General Chat

My prayers and thoughts with Mersey and her family as
they say a last farewell to a beloved Nan <3

Good morning :-)


~~~~~~ waves to kandj and David.

For today:

More Like Jesus

Let us be more like Jesus
In everything we do;
Let’s live a life of service,
A life that’s fresh and new.

Let’s relinquish worldly things,
And not be slaves to fashion;
Let’s fill our hearts with love,
Forgiveness and compassion.

Yes, let’s be more like Jesus,
Being always in God’s will,
For if Jesus’ light shines through us,
Our earthly purpose we’ll fulfill.

By Joanna Fuchs


Cx :-)

Hello all

Cynthia, Amen to prayer for today. Granddaughter Katie begins her A level exams soon and needs high level grades for her first choice university she has applied for.

David I hope you are feeling better after your tumble recently.

It is possible to call and speak to God........ Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV).

'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable
things you do not know.'

Sending hugs out now for those who need them today. xxx

Thank you Cynthia. Regarding learning for the youngsters of today, it comes
from many sources outside the home and the school.
Since the launch decades ago of the WWW any child / youth can look up any
subject. They can access the moon and the stars and the ocean floor and all types
of subject matter, some of which is best avoided.

Good morning :-)

David, there is no need to apologise at all...….it's good to ask questions - we all need to learn. I am moving on from the disciples for a while anyway.... :-D


A stressful week for many people - especially parents and children as exam time looms...…

Lord, we pray for our children as they prepare to face their examinations this week. Give us grace and strength to support them during this stressful time. May we learn to give our worries to you and give us peace and wisdom during the coming days.


As our children go out into the world each day,
we pray they’re in you’re keeping and out of harm’s way.
As we endeavour to give them the best of our love,
we pray for the wisdom that comes from above.
May they learn all the things that they need to know
to help keep them safe as they continue to grow.
To help them become all they were meant to be
this is what we ask of thee.
To give them knowledge and show them the way
to help keep them safe while they grow and play.
This is all that we ask for and all that we pray-
please keep them safe as they start each new day.


Cx :-)

Cynthia, I apologise for taking the thread briefly away from the Disciples

Good evening...... :-) oooops! Sorry I wasn't around this morning - well I was, but got totally sidetracked.

Better late than never I suppose....

The collect (special prayer) for today

Almighty God,
whose Son Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life:
raise us, who trust in him,
from the death of sin to the life of righteousness,
that we may seek those things which are above,
where he reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen
The reading for today encourages us to follow Jesus. Amen.

The reading for today encourages us to follow Jesus.


At church this morning, we had a baptism (for a change ha ha). During the lay-reader's sermon, his mobile phone suddenly went off.
We all held our breath - he answered it and spoke to...……………..God :-D

It seems as though God was calling to ask how the baptism was going......hahahaha…..it certainly went down well :-D :-D


Cx :-)

Good morning and thank you Cynthia. The confusion of many is understandable.
Although considered monotheistic the the Egyptians despite RA theie sun God had many other Gods.
The Greeks and Romans had Pantheons of Gods. as do Hindus.

In fact in the past some leaders have exalted themselves to Demi Gods, but we are all mortals.

Good morning :-)

Arrghh David! I wasn't expecting to be greeted by that at 7.45am :-D

Okay, I will give it a go.

I lead a baptism prep class each month. During this time, I try, as best I can, to explain about the Holy Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which the families will hear mentioned a lot during the service. I am inevitably met with blank looks and confused faces. This is so understandable as even theological scholars can wrestle with this concept.

I use a PowerPoint where there is a picture of an apple. An apple is comprised of 3 parts - skin, flesh and seeds but it is still 1 object.

If we consider, perhaps, the skin as God (keeping everything whole) - the flesh as Jesus Christ (as in the communion service) and the seeds (as in the Holy Spirit, which when planted, grows).

We do not have 3 Gods, just one.

There are some who use other explanations, water, ice, steam etc. There are those who agree and those who disagree. Its one of those things where we need to read the scriptures more and to study the various fields of thought - until we feel we have come to grips with things. No one said it was easy but I hope this helps :-D

Rose: I didn't use google and that hymn is the one I entered church to when we got married. :-D

Right, now for today...….I'm exhausted already! :-D

We have been looking at the disciples who witnessed the Resurrection of Jesus. Now we think of ourselves as being disciples.....

Discipleship Prayer

Good and Gracious God,
Your Son, Jesus Christ,
invites all people to follow him
and become his disciples.
Touch our hearts, enlighten our minds,
and stir our spirit.
Help us daily to take up our cross
and follow him;
by living his Word
and proclaiming his Good News
to those around us.
May our faith in you increase,
may our hunger for the Gospel intensify,
and may our parish be strengthened
as we learn to love one another
as he has loved us.
For this we pray, Amen.  

Cx :-)

There is a scripture in the Old Testament that says

Hear O Isreal the Lord our God is One

David it's difficult to explain and even more so to understand. I don't precisely, but as a basic idea: ( from the BBC )


"The idea that there is One God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit means:

There is exactly one God
The Father is God
The Son is God
The Holy Spirit is God
The Father is not the Son
The Son is not the Holy Spirit
The Father is not the Holy Spirit

An alternate way of explaining it is:

There is exactly one God
There are three really distinct Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Each of the Persons is God"

Or you can try this page https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-is-the-doctrine-of-the-trinity

I am sure Cynthia will have a stab at explaining, and will not have to rely on Google to do so :-)

and now I am going to have the line of a hymn going through my brain all evening lol "Holy, holy, holy
Merciful and mighty
God in three persons blessed Trinity"

Without the remotest desire to be heretical or sacrilegious, I confess to

being puzzled.. Church boards say God is risen. As Jesus was dying due to

crucifixion, he cried out, "Forgive them Father, they know not what they do"

Then Jesus cried again "My God why have you forsaken me ?" Then he died.

To ensure he was dead a soldier lanced his side.

Then he was taken off the cross and placed in a tomb, alone with a huge stone

rolled across its entrance. Guards were at the entrance so that his Disciples

couldn't steal his body. At dawn the stone was rolled away and the guards had

scattered. Jesus was gone. If Jesus was God, who had he been praying to ?

And if Jesus / God was dead then who resurrected him ?

Good morning :-) Thanks Emma xx


And so......thinking back to the resurrection; it meant so much for those disciples, but what does it mean for us?

The resurrection of Christ brings hope.

There is hope that mistakes and sins can be forgiven.
There is hope that we can have joy, peace, assurance, and security in the midst of the despair of this age.
There is hope that Christ is coming soon—this is what is called in Scripture “the blessed hope.”
There is hope that there will come some day a new heaven and a new earth, and that the Kingdom of God will reign and triumph.
Our hope is not in our own ability, or in our goodness, or in our physical strength. Our hope is instilled in us by the resurrection of Christ.

Lord, in these days following our Easter celebration, I pray that You will meet Your disciples right where we are in this moment. Help us to find comfort in Your presence and supply for our deepest needs. Amen.

Cx :-)

Caught up with yesterday's post and today's.

Thank you Cynthia x

Good morning :-)

~~~~~~ waves to kandj <3


There is, of course, someone else who had an experience of the risen Christ.....and it seems right that he should be included.....it's quite a story.

Paul of Tarsus, also known as St Paul, (AD 9–67) was a Messianic Jewish-Roman, Turkish writer and rabbi. He wrote the Pauline Epistles in the New Testament. It is believed that he wrote thirteen books of the Bible, all of which are letters to churches and Christians, encouraging them, helping them to understand Christian teaching and helping them to live Christian lives.

Paul's name was originally Saul. He grew up learning both the Jewish law and the Greek ways of discussing things. When the Christian movement began, after the death of Jesus, he was strongly against it. He worked for the Roman Government and helped lead the arrests and killing of many Christians in Israel and the nearby area.

While he was on the road to Damascus in search of Christians there, he had a vision. In the vision Jesus Christ spoke to him, telling Saul that his persecution of Christians was a persecution of Jesus himself, and that it did not please God. Saul was blinded by the vision.

A short time later he met Ananias, a disciple of Jesus, and his sight came back to him.

Saul was baptised as a Christian. He spent the next three years studying the Jewish scriptures again to find explanations for the Christian teachings. His experiences changed his viewpoint completely. He changed his name to Paul and he dedicated his life to serving Jesus Christ.

He used his earlier education to explain his new faith to other people, and to discuss things with people who had other beliefs. He travelled around the Roman Empire, teaching others about Christianity, and wrote letters back and forth with the churches he helped to begin. The letters contain many important parts of Christian teaching.

Paul was put to death by orders of the emperor Nero in Rome, in 67 AD. He had the rights of a Roman citizen, which meant that he could be put to death by having his head cut off with a sword, rather than by crucifixion.

In our everyday life, Father, we pray for the Spirit to inspire and empower us that we may show forth our faith in action, beside all the people you love in our world of today. It is in our everyday lives that we are planted in love and built on love, to follow Christ by loving as he loved us. Amen.

Cx :-)

Hello all

Thank you Cynthia and all who pop in and share this interesting thread.

Challenging times continue here. I'm blessed to never feel alone.

For I am the Lord your God, who takes hold of your right hand and
says to you, Do not fear; for I will help you. (Isaiah 41:13 NIV)

Thoughts and prayers for those who are anxious. xxx

Good morning :-)

Thank you Vera - lovely to see you. x

Who replaced Judas Iscariot?

Matthias was selected to replace Judas. The other man who was also in consideration was named Joseph or Barsabas, and surnamed Justus.

Lots were cast and eventually Matthias was chosen. Acts 1:24-26 records the following, "And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.” And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”

The Bible is sparse on additional details relating to Matthias, but it does say that Matthias was with Jesus since His baptism until his resurrection. Besides the book of Acts, Matthias isn’t mentioned anywhere else in the Bible.

According to historical sources Matthias lived til 80 A.D. and spread the gospel on the shores of the Caspian and Cappadocia.

 Loving Father, you alone are the source of every good gift. We praise you for all your gifts to us, and we thank you for your generosity. Everything we have, and all that we are, comes from you. Help us to be grateful and responsible. Amen.


Cx :-)

A very interesting series of posts Cynthia and others who have added :-). Thank you.

Good morning :-)

Almost at the end of our look at the stories of the apostles...…

St. Thomas Died AD72 in India
Feast day 3rd July
Patron saint of architects, blind people, stone cutters, surveyors, theologians and construction workers.

Thomas Didymus lived in Galilee.
Thomas was his Hebrew name and Didymus was his Greek name. Thomas appeared in the raising of Lazarus and in the upper room where we see him saying unless he sees the nail prints in Jesus' hand and the gash of the spear in His side he will not believe. That's why he became known as Doubting Thomas.

By nature, Thomas was a pessimist. He was a bewildered man. Yet, he was a man of courage. He was a man who could not believe until he had seen. He was a man of devotion and of faith. When Jesus rose, he came back and invited Thomas to put his finger in the nail prints in his hands and in his side.

Here, we see Thomas making the greatest confession of faith, "My Lord and my God." Thomas' doubts were transformed into faith. By this very fact Thomas' faith became great, intense and convincing. Thomas was an evangelist in Persia and India. In India he is reported to have built a church with his own hands.

Thomas died when he was shot with arrows, stoned and left to die. A priest then ran a spear through him. His symbol is a group of spears, stones and arrows.

 Lord Jesus Christ, you have given us every spiritual and material blessing. Show us how to share our gifts with others, and inspire us always to follow your example of generous self-giving. Amen.


Cx :-)

Good morning (just) :-)


Totally agree David :-D They were quite a group weren't they?


Continuing with the disciples of Jesus........just one today and tomorrow.


Simon the Zealot Death - unconfirmed but several thoughts.

Feast Day 28th October. Patron saint of Curriers, sawyers and tanners.

Simon, the Zealot, one of the little-known followers called the Canaanite or Zelotes, lived in Galilee.

The New Testament gives us practically nothing on him personally except that it says he was a Zealot. The Zealots were fanatical Jewish Nationalists who had heroic disregard for the suffering involved and the struggle for what they regarded as the purity of their faith.

The Zealots were crazed with hatred for the Romans. It was this hate for Rome that destroyed the city of Jerusalem. Josephus (ancient writer), says the Zealots were reckless persons, zealous in good practices and extravagant and reckless in the worst kind of actions.

From this background, we see that Simon was a fanatical Nationalist, a man devoted to the Law, a man with bitter hatred for anyone who dared to compromise with Rome. Yet, Simon clearly emerged as a man of faith. He abandoned all his hatred for the faith that he showed toward his Master and the love that he was willing to share with the rest of the disciples and especially Matthew, the Roman tax collector.

Simon, the Zealot, the man who once would have killed in loyalty to Israel, became the man who saw that God will have no forced service. His apostolic symbol is a fish lying on a Bible, which indicates he was a former fisherman who became a fisher of men through preaching.
 

Cx :-)