Post by John on Dec 8, 2013 23:00:42 GMT -5
Mike Turner Captain of 1st Saffron Walden Boys Brigade Company led “Songs of Praise” at Saffron Walden Baptist Church on Sunday evening December 8th, the Second Sunday in Advent
Sue Pearce introduced him to us.
Mike said that he had asked a couple of friends to choose a hymn and associate a comment with it and that John Maddams would start with a short introduction.
John replied “How short is short?” and Mike said “Short John”
So these are the words of John's prepared introduction though in delivering it he cut it from 4 minutes to 3.
If you looked at a street map of London just South of the Thames, near London Bridge, between Southwark Cathedral and Bermondsey in the East,, there runs a wide road that leads into London Bridge Road, called Tooley Street. Off it are a lot of small roads called Lanes leading to the river. Close to the junction with London Bridge Road the street name changes, but off it is a narrow road also called Tooley Street, and off it used to be Carter's Lane down which carts travelled to link with the river jetties.
Down there was a small alley & on the corner with it was a Baptist Chapel which had strong associations with this Saffron Walden Baptist chapel during the 1809 – 1848 period..
The minister at Carter's Lane then, was Dr John Rippon who in 1812 called a meeting in his large vestry, of Particular Baptist Ministers from London and the Home Counties including our minister Josiah Wilkinson aged 26 who had grown up there since a baby and was trained by John as a preacher. From that meeting in 1813 what we now call the Baptist Union or BUGB immerged.
John Rippon a Devon man trained at Bristol was minister there all his life, and in 1787 he published a collection of hymns called Rippon's Selection one of which In a moment we will sing.
John died in 1836 and about a decade later the chapel was demolished to allow for widening London Bridge Road and the congregation moved to New Park Street a chapel accommodating 1,200 people which by 1856 was down to 80 people but then called a young Essex preacher then minister at Waterbeach in Cambridgeshire, Charles Haddon Spurgeon whose ministry filled the chapel with people and the Church later moved to a site opposite the Elephant and Castle Inn known as the Metropolitan Tabernacle where it remains today as a thriving congregation.
All of which shows what our God can do from small beginnings. The writer of this hymn was Robert Keen, precentor of Carter Lane Chapel from 1776 – 1795. He was Manager of the Particular Baptist Fund and a trustee of 2 London Churches founded by the great Congregationalist Evangelist George Whitfield at Moorfields and Tottenham Court Road.
The hymn is based on Isaiah 43 v 1-5 including these words
431 But now, this is what the LORD says--
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
3For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.
4Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you,
and people in exchange for your life.
5Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.
and 2 Corinthians 4 v 16
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day
It reminds us that as God was with Isaiah, the People of God,and Paul, in all circumstances and in all conditions, so He is with each of us individually, and together as a Church here, and with our fellow Christians in the Mission of His Universal Church- locally, nationally and globally.
SO WE SHOULD SET OUR LIFE UPON A FIRM FOUNDATION
How firm a foundation, you saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He has said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?
In every condition, in sickness, in health;
In poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth;
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea,
As your days may demand, shall your strength ever be.
Fear not, I am with you, O be not dismayed,
For I am your God and will still give you aid;
I’ll strengthen and help you, and cause you to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
When through the deep waters I call you to go,
The rivers of woe shall not you overflow;
For I will be with you, your troubles to bless,
And sanctify to you your deepest distress.
When through fiery trials your pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be your supply;
The flame shall not hurt you; I only design
Your dross to consume, and your gold to refine.
Even down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.
The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavour to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.
Mike mentioned that visiting FIRM FOUNDATIONS at Boys Brigade HQ at Feldon many years after he had left Sawbridgeworth he bumped into another former member of the 1st Sawbridgeworth Boys Brigade Company, Ron, a former Banardo boy. After a chat, Ron said he had to get off as he had a service to lead. Mike remarked that that was quite a demanding responsibility, and Ron said “Well I tell 'em Jesus loves 'em, what more do they want to know?”
Mike referred to their BB Bible Class, Sunday mornings 10.-10.45 and how their Minister who was a very busy man made time and effort to be there each week to lead it as their BB Captain. “Why, he wondered, did he spend so much time with us?” He said “We used to sing choruses and here are 3 of them. At the time they did not mean much but years later the penny dropped”
Yesterday, today for ever
Jesus is the same;
All may change but Jesus never
Glory to His name,
Glory to His name
Glory to His name
All may change but Jesus never
Glory to His name.
Living he loved me, dying he saved me;
Buried, he carried my sins far away;
Rising, He justified freely for ever
One day He's coming – O Glorious day!
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things on earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.
May the mind of Christ my saviour grow in me from day to day
We sang Hymn Number 144 “O come, O come Immanuel”
O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times gave us the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Mike read Colossians 1 verses 15-17
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by him all things were created: all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together”
We are into the season of Advent, the time when we remember that Jesus came to our planet, in human form
Of course he had already been here, for Jesus is LORD of all, the creator and producer of all things
The universe had been designed and created by Jesus as the son of God. He with the Father and the Holy Spirit as God was already here before any of it began., All things were made for him and through him.
In 3 verses “all things” is emphasized 5 times
and He came to rescue you and me, us.
Mike said “How I love the words “JESUS OUR BLESSED REDEEMER” Redeeming means buying back that which already belonged to Him. He created us. We all belong to Him but we had let him down , rebelled against Him. Sold ourselves to Satan, but Jesus came to redeem us, to buy us back with the price of his own shed blood as he was flogged and crucified as a living sacrifice to cancel the power and consequences of our sin.
According to the account of the good news about Jesus Christ written by his disciple John, Chapter 1 verses 1 – 5 we read
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
Come see his hands and his feet
the scars that speak of sacrifice
Hands that flung start into space
to cruel nails surrendered.
Ann Revell read a poem from Helen Steiner Rice's collection, by an unknown author.
Winds through the olive trees
Softly did blow,
'Round little Bethlehem
Long, long ago.
Sheep on the hillside lay
Whiter than snow.
Shepherds were watching them,
Long, long ago.
Then from the happy sky,
Angels bent low,
Singing their songs of joy,
Long, long ago.
For in a manger bed,
Cradled we know,
Christ came to Bethlehem,
Long, long ago.
We sang Hymn Number 176 Silent Night
Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Saviour is born
Christ, the Saviour is born
Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth "
Mike closed with the prayer attributed to St Patrick's Breastplate
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all who love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
Sue Pearce introduced him to us.
Mike said that he had asked a couple of friends to choose a hymn and associate a comment with it and that John Maddams would start with a short introduction.
John replied “How short is short?” and Mike said “Short John”
So these are the words of John's prepared introduction though in delivering it he cut it from 4 minutes to 3.
If you looked at a street map of London just South of the Thames, near London Bridge, between Southwark Cathedral and Bermondsey in the East,, there runs a wide road that leads into London Bridge Road, called Tooley Street. Off it are a lot of small roads called Lanes leading to the river. Close to the junction with London Bridge Road the street name changes, but off it is a narrow road also called Tooley Street, and off it used to be Carter's Lane down which carts travelled to link with the river jetties.
Down there was a small alley & on the corner with it was a Baptist Chapel which had strong associations with this Saffron Walden Baptist chapel during the 1809 – 1848 period..
The minister at Carter's Lane then, was Dr John Rippon who in 1812 called a meeting in his large vestry, of Particular Baptist Ministers from London and the Home Counties including our minister Josiah Wilkinson aged 26 who had grown up there since a baby and was trained by John as a preacher. From that meeting in 1813 what we now call the Baptist Union or BUGB immerged.
John Rippon a Devon man trained at Bristol was minister there all his life, and in 1787 he published a collection of hymns called Rippon's Selection one of which In a moment we will sing.
John died in 1836 and about a decade later the chapel was demolished to allow for widening London Bridge Road and the congregation moved to New Park Street a chapel accommodating 1,200 people which by 1856 was down to 80 people but then called a young Essex preacher then minister at Waterbeach in Cambridgeshire, Charles Haddon Spurgeon whose ministry filled the chapel with people and the Church later moved to a site opposite the Elephant and Castle Inn known as the Metropolitan Tabernacle where it remains today as a thriving congregation.
All of which shows what our God can do from small beginnings. The writer of this hymn was Robert Keen, precentor of Carter Lane Chapel from 1776 – 1795. He was Manager of the Particular Baptist Fund and a trustee of 2 London Churches founded by the great Congregationalist Evangelist George Whitfield at Moorfields and Tottenham Court Road.
The hymn is based on Isaiah 43 v 1-5 including these words
431 But now, this is what the LORD says--
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
3For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.
4Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you,
and people in exchange for your life.
5Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.
and 2 Corinthians 4 v 16
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day
It reminds us that as God was with Isaiah, the People of God,and Paul, in all circumstances and in all conditions, so He is with each of us individually, and together as a Church here, and with our fellow Christians in the Mission of His Universal Church- locally, nationally and globally.
SO WE SHOULD SET OUR LIFE UPON A FIRM FOUNDATION
How firm a foundation, you saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He has said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?
In every condition, in sickness, in health;
In poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth;
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea,
As your days may demand, shall your strength ever be.
Fear not, I am with you, O be not dismayed,
For I am your God and will still give you aid;
I’ll strengthen and help you, and cause you to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
When through the deep waters I call you to go,
The rivers of woe shall not you overflow;
For I will be with you, your troubles to bless,
And sanctify to you your deepest distress.
When through fiery trials your pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be your supply;
The flame shall not hurt you; I only design
Your dross to consume, and your gold to refine.
Even down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.
The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavour to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.
Mike mentioned that visiting FIRM FOUNDATIONS at Boys Brigade HQ at Feldon many years after he had left Sawbridgeworth he bumped into another former member of the 1st Sawbridgeworth Boys Brigade Company, Ron, a former Banardo boy. After a chat, Ron said he had to get off as he had a service to lead. Mike remarked that that was quite a demanding responsibility, and Ron said “Well I tell 'em Jesus loves 'em, what more do they want to know?”
Mike referred to their BB Bible Class, Sunday mornings 10.-10.45 and how their Minister who was a very busy man made time and effort to be there each week to lead it as their BB Captain. “Why, he wondered, did he spend so much time with us?” He said “We used to sing choruses and here are 3 of them. At the time they did not mean much but years later the penny dropped”
Yesterday, today for ever
Jesus is the same;
All may change but Jesus never
Glory to His name,
Glory to His name
Glory to His name
All may change but Jesus never
Glory to His name.
Living he loved me, dying he saved me;
Buried, he carried my sins far away;
Rising, He justified freely for ever
One day He's coming – O Glorious day!
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things on earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.
May the mind of Christ my saviour grow in me from day to day
We sang Hymn Number 144 “O come, O come Immanuel”
O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times gave us the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Mike read Colossians 1 verses 15-17
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by him all things were created: all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together”
We are into the season of Advent, the time when we remember that Jesus came to our planet, in human form
Of course he had already been here, for Jesus is LORD of all, the creator and producer of all things
The universe had been designed and created by Jesus as the son of God. He with the Father and the Holy Spirit as God was already here before any of it began., All things were made for him and through him.
In 3 verses “all things” is emphasized 5 times
and He came to rescue you and me, us.
Mike said “How I love the words “JESUS OUR BLESSED REDEEMER” Redeeming means buying back that which already belonged to Him. He created us. We all belong to Him but we had let him down , rebelled against Him. Sold ourselves to Satan, but Jesus came to redeem us, to buy us back with the price of his own shed blood as he was flogged and crucified as a living sacrifice to cancel the power and consequences of our sin.
According to the account of the good news about Jesus Christ written by his disciple John, Chapter 1 verses 1 – 5 we read
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
Come see his hands and his feet
the scars that speak of sacrifice
Hands that flung start into space
to cruel nails surrendered.
Ann Revell read a poem from Helen Steiner Rice's collection, by an unknown author.
Winds through the olive trees
Softly did blow,
'Round little Bethlehem
Long, long ago.
Sheep on the hillside lay
Whiter than snow.
Shepherds were watching them,
Long, long ago.
Then from the happy sky,
Angels bent low,
Singing their songs of joy,
Long, long ago.
For in a manger bed,
Cradled we know,
Christ came to Bethlehem,
Long, long ago.
We sang Hymn Number 176 Silent Night
Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Saviour is born
Christ, the Saviour is born
Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth "
Mike closed with the prayer attributed to St Patrick's Breastplate
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all who love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.