Sunday 12th July Mark 6:14-29

The beheading of John the Baptist

There are many different aspects to this story and each one will speak to a
different group of people. Maybe, it is the way Herod was interested in what
John was preaching even though he was being criticized. Maybe it is the fact
that Herodias got her way by using her daughter. We commented in TFG that we all have our own agendas so God will speak to us each in a different way.
I was struck while thinking about how we apply the story to our own lives. We can see from the story that John the Baptist was not afraid to speak out. We are sometimes slow to speak out about the wrongs in our world. He was
pointing the way to Jesus who must also be our Saviour and Lord. He was
higlighting the need for repentance. We too must put aside all the wrongs of
our past and make a fresh start with Jesus. Also, at the end he was killed
and we too must be prepared for persecution and maybe even death for what we believe.

Let us know you views and how God has spoken to you through this story.

Peter Ewen

Sunday July 5 - Appearances are Misleading

In our All Age Praise on 5 July we looked at: “Appearances are misleading – Judging!”

We had great fun with a brief passage from 1 Samuel, and why Eliab was rejected. For this section, the very young children each chose a cuddly toy of their choice and then said why they liked it. So we learned that it wasn’t necessarily the most beautiful or smart that was selected, but for many reasons.

We then listened to Jesus’ words “Don’t judge others, so that God will not judge you” from Matthew 5.

Following this the older ones explored optical illusions, how they appeared from different angles and the visual deceptions they produced; how mind and sight put things in place that aren’t there and add effects to alter perception. This, as I told, the adults is what happens when we try to judge people; we don’t know why they are how they are, we can never walk in their shoes, so we can’t form an objective opinion. We have to leave that to God. No-one is good enough to judge others. Only the faultless has a right to look for faults in others; and that one is, and can only ever be, our Lord Jesus.

So we came to the conclusion that Appearances are misleading – in judging others we’ll come unstuck. We must learn to think the best of all people and can only hope they’ll do the same for us. We had various songs such as Give me oil in my lamp, Whether you’re one and When I needed a neighbour and enjoyed some children’s interactive prayers by Pauline. It all worked really well.

We left with green and yellow paper heart-shaped promises to re-commit ourselves to God and to each other, but not before we had enjoyed a lovely piece of Hazel’s birthday cake!

Peace and Joy!

Deacon Olivia

Sunday June 28 - St Peter's Day

Welcome to anyone who has discovered the blog as a result of the article in July's parish magazine. Today's service brought together our two congregations in celebration of the patronal festival. You are invited to continue the conversation started then - which aspects of the story of Peter are most important to you personally ? Why ?

We look forward to reading your thoughts ...

Sunday June 14 - What is the Kingdom of God ?

Mark 4: 26 - 34

David Knight led our reflections this morning and opened by asking us the unexpected question what a uncorn and a red snooker ball had in common. The answer - one point - led us into a discussion of Jesus' parables here. Unlike an allegory (where every detail of the a story means something, a parable has just one point, and that helps us in our approach to this morning's reading: What is the one point that Jesus is seeking to put across in these stories ?

When we use the word "kingdom" here we are not talking about an area of land but a state of affairs - the rule, or reign, of God. The rule of God may seem invisible at times, but like the tiny mustard seed it is here and and (hopefully) growing - indeed growing sometimes in unexpected places !

Where do you see the rule, or reign of God taking shape in our world or your life today ?

June 7 - Trinity Sunday

How do you combine All Age Praise worship with the subject of Trinity?
Not easily – but what fun!

50 of us gathered this morning at Time for God. We looked at Trinity being the love of God and how the three persons within the Godhead are all bound up with other, equal in divinity and being.

Jim did two short readings: Matthew 3:16-17 and Romans 8:14-15 at various points of the service. Interspersed throughout, were a good mixture of songs both old and new: Who put the colours in the rainbow; All things bright and beautiful; Have you heard the Raindrops (to Rupert the Bear music); Spirit of Holiness (Blow the wind southerly) and we closed with Shine Jesus Shine.

Together, we all explored Jesus’ love for us, through his sacrifice and baptism, talking about how baptism brings us into the family of God, thus making us all his children. As a renewal of our own baptismal vows, we washed our hands, pouring water over each other’s fingers and then attaching coloured strips of paper (with the ubiquitous Blu-tack!) onto the freestanding 5 foot Easter Cross as a visual rededication of our lives.

We looked at God’s creation and how we are called to cherish and not destroy it; we planted Sunflower seeds in pots as a recommitment of ourselves to take an active part in looking after God’s world. Pauline took balloons and blew them up to show that we too can be filled with the wind of the Spirit and she had us all writing individual prayers, again which we stuck onto the Cross. These have now been removed and will be put onto the altar at the next Eucharist.

We went away with the conviction that we too can shed Christ’s light and love in the world and we share his love and his light by reaching out to others – not the least in practical ways!

Well, there you go!
Deacon Olivia

Sunday 17 May - Friends of Jesus

John 15:9-17 'You are my friends ...if you do what I command you'

This has already led to a good discussion at TFG on Sunday! We discussed the many qualities of our friends and then began to consider if Jesus' friendship is different ( as Peter suggested a couple of weeks ago that the peace of Christ transcends human ideas of peace).

Being friends of Jesus implies equality - rather than being slaves or servants that he compared them with. What does this tell us about God? since we believe that in Jesus we see God completely, then surely it implies that God is nota  remote, heavenly being uninvolved with our lives. He certainly doesn't need our friendship, but rather offers us his!

Jesus takes the initiative - 'I chose you...' unlike human friendships where friendship probably grows from shared interests?

Also do friends usually command each other to do something? Yet The command of Jesus is surely paradoxical. 'This is my commandment that you love one another .....as I have loved you'.

And how did/does  Jesus love people? All these words are included as among the last words Jesus spoke to his disciples before his death the next day, giving them great importance, and also just after, in this Gospel only, he had washed the disciples' feet. So there is the paradox of Jesus saying his disciples were not slaves but friends, and yet he, in this acted parable assumed the menial role of a slave.

So how do we describe Jesus' love? Being there for us where we need him most, being there for us 24/7, sacrificial, self giving, unconditional, universal - think of the many instances in the Gospels where he befirended the unloved, the marginalised, those whom it was difficult to love.  God in Jesus became a human being like us to show us his love and give us his friendship and he died to offer us eternal life. So Jesus' love is very costly, self sacrificial - and we are called by him to respond to his friendship by showing that sort of love to others - is that a lot more than being nice to them?

Are we therefore challenged to try to be better friends with God and therefore with each other. Is it really possible to be a Christian and not go to church? Do we need the mutual support from each other and spritual nourishment, as we seek to grow in the love of Christ?

Another challenge this week was 'Go and bear fruit'  - does this challenge us to try to avoid the danger faced by all church congregations, including TFG to be a cosy introverted group forgetting those outside? Are we challenged to share more the love of Christ  with others so that they will see in our friendship more the friendship of Jesus?

Sunday May 3 - Jesus the Good Shepherd

Hello Bloggers!

Welcome to TFG’s brand new blog site where we discuss Sunday’s interactive talk and any major events or just the humdrum of everyday; although, I don’t really think the worship of God could ever be described as uneventful!

So what about today, Sunday 3^rd May?

Today’s worship was an All Age Praise service; we welcomed over 60 worshippers ranging in age from just a few weeks to 80+. We looked at Jesus being our Good Shepherd and the fact that we all get lost. One of the children’s activities was a search for 30 black/white outline pictures of sheep, which had been hidden around the hall. The youngsters then coloured the sheep in all the colours of the rainbow to show what a difference Jesus makes to all our lives and that we are all important to Him whoever and whatever we are.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the adults looked at how the world views Christians and indeed, how Christians see themselves. We also explored the nature of shepherding and Jesus’ care in particular. After delving into how we are all called to follow in His footsteps, we then looked at how we are to be messengers of God’s Kingdom and His ambassadors in our community.

A very busy morning was had by all, with many different types of worship songs, a responsive “saying sorry” time and innovative prayers.

Any offers or suggestions would be welcomed!

Deacon Olivia

For Further Reflection

This is a Kingdom message. Shepherding of course was one of the most familiar sights around in Jesus’ times. Judaea was on a plain, therefore it was mainly a pastoral and not agricultural land.

V.11. Shepherding is a hard, demanding and costly life. Shepherds had to constantly guard the flock. The sheep were always wandering off.

Who does that remind you of? And as soon as he was old enough, a real shepherd was born to the task. He was sent out with the flock as soon as he was old enough to go. The sheep became his friends and companions. And it became 2^nd nature to think of them before he thought of himself. The shepherd was absolutely responsible for the sheep.

Jesus is the good shepherd. He does more than risk his life. He lays it down for us all. And He then predicts his own death He is the true shepherd that never hesitated to give up his life.

V.12/13/14 The hired hand, one who is on the job merely for the pay, wouldn’t go so far as to put his own life at risk. He was only in it for what he could get out of it.

Jesus was saying that the man who only works for reward thinks chiefly of the money. The man who works for love, thinks chiefly of the people he is trying to serve.

Jesus was the Good Shepherd who so loved his sheep that for their safety he would one day give his life.

In this story, the flock is the Church of Christ. It suffers from a double danger. It is likely to be attacked from the outside WHAT AND WHO

And also from the Inside – We must all base our lives on Jesus’ example and be his presence in the world.

V 16. Other sheep not of this fold.

It is very difficult for a person, or a people, or just a section of people, get the idea that they are specially privileged, it is very difficult for them to accept that the privileges that belonged to them are in fact open for all. We all know what that’s like, and this is something that the Jews hadn’t learned. They believed that they were God’s chosen people and that God had no use for any other nation. But Isaiah had a vision that said Israel would be a light for the nations. And Jesus said that one day all people will know Him as their shepherd. But this gets personal for us. It is a dream which everyone of us can help Jesus to realise. People cannot hear without someone goes out to bring them in. And this is the tremendous missionary task of the church. And that’s not just for foreign missions. It is for the here and the now and for today. The dream of Christ depends on us. And we must help him make the world one flock, with him as its shepherd.

V.17,18. Jesus saw his whole life as an act of obedience to God, even if it meant death.

He never doubted he would die. The world is full of people who have missed their destiny, because they would not pay the price.

Jesus did not lose his life: He gave it up: freely, willingly. The Cross was not forced upon Him, he willingly accepted it for us.

William Barclay, Gospel of John, Vol. 2 (St. Andrew Press, 1975)

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