Author: andymoyle

Just a crutch?

Coloured-crutches“Your faith is just a crutch,” is an accusation that has been levelled at me before. It is has been one of those things that presses my buttons. No one likes the thought of being unable to stand on their own two feet. I haven’t been a burden to anyone and have worked hard to get where I am! But as I gain wisdom from my life experiences I look around at other people. What is a crutch? Well, anything that supports you and helps take the weight off a tiring and sometimes difficult life. Perhaps it is the drink that helps you unwind at the end of the day or week. Or the mates that you catch up with in the pub or the football field. Perhaps it is the dogged commitment to your club, your golf or your ageing relative that gives you a sense of pride or duty.

Is there anything wrong with a crutch? Well, that depends, but when you bring God into the equation you are starting to rely on someone else bigger than yourself. It’s the point you start to admit that I don’t really have it all together. Is it easy? Not at first – but perhaps it is time to admit, at least to myself, that everyone has a crutch. So yes it is a crutch – a loving God who wants the best for me, his Son prepared to die on a cross for me – what an awesome crutch!

Graham
Kings Lynn Christian Fellowship

Door of Hope

Door of hopeAs I write this, the sun has just come out after a heavy downpour (another one!). There are bulbs poking out of the soaked ground and tiny buds appearing on the trees – surely spring is getting closer. There is something very hope inspiring about spring. Dark nights start giving way to light evenings and summer feels not so far away! Life can feel very dark at times and we desperately want to see the sunshine again. I don’t know what difficulties you are facing right now, maybe you feel you have lost hope. There is a verse in the Bible where God says “I will turn your valley of trouble into a door of hope”. However dark our lives may feel, God offers us hope. What is this hope? Not a vague wish that something will change, but the expectation of good. We read in the Bible that God says that he has plans for us, plans to give us a hope and a future. This world we live in doesn’t offer us much hope. The saying goes that there are no certainties in life except death and taxes! In a world of uncertainty the Bible talks about hope being an anchor – something to keep us secure in the midst of the storm. Where do we find this hope? Only in Jesus. He is the One who promises us hope for this life and for eternity. Meet Him at a church near you!

Wendy Hill
King’s Lynn Christian Fellowship

Are you listening?

Listening?Are you listening, or waiting to speak?
When we converse do we really listen to what others are saying?
American writer and poet Alice Duer Miller wrote:-
“People love to talk but hate to listen. Listening is not merely not talking; though even that is beyond most of our powers; it means taking a vigorous, human interest in what is being told us. You can listen like a blank wall or like a splendid auditorium where every sound comes back richer and fuller.”
That made me think that if we truly listened to each other on a personal and international level a lot of the world’s problems would be solved, or more importantly would never develop and if we are not capable of listening to each other, what, realistically, are our chances of hearing God’s voice, actually listening to and understanding what He says?
To listen we have to focus our attention on the speaker, the better we listen, the better we understand. To listen to God we have to focus on Him. “So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given, and whoever does not have, even that he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.” Luke 18:8.
So in speaking, listen to what you are saying so you:-
“SPEAK in such a way that others love to LISTEN to you, and LISTEN in such a way that others love to SPEAK to you.” Anon.
Do the same for Almighty God.

Bill Lee
King’s Lynn Christian Fellowship

Families

Cheesy family stock image!Life as a Christian has changed irreversibly since my wife and I became parents nearly five years ago. Whilst our two daughters are beautiful gifts from God, getting to church involves the kind of military precision that only an 18-month-old’s toileting habits can undermine. On the (many) days when I play guitar in the church band, my wife’s time is juggled between stopping our youngest from throwing her snack out of the buggy, and stopping our oldest from rushing the stage. It’s not always conducive to contemplative worship. We don’t call our under-5s work Livewires for nothing.

So why do we persevere? And why does the church persevere with us?

We persevere because we see our children grow through the Church. Jesus said “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” When we bring our children to church, they learn about God – through the songs we sing (which then get sung at home) but also through the love and acceptance of other people at church.

And the church perseveres with us because we’re a family. And in families, you have the quiet ones, the loud ones, the slightly unusual ones, but you are knitted together. The Bible tells us to “bear with one another in love” – forbearance being a scarce resource in these twitchy, intolerant times.

So here’s a thank you to those big families (churches), on behalf of all the regular-sized families (parents and children).

Red sky at night?

Red sky at nightOne of the things I learnt when I moved to King’s Lynn is that it always snows during the Mart. And so it has for a good few years, but not this year! That will be a relief for flooded Britain! My wife assures me that “rain before seven, dry by eleven.” That’s not been true in recent months either. A more reliable weather saying is “Red Sky at night, shepherd’s delight. Red sky in the morning shepherd’s warning.” That saying has been around for thousands of years and is a pretty reliable weather indicator (IMHO!)

Jesus even quoted it in Matthew 16. The religious leaders had asked Jesus for a sign from heaven. Jesus replied that although they use the red sky at night saying to interpret the skies, they as a “wicked and adulterous generation” couldn’t interpret the signs of the times. Jesus then refused to give them a miraculous sign, except the sign of Jonah. Why, you may ask? He refused to do a miraculous sign for them, because He knew it wouldn’t help them to repent and believe, they’d just explain it away. But He did say they could have the sign of Jonah.

The sign of Jonah is about two things. The first obvious one is that Jonah was in the big fish for “three days” – a prophetic image that Jesus would die and rise again on the third day. The second is that Jonah was preaching to Nineveh, a non Jewish “wicked and adulterous generation” who actually did repent and believe. In the coming days Jesus would die and rise again and lots of non Jews would repent and believe – a sign of Jonah!

Our generation is no different from any other. We love talking about the weather and saying red sky at night… And we are just as wicked and adulterous generation as any other. Jesus died on the cross and rose again, so we can be forgiven and enjoy a guilt free, shame free relationship with God. So will you be part of the sign of Jonah and believe in Him?

Andy Moyle, The Gateway Church

Work Life Balance

Vicars always want everyone to believe they’re always available to do anything, anytime. But in private, they admit their guilt because they cannot possibly manage everything they want, or ought to do.
Life for everyone is full of choices about what we do. Each person is different. For some life is so demanding there’s little choice other than to do the next thing, while others don’t know how to fill their time. Trying to be there for everyone all the time means you can’t give proper attention to anyone. If you make a succession of important phone calls, someone will complain that your phone is always engaged! On the other hand, no one should ever feel that there is nothing useful to do – there is a world of people who need our help and attention.
For all of us, the balance is important. Work is required, but so too is time for re-creation. One of the most important gifts of the Jewish tradition is the Sabbath. In the story, even God rested on the 7th day after 6 days creating. But Sabbath rest is not about being selfishly lazy – it’s about letting everything else rest too. In the ancient world that included slaves, certainly it included work animals and even the land itself. This rest is not about being lazy – it’s about attending to what sustains our lives, especially to God. If we squeeze that out of our lives completely, in the end we may find there’s nothing left.

Canon Christopher Ivory

Time to Remember

Time to Remember
There are times in our lives when we remember things that are important to ourselves and others, we remember our own birthdays and those of others. We remember when we passed our exams at school and how important they were for our path in life.
We remember when we had our 18th or 21st birthday, we were then old enough to be able to vote. We remember when we passed our driving test and we remember more sombre things like the dates when someone close to us has died.
A few weeks ago we remembered the men and women who died in our two world wars and the sacrifice they gave of their lives for our freedom.
As Christians we look forward to the season that is upon us very shortly, Christmas. We remember that it is the celebration of when Jesus was born and we also remember at this time that this event was all in God’s plan for His son to come to earth and live as a man.
It was also in God’s plan that Jesus should give His life for us so that when we put our trust in Him we can be forgiven for all our wrong doing and live a life with God in the mix to help in all circumstances in life. To be our guide in our lives and our comfort in hard times and rejoice with us in the good times.
In the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible there is a passage declaring that there is a ‘Time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven’.
Is it time you gave God an opportunity to be in your life?
Barbara, Kings Lynn Christian Fellowship

Come to me

‘ Come to me ‘. That is a familiar phrase to parents. How often have you said this to your
children ? ‘ Come to mummy / daddy ‘ ,either to comfort them when they are tired and upset,or for a cuddle. The child responds and comes to you, trusting and knowing that you love and care.

We all have expectations in our lives and life can be so stressful when we face challenges and demands. We may be going through a difficult time due to a crisis , perhaps the loss of a loved one , or loneliness . We feel so helpless don’t we ? Who do we turn to ? Yes , friends and relatives can be very supportive . Often this may not be the case for many of us.

In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 11 verse 28 , Jesus says , ” Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened , and I will give you rest . ”
The kind of rest Jesus is offering is His peace , a calmness in the midst of a storm – life ‘s storm, adding God’s grace and mercy.

In one of my favourite hymns , ‘What A friend we have In Jesus ‘( Joseph Scriven ) a verse goes ,

Are we weak and heavy -laden
Cumbered with a load of care
Jesus only is our refuge ,
Take it to the Lord in prayer .

When we go to Jesus He welcomes us with open arms.

Sundari Nagamuthu . King’s Lynn Christian Fellowship

A message of hope

A Message of hope
Our present generation differs so much from previous generations in the way of communication. A few decades ago we relied on the Royal Mail delivery service or we used landline telephones to contact people. How different it is today with so many choices in instant communication. We can use mobiles, email, texts, and social media sites to communicate whatever we want, whenever we want and to whoever we want. It also gives the freedom for others to
contact us if they have a message to send.
For any communication to be successfully delivered, the recipient must first open the message and then read it. You may be surprised to hear that someone beyond the limits of our world has been communicating with people throughout every generation for thousands of years. So how easy is it to receive this communication and to understand it? The message is from God and is about a free gift together with many promises that come with that gift. God foretold about the wonderful gift of Jesus to all mankind who was born on the first Christmas day and grew up to to communicate a tremendous message of love, forgiveness and hope for everyone. But as with all communication, this has to be received and opened to find out exactly what God is saying.
God has arranged for His communication to be written down for us in the bible, but don’t worry if you haven’t got one because it is now easily accessible on your smart phone or tablet. A good place to start is in John’s gospel chapter 3. Will you open God’s communicated message for you today and join with many others
whose lives have been completely changed.

Geoff Duncombe
The Gateway Church Kings Lynn

Transparent Gold

The Resurrection - Window by Patrick Reyntiens - The Abbey Church of St. Laurence, Ampleforth. Reprinted with kind permission of the Ampleforth Abbey Trust.
The Resurrection – Window by Patrick Reyntiens – The Abbey Church of St. Laurence, Ampleforth.
Reprinted with kind permission of the Ampleforth Abbey Trust.

The European Parliament voted for a new EU Transparency Directive on 12th June. Companies will now have to disclose more financial information about their activities. According to the European Commission ‘Civil society would benefit from increased transparency and could hold governments accountable to the revenues received from companies for exploiting natural resources’ ( European Commission MEMO Brussels, 12 June 2013). In short, transparency is anti-corruption.
On Sunday 16th June I gave a reading, chosen by Revd. Peter Cook, at a service to celebrate the renovation of the windows of Stanhoe Church. The reading was from the Book of Revelation which describes the New Jerusalem coming down from God. It contains the line……’the city of pure gold, like clear glass’, Rev. 21; 18.
On 24th June I joined a small group, organised by Fr. Michael Johnstone, on retreat at Ampleforth Abbey. During one of his set talks, the Prior, Fr. Terence Richardson, showed us slides of the church’s resurrection window showing Jesus rising from the tomb, radiating transparent gold. Jesus is transparent gold, and he is the father of transparent gold services.
In November I was asked to speak at a Macmillan Cancer Support charity dinner. I said this:
‘Whatever changes befall the NHS, we should be aiming to provide a service with the quality of transparent gold, equally available to rich and poor alike’.

Peter Coates