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Christian viewpoint
June 2nd, 2008
Christian Viewpoint
The following is part of a series of 4 our church was asked to write for the local weekly paper "The Westmorland Gazette". They came under the heading "Christian viewpoint" I've reprodused them here for anyone who missed the origanal.
The first one was written by The Rev David Willkinson.
One day, I was playing hide and seek with a group of children. I asked one little boy how to play the game and he said: "You close your eyes and start counting and I go and hide behind the bathroom door and you come and look for me!"
It was the easiest game I've every played. All I did was stand and shout "Is Peter under the bed?" There would be shouts and screams of laughter from .behind the door. He didn't realise that when he spoke and laughed, he showed me where he was.
I wonder if you've ever stopped to think why we speak to each other? We speak to let people know we are there and to draw people into a friendship with us.
Now the Bible tells us a wonderful truth. It says in one verse that in these last days, God has spoken to us by his Son. God sent his son Jesus Into the world so we would know He was there with us and especially to draw us into a friendship with Him.
Jesus shows us what God is like, healing, teaching, forgiving, loving, caring. Then He also died on a cross so that when we repent.of our sins, we can be forgiven by Him and be drawn Into a friendship with God.
God has spoken to us in Jesus, let us listen to Him and find friendship with God through Him.
The Lord is my shepherd
February 12th, 2008
The Lord is my shepherd
I came across this new take on the 23rd psalm, I hope you like it.
Lord is my Shepherd - That's Relationship!
I shall not want - That's Supply!
He maketh me to lie in green pastures -¬ That's Rest!
He leadeth me beside still waters -That's Refreshment!
He restoreth my soul- That's Healing!
He leadeth me in the path of righteousness ¬ That's Guidance!
For His name sake - That's Purpose!
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death -That's Testing!
I will fear no evil- That's protection!
For Thou art with me - That's faithfulness!
Thy rod and Thy staff comfort me - That's Discipline!
Thou preparest a table before me in tbe presence of mine enemies-
That's Hope!
Thou annointest my bead with oil - That's Consecration! My cup runneth over - Thats Abundance!
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life- ¬ That's Blessing!
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord - That's Security!
Forever- That's Eturnity
Rachel, working in language survey in PNG
September 29th, 2007
Prayer points
· That writing the report would go well and we would be able to present what we found out clearly
· That I would be able to feel settled and happy to be in Ukarumpa for the next few months
· For the survey team with personnel changes happening soon
On the islands there is very little space to grow food. The people are fishermen and trade or sell the fish they catch for other food. When the seas are rough it can be hard for them to get to the mainland to get food. They also have to trade for or buy all the building materials for their houses. This is very different from other places I've been to in PNG where people have gardens which produce plenty of food and can build a house from materials from their own land... Download the complete prayer letter.
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The story of Jonah
September 4th, 2007
Jonah tells his tale
Hi I’m Jonah, and I'm sitting here, absolutely fed up and furious, under what was once the shade of a vine? I'm the righteous one, loyal to the Lord God for years, yet I'm the one who's suffering, not that decadent lot of idol worshippers in Nineveh. It ain't fair, and now I've even lost my shelter from this scorching sun. When I complained to the Lord God about the sunstroke, HE just asked if I had any right to be angry. "Yes, I do." I said. "I'm so angry, I want to die, right now.""Now," said the Lord God. "I made the vine spring up over your shelter. You liked that didn't you? And I made the worm that chewed it the next night. You are concerned about one little vine. So,... why shouldn't I be concerned about the 120,000 residents of the great city of Nineveh?"
Well, I didn't die, but I'm still angry. Let me tell you my story.
,
The Little Star
November 8th, 2006
It was time for the first Christmas and the angels were searching the heavens for a volunteer star to tell the world that Jesus was born. First they found the moon gently glowing over the Earth.
"Shine over Bethlehem?"
"I'm sorry I have to be impartial to all travellers with my light. Anyway my job is to control the tides. I can't risk that for a temporary post, however prestigious."
"Thank you for listening" said the angels. We'll try Venus. Being near, her travel expenses would be low.
"Sorry, can't oblige" sparkled Venus, "I'm off down the Milky Way to the Galaxy Spa for a sprinkling of stardust over my meteorites. Another time perhaps."
So they both missed the chance to be the best known star of all time. Then they asked Haley's Comet. Could he change to low flying for a bit?
"Sorry old chaps, far too busy, I'm swerving to avoid a space probe that wants to dig a hole in my tail, mind your backs"! So he lost his opportunity too. Saturn looked too stern for the junior angels so the archangel interviewed him.
"Now, if you had put in a planning application last century, in triplicate, with times and star energy needed, I might have considered it. In this constellation, we plan for light years ahead. We can't alter that for a baby, whoever he is. Log it on my planternet and we'll look at it, next time round". He too, missed the opportunity to announce the birth of the King of Kings.
So it went on. Jupiter was out with her dog star, rescuing space-walkers lost in black holes. Orion was out with his astral pack hunting rogue satellites, keeping the asteroids at bay till the satellites fell out of orbit and disappeared. Mars was feeling cantankerous that century.
"Those nosy humans are poking their probes into my astral affairs again. Anyway, my horoscopes have nothing to do with a child called Emmanuel."
The Great Bear could not change his position. It would not be politically correct. The Pole Star was providing navigational aids for flying saucers. Some planets were ringed round with bureaucracy.
Time was running out and the angels were concerned. Surely someone could spare a few orbits. Then one angel spotted a little star quietly twinkling in a far corner of the universe.
"Let me try" she pleaded."I'll do my best."
"Well," pondered the angel, your heart's in it and we do have to obey the astral equality act, so we'll give you a chance."
The little star shot across the night to Bethlehem, shining brightly. "Who does she think she is?" grumbled the others. "Universe star of the century? Our collective blaze will put her in the shade."
So nobody noticed her at first and the angels went themselves, singing in their joy to tell some shepherds that the Saviour had come.
"Glory to God in the highest, Peace on Earth to men of goodwill." The little star had not heard such beautiful music since her creation. She twinkled and sparkled, harder and harder. One night some Wise Men saw her and consulted their archives, "Look, a new star. The Jews have a new king. Servants, load the camels with presents. We go at once to find him." The excited star shone even brighter.
Alas, thick clouds blew across, hiding her light, and the Wise Men went to the palace in Jerusalem. "Not here", said King Herod. "It may be the time but it is certainly not the place. Tell me when you find him."
But the little star did not give up. When the clouds blew away. she was still there, shining over a house in Bethlehem. No other star achieved such a brilliant display. The Wise Men, realising their mistake, followed her light to their Saviour King, worshipping him and went another way.
Then the little star disappeared, joyfully burnt out. She had given her life for Jesus..
Ichtus Newsletter
November 8th, 2006
Below is an extract from the latest Ichtus newsletter:
My dear friends, be warned. Saul the young Pharisee is on his way to you, breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. Now Saul has plunged into a rampaging destruction of this “blasphemous church”, organising house raids to flush out followers of the Way, throwing them into prison. Many families have fled from Jerusalem, remembering that the Lord Jesus said He would be with them always.
Download the latest Ichtus Newsletter from Joel ben Joses.
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The Ephesus Express: Jesus rises from the Dead
November 8th, 2006
....about six weeks after Jesus’ restoration to life, there were about one hundred believers crammed into the room in Jerusalem. I was a bit late that day so do not know what was going, on but I certainly remember what happened next. Going up the stairs I was nearly knocked backwards by what seemed to be a hurricane shaking the house....
To read more about the Hurricane in Jerusalem please download the Ephesus Express.
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Trinity
November 8th, 2006
It’s wonderful, it’s exciting Lord You are three persons, yet one God. You redeem us, adopt us, inspire us, You made us, you love us, you give us grace. It’s exciting, it’s wonderful, Lord
Once, I thought it rather dull, Trinity Sunday and all that Going on and on for weeks and weeks, Singing “Holy,Holy, Holy” over and over again To a rather a boring tune Yes, it was good doctrinal stuff Tuneful and harmonious, but…..
Then…. One day, I imagined Jesus, Standing in the river being baptised, With the Father approving And the spirit descending, All three persons, yet one God! Here on earth; with us! Jesus to live as we live, Then to buy us back, into his Kingdom
The trinity became exciting, The hymn became special and the tune really grand
Then….. I knew Jesus was identifying With me and my failures Presenting me blameless to the Father Offering me the energy of the Holy Spirit All I had to do was say “Thank you”
Trinity Sunday is exciting now….. All the year round
Then… one day, I stood in the river Jordan, Looking downstream, away from the tourists, Thinking of Jesus being baptised Whilst the crowd stood watching, not recognising God the Son, Thinking the Father’s voice to be, well, just thunder And the Holy Spirit, just a dove
But… I knew that three persons, yet one God Make a wonderful, exciting Trinity
By Jillian Hedges Heron Hill Free Church
After Epiphany- the story continues
October 29th, 2006
The refugees stopped at the wayside. They had walked all day. A carefully wrapped bundle on the donkey stirred. The mother picked up the hidden toddler.
“Hurry” said the man. "That cloud of dust in the distance might be soldiers searching for us”. The child was fed and changed, then hidden in the donkey’s load. They set off again, but the dustcloud came ever closer, so the young woman led the donkey to a bit of pasture behind a bush. The man sat by the track, drinking from a goatskin.
Soon a line of camels, loaded with merchandise, stopped for the leader to exchange greetings. “There’s been trouble back there” he said. “Those military brutes have been killing baby boys. Something about King Herod flushing out a usurper to his throne. They even searched us, obviously not Jews and just passing through.My wife was frightened for our little boy. But that was two days’ journey ago, so you should be safe now. Like to join us?” Joseph was about to decline when he felt a sense of peace. Some instinct told him that this man of different race was all right.
That evening, the men sat around the campfire whilst Mary joined the women in their tent. Somehow, she knew that God was protecting her son. “What a dear little boy” said the trader’s wife. "How happy he is. What a lovely chuckle. You must be proud of him.”
Mary explained that an angel had told her she would have a very special baby, called Jesus meaning “Saviour” and Immanuel meaning “God with us.” “I can’t understand why God chose me” she said. “I was so young, growing up in an obscure village.At first, my betrothed, a God-fearing man, was so shocked he refused to marry me. Then the angel told him that this is God’s plan for us. Joseph is a wonderful husband and step-father.” Mary continued to relate how her parents had taught her that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
Abdeel and Orpah had recently heard similar words from wealthy camel riders with expensive baggage but nothing to sell. They were looking for a new baby King of the Jews. Abdeel had directed them to Herod’s palace in Jerusalem. Now they were grieving that maybe it was their fault that the soldiers were looking for the toddler,Jesus. Joseph comforted them. “Do not grieve, God is in control. He has allowed all this to happen and has sent you to help us. Shalom to you my friends.” Already, people of different race and culture were being reconciled by their love for Jesus.
So they journeyed on. Abdeel would accept no payment. In his first glimmerings of faith, he was glad to serve the Lord. In Egypt, he helped them to set up a home, finding honest traders who would take their gold in fair exchange for necessities. Jesus could play and grow in safety. Joseph and Mary cared for him until God told them to return to Nazareth. There he grew up, delighting the family with his gracious personality. When Joseph died, Jesus took on the responsibility of caring for Mary and their younger children until it was time for him to leave home to tell the people he had come to “save sinners, not the righteous.”
My story is imaginary but the truth is there. Jesus the Saviour died on an executioner’s cross. He is the reconciler. Those who receive His forgiveness become the children of God.
Why not join us at church to hear the good news?