[Did you miss last Sunday’s services? They can still be found at Worship Archive – May 1st 2022.]
Sunday Service from Connexion for May 8th 2022:
Sunday Service from Hillside Circuit for May 8th 2022:
Theme: Jesus ushers humanity to eternity
Occasion: 4th Sunday of Easter
Lectionary readings:
Psalm 23
Acts 9: 36-43
Revelation 7: 9-17
John 10: 22-30
[Click or tap on a Bible reference above to jump down the page to the Bible reading to listen and/or read it for yourself and then click or tap on Back to top to come back here.]
Songs:
Here are the songs for Sunday morning service. Click or tap on a song to open it in YouTube, or go to the Songs for worship webpage to find them embedded.
Come, now is the time to worship.
Beloved and blessed.
Meekness and majesty.
There is a Redeemer.
Lead us, Heavenly Father, lead us.
O Jesus I have promised.
O come let us adore Him.
Prayers:
You can listen and join in with prayers from the English Methodist Service Book. They can be found at the Prayers for worship webpage.
Children’s Address:
Sermon:
Bible readings:
Psalm 23
1 You, LORD, are my shepherd. I will never be in need.
2 You let me rest in fields of green grass.
You lead me to streams of peaceful water,
3 and you refresh my life.
You are true to your name,
and you lead me along the right paths.
4 I may walk through valleys as dark as death,
but I won’t be afraid.
You are with me,
and your shepherd’s rod makes me feel safe.
5 You treat me to a feast, while my enemies watch.
You honour me as your guest,
and you fill my cup until it overflows.
6 Your kindness and love will always be with me
each day of my life,
and I will live forever in your house, LORD.
Acts 9
36 In Joppa there was a follower named Tabitha. Her Greek name was Dorcas, which means “deer.” She was always doing good things for people and had given much to the poor. 37 But she got sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 Joppa wasn’t far from Lydda, and the followers heard that Peter was there. They sent two men to say to him, “Please come with us as quickly as you can!” 39 Right away, Peter went with them.
The men took Peter upstairs into the room. Many widows were there crying. They showed him the coats and clothes that Dorcas had made while she was still alive.
40 After Peter had sent everyone out of the room, he knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to the body of Dorcas and said, “Tabitha, get up!” The woman opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet.
Peter called in the widows and the other followers and showed them that Dorcas had been raised from death. 42 Everyone in Joppa heard what had happened, and many of them put their faith in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed on for a while in Joppa in the house of a man named Simon, who made leather.
Revelation 7
9 After this, I saw a large crowd with more people than could be counted. They were from every race, tribe, nation, and language, and they stood before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands, 10 as they shouted,
“Our God, who sits upon the throne,
has the power to save his people,
and so does the Lamb.”
11 The angels who stood around the throne knelt in front of it with their faces to the ground. The elders and the four living creatures knelt there with them. Then they all worshipped God 12 and said,
“Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honour, power,
and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen!”
13 One of the elders asked me, “Do you know who these people are that are dressed in white robes? Do you know where they come from?”
14 “Sir,” I answered, “you must know.”
Then he told me:
“These are the ones
who have gone through the great suffering.
They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb
and have made them white.
15 And so they stand before the throne of God
and worship him in his temple day and night.
The one who sits on the throne
will spread his tent over them.
16 They will never hunger or thirst again,
and they won’t be troubled
by the sun or any scorching heat.
17 The Lamb in the centre of the throne will be their shepherd.
He will lead them to streams of life-giving water,
and God will wipe all tears from their eyes.”
John 10
22 That winter, Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Temple Festival. 23 One day he was walking in that part of the temple known as Solomon’s Porch, 24 and the people gathered all around him. They said, “How long are you going to keep us guessing? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly!”
25 Jesus answered:
I have told you, and you refused to believe me. The things I do by my Father’s authority show who I am. 26 But since you are not my sheep, you don’t believe me. 27 My sheep know my voice, and I know them. They follow me, 28 and I give them eternal life, so that they will never be lost. No one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father gave them to me, and he is greater than all others. No one can snatch them from his hands, 30 and I am one with the Father.
Text version of the message for Hillside Circuit on May 8th 2022 in English, with Dr Christine Tenga:
Theme:
Jesus ushers humanity to Eternity.
I greet you all in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let us pray. Our Father, creator of Heaven and earth and all that there in lives, we come before you, thanking you for the gift of life and in particular this day that we can come before you to worship, praise and sing songs for you and glorify your name.
We bring to your throne all peoples in their different situations for you to take care for we all depend on you. May you also be in our midst as we listen and meditate upon your word. In the name of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
It is very common that when you go to certain places, where there is a big gathering, you find chosen people who direct you to your sitting positions. They usually wear a visible band or pin written USHER so that you can easily identify them. In today’s Theme, Jesus is the USHER, ushering humanity to eternity meaning He is showing you the way to Eternity, to a place which exists for ever. If you go there it means you will be there for ever. Your life has no end.
The theme says Jesus ushers humanity, that means the whole of human race is allowed into eternity regardless of colour race, tribe or gender etc. It is only Christ who ushers humanity there, any other will lead you to a wrong place.
In our 3 texts of today, there are 3 points which we shall look at:
1 knowing who the usher, who is Christ is.
2 What is it that Jesus expects you to do while you are still in this world to bring them to him?
3 What is life in Eternity like?
At the beginning of His ministry, Christ did not like revealing his identity but towards the end he did but in ways that were not clear to the Jewish Pharisees and it always created some friction between them.
In John 10. passage, the Jews confront Jesus while he was in the temple during dedication festival and demand that he must openly identify himself once and for all.
Earlier in Chapt 9 of John , Jesus had restored sight of a blind man and the Pharisees were not amused because he had healed the man on a Sabbath. Jesus revealed himself as “the Son of Man” to the healed man and he believed but Pharisees labelled Jesus as a sinner.
Again in chapt 10 v4 Jesus called himself a good shepherd whose sheep are familiar with him and do not follow a stranger. The Pharisees did not understand what he was trying to explain to them. He was talking about good leadership.
Then in today’s passage Jesus said that his WORKS are done in His Father’s name. They tell who he is. They didn’t believe because they are not his sheep, meaning they are not his followers. They are stuck in their knowledge of Moses.
Jesus sheep, hear his voice,
He knows them
They follow him
HE GIVES THEM ETERNAL LIFE. (V 28)This is where our theme was extracted from.
They will never die, no one will snatch them from his hand.
They are given to him by the Father, who is greater. than all and no one can snatch them from His Father. Jesus is one with His Father.
What a response, given in full.
From the pointed passages and in particular the one of today, are you still having difficulty in knowing who Jesus is? Can you doubt his ability to usher you to Eternity. He performed miracles which no one had ever done. We are not talking of false miracles by false prophets of today. He is a good leader who cares for his sheep. Jesus lives in Eternity with His Father and cares for you even today. You must be that sheep that listens to him. He speaks to us through his spirit, he speaks through his word in the Bible. Jesus knows each and everyone of us and tends to our situations. If you believe in him you must follow him , do his will. If you are such, “HE WILL GIVE YOU ETERNAL LIFE”. This is a promise and we know God’s promises are binding. Jesus says his sheep will never die. No one can take them away from his Father. To snatch is like to steal. The Father is watchful over the sheep. He cares. Jesus is one with the Father.
Who guides you in what ever you do? If you are of Christ, let him guide you . Let Christ be seen in your works. Does Jesus know you or He will deny you on judgement day while you claim that you were serving him? Christians should follow Christ in what ever they do. Jesus is one with God and we are one with Christ because his spirit lives in us. Once you follow Christ you will be ushered into eternity.
In Acts passage, Peter pursues the great commission and lends in Lydda and Joppa where there were some believers and Saints. In Lydda he healed Aeneas who had been crippled for 8 years by saying to him that Jesus Christ heals him. Peter as a follower of Jesus, knew that what ever he was doing was from Jesus. It was not his power. Peter set a good example of Jesus sheep. Those who saw the miracle performed, believed in Jesus. Many people believe in other people for any miracles to happen even Christians. They glorify who ever prays for them instead of God and Jesus. Peter knew Jesus was guiding him. Some people praise themselves for their accomplishments. Let us be reminded that it is Jesus in control.
Through us Jesus wants people to believe in him. More sheep must be brought into the fold.
Peter also brought back to life Tabitha or Dorcas in Joppa. She was a woman who cared for the less privileged and widows. Her works were good. As Christians we need to care for others in all difficult situations. We can use what ever gift we have. Before doing anything we must pray. Peter prayed and Tabitha rose from the dead. Jesus rose from the dead and those who believe and serve him will rise from death like Dorcas in his 2nd coming and live with him in Eternity.
In Rev. 7 passage, Eternity is revealed to John in a vision. He sees a multitude dressed in white robes. One elder there says those were people who lived a sinless life on earth and followed Jesus. They were faithful to God. They were aware that Salvation is from God as they declared it. Let us as believers declare that our salvation is from God . Yes, we must do good works, preach the good news and heal the sick and draw unbelievers to Christ through miracles and good works but we must know Christ is the one who saves, who leads us to Eternal life. He saved us on the cross. Like those seated at the throne we must always worship and praise God for His power and might. The life we live on earth must resemble life in eternity.
If we can overcome the world through Christ, he will be with us in Eternity. Through his blood we are cleansed from sin. He is the lamb of God that takes away sin(John 1:29)
In eternity the earthly tribulations are no more, there is no hunger, no thirst, no weeping and no heat from the sun. Christ is everyone’s shepherd. Jesus leads everyone to living waters. In John 4, Jesus told the Samaritan woman that had she asked for water from him, he was going to give her living water and she was never going to thirsty any more. By this he meant everlasting life in Eternity.
In conclusion, let us stop chasing worldly things and look for Christ. Worldly things end here on earth but Christ takes us to unending life where there is no suffering which we are experiencing now. Live now for Christ and Eternity.
May God bless His word.
Amen.
Let us pray.
In Psalm 23, the Psalmist knows that the Lord is our shepherd and we also know that if we follow you Lord we shall lack nothing . We know that even if we go through difficulties on earth, one day we shall be with Christ where he will be in total control and there will be no more suffering.
Guide us through your Spirit Lord Jesus in all what we do so that we may be acceptable in Eternity.
In Your name we pray.
Amen.
Methodist Church: Hillside Circuit 
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