Dear friends
Last Sunday we welcomed Andy and Norma Hobbs to MBC and he shared thoughts about blind Bartimaeus from Matthew Chapter 20 and asked the question that Jesus asked of Bartimaeus “What do you want me to do for you?” Bartimaeus replied “I want to see”. I wonder what we might reply, as an individual or as a community? What do we see? What is God showing us now in August 2022?
I have been sharing a lot about the water of life, the river flowing from the throne (Revelation 22) and its been good to hear some of your thoughts on this, thankyou. I mentioned ‘daylighting’, the process of uncovering waters and literally all this week Rod has been opening up a physical water in the sanctuary by doing some initial work to sort out the baptistry ready for anyone who feel they want to be baptised. Opening up waters is a messy task, hard work, often you need to clear out the rubbish before the fresh water can go in…but its worth it.
Woven into all this are the ‘I am’ statements of Jesus that we focused on over the last few weeks from John’s gospel. Maybe less well known are some statements of Jesus where he says ‘I am not’… So from this Sunday we take the next 3 weeks to look at 3 things in John’s gospel that Jesus said he wasn’t…
Sunday 7th August – ‘ I am not seeking glory for myself’ (John 8: 50). Sunday 14th August – ‘I am not alone. I stand with the Father who sent me’ (John 8:16) and Sunday 21st August – ‘I am not of this world’ (John 8:23)
This Sunday it’s café church, 11-12midday with drinks, breakfast pastries and fruit. There will be an area where you can be creative with a linked activity. We also welcome Florin and family from Romania who will update us on their recent visit to Ukraine.
Then 3-5pm we have the strawberry cream tea at church, raising money for Romania. All welcome, if you want to bring your sandwiches in between both events then you are welcome.
Thanks for all your help with chair moving last week. We continue on Monday 8th August with Beacon café, 10-12midday. Do look at the website for latest news and like us on Facebook.
Keep in touch. For those on holiday, have a restful time. For those who aren’t (and those who are) we pray you know God’s life giving presence and hope in the everyday and in the new…
“…and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set; your moon will not go down. For the Lord will be your everlasting light. Your days of mourning will come to an end.” Isaiah 60:19-20
Shelley