They brought Jesus a denarius. Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’ They answered, ‘The emperor’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ Matthew 22 : 19 - 21Readings this week Exodus 33 : 12 - end; Isaiah 45 : 1 - 7; 1 Thessalonians 1 : 1 - 10; Matthew 22 : 15 - 22Thought for this weekThere is a phrase from 1 Chronicles 29 we sometimes use in churches, “For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you”. Actually a very challenging phrase. Do we really live like this? Knowing that the Lord provides all we need, and everything we give back to Him is His anyway!We might think of this in the material sense, and it is good to give back to the Lord what He has given us in service to Him, and in thankfulness to Him. In our Gospel reading today Jesus has a conversation with the Pharisees trying to trip Him up into not paying taxes, or handling the Roman coin that was actually unacceptable to Jews because it bore the head and divine claims of Caesar. Yet Jesus is asking, who do we really belong to, and who does the coin belong to? Jesus claims us for His own. He is our Good Shepherd. Our Lord, Saviour and true King. He reassures us we are His when we believe and trust in Him and acknowledge Him in our lives. Jesus overrides the claims and authorities of the world. We can celebrate and be truly thankful that Jesus’ authority and sovereign rule brings life, peace, and hope in abundance. Rev PaulPrayer for this weekGod, the giver of life, whose Holy Spirit wells up within your Church: by the Spirit’s gifts equip us to live the gospel of Christ and make us eager to do your will, that we may share with the whole creation the joys of eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, AmenGod, our light and our salvation: illuminate our lives, that we may see your goodness in the land of the living, and looking on your beauty may be changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ our Lord. AmenWe give thanks for…..For the Norwich FoodbankFor the shoebox appealFor our gardening and Caretaking team
The following services will be available via the St Ed's Facebook page or by attendance (as stated below). Sunday 18th October 9:30 am Mustard Tree Church– informal service for families and children (at St Ed’s) Sunday 18th October 11:15 am Holy Communion (at St Ed’s) Monday 19th October 5.00 pm Evening prayers (at St Ed’s) Tuesday 20th October 10:00 am til 12 noon Community Café (at St Ed’s) includes activities for children Tuesday 20th October 6:00 pm Rspace (at St Ed’s) Wednesday 21st October 10:30 am Holy Communion (at St Ed’s ) Thursday 22nd October 9.00am Church caretaking team (at St Ed’s ) Thursday 22nd October 7.00pm Compline (at St Ed’s) Friday 23rd November 9:30 am to12.00 noon Arts and Craft Group , - bring anything – art or craft - you fancy doing and coffee and tea are provided. (at Trinity church) Friday 16th October 2.00pm Langley Pre-prep Harvest Service (at St Ed’s Also Sunday 25th October 2026. At St Ed’s 8:00 am Holy Communion, 9:30 am Mustard Tree, 11:15 am service of the word On-line 11:15 livestream service, At St Peter’s 3:00pm Gathering @Ringland St Peter’s on-line services, watch live if you are able --- or join later on 'catch up'. Everyone welcome. Additionally Ringland: future services/events for Ringland St Peter’s: October 25th 3pm The Gathering @ Ringland (at St Peter’s) November 8th 10:30 am Remembrance Service November 22nd 3pm The Gathering @ Ringland (at St Peter’s) Shoeboxes – Shoebox Sunday will be 1st November. We have shoeboxes already covered in St Ed's. They just need to be filled! There is a very short video on the Blythswood Care website : https://blythswood.org/shoeboxappeal/ We will be having a time in church on Wednesday 28th October to make shoeboxes together, from 2.00pm until 5.00pm, and we will be having a speaker to share stories of the shoebeoxes being delivered. Everyone is welcome! Bright Party TEC (Taverham Evangelical church) are organising a Bright Party for Saturday 31st October for children in our community. Please invite anyone you know who may be interested. Posters and invitation cards are in St Ed’s. Rev Canon Stella Green’s Induction at Great Ellingham is on Tuesday 10th November at 7.00pm. Please let Rev Paul know if you would like to come so we can co-ordinate lifts. Norwich Foodbank on 22nd November at 11.15am at St Ed's we have a visiting speaker – Hannah Worsley – Project Manager for the Norwich Foodbank, to speak about the work of the Foodbank. Everyone is welcome.
The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Matthew 22 : 2 - 3Readings this week Psalm 23; Isaiah 25 : 1 - 9; Philippians 4 : 1 - 9; Matthew 22 : 1 - 14Thought for this weekI wonder how you feel when you receive an invitation? It is something that can make us feel uplifted, honoured, encouraged to be included perhaps? Maybe we start making preparations. Maybe there are arrangements to be made, gifts to bring, the right clothes to wear.The Parable Jesus tells in the Gospel reading begins with an invitation. The host is a King. The invitation is a Royal Invitation. Yet the invitation is turned down. Moreover of those who do attend, one of the guests disrespects the host, does not dress appropriately. The King is angry, and Jesus highlights the honour and grace of being invited by Him, and how much depends on how we respond to Him.Jesus makes it clear throughout the Gospels He is inviting us into forgiveness, salvation and newness of life. He invites us to believe in Him, receive from Him, and know the greatness of the invitation He offers. It is an invitation that cost Jesus everything. And it is for each of us personally. We respond by receiving forgiveness from Jesus and believing in Him. Let us never forget the greatness of all that Jesus invites us into.Rev PaulPrayer for this weekO God, forasmuch as without you we are not able to please you; mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. AmenFaithful Lord, whose steadfast love never ceases and whose mercies never come to an end: grant us the grace to trust you and to receive the gifts of your love, new every morning, in Jesus Christ our Lord. AmenWe give thanks for…..Our Harvest celebrationsJesus’ wonderful invitation into salvation and new lifeOur fellowship with the other churches in our area
The following services will be available via the St Ed's Facebook page or by attendance (as stated below). Sunday 11th October 8:00 am Holy Communion (at St Ed’s) Sunday 11th October 9:30 am Mustard Tree Church– informal service for families and children (at St Ed’s) Sunday 11th October 10:30 am Holy Communion (at St Peter’s) followed by refreshments Sunday 11th October 11:15 am Service of the Word (at St Ed’s and livestream) Monday 12th October 5.00 pm Evening prayers (at St Ed’s) Tuesday 13th October 10:00 am til 12 noon Community Café (at St Ed’s) includes activities for children Tuesday 6th October 6:00 pm Rspace (at St Ed’s) Wednesday 14th October 10:30 am Holy Communion (at St Ed’s ) Thursday 15th October 9.00am Church caretaking team (at St Ed’s ) Thursday 15th October 7.00pm Compline (at St Ed’s) Friday 16th October 2.00pm Langley Pre-prep Harvest Service (at St Ed’s) Also Sunday 18th October 2026. At St Ed’s 9:30 am Mustard Tree, 11:15 am Holy Communion on-line services, watch live if you are able --- or join later on 'catch up'. Everyone welcome. Additionally Ringland: future services/events for Ringland St Peter’s: October 11th 10:30 am Holy Communion for Safeguarding Sunday October 25th 3pm The Gathering @ Ringland (at St Peter’s) November 8th 10:30 am Remembrance Service Shoeboxes – Shoebox Sunday will be 1st November. We have shoeboxes already covered in church. They just need to be filled! There is a very short video on the Blythswood Care website : https://blythswood.org/shoeboxappeal/ We will be having a time in church on Wednesday 28th October to make shoeboxes together, from 2.00pm until 5.00pm, and we will be having a speaker to share stories of the shoebeoxes being delivered. Everyone is welcome! Bright Party TEC (Taverham Evangelical church) are organising a Bright Party for Saturday 31st October for children in our community. Details in the porch at St Ed’s. Rev Canon Stella Green’s Induction at Great Ellingham is on Tuesday 10th November at 7.00pm. Please let Rev Paul know if you would like to come.
