Appreciating Appreciation - Sundays Talk

As part of the series 'Men and Women in the Bible and the Holy Spirit' I attempted to describe the power of Appreciation in our lives and the way Jesus did this in the gospels. Jesus appreciated and accepted people like Nathanael, the woman at the well, the Centurion's faith, Peter, etc and through this the Holy Spirit worked. See the PowerPoint and the Podcast.

When I survey

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were an offering far to small;
love so amazing, love divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all!

Appologies for the repeat to those who view both blogs but I was reminded of this photo, which I took early today, as we sang this morning, thinking of the whole of nature being an offering too small for God yet he loves us without condition or the need for offerings isn't He wonderful.

Forgiveness

Thoughts following on from David's talk on Sunday...

It is tough.

When you declare your chosen path

And others see it and measure your passage along it.

It is hard when we let ourselves down

And fall out happens;

When we find ourselves in a place

We don’t want to be;

When we feel our edges compromised.

We are exposed

And the chill air

Turns us blue.

We are lost without your warmth,

Without you to cling to

Where do we find solace?

But it is self-imposed exile.

You remain.

It is we who turn away from you;

We lower our eyes in shame

And cannot see your outstretched arms.

You reach out for our damaged selves,

As much as you ever did for those more complete

You are not less compassionate

Just because we need it more.

The Holy Spirit and men and women in the bible - Ruth

This morning we considered Ruth and her experiences and how we can learn to love like Jesus taught us through her example. If you want to read the notes that go with the power point they are here.

A desire for God

I thought this prayer Sue posted in comments deserved to be out for all to see. I can fully agree with the sentiments it expresses. Thanks Sue

"MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone."- Thomas Merton

The Holy Spirit and Men and Women in the Bible - Jeremiah

Here is the power point from todays talk and a link to my notes if you want to read what goes with the presentation but remember you can hear the talk by going to the podcasts link down the right hand side of this blog.



As usual we value your thoughts and comments

'Thought for Today' Today on Lourdes

Tomorrow I am off to Lourdes for a week and many people have asked me 'what is a free church pastor doing going to Lourdes?'

Good question! Although I have been once before I haven't found it easy to say what has drawn me back again.

Today, Dom Antony Sutch described on BBC4's 'Thought for the Day' his own view and I was taken with how close it was to mine. So, if you want to read a good approximation of my view of Lourdes and perhaps some clues as to why I am going then read his 'Thought for the Day' by clicking here.