The LORD to David, “Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.”

(2 Samuel 7:16)

The story of the Bible moves forward as a gradual fulfilment of God’s plan and vision. We saw that God promised to bless Abraham and to make him into a great nation. He started by turning his tiny family into a numerous people, then, with Moses as leader, he rescued them from slavery in Egypt, set up a special relationship with them and brought them into the promised land.

But Israel was still not a great nation. They kept forgetting their special relationship with the God who rescued them. So, a cycle developed. They forgot God and worshipped other gods, God allowed others to invade and oppress them, they turned back to God, and he rescued them once more. How could they break this cycle? They needed good leadership: a king.

So, God appointed a king. His name was Saul, but he did not fully trust God. So God raised up a better king who did fully truly trust in him, David. It was David who eventually succeeded in establishing Israel as a secure kingdom and led them to truly follow the God who had rescued them from Egypt all those centuries before. Under his rule, Israel was finally becoming ‘a great nation’.

King David had his own plan to secure Israel’s special relationship with God. He wanted to build a house for God, a temple in Jerusalem. “What a great idea!” said, the prophet Nathan. “No, it’s not,” said God. The story of the Bible runs to God’s plans, not David’s. So, God revealed a new plan and vision. He would build David’s house, that is his dynasty and establish his kingdom for ever. Only then, would David’s son build a temple in Jerusalem.

The story of the Bible does not move forward according to the plans of men, but the promises of God. In the same way, let’s pray we can distinguish between our plans and God’s vision for our churches.

Paul Worledge

Harvest Sunday – 29^th September

Our Harvest Service will be an All Age service on Sunday 29th September starting at 10:00am. We are hoping that this will be an opportunity for both the 9:30am congregation and Sunday School families to join together in a short service of thanksgiving. There will be a simple Holy Communion in the choir stalls before this service at 9:30am.

We will also be having a special collection, which will go towards Christian Aid’s Gaza Appeal.

We will be collecting non-perishable food items at the service, which will be donated to the local Salvation Army Food Bank. Please bring some non-perishable food to offer at the service.

New Men’s Group – 7:30pm, Thursday 26^th, St. Luke’s Hall

This is a great chance to me to get to know each other and to share food and activities in a relaxed setting each month. Our first meeting will include hot food, a quiz and a chance to share ideas. For more information see a flier in church or contact Bruce Stokes.

Kent Womens’ Convention, 5th October, Sevenoaks.

A day of encouragement from scripture, worship and prayer just for the ladies. See Brenda Clarke for more information or click here.

Pastoral Care Team

We are exploring the possibility of setting up a pastoral care team, which would include arranging visiting, befriending schemes or offering prayer after services. If you are interested in being a part of a team, then please let Paul know by Tuesday 24^th September using this form, if you have not already done so.

Tear Fund’s Big Quiz

Put this exciting quiz evening to raise money for Tear Fund in your diaries: Saturday 16^th November, 7:30pm, St. Luke’s Hall.

Upcoming Baby Loss Support Service

On the 12th October at 11.30am, in Canterbury Cathedral, Mariposa Trust will be hosting one of their Saying Goodbye Services. This is for anyone who has either personally lost a baby at any stage of pregnancy, at birth, or in early years, or who has been affected by family members’ or friends’ loss. Whether the loss was recent or 80 years ago, everyone is welcome to attend.

Active Christianity in Thanet Schools

There is some exciting news for this charity with some recent appointments. Read the newsletter.

Links to Share:

Just one this week, but a long one on…

The Israel-Hamas War

This is a more in-depth article. Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and Israel’s response have pushed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the top of the international agenda and created an existential crisis for Israel. This paper attempts to explain the background to these events by surveying the history of Israel’s dealings with Gaza since 1948. After asking whether there should be a distinctively Christian approach to the conflict, it explores the possibilities for a just and peaceful resolution of the conflict. Read the article…

Finally, let’s seek to follow God’s vision, plans and agenda and not our own.

Yours in Christ

Paul Worledge

(Priest in Charge, St. George’s Ramsgate)

 

Weekly Calendar

Sunday 22^nd – The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity

Eucharist (St George’s, 9:30am) – Reading: 2 Samuel 7:1-17

Monday 23rd          

Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Craft Group (St. George’s Hall, Soup Kitchen) – 2:00-3:30pm

Study Group (South Eastern Road) – 7:15-9:30pm

Tuesday 24^th        

Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Coffee Morning (St. George’s Hall) – 11:00am-12:00pm

Study Group (Lyndhurst Road) – 2:30-4:00pm

Community Meal (St. George’s Hall) – 5:30-7:00pm

Wednesday 25th      

Study Group (Langdale Avenue) – 10-12 noon

Study Group (South Eastern Road) – 7:30-9:30pm

Thursday 26^th   

Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Men’s Group (St Luke’s Hall) – 7:30-9:00pm

Saturday 28^th        

Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Open Church (St. George’s Church) – 11:00am-1:00pm

Sunday 29^th – Harvest Sunday

Short Eucharist at 9:30am,

followed by a short All Age Harvest service at 10am.

Reading: Matthew 6:25-33

Online Forms

Under the ‘Contact’ tab on the website, there are now three forms that you can use to help us in managing the church:

• Events Application Form. Use this if you are organising a church event that needs a church room booked, advertising or ticketing.
• Submit a Notice. Use this if you want to ask us to include a prayer request or other notice in the church notice sheet or email.
• Maintenance Reporting Form.Use this to report any non-urgent issues with our buildings or grounds.

St. George’s Website

• What’s On – a page which lets you know what is happening this week and gives information about upcoming events.
• Notices – You can read the latest notices on this page.
• Sermons – Read a transcript of a recent sermon or watch the YouTube version recorded at St. Luke’s. There are now videos for all the sermons over the summer.

Safeguarding Training

If you volunteer in anyway at church the national authorities are strongly encouraging you to take at least the Basic Module in safeguarding training once every three years.

If you have not completed the training in the last three years, then the module can be completed online and takes about ninety minutes. You can access the training by following this link. You will need to first register, to access the training. Once the training is completed, you will be sent a certificate. Please forward that certificate to James (office@stlukesramsgate.org), so that we can keep records of who has done the training.