Saturday 26 September 2009

Do you feel valued?

What is man that you are mindful of him,

The son of man that you care for him?

Psalm 8 v.4


The tutor stood in front of his class. They were of mixed ages,ethnic and educational backgrounds. Some had physical disabilities and others had mental health problems.”Hands up if you would like this £20 pound note?” he asked as he held it in the air. A forest of hands shot up – everyone wanted it. He then folded up the note. “Who wants it now?” he asked. Again all the hands went up. The tutor picked up the board marker and marked the note. “Hands up if you want it now ?” he asked. Once more, all the hands were raised. Next he tore a piece off the corner of the note. “Anyone want it now?” Again, everyone indicated that despite the note not being in pristine condition it was still wanted. Finally the tutor screwed it up into a tiny ball. “Look at it now” he said. “Does anyone want it?” As you can guess, everyone still did! All knew that the £20 note had retained its value even though it was imperfect. We may be imperfect but we are still valued by God. Our heavenly Father does not love or care for us any less however we may feel about ourselves or what we have done ( or not done). His love is unconditional.


Today here at St. Martin’s, along with other Anglican churches we are keeping Back to Church Sunday. This is an opportunity for us to invite friends and neighbours to come and worship with us – a reminder that all are welcome. If you are a visitor to St. Martin’s this morning –welcome! I hope you find the church family friendly, that you can follow the service, know at least one hymn and that it is a positive experience. You are valued and loved by God. As Jesus said in Matthew 10 v.30, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Perhaps you might like to come again or maybe you would be interested in the Alpha course starting in October?

Liz Dunthorne

Stop doubting and Believe

Picture the scene. Jesus had already appeared to all of the disciples except Thomas and he was not about to believe what his friends were telling him without him seeing and touching the evidence for himself. A week later, Thomas is confronted by the risen Christ, being challenged with all the evidence he needs. “Stop doubting and believe” are Jesus’s words to Thomas and I wonder how he felt after this encounter.


Whilst I am convinced and believe whole heartedly in the resurrection of Jesus, like so many, when it comes to the detail, I have my questions and doubts, particularly in my own abilities. As we continue our walk of faith, God is continually asking us to trust Him and not in our own abilities. Not only do we have this to contend with, but when we do take that step of putting our faith into action, we can always convince ourselves that we could have done better.


Faith is lived out through action, we can believe totally in the saving grace and love of Jesus Christ but without action it is dead. I have been reminded recently that this faith is lived out in the here and now, in all that each day of the week brings to us. The opportunities for our faith to be revealed come and go and God is able to reveal himself to others through our actions, despite our ineptness.


Sometimes I feel like the boy with the fish and bread when Jesus fed the 5,000. What I have to offer is totally inappropriate for the situation and I would rather Jesus ask somebody else. Yet this brings me to the place where Thomas found himself, a place where Jesus challenges me to stop doubting and start believing.


Yours in Christ

Martin

What does the Holy Spirit do for you?

Where would we be without the Holy Spirit? Well for a start, the chances are that you would not be reading this in church or at home. Having just celebrated Pentecost, I wonder if without the Holy Spirit the Good News of Jesus would have remained in a locked room, a well kept secret to a few leaderless people, in fear of their lives.


The experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit can be dramatic as in Pentecost, and we read that the disciples’ experience was not attributed to the hand of God by some of the crowd, some thought they were drunk. However, when we read Acts, we have to acknowledge that somehow the Holy Spirit turned a few scared people into strong and courageous evangelists and that through the Holy Spirit, the church, as we know it, has come to be.


The life of the church is linked to the work of the Holy Spirit within us, the church grows when the body (that is you and me) are open to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are not just for the individual but for the benefit of the whole church and any kind of spiritual growth at St. Martin’s is down to the Holy Spirit gently nudging individuals, who probably felt inadequate at the time but were willing to listen, to use their gifts and take that step of faith.


Your experience of the Holy Spirit working in a very real and tangible way maybe something that is not seen very often and when it does happen, it is to somebody else. For some, this may be a comfort for others it raises lots of questions. My experience, is that being open to the Holy Spirit is very rarely dramatic but a very gentle process, something that has been echoed by others I have talked to. If you desire more of the Spirit then I believe St. Martin’s should be the place where you can be continually filled with Him through prayer. If this is something that you would like to happen, then just ask.


Whatever your thoughts are on the Holy Spirit, we should all be grateful and praise God for the way He has worked, is working and will continue to work, with people like you and me, in order to bring us all closer to the love of God, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. All Christians throughout the world draw strength, guidance and inspiration from listening to Him. The same Spirit that was given at Pentecost, that encouraged the church to grow and pass on the message of God’s love down through the ages, is here and now, freely available to us. Praise God!


Yours in Christ

Martin

Giving Thanks

"Give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:18)


As a church we could not survive without the ongoing support of our members, and so in a very difficult financial climate, where many people are struggling to makes ends meet, I want to say a heartfelt ‘thank you’ for your ongoing commitment of time and money, without which the church could not function.

I have come to realise that I need to be more thankful – to God and to others. Thankfulness is a wonderful thing, giving thanks not only feels good it also helps us, and it lets others know that we care for them and appreciate them – just think about the occasions people have thanked you for something you have done. The more thankful we are, the more there is to be thankful for. A person cannot be complaining and thankful at the same time.

As Christians we have more reason to be thankful than anyone else, and it is good to express this thankfulness in our worship, our words and through the lives we lead. When we express our thankfulness to others and to God, it helps bring us closer to one another and to God.

As a church we have much to be thankful for. 2010 marks St Martin’s golden jubilee year, and it gives us a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the life of St Martin’s, and especially to give thanks to God for all that he has done through our church during the last half century. Please give some thought as to some of the things we could do over the course of 2010 to mark this special anniversary and especially to say ‘thank you’ to God who has blessed us in so many ways.

Thank You, God, For Everything

Thank you, God, for everything,
The big things and the small.
For "every good gift comes from God"...
The giver of them all.
And all too often we accept, without any thanks or praise,
The gifts God sends as blessings, each day in many ways.
And so we offer up a prayer...
To thank you, God, for giving us a lot more than our share.

First, thank you for the little things
That often come our way,
The things we take for granted
But don't mention when we pray,
The unexpected courtesy, the thoughtful, kindly deed,
A hand reached out to help us in the time of sudden need.
Oh, make us more aware, dear God, of little daily graces
That come to us with "sweet surprise"
From never-dreamed-of places.

Then, thank you for the "Miracles"
We are much too blind to see,
And give us new awareness of our many gifts from Thee,
And help us to remember that the Key of Life and Living
Is to make each prayer a Prayer of Thanks
And every day Thanksgiving
--Helen Steiner Rice