Good News! Kember Freed

Together, originally uploaded by nmec.

It is wonderful news to hear that Norman Kember has been rescued by security forces working in Iraq. I remember taking part in an impromptu prayer meeting in the Speaker's State Apartments at Westminster with a group of concerned parliamentarians just after he was taken hostage and there was great concern. The praying was urgent and heartfelt.

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It is wonderful to hear of his rescue. Thanks Father God.

This Sunday and Calling All Journallers

On Sunday morning we have a guest speaker, Stephen Rand. So do join us for that in the morning.

You may recall how some months ago, several journals were given out to potential journallers.

Well Sunday night is the test of the journaller's mettle. We will be gathering together at 6.30pm at SHC to discuss any journal entries that our intrepid journallers would like to share.

EVERYBODY is welcome and we are going to look at what has worked and been helpful to people, what has not worked and why and any insights and edification people have gained from journalling.

So if you journal and would like to share, then please come. If you journal and would NOT like to share, then please come. If you don't journal, please come anyway.

Pray Hemel

Pray Hemel this Saturday is at South Hill Church. Join us for a great time of prayer with a whole bunch of Hemel Christians.

8.00am - 9.30am, starting with bacon butties.

Sermon Series on Philippians

As time is moving on, we decided to wrap up our series on Philippians on Sunday, 26 February 2006 by looking at Phil 3:1-21, under the title, Press on: Destination Heaven!

The flesh counts for nothing. Knowing Christ and all he has done for us is everything. So we press on into him because our destination is heaven.

1. Renew your joy in the Lord

Paul is never finished exhorting us to find our strength in God and never finished warning of that which could undermine our Christian foundation. There is a place of safety in this principle.

2. Watch out for diversions

Beware the dirty dogs, Beware those doers of darkness, Beware those darstardly disablers. We looked at what Paul was concerned about: anything that distorts the clarity of the Gospel of Christ in our lives.

3. Rid yourself of what has no value

Paul plays Top Trumps with his Jewish credentials and then writes them off as worthless when it comes to the far greater issue of laying hold of Christ in his life.

Sometimes we start up a profit and loss account with God. This is stinking thinking as far as Paul is concerned.

4. Value what has the most value

In order to gain Christ, we need to come empty-handed.

Paul just wanted to know Christ in his life and he was only prepared to put his trust in the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith in him. That's all that matters!

That was his value system. We have 86,000 seconds a day in our lives. How are we investing them? As a result of comprehending this amazing operation of grace in his life, that's the reason he wants to share in the fellowship of sharing in his suffering and somehow attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

5. Press on towards perfection

Lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of you: literally, arrested. Our citizenship is in heaven.

Conclusion

That’s how to stand firm in the Lord.

Cheer up in God! We’ve got something to boast about and its not anything you or I could ever have done. That’s nothing. We are those who boast in Christ and what he has won for us. Our right standing through faith. That’s all that matters. Now I press on to take hold of all that this truth means by running hard after knowing Christ and somehow being found worthy of this incredible privilege. So follow my lead. Press into him and press on to heaven!

And with that, we finish in Philippians for now. There is so much more in this part of scripture, but not enough time to look at it all. But I commend the rich truths in this book to you as a foundation for your Christian faith.

Bless you.

Sermon Series on Philippians

On Sunday, 29 January 2006, we looked at Phil 2:1-12 under the title, Follow his lead in true humility.

If God has touched you then be united with one another by humbling yourselves like Jesus.

1. Has God touched you?

Have you felt the encouragement of uniting with Christ, the consolation of his love, fellowship with the Spirit, his tenderness and compassion?

We looked at George Fox's journal where he gives an account of the love of God changing him. You can read his journal at

http://www.strecorsoc.org/gfox/title.html

2. Be united among yourselves

We looked at Jonathan Edwards' Resolutions. Here they are:

1. In all our conversation, concerns and dealings with our neighbours we will be honest, just and upright.
2. If we wrong others in any way we will not rest until we have made restitution.
3. We promise that we will not permit ourselves to indulge in any kind of back-biting.
4. We will be careful not to do anything to others out of a spirit of revenge.
5. When there is a difference of opinion concerning another’s rights, we will not allow private interest to influence us.
6. We will not tolerate the exercise of enmity or ill will or revenge in our hearts.
7. If we find that we have a secret grudge against another we will not gratify it but root it out.
8. We will not allow over-familiarity in our talk with others, or anything that might stir up licentious behaviour.
9. We resolve to examine ourselves on a regular basis, knowing that the heart is very deceitful.
10. We will run with perseverance the race that is set before us, working out our salvation with fear and trembling.

This covenant was made on 16 March 1742

3. Humble yourselves

It's not a “What’s in it for me” spirit or a “Look at me, am I not great” spirit. Humility is about not having the need to blow your own trumpet. Shine the spotlight on others.

4. Let this thinking be in you that was also in Christ Jesus

We looked at this profound Christian hymn, full of deep truth. We considered different photo filters which bring out different elements to it.

It looks like Jesus and Adam are being compared. Jesus does what Adam couldn't.

It looks like Jesus is being described in the language of the suffering servant in Isaiah.

It looks like Paul might have had Jesus' example of washing his followers' feet in mind.

Paul's got his eyes on Christ and is working out what it means to be united with him, identified with him, having his life in us: being like him.

A Poem by Pris

Pris recently wrote a poem, having meditated on Ps 65 at a recent Care Group meeting.

A 'PRESENT' GIFT OF GOD

Thank you Lord for your gift this day
Rain or shine, no matter what men say
We will lift our hearts in praise to You
For we know our days all depend on You.

Thanks for that, Pris.

A Thought from Dave

After a recent sermon by Brian on the Word of God, Dave was reminded of some words of George Muller, a Christian evangelist and coordinator of orphanages in Bristol, England.

The first thing I did, after having asked the Lord's blessing upon his precious Word, was, to begin to meditate on the Word of God, searching ...into every verse, to get blessing out of it; not for the sake of preaching on it, but for the sake of obtaining food for my soul. ...After a very few minutes my soul has been led to confession, or to thanksgiving, or to intercession, or to supplication; so that, though I did not, as it were, give myself to prayer, but to meditation, yet it turned almost immediately ...into prayer".

Thanks for sharing that, Dave.

A Blog on the Horizon

Great news! Please check out Councillor Neil Harden's new blog called S P Q R.

http://c21st.blogspot.com/

It is an intriguing mix of local politics, Neil's thoughts, Christian reflections and political polling.

Well done, Neil and welcome to the blogosphere.