Dr MJ Du Plessis Reformed Church Bellville 12 November 2006 (Holy Communion) Scripture NIV

REFORMED CHURCH BELLVILLE: SUNDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2006: MORNING SERVICE

Sing before: Psalm 78:12

Let us commence this meeting with God by declaring openly to one another and to God:
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Beloved grace and peace be to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, through the mighty working of God the Holy Spirit.
Amen

Psalm of praise: Psalm 71:1+2

Confession of faith: Apostolic

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried. He descended into Hell, the third day He rose again from the dead, He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, a holy catholic* Church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.
Amen.

After the reading of the Law we confess our guilt and pray for forgiveness and a new life before God with Psalm 40:4.

Law
Psalm: 40:4
Psalm: 144:1

Prayer:

Doxology
Worship
Confession of sins
Forgiveness
Gratitude
Prayer for the need of the congregation for the church, the authorities and the sinful world and appeal to God's promises.
General prayer
Enlightenment from the Holy Spirit for the sake of the ministry of the Word.

Amen

Psalm: 27:1

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1
Text: 1 Corinthians 1:23+24

"But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God".

When He died for us the Lord Jesus Christ did not consider our dignity or status. He came for all who are sincere, no matter what position in life, whether rich or poor.

In verse 18 Paul says that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.

It would appear that to those people the cross has lost its power!
The fault lies not with the Lord Jesus' merit on the cross, but with those people who fail to understand the meaning of his death on the cross and the salvation that went with it.
God considers such people to be despisers of the cross.

One feels immediately that Paul is dealing with a conflict.

The Holy Spirit guides him to write about the concept "wisdom".
Wisdom is not always wisdom.
It all depends on who it is that determines what wisdom is.
Also on the point of departure.

That is what this passage is about. Some people are very clever and they can argue with great clarity about everything. The merit of Christ on the cross is a matter for discussion among the people.

Some who have the wisdom that comes from the Holy Spirit understand the depth of this matter and the almight of God.
On the other hand there are people who consider themselves to be wise and who in the eyes of the world are held to be wise but who are foolish before God – they are the people who reject the Lord Jesus.

The different understandings of what wisdom is, is caused by the fact that people cannot read and interpret the Counsel of God.

To us the course of history appears to be wrong but God knows that it is right.
Likewise it appears to many to be wrong that Jesus can be God and that He can die and arise from death at will.
To the unbeliever the matter is even more unclear because he refuses to accept that he needs help and that Christ had to propitiate his sins because he cannot do so himself.

And so it is that the intelligent world is not intelligent, but foolish.

Such wisdom is rejected by God.
Such wisdom disempowers mankind.

As against that we stand with the true wisdom. What makes us so intelligent?

God has in His unlimited grace sent the Lord Jesus Christ to deliver us from the foolishness of obedience to the devil.
God Himself – through the guidance of the Holy Spirit – reveals these facts to us so that we know and believe.
To confirm this to us further the Lord Jesus Christ invites us today to partake of this spiritual feast with Him.

At this supper He reminds us of His ministry of reconciliation and is our understanding and knowledge of this matter again strengthened and confirmed.

It is foolishness to worship a messiah (redeeming god) of your own creation and imagination.
Wisdom is to acknowledge and confess God the Redeemer.
It is foolishness to try to test your intellect against that of God.
Wisdom is not to question the Counsel of God and not to try to prove our earthly understandings as wise or unwise.

For our salvation God sent a Messiah who had to be crucified.

He was actually crucified.
Our history made Him despised and eventually He was crucified as one despised.
The Lord now tells us – if this fact affects your faith so as to make Christ unacceptable to you then your wisdom is foolishness.

The sacrament of Holy Communion and the Bible proclaim that Christ who was crucified is your salvation and redemption. The Holy Spirit confirms this also with these two instruments.

This crucified Christ is the power of God.

He proves His power over life and death.

He heals the sick.
He forgives sinners their sins.
He lets the powers hell even before His death pray for mercy and that the Lord Jesus Christ not punish them before their time.

This Lord Jesus Christ went through the gates of death and opened them so that the light of the eternal life might shine over us – we who were caught in the darkness of death.

"... but we preach Christ crucified … Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God!'

Amen

Prayer
Psalm: 119:20
Formulary for Holy Communion
Psalm 23
During celebration: Psalm 116
Psalm 118
Closing Prayer
Closing Psalm: 107:1+2+4

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Amen

Dr MJ Du Plessis
Reformed Church Bellville
12 November 2006 (Holy Communion)
Scripture NIV