The Salvation Army Chatham

After the excitement of last weekend, particularly the engagement at Dartford, this week was quieter which is perhaps just as well in the middle of the Annual Appeal (Belief in Action – its what you do that matters).

People need the Lord

Fortunately the weather has been reasonable this week which means collecting has been able to take place in the relative comfort of dry evenings. It has been our practice for a number of years to suspend our corps programme for these two weeks and this year has been no exception. One more week to go!

Yesterday our meetings again followed the recent themes of ‘Belief in action – its what you do that matters’ in the morning and ‘Unexpected people – Unexpected places’ in the evening.

Major Drew led in the morning and included songs 174, 518, 527 and 734 from the Salvation Army Song Book together with 894 and 381 from Songs of Fellowship. Scripture chosen was James 2:14-26. The Singing Company supported with ‘More precious than silver’ and the Songsters with ‘Somebody prayed for me’.

In his message Major Drew said do you get irritated with mobile phones and the way they are often used in public places? We can be led to wonder what is being said at the other end of the conversation and to ask why they may be saying it. We need to look at James’ letter in this light. Why is he saying what he is saying?  Sometimes it is difficult to behave in a Christian way and we need to take a long look at what we believe. We need to put our faith into action. We need to grapple with it and push through to an even deeper belief. James encourages us in this. He is not saying that we are saved by the works we do but by our faith in Jesus. This must not be ‘airy-fairy’ but real. It must follow through into what a person does because this is the nature of faith. It will reveal itself in what we do, especially for others. Abraham held nothing back from God. He was prepared to give his son in obedience. This is real authentic faith and it holds nothing back from human need. A true test indeed, and uncomfortable. In the words of Albert Orsborn “In word and in deed burning love is my need. I know I can find this in thee”

Majors Drew & Beverley McCombe

In the evening Major Beverley used Song 6 from the Salvation Army Song Book together with 1239, 8, 1151, 646 and 480 from Songs of Fellowship. No less than four passages of scripture were used, Psalm 95, Isaiah 45:18-23, Philippians 2:5-11 and Acts 9:1-9. A period of testimony was included, during which a central topic was the constant upholding of faith, and the Band and Songsters each provided musical ministry with ‘Here is Love’ and ‘If you would be strong’ respectively.

Beverley spoke about Saul being a nightmare for the followers of Jesus and said there are those today who act in the same way. The Christian faith is persecuted. Religion is seen as a cause of many wars. Saul was, by birth, a Jew and he believed he was right. Sadly his idealistic views turned him to violence against Christians and his aim was to stamp out Christianity. But everything changed when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. He changed from violence to peace, aggression to gentleness. This was an experience unique to Saul (now Paul) and it gave him credibility within the church. But there are parts of his conversion that will be the experience of everyone for it is an event with progress, both before and after. The important thing is that Saul discovered Jesus, he did not discover church. He obeyed God’s commands and allowed Jesus to direct him. Our experiences will all be different but this is fundemental. God will forgive us, all of us. The truth is that if Saul was changed, anyone can be changed. If it could happen to him, it could happen to you.

The Salvation Army around the world was called upon to use yesterday (21 September) as a day for praying for peace. The following is taken from Salvationist (a weekly publication).

Not only is there conflict between nations, but many countries have suffered internal tension and political unrest. Inevitably, the innocent suffer and there is tragic loss of life and displacement of people. Our intercession is for the leaders of the nations, striving for peace and justice, and for the victims of war, suffering pain and bereavement. Our heartfelt plea to the Lord is: ‘Guide our feet into the path of peace’ (Luke 1:79 (New International Version)