Monday Spot (17 August 2009)
A degree of normality returned this weekend with the reappearance of Majors Drew and Beverley McCombe after their vacation.
Majors Drew & Beverley McCombe
The morning meeting centered around the theme of ‘Jesus: Radical Agenda’ and included songs 854 and 824 from the Salvation Army Song Book, 897, 40 and 1120 from Songs of Fellowship and the John Gowans classic ‘You don’t have to be clever…’ A part of the meeting dwelt on the question ‘What makes you want to follow Jesus?’ and responses from members of the congregation indicated that there were many reasons. The Singing Company and Songsters each brought a musical contribution with ‘He is able’ and ‘Vesper’ respectively.
A number of our young people have returned from Summer Camp and were interviewed by Major Beverley about their experiences We hope to bring a report from one of the delegates soon. Steve, Mel, Paul and Wendy Scoulding were the cooks for the week and fed over 100 youngsters every day. According to the kids they did a great job.
Steve & Mel
Wendy & Paul
The basis for the bible message was Matthew 9:9-17 and Major Beverley said Jesus was ‘talk of the town’ because of his miracles and teaching and people took notice. So what did Matthew feel when Jesus called him? On this occasion the Pharisees had seen a ‘tax collector and sinner’ but Jesus had just seen ‘a man’. So what makes the difference? What makes someone an acceptable person? To God all are acceptable including those we regard as different. He loves them (us) all and calls us as he called Matthew, ‘follow me’.
Generosity is more important than greed. It enhances our dignity as human beings and deepens our experience. Even tradition can be a barrier if we give it too much importance. We must think of others before ourselves and let Jesus into our lives and our church. People are more important than prejudice.
The evening meeting was based upon a line from the Lord’s Prayer, ‘Thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory’. and included songs 141, 16, 357 and 171 from the Salvation Army Song Book together with 478, 894 and 646 from Songs of Fellowship. Two bible portions were chosen, namely Matthew 13:44-45 and Psalm 95:1-8 and both the Band (Spirit of the Living God) and the Songsters (You know that we love You!) brought musical contributions. A number of testimonies were given demonstrating ways in which God’s glory has been shown.
In his message Drew said first words are important. We often miss the point because we don’t listen. ‘The Kingdom is near to us’ said Jesus; ‘the Kingdom of God is at hand’. But we need to take some practical steps to access it and we can do this through Jesus. He has made it available to everyone. We must not worry about the cost as this is an opportunity not to be missed. There is nothing more valuable than your relationship with Jesus and it is necessary for us to realize and accept that. If we don’t we can’t really enter the Kingdom of God at all. So, how can we come to this point and embrace Jesus in this way? Ask! Express your desire to see Jesus as He really is. Dwell on His word and know the truth. Decide. Make the choice. We don’t drift into discipleship. We must make a positive decision.
A nice touch yesterday was shown by Mitchell Castle, one of our Kaos (Kids Alive On Sunday) members. He decided to bake some ‘bible’ cookies and sell them with a text from scripture included with each one. There was no price quoted. Everyone had to make a donation. Seems like £1 per cookie was the average going rate and the profits are to go to the building fund. Well done Mitchell. Great idea and the cookies were pretty good too!
Chef Mitchell
Speaking of Kaos, leader Tracy Wood says there will be no Kaos for the next two Sundays (and no Kaos football either). Both activities will restart on 6 September. Enjoy your week!