November 2001
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Littleborough Methodist Circuit
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From the Minister’s Study Dear
Friends Several
years ago, I was fortunate to go on a
pilgrimage to the Holy Land. There, one of my many experiences was to stand
in a field where the boy David slew Goliath, the giant. From
time to time, all of us meet our own personal giants which, like Goliath,
seem invincible. Mine comes through the letter box in the shape of an income
tax form, from which I hide for several months. Others have the dreaded
interview with the boss, or have to meet someone they know they should
forgive but can’t. What
are your giants? Strangely enough, they come in all shapes and sizes, but
they are all like Goliath in that you look at them and abandon all hope. On
the face of it, that seems reasonable. Some things are bigger than us, but
they can never be bigger than God. Like the Israelites, when the challenge
comes, we can see no way out. It’s
time for faith. TRUST GOD, pray and let Him deal with it in His way. Yet
faith is not something that springs to life in an instant. It is not a
quality which some people have, like beauty, and others don’t. Faith is an
attitude of trust in someone else—in God. And we learn to trust gradually. If
we want to be ready in faith for the big problems, we need to build up a
habit of trusting God in the small things. Then we look at how He helps us,
we learn for ourselves that he is trustworthy, and become all the more able
to trust Him for greater things. Reflection:
How much do you trust God in your daily life? And how often do you look back
later, to see where He was at work? If you are one of the ones who don’t
reflect . . . why not start today? God
Bless Jack Thee, thy, thou Everyone
who learns French is soon taught that there are two ways of saying ‘you’:
there is the formal form, ‘vous’ and the informal form ‘tu’. What is not so
well known is that, until quite recently, English also had two words for
‘you.’ ‘You’ is the formal form, and the familiar form is ‘thou,’ and is
still used in some areas such as Yorkshire and Scotland. The
usual wording of the Lord’s Prayer says, ‘Thy will be done.’ Similarly,
the word used when talking to God in the older versions of the Bible is the
familiar form of you, so it says ‘thou,’ as well as ‘thee, thy, thine.’ This
choice of word for ‘you’ was made to emphasise that God is familiar: He is a
friend and readily available. He is not far off, but the loving Father of our
Church family. But
we no longer use these old-fashioned sounding words in our everyday English,
whether spoken or written. This is unfortunate, because we do still
employ them in Church, particularly in some of our older hymns. The
consequence is that saying ‘Thee’ when speaking to God becomes something
special, different and unusual, because we never call our friends ‘thee’ in
this way. So
a choice of words originally meant to emphasise how close and near God is to
us will now have exactly the opposite effect: it puts Him at arm’s length.
People think of ‘thee’ and ‘thou’ as ‘posh language,’ and make fun of it. We
have unintentionally reversed the meaning of things in our Church life by
unthinkingly retaining the habits and mannerisms of the past. Anon Are our Churches arranged as a
consequence of history—or are they designed for modern worship? A Kitten from Heaven Whoever
said the Creator doesn't have a sense of humour? This is a true story about a
pastor of a Church in America. He had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The
pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, etc. The kitten would not come down. The
tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a
rope to his car and drove away so that the tree bent down, he could then
reach up and get the kitten. He
did all this, checking his progress in the car frequently, then figured if he
went just a little bit further, the tree would be bent sufficiently for him
to reach the kitten. But as he moved a little further forward, the rope
broke. The tree went ‘bo-o-o-o-o-ing!’ and the kitten
instantly sailed through the air—out of sight. The
pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighbourhood, asking
people if they’d seen a little kitten, but nobody had. So he prayed,
‘Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping,’ and went on about his
business. A few days later he was in the greengrocer’s shop, and met one
of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping trolley and
was amazed to see cat food. This woman was a cat hater, and everyone
knew it, so he asked her, ‘Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so
much?’ She
replied, ‘You won't believe this,’ and told him how her little girl had been
begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing. Then a few days before,
the child had begged again, so the Mum finally told her little girl, ‘Well if
God gives you a cat, I’ll let you keep it.’ She
said to the pastor, ‘I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees,
and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won't believe this, but I saw
it with my own eyes: a kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with
its paws outspread, and landed right in her lap!’ A comfy Church? The
Church was the only stone building in a typical medieval village, because
stone was so expensive. All the other houses would have been made of wattle
and daub, or home-made bricks. The use of stone for the Church emphasised how
worthy God was, and how much of a privilege it was to worship Him. In
fact, worshipping in the Church was quite a treat because the windows usually
contained expensive and beautiful glass; and the Church building was likely
to be warmer than people’s homes because the stone walls would prevent the
wind from blowing through it. Furthermore, the structure and content of the
service was intended to appeal to all the senses, with incense and the sight
of so many candles—which were hugely expensive—again emphasised how worthy
God is. And the absence of animals inside the Church would
ensure a nicer smell! Medieval Churches did not contain pews, so people stood throughout the
service. Standing was a mark of reverence before God. Only the sick and
elderly sat at all—on stone sills built around the periphery of the Church
interior. Incidentally, this seating arrangement explains the old expression,
‘The weak and ailing to the wall.’ It
seems likely that fixed, wooden pews were first introduced into Churches
after the Reformation. People brought their own cushions. There was a change
again at the time of the Puritans, who forbade
cushions: a flat wooden surface was so uncomfortable that it kept people
awake during the long sermons, which were typically two hours in length! To
be more comfortable, it was argued, would incur God’s anger when people fell
asleep during divine worship. Yet
today we retain the style and content of our stone Church buildings, which
are now colder than people’s homes—most homes have central heating.
Again, the beauty of the Church building is often inferior to people’s
homes . . . and ask yourself which is more comfortable: a pew or a chair at
home? But we still expect unchurched people to come to a Church and be cold
and uncomfortable! Anon In
retaining what was the best on offer from a previous age, do we ignore the
possible benefits of modernisation? Mixed Blessings King
David gave his daughter an untrained puppy for her birthday. An hour later,
he found her in the kitchen, looking at a large puddle in the centre of the
floor. ‘Look
Dad,’ she said, ‘My pup runneth over!’ Who? The
old man was dead, and a wonderful funeral service was in progress. The
minister was talking at length, listing the good deeds of the deceased—what
an honest man he was, what a loving man and what a caring husband. Finally,
the widow could stand it no longer. She leaned over and whispered to one of
her children, ‘Go up there and take a look in the coffin. See if that’s
really your father.’ Did You Know? Jesus
was taken up to Heaven on Ascension Day, as recorded in Acts 1:7–11. There is
an ancient tradition among Palestinian Christians that Jesus and his
disciples were grouped together during a night of intense prayer on the
mountain top (now known as the ‘Mount of the Ascension’). As dawn approached,
a thick ground mist rose up, and hid the hand of God as He took His son up to
Heaven. It was this mist which the Scriptures describe as ‘a cloud hid him
from sight.’ At dawn, the hot sun very quickly burnt away the mist to reveal
two angels, described in Acts as ‘men dressed in white,’ who explained what
had happened. Jesus
said that if anyone followed him, then "Streams of living water"
would flow from within them (John 7:38). Scholars think that Jesus was
referring to a favourite passage of the Jews, Isaiah 55, ‘Come all you who
are thirsty, come to the waters. . .’). The Mishna, which was a
commentary on the Old Testament, kept by the Scribes and Pharisees, says of
the Isaiah 55 passage, ‘whoever devotes himself to the study of the law is
like a never failing spring, and like a river that flows ever more mightily;
and he becomes modest, long suffering, and forgiving of insult; and he
magnifies and exults God above all things.’ These attributes should remind us
of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22. The Bible and the TV guide They
lie on the table, side by side, One
is well worn and cherished with pride, One
is used daily to help folks decide As
the pages are turned, what shall they see Then
confusion reigns, can’t all agree, So
they open the book in which they confide, The
Word of God is seldom read Exhausted
and sleepy and tired as can be, So
then back to the table: side by side, No
time for prayer, no time for the Word, But
forgiveness of sin, so full and free, Closer and closer to God Recently,
I had occasion to spend some time in hospital. Having quite a lot of time to
myself, I used some of it in prayer. One afternoon, thinking about the
mightiness of God while gazing at the trees outside, I dared to ask how I
might get closer to Him. Almost immediately, I felt the Lord speak to my
heart. ‘I
am right here beside you. How much closer could we be?’ It
was a breathtaking moment, and taught me a valuable lesson. We have no need
to strive to become closer to God. As long as we remove all obvious barriers
between us such as cheating the tax man, indulging in unwise relationships,
and any obvious abuse of people or resources. This
all reminds me of a quote I once read somewhere: If
you’re feeling far away from God, who moved? Certainly
not Him, because He is the same yesterday, today and forever. We
must delve into His word every day, talk to Him every spare moment, and always
bear in mind that we are our Father’s children. Then, He can and will dwell
with us. After all, if he will draw near even to me, then he will draw near
to anyone! .
. . And He wants to dwell with everybody. Anon Peace is not merely the absence of war. Peace is the result, the
priceless result, of justice. Without real justice, and
freedom—freedom under law—there is no peace. Justice, then, is the gateway to
peace, and injustice, itself the first violence, is the dangerous slope that
ends in confrontation and war. Group Captain Leonard Cheshire VC OM Notes Quotes
Anecdotes Remember :– May we live our Christian life in such a way that he says that
of each one of us No man can bring another closer to Christ than he is himself (Dwight L Moody) Cameo
Character Corner P E T E R . . . Sat by a fire Florence Answering: Islam With the current crisis in Afghanistan, many people are asking the
question, ‘What is Islam?’ The
Islamic religion began in 6th century Arabia when a man from Mecca named
Muhammad claimed to have received revelations from God. Muhammad was born in
570 AD into a family of Arabian merchants. Mecca, the city where he lived,
was a centre of idol worship and superstition. Muhammad became dissatisfied
with this form of worship and convinced that there was only one God. At the
age of 40, he claimed that he had started to receive revelations from God. He
continued to receive these revelations during the next 40 years which were
later written down as the Holy Book of Islam, the Qur’an (or ‘Koran’).
Muhammad faced much opposition, but his support base grew until eventually he
became a powerful political leader. Within
ten years of his death in 632 AD, Islam had spread throughout the Middle East
and within a century it had reached across North Africa, into Europe, and
across Asia as far as China and India Islam
means ‘submission to God,’ and Muslims are to live a life of submission to
God’s will as set out in the Qur’an. Muslims believe that there are six great
prophets (and many minor ones). They are Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus
and Muhammad. All the prophets are believed to have been sinless. Muhammad
was the last, and his teachings correct and complete the teachings of all the
previous prophets. So Muslims believe that Islam both contains and supersedes
Judaism and Christianity. Islam
is not ‘just a religion’ but a way of life: it gives individual, social,
material, moral, economic, political, legal and cultural guidance as well as
instructions on how to worship God All Muslims are required to believe that: 1.
There
is one God (Allah),
who has no partner nor children. He is the author of all things, whether they
seem good or bad to us. 2.
There
is a hierarchy of angels, of whom Gabriel is the leader. Two recording angels attend every
person, one to record his sins; the other to records his good deeds. 3.
Holy
Books. Muslims
learn that there are four holy books, which God gave to different prophets.
The first was given to Moses—the Pentateuch, the second to David—Psalms, the
third to Jesus—the Gospel and the fourth and last to Muhammad—the Qur’an.
The Qur’an is said to have been dictated word for word in Arabic by the
archangel Gabriel to Muhammad. That is why translations of the Qur’an are not
considered to be so holy: the Arabic is said to be the ACTUAL words of Allah himself. Muslims
believe the Qur’an corrects and supersedes the other three holy books, and
that Jews and Christians have altered the Old Testament and Gospels so that
anything in them that does not agree with the Qur’an is invalid. 4.
On
the Day of Judgement, all people will be raised to life and judged by their deeds, which
will be weighed in a scale. They will go to hell if the bad deeds are
heavier; if the good deeds outweigh them, they will go to heaven. All Muslims have to practice the so-called ‘five pillars of Islam’: Frequent recitation of the Word of Witness: the confession of faith, ‘There
is no god but God and Muhammad is the Apostle of God.’ Prayer: Muslims attend ritual prayer five times a day. After
ritual washing, they pray set prayers in Arabic, facing Mecca and following
prescribed gestures. Fasting: Muslims fast from dawn till sunset during the whole month
of Ramadan (the ninth month of the Muslim year). The fast ends with the feast
of Eid. Almsgiving: Muslims have to give away a set proportion of their
income, known as ‘zakat’. Extra voluntary almsgiving is considered
meritorious. Pilgrimage (hajj). All Muslims who are able to do so must go
on pilgrimage to Mecca at least once during their lifetime. Some
Muslims regard ‘Jihad’ as the sixth pillar of Islam. Jihad means
‘struggle or exertion’ (on behalf of God) and can be interpreted to mean a
holy war, but it also, more commonly, means each person’s struggle with sin.
There is a lot of debate within Islam about the nature of jihad:
extremists like Osama bin Ladin insist that it means the duty to kill
‘unbelievers,’ but most Muslims say that jihad is about struggling
with sin, and that when the Qur’an talks about waging war on non-Muslims, it
refers to the specific historical context in which those verses were revealed
to Muhammad. Just as parts of the Old Testament seem to justify genocide and
ethnic cleansing, these verses should be seen in their historical context and
not taken as a global command to all people at all times. Muslims
do not believe in original sin. Good deeds win salvation, and bad
deeds lead to hell. But God is totally sovereign and may choose to forgive
people or not, as he wills. Salvation is by works, so there is no need for a
Saviour. To be saved, Muslims think they need only believe in God and in
Muhammad, and then do what God requires: that way, God will accept them. There
is no assurance of salvation in Islam. God is completely transcendent: we
cannot know Him, we can only know His revealed will, which is written in the
Qur’an. The idea of God Incarnate, a God we can know personally and have a
relationship with, seems very odd to someone from a Muslim background. Muslims
believe that Jesus was an important prophet: the Qur’an refers to his virgin
birth and his miracles, and calls him the ‘Messiah’ ‘Word of God’ and the
‘Spirit of God’. But it states that Jesus was not the Son of God, and that he
was created like other men, and was not born of the Holy Spirit. The idea
that God could have a son implies to many Muslims that God had sex with a
wife—which is blasphemous. They also say that Jesus was not crucified: God
would not allow a prophet to suffer such a disgrace. They believe instead
that he was taken into heaven and someone else (perhaps Judas) was crucified
in his place. Some suggested reading: If you would like to know more about Islam or about
Christian witness to Muslims, please contact Kitab, PO Box 315, Oldham OL1
3YW or ask Jo Monk for a list of books and leaflets that might be useful. For
example, a useful beginners’ guide is, A Pocket Guide to Christians
Witness to Muslims, for £1.50. If
you’re an Internet fan, you can see ‘Into the Light,’ Steven Masood’s
Muslim–Christian dialogue website at: http://www.itl.org.uk A 5-year old
boy was sitting down to eat leftovers when Wardle—the future For
a number of months now, in our monthly Fellowship, we have been waiting upon
God to know His will for our future development. A
recent report from the Greater Manchester Churches Together commended what
was being done in Wardle, and ‘. . . would want to affirm the life and witness of
these Christian people here in Wardle, recognising that the pattern of unity
is one of two congregations coming together and developing an identity of
their own . . .’ Four
independent surveys of the Church building have shown that problems in the
roof are not as bad as we had at first thought. The necessary remedial work
will be done shortly. Now
we are looking to develop and adapt the building to make it better suited to
our mission. We are looking at various options. We shall be putting our
thoughts on paper and on 25 November, our Morning Service will major on
looking to the future, followed by a lunch to discuss matters more fully with
the congregation. We believe the Lord has set our mind at rest about the
Church Roof, and we now look for His clear guidance about future development.
Please remember us in your prayers. Andrew
Howell Question: How many Christians does it take to change
a light bulb? Charismatic:
Only one. Their hands are already in the air. Pentecostals: Ten. One to change the bulb and nine to pray against the spirit of
darkness. Presbyterians: None. Lights will go on and off at predestined times. Roman Catholic: None. Candles only. Baptists:
At least 15. One to change the light bulb and three committees to approve the
change and decide who brings the potato salad. Episcopalians: Eight. One to call the electrician, and seven to say how much they
liked the old one better. Unitarians:
We choose not to make a statement either in favour of or against the need for
a light bulb. However, if in your own journey you have found that light bulbs
work for you, that is fine. You are invited to write a poem or compose a
modern dance about your personal relationship with your light bulb, and
present it next month at our annual light bulb Sunday service, in which we
will explore a number of light bulb traditions, including incandescent,
fluorescent, three-way, long-life and tinted, all of which are equally valid
paths to luminescence. Nazarene:
Six. One woman to replace the bulb while five men review church lighting
policy. Lutherans:
None. Lutherans don’t believe in change. Amish:
What’s a light bulb? Methodists:
Undetermined. Whether your light is bright, dull, or completely out, God
loves you—in fact, you can be a light bulb, turnip bulb, or tulip bulb.
Church wide lighting service is planned for Sunday, 19 November. Bring a bulb
of your choice and a covered dish. Each
time you take a human soul with you into your prayer, you accept from God a
piece of spiritual work, with all its implications and costs—a cost which may
mean for you spiritual exhaustion and darkness, and may even mean vicarious
suffering, the cross. In offering ourselves on such levels of prayer for the
sake of others, you are offering to take part in the mysterious activities of
the spiritual world; to share in the saving work of Christ. Real intercession
is not merely a petition but a piece of work, involving perfect, costly self
surrender to God for the work he wants done on souls. Evelyn Underhill, Life as Prayer |
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