Monthly message

Dear All

The noted Methodist minister Donald Soper was preaching up a storm one day in Hyde Park when, not unusually, some heckling occurred. Soper had been talking about the wonder of God’s creation, when a voice from the crowd shouted, “what about the wonder of science? Give me the right equipment and I could do some of that”. Soper’s reply was masterly: “Ok, make us a rabbit then, just to give us confidence”. No rabbit was forthcoming, but the point was well made. God can do what we cannot. It sounds so simple, but it’s a fact we don’t always allow to sink in. We often assume, in our Church life, that if something can’t happen by purely human effort, then it will never happen at all. In many ways, we’ve lost confidence in the God who brought us, the earth and the entire cosmos into being.

As Easter approaches, let’s remember that this festival isn’t just a ritual, to be marked with special services and hymns. Easter is a yearly reminder that God intervened in human history in the most dramatic, transformative, earth shattering way possible. Easter is God’s rescue plan for a wayward and lost humanity. The raising of Jesus from the dead is only part of the miracle of Easter. The healing of the breach between us and God, which we could never achieve by our own efforts, and the defeat of the power of death and sin over our lives should continually give us pause to wonder and rejoice.

Easter changes everything. Easter means that we can now live our lives intimately in relationship with our creator. Jesus is alive and is with us and as we journey through life, we can do so with the presence and power and guidance of the Holy Spirit too. The Spirit gives us purpose, comfort, hope and inner resources that otherwise we just wouldn’t have. Easter also assures us that even in the brokenness and darkness of the world, God can bring new life and hope and healing, not by bypassing the darkness, but by entering into it, transfiguring and transforming as He does so. Easter means there is always hope. Easter proves God is active in the world. All He needs is people to live their new, resurrection lives to the full, to be fully the people God is calling them to be, and to communicate this good news to others. Can we do that?

Blessings, Ben

Ben is proposing to hold a series of Christianity Explored weekly sessions, possibly on Wednesday evenings or another suitable time of the week through May. This is open to anyone interested. It’s an opportunity to find out about Christianity and to explore faith. If you would like to know more, please contact Ben.

A monthly Prayer and Chat session at Exminster is also proposed, probably during the day for about an hour. It would be a time of informal prayer and topical discussion. Again it would be very helpful to gauge the response to these offers. Please contact Ben, if you might be interested. Thank you.

Ben’s Morning If you would like to speak with Rev Ben Haslam, our minister, he can be contacted using the following details at any time. Telephone 01392 256716 or email ben.haslam@btinternet.com . Additionally he hopes to be in the church hall at least one morning a month between 10.30 am and 12.00 noon and will very happy to speak with anyone in private. You don’t need an appointment, you can just turn up or, if you prefer, please telephone or email him in advance to make arrangements. In February he plans to be at the hall on the morning of Friday 15^th. As his work allows, he may also be there on other Friday mornings too.