The Spell Begins to Break...

At times we feel things will never change. CS Lewis is a powerful writer. We were reminded of this part of the story in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe:

"It seemed to Lucy only the next minute (though really it was hours and hours later) when she woke up feeling a little cold and dreadfully stiff and thinking how she would like a hot bath. Then she felt a set of long whiskers tickling her cheek and saw the cold daylight coming in throught he mouth of the cave. But immediately after that she was very wide awake indeed, and so was everyone else. In fact they were all sitting up with their mouths and eyes wide open listening to a sound which was the very sound they'd all been thinking of (and sometimes imagining they heard) during their walk last night. It was a sound of jingling bells.


Mr Beaver was out of the cave like a flash the moment he heard it. Perhaps you think, as Lucy thought for a moment, that this was a very silly thing to do? But it was really a very sensible one. He knew he could scramble to the top of the bank among bushes and brambles without being seen; and he wanted above all things to see which way the Witch's sledge went. The others all sat in the cave waiting and wondering. They waited nearly five minutes. Then they heard something that frightened them very much. They heard voices. 'Oh,' thought Lucy, 'he's been seen. She's caught him!' Great was their surprise when a little later, they heard Mr Beaver's voice calling to them from just outside the cave.


"It's all right," he was shouting. "Come out, Mrs Beaver. Come out Sons and Daughters of Adam. It's all right! It isn't Her!" This was bad grammar of course, but that is how beavers talk when they are excited; I mean, in Narnia - in our world they usually don't talk at all.


So Mrs Beaver and the children came bundling out of the cave, all blinking in the daylight, and with earth all over them, and looking very frowsty and unbrushed and uncombed and with the sleep in their eyes.


"Come on!" cried Mr Beaver, who was almost dancing with delight. "Come and see! This is a nasty knock for the Witch! It looks as if her power is already crumbling."


"What do you mean, Mr Beaver?" panted Peter as they all scrambled up the steep bank of the valley together.


"Didn't I tell you," answered Mr Beaver, "that she'd made it always winter and never Christmas? Didn't I tell you? Well, just come and see!"


And then they were all at the top and did see. It was a sledge, and it was reindeer with bells on their harness. But they were far bigger than the Witch's reindeer, and they were not white but brown. And on the sledge sat a person whom everyone knew the moment they set eyes on him. He was a huge man in a bright red robe (bright as hollyberries) with a hood that had fur inside it and a great white beard that fell like a foamy waterfall over his chest. Everyone knew him because, though you see people of his sort only in Narnia, you see pictures of them and hear them talked about even in our world - the world on this side of the wardrobe door. But when you really see them in Narnia it is rather different. Some of the pictures of Father Christmas in our world make him look only funny and jolly. But now that the children actually stood looking at him they didn't find it quite like that. He was so big, and so glad, and so real, that they all became quite still. They felt very glad, but also solemn.


"I've come at last," said he. "She has kept me out for a long time, but I have got in at last. Aslan is on the move. The Witch's magic is weakening."


And Lucy felt running through her that deep shiver of gladness which you only get if you are being solemn and still."


(From The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Chapter 10, The Spell Begins to Break)

Love the Lord your God...

On Sunday morning Maureen reminded us of a familiar but very important verse:

"Love the Lord  your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind."

You can find it in Luke 10: 27, but it is something of a common theme in the Bible and a quick search on Google shows that it comes up in a few other places too!

We then sang the words in this great song by Lincoln Brewster:

As you listen and maybe sing along - take some time to consider and ask God to show you, "What does it mean for me to love God with all my heart, soul, strength and mind?"

April's Messy Church

What happens when all the chocolate is gone? That was the question we set out to answer at Saturday's Messy Church - or more accurately, What happens after Easter? What does Jesus death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead mean for me?

So our theme was relationship with Jesus and we had a lot of fun finding out how easy it is to talk to Him! As always there were plenty of colourful, messy, creative crafts to have a go at. We painted candles, made giant cardboard cutout people, paper plate faces, photo frames to put a picture of someone we are praying for into - and a whole lot more!

James seemed to have a lot of fun leading us in two great songs - Whoopah Wahey! and Jesus is my Superhero. Then Anne and Michael did a drama that showed us we can talk to Jesus anytime, anywhere, about anything! We don't have to use fancy words or go to a special place or be a certain kind of person. Jesus is always ready to listen to us no matter who we are or how young or old we might be.

Then it was time to find out what the hard working kitchen team had prepared for us this time - homemade burgers! And, as always, plenty of cake for dessert...

The next Messy Church is on Saturday 26th May, 4 - 6 pm. Invitations are available in Priory Lane - who will you invite to come along?



Messy Church logo copyright Bible Reading Fellowship 2011

World Horizons

We had a very special service last Sunday morning as we shared with David and Corne Storm, their family and friends, in the dedication of baby Annelie. There was even a Skype link with South Africa, where Corne is originally from, during the dedication!

David and Corne work with World Horizons on a full time voluntary basis. This welsh based organisation seeks to work in partnership with the UK church to see indigenous church planted in areas of the world where it has never before existed - places for example like Tibet, Turkey, Morocco, Sudan, Iraq and north-west India. For more information on World Horizons, check out their website at www.worldhorizons.co.uk

Corne  is currently on maternity leave & loving being a full time mum, making lots of friends with other mums and babies. David is part of a small team running an adventurous short term missions program. This mainly involves prayer focused trips to the Middle East & North Africa that are usually aimed at the 18-30 year old age group. The overland trips, where they drive from Wales to North Africa, often have a strong emphasis on discipleship, envisioning people for the nations, nurturing faith and first time evangelism to unreached people groups. The fly-out trips often meet with local believers before heading into unreached areas of the country to pray, worship, and to ask God to build His Kingdom and send long term mission workers.

David has just returned from an overland trip in France with a group of English students in early April. They connected with French churches and missionaries in Strasbourg,Bourg and Marseille to learn from them, pray with them and work alongside them for a short time.

David, Corne and Annelie are currently enjoying a two week break in Scotland. Please pray that this will be a good family time of rest and refreshing for them, and that God will continue to bless and direct their work with World Horizons on their return.

Missionary Update

We will be featuring regular updates on our church blog from the missionary families we support.

The Moore Family

The Moore family - Luke, Julie, Norine, Silas and Abigail - live in Georgia, USA and belong to our sister church, Athens Link Fellowship. Many of us met the family (all but Abigail) last June when they visited Dunfermline as part of the team from Athens Link Fellowship.

The Moores are preparing to move to Bali within the next year to work there with an organization called Pioneers. In January, Luke, Julie and Norine went to Bali on a site visit. You can see photos taken during their time there on their blog, and also read updates on how God is working in amazing ways during their time of planning and preparation - www.balimoores.blogspot.com You can even read Norine's perspective on their visit to Bali which is exciting reading!

The Moores are currently seeing their future team placement shaping up. It now looks like they will be part of - and perhaps even leading - a new team, an idea which they find both exciting and intimidating! There are endless possibilities and we know they will value our prayers to know how God is leading them.

This is also the time for them to raise support, which is never an easy process. They have, however, been blessed to see how God is putting things together for them and encouraged to see His provision.

Please pray for the Moore family! They are expecting a new baby girl who is due to arrive soon. Pray for God's continued guidance, wisdom and provision during the coming months. For God to prepare the hearts of the people of Bali, that they would seek freedom, and that the young house churches there would continue and multiply. For more workers to be raised up. For boldness, joy, peace and confidence for Luke and Julie, and those they will be working with.

Zimbabwe Update

Our Zimbabwe team have made contact with us over the last couple of days.

They have been working hard to get to know the orphans and to continue working to get the sponsorship scheme firmed up.

Their travel to the different venues and indeed towns has been a little more eventful than they would have liked. Failed breaks and being rescued from spending a night in the car by a farmer are stories from two incidents that we will hear more about. We thank God for his protection and please continue to pray.

400 were at the Mzurabani convention, keen to learn and hear from God.  A heavy rainstorm and a sea of mud made the final sessions more interesting. 

Leadership conference and the Easter Convention to go.  Please pray for strength and God's anointing.

Arrived

Iain and Norma have arrved safely in Zimbabwe and have met up with Jim and Rosemary.  Please pray as they start their busy schedule.  They will be meeting wth many of the orphans in the sponsorship scheme in Harare.