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ViewpointFarnham Pentecostal Church Newsletter
September/October 2015
When these things begin to take place, stand up and liftup your heads, because your redemption is drawing near
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good deedsand praise your Father in Heaven” (Matthew 5:16)
Contact Details
Farnham Pentecostal ChurchRed Lion Lane
FarnhamSurrey GU9 7QN
Charity Number: 1135651
Pastor: Michael Hall (Tel: 07528502343)
Church Council: Michael HallLou LewisMargaret Freeman (Tel: 07790325042)
Treasurer: Graeme Tampin
Secretary: TBA
Viewpoint: Email: [email protected]
Front cover photo by Martyn, view from garden
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The Lord’s Table or Supper
The Lord’s Supper is a time for reflective worship.
The apostle Luke recorded the words of Jesus at the time of the Feastof Unleavened Bread ; the Jewish Passover. “this cup is the newcovenant in My blood which is shed for you…..do this in remembranceof me..” (Lk.ch.22: 20-19)
The apostle Paul gives instructions to the Corinthian church to take thisbread and drink this cup in “remembrance of Me”(1.Cor11:24…)
It is quite evident from scripture that this is to be no ordinary meal, itsorigin is in the Jewish Passover remembering the time when God calledMoses to deliver the nation out of slavery under Pharaoh in Egypt. Atraditional ceremonial meal kept by Jews to this day.
Jesus left only two instructions or ordinances for his disciples to keepone is water baptism for believers as a testimony to their faith in Christ,the other is The Lords Supper
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So how do we as Christians remember Jesus by taking a piece of breadand drinking a sip of wine; after all as it was pointed out to me the otherday on a different Biblical subject “how do you know you weren’tthere?”. Well I wasn’t alive two thousand years ago either when Christwas crucified, so how can I do anything in remembrance of that eventin history?
The answer is as Christians we are not remembering an historical figurewho was martyred for his beliefs, (although Jesus Christ is truly anhistorical person), but we are remembering one who is the Eternal Sonthe one who the apostle John wrote of when he recognised Jesus at theriver Jordan, and said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away thesin of the world!”.
We are remembering a time in history yes, but also a time in our ownexperience when Christ took away our sin by His death on a cross,through repentance and asking for forgiveness, we have received byfaith pardon from God and new life in Christ.As reciprocates of all the benefits of Calvary the Lords Supper becomesa very special time to all true believers.
The Lord’s Table / Supper: is a time for reflective worship a time whichis :
1. A Re-declaration and Testimony – of ones faith in Christ portrayed by taking the elements.
2. A Remembrance – an act of worship to remember and counton the worth and meaning of the person and work of our Lordas the source of our salvation.
3. A Relationship – within the body of Christ (the Church) ofoneness of mind and in love, values, and commitment andvision.
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4. A Reality -- of the unity that exists locally and throughoutthe world of who and what Jesus Christ really means to usin all the fullness of His life and work on our behalf –redemption, righteousness, sanctification, acceptance, loveand devotion. Demonstrating our common faith.
“For we though many are one bread and one body for weall partake of that one bread” (1.Cor.10.17)
5. Reflection – A time for personal examination. “let a manexamine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drinkof the cup.” (1.Cor.11.28). The apostle Paul asks us (maleand female) to judge our selves in self examination, if thereis anything in our lives not worthy of a Christian in thoughtor deed, and to put it right in repentance before we take theemblems of the Lord’s Table.
Many years ago I heard a prominent preacher say at a valedictoryservice to a Bible collage , “don’t forget what it is all about, living in Hispresence”. We can so easily forget that we are at all times living in thepresence of the Lord, it is one reason why we should take time eachday in prayer and Bible reading, and come together at the Lords tableeach Lord’s day.
The passages dealing with the Supper on which the above is basedare the four institution narratives (Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25;Luke 22:17-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-25) and 1 Corinthians 10:16-21; 11:17-34. Jesus’ sermon (John 6:35-58) about himself as the Bread of Life,
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Building a dream in Uganda.
I wonder, if each of us was asked, what we would say our lifelongdreams are? What goals are we striving for? What bright future arewe hopeful for?
I, for one, know that my dreams are often changing depending onwhere I am in my life; and, let's be honest - even our best laid plansare very often not in line with what God has in store for us anyway,right? Countless times we find our careful plans all go awry, only torealise months or even years down the line that those un-fulfilledplans are what led us to a better place, or a better understanding, ora better way to help somebody. The dreams I had as a child aredifferent now, the dreams I had as a teenager are different now, eventhe dreams I had last year for myself have changed. Life happens,and we adjust, and our dreams change too; eventually, we can onlyhope and trust that we are walking down the right path. I have hadmany dreams in my life, but I don't think I've ever had a dream quiteas far-reaching or long-lasting as the dream of a friend of mine: a mannamed Carson Buka.
Carson lives in Ndegeya village, Uganda and I met him during the sixweeks I spent volunteering in Uganda this year. Carson is 27 yearsold, and an artist. So perhaps his dream is to be able to display hiswork in the Tate Modern? Or is it to save up enough money to buy thelatest X-Box? Or is it to learn Chinese? To be an astronaut? No.Actually, Carson's big dream is something quite out of the ordinary.
Carson was orphaned through HIV at the age of five and was takenin by an aunt. He moved to Kampala (Uganda's capital) and wasraised there. He became a cook and then, through chance, beganpainting and became a wonderful artist. Through his experiencesgrowing up, he always felt a calling to return to the small, rural villageof his birth.
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Despite having a much broader and more varied life experience inKampala than he ever would have had if he had remained in thevillage, Carson's dream was to return home. But it didn't stop there.Carson dreamed of returning home to Ndegeya village and bringingwith him the skills and experience he has - that he feels he was veryfortunate to gain - to children who are in the same situation now thathe found himself in as a youngster. Carson held on tight to that dreamof his, and he is now working as a full time artist in Ndegeya andcurrently helping to support around 30 local children who have lostone or both parents due to HIV. There is no welfare system inUganda, so single parent families have almost as hard a time as thosewho are left without parents, as it is incredibly hard to make a livingand raise a family alone. Many of the single parent families we methave also taken in orphans and care for them as guardians, alongsidetheir own children. There are also single parents who lost theirpartners to HIV and are suffering from the virus themselves as well (itis hard not to think about the possible future for their children in thissituation), so have the added stress of their own health problems ontop of everything else. Carson pays for 23 of the children to go toschool (out of his own pocket), and has also set up a small librarywhere he teaches literacy, art, music and other creative skills. He alsoteaches cooking, gardening and sustainable farming; bringing newideas and experiences to the village. Carson has realised part of thisdream he had, but he still has bigger dreams for the future.
This is where I (and maybe you) come in.
Carson plans to build a community centre: not only as a base for thechildren to come and learn, but also as a model for the community toincrease their understanding of healthy living, family values, nutrition,environmental issues and sustainability. He also wishes it to maintainits artistic roots, and become a hub for East African artists to comeand share their skills, visions and creativity.
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This centre will open countless doors for kids who would neverotherwise have had this chance. It will provide support, love, andadvice; it will encourage creativity; it will nurture a respect for the bodyand the earth; and it will send a message of hope throughout thiscommunity. Poverty, sickness and disease can cripple hope. Theycan shatter dreams. So this centre could really bring a bright, beauti-ful bubble of a dream to the parents and children of Ndegeya.
Creative Canvas Uganda was born to try and support this dream. Weare a small team of four, including Carson, aiming to raise the funds,and raise this dream from the foundations up. I really believe inCarson, and I love the fact that this project comes from a local person:someone who identified a need in his community, and decided toaddress it himself. He has been growing and shaping this dream fora long time; we are simply trying to support it to develop.
However, there is a fairly long road ahead, and we would be sograteful for any support. Please visit our website for more information,updates and pictures, at www.creativecanvasuganda.orgWatch out for events coming up as we try to reach our funding targetand get involved if you can. And, if you've ever had a dream of yourown, please consider donating to our cause and helping to makeCarson's dream a reality.
Blessings,
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Halloween Satanic or Harmless Fun ?
The October 31st holiday that we today know as Halloween has strong roots in paganism and is closelyconnected with worship of the enemy of this world, Satan. It is a holiday that generally glorifies the darkthings of this world, rather than the light of Jesus Christ.
I lived in Cornwall for a number of years and the 31st October was celebrated not as innocent fun of“trick or treat”, although that was done, but a very real Occult festival for Witches and Warlocks whowould congregate on remote parts of a Cornish moor, sadly the majority of our population no longerbelieve in anything spiritual, good or bad, light or dark.
To find out if something is ether good or bad all we need to do for a moment is look at its origin, orfoundation . The origin of the name Halloween is taken from the conjunction of All Hallows Eve and AllSaints Day a day that the Roman Catholic Church established to coincide with the Celtic Pagan newyear !st November, a day that the spirits of dead sinners would be released from there place of torment,to torment and curs the living. To avoid being cursed or tormented people would put out offerings offood and drink and make frightening masks to frighten of the evil spirits.
So children out trick or treating represent the evil spirits demanding a sacrifice of food under a threat ofbeing cursed, making pumpkin lanterns to defend oneself against evil spirits is in affect literallywitchcraft.
Unfortunately in our modern educated and enlightened society it is rare to find people believing thatthere can be any harm in children partaking in this pagan occult celebration, well not believing insomething being danger, does not make it any the less real and dangers.
Also, we need to teach our children that the fight isn’t against occultists, Christians that think differentlythan I do about Halloween, or institutions that promote Halloween, but as the Bible says
“against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritualhosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12, NKJV).
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22—“Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.”
Proverbs 22:6—“train a child in the way he should go”
Ephesians 5:11-12—“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness” / “live as children of light”
1 Timothy 4:1—don’t ”follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons ”
2 Corinthians 6:14-17—“what fellowship can light have with darkness?”family man
I am the father of five children all of which grew into adulthood, I submit the above for carefulconsideration and prayerful thought to any parent.
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REGULAR MEETINGS
Sunday 10.30am - 12.00 Worship & Communion*Wednesday 7.15pm - 9.00pm Bible StudySaturday 9.30am - 10.00am Prayer
Evening WorshipThird Sunday of every monthSunday 20th SeptemberSunday 18th OctoberSunday 15th November
Diary
A Big thank you to all that have contributed.Don’t forget to check out our website at:http://www.farnhamaog.btik.com
Viewpoint contributions [email protected]
Every third Sunday of the month from6.30pm
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lordwith gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Knowthat the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we arehis, we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter hisgates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; givethanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is goodand his love endures forever; his faithfulness continuesthrough all generations.Psalm 100
