'Loving God, Serving Christ,
Growing the Church'
Pew News
MAY
2020
HOPEFULNESS
One of my favourite hymns is
Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy,
Whose trust, ever childlike, no cares could destroy,
Be there at our waking, and give us, we pray,
Your bliss in our hearts, Lord,
At the break of the day.
Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith,
Whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe,
Be there at our labours and give us, we pray,
Your strength in our hearts, Lord,
At the noon of the day.
Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,
Your hands swift to welcome, Your arms to embrace.
Be there at our homing, and give us, we pray,
Your love in our hearts, Lord,
At the eve of the day.
Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,
Whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm,
Be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,
Your peace in our hearts, Lord,
At the end of the day.
We are in a very special place at present. We have just “celebrated” the Easter Festival. A time when once again we are urged to hear of God's promise for us: “That God so loved the world ... and all who believe shall never die but ascend to Heaven” John 3; 16
We heard again the momentous events of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and The Last Supper, then Good Friday and the Trial and Crucifixion. The finale ? YES; The Resurrection. The Ladies go to the tomb early on that first Easter Morning.— It is EMPTY !
Jesus died on the Cross in our place, we understand. Paying the price for our sins – we are washed in His Blood ! That's the promise – THE HOPE– that we have. Yes, we are going through traumatic times at present. Many are suffering lost loved ones, lost jobs, loneliness and much more, BUT we all have the HOPE, not that it might be true, but that, because God loved the world, it is a sure and certain promise that we, through our faith in Jesus as our Saviour, His self-sacrifice on The Cross that first Good Friday, one day we will be there in Heaven.
What a wonderful word is “Hopefulness” as used in the hymn!
Take a moment to reflect on it.
Say it to yourself over and over again, then say it out aloud, then shout it out. It gives us a feeling of promise of something to look forward to, something that WILL happen,.
HOPEFULNESS; One Dictionary defines it as “the feeling or state of having hope”. So what does Hopefulness mean to us ?
HOPE surely is a word of encouragement; that something will happen. Yes, we may hope to win the lottery, if we buy a ticket, but it's extremely unlikely ! However, in our Christian use of the word it is a promise of something to come that is sure and certain.
FULL indicates that the glass is not half empty nor half full; it is FULL right to the top. We are can be completely positive that it will happen. What will happen? That's what is so important about Easter. The revisiting of the events of that momentous week reassures us of that HOPE that is ours. The sure and certain promise that God so loved the world (that's you and me) that He offers us a way to achieve SALVATION (LIFE EVERLASTING). No qualifications needed, nor achievements, nor where you work or live, nor what language you speak,
JUST BELIEVE (that Jesus came, lived on earth for some 33 years, died on the cross in our place and rose again and ascended into Heaven, because He loves us and wants us to be His children), and YOU HAVE A TICKET FOR HEAVEN !!!
Whatever life throws at you in these uncertain times, HANG ON TO THE CROSS and what it means. Due to the Coronavirus we are not sure of what is happening around us, BUT we do know about the future: Heaven awaits all believers.
May God Bless you and all you love, and give you His peace during this period of such uncertainity on earth.
Richard
Readings for May
Sunday 3rd May
Easter 4
Genesis 7
Acts 2. 42 – 47
John 10. 1 - 10
Sunday 10th May
Easter 5
Genesis 8. 1 – 19
Acts 7. 55 – 60
John 14. 1 - 14
Sunday 17th May
Easter/Rogation
Genesis 8. 20 – 9.17
Acts 17. 22 – 31
John 14. 15 - 21
Thursday 21st May
Ascension
Dan 7. 9 – 14
Acts 1. 1 -11
Luke 24. 44 – 53
Sunday 24th May
Easter 7
Ezekiel 36. 24 – 28
Acts 1. 6 – 14
John 17. 1 - 11
Sunday 31st May
Pentecost
Numbers 11. 24 – 30
Acts 2. 1 – 21
John 7. 37 - 39
FUNERALS
Malcolm Stewart PICKETT (Charing)
Malcolm died on Tuesday 11th February 2020 aged 71. His funeral and burial took place at Bybrook Cemetery, on Wednesday 25th March 2020.
Kenneth John RAWLINGS (Pluckley)
Kenneth died on Sunday 22nd March 2020 aged 88. His funeral took place at Charing Crematorium, on Tuesday 21st April 2020.
May God enfold Malcolm and Kenneth in his tender love and care.
ECUMENICAL NEWS for May
Sadly but due to the precautions to slow the spread of the Coronavirus
Our monthly
BOARD GAMES AFTERNOON
and
WEEKLY WEDNESDAY COFFEE MORNINGS
and
The COFFEE MORNING and SPECIAL SERVICE for CHRISTIAN AID
on weekend of 16/17 May
all have been cancelled until further notice
LOOK OUT FOR PUBLICITY REGARDING THEIR RESUMPTION