A hard copy of the message appears below and a DOWNLOAD link to the song words is top right.For access to the service go to the Youtube site and search for “worship with rev mick on good friday” or click hereGood Friday 10 April 2020Mark 15:21-37Good Friday is the day in the year when we focus on the sacrificial deathof Jesus Christ on the cross. Hot cross buns carry the sign of the crossthat has become the main symbol of Christianity. We remember todaythat Jesus died on a large wooden cross nearly 2000 years ago.In 2018 Denise and I visited Jerusalem and were able to walk along theroute that Jesus travelled on His way to be crucified. On a hot day westruggled to carry water bottles and souvenirs up a long and fairly steephill. Jesus had to carry a very heavy wooden cross and then suffer anextremely painful death.It makes you wonder why this is called Good Friday, doesn’t it? The goodnews is that Jesus death was a necessary sacrifice for us, out of God’slove, so that we can be reconciled to God. Jesus’ death brought usforgiveness, peace with God and hope. Furthermore, Jesus, Son of God,suffering on a cross demonstrates that God understands what it is to suffer andwe can be confident that God is with us when we suffer.God is with us in our sufferingsThere is a lot of suffering in our world today. In the UK coronavirus lockdownwe are all suffering losses of freedom, we are mourning cancellations ofoutings, events and holidays; we face separation and loneliness, job losses, lossof health, relationship problems, financial hardships, shortages of foods andother products and so on….The good news is that whatever our circumstances,whatever our sufferings, God is with us.It is good to know that God is with us in our own personal sufferings, those ofour family, those of our community and those of our country. Yet it is morethan that- because God loves the whole world as it suffers a pandemictogether.As John puts it in that most well-known Bible saying:“ For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, thatwhoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life”. John 3:16Let us, once again, thank God for the loving gift of Jesus Christ, bringing uslove, forgiveness and peace through His sacrificial death for us on the cross.Rev Mick Norman Rector
Dear friends,in other News items you will find my two Easter messages, one for Good Friday and one for Easter Day. Also, there are somewords for some songs that could go with them. For those without access to Youtube I hope that these resources will help you to remember what Jesus has done for us at this very special time of year. BBC TV and radio , and others, will be broadcasting Christian worship over the Easter weekend , for example Ihave spotted: Saturday BBC2 7pm Easter from King’sEaster Day BBC Radio 4. 8.10am Easter Sunday worshipEaster Day BBC1 11.25am Sunday Worship.If you have access to Youtube, I am hoping that you will be able to find a new resource called ‘Worship with Rev Mick’! The debut video is called “Worship with Rev Mick on Good Friday” and can be foundon the following Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5jgdGGuvb8 I hope that you will enjoy the video and I invite you to participate at home using the attached songs words.A second video called "Worship with Rev Mick on Easter Day” will be posted in readiness for Easter Day. I don’t know what the exact link will be, but I am reliably informed that I have a channel where eventually you will be able to find both videos. It can be found on Youtube at:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8vYxkbJSynSFt1N3kapLnQOf course this is all very different to gathering together for Christian worship, but I hope that these resourcesyou will be encourage you, and your household, in your faith this Easter weekend.Also enclosed is a letter from Jill Matthews, Pastoral Assistant for All Saints Church that I hope you willfind helpful during these challenging times.Happy Easter! With love and prayersRev Mick
In the spirit of unity, Christians are being encouraged to come out of their homes at 3pm on Friday 10th April as an expression of faith and identification with our Christ on the Cross when He cried out “IT IS FINISHED!” Believers are being asked to come out, sing the well-known hymn Amazing Grace, pray the Lord’s Prayer and like Jesus say “it is finished” as we hope and believe for an end to this epidemic. As Christians who believe in the power of prayer, we can only imagine the impact of millions of Believers praying at the same time across Northern Ireland, Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales.For those of us who had been following Frontline Sundays, this is an opportunity to make this our frontline moment!
While Messy Church is suspended, like all other church services, we thought we would like to give you something to engage with on a weekly basis as 'family'. Pleased copy and paste the link below to take you to our page for the latest offering (and beyond 19th April for our previous offerings, too). Love Judith, Ralph, Stephie, Dave, Di, Mick, Denise, Jill & Jim,https://www.facebook.com/MessySaintsSapcote
