If someone were to ask you, "What is the gospel?" how would you answer?

Most of us have been taught something like this:

• We are sinners.
  
• Jesus died so that our sins could be forgiven.
• Believe in him so that you can go to heaven.

The wording and the outline may vary, but basically that's what most of us were taught. And it isn't really wrong. The Bible does talk about all those things (except going ot heaven, but we'll talk about that later), and yet, the more we read the Bible, we see that this outline doesn't seem to capture what the Bible actually says.

For instance, is this the gospel that Jesus preached? Matthew says that Jesus preached the good news that the Kingdom of God is at hand. That doesn't sound like the gospel we know. 

Or the Apostles? If you read the evangelistic sermons in the Book of Acts, they never talk about justification by faith, accepting Jesus into your heart, praying a sinners prayer, or any of those familiar phrases.

What is all that about? Is there more to the gospel than we realize? And does it matter?

Over the next 8 weeks, we are going to dive into these questions, because I think there is more to the gospel than just managing our sin, and waiting to go to heaven. There is a "Greater Gospel" that is plainly revealed in the Bible. This Greater Gospel is more complete, more compelling, and more powerful because it goes beyond mere salvation and encompasses the redemption and renewal of all that is. And best of all, it offers us a chance to participate in God's mighty work.

If we are going to think of ourselves as people defined by the good news of Jesus Christ, we ought to be very clear on exactly what we mean by "the Gospel." We will find that as we realize the fullness of the gospel, we will find a corresponding fullness of God's blessing.

Part 1 - "The Greater Gospel 1: What is the Gospel?"  The scripture readings are 1 Chronicles 17:7-14 / 1 Corinthians 15:1-5, 20-28 / Matthew 4:17. 23-25

Part 2 - "The Greater Gospel 2: Before All Things."  The scripture readings are Genesis 16:1-13 / Colossians 1:15-20 / John 1:1-3

Part 3 - "The Greater Gospel 3: He Became Flesh"  The scripture readings are Genesis 1:26-30 / Hebrews 2:14-17 / Matthew 1:1, 17-23

Part 4 - "The Greater Gospel 4: He Died and Was Buried."  The scripture readings are Exodus 12:1-13 / 1 Peter 2:20-24 / Mark 13:35-45

By now most of you are aware that we have once again opened our sanctuary at 39 Fayette Street for Sunday worship. Last week we had 10 people join us live, while a few dozen more joined us via the Zoom Platform. That's a good start, and we have a long ways to go.
 
Of course, we asked those who gathered in person to observe some special guidelines to maintain the health and safety of everyone involved. If you are considering joining us live, please read our blog post about those guidelines here.
 
We want you all to know that we are working hard to include everyone. If you have assessed the risk and determined that it is best if you stay home, we are continuing our zoom feed so that you will still be included. If you have evaluated the likelihood of transmission and decided that it is reasonable to join us, we welcome your presence.
 
As some of you realized, however, even the live service is not like it was before. In order to include those who cannot attend, the live service is going to look and feel quite different than it used to. To put it bluntly, you will basically be sitting in the sanctuary watching me conduct the service. You will see it on the screens in church instead of in your living room. The main difference is that you will be with a bunch of other people. Much of what made live worship special (before we had to call it "live"), the singing, the choir, the passing of the peace, the seeing and hearing one another -- simply cannot be part of the service right now, and probably won't be for a long time.
 
But there are some things that do NOT change, ever: God and his promises, the saving work of Jesus, the presence of his Holy Spirit, the power of his Word, and Christ's eternal reign over all creation. None of these things are affected by COVID-19, the stay-at-home orders, or the CDC. So whether you are at home on Sunday morning, or in the sanctuary, make Jesus and what he has done your focus. Don't focus on the production quality. Don't give any energy to thinking about how we used to do things.

In that way, you will bring honor and glory to him who deserves it most, and you will find the greatest possible blessing for yourself.
 
Grace and peace to you all.
 
Pastor Dave

We are pleased to be able to welcome you back into our facility at 39 Fayette Street for Sunday morning worship.

Of course, this does not mean that all danger is past. Nevertheless, the State of NH has deemed it reasonably safe for us to proceed if we employ certain precautions to safeguard the well-being of those participating and those with whom we have contact.

Therefore, please understand these services will not be like they were before the COVID-19 shutdown. Here are some guidelines to help you know what to expect should you decide to attend.

Some of you may want to come to church at 39 Fayette Street, but you probably shouldn’t – at least for a while. Here are some questions to help you decide.

Before you leave for church on Sunday morning, please ask yourself these questions about yourself and everyone in your household:

1. Have you been in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19?
   
   
2. Have you had a fever or felt feverish in the last 72 hours?
   
   
3. Are you experiencing any respiratory symptoms including a runny nose, sore throat, cough, or shortness of breath?
   
   
4. Are you experiencing any new muscle aches or chills?
   
   
5. Have you experienced any new change in your sense of taste or smell?
   
   

If you answer YES to any of these questions, please stay home.

If you answer “I’m not sure,” or “Maybe, but it’s not that bad” or give any answer that is not a flat and unqualified NO, please stay home.

In addition, please also consider the following:

1. Do you belong to any commonly acknowledged high-risk group?
   
   
2. Do you object for any reason to wearing a mask upon entering the building, and leaving the mask on as long as you are inside the building?

If you answer YES to either of these questions, please consider remaining at home.

For the safety and well-being of all involved, we are requiring that those attend worship at UBC wear masks upon entering the building, and that you keep them on while in the building. The evidence that masks reduce risk of transmission is strong. Combined with spacing the risk reduction is significant.

Therefore, we ask everyone to take this precaution as a matter of caring for our neighbors.

If for any reason, you feel strongly that you should not wear a mask, the services are still available to you by the Zoom Platform. We are specifically offering both channels of access so that no one need be left out. If you are not already on our email list to receive the link, please email unbapch@comcast.net and request to be placed on our mailing list.

If you test positive for COVID-19, and you have been in UBC for worship in the last 14 days, it is imperative that you notify us immediately. This is simply a matter of public safety. We want to cooperate with the authorities to perform contact tracing to limit the spread of the disease. So please help us to take care of our neighbors in our wider community.

Before arrival, a team from Restoration Foursquare will have gone through the Sanctuary and the rest of the building applying a hospital grade disinfectant to common contact surfaces and chairs to reduce risk of transmission.

When you arrive, please enter the building through the front doors at the top of the wide granite steps.

The green door in the parking lot will be locked and used as an exit door only.

Disposable masks will be available at the door if you forgot to bring one.

There will be someone at the front door to direct you to your seats. Seats are arranged to effect safe distancing. Please choose a group of seats that matches the size of your family group, if possible. If there are no groupings of the right size, the ushers may help re-arrange seats.

Children will remain with their family groups throughout the service.

All inside doors will be open, so that you will not have to touch a door handle to pass from one room to another.

There will be hand sanitizer bottles stationed at each entry and exit point. Please use them upon entering and exiting.

Pastor Dave will stand on the chancel behind his Zoom Meeting station, with a camera, computer, speakers, microphone, and reading stand. He will conduct the service from there.

In essence, the service will be a Zoom service, but with some people present in the sanctuary, rather than ONLY by Zoom. The order of service, the slides, and the content will be very much the same as it has been.

The Zoom Screen will be broadcast to the TV screens so that people in the sanctuary can participate in the Zoom Meeting. We hope to have a camera pointing toward the sanctuary so that those in the building are also appearing on the Zoom screen. That way everyone is participating in both aspects of the service.

Pastor Dave will not be wearing a mask while leading the service, to better facilitate communication. By standing on the chancel, he will be at least 20 feet from the nearest worshiper. Fans will also be aimed at him to create airflow directed away from the worshipers. Since droplets are by far the predominant means of disease transmission for COVID-19, we believe the combination of distance and airflow should provide sufficient protection.

There will be no congregational singing, but you are encouraged to hum along with any music, and to respond verbally at the appropriate times.

Dress appropriately for summer weather in a building without air conditioning. Feel free to bring ice water, or a hand fan.

We ask all participants to exit the building immediately after the service. If you wish to socialize, please do it outside, as we know that being outside dramatically reduces the opportunity for virus transmission. We recommend continuing to use masks and distance to further reduce risk.

Please exit through the education wing door that leads out onto the parking lot. By having everyone move in the same direction, and maintaining safe spacing, we can reduce risk of transmission.
You will find offering plates at the exit door from the sanctuary. Please leave your offering in the plates as you exit.

Please use hand sanitizer as you leave. Bottles will be stationed at the doors.

After the service, a team of volunteers will apply hospital disinfectant to all common contact surfaces and chairs to reduce risk of transmission to NH Worship Church, when they follow us at 2:00.

Restrooms will be available, but as single person use only. Signs will be on the doors to indicate occupancy (AVAILABLE / OCCUPIED). On entering and exiting please flip the signs to show the appropriate message.

If the sign says “OCCUPIED” please wait behind the marked line until the restroom is available.

Disinfecting wipes will be available inside the bathroom. Please wipe down every surface you touched including toilet seats, flush handles, stall doors, faucets, doors, and light switches.

Discard the wipe in the trash can provided outside the restroom doors.

Yes. Please be as thoughtful, merciful, and forgiving as possible to the others who attend, to those in our sister congregations, and to the church leadership.

Although we tried to think of everything, it is quite possible that we may fail to anticipate some need, or that some systems may fail to do the job adequately. We appreciate your helpful feedback, as we very much want things to go well.

Please pray for those attending locally, for those attending online, and for those leading the services – that our Lord Jesus Christ will be honored and glorified through the worship that we give, and that his Holy Spirit would be at work shaping us into his image as we worship him.

Money and ministry go together. It is true that not all ministry needs money. Nevertheless, money makes more ministry possible. What's more, there are many kinds of ministry that simple can't happen without money. And the money that United Baptist Church uses for our ministry comes from the generous giving of our congregation.

Therefore, part of being wise about our money is making giving easy. That's why we have set up this Online Giving Portal on our website.

Most of you will already be familiar with this kind of thing from online shopping and online donation pages for non-profits. But just in case you want a little help, we have put together a little video to introduce you to how it works.

Just click on the video below.

Then please go register on the site, and set up your sustainable online giving so that you can give consistently. Even if the weather is bad. Even if you are traveling. And even if you get sick. It is your regular and generous giving that keeps UBC ticking.

Email any questions to unbapch@comcast.net. Someone will get back to you with some answers as soon as we can get to it.

Read this scripture

Matthew 27:62–66.

You might say that having done the work of the cross, Jesus rested. He was exiled. He was
His body lay in the grave, silent, unseeing, without speaking, or moving. The heart was still, and darkness covered him like a blanket.

We know now that it was just a pause. Like a gathering of strength before a great leap.
But his disciples did not know this. They too were exiled. They hid

Read this article

Waiting on Saturday for Sunday’s Redemption

“…what about Saturday?

What did the disciples feel on Saturday? Sorrow? Numbness? Disbelief? Hope? Did they intuitively sense any of tomorrow’s approaching grandeur? Did they think their past three years were wasted? Did they yearn for a miracle? Before we skip to the “He is risen” of Sunday, it’s important to reflect on Saturday—to consider the sorrow, the disappointment, and, above all, the waiting.”

Listen to this song

Just as I am / I am broken

“I come broken to be mended
I come wounded to be healed
I come desperate to be rescued
I come empty to be filled
I come guilty to be pardoned
By the blood of Christ the Lamb
And I'm welcomed with open arms
Praise God, just as I am”

Pray this prayer

O God, Creator of heaven and earth:

Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day,

and rise with him to newness of life;

who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Read these scriptures

Matthew 27:1–61 / Mark 15:1–47 / Luke 23:1–56 / John 18:28–19:42

Jesus was arrested around midnight on Thursday, but there was no sleeping. Thursday bleeds over into Friday as Jesus is driven from place to place. He is questioned. He is mocked. He is falsely accused. He is tortured. Ultimately, he is condemned and executed.

Throughout this ordeal he refused to either back down, or to be provoked. He put himself in the hands of his enemies and let them do their worst – and they did.

Listen to this song

He is Exalted

You were despised
You were rejected Lord
Those who passed by
Even averted their gaze from your sight
Such was the suffering you bore for us
Led like a lamb, lamb to the slaughter
You spoke not a word
Chose to be silent
Though you did no wrong
Nor was deceitfulness found in you
Yet by your wounds our salvation has come
Yet by your suffering our freedom is won

Pray this prayer

Almighty God,

we pray you graciously to behold this your family,

for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross;

who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Read these Scriptures

Matthew 26:17–75 / Mark 14:12–72 / Luke 22:7–71 / John 13:1–18:27

A lot happened on Thursday. Of the greatest significance, our Lord demonstrated his humility by washing the filthy feet of his disciples. He then commanded us to do likewise for one another. How are we doing at that?

He then gave us the gift of the memorial meal we call the Lord’s Supper. It is the gospel enacted in a morsel of bread and a sip of wine and it brings us into true communion with God and one another through the death of Jesus. If we only did this because Jesus told us to, it would be enough. And yet, how much better is it when we do it from a desire to receive his gifts for us by faith?

And then he went to the garden to pray. It was there they found him, the mob bristling with swords and spears and their sharp daggers of anger and hate. May we be as trusting of the Father at the hour of our disaster as our Lord was that night.

Listen to this song

Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away [Communion hymn]

Stuart Townend, Keith & Kristyn Getty Copyright © 2007 Thankyou Music

The blood that cleanses every stain of sin,
Shed for you: drink and remember
He drained death’s cup that all may enter in
To receive the life of God.
So we share in this Bread of Life,
And we drink of His sacrifice,
As a sign of our bonds of grace
Around the table of the King.

Pray this prayer 

Almighty Father,

whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood:

Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life;

and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Read these scriptures

Matthew 26:6–16 / Mark 14:3–11 / Luke 22:3–6

On the Wednesday before his death, in the midst of swirling controversy and growing tension, Jesus rests. He is in Bethany, just a few miles outside of Jerusalem, in the home of Simon the Leper. Think about what it means that Jesus is eating with a man whose reputation is built on his debilitating disease.

But while there, the sister of Lazarus comes to him. Lazarus, you may recall, is the man Jesus raised from the dead some days previous. She pops the cork on a $50,000 bottle of perfume and uses it to anoint the feet of Jesus. The reactions of those present were varied and startling. Most telling was the reaction of Jesus himself. It causes us to consider our own reaction.

Listen to this Song

Mary’s act of anointing our Savior’s feet was an act of humble adoration. Let us adore him also.

Behold our God

Who has felt the nails upon his hands?
Bearing all the guilt of sinful man
God eternal, humbled to the grave
Jesus, Savior, risen now to reign

Pray this prayer

Lord God,

our Savior gave his body to be whipped and his face to be spit upon:

Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed;

through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

We are continuing to offer these devotional aids during Holy Week. After entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Jesus performed many actions that culminated in his crucifixion. During these last days of his earthly ministry he seemed to have a unique urgency to his teaching. During this long talk that Jesus had with his disciples, he was trying to help them understand that the events of this week would just be the beginning. His final arrival to deal with the evil of the world and establish his dominion in full were yet to come.

Read the scripture

Matthew 21:23–26:5 / Mark 11:27–14:2 / Luke 20:1–22:2 / John 12:37–50.

The “Olivet Discourse” is so named because it is an extended teaching given by Jesus to his disciples as they sat on the Mound of Olives just outside the walls of Jerusalem. It is a dense teaching, full of frightful imagery, warnings of judgment, and stacks of obscure allusion to the writings of the Hebrew prophets.
The most important ideas come through. There will come a time of great tribulation, when all who live will be faced with a choice – to own God’s Messiah as king, or to reject him.

The question is, what will you do when everything falls apart?

Listen to this music

Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending

Congregational singing by the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London.  Text: John Cennick | Tune: HELMSLEY

Every island, sea, and mountain,
Heaven and earth, shall flee away;
All who hate Him must, confounded,
Hear the trump proclaim the Day:
Come to judgement!
Come to judgement!
come away!

Pray this prayer

O God,

by the great suffering of your beloved Son, you transformed an instrument of shameful death into the means of abundant and boundless life for us.

Grant us glory in the cross of Christ so completely that we may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.