General Chat

Good morning :-)


And the sun is shining.......yay! :-D


The Collect (special prayer) for today:

Collect
Merciful God, you have prepared
for those who love you such good
things as pass our understanding:
pour into our hearts such love
toward you that we, loving you in
all things and above all things, may
obtain your promises, which exceed
all that we can desire; through Jesus
Christ your Son our Lord, who is
alive and reigns with you, in the
unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and for ever. Amen.


GOSPEL READING:
Matthew 13. 24 – 30, 36 - 43



Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

God speaks in many ways David.....through thoughts, conscience, readings, prayers....
etc.


The Final plague............Death of firstborn

The tenth and final plague was the death of the firstborn male children. Every first born Egyptian male child and livestock were afflicted, including the Pharaoh's oldest son. Before the plague, God commanded Moses to tell all Israelites to mark their doorposts with lamb's blood, so that the angel of death will pass over them and spare their firstborns. One may wonder why the Jews were asked to mark their doors with blood, to which the sages explain that only the Israelites with faith and trust in God were spared.

The show of faith was rewarded that night, as death passed over the homes of the faithful. Hence the name of that special time...... Passover.

Why the decree of death of the firstborn?
As in all other plagues, this plague too was to showcase the absolute power of the God of the Hebrews. This plague was a dismissal of "all of the gods of Egypt." It was the final blow and brought the Pharaoh to surrender. He urges Moses to leave town with all his fellow Jews, their families, and all their worldly possessions. The Jews were ready, and promptly upon Moses' direction were on their way. The exodus from Egypt was underway.


Cx :-)

I have occasionally wondered HOW God spoke to
the writers of the books of the Bible.

It says in the NT All Scripture is inspired of God
and beneficial for teaching, reproving, setting matters straight,
that the man of God may be perfectly equipped for every good work.

Good morning :-)

Today is hairdresser's day. Soon, I will no longer resemble a Yeti :-D :-D


Today’s plague…….Darkness

God commands Moses to raise his hands up to the sky, to bring darkness upon Egypt. It was a heavy darkness, some say it was tangible. For three days the darkness prevailed, during which the Egyptians could not see a thing. So dark it was, people stayed where they were, not daring to move The Egyptians were gripped with fear and remained glued to their places wherever they stood or sat.

After this plague, the Pharaoh attempted to negotiate the freedom of the Hebrews. His bargain that they could leave if their flocks were left behind was not accepted. All in all, there were 10 plagues and Pharaoh was warned that the tenth and final plague would be the most devastating.

Lord, we pray for those whose lives are devastated by so many things....famine, floods, disease. We are grateful to all those key workers who have sacrificed so much to care for others during our recent time of crisis. Amen.


Cx :-)

It is interesting that while Jesus prayed in the garden prior to being arrested three of his Disciples slept.
Similarly his Disciples slept at the Transfiguration.

Good morning :-)


There have certainly been some unpleasant plagues in the past.........

Today’s plague….

Hail and fire
Moses was commanded by God to raise his staff towards the sky to initiate this plague. This was an extremely destructive storm combining fire and ice that rained down on Egypt. This plague created complete devastation, involving people, livestock, and crops. This storm did not touch the land of Goshen where the Jews lived.

Why hail?
This plague was the most awesome and most devastating to hit Egypt. It also displayed God's power and superiority to any deity worshipped by the Egyptians. The power of God was magnified given that the hail consisted of fire and ice, a surreal happening, as fire and ice, which normally do no coexist, worked hand in hand to wreak havoc.

Pharaoh asked Moses to have God remove this plague, vowing that he would allow the Israelites to leave and worship their God. However, once the hail stopped, Pharaoh broke his promise. Again.

Lord, help us to keep any promises we make. Amen.

Cx :-)

Hello all

Cloudy/cold and wet here. Not like Summer at all.

Boils sound a nasty plague to suffer Cynthia.

Happy Wednesday blessing to all who pop in today.

Stay safe everyone.

Good morning :-)


Today’s plague? Boils……..!

As Pharaoh's defiance grows, so does God's severity.

“Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron: ‘Take for yourselves handfuls of soot from a kiln, and let Moses throw it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh. It will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt and will become boils breaking out with sores on man and beast through all the land of Egypt’. So they took soot from a kiln, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses threw it toward the sky, and it became boils breaking out with sores on man and beast”.

The Pharaoh, his servants, the Egyptians and even their animals developed painful boils all over their bodies and it is said that there were even boils on the Pharaoh's feet! A physician attended the Pharaoh's Court but he could not cure them.

The Pharaoh relented and promised to let the Israelites leave. And then, once the boils had gone, Pharaoh's heart hardened, and he broke his promise.

Lord help us to be faithful in keeping our promises to you. Amen.



Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Another of the Plagues of Egypt and not a word we often use these days……

Pestilence

The Egyptians worshipped many animals, and many animal-headed gods. Horses and cattle were not only highly valued in the land of Egypt, but they were also sacred.

Then God sent a fatal pestilence that killed most of the domestic animals of the Egyptians. How the people must have grieved when they saw their beautiful horses, the pride of Egypt, perish; when all the cattle and sheep of the fields were stricken at the word of Moses; and when the animals upon which they looked as gods died smitten by the plague!

The Cattle Plague was a response to the Egyptians' criminal actions in taking cattle belonging to Jews. By destroying the Egyptian livestock, God, as it were, took back the Egyptian cattle, so demonstrating that unjust enrichment would not be tolerated.

Unfortunately for Israel, the fact that Israel’s cattle did not die enraged Pharaoh and hardened his heart further, and still, he would not let the Israelites go.


Lord, as we read of the injustices of the past, we ask that you guide our daily thoughts, words and actions that we may live by the Spirit of truth and that honesty may prevail in the world today. Amen.


Cx :-)

Hello all

David 2020 is a year never to be forgotten.

Cynthia, one of my favourite hymns. Thank you.

A couple more regulars back in church yesterday. Good to at least try to get a little more "normality" back into our daily lives once again.

Take care and keep safe everyone.

Good morning everyone :-)

The current pandemic Corvid-19 that started as a disease
may be a move on from earlier diseases like swine flu, bird flu,
mad cow disease. Even the experts disagree. With the huge increase in
Earth's population how do they "accurately" compare the current pandemic wit earlier plagues ?
In N America they are also suffering an infestation on giant Asian hornets..
2020 is a memoable year. And there is soon to be an asteroid closer than the moon !!

Good morning :-)


It's a bit overcast again.........hey ho!

We are now emerging from lockdown after a pandemic which has caused much distress around the world. Of course, this isn’t the first time this sort of thing has happened – think of The Black Death in the middle ages and the Great Plague in 1665 which killed millions of people.

Plagues are often mentioned in the bible but are different to what we have experienced recently. The plagues (disasters) in the Old Testament were sent upon Egypt by God to convince Pharaoh to free the Israelite slaves from the bondage they had endured in Egypt for 400 years. It may be interesting to look at a few of them this week.

The Plague of Frogs

“After due warning, another plague came to Egypt. Aaron stretched forth his hand over the waters of Egypt, and frogs swarmed forth. They covered every inch of land and entered the houses and bedrooms; wherever an Egyptian turned, whatever he touched, he found there the slimy bodies of frogs, their croaking filled the air. Now Pharaoh became frightened, and he asked Moses and Aaron to pray to God to remove the nuisance, promising that he would liberate the Jewish people at once. But as soon as the frogs disappeared, he broke his promise and refused to let the children of Israel go.”

Lord, we have promised to serve you – help us to keep to that promise.

O Jesus, I have promised to serve Thee to the end;
Be Thou forever near me, my Master and my Friend;
I shall not fear the battle if Thou art by my side,
Nor wander from the pathway if Thou wilt be my Guide.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


Thanks kandj <3




The Collect (special prayer) for today

Almighty and everlasting God,
by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church
is governed and sanctified:
hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people,
that in their vocation and ministry
they may serve you in holiness and truth
to the glory of your name;
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen

The Gospel reading for today tells of the Parable of the Sower.

Love to all

Cx :-)

Hello all

Demot/JoyLouise, sadly the Clergy isn't the same as it was. Gone are the days of feeling that the Vicar was your family friend. Don't suppose it helps not having one Priest for one parish any more, like it was back in the day.

Cynthia, an interesting week reading about all of the various flowers. Thank you.

Good morning :-)

Lovely to see you Joy Louise... <3

Dermot, we have much the same situation here. I don't know if you are on Twitter, but the differences between how the clergy are handling this situation are quire startling. There are those who are keeping contact with their flock and trying to keep things as normal as possible and then there are those who have, as a friend put it, run for the hills.

Round and round the garden.....

The Violet

The violet is the emblem of humility, thus the phrase "shrinking violet". Because of the three characteristic leaves, medieval monks called violets "Flowers of Trinity". They also used the name ‘heartsease’ because healers carried it with them to treat heart disorders.

Also among the Christians of those times was widespread belief that the violets were, until the day of Jesus' crucifixion, flowers that raised up their heads to heaven. After the crucifixion, the shadow of the cross fell upon them, and the flowers bowed their “heads” as a sign of embarrassment at the treatment of Jesus. In art, the Virgin Mary holding the Jesus child in her arms, is often depicted with purple flowers, signifying her modesty but perhaps as the premonition about the death of Jesus.

For flowers that bloom about our feet,
For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet,
For song of bird, and hum of bee,
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!

For blue of stream and blue of sky,
For pleasant shade of branches high,
For fragrant air and cooling breeze,
For beauty of the blooming trees,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!

Cx :-)

It is sad, Dermot.

I have had weekly emails from our local Cathedral (very near) during this crisis and I know I can call someone there to chat at any time. It's been a long time since I visited but my name is still on the roll, apparently.

Your priest could do better, I think - but, is he, himself, ill?

My fellow parishioners are all looking forward to re-establishing contact with our Parish Priest who, it would seem, has adhered to the much published 'lock-down' rules & regulations during these long few months.

His apparent inability to enquire about his 'faithful' congregation by phone, for example, during all this time is discouragingly sad to say the least..

Good morning :-)


Round and round the garden…..


The Rose

Roses have been a part of Christian symbology since the 11th century. In Christian symbolism, the red rose stands for the blood shed by Jesus on the cross; it has also become a symbol for earthly love, a tradition which continues today especially on St. Valentine’s Day and other romantic occasions.

The white rose may represent the Virgin Mary, and thus virginity, or fertility and passion. In the middle ages a crown of white roses was worn by virgins, as it illustrated innocence. Mary is known as the "mystic rose" or the "rose without thorns" among some Christians, because of her role as the mother of Jesus Christ.

Like other plants, a rose, especially one that is still alive, can also carry overtones of growth, renewal. The thorns of a rose represent on how nothing is perfect – thus the saying "Every rose has its thorn". In actuality, the thorns are prickles that are used to cling onto other vegetation or to protect itself.

From the hymn ‘Crown Him with Many Crowns’ vs 2

Crown him the virgin's Son,
the God incarnate born,
whose arm those crimson trophies won
which now His brow adorn;
fruit of the mystic rose,
as of that rose the stem;
the root whence mercy ever flows,
the Babe of Bethlehem.


Cx :-)

Eusebius records that Pilate committed suicide out of remorse for his part in Jesus’s execution. But the Ethiopian church believes the former prefect was martyred and has canonized him and declared June 25 as his feast day.

Good morning :-)

Many congratulations to your granddaughter Vera - she has done well. <3


David, take a look at John Chapter 5. The Day of Judgement could certainly be construed as a 'frightening' time for many. When you read the story of Jesus you realise that he came to encourage, support and teach us that if we trust in Him, we need not fear death. <3

Round and round the garden…..

The Lily

The white Madonna lily is the most recognized symbol for the Virgin Mary and Christian churches are generally festooned with them at Easter. Christians hold the lily as a symbol of chastity, innocence, purity and piety and they are mentioned several times in the bible.

It is said that the white petals represent Mary’s flesh and the yellow pollen covered stamens is her soul. According to Christian tradition, the lily was born from the tears of regret from Eve when she left the Garden of Eden.

The lily features in many Christian paintings and are widely used at both weddings and at funerals. They are associated with 30th wedding anniversaries.


“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ...”



Cx :-)