Jesus :-
A Passion for You
A message from the Manse – Revd. Stephen &
Heather Radford.
I am writing this a week after the
earthquake devastated Haiti & Port au Prince, the capital leaving 150,000
dead and a million homeless and bereaved. Such devastation
is hard to comprehend. The television news
programmes and radio have allowed us a glimpse of the suffering that the people
of
Please pray for
Thank you to all those who have contributed
to the Circuit wide collection for the relief work.
Psalm
113 verses 5-7 (para)
Who is
like the Lord our God…….”He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy
from the ash heap: He seats them with princes!!”
As we move into Spring, we begin our
journey with Jesus towards the Cross and the Resurrection, moving through, what
is perhaps, the richest area of the Christian calendar – the periods of Lent,
Easter and Pentecost.
The journey, for me, begins with the words
of Thomas in John 11 v 16 – ‘Let us also
go, that we may die with Him!’
Thomas, often called ‘The Doubter’, here
shows remarkable faith and is fully aware of the cost of that journey. We walk
through Lent with Christ, as He calls us to, ‘Follow Him’ – to let go of our
earthly possessions and attitudes and to focus on His act of obedience and love
in ‘laying down His life for His friends’
(John 15 v 13).
I hope we will take the time in Easter week, to read the Bible, and
follow the journey of Jesus from Palm Sunday to the Cross and on to Christ’s glorious
Resurrection. Death could not hold Him and, we too, are raised with Christ –
Hallelujah! Charles Wesley’s hymn reminds us, ‘Ours the cross, the grave, the
skies’. It always brings tears to my eyes and we will be singing it to welcome
Easter Day in
Our final destination is the birthday of the Church – Pentecost – with
its tongues of fire, to purify and inspire, resting on the heads of the
disciples; the church finds its voice, boldly proclaiming, ‘Therefore let all Israel be assured of this, God has made this Jesus,
whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ’ (Acts 2 v 36).
He is
Lord! He is Lord! He is risen from the dead and He is Lord!
Every
knee shall bow; every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!
Let us
proclaim the love of Christ and the power of His Resurrection
God bless you all in
2010
Love from Rev.
Stephen and Heather