Week beginning 16th October

Song: All hail the power of Jesu’s name

All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name! | Christ Church Psalm Sing - YouTube

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,
There are times in life when I feel overwhelmed. Times when I think I should be able to handle everything on my own and times when I’ve chosen not to ask for help. Forgive me, Lord, for not reaching out. Help me to see the blessing that comes with asking for help.

Your Word teaches us that as a body of Christ, we are designed to share our burdens. We are called to lift one another up and serve your children. You never intended for us to handle everything on our own. Help me remember this the next time I struggle with asking for help. Allowing others to help me opens the door for you to work in and through us.

Lord, you also promise to bless those who give. What a wonderful gift! Thank you for teaching us how important it is to ask for help. Bring to mind someone I can reach out to— a friend, family member, neighbour, or someone from church. I know you have the right person in mind who will be glad to help. Thank you for the blessings we receive when we help, serve, and give. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.

Taken from: www.christianevents.com.ng

Song: Jesus the name high over all

Jesus! the Name High Over All (Tune: Lydia - 6vv) [with lyrics for congregations] - YouTube

Reading: Acts chapter 8, verses 24 to 40

What can we tell from the story of Philip? He is portrayed as a servant, a preacher and an evangelist. He is recorded as one of 7 deacons appointed to assist in the life of the church.

Shortly after this story, Stephen was martyred and the church persecuted and scattered.

Philip was outside his religious and cultural zone. “Go to the road between Jerusalem and Gaza” was the message he received. This was a desert, in Samaria. The animosity between Jews and Samaritans is a matter of record. This would all have been in his mind, along with thoughts like “What do I do when I get there?” and “How will I know?”

On arrival, he is confronted by this Ethiopian and his entourage; he was a very powerful man who would not have been travelling alone. There would not have been just the one man in a chariot, he would have had a driver, and possibly other servant. There would have been outriders, escorts, and vehicles for the goods needed to make a long journey. Ethiopia was along way away. It was beyond the reaches of the Roman Empire.

Approaching this entourage, he would first have seen a cloud of dust. “How do I know who to contact?” he would have thought. Then he hears this man, reading from the scroll of Isaiah. Silent reading was not know at this time of history, so it would have been aloud. Philip hears, and know that this is his man. “Do you understand what you are reading?” he asked. “How can I?” comes the reply.

This unnamed Ethiopian has a faith in God. That would not have been so unusual; there were people who rejected the ways of the pagans, and accepted the God of the Jews. They were not full converts, or proselytes, they were know as God-fearers. He has made a journey of several weeks to worship. We can assume that he was wealthy, as well as having an important position, because he had his own copy of the scriptures (or at least part of them.)

He invited Philip, a total unknown, into his chariot. Philip begins his preaching by starting at the point where the man is. H refers the man to the prophecy of Isaiah in chapter 53. Where Isaiah predicts the sacrifice of Jesus.

“Why can’t I be baptised?” he asks. A eunuch could not be a proselyte, but could be baptised as a Christian.

The journey back to Ethiopia would have taken weeks. On the journey, the entourage, who had been an audience to all this, would have been talking. On arrival home, they would have been talking more to their friends and families, about their journey, and the unusual events. The eunuch would have read on further as the journey progressed, and presumably have reached at least chapter 56.

We know that the Coptic church in Ethiopia is very ancient. Could it be that it arose as a result of this, or a similar, event?

Philip went northwards, and evangelised the coastal cities. He ended up at Caesarea, home of the centurion Cornelius. Caesarea was not a Jewish city, and Philip became leader of the church there.

To take away from the story; We need to look for, and take, the opportunities that present themselves to us. We must start where people are. We must be enthusiastic, and full of the Spirit.

We never know where the seeds we cast will fall, and where they will grow.

Song: The church’s one foundation

The church's one foundation - YouTube