“Trinity – The Eternal Divine Wisdom”

The Topic for the Service of 26^th May 2013, at St. Margaret's UCZ Church- Kitwe was entitled:  “Trinity – The Eternal Divine Wisdom”.

Preacher:  Reverend Bellington Kabaso

Scripture Reading:   Proverbs 8: 14, 22 – 31

                                     Romans 5: 1 – 5

                                     John 3: 1 – 17

SERMON SUMMARY

The theme for our Service is “Trinity - The Eternal Divine Wisdom”. Looking at the meaning of the three words:-

·         Eternal – means everlasting or continuous without end.

·         Divine – means something provided by God and not of human nature.

·         Wisdom – means the ability to use knowledge and experience to make a sensible decision or judgement.

In Proverbs 8: 14, 22 – 31 we learn that wisdom was the first to be there during creation. In John 1: 1 we are told that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This Word is the wisdom. Nothing was created without the Word or wisdom of God.

Everything we see in the world was created before man. Everything in this world was created to be used by man.

In Romans 5, Paul is telling the believers in Rome that there must be a change in the one who becomes a believer. “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”  (Romans 5:  1 – 2). Through peace we are able to talk to God in prayer.

God cannot continue to be in peace with a person who claims to be a Christian but continues to live in sin. The peace with God can only happen if we take Jesus as our Saviour and we get justified with God. Jesus has taken away that sin and we are able to be in the presence of God and we become His children. If we repent of our sins we are forgiven and become justified with God.

 However, we have taken that forgiveness for granted by continuing to sin and saying forgiveness will be given to us in Church at the next Sunday. God is not only found in Church. God is omnipresent so sinning deliberately is mocking God.  Ecclesiastes 5:  4 – 7 says “When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfil it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfil your vow. It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfil it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands?  Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.”

Nicodemus was an educated and rich man who was full of knowledge and lacked nothing. In John 3: 1 – 17 we read that when Nicodemus met Jesus, despite his knowledge, he was taught what it was to be “born again”.  Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’”

For every Christian to be saved he or she must be born again. It is not a matter of coming to Church every Sunday and looking very humble. One must be born of water and the Spirit of God. Let us not take being born again lightly. Ask yourself whether you are on the right pass to be born again.

We should prepare our lives before it is too late, and do not say that “I shall be born again at a latter date”.

Nicodemus was taught on how to enter the Kingdom of God in heaven. We should emulate what has been told to him.  It is time to change our ways of living.

May the Lord bless his Word!

AMEN!

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: (From the Church's Weekly Bulletin)

Trinity Sunday Prayer

Almighty and Eternal God, through your Word and Spirit you created all things.

In Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh; you revealed your salvation in the entire world.

Through your Holy Spirit, you give us a share in your life and love.

Keep us Firm in this faith, and fill us with the vision of your glory, that we may serve and praise you all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.

(Book of Common Order, Church of Scotland P. 674)

AMEN!

“Pentecost – God’s Gift to His People”.

The Topic of the Service of 19^th May 2013, at St. Margaret's UCZ Church was entitled: “Pentecost – God’s Gift to His People”.

Preacher:  Mr Boniface Chirambo

Scripture Reading:   Genesis 1: 1 – 9

                                     Acts 1: 1 – 21

                                     John 14: 8 – 17

SERMON SUMMARY

As parents we often do promise our children gifts after coming from visiting some places.

 Today is Pentecost day, the day that when the gift of the Holy Spirit that the Lord had promised to give his disciples came upon them. It was exactly 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ when the gift of the Holy Spirit was given.  Pentecost is the birth of the Christian Church, which coincided with the time when there were celebrations by the Jews to mark their first harvest.

God sent the gift of the Holy Spirit, as promised, to his people.

In Genesis 1: 1 – 9 we read about the creation of earth and we see the Holy Spirit playing a big role in the creation of the world. “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”  ~ Genesis 1: 2

Jesus was part of the creation as written in John 1: 1. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The three divine persons of God were involved as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

In John 14: 16 – 17 Jesus is promising the gift of the Holy Spirit to his disciples when he says “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever, the Spirit of truth.

We are seeing the gift of the Holy Spirit being fulfilled in Acts 2: 1 – 21. The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost brought a lot of confusion amongst the Jews. “When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: "Aren't all these who are speaking Galileans?’” Acts 2: 6 – 7

The coming of the Holy Spirit amongst the disciples completely transformed their lives. Peter who had denied Jesus three times at the time of his persecution leading to his crucifixion went out to preach the Good News boldly.

The Holy Spirit changes the situation in your life and mine.

The gifts that we get from God are not for our own self- grander but for the use of spreading his Kingdom. In Acts 1: 8 Jesus says “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria  and to the ends of the world.” You and I are called the witnesses of God. The gifts that we get from God are for the exaltation of God himself.

In Joel 2:28 the Lord says “"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.” (See Acts 2: 17 as well)

All of us have received the Holy Spirit for the anointment of our lives. We should therefore come together and be united to complement each other so that we excel in our individual gifts, only then will the Church of God grow. Where there is misunderstanding we should retreat and ask God to help us.

God desires that after we receive the Holy Spirit we should be his ambassadors in the world. It is not enough just to come to church and worship. We should spread the Gospel to others. We should ask God to help us with our weaknesses so that we can effectively spread the gospel. Let us be examples to our families and not to be questioned about our behaviour. Let us first look at ourselves before we go out to evangelise.  Are we relevant to our community?  Christianity is more than being a member of St. Margaret’s Church.

On this Pentecost day as we go out into the community it is very important to remind each other what purpose we are called for? Let us seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we do the work for the Lord. Let us be careful not to look very much to our preachers as examples of our behaviour. Our focus should be on the Holy Spirit.

Let us therefore thank God for all the gifts he has given us. Without the Holy Spirit we shall not be successful evangelists.

May the Lord, through his mercy and love, bless us all.

AMEN!

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: (From the Church's Weekly Bulletin)

The Day of Pentecost

The coming of the Spirit was accompanied by supernatural signs – a sound, a sight and strange speech. First, there came from heaven a sound like the blowing of violent wind', and it (i e, the noise) filled the whole house where they were sitting (Acts 2:2). Secondly, there appeared to them visibly ‘what seemed to be tongues of fire' which separated and came to rest on each of them (v.3), becoming for each an individual possession. Thirdly, ‘all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues' (i.e. languages of some kind) ‘as the Spirit enabled led them.(v.4)

These three experiences seemed like natural phenomena (wind, fire and speech); yet they were supernatural, both in origin and in character. The noise was not wind, but sounded like it; the sight was not fire but resembled it; the speech was in languages which were not ordinary but in some way ‘other ‘’. Again, three of their higher senses were affected, in that they heard the wind-like sound, saw the fire-like apparition and spoke the ‘other' languages. Yet what they experienced was more than sensory; it was significant. So they sought no understand it. “What does this mean? “, the people later asked (v. 12)

If we allow other parts of Scripture to guide our interpretation, it seems that these three signs at least represented a new era of the Spirit which had begun (John the Baptist had bracketed wind and fire Luke 3:16) and the work which he had come to do. If so, the noise-like wind may symbolise power (such as Jesus promised them for witness - Luke 24:4-9; Acts 1:8), the sight like fire  symbolised purity (like the live coal which cleansed Isaiah 6:6-7) and the speech in other languages

symbolised the universality of the Christian church. In what follows in Acts 2, Luke does not mention wind and fire, he concentrates on the third phenomena languages. His emphasis is on the international, multilingual nature of the crowd that was gathered round the 120 believers at Pentecost.

Nothing could have demonstrated more clearly than this the multi-racial, multinational, multilingual nature of the Kingdom of Christ. Pentecost is a dramatic reversal of the curse of Babel. At Babel, human languages were confused and nations were scattered. At Pentecost, the language barrier was supernaturally, over come as a sign that ethnicities, nations and races would now be gathered together in Christ!

AMEN!

“Ascension – Going to the Father”.

The Topic of the Service of 12^th May 2013, at St. Margaret's UCZ Church was entitled: “Ascension – Going to the Father”.

Preacher:  Mr Harrison Mukanga

Scripture Reading:   Psalm 47: 1 – 9

                                     Acts 1: 1 – 11

                                     Luke 24: 44 – 53

SERMON SUMMARY

The three scriptures that we have just read are the basis of the theme of our service, which is: “Ascension – Going to the Father”. To ascend means to go up or to be elevated to a higher level.

In Psalm 47: 1 – 9 David looks at the victory of Jesus of how he has conquered the world. This victory has brought a lot of joy throughout the universe.

In Acts 1: 1 – 11 we read that Jesus appeared to his disciples over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. He instructed them to go to Jerusalem and not leave it and wait for the gift that the Father has promised, which they have heard him speak about. “For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

In Luke 24: 44 – 53 we read that when the disciples heard that Jesus has died they were very afraid and they remained in one room, fearing to go out and face the wrath of the Jews.

Jesus then appeared to them and told them that “The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things.  I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” He then ascended to Heaven and they were filled with joy.

Jesus did not go straight to heaven after his death but stayed on with his people for 40 days so as to familiarise them with the scripture that says that Jesus was indeed the Son of God and King of Kings.

In Psalm 47: 1 – 9 the Jews were delighted that the Messiah was going to restore their earthly kingdom, but they did not understand the reason of his coming.

In Acts 1: 1 – 11 the angel of the Lord told the disciples that “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

They then went to Jerusalem with great joy to wait for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit.

What does the Ascension mean to you and me today?

1.       The Ascension Is Unifying Factor

If Jesus did not ascend to heaven our gathering here at St. Margaret’s Church would be meaningless. Jesus has gone to prepare” mansions” for us in heaven. When he comes back he will take us up and live in these mansions forever.

1 Peter 3: 8 we are told that we should be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.  This ascension should, therefore, bring us together.

2.       It Rekindles Our Hopes and Desires

In John 14: 13 Jesus says: “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” We shall receive the best that God has to give us. In heaven there is no suffering as we are experiencing here on earth.

Our hope and trust should remain in us because he ascended to his Father to prepare a place for us. We are not orphans as we have a Father who is in heaven.

What joy do we have today? We have the joy because our Lord has conquered the world. This joy is of divine possession.

3.       It Invigorates The Spirit of Prayer In Us

What he has told us will come to pass. Matthew 21:22 says “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer" because we are worshiping a living God whose promises shall come to pass.

Our hope and desire must be based on the fact that Jesus has risen and ascended to heaven. Because of the ascension we know our destiny.

AMEN!

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: (From the Church's Weekly Bulletin)

THE ASCENSION 

“And He lifted His hands and blessed them. And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up to heaven”. 

Whether or not we believe the legendary lifting off from Mount Olive is immaterial: What matters is the willing acceptance that He, in some fashion, departed; and if a heaven is somewhere in the sky seems rather implausible to some in this age, that need not affect our faith in a real elsewhere, even thong it lacks any kind of geography. 

So let the myth stand for what it signifies: time after all, is an adjunct of space, but eternity exists outside of time and space we may not need now to picture literal feet vanishing into a literal cloud; but we are much impoverished if we cannot still pin our trust on His actual return to His Father’s house, and hope ourselves to follow Him home.

To which end therefore, let us hold fast and fondly to that last moment, glimpsing the farewell: the green hill on a spring morning; and Him extending scarred hands in benediction, leaving His space with us forever as He fades from sight.

 

Adapted from:  John Reeves.  A Book of Hours, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan/Cambridge UK, 2001, pp. 65-63 

AMEN!

“Gentiles Receive the Good News”.

The Topic of the Service of 5^th May 2013, at St. Margaret's UCZ Church was entitled: “Gentiles Receive the Good News”.

Preacher: Reverend Kuzipa Nalwamba

Scripture Reading:      Zephaniah 3: 14 –20

                                     Acts 16: 11 – 15

                                     John 14: 25 – 31

SERMON SUMMARY

The theme of our service is “Gentiles Receive the Good News”. Ethnic pride is the reason why the Jews resisted other people to receive the Good News. They thought God was an ethnic God who could be domesticated. No matter how they invested in this pride God showed them that he was a God of all people.

In Zephaniah 3: 15 and 17 talks of a future covenant for all people. Israel, like any other nation, has to repent in order for the Jews to get salvation. They were no more essential to God than any other ethnic groups.

Even today people segregate each other on the basis of being Christian or of belonging to the same Church and even the same congregation.

The covenant between God and men is for all the people.

In Acts 16 we read about the conversion of a Gentile from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She became a Christian after Paul and others, who were Jews, introduced Christ to her. She invited them to come and visit her at her house by virtue of her being a Christian. Paul and his companions accepted someone who was not a member of their tribe. She knew that these Jews were not going to judge her by her ethnicity but by the fact that she was a Christian.

Many of us today do segregate others by their tribe or race.

In Acts 16: 11 – 15 we learn that the Holy Spirit is the equaliser and all Christians are baptised in the same way and are identical to one another. The Holy Spirit ensures the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives despite our different backgrounds.

Zambia has been declared a Christian nation. How do we accommodate those Investors who are not Christians? This is our opportunity to demonstrate to them the love and hospitality of God to all mankind.

In our case what is important? Is it ethnicity or faith? Ethnicity is not what fundamentally defines us as God’s people.

Let us think of the way we could include others who are not like us; because whilst we were sinners Christ died for us.

AMEN!

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: (From the Church's Weekly Bulletin)

PRAYING FOR OUR ENEMIES

The first thing we are called to do when we think of others as our enemies is to pray for them. This is certainly not easy. Lt requires discipline to allow those who hate us or those toward whom we have hostile feelings to come into the intimate centre of our hearts.

Yet every time we overcome the impatience with our opponents and are willing to listen to the cry of those who persecute us, we will recognise them as brothers and sisters too.

Praying for our enemies is therefore a real event, the event of reconciliation. It is impossible to lift our enemies up in the presence of God and at the same time continue to hate them.

Seen in the place of prayer, even the unprincipled dictator and the vicious torturer can no longer appear as the object of fear, hatred and revenge, because when we pray for them we stand at the centre of the great mystery of Divine Compassion.

There is probably no prayer as powerful as the prayer for our enemies. But it is also the most difficult prayer since it is most contrary to our impulses. This explains why some people consider prayer for our enemies the main criterion of holiness.

"Circles of Love" adapted from Henri Nouwen's

AMEN!