Tag Archives: worship resources

On a Clear Night

A Thought for Today

“How can we make sense of the stories about the resurrection in the gospels? Did Jesus really appear to the two travellers on the road to Emmaus, to the disciples in a closed room or in the dawn next to the Sea of Galilee?

Our minds and senses today are full and cluttered with television, radio, multi-media, noise, music, business. All these sensations blot out the natural and maybe supernatural world.

On a clear night, in the city, we get a good view of the stars, planets, the Milky Way galaxy, but go out into the countryside where there is no artificial light and then look up at the sky. It is stunning. That view makes me feel small and insignificant.

People in first century must have been more aware of and in touch with nature and with the wonders of God’s creation.

I mentioned that I often feel that my Grandad and Mum are present with me. I can’t see them with my eyes or touch them with my hands, but they are here in my heart.

I imagine therefore that in a less cluttered, noisy age, Jesus’ friends and followers would have had an even stronger sense of his presence with them, after his sudden and shocking death. The resurrection appearance stories might reflect this understanding.“

* * * * *

From the sermon – Keeping Jesus Alive in Our Hearts – 11 March 2012
in Let Your Light Shine Through by Philip C. Garside.

Click to order eBooks: https://payhip.com/b/FJSL

 

How should we spread the Good News?

A Thought for Today

“…Jonah just stood up in the middle of the street and shouted at people.

The way we tell God’s message needs to be adjusted for each situation.

At this point, I imagine Jonah was expecting to be arrested for disturbing the peace and chucked out of the city. At the very least he could expect to be jeered at and heckled. Or maybe worse, just be ignored. He would have been watching for trouble and scared.

Now the story turns. The Bible says, “And the people of Nineveh believed God.”

They stopped doing evil, repented and turned their lives around.

Jonah’s mission was a total success. He didn’t expect it.

How does Jonah react? If you go on to read Chapter 4 at home, you will see that Jonah sulks. It’s as if he wanted the people of Nineveh to be destroyed by God.

* * * * *

We need to be sure of our motivation when we tell the Good News.

God used an ordinary, grumpy, ungrateful chap like Jonah to talk to the people of Nineveh.

What then is there to stop us sharing the Good News with the people we meet?…”

* * * * *

From the sermon – How should we spread the Good News? – 22 January 2012
in Let Your Light Shine Through by Philip C. Garside.

Click to order eBooks: https://payhip.com/b/FJSL

* * * * *

Breaking through to Love

Thought for the day

“…I’m pleased to be part of a church that welcomes all people to the communion table without demanding to know whether they have been baptised or confirmed. This reflects the radical inclusiveness that Jesus showed.

He would even ask for a drink from a Samaritan woman.
The Samaritans and Jews were neighbours and didn’t get along. Their enmity was deep seated and long standing.

Jesus didn’t ask anything difficult of her at first, just to provide him with a drink of water from the well. A simple act of sharing. Communion is a simple act of sharing, which we did when we poured a cup of water for each other.

The good news of the gospels is that God loves us and is always with us. The life and actions of Jesus are constant reminders of this transforming love.

 * * * * *

Did you try dropping a stone in the water?

Did picking up the stone remind you of something that you would like to change or let go of in your life?

The Samaritan woman was freed by Jesus to make a change in her life.

When we are ready to ask, God’s free, transforming love can also enable us to make changes in our lives. Amen.”

 * * * * *

From the sermon – Breaking through to Love – 27 March 2011, in Let Your Light Shine Through by Philip C. Garside.

Click to order eBooks: https://payhip.com/b/FJSL

Excellent review of Touching a Nerve by NZ Baptist

Here is Linda Grigg’s review of Touching a Nerve in NZ Baptist

Click here to order print copies  or eBook copies

TOUCHING A NERVE

  • September 22, 2020

Brendan Boughen; (self-published), 2019, (p132)
ISBN 978-0-473-59343-7

Touching a Nerve has the explanatory subtitle of ‘A curly collection of churchy cartoons by Jim’.

‘Jim’ is the cartooning alter ego of Brendan Boughen. He grew up in the Lutheran church but left traditional faith in his 30s. He tells something of that move away in an earlier collection of cartoons called Gone Astray.

Despite, or perhaps because of, that personal shift, Boughen often draws about the connection between traditional religion, faith, politics, society and social justice.

Cartoon topics

The cartoons in Touching a Nerve sometimes poke a finger at core Christian beliefs. An example is an Olympic ‘mental gymnastics’ athlete who is in a sweat, struggling with the concept of virgin birth.

Others are simply  touching. One quotes Isaiah 52:7 about “how beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news of happiness…”. The quote hangs in a clear blue sky, above a snow-capped mountain. At the base of the mountain are a school and hospital. Both bear the name of Edmund Hillary. The cartoon was drawn to honour Sir Ed on his passing in 2008. A helpful URL at the bottom of the page leads readers to the explorer and humanitarian’s obituary.

Many of the news-related cartoons have such URLs. Considering that several of them are about events that occurred six or more years ago, this ensures the point being made is not lost on readers.

Other cartoons in the book do not have an underlying message. These fall into the realm of ‘dad jokes’—humour that will either elicit a chuckle, smile or a groan, depending on your sense of humour.

The balance between all the cartoons in this collection means that it is a book that will have something for most people. This shows that some thought has been put into what was selected.

Thought-provoking ‘toons

The famous cartoonist Charles M Schulz, whose Peanuts  strips were fodder for Boughen’s imagination as a child, is said to have claimed that “those who find no humor in faith are probably those who find the church a refuge for their own black way of looking at life…”1

And, for this reviewer at least, it was ‘Jim’s’ more pointed cartoons about matters of faith that were most appreciated. I think it is helpful for Christians to examine how their beliefs align with their lived-out lives. Sometimes it requires someone else to prod us, to get this thinking in motion. And in Touching a Nerve, Boughen has provided a gentle stick.

Reviewer: Linda Grigg

You can see the review on the NZ Baptist website here:
https://baptistmag.org.nz/touching-a-nerve/

Prayer / Poem of the Week # 23

Prayer / Poem of the Week # 23

Come back each Monday night for a free prayer or poem from one of the books we have published.

Labour Day 25th October

(Nearest Sunday)

God of Nations, we are proud of ours and give thanks that we live in this country.
We are proud to own a founding document,
conceived in a time of peace.
Most treaties are the result of war,
but Our Treaty offers the hope of covenant.
We give thanks that we live in a place of peace and
good intention.

We know human rights do not simply happen,
they are initiated by people of vision,
Negotiated by people wanting justice,
and often achieved at considerable cost.
We give thanks for our forebears who worked for justice.

Despite our proud record of justice and
good working conditions,
Some of our citizens are exploited,
disadvantaged and dis-empowered,
Be with those who are working for justice now.

Despite our fine laws on human rights,
some of our citizens continue to be discriminated against, through circumstances of education, employment, race, disability, gender, and sexual orientation.

We pray for those who are over-worked,
and those who are unemployed.
We pray for the ill-treated, the un-treated,
the dis-empowered and the ignored.

We pray for all who oppress,
be they deliberately malicious or merely insensitive, bosses or bullies, law-makers or church-people;
may they be confronted by their actions
and moved to bring change.
May wisdom prevail.

We pray for families,
in all their diversities,
whatever form they take,
that love may prevail. Amen.

From: Lay Preaching Basics by Rosalie Sugrue (2018)

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Prayer / Poem of the Week # 22

Prayer / Poem of the Week # 22

Come back each Monday night for a free prayer or poem from one of the books we have published.

106. Rural Hardship

God of the present and future,
bring hope to those facing hardship and loss
in the rural community of …………..

Restore those whose land
has been severely affected by flood/snow/rain/cold/fire/drought.

Encourage those facing big changes
in farm management and lifestyle,
or who face the prospect of having to move off the land
and the challenge of finding new employment.

Have compassion on those
whose marriages or relationships
are under enormous strain
through interpersonal or financial stress.

Resource communities which have lost amenities,
commercial services and farm labour.
Enable people to welcome new settlers and life-stylers,
particularly those unfamiliar
with rural ways of doing things,
and the customs of the local community.

We pray in faith that we shall discover
grace sufficient for each day’s challenges,
in and through the strength of the Holy Spirit.

From The Shepherd’s Call – Te Karanga o te Hēpara:
Prayers and liturgies for rural Aotearoa New Zealand
By Bill Bennett (2018)

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Prayer / Poem of the Week # 18

Prayer / Poem of the Week # 18

Come back each Monday night for a free prayer or poem from one of the books we have published.

Only a Prayer Away (Poetry)

As we journey daily through our lives
we are glad we do not travel alone,
that you are beside us God unseen and unobtrusive
yet only a prayer away.

Providing strength when we are weak,
rest when we are weary,
comfort in times of hardship, hope when our faith falters,
and encouragement when our courage fails.

Although we stumble from time to time
and get side tracked into unprofitable ways,
and although negative attitudes slow our progress
and we persist with burdensome behaviours,
Lord you never leave us to struggle on alone.

Rather, you are ever loving, ever merciful.
You understand our inadequacies and forgive our misdeeds.
You are gracious in spite of our gracelessness.
Kind in spite of our spitefulness,
and gentle even when we lack empathy.

This way we are travelling
is not the route we would have chosen, Lord.
In trust we are walking pathways you lead us on,
guided in our pilgrimage by scripture our road map,
to the destination you have prepared.

As we travel, we give thanks
for the companions you have provided
to accompany us on this life-long journey,
and for those who share our joys and sorrows.
We give thanks for your constant presence Lord,
for being as close as a prayer away.

As you travel beside us,
teach us to become more like you God,
to love like you do without reservation,
to be merciful like you are without hesitation, and
to give of ourselves with unbounded generosity,
and help us to always remember
that you are as close as a prayer away. Amen.

From: Prayers for Southern Seasons: Poems and prayers for Christian worship and devotions. By Joy Kingsbury-Aitken.

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