to You alone may my spirit yield
Sunday, June 29, 2008
As the deer pants for the water - so my soul longs after You - Martin Nystrom - 4
to You alone may my spirit yield
Saturday, June 28, 2008
As the deer pants for the water - so my soul longs after You - Martin Nystrom - 3
You alone are my strentgh and shield
As the deer pants for the water - so my soul longs after You - Martin Nystrom - 2
You alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship You
Friday, June 27, 2008
As the deer pants for the water - so my soul longs after You - Martin Nystrom - 1
As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
Psalm 42:1-2a
Thirsty for God?Sunday, June 1, 2008
The Healing Congregation - Sermon (part 1)
Introduction
Times just now are not easy, we don't know how the world situation will develop so it is going to be more important than ever that we hear what James has to say to the Churches. We read from James 5 because here is a model for helping the body of Christ to be whole and effective.
In between our discouragement, our frustrations with society, our feelings of being in a minority group (in the UK!)as a follower of Jesus, God is there and is still speaking today, to us. In verse 10 James mentions the prophets as examples of men who suffered severe persecution you have seen what the Lord finally brought about... the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. To know that others have suffered before is not always helpful but to know that they got through does matter. We need that reassurance. So what is God saying in these days?
As I refer to healing through this sermon I need you to think wider than physical healing. Although physical healing is included we are referring to the whole that makes up a person and to the various areas of wholeness in our spiritual lives.
We can summarize what James is saying by making three points which say that...
There's a relationship between: the healing congregation, the healing mission and the healing gospel. The three go together and when one or more suffer there's pain and frustration, and the Church's calling is not being fulfilled. We would all like the perfect congregation, maybe pastors dream about having one, but they are not going to ever find one. Yet we can all aim at
being an effective church in these days, even with all our imperfections.
It is said that...
Together with the blessing of God and in the power of the Holy Spirit, three things make inevitable the fulfillment of the Church's calling to be a place of healing and to bring healing to the nations:
1 - their openness to their own healing and their journey towards wholeness ( healing congregation)
2 - their commitment to, and work on behalf of, Christ's healing mission (healing mission)
3 -the compassion of members for the hurting world for whom Christ died and rose from the dead (healing gospel)
Times just now are not easy, we don't know how the world situation will develop so it is going to be more important than ever that we hear what James has to say to the Churches. We read from James 5 because here is a model for helping the body of Christ to be whole and effective.
In between our discouragement, our frustrations with society, our feelings of being in a minority group (in the UK!)as a follower of Jesus, God is there and is still speaking today, to us. In verse 10 James mentions the prophets as examples of men who suffered severe persecution you have seen what the Lord finally brought about... the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. To know that others have suffered before is not always helpful but to know that they got through does matter. We need that reassurance. So what is God saying in these days?
As I refer to healing through this sermon I need you to think wider than physical healing. Although physical healing is included we are referring to the whole that makes up a person and to the various areas of wholeness in our spiritual lives.
We can summarize what James is saying by making three points which say that...
There's a relationship between: the healing congregation, the healing mission and the healing gospel. The three go together and when one or more suffer there's pain and frustration, and the Church's calling is not being fulfilled. We would all like the perfect congregation, maybe pastors dream about having one, but they are not going to ever find one. Yet we can all aim at
being an effective church in these days, even with all our imperfections.
It is said that...
Together with the blessing of God and in the power of the Holy Spirit, three things make inevitable the fulfillment of the Church's calling to be a place of healing and to bring healing to the nations:
1 - their openness to their own healing and their journey towards wholeness ( healing congregation)
2 - their commitment to, and work on behalf of, Christ's healing mission (healing mission)
3 -the compassion of members for the hurting world for whom Christ died and rose from the dead (healing gospel)
Monday, May 5, 2008
The Healing Congregation - An Up-to-date Testimony
Click here for the storyof someone who received healing
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Groan, Groan, And Groan Some More! - Worship activity
Activity During Morning Worship for everyone including children!
Ascension Sunday
(Based On Idea By Sue Relf)
Ask children to come out and stand in a line facing the congregation
Ask them to moan and groan as if feeling very cold - are they convincing?
as if feeling hungry - give them sympathy!
as if having a tummy ache - all girls together to groan
as if being bored - all boys together to groan
When do adults groan?...
when hearing a bad joke
when listening to a politician speak
when at a pantomime
when running in a marathon
We usually moan and groan when things are bad or difficult,
when as we said earlier we are in pain or suffering.
Romans 8:22 says We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time
The Bible says that not only the world around us is decaying physically but spiritually it is also infected with sin.
When we are in any kind of trouble we have two choices, either we do something about it or we don't! As you listen to the story of how Jesus, after his resurrection, was taken up to heaven notice how the disciples go about their predicament - having to live without living with Jesus anymore.
In Acts 1:11 we see a scene where the disciples are told off by angels for doing something daft...they stood looking at the sky trying to see Jesus! In verses 12 and 13 they do something more sensible, they are recorded as going back to Jerusalem and praying together as Jesus had asked to do anyway.
When you face a dilemma, a difficult task, don't stand around hoping it will all get sorted but make sure you pray about it.
John will speak to us more about it later but for now, lets remain firm in the faith for one day Jesus will come back for us and then he will turn our tragedies into triumphs, our poverty into riches, our pain into glory, our defeat into victory. We who love Jesus will be reunited with him and will be safe and secure for ever.
Ascension Sunday
(Based On Idea By Sue Relf)
Ask children to come out and stand in a line facing the congregation
Ask them to moan and groan as if feeling very cold - are they convincing?
as if feeling hungry - give them sympathy!
as if having a tummy ache - all girls together to groan
as if being bored - all boys together to groan
When do adults groan?...
when hearing a bad joke
when listening to a politician speak
when at a pantomime
when running in a marathon
We usually moan and groan when things are bad or difficult,
when as we said earlier we are in pain or suffering.
Romans 8:22 says We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time
The Bible says that not only the world around us is decaying physically but spiritually it is also infected with sin.
When we are in any kind of trouble we have two choices, either we do something about it or we don't! As you listen to the story of how Jesus, after his resurrection, was taken up to heaven notice how the disciples go about their predicament - having to live without living with Jesus anymore.
In Acts 1:11 we see a scene where the disciples are told off by angels for doing something daft...they stood looking at the sky trying to see Jesus! In verses 12 and 13 they do something more sensible, they are recorded as going back to Jerusalem and praying together as Jesus had asked to do anyway.
When you face a dilemma, a difficult task, don't stand around hoping it will all get sorted but make sure you pray about it.
John will speak to us more about it later but for now, lets remain firm in the faith for one day Jesus will come back for us and then he will turn our tragedies into triumphs, our poverty into riches, our pain into glory, our defeat into victory. We who love Jesus will be reunited with him and will be safe and secure for ever.
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