The church is a large open space with comfy seats and big colourful banners. Its very welcoming and informal. Today began with singing interspersed with prayer and bible readings.
I was asked to read Psalm 32;
1 Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be— you get a fresh start,
your slate's wiped clean.
2 Count yourself lucky—
God holds nothing against you
and you're holding nothing back from him.
3 When I kept it all inside,
my bones turned to powder,
my words became daylong groans.
4 The pressure never let up;
all the juices of my life dried up.
5 Then I let it all out;
I said, "I'll make a clean breast of my failures to God."
Suddenly the pressure was gone—
my guilt dissolved,
my sin disappeared.
6 These things add up. Every one of us needs to pray;
when all hell breaks loose and the dam bursts
we'll be on high ground, untouched.
7 God's my island hideaway,
keeps danger far from the shore,
throws garlands of hosannas around my neck.
8 Let me give you some good advice;
I'm looking you in the eye
and giving it to you straight:
9 "Don't be ornery like a horse or mule
that needs bit and bridle
to stay on track."
10 God-defiers are always in trouble;
God-affirmers find themselves loved
every time they turn around.
11 Celebrate God.
Sing together—everyone!
All you honest hearts, raise the roof!
and we sang a song called 'Broken hearted here i stand' which was a beautiful song from the Iona Community.
These two combined really touched my heart on what it means to worship with your life. In that you need to give everything you are to God, what ever is happening. Only then can you recieve healing. How can you be lifted up to God without being broken? In a prayer meeting we focused on refining. How a refiner takes metal and melts it to create something new. Thats how we come to God, to first be melted and broken, then to re-shaped into a vessel for honour or contempt. So the during the really horrible times in our lives, when you feel that God has abandoned you, remember that He hasnt, he is reshaping your life to complete His purpose.
The preacher (An american woman) preached on love. About how truly abiding in God means that we should embrace -ἀγάπη agápē - love for friends and family, a love that is self sacrificing and unconditional. Like a marriage should be, what ever happens, the love is still there because thats what binds them together, forever.
1 Corinthians 13 v 4-7
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
It was communion today, which we did the American way, dipping the bread into the wine, with 'enough bread to choke on' instead of a tiny bit like we normally have! I love the idea, but i usually end up choking on my bread on the way back to my seat as im trying to eat and breathe at the same time ,and end up having a coughing fit on the way back. So not a good look!
All in all, it was a very good service with lots of songs that i knew!
God bless x
Sarah x
3 comments:
so what has this taught you about love? will you now tell those who you love the way that you feel?.
Its taught me that love comes from God. Love that does not come from God or is blessed by God, is not real love but an illusion.
This is very true that love comes from god, it IS an amazing gift that god bestoes upon all of us. But god also taught us to love yet we both know that not all targets of affections are told, but this is neither the time or the place for this conversation to carry on.
god bless
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