Christ has risen
Love is living
so today we sing:
Hallelujah, praise God!
we celebrate new life with Jesus!
Leave your old clothes behind!
Read: John 20: 1-10
If we are expecting everything to return to “normal” I suggest we haven’t experienced Easter in our lives! The world wasn’t the same after Jesus rose from the dead and normal service isn’t meant to resume today. It’s a NEW life we celebrate!
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SATURDAY September 4th: Garden Concert with Gospel Belle and Table Top Sale 10am-2pm
Dear Friends,
This cross has been a special memory for more than 30 years since it was given to me by a resident in a hostel for homeless young people I was managing in Birmingham. He made it from matchsticks as a thank you for showing him so much love and support and myself and Virginia want to say thank you for your prayers as we have walked together through challenging times and now look forward with hope for the future.
Dear Friends,
Love is the greatest Manager
but how patient are the crowd?
I have read in the papers and heard on the news that there is some discontent in the changing rooms at Tottenham Hotspurs and the mood of the crowd has changed.
I am sorry to use a footballing analogy as we approach Easter for those who don’t follow the game, but, I am sure, even you have heard of Jose Mourinho! He, so it was said, was to be the ’saviour’ of the football club and bring them the glory they wanted. Everyone loved him when he arrived and sang his praises as the ‘king of football!’ Well, at least a large crowd of Tottenham supporters did as they waved their scarves because they believed he was going to deliver the great promise of success at last. Others had their doubts. Jose was the man for the moment though because something had to change!
Dear Friends,
How far will we go this week?
They don’t seem to have anything to show for it, but some people are stronger, wealthier and wiser than they have ever been and have less than most of us. They can have nothing, but be happier than us who have everything. They have a spiritual health and wealth that we envy.
Everything changes…
Read: Matthew 21: 1-11
One of the great challenges with a reading like Matthew 21 is how well we know it. Along with the other 3 gospels Matthew tells us the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and for those of us who have heard this story many times before, we will probably be able to tell others the reason why he does this. This is the moment when God’s salvation plan reaches its climax and the hearers of this story are left in no doubt that Jesus is coming as a king to establish God’s reign on earth and to transform the earth to the desire and design of God’s heart. Jesus comes into the heart and seat of earthly power, to challenge its beliefs and assumptions, and in so doing to turn power on its head.
Dear Friends,
ONE day I was surrounded by desert sand, then at night it rained and in the morning I looked onto a carpet of colour. When I woke up I was in the same place as the night before, but it looked so different. That’s what God can do!
The wilderness is a place most of us will probably say we don’t want to go, but it is the place we must be. It is the place where only a few people live, but it is the place where God is an ever present provider for those who trust.
Dear Friends,
The Giant with the whole world in his hands
God is the Giant of our lives who holds the whole world in his hands and wants us to be as BIG as Jesus in what we can do. With the biggest heart, the longest arms and the best vision everyone is loved, embraced and seen by God. No hiding in the garden or under a bushel God forgives and wants YOU to be a shining light to the world.
Life on Mars? Living on Earth?
Today, during this week of lent our reading encourages us to reflect on the lead up to the sacrifice of Jesus and what a fruitful resurrection looks like.
Two thousand and twenty years ago some non-Christians sought Jesus, Andrew was alert to it and made the introduction, along with the established disciples and everyone else in earshot, they heard that it is essential that Jesus will die, that his sacrifice will enable others to see God, and that one life can multiply in fruitfulness, by sharing the Good News, of how much better life can be for more people, when heaven is on earth.
Dear Friends,
Love is flowing like a river!
This morning I share an image of a river flowing through the wilderness and if we follow it there will always be water by our side providing the refreshment we need.
I hope you can see that river leading through the wilderness because it overflows with living waters where there is always a welcome for you to stop for a refreshing drink or cooling rinse. If we follow the river we will never be thirsty and at the end of it we will find that Love is as vast as an ocean!