Services this Sunday8am BCP Holy Communion at St Nicholas, Sandhurst led by Revd David Commander10am Holy Communion at St George's, Benenden led by Revd David Commander
Daily Scripture: Advent into ChristmasStrengthen the weary hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to the anxious, ‘Be strong, fear not, your God is coming with judgement, coming with judgement to save you.’ (Isaiah 35.3-4)Daily ReflectionAdvent means ‘arrival’. When the baby Jesus arrived, that was not ‘it’, the moment when God came with judgement. It was not the end of waiting for God to put the world to rights. When the prophets, including Jesus, spoke of judgment, the sort of justice they were looking for was a radical reform to society’s value systems. Jesus is the image of the Father God who saves us day by day. We continue to need ‘strength for weary hands’ as we pray and work for change in our own lives, in society and in all the injustice of our times. Thank God for all that has been good in 2020! If we feel anxious about 2021, Fear not, your God is with you, coming with judgment to save you. David Harmsworth
Daily ScriptureFor if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered…... For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment that was passed on to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb: “The sow is washed only to wallow in the mud.” (2 Peter 2:20-22)Daily ReflectionIsn't that that a wonderfully simple image to understand?.... Washing the pig only for it to go and wallow in the mud as it did before. What a waste! So….. what does it mean to us, today? Peter is speaking to someone who has learnt about Christ and how this brings salvation, but then turns their back on the good news and ignores it in their life. They are worse off than before; they’ve rejected the true lifeline that they’ve been thrown. (To mix in another metaphor!) Christmas is very nearly here. It reminds us of the birth of God’s Son…. God came to earth as one of us. The same Jesus (the Christ) who died for you on the Cross – because of his love for you. Now you’ve been reminded of that, don’t go back to wallowing in the mud! Instead: rejoice and live! Happy Christmas.Revd David
Daily Scripture:‘For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name.’Daily Reflection:Christian writer and speaker Jennifer Rees-Larcombe lost her husband, and became wheelchair-bound in a short space of time. One day, in the throes of pain and desolation over her loss, she opened the Bible and was struck by the above verse. God showed her in this verse that He could and would fill the space of loss…. that He could be her “husband”, if she would have Him.Whatever you may have lost this year, please know that God can fill the gap; that He can and will be exactly what you need, when you need it – the Bible says so. God so loved each one of us, that He gave us his only Son, so that we needn’t be lost and lonely, but have life, and life to the full. Jennifer’s book, “Journey into God’s Heart”, is available online. As we celebrate the birth of God’s son Jesus this week, treat yourself to this book, and read about a God that longs to be intimately involved in your life - in all your hopes and your dreams, as well as all your fears and your losses. Vicki Young
