Skip to main content

February Message from the Ministry Team

Image
By
As Christians, I think we are all aware in varying degrees of the constant tension of living between the “now” and the “not yet”.  We were perhaps reminded of that as we approached the end of one year and the beginning of a new one, and as we remembered and celebrated the first coming of Christ and looked forward to his second coming.  2015 was certainly an eventful and challenging year for many, and likely we all have tremendous hopes and expectations for what 2016 might bring.  The question is, how do we prepare ourselves for what the future might have in store?

I think at times I am an expert at procrastination.  It is very easy to have an attitude of “Oh, it’s ok – it can always wait until another day.”  Then when another day comes it’s all too easy to find another excuse to put something off. 

In Luke Chapter 12, from verse 35 the passage speaks about watchfulness…“Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.”  This places a responsibility on all of us.  We are called to be alert, to be ready for action, to have our lamps lit.  We are called to be faithful and prudent.  If we are ready, we will find on the master’s return that we will be served servants rather than being serving servants – we will have a share from the feast of the wedding banquet.

This passage speaks against the risk of complacency.  Are we prepared?  Are we ready?  Have we been good stewards of our master’s household?  Have we made effective use of our time and talents in serving Him and those around us?  We need to learn to be “tomorrow people”, ready for our Lord’s return.                                                                           

How do we keep our lamps lit?  By being clothed in Christ, making sure we have a plentiful supply of oil for the lamp, and that comes by seeking to know God’s will, and by growing in our knowledge of Jesus Christ.  That comes from lining our life with God’s word, and by being faithful in prayer.  We have, if you like, been blessed with a spiritual muscle…the question is, do we use it?

The season of Lent began on Ash Wednesday (February 10th).  It is a great time for us to engage in reflection and self-examination and to get our spiritual house in order.  Engaging with the season can help us avoid putting things off, prepare us for the celebration of Easter, and equip us in keeping our lamp of faith burning brightly.  One thing that I do in Lent is prayerfully meditate and reflect on Psalm 51.  I invite you to join me in this discipline this Lent and encourage you to discuss the passage with your brothers and sisters in Christ.   


Rev Mark
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

HOPE Together & HOPE Revolution

By
Dear friends, You are personally invited to attend an exciting evening at  Bradford Academy  that we hope will bring people together from Bradford and Leeds to see how further  Unity, Prayerful Worship and Missional Transformation  can develop between the two cities. Back in July 2012, we saw over 50 young people, 12 leaders and several churches from across Bradford and Leeds join together in a 2 day pilot mission. We partnered with a local church in Bradford to share and witness to Christ's love in word and deed. In addition to this, we included young people in the conversation of ways in which to help connect both cities in the future. There are many people interested in exploring the potential of developing something on a larger scale, culminating in a week of mission across the two cities in 2014.   Your attendances and input will help shape the way forward: We would like to invite you to an exciting evening of information about HOPE Together and the y...
Post a Comment
Read more

July message from Rev Phil

By
Dear Friends,      The Methodist Church makes provision for its ministers to take a three-month sabbatical break from the routine of ministry every seven years – this year, in my case! By the time you read this letter, I will have already started my sabbatical and I will be absent from the circuit from mid-May to mid-August.     This is not an extended holiday but an opening to do something different, as a way of being refreshed in ministry; an opportunity to ‘power down’ and to get away from a hectic, diary-driven ministry, in order to spend more focused time with God. It is a requirement and not an option for ministers to take their sabbatical break.     There have been two main aspects to consider in planning the sabbatical. The first has been to decide how I should use the time. For your interest, I am pressing on with studies begun through Leeds University (which could lead to the award of a PhD), reflecting on my wor...
Post a Comment
Read more

Summer Coffee Evenings raise over £1,200

By
Wilsden Trinity Church We would like to say a big thank you to all who supported us for your help in making our Summer Coffee Evenings such a brilliant success. The evenings have proved to be very popular and have been really well attended, attracting people from Wilsden village as well as members of other churches in the circuit.  Together we have munched our way through a tonne of biscuits and home-made scones and consumed gallons of coffee and tea. We have baked and bric-a-bracked and book sorted and are all exhausted and half a stone heavier than we were in May but feel it has been well worth the effort. In addition to enjoying very pleasant social evenings, with God's help we have succeeded in raising over £1,200 - approximately £250 each for the five chosen charities: Yorkshire Air Ambulance , Parkinson Society , Alzheimer's Society , Multiple Sclerosis Society and Martin House Children's Hospice . We are already planning for next summer and look forward t...
Post a Comment
Read more