Daily Scripture:In the morning, Lord, you will hear my voice; early in the morning I make my appeal to you, and look up. (Psalm 5, v 3)Daily Reflection:If you are anything like me, the first thing you need in the morning is a strong cup of coffee. But not this Psalmist - the first thing he does is to spend time with God. There is something incredibly grounding about giving the first moments of your day to God. Take time over it, don't rush ahead into the day. So often, we are swept up into busyness and action, but God dearly longs for us to be still with Him. It is in the quiet moments with Him that the Holy Spirit has room to move in our hearts and minds, to prepare us for the day ahead. As you go about your day today, remember to look up. Take your focus off your situation, and know that the Creator of the universe looks on you with love and grace. There is nothing that He doesn't know about, and nothing that He can't make right. Vicki Young
Daily ScriptureA dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. But he said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. (Luke 22:24-27)Daily ReflectionWhat sort of a leader are you? You might think, you are not a leader, but most of us are, somewhere in our lives. As a parent, or a grandparent. As a member of a team, or at work. As a friend, or a neighbour. As the owner of a dog, or a horse (not so much a cat, they don’t recognise anyone as leader!). Do you roll up your sleeves and get stuck in, or stay detached? Do you ‘step up to the plate’? Do you take responsibility? Do you want to show others how it’s done? There are so many ways to lead: from the front, striding out, expecting others to follow. From the back, pushing people on. From the middle, in collaboration. But Jesus’ model of leadership is the very best; as we sing in one of our hymns, Jesus is the Servant King. Revd Ylva
Daily Scripture So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling-place for God (Ephesians 2.19-22)Daily Reflection The purpose of a wall is to separate. The Berlin Wall was torn down in 1989, but since then the Israeli separation barrier has been constructed, and the Mexican wall aims to keep immigrants from infiltrating the USA.In the Jerusalem temple of Jesus’s day a wall separated Jews from Gentiles, and women from men. As well as actual walls of bricks and mortar there are the invisible but very real walls of prejudice and fear that separate people: walls of racism, religion, class, homophobia ...In Christ there are no outsiders. What Paul describes here is not a wall, but a ‘dwelling-place for God’, where all are equal, and all are accepted in love. Lord, show us how to break down the walls of hatred and fear and live together in your love. Revd Rosemary
Sunday 18th July8 am Holy Communion at St Nicholas led by Revd Rosemary Kobus van Wengen 10am Holy Communion at St George's led by osemary Kobus van Wengen & Revd David Commander
