God Our Helper

27 August 2014

Opening Prayer/Worship

Hymn: O God Our Help in Ages Past

Theme: God Our Maker

Topic: God Our Helper

Reading: Psalm 124:1-8

If the Lord had not been on our side, let Israel now say; if the Lord had not been on our side, when enemies rose up against us; then would they have swallowed us up alive in their fierce anger toward us; Then would the waters have overwhelmed us and the torrent gone over us; then would the raging waters have gone right over us. Blessed be the Lord! he has not given us over to be a prey for their teeth. We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

Introduction

The Lord is not just our Maker; He is our Helper too, especially in the time of trouble.  The exodus of Israelites from Egypt is an excellent example of how great the help of the Lord is.  Despite several warnings from God to Pharaoh to let Israelites go, the king of Egypt refused to let them leave.  However, following some plagues sent against the Egyptians, Pharaoh yielded and let the Israelites leave.  Pharaoh later changed his mind and pursued the Israelites with the intent of re-enslaving them.  While the Lord allowed the children of Israel pass through the Red Sea unhurt, He destroyed Pharaoh and his army.  The Israelites would have continued to live under the bondage and tyranny of Pharaoh had the Lord not come to their rescue.  Similarly, Christians, called and chosen to be free in Christ, experience bondage in several ways- sickness, fear, loss of a loved one, economic hardship, etc. Whatever we may be facing today, let us remember that we serve a God who is able to intervene and deliver us.

Questions/Discussion

1. In what ways do we need help from the Lord?

Psalm 46:1-11

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
   a very present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
   though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
³ though its waters roar and foam,
   though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
   the holy habitation of the Most High.
⁵ God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
   God will help it when the morning dawns.
⁶ The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
   he utters his voice, the earth melts.
⁷ The Lord of hosts is with us;
   the God of Jacob is our refuge.
⁸ Come, behold the works of the Lord;
   see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
   he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
   he burns the shields with fire.
¹⁰ ‘Be still, and know that I am God!
   I am exalted among the nations,
   I am exalted in the earth.’
¹¹ The Lord of hosts is with us;
   the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Matthew 16:13-20

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ ¹⁴And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ¹⁵He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ ¹⁷And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ ²⁰Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Romans 12:1-8

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. ³ For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, ⁵so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. ⁶We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ⁷ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; ⁸the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

2. What are the lessons for us in Exodus 1:8-22, 2:1-10 regarding help of the Lord?

Exodus 1:8-22, 2:1-10

Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. ⁹He said to his people, ‘Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. ¹⁰Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.’ ¹¹Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labour. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. ¹²But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. ¹³The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, ¹⁴and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labour. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them. ¹⁵ The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, ¹⁶‘When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live.’ ¹⁷But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live. ¹⁸So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, ‘Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live?’ ¹⁹The midwives said to Pharaoh, ‘Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.’ ²⁰So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong. ²¹And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. ²²Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, ‘Every boy that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live.’

2:1-10 Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. ²The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him for three months. ³When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. ⁴His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him. ⁵ The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. ⁶When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. ‘This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,’ she said. ⁷Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’ ⁸Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Yes.’ So the girl went and called the child’s mother. ⁹Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.’ So the woman took the child and nursed it. ¹⁰When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, ‘because’, she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.’

3. What is our role in receiving help from the Lord?

Psalm 77:1-20

¹ I cry aloud to God,
   aloud to God, that he may hear me.
² In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
   in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
   my soul refuses to be comforted.
³ I think of God, and I moan;
   I meditate, and my spirit faints.
⁴ You keep my eyelids from closing;
   I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
⁵ I consider the days of old,
   and remember the years of long ago.
⁶ I commune with my heart in the night;
   I meditate and search my spirit:
⁷ ‘Will the Lord spurn for ever,
   and never again be favourable?
⁸ Has his steadfast love ceased for ever?
   Are his promises at an end for all time?
⁹ Has God forgotten to be gracious?
   Has he in anger shut up his compassion?’
¹⁰ And I say, ‘It is my grief
   that the right hand of the Most High has changed.’ 

¹¹ I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord;
   I will remember your wonders of old.
¹² I will meditate on all your work,
   and muse on your mighty deeds.
¹³ Your way, O God, is holy.
   What god is so great as our God?
¹⁴ You are the God who works wonders;
   you have displayed your might among the peoples.
¹⁵ With your strong arm you redeemed your people,
   the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
¹⁶ When the waters saw you, O God,
   when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
   the very deep trembled.
¹⁷ The clouds poured out water;
   the skies thundered;
   your arrows flashed on every side.
¹⁸ The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
   your lightnings lit up the world;
   the earth trembled and shook.
¹⁹ Your way was through the sea,
   your path, through the mighty waters;
   yet your footprints were unseen.
²⁰ You led your people like a flock
   by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Philippians 4:4-9

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ⁵Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. ⁶Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ⁸ Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Intercession

Hymn

Conclusion

All our help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth.  

Prayer over the Gifts

God of glory, receive all we offer this day as a symbol of our love, and increase in us that true and perfect gift. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Eucharistic Prayer 1

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is indeed right that we should praise you, gracious God, for you created all things. You formed us in your own image: male and female you created us. When we turned away from you in sin, you did not cease to care for us, but opened a path of salvation for all people. You made a covenant with Israel,

and through your servants Abraham and Sarah gave the promise of a blessing to all nations. Through Moses you led your people from bondage into freedom; through the prophets you renewed your promise of salvation. Therefore, with them, and with all your saints who have served you in every age, we give thanks and raise our voices to proclaim the glory of your name.

Holy, holy, holy Lord,

God of power and might,

heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

Holy God, source of life and goodness, all creation rightly gives you praise. In the fullness of time, you sent your Son Jesus Christ, to share our human nature, to live and die as one of us, to reconcile us to you, the God and Father of all. He healed the sick and ate and drank with outcasts and sinners; he opened the eyes of the blind and proclaimed the good news of your kingdom to the poor and to those in need. In all things he fulfilled your gracious will.

On the night he freely gave himself to death, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread, and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, and said, “Take, eat: this is my body which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”

After supper he took the cup of wine; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and said, “Drink this, all of you: this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.”

Gracious God, his perfect sacrifice destroys the power of sin and death; by raising him to life you give us life for evermore. Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith.

Christ has died.

Christ is risen.

Christ will come again.

Recalling his death, proclaiming his resurrection, and looking for his coming again in glory, we offer you, Father, this bread and this cup. Send your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts, that all who eat and drink at this table may be one body and one holy people, a living sacrifice in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory is yours, almighty Father, now and for ever. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

And now, as our Saviour Christ has taught us, we are bold to say,

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Breaking of the Bread

“I am the bread of life,” says the Lord.

“Whoever comes to me will never be hungry;

whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

Taste and see that the Lord is good;

happy are they who trust in him!

The Communion

The gifts of God for the People of God.

Thanks be to God.

Prayer after Communion

Closing Prayer

Almighty God, the giver of all perfect gifts; send upon us Your Holy Spirit, that we may constantly have your help in the face of life’s challenges.  We ask this through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

The Blessing

May love, joy and peace be yours in abundance; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.

Dismissal

Go forth in the name of Christ.

Thanks be to God.