Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Beatitude 6 – Happy are the Pure in Heart

Matthew 5v7 “Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.”

Do you want to see God? Is it on your “bucket-list”, or is it an aspiration that gets ignored? We get excited to see all sorts of things – whether a celebrity we admire, a remarkable landmark, or our team win… But God?

Jesus says, “Seek me and you will find me”. It is my responsibility to seek, it is God’s responsibility to reveal himself. What is the thing in your life that you are prepared to sacrifice everything else for? Have you used Amazon lately? If so, do you treat God as an “add on item” to get free delivery? Or is God what you are here for in the first place?

David asks the question in Psalm 24 “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?” High places were frequently a place for encounter with God: for example, Moses met God on Mount Sinai and the temple was built on Mount Zion. So David’s question is about who can enter God’s presence. The answer he gives is, “He who has clean hands and a pure heart.” We can only have clean hands by having them washed – and forgiveness is available through Jesus Christ. But a pure heart?

Something that is pure is not contaminated. We want things to be pure – pure water, pure salt … . Our heart is the centre of our being; it is where our loves, desires and fundamental trust reside. A pure heart only loves one thing, only desires one thing, only fundamentally trusts one thing – God. The opposite is a divided heart where there are competing loves and loyalties, and the Psalmist says elsewhere “give me an undivided heart” (Psalm 86v11). The first of the Ten Commandment is like it; “you shall have no other gods before me”.

This is a challenging beatitude – do I seek God more than anything else and before anything else (whether family, possessions, career, education, health, wealth …)? If so, then you can be among the happiest on earth; you will find Him and He will satisfy your heart and soul – both now and in the future.

“Lord give me an individed heart” which seeks you above anything and everything else – and I greatly look forward to seeing you!

With love and blessing,

Roland

News

• Alpha
  • It has been lovely to have both new and returning people on the Alpha Courses. Let’s both give thanks and pray for all involved.
  • It has been wonderful to have the Twenties Alpha/Christianity Explored group. This is ceasing for the present time, but a big thank you to Dave and Emily for leading this.
• Sunday mornings
  • As previous with regards to precautions
• This Sunday
  • We will be celebrating communion this Sunday during the Zoom time.

Programme – Please contact roland@hopadmaston.org.uk if you would like to join any of our meetings on Zoom.

Sunday morning worship is now live-streamed on both Youtube and Facebook from Admaston House at 10.30am.

Prayer

Give thanks:

• For those who are participating on Alpha courses at present.

Prayer:

• Those who are suffering with ill-health at present.
• Let’s use our daily prayer diaries to pray for one another.
• For our students at Universities.

Other general information

Pastoral Care – If you are in isolation and need support (eg shopping), please contact natalie@hopeadmaston.org.uk who will arrange with the team of helpers.