Please see details of our Easter Holiday Club on Good Friday Morning. Come along at 9am for breakfast and to learn more about the Easter story. Free admission.
Also see the Registration Form – which you can download and complete in advance. This will save you time on the day 2019 Easter Holiday Club – registration form
Easter will soon be here, and we have lots of services and events in the build-up and over Easter weekend. If you want to know more about what Easter is about or if you want to come and worship the risen Christ, then come and join is at any (or all) of these events.
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2nd Corinthians 5 NIVUK)
In recent weeks, I have been very aware of the reality of conflict in our world.
As you know, I am an amateur student of history. The year before I was born (1990), the Berlin wall fell, and Germany was reunited. In the early years of my life, Apartheid in South Africa ended. When I was 8 years old, the Good Friday agreement was signed, and peace (however tentative!) was established in Ireland after decades of conflict.
I look back on these, the events of my childhood, and I reflect that the general sense I have is that this was a relatively peaceful time. Perhaps I am being selective in my memories, or perhaps I was simply a naive child; either way, this was my perception.
As I write this today, this sense of peace has vanished. Instead of tearing down walls, we have a President who is threatening to build one. Instead of encouraging greater acceptance of others, we are shown statistics which state that attacks motivated by racism are on the rise. And, due to breakdown in trust, there has been no functioning government in Northern Ireland since January 2017.
And then, of course, there is Brexit. The deadline is marching ever closer, and our politicians and the general public seem entrenched in their opposing views: no willingness to compromise, no desire work together. I have never known such deep and vitriolic division, and I find it deeply disturbing.
These divides seem so insurmountable that I think it would take nothing short of a miracle to overcome them, bringing about reconciliation.
In the passage above, Paul describes something impossible. He describes how God, because of His love for us, reconciled us to Himself, through Jesus Christ. Now, despite our continued sinfulness, we are counted as God’s children, because He has adopted us through Christ. That is truly miraculous reconciliation!
And God calls us to a ministry of reconciliation. So, while I look at the world and think, “reconciling these divides seems impossible”, God prompts me to remember His reconciliation, and to take the attitude, “with God, all things are possible”.
We are all called to model God’s reconciliation. I hope, therefore, that you will take this ministry of reconciliation seriously, especially as our world seems to become more divided.
God bless,
Stuart
You are all invited to a showing of the fabulous family film ‘THE GREATEST SHOWMAN’ at Clincarthill Church on Saturday 23rd February. Doors open 6.15pm and entry is free. A great night out.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
(1st Corinthians 10:31 NIVUK)
I was really struggling to find inspiration for this month’s letter; but thanks to a walk, God gave me some!
I had to pick up a parcel at the local Royal Mail Depot. I thought about jumping in the car, and the journey would have taken around 10 minutes in total. But, it was a nice day (sunny, but cold) and the combination of a quieter-than-usual morning plus a serious need to improve my health meant I decided to just walk there any back.
On this walk, not only did I achieve over 7000 of my 10,000 daily-step target, but I also managed the following:
· Bumped into and caught up with a couple of congregation members;
· Helped a lost lady find the place she was looking for (with some assistance from my smart phone!);
· Invested in a local business by picking up some messages on my way past;
· Spent some time in prayer (with my eyes open, of course);
· Planned the structure of the sermon for Sunday coming;
· Planned this month’s congregational letter (in my head, and which I am now typing);· Oh, and picked up the parcel, which was my whole reason for being out!
As I reflected on all this, I was reminded of our verse of the year: “whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God”. So much of my walk had involved God: in those chance meetings with people, to the time I was able to spend “in His company” thinking and praying about things. It was, for me, a tangible example of one thing I hope we can realise this year: that we can and are to glorify God in all things we do.
Yet, this walk also reminded me that this also happens “in the other direction”, so to speak. Not only are we to glorify God in all that we do: God can and will use even the most ordinary circumstances for His glory!
I don’t think it was a coincidence that I decided to walk to get that parcel. I believe God lead me to that decision, and in doing so, used my ordinary walk for His glory: as I spent time with Him, but also encountered others along the way, hopefully showing something of Him in our interactions.
I want to, therefore, encourage you to continue to seek to glorify God in all you do, but also to realise that God can use all circumstances and situations, even the mundane and every-day, for His glory. Don’t ever believe that you are too insignificant or dull to ever be of use to God: He can and will use all things and all people for His glory – even a walk to pick up a parcel.
May God bless you,
Stuart
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
(1st Corinthians 10:31 NIVUK)
The question, “why?” is an important one.
It is often one of the most basic questions a person can ask. Children will ask things like, “why is the sky blue?”. The question, “why?” is frequently an attempt by one person to understand something. Granted, frequently asking the question over and over can become annoying (again, I am thinking of children), but it is nonetheless an attempt to gain understanding.
How we respond to the question, “why?” is also important.
We could respond dismissively; “because this is just the way it is!” That may well end the line of questioning, but it will often leave the questioner dissatisfied. Indeed, if we think about it, we haven’t really answered the question at all!
As Christians, I believe the question “why?” is one we should continually ask: of ourselves, and of the Church. Why do be believe what we do, or behave in the way we do? Why does the Church do certain things in worship and in service?
Equally, how we answer these questions truly matters. If the answer is, “because it’s always been this way”… well, that’s not good enough! We are not called to be unthinking automatons who mindlessly follow: we are the People of God, redeemed through His Son, Jesus Christ, and we should know why we do what we do – seen as we are meant to be doing it in His name!
I, therefore, encourage the question of “why?”. By reflecting on why we believe or do certain things, we will either reinforce that we are doing the right thing, or challenge ourselves to move toward the right thing. It is for this reason that our over-arching theme of 2019 is that question: Why? It is an invitation for us all to reflect on our Christian living, and on the life of our congregation, and to ensure we are doing the right things for God.
Because, ultimately, that is what matters. As we ask, “why” and reflect on the answer, we should eventually reach the foundational answer: we do this for the glory of God. It is the glory of God alone which should matter most to us as Christians, and it is His glory we should seek in all we do.
If we are confident that what we say/do/believe glorifies God, then let us do it all the more. If what we say/do/believe does not glorify God, then we would do well to set it aside, so we can concentrate more on the things which do bring Him glory.
I pray God’s blessing upon you as we begin this new year of reflection, asking the question, “why?”.
God bless,
Stuar
The Clincarthill Church Puppet team will be presenting ‘Camel 4 News’ from 7-8pm on Wednesday 19th December at Clincarthill Church, giving a fresh take on the Christmas story, with songs and sketches. Entry is free. See the attached leaflet. Hope to see you there.
This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war any more. Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord. (Isaiah 2:1-5 NIVUK)
As you might know, history is one of my hobbies. I enjoyed learning about history in school, and while I haven’t taken my study of history any further in an academic sense, I do enjoy reading about it in my own time. I am particularly interested in the time of the Roman Empire, and the Napoleonic Wars/Victorian Era Britain (just to let you know a little more about my interests!).
Because I enjoy learning about history so much, I get frustrated when I perceive others failing to learn from history. This can be on a global scale: for example, the frightening rise of far-right groups in Europe in the last few years (did we learn nothing from the 1939-1945 war against such powers?!). This frustration can also be more personal, and aimed at myself as much as anyone else: I can’t be the only person who sometimes fails to learn from my own past mistakes!
History and remembrance are important. It’s why we have an annual service of remembrance on the Sunday closest to Remembrance Day. This year, Remembrance Sunday is particularly significant: it will be exactly 100 years since, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the guns fell silent, and the war which was supposed to end all wars finally concluded (another frustration: if we had truly learned the lessons of World War 1, it would have been the war to end all wars. Sadly, war and conflict continue to engulf our world).
The Christian faith is, in part, a faith of remembrance. We are invited, every time we open the Bible, to look back, read and remember the experiences of those faithful people who lived hundreds or thousands of years before us: such as Isaiah, who is quoted above. Yet, this quotation, and the Bible as a whole, also encourage us to look forward in hope: trusting and believing in the work of God to put our world right.
This work peaked with the death and resurrection of Jesus, and will peak again when Christ returns. We trust that, when He does come back, God will do as He promised through Isaiah: that the weapons of war will be destroyed, that peace will reign, and we will live eternally and harmoniously with God and all His faithful. It will be the world God always intended; free from the sin which we have allowed to spoil this world.
And so it is that, when we gather on Sunday 11th November, we are not there to glorify war, or celebrate that “our side” won: we are there to look back, remembering those on all sides who died in conflict, giving thanks for those times when wars end and peace returns; but we also look forward, declaring that we, as the people of God, will pursue the cause of peace wherever we can, and trusting in the assured hope that, one day, God will ensure that peace will reign in our world for all eternity.
May God bless you,
Stuart
Today has been marked with a time of remembrance; planting poppy crosses in our garden for people we know who died at war; the laying of a wreath at our war memorial; and reflections on the past, the present and the future. We followed this with an old-fashioned tea party celebrating peace.
We hold a special Armistice Centenary service this Sunday 11th November, starting at 10.45am (note the earlier than usual start time). We mark 100 years since the end of the Great War, so join us to remember those who sacrificed their lives for country and for peace. The service will be followed by an indoor street party (as would have happened at the end of the war) in the hall. All are welcome.
