Monday Spot (8 February 2010)
The meetings this week were again conducted by Cadets David and Jennifer Gosling of the Prayer Warriors Session with the theme in the morning led by David, ‘Building up the Temple’ and in the evening led by Jennifer, ‘Give it up for Good’.
Cadets David and Jennifer Gosling
Songs used by David were SA 203, SA 941, Sof 851 and SA 786 with scripture taken from l Chronicles 21: 18 to 1 Chronicles 22: 1 and a united Bible reading of selected verses. (click for powerpoint slides).
Music ministry by the Singing Company and Songsters were Be a Champion and With wings as eagles.
A presentation on the work of the Salvation Army in Bangladesh was shown to launch the Self Denial appeal and David led a time of prayer for the Disaster Management Preparation Programme, Human trafficking on the border areas with India, the HIV/Aids Awareness Programme and the Salvation Army staff and Officers working in Bangladesh.
In his message David drew attention to the sacrifices of both David and Solomon in the planning and construction of the temple using their wealth to provide the best materials and precious items for the place where the Ark of the covenant would live and God would dwell. This would be the place for worship, atonement and reconciliation with God. Ultimately, though, the temple was temporal and did not last for ever. In the new theology which developed when the Israelites travelled they realised that God was with them outside of the temple and a network of synagogues was built. Further change has come about with the new covenant which means that the temple is the church – the believers, the individuals – not the building. We are God’s temple where we work in God’s name is the temple. Our sacrificial giving is to build up the temple of the church within us in Jesus name. God dwells in each of us. God’s sacrifice was made to build us up as His temple. It is up to us to develop the temple through increasing the time we spend in prayer, bible study, family time, rest and relaxation time, fun time. We should readjust our lives to come closer to God and perhaps become more involved in the church. We can extend the courts of the temple by being salt and light wherever we meet other people in the world.
Cadet Jennifer conducted the evening meeting and there was a prayertime at the beginning focusing on the situation in Haiti with particular emphasis on the people there in places and circumstances beyond their control.
The songs used during the meeting were SA 22, SA 48, Sof 1187, Sof 646 and SA 283 with Scripture from John 1: 1, 14-17, 3: 16 and Galatians 2: 11-21. Appropriate music ministry was brought by the band with Glorify your name and songsters Grace Alone. The singing of ‘God’s love to me is wonderful’ inspired a queue of people to testify and seek prayer support.
Jennifer based her message on the verse printed on the Self Denial Bookmark which will be distributed during the next few weeks: ‘The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing’. Gal. 2: 20-21. She spoke about the problems that people experience when confronted with change and how the Jewish tradition was to live according to the 613 rules. But when Jesus came and completed his earthly ministry he condensed the rules down to two commandments, to love God and love your neighbour. The law was the guardian until Christ came. Jesus made it a whole lot simpler. Paul introduced a mindshift to the people. They did not have to earn God’s grace by obeying the law – it was a free gift. He stressed that living out the law would come naturally when we became a new creation and were made right with God. God’s grace is a gift we could never earn. Jennifer quoted Dr. Williams who said ‘The law is the light that reveals how dirty the room is – not the brush that sweeps it clean’. Good works will not save us. William Booth said ‘Faith and works should travel side by side. Step answering step, like the legs of a man walking. First faith and then works, then faith, then works again – until they can scarcely distinguish which is the one and which is the other.’ God’s grace enables us to live a life that overflows with the need to know God more and be like Him.
Just a reminder, if you haven’t looked lately, it might be a good idea to check out the Coming Events to keep up to date with what is planned to happen in this part of the Salvation Army world.