During the Coronavirus crisis we are adapting to continue to support, serve and encourage, in ways other than physically meeting together. One of these is our daily 3Ps – a way to take a bit of time at home to Pause, Ponder and Pray. We recommend 12noon, but whatever suits is fine. We will be posting the 3Ps in place of Midweek Musings each day.
|
God afternoon all!
A joy once again to see so many of you our screens this morning. If not quite “the ends of the earth” a fair to good smattering. Enjoy the sun! Keep safe Keep in touch Keep the faith Simon P.S. the package finally arrived – indeed quite a few prayers answered yesterday! PTL! Sunday 9th August Pause
Ponder Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offences Proverbs 10:12 Think: "but love covers all offences” - is our love enough to do this, or does it require the help of someone greater than ourselves? Pray "Pray without ceasing” 1 Thessalonians 5.17 Pray this evening, reflecting on the good things of God that you have received from him today Church members: Abim Martins Yuko, Julius, Elden and Eddie Ang. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen. Keep us, good Lord, under the shadow of your mercy. Sustain and support the anxious, be with those who care for the sick, and lift up all who are brought low; that we may find comfort knowing that nothing can separate us from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. And a final blessing May the peace of the Lord Christ go with us, wherever He may send us. May He guide us through the wilderness, protect us through the storm. May He bring us home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown us. May He bring us home rejoicing Once again into our doors. Morning all!
A lovely day (for once!), I’m off to the Peak district shortly. I pray your day will be a blessed one wherever you find yourself. Keep safe Keep in touch Keep the faith Simon P.S. the package finally arrived - indeed quite a few prayers answered yesterday! PTL! Saturday 8th August Pause
Ponder But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. 1 Corinthians 16:8-9 Think: Do you feel that opportunities to be effective for God are matched with times of opposition? If so, would you choose to nevertheless actively remain to take up the opportunities ? Pray "Pray without ceasing” 1 Thessalonians 5.17 Church Members: Sueli Neves Dawn, Reuben and Luke Owen-Harris. Pray for those who are finding it difficult to be brave and serve God amid opposition. Pray for those who are getting married today (in perhaps different circumstances than expected) Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen. Keep us, good Lord, under the shadow of your mercy. Sustain and support the anxious, be with those who care for the sick, and lift up all who are brought low; that we may find comfort knowing that nothing can separate us from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. And a final blessing May the peace of the Lord Christ go with us, wherever He may send us. May He guide us through the wilderness, protect us through the storm. May He bring us home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown us. May He bring us home rejoicing Once again into our doors. Morning all!
Well I’m still waiting….! An item ordered over 10 days ago with a promised next day delivery (and the source of my musings a couple of days ago) has still failed to arrive. Two courier firms have now been entrusted with the delivery, and both claim nobody has been in the house when they have attempted delivery. As I type, I keep a nervous eye on my parcel tracking site, steeling myself for the latest disappointing update. This feeling of powerlessness takes me back to when I was council house tenant in my first parish as a curate, and at the mercy of Manchester Direct Works (an oxymoron if ever there was one as ‘work' rarely took place, and communication was certainly less than ‘direct’!). There, as is the experience of many tenants, work if carried out, was rarely scheduled for the convenience of the recipient, accompanied with a lot of false promises along the way. Such powerlessness can lead if unchecked, to a prolonged bitterness and lack of trust. Currently, I’m still able (just) to smile (perhaps aided by my ability to publicly vent how I feel). May we all, whenever encountering disappointment, and particularly during the current frustrations of these trying times, be able to smile, and find the support of others. Keep safe Keep in touch Keep the faith Simon Friday 7th August Pause
Ponder Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking. And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, ‘Lie with me.’ But he refused and said to his master’s wife, ‘Look, with me here, my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my hand. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?’ 1And although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not consent to lie beside her or to be with her. Genesis 39:6b-10 Think: What temptations do you face that require you to be dependent on your (and Joseph’s) God to resist Pray "Pray without ceasing” 1 Thessalonians 5.17 Church family: Shirley Anderson , Kathy and Jenny Anderson, Agnes, Duke, Jayden and Jason Ablakwa Pray for Mo as she remains in contact with many folk for whom the Positive Steps ministry is a life-line. Pray for those who face difficulties in the restrictions of the households they find themselves currently residing in. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen. Keep us, good Lord, under the shadow of your mercy. Sustain and support the anxious, be with those who care for the sick, and lift up all who are brought low; that we may find comfort knowing that nothing can separate us from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. And a final blessing May the peace of the Lord Christ go with us, wherever He may send us. May He guide us through the wilderness, protect us through the storm. May He bring us home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown us. May He bring us home rejoicing Once again into our doors. Morning all!
Over the last few days, my morning breakfast has been augmented by fruit from the garden. Initially grown by neglect and only later by design once I saw the fruit developing, the blackberry bushes have indeed been fruitful. Each berry however comes at a cost - for as I have to navigate the associated thorns as well as the accompanying nettles, I quite often get stung. As such, the blackberries are all the more valued. Over the years we’ve become accustomed to buying and eating fruit more or less whenever we want it. Indeed it is flown in at great cost both economic and to the planet. Gone are the days when we only ate fruit in their localised season (I still have memories of my mother stewing and then hopefully fruit to provide for us in the winter). I have been thinking a lot about the seasons recently; how in the past they guided both our activity and what we ate and thereby enabled a degree of balance. As my blackberries, and indeed the produce of various allotments, currently reminds me, we could do worse than mindfully following the seasons God has blessed us with. Keep safe Keep in touch Keep the faith Simon Thursday 6th August Pause
Ponder So Philip ran up to (the chariot) and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. The eunuch asked Philip, ‘About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?’ Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. Acts 8:30-31, 34-35 Think: Philip’s response came after being moved by the spirit – has this ever been your experience? How might you be a guide to someone’s spiritual journey? Pray "Pray without ceasing” 1 Thessalonians 5.17 Church family: Mavis Moorhouse; Jocelyn Plummer Pray for those who are alone too much at present, and for those who can never be alone. Pray for openness to the prompting of God’s spirit that we might respond to the opportunities He sets up. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen. Keep us, good Lord, under the shadow of your mercy. Sustain and support the anxious, be with those who care for the sick, and lift up all who are brought low; that we may find comfort knowing that nothing can separate us from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. And a final blessing May the peace of the Lord Christ go with us, wherever He may send us. May He guide us through the wilderness, protect us through the storm. May He bring us home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown us. May He bring us home rejoicing Once again into our doors. |
Pause, Ponder,
|
RSS Feed