Monday Spot (26 November 2007)
Well, here we are at the last week-end before we launch into our Christmas programme. We will bring special activities to your notice in advance as well as describing them taking place. It will be a busy time for all (or many at least) but we love it.
Major Kathy conducting a ‘carols’ evening at a sheltered housing complex last year.
Major Kathy was, in fact, our leader for both meetings on Sunday. In the morning her theme was ‘Who do you think you are?’ based loosely on the recent BBC TV series and she used Luke 12:1-7 as her scriptural basis. Songs 16, 177, 37 and 152 from The Salvation Army Song Book were used together with 1015 and 895 from Song of Fellowship. The Singing Company sang ‘Once again I thank You’ and the Songsters ‘Somebody Prayed for Me’. Three members of our Youth Group were each asked to describe a member of the congregation without mentioning his or her name to see how easy it was to recognise them (it was quite easy actually as they chose people with distinctive characteristics).
L to R: Adam, Eloise & Matt describng who?
In her message Kathy said identity is very important. ‘Who do you think YOU are? Have you ever attempted to describe who you are? Many things are part of your identity. We are made up of our life’s experiences including our relationship with God. How might others describe us (you)? A sobering thought! What counts is who we are in the eyes of God and He knows us better than anyone else and better than we know ourselves. God’s knowledge of us is complete and yet He does not condemn us. Jesus chose His disciples despite who they were and He chooses us, yes, all of us. Who do you think you are? ‘With Jesus my Saviour I’m the child of a king’ the song says. We are God’s children!
Major Kathy
In the evening we began a series for the days leading up to Christmas, ‘Tis the season to be ready’, with ‘Who Knows?’ and the meeting was developed around Matthew 24:36-44. Songs used were 156, 907, 166 and 171 from The Salvation Army Song Book and 742 and 205 from Songs of Fellowship. The Band contributed ‘Lord with my all I part’ and the Songsters ‘Under His Wings’.
Kathy spoke, in her message, about the fact that Jesus talked to His disciples regarding the end ot time. She said He predicted many things that would happen and time is important to all of us. Calculations and forecasts have been made telling us when the world will end but, so far, they have all been wrong. Is knowing this a worthwhile thing? It doesn’t seem like it. Only God knows the time of the second coming of Jesus and it will take us all by surprise. We must be prepared and ready whenever it happens. It is dangerous to assume there is plenty of time. We must all live as though that day is imminent.
To finish were some of us began, waiting for the morning meeting to start can be quite fun, can’t it?
Who do they think they are?