Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

The Big Picture! – Isaiah 55v9

Isaiah 55v9  As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts”

The picture God sees is bigger than what we see. He sees from beginning to end. He sees all causes and consequences. He sees the intricate detail and the great depths. He sees the hearts of all mankind. He sees with accuracy and clarity. Whereas the apostle Paul writes of us in 1 Corinthians 13v12, “Now I know in part.”  This understanding of what I and God know is of huge consequence in our daily living – we may be worried about nothing; we may be pursuing after nothing; we may be misjudging situations and people.

While acknowledging that we only know in part, God repeatedly encourages us to pursue knowledge of him. A couple of verses earlier in Isaiah 55 he says “Seek the LORD while he may be found.” Today is your day of opportunity to seek the LORD!

God shows himself to us in several ways, but most importantly is the Bible: without the Bible record we would know virtually nothing today of Jesus! The Bible comprises story (43%), poetry (33%) and other prose (25%) – God is known not so much through knowing theological statements as through interacting with his action. A story often touches the heart, but leaves questions in the mind. I believe that knowledge of how God has acted in the past, helps us in the present. Let me encourage you to get to grips with His Story related in the Bible so that your thoughts may inch closer to his thoughts.

One particular resource is a series of videos “Bible Project” which summarises each Bible book in a very helpful way. As we are going through the Book of James at present on a Sunday, here is the one on James … Some things might surprise you! https://thebibleproject.com/explore/james/ (The video is about 1/3 of the way down the page). Understanding the whole will help you interpret the specifics.

With much blessing,

Roland

 

News/Prayer

  1. Alpha – Let’s thank God for the progress in the Alpha courses and seek him to “continue the work to completion”.
  2. New Wine celebration at Admaston House on Sunday 17th November at 6.30pm with Grace Wheeler; and Aspire Women’s Worship at Elim on Saturday 23rd November from 5.30pm with Helen Yousaf. See last week’s email for leaflet.
  3. Social team – Dan is establishing a team to organise social events. If you are interested in having social events and contributing in any way – please make contact with him.
  4. Prayer on Sundays
  •  We felt the screened off area at the back of church was helpful on the New Testament reading day. We are therefore trialling this as a place for people to pray in a little more privacy before or after the service. You are welcome to make use of it.
  • On Sunday mornings now, there is a prayer box and some slips of paper on the notice table. You are welcome to pop prayer requests in to the box. These will be used at the Wednesday morning to pray for what you raise. If you would like this raised to the church, please mark on the paper and we will raise on a Sunday morning and/or by email.
  1. GSUS Live Lorry –  This arrives at Charlton on Friday 15th. Come on Sunday 17th November 3-4pm at Charlton School to experience the programme and pray. 25 lesson periods will take place in the lorry during next week.
  2. Prayer

–  Let’s continue to pray for one another using our prayer diary.