Someone once bought me a lottery ticket and I started thinking of all the ways I could help people. For example, it would be great to see the face of someone who was struggling to pay the mortgage when they opened a letter and found a cheque that paid off their mortgage. It would be great to see the face of someone who’d had years of trouble with an old banger of a car, as they opened a letter and found keys to a brand new car parked outside their home. It would be great to help out Christian organisations that were struggling, or to see the face of a friend when you gave them the holiday of a lifetime. Yet, in all this thinking about the help and freedom that people could find, there was this deep down feeling that all this would not really bring about true freedom of heart and mind. This is because the Bible says, only God can really do that. He wants us to find freedom in the life He offers us. And this, rather strangely to some, brings us to the word ‘religion.’
Posts tagged presence
May His Face Shine Upon You
Numbers 6:24-26
A Rabbi once told a story about two brothers. One brother was married and had three children, whilst the other was a bachelor. They both worked the land their father had left them, and at harvest time started cutting the wheat and placing it in bundles. During the first night of harvest the bachelor awoke and thought of all the mouths his brother had to feed. He got up and cut a few extra sheaves, then placing them in his brother’s pile. Later the same night his brother awoke and thought about how his brother would find difficulty in old age with no children to support him. He then got out of bed and cut a few extra sheaves, placing them in his brother’s pile so he’d have extra finance to prepare for future years. Over the next few nights both men repeated their actions, unbeknown to each other. At the end of the harvest they counted their sheaves and were surprised to see they both had the same number. After talking and realising how this had come about they looked at one another and embraced, recognising how much they were loved.
The Church
A general conception
Many non-Christians and sadly some Christians, don’t understand what is meant when the word ‘church’ is referred to. We have all heard statements like the following: ‘I used to go to church as a child’ or ‘My parents go to the Parish Church’, or ‘We had a lovely church wedding’ or ‘My grandparents were church-goers’ etc. This reflects a misunderstanding of the meaning of ‘Church’. This short booklet will address the true meaning of Church, and correct common misunderstandings. Let’s begin with what the church is NOT.
The Church is not:
A material building.
Spiritual Gifts
Discovering our place in God’s church by using the gifts he has given
- Introduction
- Biblical Foundations
- Exploring the Gifts
- Stepping Out
1. Introduction
Spirituality
You were thought of in the mind of your Creator before the world came into existence. Before atoms and molecules were spoken into being there was a reason for creating you. Before the movement of this planet, or the touch of the sun and moon upon our orbiting world your Creator knew of a time when you would arrive. You were thought of before the painting was on the canvas, or the ingredients of the Universe were mixed together in a pageantry of colour and harmony. Before the advent of time there was, in the mystery of eternity, a plan to create mankind. There was a plan to create beings able to partake in all the wonder and beauty of this world, and also reach beyond it to fullness of life with their creator. Yes, before mountains and valleys were shaped and moulded, or the orderliness of seasons was set in place there was a decision made in eternity. There was a decision made to create a being, able to benefit from the love of another. You are special, you are unique, you are noticed; you were created to be loved and to love.
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