FROM THE PASTOR
What is your centre?
What is your core?
Have you ever held a bicycle wheel, by its axle, in an upright or vertical position, then have someone spin the wheel and then you try turning the wheel on its side? What happens? It gets all out of balance. There are opposing forces at work and you feel a weird sensation as the wheel tries to turn itself back on to its centre.
If the sun, at the centre of our universe, suddenly lost energy, went out, or exploded our universe will be in darkness, or simply disintegrate. If our globe was off its axis by a couple of degrees – what would happen? The days, seasons and weather wouldn’t be as we know it. If our bodies lose their regular body/core temperature, or is off by a couple of degrees, we become ill and death can occur. If an organisation loses its centre, they lose energy and cannot function properly. If people lose their centres – their centres don’t work – they become disintegrated. What is your centre? What is your core? Think for a moment about your daily / weekly routine.
The people of Israel had lost their centre when they were taken into exile. After exile in Babylon, they came back to Jerusalem, and began rebuilding their city walls, etc. And remember the children of Israel’s centre was the word of God and worship, at the temple in Jerusalem; as the rebuild began, they still had no centre, no core, nothing to base their future plans on. That was until Ezra and Nehemiah brought them back to the centre – when he read from the Law of God – this brought them back with meaning and purpose – God’s word was at the heart of their relationship with God.
For us baptised Christians, Christ, is our Centre. In our everyday life, your centre are those things which takes up your time and energy. Your centre, your point of focus, is that which orients your life. Sometimes our centres, what drives and motivates, can overtake, and shift our centres off Christ, and our core is no longer Christ. We can think of our congregational life too – we know Christ is at the centre – however, similar to the children of Israel, we can easily forget the gospel call, we can easily forget the centre and core of our being church (perhaps you can name some things that take our focus off Jesus?).
The centre of the gospel is Christ. Here is the good news for both you and me: The gospel is – that when we lose our centre, when we shift our focus – God in Jesus Christ NEVER loses the centre of his love for you and me. We can truly thank God, who gives us his Son, giving us a focus and a centre for our lives – we are powered and driven, balanced and are functional by the Holy Spirit, even when we get thrown off centre. God is always centred on Christ. God always centres his love for us in Christ. All thanks be to God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
We Pray For:
† The Christian church, that it may be filled with faith, hope and love.
† Those who reject the gospel, that they may repent and live.
† Nations and kingdoms of the earth, that they may be led by wise leaders and supported by those who love justice.
† The young, that they may not be daunted by their age or inexperience.
† The unborn, that they may be kept safe from all harm, whether of nature or human design.
What is your core?
Have you ever held a bicycle wheel, by its axle, in an upright or vertical position, then have someone spin the wheel and then you try turning the wheel on its side? What happens? It gets all out of balance. There are opposing forces at work and you feel a weird sensation as the wheel tries to turn itself back on to its centre.
If the sun, at the centre of our universe, suddenly lost energy, went out, or exploded our universe will be in darkness, or simply disintegrate. If our globe was off its axis by a couple of degrees – what would happen? The days, seasons and weather wouldn’t be as we know it. If our bodies lose their regular body/core temperature, or is off by a couple of degrees, we become ill and death can occur. If an organisation loses its centre, they lose energy and cannot function properly. If people lose their centres – their centres don’t work – they become disintegrated. What is your centre? What is your core? Think for a moment about your daily / weekly routine.
The people of Israel had lost their centre when they were taken into exile. After exile in Babylon, they came back to Jerusalem, and began rebuilding their city walls, etc. And remember the children of Israel’s centre was the word of God and worship, at the temple in Jerusalem; as the rebuild began, they still had no centre, no core, nothing to base their future plans on. That was until Ezra and Nehemiah brought them back to the centre – when he read from the Law of God – this brought them back with meaning and purpose – God’s word was at the heart of their relationship with God.
For us baptised Christians, Christ, is our Centre. In our everyday life, your centre are those things which takes up your time and energy. Your centre, your point of focus, is that which orients your life. Sometimes our centres, what drives and motivates, can overtake, and shift our centres off Christ, and our core is no longer Christ. We can think of our congregational life too – we know Christ is at the centre – however, similar to the children of Israel, we can easily forget the gospel call, we can easily forget the centre and core of our being church (perhaps you can name some things that take our focus off Jesus?).
The centre of the gospel is Christ. Here is the good news for both you and me: The gospel is – that when we lose our centre, when we shift our focus – God in Jesus Christ NEVER loses the centre of his love for you and me. We can truly thank God, who gives us his Son, giving us a focus and a centre for our lives – we are powered and driven, balanced and are functional by the Holy Spirit, even when we get thrown off centre. God is always centred on Christ. God always centres his love for us in Christ. All thanks be to God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
We Pray For:
† The Christian church, that it may be filled with faith, hope and love.
† Those who reject the gospel, that they may repent and live.
† Nations and kingdoms of the earth, that they may be led by wise leaders and supported by those who love justice.
† The young, that they may not be daunted by their age or inexperience.
† The unborn, that they may be kept safe from all harm, whether of nature or human design.