ON TRIAL

What would you say in your defence?

If you were suddenly transported into the presence of God and you heard the prosecuting attorney listing all the reasons why you should be sent to hell, how would you plead?

God says, through Paul in his letter to the Romans, (3:23) ‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ That makes us guilty as charged; we have no excuse. What is the penalty for our sin? We find the answer in Romans 6:23a: ‘The wages of sin is death.’  Very final.

Small words in Scripture are very important and verse 23b says: ‘But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ Our only defence are the words of Romans 5:8 in which Paul tells us: ‘God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’

What amazing love! The Lord Jesus became our substitute and by His death, He paid the price for our redemption. What do we have to do?  We must acknowledge and repent of our sinfulness, then accept His offer of forgiveness as a gift. A legal transaction has taken place. We had a debt to our Maker which we could never pay but our Maker willingly came and paid that debt for us!

As Phillip Bliss wrote –

‘Free from the law, oh, happy condition!

       Jesus has bled and there is remission!

    Cursed by the law and bruised by the Fall,

       Grace has redeemed us once for all.

    Now are we free – there’s no condemnation;

       Jesus provides a perfect salvation;    

   ‘Come unto Me!’ oh, hear His sweet call!

         Come, and He saves us once for all.’

May we continue to be reminded of all that the Lord Jesus has done, and is continuing to do, for us, as we worship Him this morning and realise afresh our responsibility to share His love with others in the week ahead.

˄OC

Do you have a special event coming up in the life of a family member?

A birthday?

Anniversary?

Christening?

Come to the Christian Bookshop in Seventh Street Murray Bridge and browse through the huge selection of cards for sale – see the photo below.

I’m sure we will have that special card you are looking for. And while you are there, drop in next door to the Coffee Shop for a drink – or even a light lunch on Wednesday through Friday.

˄TH

Huge selection of cards for all occasions

Our Coffee Shop manager

The Murray Bridge Church of Christ Coffee Shop is open today. Most weeks of the year it is open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10am to 2pm. In the photo above you can see our shop manager Chris hard at work.

The atmosphere is quiet and relaxing, the surroundings pleasant and comfortable and the food and drinks delicious. You can find out more about what is available here.

And while you are there, check out the Bookshop; you have to walk through it anyway!

˄TH

Murray Bridge Church of Christ Coffee Shop

On the third Tuesday of most months of the year some of our members meet with some of the folk who are residents of the Murraylands Homes in Pugh Avenue, Murray Bridge.

We conduct a simple, relaxed and informal service for about an hour. This service includes favourite hymns and choruses, a short message and we also observe Communion. Sometimes a special reading, a challenging poem or even a short joke can sneak in to help us enjoy our time.

This special time concludes with a joyous time of fellowship over a cuppa, enhanced with some lovely afternoon tea.

It’s on again tomorrow. See you there.

Venue: the Jean Jarvis Centre, Murraylands Homes, Pugh Avenue, Murray Bridge.

Time: Tuesday 20th August 2013 at 2pm.

Speaker: Trevor Hampel

˄TH

Paper daisies, Coonalpyn

The weeds of life.

I tripped over a hose hidden under the mass of weeds in our garden. The weeds literally grow before your eyes. When I want to spray around the fruit trees so that the drippers don’t get sliced off by the brush cutter, it is either drizzling or windy. Some lovely ground covers will be in flower soon and I can’t see the plants let alone any flowers that will appear. Other plants are also being smothered and I can just see the flowers opening. I have to remove the weeds to get a good view. I can’t find my potential vegetable garden at all.

I was feeling overwhelmed being confronted by the massive task ahead. It reminded me of the parable of the sower where some of the seed fell among the thorns which grew up and choked out the seed of the crop (Matthew 13:3-9). The thorns aren’t doing that at my place, it’s the weeds having the same effect.

Sometimes we can be so overcome by things to do, including the necessary things of life that we become like the seed that germinates and is choked so much that it becomes lank and woody, runs a risk of becoming attacked by powdery mildew and results in poor flowers and fruiting potential. This is what will happen to my paper daisies if I don’t get to the task of weeding immediately.  Jesus’ explanation of this was verse 22 ‘The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful’.

Maybe we need to take an inventory of our lives and see what is in them that makes us too tired or distracted, taking our attention away from God and our ability to hear what he wants us to do. King David knew that when he consulted God, God gave him directions for success (2 Samuel 5: 19, 23) and when he did what he thought was a good idea, he was in trouble (2 Samuel 6: 1-9).

˄CH

Photos: all photos shown today were taken in the garden of John and Julie Barrie at their home called “Daisy Patch” in Coonalpyn, South Australia.

Paper daisies, Coonalpyn

Paper daisies, Coonalpyn

Paper daisies, Coonalpyn

We invite all who love the Lord Jesus Christ to join us in a time of worship this coming Sunday, 18th August 2013.

We meet in our worship centre at 32 Seventh Street, Murray Bridge, South Australia. The service starts at 10am and includes gathering at the Lord’s Table (Communion).

This week our leaders are as follows:

Worship leader: Chris Longden

Communion: Rob Carson

Speaker: Ted Smith (one of our Elders).

Young People’s Bible Study Group meet after communion part way through our service and they are led by Corinne Hampel.

We invite you to come and enjoy a time of singing and worship, a time of learning from God’s Word, the Bible, and fellowship over a cuppa in the Coffee Shop after the service.

Prayer: Don’t forget that if you or someone in your family has a special need, the Elders are available after the service to pray with you. (See Ted Smith, David Mills or Trevor Hampel.)

˄TH

Nectarine tree blossom

Pruning for Fruitfulness

On the ABC Talk Back Gardening programme, Jon Lamb was encouraging a sensible approach to pruning fruit trees so that a ladder did not need to be used to access the fruit. In my situation, not only do I try to keep the trees low and bushy because of the wind, but I also want to get bird netting over the PVC frames I have made so that I get my fair share of the fruit! Pruning has several functions. We prune to remove dead wood, twiggy, weak growth that will not flower and set fruit, to stimulate new shoot growth that will give the following season’s crop, and to thin out fruiting spurs so that the fruit will grow to a good size.

In John 15 the Lord gives a graphic picture of the purpose and results of pruning.

(Selections from John 15: 2 – 17). “He (God) cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me (Jesus). If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.”

The problems of life are often referred to as the Lord’s pruning. Sometimes the fruit being developed is patience, other times it might be servant-hood as David said last week. Whatever is bothering you at the moment, whether it is health, job, family issues, aging issues and so on, be sure in your mind that God knows about this and will bring it all to good purpose in His time. Meanwhile ask for prayer and encouragement from the Elders or others you know who can support you before God.

˄CH

Plum tree blossom

Relaxing atmosphere in the church Coffee Shop

Most Fridays I attempt to spend an hour or so in our church Coffee Shop. It’s a quiet, relaxing retreat from the rush of life and the outside world. The volunteer staff make one feel very welcome – and they make a very acceptable cappuccino as well. I should also mention the enticing range of light meals available for lunch.

Did I mention the delicious cheesecakes? How remiss of me.

The Murray Bridge Church of Christ Coffee Shop is accessed through the bookshop – you can stop and browse on the wide range of books and cards available – and is located at 32 Seventh Street, about a five minute easy stroll from Bridge Street.

The shop is open from 10am to 2pm Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

See you there.

˄TH

SAMUEL   –   LISTENING AND OBEYING

As we come to worship this morning, will you take the time to ponder the state of your ears? Are they tuned in to hear God’s voice speaking to you as we sing the hymns and listen to His Word as it is read and explained, and hear again all that the Lord Jesus has done for us so that we are able to enjoy His love?

When we pray, we expect God to be listening to us but are we as ready to hear Him when He desires to talk to us? What about our hearts – are they clean, and therefore, ready to receive the instructions He gives us in His Word?

We are not only to receive these instructions that tell us how we are to grow in our walk with Him but also, we are to obey them so that others may see more of Christ’s love and righteousness, His grace and mercy in our every day living.

I often remember the children’s hymns I learned when I was young – how precious they still are to me, because they so simply state profound Biblical truths. One that always challenges me is the story of Samuel learning to recognise God’s voice, and then obeying God’s instructions.   

       O, give me Samuel’s ear, the open ear, O Lord!

            Alive and quick to hear each whisper of Thy Word,

                Like him to answer at Thy call and to obey Thee first of all.

It goes on to speak about Samuel’s lowly or humble and loving heart and his trusting mind. May these requests be ours this morning, so that we may have – the listening ear; the humble, loving heart and the trusting mind – without which we will not be able to grow in our love and knowledge of our dear, loving Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Why do we need to grow?   So that others may see more of Him in us and desire to know Him for themselves. We are not to be selfish and keep His love to ourselves but we are to share that love with others, because isn’t that part of the reason  why we come together as a family to worship Him?

˄OC