Earth is heaven’s Garden!
Reading: Mark 4: 26-34
It might not be a new thought, but it was new to me during the week, and I hope it will be as encouraging for you as it is to me. The thought was that, “The earth is heaven’s garden and God is the Gardener…”
Dear Friends,
As I was leaning on “My Gate” in prayer during the week a voice whispered in my head that in times of darkness we all need more of GOD — Goodness Overcomes Darkness. God said let there be light and there was light and it was good so let it be what you receive!
Dear Friends,
Matthew 22: 34-40
That was the week that was when we raised nearly £2,500 for Christian Aid and we need another like it to show our nearer neighbours how much they are loved!
Our neighbours are far and near, but the ones who are next door need to know they are loved as much as those from a distance know they are loved!
Hope!
Introduction
Hope is not just a word – to Christians it conveys so much that sustains us from day to day. In the midst of uncertainty and a lack of clarity that might surround us, we have a Hope that is absolutely certain and unshakable. That hope lies in the life, death and resurrection of our living Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Living Hope and he is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Without him in our lives we have no hope for the future, with him in our lives we have every hope for the future.
Dear Friends,
A sign outside a shop in Broadway said that “good friends help you find what you have lost —your smiles, your hopes, your courage!”
I must admit, some people have made me lose my temper, lose my faith (in humanity), lose hope for the future, lose my sense of humour and lose my direction, but a phone call or encounter with a friend has restored sanity. Oh yes, forgot to mention, I have lost my head and some people have questioned whether I have ever found that!
Dear Friends,
The best way to describe Trinity Sunday — the celebration of Father, Son and Spirit — is to recall how someone in the village thought the people at the church up the road didn’t only know their bible or read it, but live it!
That’s fine for people who have faith and believe that if they believe in the Father and the Son they can receive the Spirit, but last night I heard a voice telling me to think again and not limit God to believers.
THE TRINITY OF POWER!
Read: John 3: 1-17
THE STORY OF THE EAGLE DOVE!
I want to tell you a story about the early christian missionaries who went to Africa and found something they never shared when they got home… They got something from their mission as great as what they gave.
Dear Friends,
I have had a message of encouragement every day for the last 194 days from one of my best friends. I admit, I haven’t read them all, but God has a way of making sure I am reminded when I need to read a particular one. It is one of those amazing spiritual connections I have with a few friends who know when I need prayer and I know when they need it.
Dear Friends,
My Pentecost hangover!
I hope someone else is suffering from a spiritual hangover today after a Pentecost celebration in which we were filled with the Spirit. People will think you are drunk if you are sharing crazy visions, impossible dreams and prophesying future happenings — but, don’t worry, it will be the Spirit that has been poured into you.
SERMON – The Fire of Life
I have to admit that during these last few months of lockdown I have been caught out time and time again as to what happened when, was it last year or was it the year before – and I don’t think I am on my own in this. For a short time let us play the game of ‘do you remember when’. There were horrible bush fires in Australia which seemed to rage for weeks, the flames were fanned by strong winds and many people lost their homes as well as whole neighbourhoods and one of the saddest things was that animals lost their habitat. The forests were all burnt down and there was no food, shade or shelter. Do you remember seeing pictures of little koala bears with burnt feet and scorched fur trying to get out of the way of the fire. It was horrible to watch, but it happened because we as custodians of this planet failed in our duty to care for it properly. Those fires happened because of climate change and then just a few short months later we were seeing pictures of floods and people watching as their houses slid away from them. Again, the cause is climate change and it all stands firmly at our door with our incessant need for more burning of fossil fuels.