28th November 2021 at 11:00 "Lets begin at the ending"
Order of service 28th November 2021
Welcome – Keith
Happy Birthday Hazel
Lighting of the first Advent Candle – Ella
Call to worship Daniel 7: 13 – 14 ““In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”” – Amelia
Opening prayer – Lucas
Hymn Joy to the world
Advent Quiz
Collection & Hymn Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah chosen by Anne
Open prayer – all
Lord’s prayer - Alison
Notices:
Bible Study, Wednesday 1st @ 19:30
Prayer meeting, Thursday 2nd @ 10:00
Prayer walk, Friday 3rd @ 10:00
Carols at Windmill Manor Wednesday 1st December @16:00, all welcome
Volunteers for Church cleaning rota
Hymn Crown Him With Many Crowns chosen by Anne
Reading Luke 21: 25 - 28 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” - Hazel
Hymn We shall stand chosen by Hazel
Thought “Lets begin at the ending”
Hymn These are the days of Elijah
Blessing
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore. Amen - Steve
Thought for Sunday 28th November 2021
Advent is a time in which we look forward to Christmas day when we will celebrate Jesus’ birth and God’s arrival here on earth. Advent is on the whole meant to be a joyous time, a time to celebrate and a time of anticipation. Yet the first Sunday of Advent reading is traditionally John 21: 20 - 28. Reading Luke 21 it can be disturbing, unsettling and if we are being honest a bit difficult to get our heads around. Our reading can appear to be all about death, famine, wars, plague, fear and terror. All in all it doesn’t seem to be much to be celebrate or to look forward to it. Perhaps most strangely we appear to be starting Advent at the end of all things Jesus return. This strangeness raises the question, why do we start advent with this difficult passage? This is that question we will be thinking about together this morning.
Our reading this morning is taken from a longer section which starts with Jesus and His disciple in the Temple in Jerusalem. The Temple sat at the centre of magnificent complex of building. Each of these building was ornately decorated with Gold or white Marble. It was an awe-inspiring scene. The Temple was the biggest and most significant building in all Israel and the centre of Jewish life. It was no wonder the Disciples were admiring these magnificent buildings and all the riches of the Temple. Then out of nowhere Jesus made a remarkable declaration “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”
The disciples were stunned by Jesus’ declaration, “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?” Jesus responds by explaining that there will be wars and rumours of wars, earthquakes, false Messiahs, plagues, the arrest of Christians, the opportunities for witnessing, and the destruction of Jerusalem before the Temple is destroyed. If you read Luke's second book Acts you see all these signs do indeed come to pass prior to Jerusalem falls to the Romans in AD 70. The Temple, this great centre of Jewish life is not just destroyed, but as Jesus declared its stone were ripped out one by one as Roman centurions searched for gold amongst its burnt-out ruins.
As an aside many of Jerusalem’s inhabitants expected the Messiah to return in glory when Roman armies surrounded the city. However, Christians in Jerusalem knew what Jesus had said and they fled across the Jordan River to the city of Pella. This obedience resulted in few if any Christians perishing in the fall of Jerusalem. Yet for those who remained and hoped in the their false Messiah for deliverance there was only death and suffering at the hands of the Romans. Over one million inhabitants of Jerusalem were killed and another 97,000 were taken captive by the victorious Roman armies.
So, we come to the part of our reading this morning that really confuses people. Jesus, without any warning or explanation shifts His focus from the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem to focus on His triumphant return. Events that are to be separated by centuries.
It has been suggested that Jesus was using the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple as an example of what it would be like prior to His return. So, just as Jerusalem and Temples destruction would be heralded by famine, wars, natural catastrophes and signs in the heavens so would be His return. If you read Revelation chapter 6, 8 - 9 and 15 you will get the gruesome and horrific picture of the time before Jesus’ return. Even allowing for the poetic language and imagery John uses when writing his revelation it is a harrowing account of death and untold suffering but most significantly terror. Jesus references this terror people will experience when He says, “People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.” The Greek word translated faint can also mean to die, so it seems likely that some people will be literally scared to death by the events leading up to Jesus’ return. Yet fear is not the Jesus’ message for us, nor did He intend to frighten to His disciples. No Jesus message is a message of hope and certainty as we will see.
Then, without drawing breath Jesus moves from these signs that herald His return to talk about His return. This time Jesus will come to earth not as baby born in a tiny village whose birth outside his family, a few shepherds, some wise men and a handfull provincial bureaucrats went unnoticed. No Jesus return will be in His full power and glory visible for all humankind to witness. Just as the heavens were the canvas that showed forth the signs telling of Jesus coming return so they will be the canvas on which Jesus’ power and majesty is displayed to all mankind. Daniel words in our call to worship are similar to Jesus words, Daniel writes “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven.” This is the imagery that Jesus is using in our passage, suddenly without warning He will return and His return will be witnessed by all humankind.
Returning to the signs that precede Jesus’ return. Yes the signs will be cataclysmic and terrifying and the suffering be great but, they are, for those who love Jesus signs that He is returning to end the chaos, the suffering and the fear. That is why Jesus can say, “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Jesus is saying, understand these signs for what they are, for they are signs that I am returning for you. Our passage this morning doesn’t appear to have much Good News in it with all the death and suffering. Yet there is Good News for those who profess Jesus as Lord and Saviour and that Good News is that Jesus is returning to finish what he began when He was born in Bethlehem. That hope is the certainty that whatever happens, no matter how bad it gets, no matters what horrors we face we know our redeemer will return for us. You see Jesus never said He would take us out of times of fear and suffering, but He did gives us the hope to persevere through until He returns to take us back to Himself.
Before we finish this morning we are going to think about two important things firstly, the timing of these signs. Secondly, we are going to look at what Jesus meant when He said, “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.”
So firstly, Jesus uses a short parable about a fig tree. In the parable He says that when you see leaves on the fig tree you know that summer is drawing near but not yet arrived. When we lived in Newlyn and we were returning home from Scotland there was always a temptation that when we reached Exeter to think we were home. Although Exeter did mark the end of a significant part of the journey home in fact we weren’t even in Cornwall yet and on good day we still had more than a couple of hours driving before we arrived in Newlyn. No, these various signs are like little windows on our Advent calendars each marking the progress towards the sure and certain return of Jesus.
As an aside it is well to note when someone or other confidently proclaims they know when Jesus is to return the truth is they don’t. Consider Jesus’ own words from the parallel passage in Matthews Gospel. Jesus clearly and emphatically states that, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” The truth is we are not meant to know dates, but we are to know and understand the signs. For those whom Jesus’ call brother and sister it is not about the when is He returning but the certainty He is returning. We are to stand and lift our heads in to look to the heavens in anticipation of our Lord’s return.
Secondly, what did Jesus mean when He talked about this generation not passing away. The word translated generations is the Greek word Genea that has a range of meanings which has caused some confusion over what Jesus actually meant.
The simplest and most straight forward interpretation of Jesus’ words is that the generation He referred to is in fact all mankind. Here Jesus is asserting God’s supremacy. Humankind is not going to wipe itself out through climate change or nuclear war or any of the multitude idiotic ways that today’s prophets of doom are telling us we will. No humankinds fate is ultimately not our hands. Jesus isn’t going to return to an irradiated and desolate planet with no-one to witness His return. Despite what it may look like to us humankind is not in control of its destiny, either good or bad. No God will have the final say with the return of Son. In the supremacy of God’s we will find the hope to face tomorrow and whatever signs it may or may not bring us.
So Luke 20: 25 - 28 is an appropriate passage to start Advent with because it helps to be not only a people of God confident that our Saviour came as a babe born in Bethlehem to save us. But also to be a people of God confident that our Saviour shall come again to redeem us and love us. If our God is for us why should we fear.
As a final encouragement here are more of Daniels words from our call to worship. Here Daniel writes of what it will be like after Jesus’ return, “He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” Just a few verse later Daniel write these amazing words, “Then the sovereignty, power, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be given to the holy people of the Most High.” This is the promise to the people of promise to all who call Jesus Lord and Saviour that we will rule with Him. But that is a sermon for another day.