The heart of worship

by Michael W Smith

Lately I've had to sort out a progamme called Shockwave Flash and I did not have a clue what it was. Basically, that programme allows your computer to connect with bits of media...this is what I understand..so I realised that it was part to the Adobe company (they do the pdf files!) therefore I had to download the stuff from Adobe website, (twice) then test it ( mean press on their link that said 'test' and it still didn't work. Somehow when I came back from work yesterday it worked..phew! and during those few days, I had this beautiful song in my head and my heart and longing to hear it so 'voilà'! I hope you like it too. If you do, let me know. Yours in Christ.

In His presence

This was the title of the 10th anniversary conference Steven and I attended last saturday in Lichfield cathedral. In the morning, we had a powerful address by Revd Richard Taylor and in the afternoon Michele Guinness invited us to party, yes, really we had a party!

Here are some brief notes I took while Richard Taylor was talking.

I was a heroin addict and Jesus saved me. I gave my life to Jesus. I want to share Jesus with everybody. My book, To catch a thief from career criminal to a life of hope is a UK based story. It can be found in most prisons in the UK as I believe if I can change, other people can change too and come to saving faith. We see them and they are transformed. One girl who was a hard drug user, a gaunt prostitute with scars all over, she'd been sexually, physically and emotionally abused for years. Trudy came to us  and became part of the family. We got used to her, show her love and three years on she is the manager of the girls home.

I became Christian in a pentecostal environment and then I was introduced to reformed theology. I became friend with Archbishop Rowan . I have what I have by the grace of the Lord and I believe in the power of the Gospel. Jesus is explaining to his disciples the type of relationship between him and the Father, entering in his presence. His presence lives in us. The anointing is in us already! We rely too much on the atmosphere. Jesus is saying that He is in the Father. Do we understand the power of God's presence? The scriptures point to the fact that his presence is already in us. I take his presence to street work. In Edgbaston, I asked a young woman for a coffee and she started to shake the coffee so much that she spilt it. She could experience something different, God's presence. We talked further and I told her I was a Christian. The presence of God is in us. We have the power of the living Christ in us. The same Spirit that resurrected Jesus from the dead dwells in us. Christ is more than a religious leader. John 8:58-59  ⁵⁸"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!  Jesus was speaking of his presence. Jesus-Christ is God. However ecumenical we want to be, the message of the Gospel is exclusive and politically opposed. We are not physical, Christ came with love. Now that we are forgiven, the gospel is inclusive to those who believe. [....] I recommend Richard's book, To catch a thief. It is an excellent read and you won't want to put it down!

I am currently reading Michele Guinness 's  autobiography : Chosen and I am enjoying it thoroughly!
Blessings. Yours in Christ.

Renewal Conference.

 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

 ² Worship the LORD with gladness;
       come before him with joyful songs.

 ³ Know that the LORD is God.
       It is he who made us, and we are his ^[a] ;
       we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

 ⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
       and his courts with praise;
       give thanks to him and praise his name.

 ⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
       his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100

Last time we went to one of those renewal days we were edified and inspired. I do recommend the experience. Blessings.

Swapping clothes..

Saturday night Imo and I met up with our friends Trena and Lizzie in town. We had a curry quite early, we were sitting in the restaurant at about 5:15  the reason being we were going to a 'swapping clothes' event starting at 7:30 in the Christian Elim Centre! We had a lovely time in the restaurant and then we moved to the centre. Everybody invited (ladies mainly only) brought a bag of clothes and then we were given a number of tickets corresponding to the number of items.
While we were having tea and muffins, Mrs. Comfort Owusu Otchere, the Schools Coordinator for International Needs Ghana told us about this Christian organisation where she has worked for 17 years. One of their success stories is how they managed to rescue young children at risk while working for fishermen, children as young as five. If they'd drown while repairing the nets or the boats, nobody would report them.  A high percentage of them managed to attend one of the schools provided by IN, International Needs. They also provide healthcare and have an anti-slavery programme.
Do you want to help too or do you wish to find out more? Click on this link:  http://www.innetwork.org.gh/
Let us pray for the churches, the church planters and their families, and everybody involved in the organisation. May the Lord gives them strength and guidance for the success of their projects. In Jesus-Christ. Amen. Also here is the link of their 'gifts of compassion' shop : http://ineeds.mimegraphics.com/index.php?education We had a fantastic evening. Blessings.

Creation or evolution?

Lately, it looks as if this question is a source of tension, so much that one may think wise to stay out of it for fear of upsetting one's friend.. In fact there are many Christians who tell me that evolution does not bother them, they add : if it is the big bang, then God created it!
I find it useful to know a bit more about the debate. Somehow, you must have noticed that the evolutionists viewpoints seem to be everywhere, in most of our schools, universities, documentaries and media. However there seems to be cracks in the theory of evolution and the creationists are fighting back for recognition as they believe that the evidence gathered by the evolutionists have not always been accurate for instance..you have heard of the 'missing link' ..but there is MORE!
Interested ? then why don't you visit Dr. Grady Shannon McMurtry's website : http://www.creationworldview.org

Blessings. Yours in Jesus-Christ.

Let's rejoice and praise the Lord!

Blessings.

..live at peace with everyone..

      17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
    ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
    ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord.
    ²⁰ On the contrary:
   If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. 
 ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:17-21

I think that you will agree that sometimes living at peace with everyone can be difficult!
We have to be on our guard all the time so that difficult situations do not develop and end up overcoming us to a point where we feel that forgiving is too hard.
This afternoon, I was reading in Lynn's blog http://lynnmosher.blogspot.com/   how she blessed her employer instead of cursing her.
So if we choose to bless our enemy we will be able to move forward and remove bitterness from our heart. I must add that in such a situation, I asked the Lord to help me as I felt I could not do it on my own! Blessings. Yours in Christ.

There is a King in you!

You come from royalty

An aristocratic dynasty

The goal of the enemy

Is that you don't know who you are

There's power when you speak

Be mindful of words you release

I know that life has challenged you

But the king in me speaks to the king in you

You were born to rule there is a king in you

You come from royalty

An aristocratic dynasty

The goal of the enemy

Is that you don't know who you are

There's power when you speak

Be mindful of words you release

I know that life has challenged you

But the king in me speaks to the king in you

You were born to rule there is a king in you

Is there no king in you then why do you speak

Speak with such defeat?

Is there no king in you then why do you speak

Speak with such low esteem?

I know that life has challenged you

But the king in me speaks to the king in you

You were born to rule there is a king in you

Donald Lawrence and Co. 

The Venice of the Languedoc!

Later on we went to Sète. I'd never been there before but I knew that it was one of the largest harbours on the Mediterranean. What I did not know is it has been given the name of Venice of the Languedoc!  It is situated between the Thau Lagoon (Etang de Sète), the sea and various canals! Paul Valéry and Georges Brassens are its two most famous people. 

Imogen pausing on the parapet in front of the Chapelle Notre Dame de la Salette (see below). 

 Having a drink in one of the many cafés in the town center.

Walking by the harbour.

We had lunch in one of those restaurants. One of the dishes i had was called the tielle sétoise, a round pastry filled up with octopus pieces in a tomato sauce. 

 View from the mont  St Clair (183 m)

I thought that this tiny street with the washing on the line does look like an Italian street! What do you think?

Have a blessed week-end.

Jousting in Agde

One day we went to Agde, in the Languedoc Roussillon region, and we realised people were getting ready for the Joutes Nautiques (nautical jousting). Apparently this sport has existed in Sete the 25th of August 1743...

The Rules

The tournament starts with a parade of the jousting “knights” with traditional music: oboe and drums are the two main instruments. There is a blue and a red rowboat guided by steersmen and powered by 8 to 10 rowers.

 In the front of the boat, 2 musicians accompany the tournament with a traditional music.

 The jousting members are armed with a spear and protected by a “pavois” (a shield). 

The aim of the game is to make the opponent fall in the water with the spear when the boats pass each other. 

 Hum, wonder who is there, hidden in the crowd!

 The jousting fighters stand on the “tintaine”, a plank set at the back of the boat

 about 2 meters above the water.

 Here is the blue team and the musicians

 Nobody in the water yet!

The red team.

This went on for at least two hours and it was good fun! Here is a splash. I must say that though the sun was out, the temperature of the water was below 16 ...

A few holidays snaps...

 We are back home and it is strange not to be able to walk on the sand

 nor hear any French people talking in the background.

 This is the market, colourful and usually full of people. They were closing on that day. 

 A myriad of restaurants in the town center!

 The harbour!

The harbour seen from the market.

That's all for tonight! Blessings. Yours in Christ. 

Jesus is our Prince of Peace

What are holidays for?
I am sure that you all have a very good answer and maybe it will match mine. To refresh; to experience a change of scene and a warmer weather? Do let me know.
We could have gone back to the Camargue as we thoroughly enjoyed it last year but we wanted a change.
Since our first day in Valras plage, the Med has been so cold that nobody dared swim in it. It doesn't stop the children to have fun paddling and building sand castles. Yesterday, the wind stopped and we managed to swim. 
Now, are you one of those who like to be active during their hols or you'd rather read on the beach. We do  a bit of both, getting up at ninish, exploring castles (Carcassone) and places (Narbonne, Agde..) taking photos, socialising and the inevitable food-shopping. We also had to fit in walking on the beach, picking up shells, looking for the biggest grasshoppers in the garrigue..(photos to come soon)
Last Sunday we worshipped in  in the Eglise Evangelique libre de Beziers and met new brothers and sisters, Joseph and Anne-Marie. We had the pleasure of hearing a visiting pastor preaching on Jesus, the Prince of peace. It was awesome and timely to hear those comforting words as there'd been trouble in the campsite very near us as late one night, a young father got quarellous after a drink too many and was told to leave in the morning.
Peace be with you. In Jesus' name.

Off to Béziers..

We are off to the south of France. 

Enjoy the summer.

Blessings.

Did you know that...

God loves you and wants to have a personal relationship with you?


God created you:

In Psalm 139:13-14  the Bible says ¹³ For you created my inmost being;
       you knit me together in my mother's womb.
 ¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
       your works are wonderful,  I know that full well.
God loves you:
John 3:16 ¹⁶"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
God wants you to know Him:
 John 17:3   ³Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
We are all so special for the Lord. Let's praise Him!

Are you stressed or fed up?

Blessings. In Jesus-Christ.

Did Jesus exist?

Tonight, Mandy and I went out knocking on doors inviting people to our breakfast service tomorrow at 9:00. We met somebody keen to engage into a conversation about the Gospel and the identity of Jesus even though she claimed to reject the existence of God or Jesus. After hearing us, she would still say we were talking 'rubbish'!  Still, we kept on. 
Alleluia! Jesus lives. 
I thought that I would give reasons for believing in Jesus' existence?
 Jesus is mentioned by early historians who were not Christians. 

1. Flavius  Josephus - a Pharisee and Jewish historian

Flavious Josephus said; "About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Messiah. When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing amongst us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who had in the first place come to love him did not give up their affection for him. On the third day he appeared to them restored to life, for the prophets of God had prophesied these and countless other marvelous things about him. And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared." Antiquities of the Jews 18:63-64

2. Tacitus - A Roman Historian

In A.D. 115, Tacitus, the most important Roman historian of the first century, wrote as follows:

"Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberias at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome ... Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty: then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind" (Tacitus, Annals 15.44)

It is clear from this passage that Tacitus was no friend of the Christians. 

3. Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia,  wrote as follows to the Emporer Trajan around 111 A.D.

"I have asked them if they are Christians, and if they admit it, I repeat the question a second and third time, with a warning of the punishment awaiting them. If they persist, I order them to be led away for execution; for whatever the nature of their admission, I am convinced that their stubborness and unshakable obstinacy ought not to go unpunished...

They also declared that the sum total of their guilt or error amounted to no more than this: that they met regularly before dawn on a fixed day to chant verses alternately amongst themselves in honor of Christ as if  to a god, and also to bind themselves by oath, not for any criminal purpose, but to abstain from theft, robbery, and adultery ...         - Pliny the Younger, Letters 10.96

4 Suetonius  Suetonius was a Roman historian and a court official in Emperor Hadrian’s government. In his Life of Claudius he refers to Claudius expelling Jews from Rome on account of their activities on behalf of a man Suetonius calls Chrestus [another misspelling of Christus or Christ].

If you are interested in finding more, why don't you visit those websites: http://www.sowhataboutjesus.com/existed.php

http://www.christian-faith.com/html/page/did_jesus_exist

http://www.riversoflife.co.uk/oldsite/Apologetics/Resurrection/crucifiction.htm

Blessings. Yours in Christ

I am free

Through You the blind will see
Through You the mute will sing
Through You the dead will rise
Through You our hearts will praise
Through You the darkness flees
Through You my heart screams I am free
I am free

Chorus:
I am free to run
(I am free to run)
I am free to dance
(I am free to dance)
I am free to live for You
(I am free to live for You)
I am free
(I am free)
Yes, I am free
(I am free)

Through You the kingdom's come
Through You the battle's won
Through You I'm not afraid
Through You the price is paid
Through You there's victory
Because of You my heart screams I am free
I am free

Chorus:

Who the Son sets free is free indeed.
Who the Son sets free is free indeed.

Chorus: 


I have just discovered that song tonight. Blessings in Christ.

Galatians 5:1 & 13 -25

What is freedom? Does it really exist? People think they are free but really they are conforming in one way or another – some good and some not. Keeping the laws of the land as we have to means we are not free to do as we may want – speeding is a good example! To be historic, back in the 60's, people claimed that they were free to do it all, wearing flower shirts, flowers in their hair and the whatever but in the end they were conforming to the same ideals. There will always be someone or something pulling our strings. If those who pull our strings are at work or at home, in a comfortable/loving environment, we do not mind it because we love them and want to please them. When you are watching advertisements on TV do those who produce the adverts really think people are free? Obviously some people are more influenced than others.

Freedom:

Paul talks of the freedom in this passage to love: 13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. ¹⁴The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbour as yourself." ¹⁵If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

Flesh:

He compares the life in the flesh [we are back to Adam's basic instincts] and see how he illustrates it in verses 19-21. Note he says ‘the acts of the sinful nature are . . . ‘ to the life in the Spirit and he outlines the fruit of the Spirit in verses 22-23. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and hence original sin is part of our nature. Through redemption, Jesus-Christ sets us free ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

Fruit:

See above and then he goes on to say that we have got to keep in step with the Spirit (v.25). In John 14:16, Jesus says: ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever. Counsellor = paralete = one called alongside to help etc. in the place of Jesus. Keeping in step means walking in accord with the Spirit. We are not walking on our own ways.  As the Son sets us free, we should be free indeed, that is the restoring process but we live in a world marred by sin. It's only in eternity that we will be perfected.

I wanted to share my notes on what Steven talked about last Sunday. Blessings, Yours in Christ.

Is Jesus your King?

Jesus is my King. Alleluia! Is he yours?

Ordination of Jason Phillips, Curate of Mid Trent

Last Sunday, we attended the ordination service in St Mary's church in Stafford. The church was packed with family and friends who came to support the three priests-to-be. I'd love to share with you the thoughts expressed by Paul Thomas, our Rural Dean.
Sermon for priestings (part I)
The heart of this afternoon’s service is the making of promises. Each of the candidates will renew their dedication to Jesus Christ and promise to serve him as priests in the church of God.

 And if this service works as it is meant to do those promises will stand as a powerful landmark in the lives of those being made priest. Hopefully, they will also make a deep impression on all who witness them. After all, the scene is set for the promises to take on great significance. The candidates have spent a year of their lives as Deacons. They have just been away on retreat to prepare for this solemn pledge of themselves to God. Family and friends have gathered in large numbers to support them. And then there is the service itself: as it progresses we can expect the atmosphere to build up - with fine music, a loud volume of singing sweeping across the building, a fine oration from the preacher (!), all the dignity of an episcopal presence, and the careful wording and ritual of the liturgy.(....)

 And precisely because the atmosphere is so charged with emotion and longing and best intention we might easily forget just how fragile our human promises can be. Hannah Arendt gave this some thought in her writings. She believed that there were two factors which affected the keeping of promises – the ‘basic unreliability’ of human beings and ‘the impossibility of foretelling what the future might hold’. The major threat to promises though was, she concluded, ‘the darkness of the human heart.’ Likewise Paul Ricoeur saw a real problem with promise-keeping. Human experience teaches that there is ‘a secret break at the very heart of commitment.’ I suppose the popular saying ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions’ points to much the same conclusion. And a great deal of popular drama –  for example the TV Soaps – take their clout from repeated instances of people going back on their word.

 The fact is we live in a world of broken promises. People say things they don’t mean. They pledge themselves to commitments they don’t keep. Fast on the heel of so many promises comes betrayal and bewilderment. So what are we to do? Give up making promises altogether? That might seem an easy answer but it is well-nigh impossible. Human beings live a significant part of their lives orientated towards the future. And faced by the uncertainty of the future we feel the need for some security and part of that comes from our promises to be constant, reliable and trustworthy people who can be counted on.

 But knowing what a risky and fraught business making promises can be how do we do it with any credibility? The simplest answer is to say that we cannot uphold our promises on our own. We need help and support – and inspiration. As Christians instead of supporting our promises with the words ‘Here I stand’ we need to expand that statement to ‘Here I stand before God -’with all the difference that can make. To make a promise before God does not guarantee that we will keep it. Those who believe in God are still prone to the same human weaknesses and failures as others who do not believe. But to make a promise before God means that if failure comes that need not be the final word. If we try to live before God then we should be aware of the rich resources of restoration that God makes available to us. We should know about God’s mercy and forgiveness; we should be conscious of God’s help and strength; and we should be recipients of God’s life-changing Holy Spirit. And because we possess that sense of God’s renewing power we know that when we falter or fail there is at least the possibility of a new start and a re-establishment of the promise. This is so not because we are trivialising the promise, nor because we are indifferent to the hurt a broken promise might bring to another. Rather it is because we recognise the infinite resourcefulness of God and God’s ability to lift us out of the quagmire of failure and set our feet on a firm path.