Sep 7th

2 Samuel 1     Ezekiel 10     1 Corinthians 12     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

One of my favourite analogies is in this chapter. I can remember being 11/12 and really grappling with this scripture deeply. I was starting to get a sense from God of calling on my life, but struggled that perhaps it wasn't the same as all my friends. I was blessed to start serving in church really young, but one of the problems I faced was that I found myself judging myself against my peers. I was shaped differently because God had a different purpose for me.

Paul describes the church like a body, made up of lots of different parts that do different jobs. The analogy has so much to offer; perhaps what you need to hear today is that it is ok that how you serve God looks different to the person next to you or maybe it is a day when you need to be reminded that even a lofty eye needs a sturdy body under it to support you. Even an eye that has seen the wonders of the world is fairly useless if it has been removed from the body and can now only see the mud it lies on. Or perhaps this is a day when you just need to stand back view the body of Christ in all its splendour and be thankful that other parts of it look so different to you.

(lay member of staff)

Sep 6th

1 Samuel 31     Ezekiel 9     1 Corinthians 11     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

This chapter is one of those times where it comes sharply back into focus that Paul is very much speaking directly and culturally into a group, in this instance the church in Corinth.

Corinth seems to be a church where they have really grappled onto the freedom offered in Christ. Paul seems often to be addressing them and telling them that just because they can doesn't mean they should. He starts chapter 11 by addressing what seems to be their new-found freedom regarding head covering and prayer. Paul is asking them to stop butting up against the current cultural practice in communal worship. He tells them in verse 16 "we have no other practice" He also uses a sound creationist argument for the differences in expectations of men and woman. So far he seems to be sharing a message that just because you have the right to doesn't mean you should.

He then moves on to challenge strongly their practice of segregation at the Lord’s Table, the rich bringing their banquets and the poor only joining in for bread and wine. He says the Lord’s Table is where we all come as equals before the Lord not rich and poor, not segregated or in cliques.  I know from experience that the amazing, deep and personal relationships I have had in church have inadvertently made others outsiders. What a great positive challenge, when we meet as the body what can we do to make our groups and friendships inclusive rather than exclusive? How can we use our means to bless the entire body and not just ourselves?

'Lord please help us to be good stewards of our time, relationships and possessions. May they bless our church and community! Amen"

(lay member of staff)

Sep 5th

1 Samuel 29-30     Ezekiel 8     1 Corinthians 10     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

I'm not very good at learning from other people’s mistakes. I try to, but have always found it easier to learn from my own. It's not a Godly characteristic or one I would offer as a lifestyle to others. We tend to tell our young people not to make the same mistakes we did, but perhaps have an unsaid belief that they will probably make a good chunk of them anyway. As long as they get to adult life in one piece the mistakes can then be brushed under the carpet. The problem with this mentality is that every mistake, every fall leaves a scar.

Paul is passionately asking believers to learn from the mistakes of there forebears. To see how their collective history is scattered with so many stories of sin and repentance, that if they could just learn from those mistakes, perhaps they could be spared the pain.

He asks us to learn from the nation of Israel, "if we think we are standing firm, be careful not to fall." Temptation always comes but the promise here in scripture is that we will not be tested by more than we can bear and that God will always give us a way out.

Perhaps the challenge then for us is not to fall, but to learn from the mistakes of others. Hear their stories understand the pain, the joy and forgiveness so that when our chance comes to stumble at the same block we can take the option out.

(lay member of staff)

Sep 4th

1 Samuel 28     Ezekiel 7     1 Corinthians 9     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

1 Corinthians 9 has a slightly presidential speech quality to it, one that by the end has you almost standing up applauding or wiping a tear from the corner of your eye. Paul is getting passionate and that translates to us when we read it.

The beginning of the scripture is aimed at correcting those speaking bad of him. Reminding them of what he justly has rights to and the fact that he hasn't taken what perhaps he deserves. It's the end of this passage that really gets me, where Paul begins to talk about self discipline and getting ourselves in good shape to run the race set out before us.

This year has been a year of amazing races, medals, joy and tears. But the Olympics is once every 4 years, what does a runner do when they get home from running a race? They train, they train and they train. They put the hard work in, they train themselves to make the right decisions while running a race. The more that comes from good habits and less that comes from choices mid race the better the sprint is. In this new academic year are there parts of our lives we want to train on, perhaps a new discipline. Perhaps the hard work now will mean a smoother run when the bumps of life come.

(lay member of staff)

Sep 3rd

1 Samuel 27     Ezekiel 6     1 Corinthians 8     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Does having the 'right' to do something mean we are right to do something?

Paul takes us through a scenario presented to a first century believer. Possessing the knowledge that fake idols, gods and lords, with small g's and i's, hold no power against the one true God. They no longer had to fear the eating of meat left as sacrifice to these idols. Paul is telling the reader that in terms of sin they are clear but that is not the end of his message. They have the 'right' to eat this meat but are they right to?

Paul gives us a clear instruction in verse 9 "be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak." The situation Paul is speaking into is one where the body of believers is undecided and wary of eating meats left to idols. Paul takes his opportunity, to address the theology of 'idol meat' but carries on to present a more passionate plea. That regardless of wrong and right our actions are determined not by what we are allowed to do, the rights we have but by the offence or blessing they may cause others.

Although today we are not dealing with the issue of 'idol meat' perhaps there is a still an amazing question we can ask. Just because I have the 'right' to do something, am I right to do it?

(lay member of staff)

Sep 2nd

1 Samuel 26     Ezekiel 5     1 Corinthians 7     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

In today’s reading Paul takes us through the topics of sex, marriage, divorce, immorality, status, circumcision, slavery and possession. Where to start?

This passage is Paul under the guidance of God, speaking into specific life situations. It can be easy to read Paul as a very hard line definitive answer on many hot topics of the day; instead Paul himself offers much of what he writes from experience. This doesn’t null and void the passage but adds the weight that he himself is living out what he offers.

The exciting and challenging thread that Paul weaves amongst all of his talk of sex, marriage, circumcision and status is one of being free to follow Christ. He talks into specifics to help us align our lives and our priorities. He tells us in verse 17 that each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has put them in, instead of debating differences in lifestyle he seems more interested in how we live out our faith in the situation we are in. It can be so easy to question why our life looks a certain way, choices may have played out differently from how we expected. Perhaps other people’s choices have had a knock on for our lives. The challenge Paul lays down is to not spend all our time and energy, worrying, challenging, fighting and trying to change our life, but instead to find ways to honour, worship and follow Jesus in the life we lead. God is there to share in our joys and pain of life and will always be so.

Perhaps today we could look for where we see God at work in and around our daily routine and join him in it. Honouring, worshipping and living out our faith in the little things.

(lay member of staff)

Sep 1st

1 Samuel 25     Ezekiel 4     1 Corinthians 6     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Actions can speak louder than words.

Or a picture conveys a 1000 words….

Look at Abigail’s actions in 1 Samuel 25. She was certainly discerning and intelligent, v 3. Hospitality is a very important obligation in the Middle East and by turning down David’s request, Nabal, her husband invited judgment on himself and his whole household. Abigail’s actions are quick and effective; she rode on ahead with donkeys loaded with provisions, 200 loaves, 2 skins of wine, not forgetting 5 roast sheep and all the rest. She was able to turn aside David’s anger by her thoughtful actions.

In Ezekiel 4 the prophet Ezekiel engages in street theatre of the most extreme kind. This is an oracle about the downfall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Ezekiel’s dramatic actions conveyed a divine message. He was tied up and lived on rationed food and drink, all signs of the coming siege of Jerusalem.

Finally in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 there is a long list of sinful actions –all leading to judgment. We are reminded that the wicked will not inherit the Kingdom of God. The strongest action or verb comes in v 18, flee, “flee from sexual immorality”. Flee – run away – escape – get out quick. Sometimes the best way of avoiding temptation is to run away from it, literally, get out of the situation fast , and leave it far behind.

We are reminded at the end, in v 19, that our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit no less.

Make sure your actions portray that today. Remember your actions speak louder than words.

(member of the PCC)