Dear Friends,
This month we see the biggest and most exciting event
Thanet has witnessed in years. The Festival of Hope has been an ambitious
project to bring all the churches in Thanet working together in reaching out to
their local communities. Concluding with the final “Main
Event” on Pentecost Sunday (30TH May).
All too often we hear about the divisions separating
the church, but here we have an opportunity to witness to the things that unite
us. And before the week has even begun, it’s greatest
success has already been the unity it has brought across the churches. From Pentecostals to Roman Catholics, and from Traditionalists to Charismatics. But this is how it should be.
Not emphasising our man-made differences, but
celebrating our Christ given unity.
It is appropriate that all this should culminate with
the climax on Pentecost Sunday, the Birthday of the Church. The day we
celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, transforming the lives of the
followers of Jesus and filling them with new power.
The Holy Spirit is not contained by denominational
labels or man-made divisions. And it is the presence of the Holy Spirit that
today that brings real unity in the Church. We state this every time we say the
‘Grace’:
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
The Love of God,
And the FELLOWSHIP of the Holy
Spirit:!
Through the Festival of Hope, and I pray for long
afterwards, we have the opportunity of living out the reality of that
statement.
Every Blessing
Geoff Boxer
ROOSTER BOOSTER
There
is a legend about a rooster who thought his crowing caused the sun to rise. He
even felt that if one day by change he should fail to crow, the sun would not
rise at all. Of course things were not as the rooster imagined, for it was the
sun-rays at dawn that woke the rooster. He was only the herald of the dawn. It
is so with God and us; it is always God who moves us to love Him, we do not move God to love us. God is
love, and God loves
us. It is only for
us to accept His love by believing wholeheartedly in His Son, Jesus Christ. if we do not, we are refusing God’s love-gift. We are
unwilling to let God love us.
Obituary
Today we mourn the
passing of a beloved old friend by the name of Common Sense, who has been with
us for many years.
No one knows for
sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in Bureaucratic
red tape.
He will be
remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come
in/out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and life isn’t always fair.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound, financial policies (don’t spend more than
you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (Adults, not kids, are in charge).
His health began to
rapidly deteriorate when well intentioned, but over bearing, regulations were
set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy being charged with sexual
harassment for kissing a classmate, teenagers being suspended from school for
using mouth wash after lunch, and a teacher being fired for reprimanding an
unruly student only worsened his condition.
It declined even
further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer
aspirin to a student but could not inform the parents when a student became
pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. Finally, Common Sense lost the will to
live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses and
criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense finally
gave up the will to live after a woman failed to realise that a steaming cup of
coffee was hot. She spilled a bit in her lap and was awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was
preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his
daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by two
stepbrothers, My Rights and Ima Whiner. Not many attended his funeral, because
so few realized he was gone. If you still know him, pass this on, if not, join
the majority and do nothing.
BROKEN WINDOWS
Andy was practicing his golf
swing in his back garden. Before he knew it the ball had bounced off the back
fence and gone crashing into the French windows. A pane 7 feet by 6 feet had a
nice neat spider’s web of splintered glass in the top left hand corner. Andy’s
wife, before she swung for him, went totally bananas.
“But. . but. . , .it’s only
the corner, my sweet” . .“ he whimpered.
We on this earth are
separated from God because he is perfect and we are not: so what is keeping us
apart? The answer is ‘sin”. Sin is that in us which is wrong. This can be
anything from setting off a nuclear
device in the middle of Marks and
So let’s look again at Andy’s
window. Even if only a small part of the pane of glass is cracked the whole
pane is no good: it’s ruined. It’s the same with us: once we have sinned we are
imperfect and separated from God, no matter how small the blemish. The damage
has been done.
But God solved the whole
problem by sending us His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus never sinned and, when He was
crucified and died, took on all the sin of the world: including ours if we ask
Him.
So now you know what it means
when people say that Jesus can save you from your sin. But it’s not automatic:
we must first of all acknowledge that we are not perfect and then ask Him to
come into our lives. But if we don’t ever ask Him, we can never be forgiven and
can never go to Heaven (the presence of God).
Why not take up
Jesus’ offer? It’s never too late.
©
KENTON SMITH . Mooney’s
Print & Publishing 01 15 932 0643
Garlinge
Pentecost - the birthday of the church
And on the day of
Pentecost the gift of the Holy Spirit came to the disciples, telling them the
waiting was over. The disciples became the
Pentecost is a
rather neglected time in church - not
like Christmas or Easter. It’s the time when the church first began. The church being flesh and blood - not bricks and mortar, the building.
The Holy Spirit is
for all -- all that repent and
trust God completely and knowing that Jesus died to take away their sins, and
accept Him into their lives.
Pentecost is a time
to take stock, a time to top up on our walk with God. Top up with power and the
strength from the Holy Spirit, not just ourselves but also the church and all
the churches the world over so we can all grow in one walk with God and our
work for the Lord. Not neglected but celebrated like other times in the church
calendar, welcoming the Holy Spirit into our church and ourselves. So His work
can go on.
This year we have a
great opportunity to celebrate with many churches of Thanet together at
God Bless Eddie
The Hope that Is
in you. -
Within the
church this is the time of year when we look to the change that came over Peter
and all the other disciples as they shared the experience of meeting the risen
Lord.
Beside the
lake, in the casual intimacy of a shared breakfast cooked over an open fire,
Peter knew that his failure to stand up for his Lord, when it really mattered,
was both acknowledged and forgiven. Perhaps it was this experience that
prompted him to give the early church his famous advice:
“Be ready at alI
times to answer anyone who asks you to
explain the hope you have in you”
He had found himself unprepared and under pressure,
and had said whatever seemed most likely to save himself from trouble.
And he had learned
that that kind of approach to life does not lead to happiness, but rather to
guilt, a sense of failure, and regret for what might have been. It was only as
he met with the risen Christ over a period of time, and shared with him in
doing the things that were familiar, the things that he did best, that he came
to know himself forgiven, and free of the past.
At the very
root of the Christian Hope that we celebrate this month in the Festival of
Hope is this experience of being able to live everyday life free of the
things that tend to drag us down, or at least, free of their effect on us. Some
things cannot be avoided, some things we just have to cope with, and sometimes
we feel it right to take on burdens that are not really ours, for the sake of
those we love. But we can share with Paul the Apostle, the other leader and
inspirer of the early church, the conviction that
‘there is
nothing in life or in death. . . nothing in all creation
that
can separate us from the Love of God
in Christ Jesus”
This is the
Christian hope that we are all called to share, and we are advised to seek
always to do this “with gentleness and respect”.
In
So, please, come to take part
in the activities of the Festival of Hope, and come
prepared to talk to the people you meet, - but come to meet them with
respect, prepared to be friends with them, and come with some way of expressing
the hope that is in you, for it is through you and others like
you that God will speak to those who seek him.
May God be with you in all
you do
Remember that we are called
to be S A L T for the world:
When you meet someone
Say something — a remark to
open the conversation If they respond at all
Ask a question - that is
open-ended but appropriate If they answer
you
Listen carefully to what they
actually say And let God
Turn the conversation to some
positive opportunity!
A prayer for those who live alone
I live alone, dear Lord, Stay by my side. In all my daily needs, be Thou my guide grant me good health for that indeed, I pray. to carry on my work from day to day. Keep pure my mind, my thoughts, my every deed. Let me be kind, unselfish in my neighbour’s need. Spare me from fire, flood, malicious tongues, from thieves, from fear and evil ones.
If sickness or an accident befalls, then humbly, Lord, I pray Hear Thou my call.
And when I’m feeling low, or in despair, lift up my heart and help me in my prayer. I live alone, dear Lord, yet have no fear, because I feel your presence ever near.
Almighty God,
Give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and to put on the armolir of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility: so that on the last day when he shall come again, in His glorious majesty, to judge the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through Him who is alive and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever
Amen
Almighty Father,
Whose will is to restore all things in Your beloved Son, the King of all: govern the
hearts and minds of those in authority, and bring the families of the nations (divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin) to be subject to His just and gentle rule; who is alive and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and forever. Amen
Baton Girls win Contest
Congratulations to Thanet Jetsetters and Majorettes. Every member won an award
at the Kent Region competition. From three year old Laura to Stacey who won the
1 8 — 19 overall champion award.
The Jetsetters, now in their 20th
season, train at
Church.
Freedom costs
but a few pence
I am often asked, “Why when
buying fair trade products why does it cost extra, why can 1 not just give a
donation to the developing world and carry on using my favourite
products”.
It is precisely
this type of thinking that keeps the third world poor. Giving
a man a fish feeds
him for a day. Teach the man to fish and supply him
with his equipment,
then pay a fair price for his catch, may cost a little
more. But then he
receives a whole lot more, like dignity, self respect and
a reason to live,
the stuff you can’t just donate.
“Your till
receipt is as important as your vote”, says the Ethical Marketing Group.
Buying ethical
products sends support directly to progressive companies working to improve the
status quo, while at the same time depriving others that abuse for profit. For
example, when buying an eco-washing up liquid you’re giving it’s
manufacturer the funds it needs to invest in clean technology and advertise its
products to a wider market. At the same time, you’re no longer buying your old
liquid, so its manufacturer loses business and will perhaps change its ways.