Monday Spot (8 March 2010)
The Sunday meetings gave opportunity for everyone to give towards the work of the Salvation Army in other parts of the world. The meetings were led by Cadets David and Jennifer Gosling with the theme of ‘Jubilee’ in the morning and ‘Jesus’ Ministry of Inclusion’ in the evening.
Cadets David and Jennifer Gosling
Songs used by Jennifer in the morning came from the Salvation Army Song Book, nos. 64, 870 and 174, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me now’ and nos. 877 and 1047 from Songs of Fellowship. The scripture reading was from Luke 4: 14-30. The music ministry from the Singing Company and Songsters added to the spirit of the meeting. The song from the Singing Company was ‘There’s a way’ and from the Songsters ‘Nothing but thy blood”. The Self Denial focus this week was on the country of Mozambique and prayers were said for that country. People were invited to give in the Altar Service. In her message, Jennifer said
All over Israel the ram’s horn is sounded to celebrate the start of Jubilee – every fifty years according to the rules laid down in Leviticus. Every seven days a sabbath should be built as a day of rest, every seven years there should be a sabbatical, outstanding debts will be cancelled and the land will be given a rest to lay fallow for a year. The Jubilee is a super-sabbatical – the year of the Lord’s favour. Jesus came to bring ‘the year of the Lord’s favour’ to fruition. The whole jubilee should be a rhythm of living, forgiving, giving and remembering. Jesus came to bring mercy, hope, liberation and new life. ‘Jubilee’ flows from the grace of God. This is a cascading grace coming down through the ages. We can join in by remembering the generosity of God, giving and forgiving. Rebuild relationships and receive freedom from sin. Let us live out our lives in the spirit of Jubilee.
In the evening, David chose songs from the Salvation Army Song Book, nos. 17, 55, 160 and from Songs of Fellowship nos, 851, 1474 and 755. The Scriptures used showed the breadth of Jesus’ inclusion. Luke 17: 11-19, Matthew 9: 9-13 and Luke 19: 1-10. The Songsters and Band contributed to the meeting in the form of the song ‘Lord you know that I love you’ and song arrangement ‘Grace Alone’. In his message, David said
The way that Jesus included those who were excluded, like the Samaritan lepers, was God’s expression of love, to change the world around us and bring fullness of life. He called tax collectors to follow Him and had tea with the tax collector Zacchaeus. David illustrated how for the Jews of Jesus time spiritual cleanliness before God was found by adhering to their 613 laws and Jesus showed how even those who people had given up on were free to follow Christ. Where Jesus rules there is inclusion in the kingdom. It is the church’s mission to seek and save the lost and this must continue to create a loving and accepting community. It is not necessary for people to behave according to the church’s laws before they can believe and belong. We need to not judge people but be welcoming and pastoring which is a Christlike attitude. We need to remember that we aren’t the finished product. We are still being shaped by Christ, the result of God’s grace and a work in progress.
The Lent courses continue this week on Wednesday morning and evening, the Christianity for Life course is holding its fourth session on Wednesday evening and the next Alpha course begins. If you live in the vicinity you will be most welcome at any of these events.
During Holy week there will be, on Tuesday 30 March at 8.00pm a musical meditation led by the band and songsters; on Wednesday at 8 pm Worship and the Word, and on Thursday April 1st a Fellowship Meal. On Good Friday there will be a meeting at 10.00am followed by the United Churches March and meeting in the Town Centre.
Our Coffee Shop is open from 10.00 am to 2.00 pm on Mondays and you are invited to come and taste the delicious fare provided.
Thank you for logging onto our website. We would love to hear from you so please feel free to contact us. We pray God’s blessing on you during this forthcoming week. Your prayers are sought for officers and cadets this week when they receive notification on Thursday morning of their new appointments. They would appreciate our prayers.