Find out what is happening at Ramsgate's Town Centre Church.
Rescheduled from last week, YI this Sunday evening, our group for the young people of St. George’s and St. Luke’s, will look at the question ‘How can you believe the Bible is true?’
Supper this week is pizza, salad and chips.
Then at 6:30 our doors remain open for anyone who this week fancies sharpening their table tennis skills.
We’d be delighted to welcome any young people from Year 6 to 13.
Have a good rest of the week.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
(Philippians 4:6)
Unfortunately tonight’s YI has been cancelled.
We’ll be back next week
This week at YI, our group for the young people of St. George’s and St. Luke’s, we are continuing using Rebecca McLaughlin’s book and exploring why Christians believe the bible is true and why this is important.
Supper this week is pizza, salad and chips.
Then at 6:30 our doors remain open for anyone who this week fancies sharpening their table tennis skills.
We’d be delighted to welcome any young people from Year 6 to 13.
Have a good rest of the week.
Our first MOPP on Monday 27th February was a great event, with over 30 people from St. Luke’s and St. George’s meeting together for a meal to listen to the options for small groups this term and to join together in praising God and praying for our work.
If you would like to try out a study group this term, then please use the form below and we will be in touch with more details.
The options for study groups this term are:
Also, if you are interested in looking at the basics of faith, perhaps because they are interested in being baptised or confirmed or have lots of questions to ask, then we may also be able to offer a Christianity Explored course.
Please let us know which group you are interested in attending and give us your contact details and we will be in touch.
“Jesus said, this then is how you should pray… Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
(Matthew 6:9-10)
The key thing to understand when we pray, is who it is we are praying to. Jesus helps us with this in the Lord’s Prayer by starting with a reminder of who we are praying to… “Our Father in heaven…”
How you speak depends on the question: Who am I speaking to?
The way you speak depends on who you are speaking to.
If you are speaking to a child, then you will tend to speak more softly and in much simpler language, than if you were speaking to a group of students at a university, when you would speak boldly and with probably lots of technical words to do with your subject.
If you are talking to someone who is deaf, then you will need to speak up or possibly use sign language or write down words.
If you are speaking in court, then you would have to address the judge with the correct deference, and address them, as, ‘My Lord or Lady.’
What you talk about may well also be effected by who you are speaking to. I often use jokes in wedding talks, but it would be inappropriate to start a funeral talk with a joke!
In all kinds of ways, the way we talk and what we talk about are determined by who it is we are talking to.
Prayer: Who are you speaking to?
This week we start a series in Lent on the topic of prayer and specifically the Lord’s prayer. Each Sunday we will be taking a line or two from the Lord’s prayer and thinking about what it teaches us about prayer.
Today we start with the opening line: “Our Father in heaven…” As the start of the prayer it may be something you have not really thought about. It is not a part of the prayer asking for anything. However, it is arguably the most important part of the prayer, because it reminds us who we are talking to when we pray and tells us something about what he is like.
Very simply prayer is talking to God. That’s basic. But how we pray, whether we pray and what we pray will be profoundly influenced by who we think it is we are praying to. If our vision of God is too small or if God seems too distant and uninterested in us, then we will probably not bother to pray or it might become a bland routine or ritual. But, the more we come to believe and understand how big and mighty God is and how profoundly interested he is in us, then the more our prayer life will come alive and gain meaning and relevance.
In other words, the secret to prayer is not being able to use clever or flowery language, or make our prayers sound poetic or find particular ways of sitting as we pray. The secret to prayer is to realise who it is we are speaking to.
And so Jesus says, when you pray start with: ‘Our Father in heaven.’ In other words remember who it is you are praying to!
So, let’s take those words two key words, about God, ‘Father’ and ‘in heaven’ and think more deeply about who it is we are praying to and how that helps our prayer. Helpfully, both of those words are found in Psalm 103, a Psalm that is about not forgetting who God is or what his benefits are!
…In Heaven – Is your God too small?
We’ll start with the second word: ‘Heaven.’ God is in heaven. He is not limited like anyone on earth, he is in heaven. He is the creator of the universe, he is not part of the universe or restricted to the universe. When you think of God in heaven, ask yourself is your vision of the God you pray to, too small?
There’s two things about God we can say in relation to the fact he is in heaven.
The Powerful One
First, he is the The Powerful One. Look at verse 20 it says,
“Praise the LORD, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.”
(Psalm 103:20)
Angels in the Bible are mighty miracle working beings. But powerful as they are, they are there to do God’s bidding. Nothing is impossible for our God.
If nothing is impossible for God and God is the one we speak to in prayer, then the possibilities of prayer are limitless.
Jesus wanted to make this point to his disciples.
“He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain,`Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”” (Matthew 17:20)
The point Jesus is trying to make is this. Prayer is not about the size of our faith. It is about who we pray to. Our faith may be tiny, but because we pray to the God for whom nothing is impossible, our prayers can achieve anything.
If you have a button, that is attached to an enormous bomb under a mountain, then even if you are so weak that you can hardly move, you can still press the button and the mountain will explode.
I remember as a teacher one of the loveliest students I had fell out of a tree and was left in a coma. I remember going to the park that summer evening and praying to God for the student, hardly believing that God could do anything. The next day the boy was back in school right as rain! My faith was weak, but God is the God of the impossible!
The Ruling One
The God in heaven is the powerful one, but he is also the ruling one.
It says in verse 19:
“The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.” (Psalm 103:19)
When we pray to God, we need to understand that he is the one who is in charge, and he is the one who deserves to be in charge. He is our boss, and so we should be more concerned for his priorities, rather than him being concerned for ours.
God is not like a genie, ready to give us whatever we want when we rub the magic lamp. We are his servants, not the other way around.
So, the Lord’s Prayer begins with God’s priorities, not our priorities: “Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
There are some things that are within God’s power, but not within his will. Sometimes this is obvious. After all if you try praying for a literal mountain to move, it probably will not happen, because it is unlikely to be in God’s will!
Sometimes, it is not obvious why it is God’s will. We may never understand why some people we pray for are never healed, when some others are. Yet, we trust that God knows best.
God is in charge not us. That’s not always easy, but it is certainly for the best and we need to remember who it is we are praying to.
… Our Father – Is your God too distant?
It may be, though, that when God does not give us what we want that we are tempted to believe that he does not care, that he is not interested in us, that he is distant. This is where the second word, ‘Father’ is so important.
The God we are praying to is ‘our Father.’ Not a distant uncaring father, but a perfect father, who loves us more than we can imagine. What does this mean?
The Compassionate One
Firstly, it means that he is the Compassionate One. It says this clearly in verse 13 of our Psalm:
“As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;” (Psalm 103:13)
Jesus himself, illustrated this when he came to earth. Jesus was God come to be with us. That in itself, shows that God is not distant. But Jesus did not just come to live as a man, he came and helped and supported the most needy and desperate in society. This powerfully shows us the compassion of God.
When needy, ill people came to Jesus looking for healing, he never said, ‘No.’ Take the example of the man with leprosy in Mark 1:
“A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
The man understood the power of God at work in Jesus. What he was not sure of, as someone who people kept their distance from was whether God in Jesus would keep his distance from him, whether God cared for him. He soon found out the answer:
Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” (Mark 1:40-41)
Jesus showed by touching him, that God is not distant. In compassion, Jesus brought him healing, he met the man’s need.
Even in the Old Testament, compassion is seen as a fundamental characteristic of God. When God agrees to appear to Moses, he declares about himself:
“And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,” (Exo. 34:6, cf. Psalm 103:8)
It’s a statement about God echoed in verse 8 of the Psalm.
So, when we pray we need to know we are praying to someone who cares about our basic needs and concerns. That is reflected in the Lord’s prayer by the line: “Give us today, our daily bread.”
The Forgiving One
The second thing that the Psalm emphasises about the God we pray to is that he is the forgiving one.
It says in Psalm 103:3: “who forgives all your sins…”, then it expands on this in a big way.
“The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbour his anger for ever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:8-12)
In one of the Parables Jesus tells, he illustrated God as a Father of two sons. One of the sons, takes all his money and runs off to waste it with wild partying. His life becomes a mess. But eventually, he decides to return to his father in the hope that he might be able to come one of his servants.
As he comes back towards his Father’s home, the big question would have been hanging in the air. Will he forgive me?
Jesus says, the Father, representing God, sees his son, and runs too him, throws his arms around him, kisses him and throws a party for him. He is completely forgiven!!
This Jesus says, is what Psalm 103 means when it says, God forgives your sins!
The Lord’s Prayer of course also reminds us of this, by teaching us to pray: ‘forgive us our sins…’ We can pray that, because we know who it is we are praying to, the Father who forgives our sins.
The Generous One
God is our Father, the compassionate one, the forgiving one, but also the generous one.
Look at what it says about him in verses 4-5 of the Psalm:
“who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:4-5)
Sometimes in prayer we may ask for things, that we think we need, but God knows are bad for us. We may feel, that God is being stingy, but he is actually protecting us. The truth is that he longs to give us good things.
Jesus says later I the Sermon on the Mount:
“”Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:9-11)
Priority of Praise
Who is it you are praying to? The secret to a flourishing prayer life, is a deeper understanding of who it is you are praying to. This comes about through reading and reflecting on the Bible and is deepened through a life of praise.
Psalm 103 is all about the benefits we find in belonging to God, but it begins and ends with a call to praise. As is says in verse 2:
“Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits–” (Psalm 103:2)
The more we make praising God a priority in life, the more we will understand who we are praying to and the more our prayers will be shaped by his priorities and his character and the more confident we will be to pray.
This year’s World day of prayer has been prepared by women from Taiwan and is entitled – ‘I have heard about your faith’ based on Ephesians 1:15-19.
The above painting is by Hui-Wen HSAIO, who uses several motifs that highlight Taiwan’s best-known features to express how the Christian faith brings peace and a new vision to Taiwan.
As Christian’s in Ramsgate we have an opportunity to gather together from various churches on Friday 3rd March at 10am at Hardres Street United Church, to pray with our sisters and brothers from Taiwan and all around the world.
There will be refreshments following the service.
So do come and join us as we worship God, reflect on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, learn more about the faith of the Taiwanese church and pray for their needs and spiritual growth, as well as our own.
This week YI will not be meeting in St. Luke’s church hall Sunday evening but will instead will be joining other Youth groups in Thanet at ‘The Event’.
Games, food, worship and bible teaching still feature, but we’ll be together with other friends from the area. This month we are at The Corner, Community church Ramsgate, on the junction of Newington Road and Whitehall Road, 6pm – 8pm.
Leaders from YI will be there. Do contact Claire if you would like a lift.
As Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent, we gathered tonight for our Ash Wednesday service. Below are words that Claire shared with us from our lectionary readings today – Joel 2:1-2,12-17 and Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21.
Today we begin the Season of Lent. The word ʺLentʺ comes from an old English word ‘lencten’, of Germanic origin, which means ‘long’, perhaps with reference to the lengthening of the day in spring and the new life it ushers in. It is a period of forty days, reminding us of the forty days and forty nights that Jesus spent in the desert, praying and fasting, in preparation for His public ministry.
The emphasis of this season is on repentance, sacrifice and faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins.
The ashes we are crossed with come from the palm branches blessed on Palm Sunday from last year. Their imposition on our foreheads reminds us, first, of the ugliness of sin. Secondly, to remind us of our human frailty and the brevity of life: “ashes to ashes dust to dust” And finally, to express our sincere sorrow for our sins and our desire to follow Jesus more closely and faithfully: In short, as a famous quotation says, “We don’t wear ashes to proclaim our holiness but to acknowledge that we are sinners who are in need of repentance and renewal.”
In our passage from Joel prayer and fasting are seen as a sign of returning to God, an act of worship to a compassionate God, slow to anger, who is longing for the people he chose to be his people once more, living in obedience and relationship with Him.
In Matthew’s Gospel, we see three important practices associated with Lent: prayer, fasting and giving to the needy. In these verses Jesus warns that these must not be done for show and public praise, like the scribes and Pharisees, but with sincere intent and motivated by a love of God and sorrow for sins.
The first practice in these verses we’re going to focus on is prayer. Our constant communication with God. Prayer is essential in our Christian life so that we can grow in our relationship with God. Think of your earthly relationships. The ones that are strong come about through spending time together, talking, getting to know each other. The same is true with us and God. Getting to know him, understanding him, listening to his desires for us and his world. But prayer can sometimes become self-motivated and self-centered. Sometimes we view prayer as asking God for help, coming to him with a list of requests.
Prayer is more than us talking to God.
How are we going to grow in our prayer life with God this Lent season and on in to another year – is there anything we can add or explore?
The second practise is fasting. It is a form of sacrifice so that we will learn to control our desires by the practice of self-denial. At the same time, fasting helps us feel the pain and the suffering of the poor and the hungry, making us more compassionate and sensitive to their needs. Fasting, however, is not only abstaining from food, but also from anything that distracts us from keeping our eyes focussed on God.
What things get in the way of us spending time with God? What might we fast from this season to enable more time with Him?
The third practise is giving to those in need, our time and resources. This practise is really about extending a helping hand to anybody in need, especially the poor, the sick, the orphans and the destitute. Making our heart for others match up with Gods love for everyone he has created. Maybe we need to reflect on how we spend our time and money, re-evaluate it and our motives. Not as Matthew says so that others notice, but that our Heavenly Father through our actions knows our love for him.
The season of Lent helps us to refocus on God, returning to him, redeploying our resources, going deeper. Recognising our sin and need for God and being his presence in the world. Being ready for the joyous celebration of Easter when we remember all that God has done for us through Jesus.
During the season of Lent, we are given the opportunity to pause for a while, to slow down with our worldly activities and concerns. No matter how busy we are, we must never lose sight of our relationship with God and our true home with God for all eternity. So how might we individually this season of Lent grow our prayer life, fast in order to have time to refocus on God and give of our love time and resources in a way that reflect Gods heart for others and his concern for the whole world.
St. George's Church Ramsgate