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Littleborough Methodist Circuit
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From the Minister’s Study Peace without comes from peace withinThere are three dimensions in
Christian understanding of Peace, the upward dimension, the inward dimension
and the horizontal. Peace
with God (upward), which gives Peace within the individual’s heart that
results in Peace without with our neighbours. In last
month’s Salt & Light, we looked at Phil. 4:1–9 where, Paul
highlights three keys towards peace for the warring parties: Forgiveness
(4:2–3); Lack of Fear (4:4–7); Positive thinking (4:8–9). We emphasized
that personal conflict, bitterness over wrongs done locks us in a prison of
pain that hinders peace in our lives and towards others. Forgiveness unlocks
us out of that prison of pain into peace. The three dimensions are
ontologically linked into cause and effect, whereby Peace with God, results
in Peace within the individual, which is reflected in peace without, with
others. Essentially, the key source of Peace is God. Second Key: Lack of Fear
(Philippians 4:4-7) Peace
comes from a mind that does not fear. Paul expressed joy and rejoicing while
he was in prison, where one would expect him to be in despair and fearful.
Rev. Andrew Howell at the recent Littleborough Churches Together
service in Wardle made a very important point that suspicion and fear
among Christians of different denominations is the main cause of disunity
among Christians, not our doctrinal differences. He cited the important
verse 1 John 4:18 ‘… perfect love drives out fear …’ When we live in
fear and suspicion of others we create barriers instead of bridges Fear of
others is a great hindrance to Peace. Fear of the future also is a great
source of lack of peace. How did Paul handle this? In Philippians 1:15–25, the
key thought here is 1:21 “For me to live is Christ, to die is gain”… Dr Warren
Wiersbe, commenting on this verse asks how we might complete the sentence, “For
me to live is….” He goes to say some people will complete it thus “For me
to live is money and to die is to leave it all behind” “For me
to live is fame and to die is to be forgotten” “For me
to live is power and to die is to lose it all” “For
me to live is Christ and to die is gain” Knowing
Christ who holds the future gives real peace, Paul put it beautifully to the
Corinthian Christians in 2Cor 5:7–8 “we live by faith, not by sight … I …
would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord” What a
peaceful thought! “Absent from the body, presence with the Lord!! Can you
say that with confidence? I Peter 5:7 exhorts us to cast our anxieties on
Jesus who cares for us. Paul writing to the Roman Christians tells us about
Peace for which there is no logical explanation, that peace garrisons our
lives, against fear. When one is wrapped up in the arms of Jesus and one
knows an all-powerful God who hears our prayers and is in control of every
situation, that is when one realises real peace. A vibrant relationship with
God brings peace and dispels fear (cf. Romans 8:35–39) I found the
following true story to be a perfect illustration on this second key, Peace
within coming from peace with God that casts out all fear. The story was entitled “Daddy's empty chair”: “A man's daughter had asked the
local minister to come and pray with her father. When the minister arrived,
he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows. The
minister assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. "I
guess you were expecting me," he said. "No, who are you?' asked the
father. The minister told him his name and then remarked, "I saw the
empty chair and I figured you knew I was going to show up." "Oh,
yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man, "Would you mind closing
the door?' Puzzled, the minister shut the door.
"I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the
man. But all of my life, I have never known how to pray. At church I used to
hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head. I
abandoned any attempt at prayer," the old man continued, " until
one day four years ago my best friend said to me, 'Johnny, prayer is just a
simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I
suggest'" ("Sit down in a chair, place an empty chair in front of
you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he
promised, "I will be with you always'. Then just speak to him in the
same way you're doing with me right now.") "So, I tried it and I've liked
it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful though. If
my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous
breakdown or send me off to the funny farm." The minister was deeply
moved by the story and encouraged the old man to continue on the journey.
Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned to the church. Two nights later the daughter called
to tell the minister that her daddy had died that afternoon. "Did he die
in peace?" he asked. "Yes, when I left the house about two o'clock,
he called me over to his bedside, told me he loved me and kissed me on the
cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But
there was something strange about his death. Apparently just before Daddy
died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside the bed. What do
you make of that?" The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said,
"I wish we could all go like that." One poster beautifully summed up
this second key as follows: NO JESUS, NO PEACE;
KNOW JESUS, KNOW PEACE. In other words: fights on the outside come from
fights on the inside. if there is no peace within, there will be no peace
without. Third Key: positive thinking (Phil. 4:8–9) The third key seems to be common sense for we
become what we focus on. The Apostle Paul seems to allude to what I call the
unwritten law of positive thinking “garbage in garbage out! Peace comes by
focusing on good things. Evil thoughts destroy Peace. 2 Cor 10:5
encourages us to make every thought obedient to Christ. In Phil
4:8–9, Paul gives us a list of things that we can fill our minds in order
to have peace: Noble thoughts, Righteous thoughts, Pure thoughts, Lovely
thoughts, Admirable thoughts, Excellent thoughts and Praiseworthy thoughts.
The battle for peace is lost and won in the mind. By taking active
control over what we allow into our minds, we control whether we have peace
or not. World
Peace begins in our hearts and minds. When there is peace in the heart, there
is peace in the family, when there is peace in the family, there is peace in
the community; when there is peace in the community, there is peace in the
nation, when there is peace in the nation, there is peace in the world. The
world works on outward peace, Christ works on inward peace and then attempts
to bring that peace to others. Christ starts on the heart and works His way
outward. Inward peace guards against wrong attitudes towards others, builds
bridges and trust, which are foundational stones in building lasting
relationships. Inward peace guards us when we face dark times. The peace that
Jesus came o bring was not just peace for one nation, but for all the nations
of the world. This peace would not be brought about through political force
or conquest of war, but through submission to the authority of Jesus Christ
the Prince of Peace In
these worrying times in which we live on the brink of World War, let us show
the world that the peace we have in Christ Jesus passes all understanding,
the upward peace with God, the inward peace of God enables us to show outward
peace with one another. Shalom: Daniel Pastoral letter on Iraq from the
President and Vice President of Conference to all Methodists in Britain All Methodist churches across Britain are
invited to read this letter out during services on 23 February 2003. Dear
Friends, We greet you in the
name of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. At the request of the Methodist
Council, we write to all members and friends of the Methodist Church in
Britain at this critical juncture in international affairs. We shall also
copy this letter to the Prime Minister. We are aware of deep feelings of
anxiety in all sections of British society at the prospect of the possible
use of military force against Iraq. Many Methodists have asked us where our
Church stands on such momentous issues and this is our current position: Since the
summer of 2002 we have urged our Government to act through the United Nations
to give every reasonable opportunity for the government of Iraq to comply
with the resolutions of the UN Security Council. The work of the Weapons
Inspectors is crucial. So is continuing diplomatic activity to find a
peaceful resolution. If military force against Iraq should be judged to be
politically necessary, it should be used only as a last resort. It is
essential that such action is authorised by a new resolution of the UN
Security Council. We invite
Methodists to consider the following matters as we all continue to think
about the developing situation. 1.
Complex international
crises always provoke heated arguments and conflicts of political and
economic judgment. Methodists have divergent opinions about the motives of
various governments and about what should be done. We are often frustrated
because we do not have enough information. We must listen patiently to one
another, however deep our feelings run. 2.
Even if the UN were to
authorise military action in relation to Iraq, that will not bring the debate
to an end. Christians will still have the responsibility of making judgments
which are informed by our faith, and of pressing their case with their
elected representatives and with the government. 3.
The Christian tradition
prompts us to listen carefully to a range of ethical positions as we debate
together what action should be taken in a situation like the present one.
Some in the Church are pacifists, who believe that there can never be a moral
justification for war or military action. Others in the Church, probably the
majority, believe that military action may be supported, as the lesser of
evils and as a last resort, under certain strict conditions. For those who
adopt this position, there will still be questions to explore, for example:
One of
our deepest concerns in recent months has been the increase in religious and
racial tension in British society. Methodists are committed to developing relations
of friendship with people of all world faiths. Methodists do this in the
spirit of our founder, John Wesley, who urged his followers to show
themselves ‘the friends of all, the enemies of none’. We invite you today to
take a fresh initiative to offer the hand of friendship to members of other
faith communities in your neighbourhood. With all this in mind we call upon
the whole Church to pray for all who are involved in the current
international crisis. In our prayers we need to remember the many different
ways in which people are affected. Lord of all¾May your wisdom enable the search for justice, Your light reveal the
path of hope, And your love embrace
the world you created. In these days of
tension and uncertainty, May your gift of peace be shared with all
people. The peace of the Lord be with you and with all
people. We shall continue to pray for you. The
Reverend Ian T White, President of the Methodist Conference Notes on prophecyThe Old
Testament prophets deal with eight basic themes: ·
The revelation of God’s character and will ·
Indictment of the wicked ·
Judgement promised ·
Exile and return in the immediate future ·
The Messianic promise ·
The Golden Age (eschatology) ·
Instruction, strengthening, comfort and
encouragement¾the Psalms in particular ·
Everyday issues: for example 1 Samuel 9. How is the prophecy in the New Testament¾in the
teaching of Jesus and the apostles¾different? Prophecy in the Church today covers the areas: ·
Indictment of the wicked ·
Judgement promised ·
Instruction, strengthening, comfort and
encouragement ·
Everyday issues. The other themes from the OT are only to be found crystallized in the
Scripture. The theme of exile and return in the immediate future is confined
to the OT. Most OT prophecy has been fulfilled¾only the
Golden Age and the Eschatology of both Testaments, is imminent. Prophecy is the
forth-telling of God’s Word (surely to be found in all good preaching) and of
future events. E.
Lees Each of us has a theological work to do. We may think we
haven’t but we can’t help it, because every time we make a decision, or
refuse to make one, we are showing whether we are with Jesus or against Him.
we are saying something about what we think Christianity is. Rosemary Haughton (North American
theologian) Did You Know…?Have you ever wondered why Jesus upset the
religious people of his day so much? Perhaps we don’t appreciate quite how
revolutionary some of his actions were. Let’s take an example from Luke 13:
10–17, the healing of a woman in the synagogue on the Sabbath. ·
Jesus calls her out into
the middle of the synagogue, lays his hands on her and heals her. In the
ensuing controversy, he refers to her as a ‘daughter of Abraham’. In ancient
Jewish society, women were saved through their men. To call her a ‘daughter
of Abraham’ was to make her a fully-fledged member of the covenant as if she
were of equal standing before God with a man. ·
To heal her on the Sabbath
was to liberate the Sabbath from lots of man-made rules, and turn it back
into a jubilee of release and restoration. ·
To touch the woman was to
revoke the holiness code with its male scruples about touching women. ·
To speak to her in public
was to jettison male restraints on women’s freedoms: women were not allowed
to speak to men in public or to be spoken to by them. ·
To place the woman in the
middle of the synagogue was to challenge the male monopoly on the means of
grace and access to God: women were restricted in their access to holy
things, were allowed very little part in synagogue worship and were not
allowed to learn the Scriptures or the religious teachings. ·
To assert that her illness
was not divine punishment for sin, but satanic oppression, was also a new
thing. No wonder the other men in the synagogue, particularly those who had
spent all their lives following draconian rules about how women should be
treated and what was permissible on the Sabbath, were shocked. But notice how
the common people react: ‘all his adversaries were put to shame; and all the
people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him’ (Lk 13:17).
Jesus was proclaiming freedom and restoration
for ordinary people, and they rejoiced at it. But his ways were a threat to
the power of the religious hierarchy and ultimately led them to plot his
death. Notes· Quotes· AnecdotesJESUS SAID… Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of
itself except it abide in the vine, no more can you bear fruit except you
abide in Me (Jn 15: 6) Knowledge speaks: WISDOM listens I want my life to shine for Jesus So that everywhere I go The watching world will see He loves
them And His saving grace will know (from Daily Bread Bible Notes) Cameo Character Corner
We all know the story
of Abraham’s son:– ISAAC He was: the beloved ‘only’ son. Fully committed to his father’s
plans A willing sacrifice Given the wood to carry to the
place of sacrifice (Gen. 22: 6) He: As his father’s son, Florence Were you in the Ark?’ ‘Certainly not,’ was the reply. ‘Why
weren’t you drowned then?’ asked the boy. Faint praiseWhen
bishops want to persuade other bishops to accept clergy who are not altogether
satisfactory in to their diocese, they can resort to some Episcopal tricks of
speech. This is a practice known as ‘throwing dead cats over the garden
fence.’ Another vicar,
who was too mean to give anyone even a cup of tea, got the push with ‘a man
of rare gifts.’ One crackpot
priest was even described as ‘well-balanced’. The bishop answered his
secretary’s quizzical look with, ‘Well, he has chips on both shoulders!’ More thoughts before the Communion service:
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