Monday Morning Mail, 12th November 2012

By -

Loving God | Loving Each Other | Loving Our Community


12th November 2012

Loving God

There has been lots to give thanks for in the last week. Here are just a few things:

The announcement of the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. I don't think we could have hoped for a better appointment. He's good friends with Ian Russell's son (which will mean quite a lot to some of you); he's a man who clearly knows and loves Jesus, believes the Bible and has the wisdom and courage to make needed changes to the way the C of E does things. I've written a bit more here.

Our services yesterday seemed to go really well. We had about 150 people for the Remembrance Day service, and then another 30 or so for the Remembering Service in the afternoon. Lots of people seemed to find both of them helpful, and it seemed that God really was speaking there, so thank him!

Loving Each Other

This week sees a couple of big meetings I'd appreciate prayer and help for. On Tuesday, there's a PCC meeting with the agenda including the future of the refurbishment project and youth worker provision. Please do pray for real love and wisdom for all of us as we make decisions affecting the life of the church.

On Saturday, we're having our annual church clearup from 8:30am until lunchtime. Please do come along and lend a hand, even if it's only for a couple of hours. Bacon sandwiches available for the early starters!

Please do be keeping Hilton & Anne Garrett in your prayers. Hilton's been a member of this church for a decade or so, usually coming to the 9:15 service, but he really is very ill now and may not last the week. Do pray for Anne as she nurses him, that she will know God's love and comfort.

Loving Our Community

It was really exciting to see quite a few new faces at church yesterday – well done to those who brought friends and neighbours along – keep praying particularly for those who have lost people close to them either in war or through illness or accident.

The prayer that really seems appropriate at the moment is one written by St Anselm, a former Archbishop of Canterbury.

Jesus, like a mother you gather your people to you;
you are gentle with us as a mother with her children.
Often you weep over our sins and our pride,
tenderly you draw us from hatred and judgement.
You comfort us in sorrow and bind up our wounds,
in sickness you nurse us, and with pure milk you feed us.
Jesus, by your dying we are born to new life;
by your anguish and labour we come forth in joy.
Despair turns to hope through your sweet goodness;
through your gentleness we find comfort in fear.
Your warmth gives life to the dead,
your touch makes sinners righteous.
Lord Jesus, in your mercy heal us;
in your love and tenderness remake us.
In your compassion bring grace and forgiveness,
for the beauty of heaven may your love prepare us.

God bless,

John

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Any Questions?

By -
There is one sermon slot free in the Autumn service rota, and I'd like to use it to answer a question that we have about Christianity - a point of doctrine, how to respond in a certain situation, anything along those lines. If you've got any ideas, just post them as comments on this post - completely anonymous!
Read more

Book of the Year?

By -
Image
I read quite a lot of books. The best book I've read this year is probably The Good God by Michael Reeves. It's a book about the Trinity. The big point is that the Trinity is central to understanding who God is, to understanding the difference between Christianity and other religions, and to understanding how we can be saved. Reeves doesn't say anything new, but he explains the theology very accessibly and clearly, quoting and explaining "big name" theologians like Athanasius, Augustine, Luther and Richard of St Victor in a way that is accessible to all, and he does it very well. It would be my top recommendation for anyone wanting to understand the Trinity and why it matters, whether they were a new Christian or training for ordination. My one criticism of the book is it could be very good for ecumenism as well - building links between evangelical theology and the Roman Catholics and Orthodox, but the end lets it down in that sense. Trinitarianism is tru
Read more

Monday Morning Mail, 7th April 2014

By -
Image
Good Morning! Yesterday morning, we looked at John 12:1-11, which is the story of Mary anointing Jesus' feet with perfume that cost a year's wages. We saw that Mary's grateful, responsive, loving, extravagant, disgraceful love was exactly the right response to Jesus, even though it left her with no money, no provision for the future and her reputation in tatters. In contrast, Judas was shown to be hiding his real sin behind trying to look pious. One of the ways we applied it was by thinking about whether we hold back from worshipping God for fear of what other people think, whether that's when singing at church or when speaking to our friends at work or at the pub, or even whether we're sometimes, like Judas, people who sit on the sidelines and snipe at those who are putting their hearts into worshipping God. We also saw how Mary's action predicts what Jesus is about to do – that she becomes the servant who washes Je
Read more