EASTER SEVEN

a verse or two

“And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim
  the good news to the whole creation." Mark 16: 15

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Our Need for the Holy Spirit:

Last Thursday was 40 days since Jesus’ resurrection. This Sunday is sometimes known as Ascension Sunday. For forty days Jesus appeared numerous times to his disciples to assure them that he had indeed risen and to prepare them for the task of carrying on the work which he began during his earthy ministry. 

Mark ends his gospel account with Jesus' last appearance to the apostles before his ascension. When the Jesus departed physically from the apostles, they were not left in sorrow or grief. They were told the comforter—the Holy Spirit would be coming. 
Jesus' last words to his apostles was the great commission, their new mission was to be witnesses proclaiming the good news of salvation to the entire world. God's love and gift of salvation is not just for a few, or for a nation, but it is for the whole world. The gospel being the power of God, the power to forgive sins, to heal, to deliver from evil and oppression, and to restore life. 

Today the great commission also applies to us here at St David’s. Thankfully we have not been left alone in this task, the comforter—the Holy Spirit helps. As a church we desperately need to Holy Spirit to continue to work among us, in hearts and mind so people in our community come to know Jesus Christ. 

To Pray and Ponder: A prayer for filling of the Holy Spirit:

“Lord Jesus, through the gift of your Holy Spirit, you fill us with an indomitable spirit of praise and joy which no earthly trial can subdue. Fill me with your resurrection joy and help me to live a life of praise and thanksgiving for your glory. May I witness to those around me the joy of the gospel and the reality of your resurrection.” [adapted from http://www.rc.net Daily Readings] 

EASTER SIX

a verse or two

“The test of observance of Christ's teachings is our consciousness of our failure to attain an ideal perfection. The degree to which we draw near this perfection cannot be seen; all we can see is the extent of our deviation.” Leo Tolstoy

Spiritual Walk and Musings: “Rereading the Sermon on the Mount”

A few years back when sailing to Port Vila from Auckland I decided to take only one book to read. I thought that spending nine to eleven days on a small 32 foot yacht with a few hours between each shift would give me ample time to read the New Testament. I hadn’t counted on the bad weather or the Sermon on the Mount. I would sit down, swaying about, read a verse or two and be caught up in the complexity and profundity of Jesus’ sermon. Each small section goes to the very heart of a matter. “You have heard that it was said…But I tell you…” Jesus repeated words exhorting us all to live the spirit of the law and not just the letter of the law – a call to a right heart attitude when trying to obey the law. Be encouraged to reread the Sermon on the Mount. Just note that like my sailing trip – it might take quite a while to read Matthew 5, 6 and 7.

To Pray and Ponder: The paradox of prayer

Last week I mentioned the late, well-known Catholic priest Henri Nouwen and his choice to help the “man-child” Adam instead of pursuing academic fame and prestige. A choice that was very much a sermon-on-the-mount type of choice. The following is a quote I read on the internet by Nouwen about the ‘paradox of prayer’, read it and ponder the depths of what he is saying. “The paradox of prayer is that it asks for a serious effort while it can only be received as a gift. We cannot plan, organize or manipulate God; but without a careful discipline, we cannot receive Him either.”

May God bless you in your prayer life this week.
May you have the discipline to converse with God
May you be blessed to hear God’s small still voice
And the grace to receive God’s voice as a gift.

God Bless, Jon.

EASTER FIVE

Jesus Christ is RisenHe is risen indeed
Halleluiah

a verse or two

^“24 The LORD bless you and keep you;

²⁵ the LORD make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you;
²⁶ the LORD lift up his countenance upon you,
and give you peace.
Numbers 6: 24 – 26

Spiritual Walk and Musings: “The Lord Bless You”

What does it mean to be blessed? I have thought about this a lot over the years. And must confess my conclusions have tended to be a tad egocentric. It took reading the Beatitudes again to help me rethink things. In the past my thinking went along the lines, blessed is the person who is with God, one who knows God, who is aware of God’s presence. This is not untrue but maybe there is much more to what it means to be ‘blessed’. Perhaps true blessing is had in the process of blessing the other, blessing someone else? Perhaps it blesses God when we bless another. Perhaps God is most present when we bless another. Perhaps we are more aware of God’s presence when we need it because we need God’s help while blessing another?

Another thought. Reading the Beatitudes this week, they say, “Blessed are the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers.” Could it be they are the blessed ones? Or are the blessed those in the second part of each Beatitude, i.e. those shown mercy, those who see God, those called the children of God, those who have the kingdom of heaven, who inherit the earth, who are comforted – perhaps they are the blessed ones. That asks the question – what does it mean to inherit the earth? What does it mean to see God?

To Pray and Ponder: Learning More about Jesus

After last week’s service, the guest speaker from ReachAcross told me they forgot so say that one of the major differences between Islam and Christianity is the Koran teaches Jesus did not rise from the dead. Christianity believes Christ did rise from the dead. Our understanding of Jesus is a major difference. That is one reason we are spending time this year looking at ‘who is Jesus’. A good prayer for our church at the moment could be along the lines of asking God to help us to continue to learn more and more about who Jesus Christ is.

EASTER FOUR

Jesus Christ is Risen
He is risen indeed
Halleluiah

a prayer

The tale is told, the deed was done, 
the Christ was killed, but rose again. 
And now we know the words to say, 
Christ is the truth, the life, the way. 

Eternal God, 
  we commit ourselves to that way, 
  we crave that life, 
  we hunger after that truth. 
  We pray our days 
  are touched by both 
  cross-shadow and resurrection-light: 
  love and hope 
  at the base of our belief, 
  the pain and purpose 
  at the root of our faith, 
  the cost and gift 
  at the heart of our calling. 
  In Christ's name. 
Amen. [from “Seasons and Celebrations”]

a verse or two

^“11 For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. ¹²Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. ¹³When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, ¹⁴I will let you find me, says the LORD." Jeremiah 29: 11 – 14a

Spiritual Walk and Musings: “Being with God”

Hey it’s good to be back. On Monday morning I enjoyed driving down Queen St to church, smiling while waiting behind a queue of 4 cars at the roundabout. Oh, the pleasant slow pace after the craziness of the Gold Coast. Arrh it’s good to be home.

I am thinking about the part in verse 13 above, “you will find me if you seek me with all your heart”. It is a real buzz to be with God. To know that God is present. The reading implies that to be aware of that closeness of God to our being, we need to seek Him with all our heart! While at the theme parks on holiday we would queue (sometimes for a long time) for a short ride that gave a short lived buzz. 

Why is it we are prepared to queue for hours for short lived buzzes but struggle to seek God with all our heart and in turn miss out on the buzz that is beyond all buzzes – it even buzzes the unbuzzable? 

I love you guys - Jon 

To Pray and Ponder: A prayer of praise

Let all the earth cry out to God with joy. Alleluia. 
Bless our God, you peoples, 
loudly sound his praise; 
He has given life to our souls, 
and has not let our feet slip. 
Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.[Ps 66: 1, 8-9, 1] 
Sing a prayer of praise to God this day. 
For He has given us life, and meaning, 
and being and much more. 
Oh praise His name all folk of St. David’s

Reflections on ANZAC Day from Kay

A Verse or Two:

“For everything there is a season, a time for every matter unto Heaven………a time to love and a time to hate: a time for war and a time of peace.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 8 from the Old Testament.

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Anzac Day.  

As part of my course I am expected to take part in online forums and I would like to share with you some of my classmate’s thoughts on the theme ‘Anzac Day and Mission’.

“I am in awe when I run my eyes down the list of names on the memorial in our church of young men who died in battle, and I think; did they realise they were fighting and dying for me and my children as well as their own?” – C.

“As the death of Jesus on the cross gives us hope of eternal life, so the death of these young men gives us all hope for a better world in this life.” – D.

“We should honour those who gave their lives for us in battle and remember the sacrifices, but we should never forget to celebrate that their sacrifice bought us a degree of freedom as ultimately Jesus’ death brings us total freedom!” – R.

“It is usually those with some connection that attend Anzac Day services…. can it be that we offer the same connection for society in relation to Jesus …… that the understanding of Christ’s sacrifice is recaptured as we tell our own stories of how the cross has impacted our lives?” - L.

“If there is an increasing attendance by young New Zealanders at Anzac Day services, perhaps they are searching for a meaningful identity and shouldn’t we be telling them about the identity we have through Jesus Christ as being the most meaningful of all?” – S.

“Our children don’t know the horrors of war but do seem to get the sacrifice aspect. People died so that I am free. It is not until reading this forum that I even linked the concepts of Christ’s death – the sacrifice for me, although I believe Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice.” - S.

To Pray and Ponder: Youth & ANZAC Day

Have you talked to the young people in your life about the impact of Anzac Day in both your life and theirs? What do they think about the soldiers who went to war for their country and how can you use this to help them understand God’s will for us?

Holy Father, give us wisdom to teach the young ones how the soldiers sacrifice for their country relates to your commandment to love one another even as Christ died on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for us.

The disciples go it alone - by Kay

Verse or Two
“19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

Spiritual Walk and Musings: The disciples go it alone.

Just before Easter the Jehovah Witnesses left a leaflet on my doorstep. It said `Keep doing this in remembrance of me' then went on to ask `What are Jesus' disciples to commemorate?' It is obvious they were referring to communion, but it struck me that there was also something else Jesus instructed them to do. Matthew 28:19 — 20 (above) says it all.

Can you imagine where we would be today if they had failed to establish the church? It just doesn't bear thinking about. These twelve men, ordinary people from everyday life were the ones Jesus called to carry on his work. And it was dangerous work. They knew that as followers of Jesus they could face crucifixion. Even when Stephen was stoned to death they did not stop, they just spread out and continued to set up the church throughout the land.
Jesus knew the hearts of those twelve when he selected them and he knows us too. Jesus has chosen us and has a plan for each one of us. How amazing is that?

Pray and Ponder: `I am Carried' (Geoff Bullock).

“Love has conquered shame,
The broken mended, night has ended.
The lost and lonely lost no more,
For I am carried in the arms of grace and love divine.”

Lord, by your grace we have been saved, use us today to serve you. Amen.