Stephen spoke from Psalm 5:1-3 on Sunday morning. He started with some statistics about the world’s population: 6,885,814,406 apparently and every three hours another 28,500 people are added to that total, so it is, of course, already out of date! Yet despite the number of people who may be crying out to God at any one time, God hears and answers each of us.

“Listen to my words, LORD, consider my lament. Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.”

God listens to all our prayers: the sighings, the ‘moans and groans’, the prayers and petitions. He is both King and God – in a position to help us. 1 Kings 19 reminds us, though, that the answers He brings may well be in a ‘gentle whisper’. We can easily want God in a specific way or form. God is powerful, therefore Elijah may well have expected him to come in the wind or the earthquake or the fire, but sometimes God comes in ways we don’t expect.

In the film ‘Bruce Almighty’ there is a scene with post-it notes which captures this sense of the sheer number of prayers God has to deal with! Bruce may choose to answer all of these with one click of a button, pressing ‘Yes to all’ on his computer, but we actually have the security of knowing that God listens to us as individuals and gives us individual answers. Our part is to ‘wait expectantly’, to set apart that time early in the day to be with the Lord and to listen for His still, small voice.

Here are some more wedding photos:


The speeches:

In Dave’s speech, he spoke about some of the ‘four letter words’ of marriage, namely ‘work’, ‘dust’, ‘iron’ and ‘cook’!


Tidying away and making coffees:

Wedding blessings are great opportunities to share in a couple’s joy, to meet with family and friends, to learn more of how to live in God’s love. Dave, combining the job of best man and preacher with his usual aplomb, spoke from Colossians 3:12-17 about the ‘blue print’ for marriage (and for life as a Christian):

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

We start from the wonderful position of being God’s chosen people, holy and beloved. Secure in this, we are then free to ‘put on’ compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, key qualities in a marriage, qualities that require effort.

‘Love Story’ may say that ‘love is never having to say I’m sorry’, but that is untrue. True love involves saying we’re sorry and forgiving, accepting those words when offered and moving on. The love we are to put on is not the sentimental kind, but is a gift from God which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Dave reminded the couple that they begin well today, making their vows before God, but urged them to take time to be found among God’s people who are also working at their own blue prints, being thankful for all that God has done and will continue to do.

Our prayers are with the happy couple as they begin this next phase of their lives.

We had the joy of witnessing a wedding blessing this weekend and as always, that’s a great opportunity for food and fellowship!

At the end of a busy morning’s work, the workers had their own lunch:

This is how the food looked when it was all ready:

‘Top table’:

Sweet food:

The wedding cake:

The snow has arrived with a vengeance this week, reminiscent of early snow last year and then the snow in January which caused such havoc in the area. It can be very frustrating when our plans are rudely altered by weather and is a reminder of how little control we actually do have over so many things.

We had 24 centimetres (about 9 inches) of snow overnight:

Many of us like the illusion that we are in control and merrily go about our ordered worlds, controlling situations, manipulating circumstances into a more manageable state. Then, as Dave reminded us on Sunday night, something happens which rudely awakens us to our lack of control and we often feel afraid, uncertain, unable to cope with the unknown.

The reassuring thing in all of this, however, is that God is never taken by surprise and is always in control.
“Worship the LORD in the splendour of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth. Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.” The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it.” (Ps 96:9-11)

As there are so many things we feel we need to get done which may be adversely affected by the weather, let us focus on the fact that the Lord reigns and that we belong to Him and may we rest in His unfailing love.

Dave preached tonight from Mark 5:21-43, looking at Jairus and the woman with the issue of blood. As he pointed out, things can be going along quite smoothly when suddenly we are confronted by a ‘great dose of reality’: none of us are immune to emergencies and though we prefer life when “the world’s all as it should be”, there are often times when we are on the “road marked with suffering” instead and need to know where God is in all of this.

Jairus and the unnamed woman were very different: Jairus was a synagogue leader, probably quite an influential and respected man. The unnamed woman, suffering from illness for twelve years (the entire length of the life of Jairus’s daughter), was now classed as unclean, and any wealth or status she had ever had had gone by this time. She had spent all her money on doctors who had not been able to heal her. The crowd may have parted to let Jairus through, but they were not about to part for her.

Nonetheless, both Jairus and the woman had one thing in common: they needed Jesus. They were both facing personal tragedies: Jairus’s beloved daughter was dying; the woman was facing a debilitating and ongoing illness. Their approach to Jesus was different: Jairus approached him verbally, pleading earnestly for his help, whilst the woman approached him silently, not daring to speak, but with faith in her heart that one touch could heal her. The common element in both their lives was faith.

When the woman manages to touch Jesus, she knows she is healed and Jesus knows power has gone from him. He stops to question ‘Who touched me?’ and now there is no room for hiding. But for Jairus, this interruption, not on his schedule, is desperate, for in the waiting, he is told that his daughter has died. It is too late now.

We often think it is too late. As a result of this interruption, Jairus’s need has turned to tragedy. But Jesus encourages him to keep on believing: “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” (vs 36). This word speaks to all of us when we are waiting; when circumstances seem inauspicious; when hope is gone.

The walk to Jairus’s house must have been a long one for him. By the time they arrive, the professional mourners are there, but Jesus dismisses them. This is not the time to listen to the dirge of unbelief but to listen to the stimulating voice of Jesus which generates faith. In the midst of all the turmoil and interruptions, Jairus witnesses the miracle of his daughter’s restoration.

We find it hard to welcome interruptions into our daily lives. But Jesus is with us, even in the interruptions and we need to focus our faith on Him and keep our attention firmly fixed on Him, for then we see how interruptions are actually His gift to us.

GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY INTERRUPTIONS…

Our days, planned with military precision, unfold before us:
Lists, jobs, tasks, measurable goals lie before us,
Neatly packaged, highlighted, shaded, underlined.
And then come interruptions…
Telephone calls, e-mails, unexpected jobs,
Requests not anticipated, crises unplanned,
Diverting, distracting, drawing us away from
The military list of precise practices we so primly wished to accomplish.
At the end of the day, with frustration coursing through us,
With our beautiful lists untouched,
Dejection seeps through us, failure licking
Our hearts with its insidious message of inadequacy.

But in the quiet of the morning,
As we wait before the Holy One,
Your Spirit reminds us of the futility of our planning
And of the joy of interruptions.
By the swiftness of circumstances,
The suddenness of ‘chance’,
We understand that Your hand directs our paths,
Giving new directions to our plans.
The friend who needs a listening ear…
The kindness offered to a colleague in need…
The diversion giving way to the unexpectedly beautiful panorama…
These interruptions are to be cherished, not avoided,
Carefully nurtured, not shunned.

For in the unexpectedness of interruptions
Comes God’s still, small voice,
Upturning our schedules,
Wrecking our best-laid plans,
Ransacking our tidied sock drawer that we may have ‘beautiful feet’ telling the Good News,
Like paint trickling down a canvas to create new hues.

Interruptions are the daily reminder that
Life belongs to God and not to us alone.
Life is the gift He gives,
Interruptions the means He uses to attract our attention
Away from our obsession with control,
Bringing us to the place where surrender allows diversity,
Obedience fosters delight
And contentment with godliness brings great gain.

As a child clamours for attention,
Refusing to be sidelined,
Understanding the need for relationship
Above the mundane tasks of nurture,
So God uses interruptions
To tap on our shoulders,
Reminding us of His abiding presence,
So quickly forgotten in the rush of the day:
His touch, fleeting at first,
Persistent if ignored,
Reminds us our Father longs more than anything
For the fellowship of togetherness,
The intimacy of conversation,
The joy of sharing.

To shun Him is to lose out on the wonder of relationship;
To plough ahead with our pre-packaged plans
An insult both to omniscience and loving care.
As we lay down our lists,
We relinquish control,
Surrendering to the One who runs the universe
With never a hitch.

Interruptions are our friend,
The daily reminder of God’s involvement in our lives.

“We must be prepared to have God interrupt us”
(Dietrich Bonhoeffer)