Thursday Fellowship was special this week. A delicious Autumn Lunch was laid on for about 24 people – cottage pie or fish pie with lots of vegetables, followed by a choice of 3 kinds of cheesecake and cups of tea. Roger and Mike (Ramekins) from Seaford Baptist Church then provided a mixed programme of folk songs, Christian music, etc. We look forward to them coming again with Rosemary and Tom on November 24th to start off our preparations for Christmas.
The video does not want to load but if you click on the “watch on Facebook” link even if you do not have Facebook on your computer, you can still watch it.
This does happen from time to time and is rather annoying as it spoils the look of the web page. Our sincere apologies.
Our programme for the afternoon was very much a continuation of the previous week’s Members’ Afternoon where those who did not have an opportunity to bring a favourite hymn, song etc, were able to do so.
Sue then continued her mini-series on the writers of the four gospels and this time we looked at Luke.
Luke was a Gentile, a highly educated and scholarly writer, a historian, a medical doctor, a pioneer missionary and a great friend to many (especially Paul) who interestingly never met Jesus.
He seems to have been a lovely caring, compassionate man, a hard-working, tough Christian and a faithful, loyal friend – a man who modelled his life on the Lord he served.
He was self-effacing in a truly humble way, not drawing attention to himself but always concerned with what others were doing and to what the Lord was doing.
Sue left us with four words to take away and ponder – True Humility/True Loyalty.
Sue writes, ‘Thursday Fellowship was a little different this week. We didn’t have an invited speaker. Instead, nineteen of us sat in a big circle and shared chosen hymns or songs, Bible readings, poems and personal stories and thoughts. It was a special time of encouragement, and we were all blessed by the Lord.’
If you would like to join us, please do pop along to the Parish Room of the Holy Cross Church for 2pm on a Thursday afternoon when we are in session. We would love to see you!
The post-election prayer rally which Daniel and fellow church leaders had organised took place on Saturday, 1st October. It was a great time of prayer and the tent which held 10,000 people was full to overflowing!
There is a similar meeting in Nairobi next week (which Daniel is less involved in but will attend to some extent) and then in December an official state celebration.
Please continue to pray thanking God for a peaceful election and praying for their new government (and possibly it is an opportunity to pray for ours at the same time!)
We welcomed Ann Dracott back to our meeting this week. Ann asked a very searching question to start her talk – What do you think is the greatest invention to civilisation? Well, it is Fire! Fire is a friend but can be a dangerous enemy once it gets out of control! Anne went on to bring some thoughts about fire and what it brings and shows: –
Light: Genesis 1 v 3. God said, “let there be light” and there was light! Jesus is the light of the world and was with God at the very beginning. Light reveals things and brings clarity.
Heat and warmth: It draws people together and is comforting. Do you feel welcomed, comfortable, and accepted in a church setting?
Power: The Holy Spirit came with fire, Matthew 3 v 11. Leviticus 6 talks about keeping the fire burning. We need to feed that fire within us by the Word, through prayer and by sharing with others. God wants us to come forth as gold and will refine us if we let Him to do so!
Uncontrolled fire: James 3 v 6 talks about the tongue being a fire! This is a warning! What we say comes from our hearts, so we need to think before we speak. Are our words healing or hurting, constructive or destructive?!
Ann wanted us to sing the Charles Wesley hymn, O thou who camest from above to finish. What a fitting end to a very thought-provoking message. The words are just perfect!
O thou who camest from above
The pure celestial fire to impart,
Kindle a flame of sacred love
On the mean alter of my heart.
Please do consider joining us on a Thursday afternoon at 2pm in the Parish Room of the Holy Cross Church in Woodingdean. We would love to see you!
Malcolm Haines, our former pastor has been producing some short 2/3-minute videos based on the YouVersion Verses of the Day. Head to his YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/revhaines to find out more.
During the pandemic we were blessed by Wednesday Prayers at 7.45pm each Wednesday to encourage us and sustain us. These were very precious times and were appreciated by all who had been able to listen in.
As we have now returned to a new kind of normal and are able to enjoy meeting together once again, here is a reminder of the current prayer opportunities each month:
We meet in person on the first Wednesday with another opportunity on the third Wednesday live on our Facebook page at the new time of 7pm.
Reminders will be put on Facebook and of course we will keep you informed by adding the dates and any details needed to our Upcoming Events side bar on the website.
Please do join in with us. Prayer changes things!
A week after our Queen went home to be with the Lord she had served for so long, and the succession of Prince Charles to the throne as King, our worship this week concentrated on the Kingship of Jesus.
For this term, Sue has started a monthly series on the four gospel writers, commencing with Mark.
Though the young Mark was brought up in a believing home and almost certainly knew Jesus as a person, he wasn’t one of the twelve disciples. Mark had a cousin, Barnabas, who travelled with Paul on his first missionary journey to Asia Minor. They took the young Mark with them but for reasons unstated, he returned home to Jerusalem early on in the journey. Barnabas wanted to give Mark a second chance on their next journey, but Paul refused to take him causing a serious rift between the two men. As a result, Barnabas, who hadn’t written Mark off as a failure, took Mark with him to Cyprus and Paul journeyed with Silas.
In the end, Paul was proved wrong, and Mark became a valued friend, colleague and helper to him, with a vital role in the mission of the church. Finally, Mark wrote his gospel based on what his older Christian friends shared with him concerning Jesus’ live, death and resurrection.
May we too see the potential in those who fail and encourage them. (1 Thessalonians 5 v 11). And if we have failed or been criticised, let’s not be discouraged and give up, but let’s learn from the experience and allow God to develop character and perseverance in us, and then pick ourselves up to face the challenges set before us by the Lord.