During this week a number of activities have taken place. On Tuesday evening our Band and Songsters gave a programme of Easter music interspersed with prayer and meditation.
On Wednesday Captain Gordon Cotterill, Spiritual Programme Director at William Booth College, was the guest speaker at an evening of ‘Worship and the Word’
Captain Gordon Cotterill
Preparation for the message was through a period of Worship and Paryer led by the Worship Band which included ‘Crown Him with many Crowns‘, ‘I’m Trading my Sorrow‘, ‘The Potters Hand‘, ‘Mighty to Save‘ and ‘Jesus Christ, I think upon your Sacrifice‘.
Captain Cotterill spoke about how Holy Week can sometimes become a habit. Before you know where you are it’s Good Friday. Let’s look at some of the events of that week so that we can truly enter into the story of Easter. Let’s look at the context of sacrifice. Using scripture from Mark 11:12-19 we should look at what we felt about the ‘cleansing of the temple’ and what Jesus was thinking about on his walk to and from Bethany. It must have been much more than just the building and what went on in it. This time to think would have helped him resolve his anger even though it seemed justified. Captain Cotterill used some words of Keith Turton (from ‘Memeory Talk’) which seek to justify the money-changers point of view and condemn Jesus’ position. For who’s benefit did Jesus do what he did? All jesus wanted was for them to act justly. things could have been so much better. But was Jesus turning the whole sacrificial system on its head? Was he preparing for his own sacrifice? He asked us what do you feel? What is God saying to you? Stop it, there’s more than this? As we journey towards the cross, what is it that God wants from us? What is he saying? What is he asking of us?
Our final act before Good Friday took the form of a Fellowship meal in which we dwelt on readings from John 13:1-17, Mark 14:22-25 and Matthew 26:36-46 and used songs 120 and 475 from Songs of Fellowship and 512 from the Salvation Army Song Book. We were encouraged to focus the table conversation on three subjects, one during each course, ‘Listen to one another’, ‘Sharing the presence of Christ’ and ‘Doing the will of God’. Approximately 40 people attended.
Visit us again tomorrow for an account of Good Friday and why not join us on Sunday (10am and/or 6pm) to celebrate the risen Saviour. Here’s how to find us.
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