CHURCH

AT

HOME WEEK 15

28/06/2020

Welcome to our Church at Home thoughts and service on this Sunday

morning. This week we begin a new series looking at the theme of:

Jesus Shows Us How To Live. Today is all about Being Rock Solid.

All you will need for the service and to help you in you thinking can be

found on these sheets.

Welcome

Psalm 84 v. 1 - 4 NLT

How lovely is your dwelling place,

O Lord Almighty.

I long, yes, faint with longing

To enter the courts of the Lord.

With my whole being, body and soul,

I will shout joyfully to the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home there,

And the swallow builds her nest

And raises her young—

At a place near your altar,

O Lord Almighty, my King and my God!

How happy are those who can live in your

House,

Always singing your praises.

SONG

SUGGESTIONS

Cornerstone

Light of The World

Call to Worship

Bible Reading Luke 6 v. 37 - 49

New International Version (NIV)

Judging Others

37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you

will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38

Give, and it

will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together

and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure

you use, it will be measured to you.”

39 He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will

they not both fall into a pit? 40

The student is not above the teacher, but

everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.

41 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and

pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42

How can you say to

your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you

yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take

the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the

speck from your brother’s eye.

A Tree and Its Fruit

43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good

fruit. 44

Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs

from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45

A good man brings good

things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings

evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks

what the heart is full of.

Church at

Home Thought Over the next several weeks we

will be looking at the way in

which Jesus: ‘shows us how to

live’. The first part of each of our

thoughts will be set in the first

person, followed by some

thinking around the passage that

we have read together.

I walked a long way to hear him,

this man called Jesus - all the

way from the coast with some

friends. I'd heard about the

miracles, of course (and saw

some myself once we finally

caught up with him), but it was

his teaching that really interested

me. I'm a builder you see!

What I build is straight and true.

That's why I have a sense of

what is straight and true in the

words of teachers and preachers.

Not many of them impressed me,

but this Jesus had a reputation

for being one of the best, so it

was worth missing a few days'

work to find out about him. I was

keen to see what sort of man he

was.

The Wise and Foolish Builders

46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?

47 As for

everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into

practice, I will show you what they are like. 48

They are like a man

building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock.

When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake

it, because it was well built. 49

But the one who hears my words and

does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the

ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house,

it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

My first impressions? Well, he

was nothing special to look at,

but he'd drawn a huge crowd and

it looked as though most of the

people there had planned to stay

all day. I settled down and

listened too.

A good measure

Natural justice, that was one of

his subjects. In Luke 6 v. 37, 38,

he said: ‘Stop judging others,

and you will not be judged.

Stop criticizing others, or it will

all come back on you. If you

forgive others, you will be

forgiven. If you give, you will

receive. Your gift will return to

you in full measure, pressed

down, shaken together to

make room for more, and

running over. Whatever

measure you use in giving –

large or small – it will be used

to measure what is given back

to you.’

Now I've known a few folk who

would have benefited from

listening to Jesus speak about

that! Maybe your one of them!

People who think that justice

doesn't apply to them. They

reckon they can be just as

critical, unforgiving and mean as

they like and get away with it -

then they're surprised when they

get back what they've given out.

The result is that they have

miserable lives, cut off from

everyone and even from God.

You know, the more I listened,

the more I realised how well

Jesus put things, 'Whatever

measure you give you'll get

back.' It works both ways. If you

give kindness, joy and

acceptance, you'll get the same

measure back, and even more -

as much as you can carry in the

fold of your cloak (Luke 6 v. 38)!

A speck in the eye

What Jesus was saying made a

lot of sense to me. 'Don't accept

advice from the apprentice,' is

the way I would have put it.

Nobody can teach what they

don't know. Nobody can lead

people where they can't see

(Luke 6 v. 39 - 42).

Have you ever met someone who

criticises everything? They think

they’re always right, there’s no

telling them any different.

There's a man like that in my

home town, Tyre. He's a builder

too, just like me. He watches me

at work sometimes and points out

little details that are not quite

right. I don't mind being put right

when it's needed, but on one

occasion I got a chance to look at

his work. The whole structure

was out of line and built without

proper foundations! I reckoned it

would fall down if there was a bit

of bad weather. Perhaps he'd

have spent his time better looking

at his own work critically instead

of poking his nose into mine. I

prefer to build on solid

foundations, not on sandy soil!

House on the rock

I'm with Jesus on this too (Luke 6

v. 46 - 49). Build well and be true

in all you are, and be good to

others. Let Jesus' message into

your heart because if you don't,

you'll be in trouble of the worst

kind, facing destruction.

Rock solid, built on firm

foundations, grounded in every

way, that's what I want to be, so

I'll be thinking a lot about what

I’ve heard Jesus say as I travel

home. There's power in the

words of Jesus you know.

Imagine a football manager

discussing a new game plan with

his team. At the end of the

session the manager dismisses

the players and says, 'See you

next week, when we'll discuss

another game plan.' That team

wouldn't do very well! Yet this is

often how we treat Christ's

teaching.

We come to church week by

week, hear the game plan, but

then leave and do nothing about

it. We don’t analyse it, we don’t

think about it, we just carry on

doing our own thing.

Today's passage teaches us that

we've got to put into practice the

things we're taught.

So what can we learn from the

passage that we have read today

about our walk with God?

BOTH HEARD, BUT

ONLY ONE ACTED

(Luke 6 v. 47, 48)

It's very easy to think that being a

Christian is about coming to

church, praying each day,

listening to sermons and not

much else. Jesus shows us that

we are to obey God's word - not

just in the private 'religious'

areas of our lives but also out in

the wider world, where it's much

harder.

BOTH BUILT, BUT

ONLY ONE HAD

FOUNDATIONS (Luke

6 v. 48, 49)

Each one of us is building

something with our lives. On the

outside it may look nice, strong

and secure. But deep down only

some of us have real

foundations, a secure trust in

Christ's death for us and in his

teaching which we've responded

to and obeyed.

BOTH FACED THE

STORM, BUT ONLY

ONE SURVIVED (Luke

6 v. 48, 49)

Everyone faces difficulties sooner

or later. When that time comes,

the depth of our faith will be

shown for what it is. Without

foundations our lives and 'faith'

will fall apart.

The successful football team is

the one that practises what

they've heard. A true Christian is

someone who listens to God's

Word, and then goes out and

obeys it.

Think about which of the

directives from Luke 6 v. 37 – 45

that you particularly need to do,

then decide to go and put it into

practice this week.

SONG SUGGESTION

How Deep The Father’s Love

Open The Eyes Of My Heart

Questions to

Ponder • Is my ‘walk’ with Jesus in tune with what he wants for my life?

• Is my spiritual growth built on Biblical facts or is it built on what

I think the Bible says?

While we are unable to meet physically at church and are therefore not

able to give of our finances to the work that goes on in the church, why

not consider what you would normally put into the offering, and then

put this aside until we meet again. We can then all give with a grateful

heart and praise God for all that he has given to us.

Our Giving

To God

Pray don’t find fault with the man who limps

Or stumbles along the road

Unless you have worn the shoes that hurt

Or struggled beneath his load

There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt,

Though hidden away from view

Or the burden he bears, placed on your back,

Might cause you to stumble, too.

Don’t sneer at the man who’s down today

Unless you have felt the blow

That caused his fall, or felt the same

That only the fallen know.

You may be strong, but still the blows

That were his, if dealt to you

In the self same way at the self same time,

Might cause you to stagger, too.

Don’t be too harsh with the man who sins

Or pelt him with words or stones,

Unless you are sure, yea, doubly sure,

That you have no sins of your own.

For you know perhaps, if the tempters voice

Should whisper as soft to you

As it did to him when he went astray,

‘Twould cause you to falter, too.

Poem

Intercessions Lord Jesus Christ, you said that you were one with the Father and you

gave your Spirit to the disciples, offering them your peace; we pray for

the unity of your Church and the peace of your world.

Lord God, forgive us the fears and suspicions, the half truths and

ignorance which reinforce our divisions.

We pray that your Spirit of truth will open our minds so that we might

learn from one another.

We pray that your Spirit of love will fill our hearts so that we might

forgive and encourage one another.

We pray that your Spirit of unity will work in our lives, binding us

together in you, our only God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We pray for your world, often broken into hostile camps by fear, hatred,

suspicion, greed, and the pursuit of power.

We pray for all those who are working for peace and understanding,

the reconciling of conflicts, and the healing of divisions.

We pray for those who are caring for the casualties of conflict, used by

your love in caring for the down - trodden and oppressed.

We pray for those who are leaders in communities, that they might lead

with wisdom and in a spirit of service.

We pray that the search for unity in your Church might serve the

search for unity in our divided world, for there is one God and Father of

all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.

Glimpses of

God Glimpses of God is our new section of Church at Home looking at how

people at our church are experiencing God while we can’t gather. This

section is all up to you! If you want to get involved, contact

snbch.media@snbch.org.uk

This week’s submission for Glimpses of God comes from Noah Lovell

Let’s face it, lockdown life has its ups and downs, and all of us have been experiencing a wide range of emotions and challenges that each day brings. That might be dealing with loneliness, changing our daily routines, learning new skills, or jumping from one online meeting straight into the next. Whatever we feel, there is one thing that remains the same; that our God is constant.

At the beginning of Lockdown, I heard a little poem/thought that included the words ‘we are not all in the same boat, but in the same storm.’ Which, looking at now, has been very true. We all have two major things in common; lockdown, and God.

Often, it isn’t until we slow down that we take the opportunity to reflect

and that’s what lockdown has provided. It’s given many people the

opportunity to see where God has been and is right now.

Since being in lockdown, there have been a few occasions that I have

seen glimpses of God.

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

Blessing

SONG SUGGESTIONS

How Great Is Our God

One of the things that I have seen God in is the weather. While in

lockdown the weather has generally been quite nice, although there

have been a few rainy days. But I suppose you can’t expect anything

different from British weather, besides, we need the rain occasionally. I

believe that God’s hand has been there, for if the weather was

constantly raining I think everyone’s moods might have been very

different. We have God to thank for the lovely weather.

There are many different ways that God has and is working in

lockdown, and the weather is just one of them. But the more you look,

the more that you can see where God is working. Churches coming

together to provide support for the community and adapt their services,

the weather that we have had, the opportunities to share our

knowledge of the love of God with others. The list is endless.

But there is one thing that we all know. Our God is GREAT!

Although at the moment, the church may be locked, we are not gone!

In fact, we are still an active church! Just for the moment, it’s online.

Over the coming weeks, and possibly months, we are trying our best to

stay connected as a fellowship.

At the moment, we are:

• Sunday - publishing ‘Church at Home’. Our engaging Sunday

services in an online format

• Monday - sharing ‘Monday Prayers’. ‘Monday Prayers’ are our

collection of prayers and thoughts for you to start the week

• Tuesday - hosting a Zoom meeting every Tuesday. Contact

minister@snbch.org.uk for more details

• Wednesday - publishing a Bible Study. The studies are from the

book of Hosea and will follow the overall theme entitled: God’s

Persistent Love

• Once a month - Creating our ‘Monthly Prayer Diary’ - Prayer is an

important part of the life of our church, so why not join in praying with

us over the course of a month?

Over the coming weeks, we are working on different ways to make

what we are doing, more interactive for you!

If you haven’t already, go check out our Facebook Page -

@SalendineNookBaptistChurch - to keep connected with us, visit our

website - snbch.org.uk - or contact the relevant people using the

contact sheet below.

News

Address

Salendine Nook Baptist Church Moor Hill Road Salendine Nook Huddersfield West Yorkshire HD3 3SF

Telephone Number

01484 651845

E-mail Addresses Minister - minister@snbch.org.uk

Secretary - church.secretary@snbch.org.uk

Treasurer - treasurer@snbch.org.uk

Web Administrator - web.administrator@snbch.org.uk

Graphics and Media - snbch.media@snbch.org.uk

Facebook - www.facebook.com/SalendineNookBaptistChurch

Website - www.snbch.org.uk

Contact