Covenant Service

In the Methodist church we have a covenant service at the beginning of the year when we re-dedicate ourselves to Christ's service. In the old version, which I like it talks in one part about being put to suffering or laid aside. This is how I feel at the moment when I am not able to carry out my vocation as a preacher. If it is Christ's will it is for the best. Sometimes we are too busy even in the work for Christ and need to be set aside to rest and hopefully grow nearer to our Lord. We need to "Be still and know that I am God."

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Optimism conquering experience

I watched The Detectorists tonight. I have not watched it before. It is about a group of people who use detecting equipment to discover old coins and other things of archeological interest. This was the last in the series and had a bitter sweet feel to it. One of the main characters asked,"Why do we do it?" and the other replied,"This is the nearest you will ever get to time travel." You have to be an optimist to do metal detecting. There is always the attraction of making a big find or an important discovery. Among all the tin cans and coat hangers found there is the hope of a Saxon hoard, or Roman gold. Optimism keeps them going.

Why do many disasters happen?

I have written in previous posts about disasters. In the case of Concorde, decisions by people, plus other factors were directly to blame for the event. In the case of the Penlee disaster it may have been avoided if someone had made a better choice in the time beforehand and as a consequence brave men and the ship's crew and the captain and his family died. 9/11 was certainly the result of wicked men committing a terrorist act, but even in this there was heroism notably by another Cornish man, Rick Rescorla who helped many to safety and left it too late to help himself. In situations like this we see what the human spirit is capable of both good and evil. What of disasters that come on people because of the earth restless movement of tectonic plates. Often people live near volcanoes because the land is rich and fertile and they have the chance of a better life there when the volcano is resting. We cannot blame them for that but sometimes people become complacent...

Always wanting something new

Every time I take a few days off from my blog my ratings slump. Very rarely do people go back into my old posts and read again. This is a typical attitude of the human heart, always wanting something different. At this time of year we should not be greedily wondering want new thing we will be getting for Christmas. Instead we should be looking at the old, old story, which is ever new of a baby who amazingly was God incarnate, God's gift to those who will put there trust in this one who was to grow up to give His life for His people. Set aside the controversy over whether December 25th is the actual date of His birth.(Shepherds do not keep their sheep out at night in Israel in December.) and set aside time to think about the fact that He did come and ponder if He came to set you free and if your answer is ,"Yes," He will make you free indeed.

Preaching with a purpose

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