URC Matthew 4: 12-23

CALL TO WORSHIP

To all God’s people present here: everyone is welcome!

Unprepared or ready; uncertain or sure,

Remember God loves you: listen to God’s voice, because

Now is the time to follow God’s call.

(StF 24) Come now is the time to Worship

PRAYERS

A GATHERING PRAYER

Lord, you invite us to turn,

to make a new start and to follow you.

You call us beyond ourselves.

You call us to welcome friend and stranger

until the whole world has turned

and worships you.

Amen.

A PRAYER OF APPROACH

Lord of light and salvation,

the stronghold of our lives,

we come today to worship you.

You shone in the darkness

and have given us hope,

we walk towards your light today

knowing that your light can never be extinguished.

Lord, we come today to dwell in your house.

Amen.

A PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Forgiving God, we are sorry when we say one thing and do another; we are sorry when we say yes and then say no; we are sorry when you call us and we choose not to follow. Lord, you have called us to follow you: we are sorry when we choose to ignore you; we are sorry when we choose to do what we want; we are sorry and respond to your call. As you called the fishermen to leave their nets and follow you, help us to follow you too, to go in a new direction with you. Transform us and make us whole, and help us to enjoy the journey with you. Amen.

ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS

Loving and merciful God,

who has called us to repentance:

we are truly forgiven by you.

We are washed clean by your blood

and can respond to your call to follow you,

knowing we are healed and restored.

Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

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 our trespasses and we forgive those who trespass against us.

For your is the power and the glory

Amen

(StF 495) Dear lord and Father

Offering during Hymn

READING

Isaiah 9: 1-4

[a]Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future, he will honour Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—

2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. 3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. 4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.

1 Corinthians 1: 10-18

A Church Divided Over Leaders

10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,[a] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas[b]”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

(StF 175) Light of the World

Matthew 4: 12-23

Jesus Begins to Preach

12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”[a]

17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.

21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus Heals the Sick

23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

(StF 673) Will you come and follow me?

SERMON

In our reading from Isaiah this morning we are presented with the contrast between light and darkness, we get the idea of light breaking through the darkness representing fear and hopelessness. Those of us who are blessed with sight can sometimes wake in a darkened room and be totally disorientated and find relief when the light is switched on. There is a joy and sense of relief when the light is on ask any child who is afraid of the dark, our grandson needs a night light and cuddles from Nana to settle into sleep when he and his sister stay over.

For the new testament writers the idea would be understood as the Messiah who will and break the yoke of the oppressor and bring liberation to the poor and needy. So, this promise of deliverance would be a great source of joy.

It is an ideal to preach this text of Epiphany at the beginning of the year, to proclaim light within the darkness of the winter months this time after the celebration of Christmas, I spoke last week about how bare our Churches now look after the decorations have come down, but this is the time to prepare ourselves for the coming year to embrace the Good News 0f the Gospel.

In our Gospel reading this morning we get the introduction to the start of Jesus's ministry, Matthew link this to the arrest of John the Baptist, Jesus has been baptised and had been tempted for 40 days Matthew makes it clear the reason why Jesus moved from Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum to fulfil the prophecy because the it was the area of Zebulun and Naphtali which we have heard about before in our reading from Isaiah. This fulfilment of the prophesy is only the start of Jesu’s fulfilment of old testament prophesies.

Matthew almost always uses the phrase “kingdom of heaven” instead of “kingdom of God.” As Matthew’s main audience ore Jews, they prefer “kingdom of heaven,” because of their concern about the potential for using God’s name in vain (Exodus 20:7). The kingdom of heaven is the place where God rules. It’s not defined by a place but by hearts given over to God’s rule. Here Jesus promises that the kingdom is at hand.

Consider for a moment what life will be like where God’s kingdom is fully come. In the kingdom, there will be no need for armies—or prisons—or locks on the door. No police force will be needed. People will look for ways to give rather than to grab. There will be no false advertising—no manipulation. Wouldn’t you like to live in such a peaceable place! So, Pray for God’s kingdom to come!

We get the briefest introduction to the first disciples, all we are told Jesus walks along and says to the fishermen Simon, Andrew, and James and John to leave their father and follow him. it is these men who become the inner circle of Jesus's disciples, but this simple act is strange in itself, as Rabbis don’t look for students, the usual way is that the student approaches the Rabbi. We can take some comfort from this as we don’t have to look for Jesus he comes looking for us!

We also need to remember Their boat and their father are their worldly security. Their boat, of course, represents their livelihood—their way to make a living—probably a comfortable living. Their father represents their connection to family, a connection, that involves spiritual responsibilities to honour your father, it also affords the kind of safety net that we now expect governments to provide. If these fishermen were injured or unemployed, their families would help them. If they were celebrating a marriage or mourning a death, their family would be help. To leave boat and father to follow a rabbi is a give up this security.

Jesus then begins to teach preach and heal, notice the order teaching and preaching come first he has something important to tell us. that this kingdom has come near. We catch glimpses of it in the lives of those people for whom the kingdom has truly come. We see their quiet strength and feel their gentle touch. In telling us that the kingdom has come near, Jesus is telling us that we can dwell in this kingdom. We have only to repent. But what does repent actually mean?

Very often when we have the grandchildren over, I’m sure most of us have seen this scenario it’s interesting to watch as something gets broken, or Zac the youngest wants something to his big sister has, then we have pulling and complaining crying begins eventually it calms down and we hear the words “I’m sorry” but is it really repentance, or are they just words?

What does it mean to repent? Although it can have a sense of remorse and sadness attached to it, the primary meaning of the Greek word is to ‘change your mind’. I wonder how we would interpret Jesus’ words differently if we heard them as, ‘Change your mind, the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Perhaps then the call to ‘repent’ would be as much about losing previous certainties as about giving up sinful behaviour. Paul called on the Corinthian Christians to change their minds once again, to give up their divisions and quarrels and to be united. They had been losing the plot and needed to come back to an understanding of the cross is this similar to Churches today maybe this is one of the reasons for the falling away of people in our Churches.

Repentance is not a one-off event. It is a repeated call to ‘change your mind’.

(StF 544) As a Deer

PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING AND INTERCESSION

Father God, Thank you that you sent Jesus who came to give us freedom through the cross. You have called us to put down our ‘nets’ and follow you. You have offered us new life in you – a new path to follow, as a new light has dawned. Thank you that you walk beside us on the journey, the journey from darkness into your marvellous light. Thank you that you offer us life full of adventure, life in all its fullness. Amen.

God of healing, we entrust to you in Jesus’ name those places where there is great division and hostility; places where religious intolerance has encouraged violence and persecution; places where power struggles have made war zones of cities and graveyards of villages. We entrust to you communities where mistrust has brought isolation and fear has brought loss; families where misunderstanding has brought brokenness and bitterness has brought grief. Shine your light into all places where the darkness of division has settled, and bring us all your peace in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

All to Jesus I Surrender

BLESSING

Lord, send us out as renewed people. Help us to turn away from what is wrong and turn to what is right. Help us to turn towards our neighbours and to all who are lost. Help us to turn away from distractions and towards more adventuring with you. Help us now and always. Amen.