Daily Scripture‘I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints’ (Paul’s letter to Philemon verse 4)Daily ReflectionToday is the Feast of All Saints. When we think of saints we most probably think of the great heroes of the faith, often depicted in stained glass windows, and known to us from the Bible, or from history or legend. Their stories inspire and encourage us. They remind us of what God can accomplish in ordinary human beings.Paul, in his letters, refers to all his hearers as ‘saints’, which means ‘holy ones’ - although clearly they are still far from perfect. They, like us, are called to be holy. We, like them, are work in progress.Let us thank God for all those who have inspired and encouraged us in our faith, and pray that we may have grace to fulfil our own calling to be his holy ones in the world today.Revd Rosemary
Please see attached for weekly news and services for the Benefice of Benenden & Sandhurst, Kent.Sunday Services: Sunday 1st November8 am Holy Communion at at St Nicholas, Sandhurst10am Holy Communion at St George's, Benenden
Daily Scripture‘Praise the Lord!How good it is to sing praises to our God; for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.’ (Psalm 147 v 1)Daily ReflectionDo you ever find that the act of gazing at a beautiful painting, or listening to a piece of music or even reading a good book, makes you feel better - something deep within you has been moved by the sheer beauty of the scene, sound or word?This strange power that beauty has is almost akin to a ‘pain killer’ - it heals the wounds of our normal everyday lives - lives so often full of anxiety, stress & physical pain. There is something within our human nature that desperately searches for beauty - a search that cannot be suppressed even by the most terrible of events.God is gracious and God’s beautiful actions bring us life in the form of his wonderful creation - so let us sing praise to the Lord.Lyn Hayes ALM
Daily Scripture:‘I cry aloud to the Lord; to the Lord I make my supplication. I pour out my complaint before him and tell him of my trouble.’ (Psalm 142:1&2)Daily Reflection:Once again the psalmist is being completely open with God; telling Him exactly how he feels. The psalmist is obviously going through a bad time. He may have had no one else to speak to, so he pours out his troubles to God…..he complains to God…..he cries out to God. And he asks God (“I make my supplication”); but what does he ask for? That comes later in the psalm: he acknowledges God as his refuge, and asks Him to save him and to set him free. Complete honesty with God with how he is feeling. Were his prayers answered? We aren’t told. But if we don’t pray, our prayers can never be answered. Please do not give up. Be honest. Keep praying. God is still there even when we don’t hear the answer we want, when we want.Revd David
