24th January 2021 - Preaching, Teaching and Healing

APC 24th Jan 2021         ‘Preaching, Teaching and Healing’
 
PART 1
Welcome and Introduction          
Good morning everyone and welcome to our Sunday morning worship.  Today we will be thinking a little more about the ministry of Jesus and what it can teach us.  In these troubling times it’s a huge comfort to know that God is our rock who cannot be moved, the one in whom we can shelter from the storm.  So let’s worship Him together as we listen to the song, ‘Faithful One so unchanging…’
(End Part 1)
 
Opening Song                “Faithful One, so unchanging”
 
PART 2
Opening Prayer
Living God, we thank you for our world full of so many wonderful sounds – the sound of children laughing, babies crying and people talking, the sound of birds singing or an orchestra playing, the sound of wind blowing in the trees and waves crashing on the seashore, the sound of everyday life in a busy street and the sound of silence.
Lord of all, teach us to listen.
In all kinds of ways you speak to us, but so often we fail to listen to what you are saying.  We come to you in prayer, but we do not wait to hear your answer.  We give ear to a multitude of voices clamoring for attention, but we do not hear the still small voice within.
Lord of all, teach us to listen.
Forgive us that we close our minds to what we don’t want to hear, or that we are sometimes too busy to hear, or that we hear only with our ears and not with our souls.
Lord of all, teach us to listen.
Lord we thank you for speaking to us.  Teach us to listen, in Christ’s name, we pray…
Join me as we say the Lord’s Prayer thoughtfully and sincerely together…
 
Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name,
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day, our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us,
And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil,
For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory,
For ever and ever, AMEN.
 
Introduction to Kids Video
So if your kids aren’t beside you right now, why not pause the recording, and call them in to watch…And at the end of this video I’ve a few words to say to the children so don’t let them rush away.
(END Part 2)
 
Kid’s Video             ‘Jesus Heals a Paralysed Man’    
https://sermons4kids.com/jesus-paralytic-colorpg.htm
 
PART 3
 
Kid’s Talk Summary
Hey boys and girls.  Hope you’ve enjoyed today.  When Jesus was on earth he spent a lot of his time helping people.  Because He is God is able to do anything.  He was able to make sick people well just by saying a prayer and also to forgive people for the wrong things they do.  He did both these things for the man in the video who couldn’t walk.  Jesus is the same today. He will still forgive you for the wrong things you do when you say sorry to Him and mean it.  He can also make sick people well again.  He can do this through the help of doctors and nurses and also when we pray and ask Him.  At times though, despite our prayers and despite the help of doctors, some people don’t get totally better.  When people get very old eventually they die.  But the good news is that if we follow Jesus even when we are very old and die that won’t be the end.  God will take us to be with Him in heaven forever.  Heaven is a place with no sickness or pain or tears.  People are happy there all the time.  I hope you talk to Jesus.  I hope like Him you try to be kind and helpful to other people.  Hope you have a good week.  Don’t forget to tune in again next Sunday.  Bye for now…
 
Colouring Sheet Link
https://sermons4kids.com/jesus-paralytic-colorpg.htm
 
Introduction to Bible Reading
 
In many areas of life it’s good to have a plan and a few key goals.  Today in the 4th chapter of his gospel, Matthew will tell us how Jesus spent most of his time.  See if you can spot his 3 main activities as Erika Ravenscroft reads it for us…
 
(End Part 3)
 
Bible Reading Video               Matthew 4 v 12-25           Erika       
 
PART 4
Reflection                       Preaching, teaching and healing
When I was at teacher training college we received lots of good advice.  Often they gave us little anecdotes or acronyms to help us remember the key points.
Two that I will never forget are ‘KISS’ which is short for ‘Keep it Simple Stupid’ and the phrase, ‘The Main thing, is to keep the Main thing, the main thing.’
In my life I haven’t always practised these basic principles and each time it has been to my detriment.  Whether it’s in church life, in our work or family lives, it’s often when we try to overcomplicate things or try to do too many things half-heartedly that life for us and those around us becomes more chaotic and less enjoyable.
When we look at the ministry of Jesus, He seems to have been very good at keeping His strategy simple but effective and not allowing Himself to be distracted from His priorities.
That’s what I want us to consider for a few moments this morning and to reflect on what lessons we can learn.
To begin with, when Matthew tells us that Jesus began his ministry in Galilee this is not just a passing comment.  It reveals much to us about the wisdom of Christ.  Galilee was highly populated.  As a port and gateway to many places it was a centre for international trade.  It was teeming with people from many different regions.  As such, its people were renowned for being open to discussion and interested in new ideas.  There was no better place to start a new religious movement.
Once He’d identified the launch place for His ministry, Jesus kept His priorities simple.  He would preach, teach and heal.
 
Preaching
In many senses, preaching and teaching are two sides of the same coin, but there are slight variations.  The word for preaching is the Greek word ‘Kerussein’ which was a word used to describe the proclamation of a herald bringing an important message from the King.
The main message that Jesus preached was “Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is Near!
What did this mean and why was it described as Good News?
Well, God has always been King over nature and history.  But throughout the Old Testament the prophets promised that God would one day establish a more intimate Kingdom.  A Kingdom where people would know their King personally, when His Spirit would abide with them forever.  God’s Messiah would bring this to pass.  This new Kingdom would be characterised by right living and peace.  It would spread throughout the world and last forever.  At some point in the future everything in this New Kingdom would be perfect and there would be no more suffering or sorrow. 
As we battle physically and emotionally with the effects of Covid 19 and so many other things in life, we can feel the real hope that this promise brings.  When Jesus entered this world, God’s plan to bring about this dramatic change to our universe took a huge leap forward.  The Kingdom of heaven came near.  God’s Kingdom is now a present reality in our world.
The amazing thing is you and I can be part of it.  We can enter into the courts of this Kingdom by repenting.  This means being willing to turn from all we know to be wrong and to go God’s way instead.  It also means to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, to believe that He died on the cross to take our judgement and that He rose again and is alive in heaven forever more.  It means to be willing to commit ourselves completely to following Him as the King of Kings.
To preach means to announce this message from the King.  To tell people that Christ is God’s Son, that Christ died, He is risen, He reigns forever and He is coming back to set up this perfect Kingdom.
To preach also means to tell people that if they want to share in this Kingdom they need to commit to following Jesus the King. 
You know we could do many things as a church community but one of our priorities that we must aim to do well is to preach the Good News.  Whether that involves special services, kids clubs, running courses like Alpha, having literature for people to freely take, or just sharing this message over a cup of coffee with our spouse or a colleague at work, as Ambassadors of the King, it is our responsibility to share this Good News.
So to practice what I preach, can I ask you, “Are you in God’s Kingdom?  Are you certain?”
 
Teaching
As well as preaching, Jesus spent much time teaching.  To do this effectively he strategically utilised the Jewish Synagogues.  There were many of these in Galilee.  Unlike the Temple which was solely for sacrifice, the Synagogue was the place for religious teaching.  During the week the synagogue acted as a school.  On the Sabbath, the people would gather to sing, to pray, to hear the Scriptures read and then to listen to some teaching.  Synagogue leaders were administrators whose job it was to invite visiting Rabbis to address the congregation each week.  This gave Jesus many opportunities to teach people who were already interested in God.  The emphasis of teaching was more fine- tuned than preaching.  It provided people with the meaning and significance of things.  Even if people know certain truths it is easy to draw the wrong conclusions.  Teaching helps people to interpret and explain things correctly.
You know, God gives us all different gifts.  Some of us have the gift of teaching.  In one sense it doesn’t matter whether you use that talent in leading a bible study, teaching children at club or the Sunday school or preaching a sermon in church.  What is important is that if we have the gift of teaching that we use it.  It’s also important that when we use it, we do all we can to do it as best we can.  That means making time to pray, to read the bible for ourselves and to prepare well so that what we teach is accurate as well as interesting and relevant.  In one of his letters, Paul says that not many of us should assume to be teachers because God will judge us more strongly.  So it’s something that we should take seriously but at the same time not shy away from if we know it’s what God is calling us to.  As parents it’s also important to remember that the primary responsibility for teaching our faith to our children lies with us.  That can be as simple as reading a short bible story with them when they are younger, praying with them for a few seconds  before dropping them to school, giving thanks at mealtimes or just sprinkling our conversation at times with references to God and doing what we can to encourage them to be involved in church activities.
And since teaching was a priority for Jesus it should be a priority for us as a church.  That’s why I spend much of my week reading, reflecting, praying, writing and recording, so that at least twice a week you can receive good food for your souls that will help you to grow in your faith.
Its why when church reopens we will have bibles studies you can attend during the week in addition to our Sunday service.  If you want to grow as a Christian then you must make these things a priority in your life.  You must guard it with your life.  So let me encourage you to keep logging on every Wednesday and Sunday.  Let me encourage you to come to church as often as you can when we reopen.  To encourage your children to come to Sunday school and Youth group when these things can restart.  Let me encourage you to buy yourself a Study bible so that as you read the scriptures for yourself at home you can learn lessons from the bible more accurately.
 
Healing
On one occasion early in His ministry, Jesus stood up in a synagogue and famously quoted the words of the Prophet Isaiah to teach his listeners why He had come.  This is what He said,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
All of this could be summarized in one word, “Healing”.  In addition to preaching and teaching this was Jesus’ third priority in His ministry.  In the passage that we read today we see Jesus practicing what he preached.  We read that he went throughout Galilee healing every disease and sickness among the people.  This ministry was so successful that people came from all over Syria to ask for healing for all sorts of illness including chronic pain, seizures, paralysis and demon possession.
There is so much that I could say about this morning.  Entire books have been written on this one subject alone.  But let me leave you with a few guiding principles.  The first thing to say is that since God’s Creation is inherently good, sickness is no part of God’s intention.  In fact we read in Revelation 21 that when Jesus returns and sets up the New Heaven and earth all sickness and suffering will be eradicated forever.
That means that disease and death are alien intrusions into God’s world.  They originate from the Fall that we read about in Genesis and are part of this broken world that we presently inhabit.
Since they are not part of God’s plan, it is wholly right for us as Christian people to wage war against all sickness and death and suffering.  That includes giving a child some Calpol to ease the pain of teething, formulating new vaccines to prevent the spread of Covid, operating to remove a cancerous tumor, providing physio to bring relief from pain, burying someone with dignity and providing pastoral care for the grieving family, praying for a miracle and so many things beside.
All healing is Divine!  In fact, God Himself has put within the human body some remarkable therapeutic processes.  As soon as infection enters our body it triggers the production of antibodies.  As soon as our skin is cut, messages are communicated throughout the bloodstream to cause blood cells to join together to form a scab.
That’s why the words of Ambrose Pare, the great Hugenot Physician  are written on the wall of the School of Medicine in Paris, “I dressed the wound but God healed it.”
But when we think of Jesus’ healing, it was of a completely different order.  Each of His healings were powerful demonstrations of the Kingdom of God.  He turned water into wine, made a small boys lunch feed thousands, He healed the paralysed man and the woman who had been haemorrhaging for 12 years.  These were all miracles which were instant and brought complete restoration.
From all of these considerations and having prayed for hundreds of people in my own ministry so far, I think it is important to avoid 2 extremes.  One is to say that miracles don’t or can’t happen anymore today.  My polite answer to that is to say “God is God”.  Nothing is impossible for Him.  If He wants to heal or help someone in a miraculous way it is absolutely no problem for Him. 
For example I know one man who was diagnosed with terminal cancer in his mid-twenties just 6 months after he was married.  He asked his Christian friends to pray for him.  One morning he was sitting in his church during a regular service in a very traditional Presbyterian church.  During the service he felt a little strange but thought nothing else about the matter.  Until the next time he was with his consultant who looked him straight in the eye and said, “I can’t explain this but it’s gone!  It’s all gone!”  That was over 50 years ago and that man is still following the Lord today.  I have absolutely no doubt that God can and does heal miraculously today.  Do you believe that?  Let me encourage us to allow our faith to move us to pray for people and to ask the Lord to help them even in ways that we cannot explain.
Maybe you are listening today and there is something that you or a member of your family long to be healed of.  It may be a physical problem, it may be emotional.  Then let me encourage you not to be embarrassed or afraid but to reach out to Jesus in faith knowing that His power and mercy has the potential to bring healing to your body, soul and spirit.  Let me encourage you to talk to Him, to tell Him everything about your circumstances.  Ask Him to make you well again.  Get in touch with me and as we are encouraged in the book of James we can arrange for myself and a few elders to anoint you with oil and pray with you.  If it is God’s will, He can help you just as He healed people when He was on earth.  God can and does bring healing to millions of people today.  It could be you if only you will have the faith to trust Him.  So we must guard against the extreme of not believing and not praying to God.
But a second extreme is to believe that God will always choose to heal us and that this is somehow our right now that we are Christians.  Again, we all know from experience that this is simply not true.  To give you an example, the same man that I just told you about also shared with me the very difficult story of his daughter.  She was a very fine Christian lady who served God faithfully most of her life.  Around her mid-twenties she developed Chrohn’s disease which is an inflammatory bowel condition.  She battled prayerfully with that disease for the next twenty years until eventually after many operations she did not have enough bowel left to sustain her life and she passed away in her mid-forties.
Why did God choose to miraculously heal this man and not to miraculously heal his daughter?  I have no idea!  It wasn’t because of a lack of faith or because of unconfessed sin or anything else.  For reasons that are beyond our understanding, God chose to heal him and not to heal his daughter.
Yes we should have the faith to know that God can do anything.  That faith should encourage us to pray for miracles.  But as we pray, we must humbly remember that God is God and we are not.  We must never forget that His ways are not our ways.  We cannot demand that He does what we ask.  We must be willing to say as Jesus said, “Yet not my will but yours be done!”  It also means that if we pray or are prayed for by others and God decides for whatever reason not to heal us, that we must learn to trust Him and not blame ourselves, blame other people or blame God.  We must continue to trust in God’s love and in the knowledge that His overall purpose to make us more like Christ even through our struggles, is good.
So in summary, just as healing was a priority of Jesus it should be a priority for us as His followers and for our church.  Bringing help and healing to people will involve many things including providing every possible practical, financial and social support and encouraging people to avail of all medical treatment.  It will also include praying for people and their circumstances.
There are many good things as individuals and as a church that we could be involved in.  But let us learn today from Jesus by ensuring that we prioritize preaching, teaching and bringing help and healing to as many people as we possibly can.  We thank God for His word, Amen.
 
Introduction to Song
Seeing Jesus helping and healing so many people it’s no surprise that He was known as the Good Shepherd.  So too, He is our Shepherd.  So let’s praise Him and allow Him to lift us in His arms as we listen to the words of the song, Shepherd…
(End Part 4)
 
Song of Response                 “Shepherd”
 
PART 5
Prayers for others
 
Loving God, we bring before you the sick and suffering of our world, all those wrestling with illness in body, mind or spirit. 
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for those afflicted in body – enduring physical pain, overwhelmed by disabling disease, waiting for an operation or further treatment and fearful of what the future might hold, or living with the knowledge of terminal illness.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for those disturbed or troubled in mind – those whose confidence has broken down, those unable to cope with the pressures of daily life, those oppressed by false terrors of the imagination, those facing the dark despair of clinical depression.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for those afflicted in spirit – those who feel their lives to be empty, or whose beliefs are threatened or who have lost their faith, or who worship gods of their own making with no power to satisfy, or whose hearts have become bitter and twisted, and their minds dark.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Living God we thank you for all who work to bring help, wholeness and healing to the sick – doctors and nurses, surgeons and medical staff, psychiatrists, counselors, clergy and therapists.  Support and strengthen all who share in the world of healing, all who strive to bring relief, all who minister to others.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Grant them your wisdom and guidance, your care and compassion, your strength and support.  Equip them in all they do and bring wholeness through them.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Finally we pray for your church in the healing ministry you have called it to exercise, an inner healing of body mind and soul which only you can offer.  Grant that your people everywhere may be so filled with your Holy Spirit, and so touched by the grace of Christ, that they may share effectively in the wider work of healing, through their life and witness bringing wholeness to broken people and a broken world.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Take a few moments now to bring your own prayers to God especially for those who are sick or grieving…
All this we ask in the name of the Great Physician, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
 
CLOSING WORDS
 
It’s been a joy and privilege to share with you again today. Thanks again for logging on.  I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s reflection.  Please do spend some time in quiet over the next couple of days reflecting on Jesus’ ministry of preaching, teaching and healing and what that means to you.  Do spend some time praying for those who need His healing touch.  For now let me lead you in a Benediction after which I invite you to share the grace together…
Benediction   
Gracious God, send us back into the world with your eyes rather than ours.  Help us to see not only the bad but the good, not just the ugly but the beautiful, not just the worst but the best.  Help us to see around us the seeds of your Kingdom and to nurture them lovingly until that day comes when your will is finally done and you are all in all.  And
 
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all now and for evermore, Amen.”