June 2011

To know God and to make Him known

Dear Friends,

What a wonderful week-end we had as a church. We were very blessed by the ministry of Donald Finnan who shared with us 4 important encounters that Jesus had with individuals.  Each one presented a different challenge to us as individuals and as a church and to Christians in general. We need to respond to God’s Word through the power of His Holy Spirit.

The main challenges for our response as a church, as I perceived them, were to do with being salt and light in the community. What should people see when they look at us as a community of believers?  The Christian church has much repair work to do and humility is certainly not a characteristic that many associate with the church. Nicodemus saw his highly respected orthodox Judaism and qualification as the top theologian in Mosaic Law as giving him automatic entry to Heaven. Many believe that doing respectable and commendable things is a visa for heaven, whereas it is by seeing our need of forgiveness and experiencing the wonder of God’s grace as we seek His mercy that brings the joy of Kingdom membership.

The Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well was certainly one person who would have loved to shelter behind superinjunctions, but Jesus saw through all her cover and diversionary tactics as He cut across all the human-generated barriers of education, politics, social convention and religious division. It is a challenge not only to our own pre-conceived notions about people but to our belief that God in His sovereignty can overrule in all situations that seem to hold us back as a church.  In fact the example of the Syro-Phoenician that we also studied is a wonderful example of persistent faith.  ‘Yes You can” would have been her political slogan! I pray it will be ours too.

I pray that as we reach out to our community they will see in us a humble people rejoicing in the joy of God’s forgiveness and standing in amazement at God’s salvation plan.  I pray that people will see in us a haven in which they feel accepted and loved and can find a light which points them to the Way, the Truth and the Life in a world which offers increasing moral confusion and uncertainty of direction.

The woman who poured the expensive aromatic oil on Jesus feet did so out of gratitude for the forgiveness she had already received from Jesus and gave Him the welcome that had been denied Him by his host at the meal.  May we pour out the love of Jesus to those around us and help them find God’s salvation plan for them. May we show Jesus’ love to a world that increasingly ignores Him and tries to marginalise His followers. May we be the place where people find healing and purpose and meaning to their lives in the way God had originally intended.

Please continue to pray for our witness and our spiritual growth. Pray also for our children’s work and those involved in it as we seek to serve the needs of, hopefully, an increasing number of families in our fellowship. Please also pray for the Development Steering Group which is just starting its work.

God bless you.

With my love,

David