Audlem Baptist Church Online Service for
the
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Surprising
Promise
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IntroductionLast Sunday was our Gift Service and we
collected toys and donations for the Salvation Army in Crewe. I met the Captain and the organisers on
Wednesday and they asked me to send their huge thanks to everyone at ABC for
our donation of toys and £110. They
have already given out 2,800 Christmas parcels and bags of Christmas ‘treats’
and what we gave will all be distributed by Christmas Day to families that
are even now being referred. Even more
families will be helped this year than last. This Sunday is the third week of Advent,
which traditionally has a theme of JOY
and the candle is a ‘rose’ colour. The
joy that we celebrate is deeper than feeling ‘happy’. It is rooted in faith and trust. In some traditions the third candle is the
Shepherds’ Candle. The
message today is once again from Twin Lakes Church in Santa Cruz, California,
which is a church I have visited many times over the years. This time the speaker is Mark Spurlock. |
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A Short
Prayer on the Third Sunday in Advent Almighty God, Amen. |
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Song: Mary, Did You Know? Like last
week, this is another song that looks at Jesus’ birth through the eyes of
Mary his mother. The video I have
chosen is sung ‘A Capella’ by a five-person group called Pentatonix. That name comes from the musical pentatonic
scale, which has just five notes per octave. Click here to play
the video. |
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Bible Readings If you have a Bible or Bible App to
hand, I can tell you that our readings today come mainly from With a
small section from Matthew
chapter 1 at the end. |
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The
Message: Surprising Promise Mark Spurlock is the preacher today. He is
the Assistant Pastor at Twin Lakes Church.
He starts by thanking the Christmas Choir for their singing during the
service. This week we take a deep
dive into Old Testament history to understand why God made such a surprising promise – not only to one specific
person but to us all – down the ages to the present day. Click here to watch the video.
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Prayers As you
watched the message today was
there a moment when you sensed the Holy Spirit speaking directly to you? Then tell Jesus about it. Or maybe you simply had a ‘lightbulb’
moment which you would like to thank God for. Spend a
few moments to thank God for all
his goodness to you in the last week. Spend a
few minutes in confession. Take a
few minutes to pray for others who you feel burdened
for. If you have received the Church
Email, it will give you some suggestions. Now spend
a few moments praying for the fellowship of the church to which we belong and
its witness to friends, family,
neighbours, the young and the old, and to the wider world. |
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Carol: O Little Town of Bethlehem This well-known carol tells of the first coming of Jesus in fulfilment
of God’s promise and concludes with a plea for him to come to us and abide
with us today. Click here to watch the video. |
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A Benediction to Close Loving God, we praise you We thank you that your promises are
not simply empty words Teach us then, to read the scriptures
as Matthew wrote them, This is from the end of Matthew’s
gospel chapter 28 in ‘The Message’: 16-17 Meanwhile, the eleven disciples
were on their way to Galilee, headed for the mountain Jesus had set for their
reunion. The moment they saw him they worshiped him. Some, though, held back,
not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally. 18-20 Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead
and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go
out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking
them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then
instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you.” Then this was his promise to them –
and to us who follow them: “I’ll be with you as you do this, day
after day after day, right up to the end of the age.” Lord Jesus, we claim that promise
today and every day - for evermore. Amen. Amen |
