Hey,
So it's been a while but was at my grandma's so only had a limited amount of wifi so couldn't post. I promise to start blogging again so you can find out about my summer in Greece but first lets talk about my beliefs by posting this on my religious page. So this Sunday I went to church and help with coffee and set up as dad was helping out, anyway lets get to it ...
Today the service was about God being with us as we start fresh because this is the time of the year when people are going back to school, or maybe starting a new school, or returning to your job or role however you what to describe it, or maybe you are starting a new job anyway you get my point. For me it is both going back to school meaning University but also new as I am starting a whole new year where I will learn new things and develop what I have already learnt. So when doing whatever it is that you will be doing remember the God is with you, through it all, the good and the bad.
Hebrews 12:1-2
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. Any let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith."
The bible reading for today was the story of the fishes which everyone knows, how the disciples couldn't catch any fish but when a stranger (the Lord) told them to put their nets on the other side of the boat and to their surprise there were nets full of fish.
John 21:1-9 - Jesus and the miraculous catch of fish
"Afterwards Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happens this way: Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 'I'm going out to fish' Simon Peter told them, and they said, 'We'll go with you'. So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus.
He called out to them, 'Friends, haven't you any fish?'
'No' they answered
He said 'Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.' When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, 'It is the Lord!' As soon as Simon Peter heard him say 'It is the Lord', he wrapped his outer garment round him and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred meters. When they landed, they saw a fire burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread."
The speaker today was Ken who spoke about how it is a risk to follow Jesus. You need to be open to doing something new just like the disciples were when they listened to the stranger and threw their nets on the other side of the boat. It is a risk to follow Jesus whether your returning to the old or starting new but God is with you as shown in this passage as the disciples went back to their lives after Jesus gave his life on the cross but still they started a new. When you go back to your roles which could be work or school, it is good to remember the God uses every situation.
In the service when it was time for prayer they did something different and unique which was to hand out fishes to everyone. You would then write something that you are starting new or returning to or maybe both on the fish, and then put the fish in the net at the front which will later be put into baskets and handed out so everyone gets a fish to take with them and pray for what was written on there. What I wrote on my fish was my return to university to start second year and living in a house with new people.
Songs
Two songs were played in this service with aren't new to me but I love them and find them inspiring so I thought I would share them with you all.
10,000 Reasons
Christ is Enough
God will be with us for our new starts or continued roles and gives us the courage to start a fresh even if you are in a continued role.
Thanks for reading, Please comment your opinions below or if you have any questions
Amy x
I went on holiday with my family to Greece, Rhodes where we stayed in a 4 star hotel which had 6 swimming pools. So this holiday has a lot of relaxing by the pool as well as the beach. I therefore thought I would include it all on one post as well as showing my photography of these places.
The pools where great, nice and cold which is good as it was between 35 and 40 degrees centigrade on this holiday. The sea was also a nice temperature. Oh and there was a pool bar, half of the bar was by the pool and the other half was in the swimming pool with bar chairs attached to the pool floor.
