Devotional Materials. Week Commencing Sunday 21st August 2022
Call to worship
“In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude as Christ Jesus: who being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant.” Philippians 2: 5, 6
“God is love.” 1 John 4:8
It’s great to have Martin and Mary Barber with us. We are all called to show the servant love of Jesus Christ to others, and we will be hearing about their missionary service this morning. Good to have you with us.
Opening Prayer
Heavenly Father we thank you for your great faithfulness and unfailing love. We see your great glory and power in Creation, we enjoy the fruits of your Creation, so many material blessings, and we ourselves, along with the whole of your Creation, continue to exist moment by moment because of your sustaining hand.
Father we thank you that you love to redeem that which has grown ugly with sin, and create beauty in its place. We thank you for giving your own Son as an atoning sacrifice for the redemption for our sins, though it cost you everything to do so.
Thank you for that love which means that by your Spirit you have come to live within us. You do not give up on us, rather you work in our hearts and minds to refine and purify our lives; to increasingly free us from the grip of sin, and make us more like the true Son- the Lord Jesus Christ, showing more of his beauty of life, in gentleness and patience, in compassion and mercy, in a zeal for your truth and lives led for your glory.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven. Thank you our loving Lord. We praise you. Amen.
Opening Hymn
‘Praise, my soul, the King of heaven’ MP 560 (Piano)
Henry Francis Lyte
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyRIVbdsi4c
Mary and Martin (10 mins) 1
(With own reading if required)
Hymn
‘You shall go out with joy’ MP 796 (Guitar)
Stuart Dauermann
htps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unWnWSgoSt0
Prayers
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Lord, there are marvellous things that I do not know, nor can I comprehend.
Lord, things that happen in my life, and things that happen in my friends lives.
Lord, I desire to be thankful, to appreciate everything that comes across my path.
Lord, so often life hurts, I get angry -- upset, I do not understand, yet Lord You ask me to be thankful for everything, and have faith – thank You.
Lord, keep me thankful. You send sunshine and rain on the just and the unjust, you are kind to all.
Lord, you care so much about me that you chasten in order to build character and godliness in me.
Lord, I thank you for mercy, for the hunger for righteousness, for forgiveness, for purity, for providing for my needs.
Lord, I thank you for prayer, that I can come before you and call You Father.
That I can cast my burdens on you.
Lord, I thank you for my heart, the treasure and light you placed in there -- the Holy Spirit.
Lord, it seems most of the time, what happens is about me.
Lord, I thank you that You gently remind me that the things are not about me, however, my life and what happens is more about you, your will, and your Kingdom.
Lord, I thank You, I praise you. Lord, in you do I find strength and courage to go on.
Lord, I thank you for being the author and finisher of my faith – and that in you is hope everlasting.
Lord, I thank you for the precious blood of Christ shed for me.
Thank You Lord God! Amen
Prayer for Missionaries
Heavenly Father we thank you for Tim and Linda, Martin and Mary here with us today. We would bring them and indeed all missionaries before you. Father we thank you for all who have gone to other countries with the good news of Jesus. When their work is difficult and tiring, make them strong. When they are lonely and homesick, remind them that you are with them; when they are uncertain what to do, guide them. Keep them at all times loving you; for Jesus sake. Amen
Mary and Martin (15mins)
With own reading if required)
Hymn
‘Be Thou my Vision’ 51 MP (Piano)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clqdCXxqYvI
Martin and Mary Barber (5mins)
(With own reading if required)
Hymn (Piano)
‘There is a Redeemer’ MP 673 (Piano)
Melody Green
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_YM_hYzcPo
Communion
Final hymn
‘All the way my Saviour leads me’ MP 22 (Piano)
Fanny J Crosby
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnEZyfzkJgs
Blessing
Go in peace, be very courageous, hold on to what is good, do not return evil for evil, strengthen the faint hearted, support the weak, help the afflicted, honour all people, love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit; and the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.’ Amen.
1This service is recorded and will be shown on ‘YouTube’ later this Sunday. However, it might be that you do not have access to YouTube and so are unable to hear the missionaries we have with us today. I have therefore included these pieces about missionaries Hudson Taylor and Amy Carmichael.
Hudson Taylor
Hudson Taylor was a missionary in China and the founder of China Inland Missions (CIM). He worked in China for 51 years and even worked on translating the Bible and growing his mission’s organization.
Hudson had grown up with believing parents but did not come to faith himself until he was 17. After becoming a believer Taylor had a desire to go to China to be a missionary.
He had always been fascinated with China when he was younger, so he started to prepare himself. He studied medicine and mandarin so he would be ready to preach in China.
When Taylor was 21 years old he sailed to China. Arriving he started to preach the word but would run into crowds that would not pay attention to what he had to say because of his English clothes. This is when Taylor decided to wear what many Chinese men wore and grow a ponytail as many men did.
This change of the gospel being presented by someone foreign but dressed natively was profound. Taylor was greatly criticized at the time for this, many lived the English lifestyle while in China preaching and did not want to give it up.
Taylor saw the spread of the gospel as foremost important even over comfort.
Taylor eventually broke away from the mission’s organization that he originally came with and was an independent missionary relying on God for many of his needs. At this time he also met his wife Maria Dyer.
In 1861 Taylor became ill and returned to England and he used that time to grow the missionary population in China. During this time he created China Inland Mission.
He saw a great need for missionaries in the interior of China where many were unreached people groups. He soon returned to China with twenty-one other men and women working under him.
Much like what he did while previously in China, Hudson Taylor had all of the missionaries working under him dress like those native to the area, and not raise funds but instead trust God to provide.
There was much tension between England and China at the time, and there were also some working under Taylor that felt like he was too controlling.
Because of these situations, some left their work with China Inland Missions.
Taylor continued to work and pray, and in 1887 his mission’s organization accepted 102 to service with CIM.
Taylor died in 1905 on his eleventh trip to China, he had accomplished much in his lifetime from growing the presence of the Christian faith in China to changing the mindset of those going to other cultures for missions.
Even today the CIM is at work, now under the name of Overseas Missionary Fellowship (International).
Amy Carmichael
Amy Carmichael grew up in a well off family in Ireland, but at a young age realized that not everyone else was as well off as she was and a deep desire to help those in need.
Amy started where she lived, she would pass out tracts and food to the poor in her area. She even lived with the shawlies, those too poor to afford a hat and prayed earnestly for a Church.
Her work with the shawlies was fruitful as she was able to receive funding and land to build a building on for the shawlies and others less fortunate to worship and have community.
She soon realized that she was called to missions overseas. She first went to Japan and similar to Hudson Taylor felt the need to fit into the culture as to not impede the gospel in any way.
Amy was there for just over a year but saw many become Christians. She eventually had to leave because of the impact the climate had on her neuralgia.
Although her need to leave Japan was discouraging, the Lord had even more planned for Amy’s life. She soon arrived in India where she travelled around sharing the gospel after learning the language Tamil.
One day a young girl named Preena came to her, she was a slave at the Hindu temple and had heard what Amy was telling some women and Amy would be a good person to come to.
Amy then invited her in and continued to rescue other girls who were sold by their parents to the Hindu temple.
When she started to let children in she was saving the children but endangering herself, she knew she could be thrown in prison.
She then realized that although she was not married or had any kids of her own, she was to love these children who were not loved. She founded the Dohnavur Fellowship and continued to take in temple children.
The Hindu priests were very upset when they found out what she was doing, and surprisingly even some in the Christian community did not think her work was worth-while.
Amy continued, she wanted to know more about the Indian practices and found she could get an up-close look and help rescue more children by dying her skin with tea, and wearing what was typically worn by the lower class.
Growing up she never liked her brown eyes, but now they were a blessing as they helped disguise her and enabled her to get into the temples to rescue children.
Amy continued to help temple children even after hurting her leg and being bed-ridden. She helped direct the Dohnavur Fellowship from her room and wrote many books.
Three years before she died she got to witness the outlawing of temple prostitution.
Amy Carmichael was a mother to many and inspired many also to go into missions.
Her tireless work in India freed many temple children, and today the Dohnavur Fellowship is still around helping those in dangerous situations.
(From https://justdisciple.com/christian-missionaries/ )
David Barnes 17/8/22