Minister's Letter March 10
- "Welcome to the Prayer Year..."
- ...Says the promotional Vision4Life material courtesy of our denomination. We are now in the second of three years that we hope will start to transform the United Reformed Church. More material is available now on the website (www.vision4life.org.uk) and other things will appear right through the Prayer
Year. One of those things will be a locally produced prayer book. Yes! TWURC's mission pledge for 2010 is to publish our own prayer book and we need your contributions (see the note from Sheila Henio later in this newsletter).
The idea is to provide a resource for use at home or in church. Hopefully it will strengthen our prayer life, connecting us in a circle of prayer. Therefore, pray for inspiration and when you feel inspired write down your prayer(s) and hand them either to me, or Sheila (or if you wish to remain anonymous leave them in the folder in the Quiet Room). All the material should be original (i.e. not printed anywhere else) and the book will be divided into sections, which corresponds to the pattern of worship frequently used at TWURC. Art work (prayer pictures) can also be included . Types of prayers should include:-
• Vestry Prayers
• Call to Worship and Prayers of Approach
• Prayers of Praise and Thanksgiving
• Prayers of Confession
• Prayers of Concern/Intercessions
• Prayers for Communion
• Blessings and Sending Out
Personally I will be thrilled if by the end of the year we have fulfilled our pledge. Of course at the end of the day it's all for God's glory. Please pray this Vision4Life prayer...
Life-giving God, Creator of all,
Jesus Christ, Saviour of all,
God the Holy Spirit, new life of all,
you blow away our excuses and overcome our defensiveness.
Help us to keep in tune with your promptings - glimpses of what could be,
hints of new outcomes we didn't expect.
Generous God, give us vision for life.
Love in His Name and Service.
Minister's Letter February 10
- God does not call the prepared; God prepares the called.
- What do you think to this statement as you reflect upon your faith journey? Do you believe that God calls unlikely persons to do the extraordinary? I do. I believe that God may call all of us to do new things at certain times and that if we trust Him, He will equip us as we write new chapters in our lives. The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. However: "Many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14).
The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and have had their spiritual condition changed and in some sense their ears opened. Whether we hear God's call or not depends on the condition of our ears, and exactly what we hear depends upon our spiritual rather than our religious attitude. Allow me to explain. Being in relationship with God involves more than just coming to church once a week. It's also about tuning in to the ways in which God communicates with us and listening for His guidance. Prayer is His gift to us in which we have direct access to the Father through the Son in the Spirit's power. Prayer is the key to relationship with the Holy Trinity. Prayer is about recognising how God is with us all the way on our life's journey.
But meeting with God each day in prayer is a challenge. When Martin Luther's barber (and friend) asked him how to pray he explained the need for concentration: “So, a good and attentive barber keeps his thoughts, attention, and eyes on the razor and hair and does not forget how far he has gotten with his shaving or cutting. If he wants to engage into much conversation or let his mind wander or look somewhere else he is likely to cut his customer’s mouth, nose, or even his throat. Thus if anything is to be done well, it requires the full attention of all one's senses and members. . .” (A Simple Way To Pray, p.33).
There is need for concentration! I find this really helpful advice for my personal prayer life along with the well used CATS/ACTS pattern which I learned very early in my Christian life: (C)onfession, (A)doration, (T)hanksgiving, (S)upplication. You may use something similar, but if you've never come across this - try applying this pattern daily in your prayer time. Through the power of the Holy Spirit it will bring you face to face with God. Then you will hear what Isaiah heard, "the voice of the Lord" - the call of God preparing you for what lies ahead and in perfect freedom you too will say, "Here am I! Send me" (Isaiah 6:8).
Love in His Name and Service.
Minister's Letter December 09
- At the start of 2009...
- ...the atheist bus adverts proclaiming that: 'There’s probably no God' appeared. I think for atheists the adverts backfired, by putting God on the public agenda and provoking people to ask if He is there. And now, at the end of the year, as we approach the festive season, marking off each day on the calendar leading up to Christmas, God should be on everyone's agenda - but sadly, as our nation slips further into secularism, He isn't. Recent research by Theos reveals that only 12% of adults know the facts of the Christmas story in any detail – the figure dropping to just 7% amongst 18‐24 year olds. Sadly the One who started this whole Christmas thing is lost among the tinsel, mince-pies, turkey and price tags! It’s become more about late night shopping, than sharing, more about gaudy decorations than Godly devotion.
At this time of Advent, when the real meaning of Christmas is often lost Christians must keep Christmas focused on Jesus Christ by proclaiming His story. Christmas is His festival. His birth, the angels, the shepherds and the adoration of the Magi are part of the celebration - but also is His life, and His ultimate sacrifice for all mankind for He is our Lord and Saviour. It is simple, we don't need to make it complicated. God is so close to us, because He was born as one of us. There may not be a star shining in the sky, but the signs are there for all to see. Those in darkness need to be brought into the Christ-Light. We need to bring Him close to our friends and families who need His peace and comfort to shine in their stressful, hurting lives. We need to show them that we don't take this precious season and valuable time for granted, because it's an amazing HIS-tory we celebrate!
Discover, or maybe even re-discover what was really going on in that Bethlehem stable. Emmanuel – God is indeed with us!
I look forward to seeing all of you and your families during one of the many services we will have at TWURC in the coming weeks.
Wishing you a joyful, Christ-centred Christmas. Love in His name and service.
Tim
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.” Luke 2:14 (NIV)
Minister's Letter November 09
- The Kingdom of God...
- ...was central to everything Jesus said and did. And it is central to everything we do say and do as we try to “reach out and love others in the name of Christ our Saviour.” A vital strand in Jesus’ Kingdom message was that it was “good news for the poor” (Luke 3:18). Over and over again He shows and tells us that God is concerned for the poor and needy, and that to be followers of Jesus we too must share that same concern (Matthew 25:31-46).
So we in Tettenhall Wood URC are privileged to be partners with Christian Aid/URC’s initiative “Commitment for Life.” It has four goals of helping us to:
Work for peace with justice towards a fairer world.
Seek to be God’s people.
Announce good news to the poor.
Recognise that change starts with us.
As a Church we agreed to support Commitment for Life’s “1% Appeal” in which we give 1% of our annual income (that is one penny in every pound) to help the poor throughout the world to help themselves. In addition The Explorers chose Zimbabwe as our partner-country (see their notice board for more details). This is real Kingdom-work. It brings God’s hope. It supports God’s justice. It offers God’s love. It’s good news for the poor…and for us, the rich, because it deepens our faith.
So this Commitment for Life prayer asks:-
Teach me to handle the possessions you have entrusted to me
That whatsoever is asked of me,
They will be treated as yours, not as my own.
Teach me grace to give whatever you require of me.
And grace to refuse any false guilt.
Teach me to fight unjust systems which rob people
Of their share of your provision;
Teach me to be alert to how I justify these systems to myself.
Teach me not to want to keep the poor in poverty –
Teach me to want your daily bread for everyone.
Teach me to want your Kingdom to come.
We ask all of this in Jesus’ mighty name.
Amen.
Tim
Minister's Letter October 09
- “Are you evangelical?"...
- ...Sometimes I’m asked this question. My initial response is to reply: “I’m a sinner, a Christian who conforms to the basic doctrines of the Bible and am devoted to the Good News (“Evangel”) of God’s saving grace in Jesus Christ – so yes I’m evangelical.”
The “Evangel” is summarized by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4: “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.”
That’s certainly my creed: that the Word-Event Jesus Christ – His incarnation, teaching, death and resurrection is the fulfilment of Scripture and the revealing of God’s salvation purpose for sinful people. Alongside this, I also believe that to be saved and go to Heaven, one must be converted to trust in Christ by turning away from sin, and accepting His free gift of salvation through His payment for sin by His death on the cross. These fundamental facts and truths of Christianity shape the centrality of my preaching. So I’m definitely evangelical
Although such a label is meaningless in terms of eternity, I still think it is one of the most important labels that can be applied to any Christian today. So don’t be embarrassed by the misnomers (legalism, fundamentalism et.al.) that sadly are connected with the word “evangelical” – it simply means that we preach a solid Gospel. Good News indeed!
So if someone asks you the question, “Are you evangelical?” – what will your response be? More importantly, as your Minister of the Word – would you expect me to be anything less than evangelical? I certainly hope not!
In love and in the service of Jesus Christ. Tim
Minister's Letter September 09
- Welcome back from your holidays to a new church term!
- “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:19-20).
God has given us the gift of music and it’s a very important part of our worship. TWURC are certainly blessed in having a choir. I’m not sure how many anthems by J.S. Bach they’ve sung (ask Kay she’ll probably know!) but much of his music is found in hymnals today (over 30 hymns are linked to him in Rejoice and Sing). Whenever Bach wrote a piece of music, he always wrote the letters S.D.G. at the bottom of the composition. Those letters stand for the words Soli Deo Gloria which means "To God alone be the glory." You see, Bach realized that his music was a gift from God and that he had a responsibility to use his gift to the glory of God.
We have a responsibility to use our gifts (and they are all different according to the grace given us) for God’s glory too! Christian faith demands our whole heart and life and I think a new church term is an exciting new beginning. It’s an opportunity to re-commit ourselves to living and sharing the astonishing Gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s an incentive to get spiritually fit and God's Holy Bible is the greatest training guide for us to become spiritually fit.
Thus, let’s make sure the Bible is an important part of our lives. The renowned Baptist preacher C.H. Spurgeon once said to his congregation: “There is dust enough on some of your Bibles to write “damnation” with your fingers.” Harsh words indeed! However, it’s vital we remain rooted and stable in the Word - storing up the truths of Scripture in our hearts as much as possible. Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next (1Tim 4:8).
Soli Deo Gloria indeed!
Minister's Letter July 09
- Last month we celebrated...
- ...TWURC’s Birthday and the elders led worship in a memorable service. It got me thinking: How important is the Church? What does it mean for us to walk with God, and to share with one another in the strength of Christ? How does God intend to build His Kingdom here in this community through TWURC? Is God bothered whether our children and Wolverhampton’s children hear and respond to the Gospel?
Well, naturally God is concerned with each generation hearing His Word and you and I are the Church. It’s a high and holy calling and, therefore, we have a Gospel to proclaim. This is the whole reason for our endeavour - to share the Good News of the Kingdom. If we don’t evangelise - we’ll fossilise and there’ll be no birthdays in the future to celebrate. “The church exists by mission, as fire exists by burning” – said Emil Brunner. That’s why we need to be motivated to enable TWURC to be better at being who we intend to be – a vibrant and sustainable congregation. And if everyone does a little then much can be achieved. People’s lives will be utterly transformed by an encounter with the living God. Mine was
That’s why I’m excited by Showstoppers! - this year’s Summer Holiday Club taking place between 03rd – 07th August. Every day there’s crafts and games, but more importantly - Bible discovery, group discussion and creative prayer. We’re going to uncover God’s great plan of salvation (exploring the stories of Creation, David, Daniel, Jesus’ birth, and His crucifixion and resurrection) with children, whether they are part of the church community or not. It’s a great opportunity to promote the spiritual development of everyone who will be attending.
But there’s more to it than this. I believe we have a responsibility to prepare the next generation for the work of God. Showstoppers! is not just about us putting on a performance, but an opportunity to let the Holy Spirit move in the hearts and minds of these children – who after all are the future of Christ’s Church and, therefore, must be introduced to a loving God today.
Have a safe and wonderful Summer.
Love in our Master’s name and service. Tim
Minister's Letter June 09
- I remember a couple of years ago
- ...it was considered cool to wear coloured silicone “jelly” bracelets for all sorts of causes.I wore a couple for several months (but honestly can’t remember what they were for now!), but after a while I found them a nuisance.
Does anyone remember the purple one – the “complaint-free bracelet?” It was the brain-child of an American Pastor called Will Bowen. Apparently there had been some complaining about trivial things in his church and he wanted to encourage the congregation to break the habit and get on with real church. So the purple bracelet came to be.
It’s a pledge, by the wearer, to stop complaining, criticising, gossiping or using sarcasm for 21 days. If you break the pledge then you put the bracelet on the other wrist and start again. Apparently it took Revd Bowen three months before he managed his 21 days!
Now thankfully, I don’t think there’s a culture of complaining in our church (well not too much anyway!). But there is in our world, and it’s all too easy for us to become part of it. It would be wonderful to live in a complaint free-world, but this isn’t possible. However, followers of Jesus are called to be thankful people, a light to the world and bringers of Good News. Therefore, we have to set an example.
Another popular bracelet had the letters WWJD standing for What Would Jesus Do - so bracelet or no bracelet, how about pledging to stop complaining, criticising, gossiping or using sarcasm and when in a tricky situation think WWJD instead? See how difficult, but worthwhile it is.
Love in Christ.
Minister's Letter May 09
- In this post-Easter season...
- ...we walk with the disciples who meet the risen Lord. Together with those first followers who believed in the Resurrection like: (1) Thomas it’s a time for our “doubting” faith to be renewed; (2) Peter and John it’s a time for our commitment to be refreshed; (3) Mary it’s a time to stop “weeping” and rejoice in Jesus’ presence amongst us.
Of course the fulfillment of the Easter promise is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Church. Pentecost is a wonderful story: dramatic, spectacular, mysterious! As fear in those disciples “gathered together in one place” (Acts 2) is replaced by boldness and inadequacy is replaced by confidence.
We can be changed and renewed by God’s Spirit. And it’s time to see in ourselves and each other a new way of living.
Just imagine Peter and the others in prayer hearing God’s Spirit (symbolised by the mighty wind) and seeing God’s purity (symbolised by tongues of fire) resting on each of them. Would they have felt immense joy and peace? Undoubtedly, yes! But more importantly, I think, an awesome fear of God. So, if we want a Pentecost experience we must be prepared for the scorching fire of God to destroy the unworthy rubbish of our lives leaving something fit and acceptable for His service. “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psalm 51:10).
On the last Sunday of this month (31st) we celebrate, with its rich metaphors of wind and fire (you try and describe the indescribable!), Pentecost Day. The message of the spirited disciples is greeted with amazement by all who hear it. And here, I suggest, is inspiration for you and me – today’s disciples of Jesus. The Spirit is the power that enables us to go public with the Gospel and to have something to say that’s worth hearing thus opening the doors of the church to the needy world.
As Christians we are to live a Spirit guided life and our duty is to witness to God’s grace, mercy and guidance in our homes, at work, and in our spare time. We have prayed “Thy Kingdom come.” How are we going to help God answer that prayer?
By the Spirit we live as Christ’s people.
By the Spirit we live in Christ for others.
Shalom.
Tim
Minister's Letter April 09
- The road to Calvary...
- ...beckons and those evocative words of Jesus from the cross – so haunting that they are recorded in the original Aramaic: “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”, which means, so Mark explains: “My God, my God, why did you abandon me?” (15:34) Jesus, in the agony of the cross, asking, “Where are you God?”
There are times when we ask that question, “Where are you God?”, too. When our prayers appear to go unanswered, and we can’t see any answers, it’s easy to lose sight of God. Is He hiding deliberately (as Isaiah 45:15 might suggest?). Well, there is a sense in which infinite God is hidden. But the great blessing we affirm as Easter people is that God delights in making Himself known to us (not in hiding from us). The Cross and Resurrection show us the face of our God who is self-giving love and life itself. Easter moves us from despair to praise. As we “survey the wondrous cross” and as we gaze at the empty tomb, something more of God is revealed to us, and it gives us hope, strength and peace.
Jesus’ words are from the first verse of Psalm 22. It’s a Messianic cry of anguish in which the horrors of the cross are foreseen (see verses 14-18) thousands of years before He placed Himself into this horrific situation. But, I believe that Jesus also intends us to hear the end of the Psalm, which is full of confidence, victory and praise. God hasn’t abandoned Him. Far from it. God is right there, in Christ His Son, with arms stretched open wide for us and our salvation - “reconciling the world to himself.” (2 Cor.5:19)
God is not the one who hides from us, but who wants us to be aware of Him in every moment of our living. That is why He was “In Christ alone” on the Cross; and why He raised Jesus from the dead.
“Where are you God?”
“I am the One who will not let you go. I am always with you.”
Rejoice in the miracle of Easter. Amazing Grace!
Blessings in the name of our Risen Lord.