Rocky Road Epistles Chapter 9
Rocky Road Epistle for Sunday 17th May 2020Chapter 9Welcome to the ninth part of the “Rocky Road Epistle”, another collection of bits and pieces from your minister to our community of RRBC and friends. From the latest Government advice, it will be July before we can come together as a fellowship in our building. However, we are still together as a fellowship through prayer and contacting each other. Let us be a fellowship of prayer and people of encouragement to all those we meet. As the restrictions are slowly eased, I pray that society will not lose what we have gained - the improved sense of community, the better working together and the deepened appreciation of others. The world’s approach of “look out for yourself” has been challenged in the last few months. All life is interconnected, not just human life, but all creation. It is interesting to see how much benefit there has been for nature through these days of lockdown. From Ascension Day (Thursday 20th May) to Pentecost (Sunday 31st May) there is a global call to pray under the phrase, in the Lord’s prayer, “Thy Kingdom Come”. It comes with the challenge of praying for 5 friends who do not know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Why not start to think about who you want to pray for? Then when 20th May comes you will have your list of 5 ready. Some more cartoons from Pam. Scriptures for your encouragement From Annie Psalm 46 (try the Good News version) Reminders
Passage for next week’s reflection is Acts 1 v.1-11 Reflection from PhillipBased on the passage for this week 1 Corinthians 15 v.1-11 Why the Resurrection? Over the past few weeks, we have been looking at the resurrection stories in the gospels and this week I want to ask the question, why is the resurrection so important to our faith? It is one thing to believe that Jesus died. He was crucified, dead and buried. Publicly killed at the hands of Roman executioners, Jesus’ death was no accident but planned by God from the beginning of time and is the atonement, the at-one-ment, by which God and humans come together. Through the cross we are restored to God - for Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. But “why the resurrection?” why do we need to believe in it? Is it not just enough to believe that Jesus died, even died for me, do we really have to believe this seeming impossibility that Jesus, a dead man, returned to life? To that question Saint Paul wrote an answer to the Corinthian church and described it as of first importance that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried and that he rose again on the third day (v3&4). Jesus’ death shows us the extent of God's love for us, but it is only by the resurrection that we can know we are forgiven. As Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians, if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith (v14). It is only through the resurrection that we can be sure our sins are forgiven. Paul wanted his readers to be in no doubt that Jesus had risen from the dead and he gave a list of people (v5-8) who could say they had seen the risen Lord. Paul wrote Corinthians about twenty years after the resurrection and many of the people in the list would still have been alive and known to the Church. If so many, it is well over five hundred, could say that they had seen the risen Lord, then surely it must have been true. Paul was not calling up witnesses from their history books but simply looking back twenty years to people they knew and trusted. Twenty years is a short time span and if somebody tells you something from twenty years ago you tend to believe them, impossible though it might seem. Let me give you an example; a little while ago I was driving around Corby with my son and daughter and I told them that when I first knew the area Corby had enormous steel works and if you drove near the town at night there was always a glow in the sky. My children are not that old and although they found it hard to believe neither of them doubted my word. Similarly, there are many things in life we can take or leave. We spend time surrounded by modern technology yet do not know how it works, nor does it matter, as others have done the thinking, the programming, for us. But with the resurrection you must take it on board, because only if Jesus was resurrected can you know that he, burdened with your sin, conquered death, and you are forgiven. We live in a pick and mix society, but you cannot pick and mix with the Christian faith. It is not a faith born of human minds, but a faith given by God. In an Anglican church, part of a service involves saying together the creed; "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again". The language is modern, but the gist of it goes back hundreds of years, well before the 1662 prayer book, to the creeds of the early church, for they knew that these things, "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again" were the fundamentals of the Christian faith. Think about the people we have considered in these reflections over the past few weeks; the women at the tomb, Simon-Peter, the companions on the road to Emmaus, doubting Thomas. Easter changed them and in the same way we need to live as Easter people - in the faith that Christ died and rose again. As Paul says, by this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you (v2). Jesus died for our sins and rose again that we might know those sins forgiven. He lives now and one day the promise is there that we will be resurrected and go to be where he is for evermore. Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep (v20). Prayers from the Methodist ChurchGod of all hope we call on you today. We pray for your church in this time of uncertainty. Holy God, we remember that you have promised that nothing will separate us from your love – demonstrated to us in Jesus Christ. Help us turn our eyes, hearts and minds to you. Amen Loving God, if we are ill, strengthen us. If we are tired, fortify our spirits. Help us not to stockpile treasures from supermarkets in the barns of our larders. Help us always to hold fast to the good, In Jesus we make our prayer, the one who suffered, died and was raised to new life, An intercessory prayer You call us to speak to you in prayer – even when the places we would usually go to are not available. Help us to know you Spirit’s presence wherever we pray. Songs for Sunday1. How good is the God we adore! 2. For Christ is the First and the Last; Joseph Hart © CCLI #5638 1. Christ is risen! hallelujah! Christ is risen! hallelujah! 2. Christ is risen! all the sadness 3. Christ is risen! henceforth never John Samuel Bewley Monsell © CCLI #5638 Wednesday Bible StudyThere will be no Bible Study on Wednesday 20th May, instead we will have a Communion Service for Ascension Day at 7.30pm on the evening of Thursday 21st May. I invite you to take a piece of bread (or even a biscuit or wafer) and a drink (water or juice) and then either say the service on the enclosed sheet. or join others over Zoom for the service (different ID number to Bible Study). For Zoom we will get-together at 7.15pm to start the service at 7.30pm. If you have a phone and want to join the service- then you can.
Please let me know beforehand if you want to join in and I will let you have the necessary passcode Please noteOn the RRBC website there is now a short audio service to listen to on a Sunday morning, and join in the songs. |