Sunday 19th July

Morning!
I wanted to share something with you before I hand over to Michelle. Last weekend, a group of us gathered (in a socially distanced way!) to think about and discuss what church might look like when the crazy times we are living in at the moment come to an end and we no longer have to ‘Do Church Differently’. Right at the start of our meeting, Steve S read some verses from 1 Chronicles which really focused my thoughts and highlighted to me what is important.

²³ Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
    proclaim his salvation day after day.
²⁴ Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvellous deeds among all peoples.
²⁵ For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
    he is to be feared above all gods.
²⁶ For all the gods of the nations are idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens.
²⁷ Splendour and majesty are before him;
    strength and joy are in his dwelling-place.
²⁸ Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
²⁹ Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name;
    bring an offering and come before him.
Worship the Lord in the splendour of his holiness.
³⁰     Tremble before him, all the earth!
    The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
³¹ Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
    let them say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns!’
1 Chronicles 16 v 23-31

Wherever we are and however we are meeting together, the important things remain the same – that we sing to the Lord, that we proclaim His salvation, that we declare his glory & marvellous deeds, that we give Him the glory that is due His name, that we bring our offerings, that we come before Him, that we worship Him, that we rejoice and that we are glad.
Why? Because the Lord is great, He is worthy of our praise, He made the heavens, splendour & majesty are before Him – THE LORD REIGNS!
Whether we are alone this morning or with others, whether we meet in person, online, in church or at home, whether we sing out loud or listen and worship quietly, whether we are enjoying these strange times we are living in or not, the Lord remains constant. He never changes. Yesterday, today and forever – He is the same!
The Lord reigns!
Katharine

I’ve been thinking about and giving thanks to God for the fact that we are able to run water in this country and have a glass of clean water to drink. However, it is not the same for other countries. They may have to walk for miles just to get water that’s dirty and contaminated to wash in and drink.
In Psalms 118 and 136 it says “give thanks to the Lord for his steadfast love endures forever “.  
Here are a few songs that I have chosen for you to listen or sing along to.
Michelle

Faye has recorded another message for us this week – thanks, Faye!
The title is ‘Genuine Faith’ – enjoy!