7th February 2021 - Where would Jesus be of an evening ?

APC 7th February 2021  “Where would Jesus be of an evening?”
 
PART 1
Welcome and Introduction          
Good morning everyone and welcome to our Sunday morning worship.  Today we continue our journey to Easter following Jesus through some of the main events during His life and ministry.  Two weeks ago we saw that he spent most of his time preaching, teaching and healing.  Today we’ll be looking at where he did this, and who he spent most of his time with.  But to begin, let’s approach God in worship as Alison, Tara and Holly lead us in the song… “There is a Higher Throne”
(End Part 1)
 
Opening Song                “There is a higher Throne”
 
 
Part 2
 
Tara, Holly and Alison, thank you so much for leading us in worship through that beautiful song and the accompanying images…
 
Let’s take a moment now to talk to our heavenly Father, let’s pray…
 
Opening Prayer
Great and wonderful God, we come before you today in humility, in awe, in faith, in hope, in love, in worship. 
In your mercy, hear our prayer.
We come to praise you, to bless you, to adore you, to acknowledge you, to thank you.
In your mercy, hear our prayer.
 
We come recognising your power, your authority, your wisdom, your goodness, your love.
In your mercy, hear our prayer.
 
We come confessing our weaknesses, our unworthiness, our faults, our failings, our faithlessness our lack of love
In your mercy, hear our prayer.
 
We come seeking your mercy, your guidance, your strength, your renewal, your inspiration, your word.
In your mercy, hear our prayer.
 
We come to commit ourselves to your service, your purpose, your Kingdom, your will your people, your world.
In your mercy, hear our prayer.
 
Great and wonderful God, we come to you now in the name of Christ.  Receive the worship we offer this day.
In your mercy, hear our prayer.
 
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
We come to the part of the service which is especially for the younger members of our church family.  So if your kids aren’t beside you right now, why not pause the recording, and call them in to watch a short animation about…..  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 Calls Matthew’
Link         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgy6TWuUkK0&safe=active
 
PART 3
 
Kid’s Talk Summary
Hey boys and girls.  I hope you’ve had a fun week getting used to your online schooling again.  I hope you’ve enjoyed the little video about Jesus calling Matthew to follow Him.  You know, Matthew wasn’t perfect.  In fact he was a cheat.  He would steal money from people by charging them more taxes than they needed to pay to the government.  He would keep the extra money for himself.  Everybody hated Matthew because of this.  Everybody that is except Jesus.  He loved Matthew and he wanted to help Matthew to see where he was going wrong and to help him to change.  So he asked Matthew to follow him.  When Matthew did that, Jesus helped him to live better.  He also gave Matthew a new job.  Matthew recorded lots of the things that Jesus said and did and he wrote them down in his copy book.  It was from this that we get the book of Matthew in our bibles today.  If it wasn’t for Matthew, we wouldn’t know so much about Jesus!  You know, sometimes we are tempted to think that we are better than other people.  Maybe some people we know live in a different part of town, maybe they use words that we don’t, maybe they even cheat or steal like Matthew.  But we must remember that we sometimes say and do wrong things too.  It could be not sharing or being cheeky to our mum or even just thinking we are better than somebody else.  That means in God’s eyes we are no better and no worse than anyone else.  God loves us all the same.  So if God loves all people, then we need to learn to love them too.  We should try our best to be kind to everyone and to show them how good God is, by doing good ourselves.  That way, other people can get to know Jesus as their friend and He can help them to change.  Oh and don’t forget that you and I need Jesus to help you change just as much as Matthew or anyone else!  To help you remember today’s lesson if you ask your mam or dad they can go onto the church website or the Facebook page and find the link to a colouring sheet of Jesus calling Matthew.  Don’t forget to tune in again next Sunday.  Bye for now and I hope your online schoolwork this week is still fun.
 
Colouring Sheet Link-   
“https://truewaykids.com/jesus-friend-of-sinners/”
 
 
Introduction to Bible Reading
 
Why did Jesus come?  Who did he spend most of his time with?  Sit back as the benefits of modern technology enable our good friend Phil Daniels to give us the answer as he reads Mark Chapter 2 for us all the way from Arkansas…
 
(End Part 3)
Bible Reading         Mark 2 v 13-17                        Phil Daniels
 
PART 4
 
“Where would Jesus be of an evening?”
 
If Jesus was living in Arklow today where would you go to try and find him?  Where would Jesus be of an evening?
Sunday week ago we discovered that Jesus emphasised 3 things in his ministry- preaching, teaching and healing.  We saw how initially he took the opportunity as a visiting Rabbi to spread the good news in the local synagogues.  But gradually as opposition from the religious leaders increased, we find Jesus moving out from the synagogues and teaching people by the shores of Lake Galilee.  This would not have been unusual because at that time it was normal for Rabbis to simply ‘walk and talk’ gathering followers or disciples as they journeyed along the road. 
To bring it into the 21st century, while we might find Jesus at church on a Sunday morning or at the Midweek bible study, it’s likely that he would spend most of his time hanging around where there were lots of people.  That might be the Bridgewater, Platform, the local sports Club, a Pilates class or the hotel bar.
I also find it fascinating, that despite often being surrounded by crowds of people, Jesus always took a deep interest in individuals.  One of those people was a notorious tax collector called Levi or ‘Matthew’ as he is more commonly known.  In his gospel, Mark tells us that one day as Jesus walked along teaching, he spotted Matthew sitting in his office – a little booth at the side of the road.  Immediately he calls out, “Hey Matthew, come and follow me.”  Amazingly Matthew leaves his desk and follows.
There’s a great example for us to follow here.  Even as he walked along, Jesus was looking for opportunities.  What about us?  As we walk along the shopping aisle, as we interact with our colleagues at work, as we meet a family member for lunch or help our kids with their online classes are we looking for opportunities?  Opportunities to sprinkle a positive comment about God into the conversation? 
I am amazed at the opportunities God has given me in my lifetime to do this.  Usually it’s been natural, it has rarely been awkward and it has generally been appreciated.  But I’ve also noticed that when I don’t ask for opportunities or when I’m not looking for them, they happen less frequently.  So let me encourage you this morning to have the courage to be willing to share your faith.  Ask God to open up the conversations, be on the lookout for those moments and when they happen, just be normal and natural.  Never be afraid to share what God means to you.  You are just as much a missionary as me, in fact, you’re probably a lot more effective because you are where the people are much more of the week than I am!
It may seem strange to us that Matthew reacted so quickly to Jesus’ invitation.  But looking at it from another angle, it’s not surprising at all.  You see, tax collectors or ‘publicans’ as they are sometimes referred to, were utterly despised by the entire Jewish community, especially the religious leaders.  That’s because most of them were employed by the Roman authorities to collect revenue from the people.  Like today there were certain taxes that people were obligated by law to pay.  But to add insult to injury, most tax collectors were renowned for inflating their prices in order to line their own pockets with a healthy commission.  So Matthew would have been seen as a traitor, and a cheat and someone who was securing a revenue stream for building pagan religion and temples.  His only friends would have been other outcasts to society, whether they were fellow tax officials, prostitutes, those with contagious diseases or non-Jews.  Matthew had probably heard much about Jesus’ teaching and healing.  Perhaps he had stood at the edge of the crowd watching and listening.  He would never have believed in all his wildest dreams that such a holy man would have anything to do with the likes of him!  So when the invitation came, he jumped at it.
You know, often we are afraid to talk to people about Jesus or invite them to church because we think they just wouldn’t be interested.  The truth is that secretly, like Matthew, many of the most unlikely people may be just longing for someone to ask them if they’ve ever thought about God.  That person could be you!
Matthew is so overcome that Jesus is even interested in the likes of him that he immediately invites Jesus to his house for dinner along with as many of his friends as will come.  So we find Jesus and the disciples dining at the home of a notorious tax collector along with a wonderful array of the most colourful characters of the day.
You know, once this lockdown is over I want to encourage you to open your homes to family and friends and to share with them the gift of hospitality.  They say that as happened after the Spanish Flu we are heading for another period of partying like the 1920s.  Let’s hope so.  But as you do that, let me encourage you not just to include your family and people from church, but let me encourage you to include friends and colleagues and people who don’t yet know Jesus.  I’m sure this is already true for most of us but let me encourage us all to cultivate genuine friendships with people who don’t yet share our faith.
We’re not told whether the party at Matthew’s house was alfresco, or whether the religious secret police were sitting outside the house making a note of everyone who entered.  All we know is that some time later, the Pharisees cornered Jesus’ disciples and asked them, “Why does Jesus eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Sadly, these devout and sincere men just didn’t get it.  They had spent years of their lives studying not only Old Testament law but learning the minute detail of the scribal law.  This was an additional prescriptive set of rules and regulations that they believed if followed exactly could prevent an individual from practically breaking Old Testament law in every eventuality of life.
Jesus sitting down and eating with such notorious members of society was inexplicable at so many levels.  It would cause Jesus himself to become religiously unclean.  They just couldn’t understand it.
You know, before we judge the Pharisees too harshly I want to tell you a story.  Several months ago as I was working over at the church I noticed a young man doing some stretching exercises on the back field.  I was curious and so I decided to introduce myself.  We had a great chat and he explained to me that he liked to do yoga looking out at the view over the marsh and hoped that I didn’t mind.  I said of course not and that he was welcome anytime.  We chatted on about various things and got to know each other a little.  As I sensed the conversation was coming to a close, I invited him to pop in to a Sunday service. He replied sincerely with a question that stopped me dead in my tracks.  “Would a gay man like me be welcome in your church?”
My answer was an emphatic ‘Yes’ and I meant it.  But as he walked out of the gate, I was left with an uneasy feeling in my mind.  Why did he feel that he needed to ask that question?  And what other groups of people in Arklow would be asking the same?
You know, the Pharisees needn’t have worried about being contaminated by others.  They were far too strict, far too aloof and far too judgemental for any ‘sinners’ to ever think of inviting them for dinner or to give them a listening ear.  But Jesus was different.  Whatever way he spoke and acted, people flocked to him and wanted to be in his company.  Those despised by the rest of society felt at ease in his presence.  Of course at times, like the Samaritan woman, he challenged their values, but he always loved, and cared and treated everyone with dignity and respect.
What about us?  Are we more like the Pharisees or like Jesus?  If you’re anything like me you’ve probably already answered, “I’m definitely not a Pharisee!”  But like the question that stopped me in my tracks that day, let me pose for you a few more that I think it’s worth considering…
If our son or daughter brought home a boy or girlfriend from a certain section of the community would we welcome them with open arms?
If a few locals struggling with drug addictions started coming to church would we sit beside them?
How do we react to an unmarried father or to the woman who has recently been divorced?
How would we respond to a sex offender who wants our support so that they will not reoffend?
If I stopped wearing a collar would you think of me any differently?
What attitudes, beliefs or behaviours do we currently have that would prevent people in our community from ever considering coming to our church?
Knowing you, I have seen much of Jesus in the way that you have treated me over the years and the way I have seen you interact with each other. 
But as disciples we never get our L plates down.  Today this scripture gives us another opportunity to ask the Holy Spirit to search us and know our hearts, to show us if there are any attitudes of pride or prejudice that make us more like Pharisees than we might care to admit…
Remember, “Christ died for sinners, sinners just like you and me…”
 
Introduction to Song
Jesus always treated people with love even when they didn’t deserve it.  That’s called grace!  Remembering how amazing God’s grace has been to us, can help us to be gracious to others.  Let’s thank God for His grace now as we sing together with believers all around the world John Newton’s well known hymn….
(End Part 4)
 
Song of Response                 “Amazing Grace”
 
PART 5
Prayers for others
 
Lord we pray for people who might feel that they are too bad to be be your friend or our friends.
 
We pray for those who are in prison that they may find forgiveness and a new start.
 
We pray for those who are addicted to alcohol or drugs that they may receive all the help and support that they need to overcome their demons.
 
We pray for women who are trapped in prostitution and who feel there is no way out.  May they find rescue from their circumstances and hope for their future.
 
We pray for people who are struggling with their sexuality or their sexual identity.  May they find courage to be honest and find your church to be a place where they will be genuinely loved, listened to and cared for.
 
We pray for people who have committed sexual crimes but who are sincerely sorry.  May they find the support to enable them not to reoffend.
 
We pray for people who have strayed outside their marriages and hurt their family and themselves.  May they find reconciliation with those they love and a forgiveness in the community.
 
Lord, forgive us when we categorise sin, when we feel proud about ourselves and when we judge and look down upon other people.  Father give us the humility to acknowledge our own unworthiness and the grace that we need to genuinely love and care for all people.  Help us to be a good example and not to live hypocritically.  Give us wisdom so that when the time is right we may be given the words to help people better understand your values and to encourage them in every way to follow you.  Thank you that you are a God of mercy and grace and that your ways ultimately are for our good.
 
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 friend of sinners, 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 what it will mean for us to welcome and love all people the way Jesus did.  Do spend some time praying for those who need His healing touch and who need to know that God loves them.  For now let me lead you in a Benediction after which I invite you to share the grace together…
 
 
Benediction
       
Never forget that you are a sinner, just as much as anyone else.  But remember that Christ died for sinners, for you, for everyone.  So as you go out this week, ask God to give you His eyes and His heart to see people as He sees them and to love them as he loves them…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.”