Living faith

29 April 2015

Opening Prayer/Worship

Hymn: Take my life and let it be

Take my life, and let it be

consecrated, Lord, to thee.
take my moments and my days;

let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands, and let them move

at the impulse of thy love.
take my feet, and let them be

swift and purposeful for thee.

Take my lips, and let me be

filled with messages from thee;
Take my intellect, and use

every power as thou shalt choose.

Take my will, and make it thine;

it shall be no longer mine.
take my heart, it is thine own;

it shall be thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord, I pour

at thy feet its treasure store.
take myself, and I will be

ever, only, all for thee.

Theme: Believe in Jesus Christ

Topic: Living faith

Reading: 1 John 3:16-24

We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. ¹⁷How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? ¹⁸ Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. ¹⁹And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him ²⁰whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. ²¹Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; ²²and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him. ²³ And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. ²⁴All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

Introduction

Action is tougher but a lot better than words, and the same goes with our faith in Jesus Christ.  It is a lot easier to say we believe in Jesus Christ than to put that faith to work.  The Scripture tells us to work out our faith with fear and trembling.  Faith starts with confessing that Jesus is Lord, but should then be reflected in our lives.  How do we put our faith in action?  We put our faith to work through allowing the Holy Spirit to guide our decisions, the things we do, and by emulating Christ our Saviour.  We demonstrate faith when we believe God’s promises to us regardless of our present circumstances.  Our faith is alive when we give no room to fear, lack of trust and unbelief but rather trust that God will do what He says He would do; for without faith it is impossible to please God.      

Questions/Discussion

1. Describe living faith?

Acts 4:5-12

The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem,⁶with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. ⁷When they had made the prisonersstand in their midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’ ⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, ⁹if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, ¹⁰let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. ¹¹This Jesus is “the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.” ¹²There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.’

Hebrews 11:1-6

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ²Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. ³By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. ⁴ By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain’s. Through this he received approval as righteous, God himself giving approval to his gifts; he died, but through his faith he still speaks. ⁵By faith Enoch was taken so that he did not experience death; and ‘he was not found, because God had taken him.’ For it was attested before he was taken away that ‘he had pleased God.’ ⁶And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

James 2:14-26

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? ¹⁵If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, ¹⁶and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill’, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? ¹⁷So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. ¹⁸ But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith.¹⁹You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. ²⁰Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith without works is barren? ²¹Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. ²³Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness’, and he was called the friend of God. ²⁴You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? ²⁶For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead. 

2. What are the lessons for us in John 10:11-18 regarding having a living faith?

John 10:11-18

‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹²The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ¹³The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. ¹⁴I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. ¹⁷For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. ¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.’

3. Discuss the challenges to having a living faith. How do we overcome them?

Psalm 23:1-6 (BCP)

¹     THE LORD is my shepherd; /

therefore can I lack nothing.

²     He shall feed me in a green pasture, /

and lead me forth beside the waters of comfort.

³          He shall restore my soul, /

and bring me forth in the paths of righteousness, for his Name’s sake.

⁴     Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; /

for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff comfort me.

⁵     THOU shalt prepare a table before me in the presence of them that trouble me; /

thou hast anointed my head with oil, and my cup shall be full.

⁶     Surely thy loving-kindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; /

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

      GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;

      As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Matthew 21:28-32

‘What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” ²⁹He answered, “I will not”; but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but he did not go. ³¹Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, the tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³²For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax-collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

Philippians 2:12-18

Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; ¹³for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. ¹⁴ Do all things without murmuring and arguing, ¹⁵so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. ¹⁶It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labour in vain. ¹⁷But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you— ¹⁸and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me.

Intercession/Worship

Conclusion

Our faith is alive when we give no room to fear, lack of trust and unbelief but rather trust that God will do what He says He would do; for without faith it is impossible to please God.

Closing Prayer (Collect for Fourth Sunday of Easter)

O God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make us perfect in every good work to do your will, and work in us that which is well-pleasing in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.