Why is church work so difficult?

Church work is hard everywhere. Did you pray at your last deacons' banquet, "Lord, thank you for preparing a table for me in the presence of my enemies"? Is your church so small that when you say "Dearly Beloved," your wife is embarrassed?

Do you feel as if each sermon is like explaining Leviticus to a four-year-old? Do you feel like you are the Titanic and the church is the iceberg? Is your latest vision statement "Misery loves company"? Was deacon grump-a-lot voted chairman and his wife believes her spiritual gift is suffering?

Speaking of suffering, did your best deacon say he never understood suffering until he heard you preach? And worse, the chairman of your over-budget and under-financed committee has been there so long it is rumored he is the one who ratted on Ananias and Sapphira…

Why is church work so difficult? It is the people. They are everywhere. If you don't like the people at your church, remember they are at every other church. They are all defective--just like you and me. We have been recalled by our Maker….It's always been that way. That is why Jesus had more religious people plotting against Him than praying for Him.

--Charles Lowery, www.charleslowery.com, excerpted from "ALERT! Recalled," in SBC LIFE (www.SBCLIFE.net), June/July 2011, p. 24

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Rock Solid

Rock Solid is the new youth club for 9-13 year olds at Wilsden Trinity Church . It aims to provide a group for older children to follow on from Wilsden Trinity’s other youth club, Friends and Heroes. Every Tuesday we meet for games, Bible stories, sweets, crafts and chats. Highlights so far include wrapping people up as mummies, making ice cream sundaes, playing Zip Zap Boing (which is as confusing as it sounds), building Easter gardens and making lava lamps. We set aside a good amount of time just for chatting, and each week we have a “Millstone, Milestone” section – each person can say if they’ve had a difficult week (millstone) or a brilliant week (milestone) and why. This has been a platform for many entertaining anecdotes and tales that the group has shared together. Rock Solid started in March 2017, and so far numbers are low. Our small group has fun, but we would love to welcome some new members! All children and young people between the ages of 9-13 can join. It is £2 on the ...

Virtual Worship - Easter Sunday 12 April 2020

Today’s the day - everything is changed. Death’s cave is empty, save linen cloth as calling card for Love. That life has won, and hope’s made whole, thank God! Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed, Alleluia! Holy and risen Lord, we come to worship you on this special Easter Day. We thank you for all you have done for us. We lift our eyes to honour you, living Lord Jesus. You have overcome death; fill us with your joy and new life. Amen You might like to read, sing or listen to an Easter hymn. Perhaps Christ the Lord is risen today, or Low in the grave he lay (H&P 193/202, StF 298/305). This is perhaps the strangest Easter Sunday we have experienced in most of our lifetimes. Not able to gather as God’s people on this holiest of days. Not able to spend time with family and friends. Not able to visit dale or coast. Yet even as restrictions bite, we affirm God’s love in Christ Jesus, and seek to help each other hear the Easter message. We gather in ...

News from Thornton Methodist Church

Like everyone else, we are all trying to get on with life but at times it is not easy and not meeting with all our Church family can be difficult and lonely. Just before Christmas we were having services twice a month but not all people were able to attend which was very sad but we all kept in touch by text/phone it is not quite the same but it is good to talk. During Advent we put a display in the porch window of the Christmas story, adding different characters each week until all figures were assembled around the baby for the community of Thornton to see. All our children in Sunday School received an Advent calendar to let them know we were all thinking of them. We also had a Christingle service but this was very different from previous years. Masks were worn, tables set out at the required social distance and hand sanitizers available in lots of areas. People made their own Christingles from packs but instead of using fruits, wrapped fruit lollipops did the job just fine. Rev. Chris...

Bradford North Circuit

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