Happy Easter Everyone
Amy
Sunday, 17 April 2022
Sunday, 27 February 2022
Everyday faith Wk3: Tranformations
Hello everyone,
The serman this week was regarding tranformations...
Romans 1: 5 - 7
"Through him we reiceved grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obdience that comes from faith for his name's sake. And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ."
We should celebrate the given grace and peace as God doing.
Jesus knows our name, so let us call to him
Thank you for being a loving and trusting God that we can take comfort in the knowledge that we can trust him.
As this service was commitment Sunday so we said the commitment prayer. Some key point of this prayer that spoke to me was . . .
'I am no longer my own but yours'
'let me be employed gor you'
'glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you are mine and I am yours. So be it'
I felt that the message of this prayer was to say to God: Here I am Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit, grace, peace and use me in the capicity you need so that I may listen, understand and follow your plan.
Reading: John 2: 1 - 12 (Jesus changes water into wine)
"On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galiee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother sait to him, 'They have no more wine.'
'Woman, why do you involve me?' Jesus replied. 'My hour has not yet come.'
His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever tells you.'
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from eighty to a hundred and twenty litres.
Jesus said to the servants, 'Fill the jars with water; so they filled them to the brim.' Then he told them, 'Now draw someout and take it to the the master of the banquet.'
They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realise where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, 'Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.'
What Jesus did here in Cana of Galiee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days."
Through this passage we learn that Jesus felt that he was not yet ready to be truely known to us "Woman, why do you involve me?' Jesus replied. 'My hour has not yet come." but still he helped as Mary had faith that he would when she told the servants: "Do whatever tells you."
We need to have faith in Jesus and do what he askes of us, trusting in him to lead us.
Ephesians 5:18
"Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit"
Psalms 104: 15
"wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts."
The speaker used an anaology of a fire: when we have a small amount of fire we are kept warm but if we have too much it becomes this uncontrollable thing. I feel that the message recieved from this is that we are given blessings and gifts throughout our lives that we should treat with respect and not overendulge in them, but being filled with the Holy Spirit is endless. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit we are transformed like the water turning to wine.
1 Peter 3:15
"But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,"
What is a Miracle?
They are works of power, brings wonders from the peoples reactions, and signs that point to Jesus. 'Jesus changes water into wine' is the first miracle that Jesus performed, taking place when he was 30 years old which is an important year as it is at this age that you can become a priest. This miracle is the first of seven signs within John's gospel that point to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God.
The speaker spoke about what it takes to make wine: how it takes nine chemical transformations and then time to mature for it to become a god quality of wine. Jesus could have done this in a matter of minutes, showing that he as the power to manipulate substances and time, which is known by the banquet master commenting on how it was the best wine. Jesus does this with us through the Holy Spirit.
Romans 12:2
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."
What are you full of now?
- fear
- anxiety
- worry
- overwhelmed
- insecurity
We need to remember that . . .
nothing is to difficult for God
it is not about whether we are good enough but about God's grace.
We do not know how long it took Jesus to turn the water into wine, so remember that it could take time for Jesus to conduct the transformation within you.
Prayer
We thank you Lord, that you are a transforming God,
transform us like you did the water into wine.
Lord is my strength, sheild, rock and I know that I can always trust in him.
You reign in our light and darkness, please give us what we need for the coming weeks.
Yet not, but through christ in me
Thank you for reading
Feel free to leave a comment
Amy x
p.s. These blog posts are what I have gotten out of a sermen that I have listened to so not all of what I write is my work
Sunday, 20 February 2022
Everyday faith Wk2: Mary Magdalene
Hello All,
Last Sunday's service was an all-age service so the vicor spoke about how we are all people of different ages, and from different backgrounds but we come together to worship Jesus and learn from the teaching of our Lord, as we are one family of God.
"God in three persons, bessed trinity"
God is the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
Be Glorified
Reading - John 20:1-18
"Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said 'They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!' So Peter and the others disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the othe disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus' head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally, the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, 'Woman, why are you crying?'
'They have taken my Lord away,' she said, 'and I don't know where they have put him.' At this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realise that it was Jesus. He asked her, 'Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?' Thinking he was the gardener, she said, 'Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.' Jesus said to her, 'Mary.'
She turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic, 'Rabboni!' (which means teacher).
Jesus said, 'Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: 'I have seen the Lord!' And she told them that he had said these things to her."
Luke 24:5
"In their fright the woman bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, 'Why do you look for the living among the dead?"
This shows that we do not always recognise Jesus or his teaching. Sometime we do not even recognise what he has done for us. However, we find our true place when God opens our eyes.
U2: I still haven't found what I'm looking for
We discover answers through searchin. When Jesus said 'Mary' answers where discovered as she realised that he was her Lord. He said her name and her eyes were opened. Jesus knows each and every persons name and through this he will open our eyes to his presence and teachings.
Before the thorne of God above
He gave his life for us, so the we could live sin free
He has our names tattooed on his heart, he knows us all by name and loves us unconditionery.
Shout to the Lord
As God opens our eyes, he breaks the chains on us.
This message reminds me of a song a once listened to some years ago 'Holding nothing back'
Next post . . . Tranformations
Thank you for reading
Feel free to leave a comment
Amy x
p.s. These blog posts are what I have gotten out of a sermen that I have listened to so not all of what I write is my work.
Sunday, 6 February 2022
Everyday faith Wk1: Paul and Ananias
Hello everyone,
I know it has been a long time since my last post, years in fact.
I am going to try and start my chistian weekly post again, fingers crosser I an keep to it.
Anyway,
I have joined a new church (St. James) that has a yearly vision, for 2022 it it 'everyday faith' focusing on asking God to open our eyes to him. He is beside us always.
Ephesians 1:18
"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of glorious inheritance in his holy people."
We need to open our hearts to God so that he can work through us and to that we can have our eyes open to him.
This is our prayer
The Apostle Paul
There a two key things that the speaker talked about regarding Paul: Life changing, and God initiated. Paul went through a life changing experience when his eyes were opened to the lord. When he was Saul he was not a nice person, he was againist God and his people.
Act 9:1-2
"He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem."
But then when Saul was blinded, God worked through Anaias the help and heel him.
Act 9:15
"This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Isreal."
The then he was a change man, who was batised and embraced the holy spirit and allowed God to work through him, becoming a humbling servent.
Act 9:18
"Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and he was baptised."
The message of this amazing story is that opening our eyes to the Lord can be life changing.
God Initated
The astonishing fact of this story in that God appoached Saul and completely changed his life. God has a plan for all of us, we need to be open for him to work through us.
Saul new what type of a man he was but God didn't care, he resuced him and brought him out of the darkness.
Romans 7:24-25
"What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
We are sinners, but that's okay for God loves us as we are, he even sent his own son to died on the cross an take all of our sins.
1 Corinthians 2:2
"for I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him cruified."
Close your eyes and listen to these words...
Ananias
He was prayful, obedient and full of grace. He was open to the Lord and followed God's path for him even when he was asked to approach a man who would see him imprisoned.
Act 9:13
"'Lord' Ananias awsers 'I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem."
but still he went.
Act 9:17
"Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said 'Brother Saul, the Lord - Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here - he sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.'"
God puts his hands on us and forgives us, welcomes us in and fills us with the Holy Spirit. We need to be open to recieve him. We need to open our heart and eyes to him.
Prayer
We pray God that you take away our sins and we recieve you grace and life so that we can take you into our hearts.
Next Week ... Mary Magdaleme
Thank you for reading
Feel free to leave a comment
Amy x
p.s. These blog posts are what I have gotten out of a sermen that I have listened to so not all of what I write is my work.
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