Daily Scripture:Each of you should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband. (Ephesians 5.33)Daily Reflection:St Paul is commonly criticised for demeaning women; indeed, if he were alive and writing now what he said then about women (keeping silence in church, covering their hair…), the Church as well as society at large would be outraged. But he was writing in an entirely different age, an age where slaves were an accepted part of everyday living, where ‘Sir’, the everyday mode of address to a man, was ‘Kyrie’, ‘Lord’. In that context, one might argue that Paul’s advice was startlingly refreshing. How close would we be to the ideal if we took his advice – if men behaved in the way that generated the respect of women, and women experienced being treated with same caring love that men apply to themselves? David Harmsworth
Daily Scripture:So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord your God and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own well-being. (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)Daily Reflection:“What does God expect of me?” Here in these two verses from the Old Testament is a summary that is simple in form and easy to remember: 1) Fear God (have reverence for Him), 2) Walk His way, 3) Love Him, 4) Serve Him with your whole life, 5) Observe His commands.We so often complicate our relationship with God. We complicate our faith with man-made rules and requirements of how we must approach God; how we must relate to God. This is the God who loves you so much he gave the life of His Son for you. So, for your own well-being, get back to the basics of a good relationship with God: Respect, follow, love, serve, obey. In the words of Aleksandr Orlov (the meerkat!), “Simples!”Revd David
Daily ScriptureFor you yourself created my inmost parts;you knit me together in my mother’s womb. (Psalm 139 v 12)Daily ReflectionDoes God love me? Does He notice me? Does He even know me?If these are questions you have ever asked yourself, you will find the answer in this Psalm. It is Yes, Yes and Yes!God made it His business to know you, even before you were born. He took great care over creating you, and He did it with the utmost love for you. He waited eagerly for your birth, and longed to gaze at your face, as any human father would. As you have travelled through life, God has never taken his loving gaze from you. When you have suffered, He has suffered with you; when you have succeeded, He has rejoiced with you. He is always waiting... for you to turn towards Him, and look for His face. This is the very human, and yet fully divine God of the Bible. Vicki Young
Here is the link to the recording of Sunday's service: https://youtu.be/U-a4zrRK8v4
