘We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’
In other words, the people around were not listening, they just wanted others to take notice of what they are doing. Or if they did, they did not act as was expected – they didn’t dance; they didn’t mourn. Has that ever happened to you? You do things for people and then are disappointed when they don’t respond to you the way you want or even acknowledge what you have done. Sometimes people can completely misinterpret what we are doing. At that time, you need to ask ‘Why am I doing this. Is it for my glory, or God’s?’ It is a very human feeling, but not what God expects of us.
Matthew then gives us an example of John the Baptist and Jesus being misinterpreted.
“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’
19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”
Even John the Baptist and Jesus could not act in the way some people expected. John was accused of having a demon and Jesus was accused of being a drunkard and s friend of tax collectors and sinners. Both of these accusations came upon righteous people doing what God wanted them to do.
How many times have you been misunderstood? Perhaps characterised in ways that do not truly describe who you are? How frustrating is it when someone assumes they know something about you based on where you grew up, what type of job you have, your nationality and skin colour, your accent? It can be so disappointing and disheartening when someone does not see you for who you really.
According to Christian counselor Julie Smith Lowe, we must form an accurate self-image based on God’s Word, not our culture. Lowe uses the image of two vases—a beautifully painted vase and a cracked, broken vase—to teach a powerful lesson about our identity in Christ. She writes,
Imagine the first vase is beautiful, and it sits perched on a shelf. Its main purpose is to look attractive. In the same way, we also want to look attractive and impressive. We want people to be drawn to our external appearance. We want the world to look at us and say, “Look how successful, beautiful, strong, or smart you are!”
But the Bible paints a different picture. Instead of being a beautiful vase, let’s consider a very different vase—a dirty, cracked, ordinary vase. Just like us, this vase also has flaws—struggles, weaknesses, and imperfections. In many ways, this vase doesn’t impress us with its appearance. As a matter of fact, it might even seem “weak,” broken, and flawed. But there’s good news: let’s imagine there’s a treasure in this vase. And the only way you can see the treasure is when it shines through the cracks and the flaws. In the same way, there’s a treasure in those who follow Christ—Christ himself is the treasure that resides in us, the cracked vessel. Christ brings value and meaning to us.
Unfortunately, we often want to hide our weaknesses. We want to rely on our external appearance and performance. So any time we find a crack or hole, we desperately grab for something to try and hide our weaknesses and shortcomings. But of course our external adorning won’t last. Eventually it will always fade and then break. Our only hope is to focus on the treasure within us—the presence of Jesus himself.
At then end of verse 19, Matthew says
‘But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.’
Another way of saying this is ‘The proof is in the pudding’.
Matthew is here using teaching from his Jewish heritage. Wisdom grants us the ability to understand beyond our sensory perception. Beyond what we can just see.
Wisdom is a gift from God. In Proverbs we read that wisdom brings humility and joy, and that it is precious. In James we read that
17 the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere
We are, as God’s people. blessed with wisdom. Because of this we should not be upset or intimidated when an action has been misunderstood or not given the appreciation we want. We need to pray that God will grant us wisdom in all our situations. We then should demonstrate our gifts of being peace loving, considerate, submissive, merciful, impartial and sincere, in all our actions. Many situations would then be made right because wisdom was applied.
Matthew then thanks God that He reveals things to little chilren, those who are willing to learn, rather than just to the intellectuals who believe they have all knowledge.
When things get tough for us, and life really can,Jesus beckons us to Him.
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Jesus is offering respite for the weary. We need to come to Him and he will give us rest.
In Exodus 33:14, God said to Moses
‘My presence will go with you and I will give you rest.’
So the rest for the weary includes a relationship and daily walk with God and knowing His presence in our life..
There is a second part to this promise. In verse 29 Jesus says
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Jesus wants those who are burdened to learn from Him. His instruction, when you read it in the Bible, will enable you to find the rest for your soul that you need; to find wholeness and refreshment. There is always more to learn. As we read God’s word each day we are walking along the path of wisdom and we grow in understanding the importance of knowing God and being known by Him.
Psalm 145
8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
9 The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.
The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.
14 The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down
Song: King of Kings, Majesty
King of Kings, Majesty
God of Heaven, Living in me
Gentle Saviour, Closest Friend
Strong Deliverer,
Beginning and End
All within me falls at your throne
Chorus
Your Majesty
I can but bow
I lay my all
Before you now
In Royal Robes
I don’t deserve
I live to serve
Your Majesty
Earth and Heaven, Worship You
Love Eternal, Faithful and True
Who bought the Nations
Ransomed souls
Brought this sinner near to Your throne
All within me cries out in praise
Chorus
©Jonathan Veira
CCL Lic No384593
Prayers
Confession:
Heavenly Father,
Thank you that your word says that as we draw near to you,
you will draw near to us, by the working of your Spirit in us,
We are sorry for doing those things that have displeased You
and we ask for Your forgiveness.
Please cleanse our hearts and hands and minds
Help us to walk in love and newness of life
so that we can be more like Jesus
and make him known to all we meet. Amen
If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We thank you Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we come before you today, thanking You that You are gracious and compassionate; that You are slow to anger and rich in love. Thank You that you take our burdens when they become too much for us and that You give us rest and release when we are weary and burdened.
Please help each one of us to be people who are wise and discerning and who do have ears that hear; people who do not make rash and unfounded judgements about other people. Help us to put aside any of our preconceived ideas of others and to have the grace to show love and mercy to them. Please show us how we can be Your light in the little world around us.
We pray again today for all our health workers who provide us with the care we need. Please protect them from the Corona virus and give them strength and wisdom. We pray for researchers and ask that a COVID vaccine will be developed and available for all soon.
We pray for those members of F5 who are unwell, and we think especially of Shirley Weeks, Anne Hunter,,Ruth Dawe, Robert Lawrence, Penny, Sue Duckitt, Joseph, Anne Wilson’s Mum and any others known to us. Please bring Your comfort, healing and peace to them. We pray for people who are struggling because of loss of jobs and lack of income. We do ask that their needs will be met and that no one in Goulburn goes hungry or cold. Please show us how we can help bring joy and comfort to someone this week.
As winter is with us now, we pray also for protection from the flu and colds.
We pray that schoolteachers and children will be refreshed as they go on holidays. We commit to You our own children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren and pray for protection for them and that they may grow to know and love You. Thank You that SRE can begin again in schools next term. Please give wisdom and strength to those who teach SRE.
We pray for our local council, for our state and territory governments, and for our national parliament. Please be with all those who make laws and help them to do so with good judgement. Please continue to give wisdom to our Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, and to all members of our governments as they steer us though this Covoid time and as they seek to open up Australia again.
We ask that you give each one of us strength to go forward this week. Please help each one of us to look to You for our strength, our peace and our comfort and to make the most of this time of continued changing isolation. Please show us ways that we can encourage others. We pray that you will protect each of us from a second outbreak of the Corona Virus.
In Jesus name.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and forever. Amen
Song: Christ Is Mine Forevermore
Mine are days that God has numbered
I was made to walk with Him
Yet I look for worldly treasure
And forsake the King of kings
But mine is hope in my Redeemer
Though I fall, his love is sure
For Christ has paid for every failing
I am His forevermore
Mine are tears in times of sorrow
Darkness not yet understood
Through the valley I must travel
Where I see no earthly good
But mine is peace that flows from heaven
And the strength in times of need
I know my pain will not be wasted
Christ completes his work in me
Mine are days here as a stranger
Pilgrim on a narrow way
One with Christ I will encounter
Harm and hatred for his name
But mine is armour for this battle
Strong enough to last the war
And he has said he will deliver
Safely to the golden shore
And mine are keys to Zion city
Where beside the King I walk
For there my heart has found its treasure
Christ is mine forevermore
Come rejoice now, O my soul
For his love is my reward
Fear is gone and hope is sure
Christ is mine forevermore! (x 2)
And mine are keys to Zion city
Where beside the King I walk
For there my heart has found its treasure
Christ is mine forevermore
Christ is mine forevermore
Christ is mine forevermore
Jonny Robinson and Rich Thompson CityAlight 2016 CCl Lic No 384593
Blessing
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, evermore Amen.
Prayer Points
• Thank God that we can join together for our services, even though far apart.
• Ask God to show you ways you can contact others from F5, F10 and beyond to encourage them along. Pray for wisdom to know who to ring, who to send a message or note to
• Pray for nurses, doctors and hospital staff as they learn to work differently and wisely
• Pray for those who are going through difficult times with sickness, depression, loneliness, loss of work, separation from family and friends. Pray especially for Ruth Dawe, Robert Lawrence, Penny, Sue Duckitt, Joseph, Anne Wilson’s Mum and any others known to us.
• Pray that we will each have God’s strength and wisdom to be able to make each day worthwhile.
• Pray for Scott Morrison and our governments as they make unprecedented decisions regarding all things connected to the Coronavirus. We especially ask for wisdom for them as they direct the opening up again of Australia.
• Pray for teachers and students as they have their school holidays.
Enquiries – Paul (0418 633 396) and Robyn (0414 254 154)
Website – www.f5refresh.org.au & Facebook
PLEASE SUPPORT THE MINISTRY OF F5
Direct Debit – for F5 – is now available through the Anglican Development and Investment Fund http://www.aidf.com.au/www/home/
The details of the account are as follows:-
Account Name: F5-Refresh Ministries; BSB: 702-389 Account Number: 052096
