Praise and Worship ~ Louange et Adoration

Praise and Worship

Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious! Say to God, How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name. Come and see what God has done.

Read Psalm 118 verses 17 and 24, 1 Corinthians 15:10 and John 20:16

He knows and calls me by my name and I cry out Rabboni!

On this Easter day that the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in
it.  By his Grace I am what I am: not dead but alive and will proclaim
what the Lord has done

Ygierne Mitchell

Pray  Talk to God about what you have just read. Tell him your concerns- for yourself, your family, our church family, our world. Praise him.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Louange et Adoration

Poussez vers Dieu des cris de joie,  vous tous, habitants de la terre!   
Rendez-lui gloire pour ce qu'il est! Honorez-le par vos louanges!Parlez ainsi à Dieu: «Que tes actions sont imposantes!» Devant ta puissance infinie, tes ennemis s'inclinent^. Prosternée devant toi, la terre entière entonne un chant en ton honneur pour célébrer ta gloire.    Venez voir ce que Dieu a fait,

Lire Psaumes 118 v 17 et 24, 1 Corinthiens 15:10, Jean 20:16

Il me connaît et il m'appelle par mon prénom et je lui réponds, Rabboni!

En ce jour de Pâques que le Seigneur nous a offert, réjouissons-nous et
soyons heureux. Par sa grâce, je suis ce que je suis.  Je ne suis pas
morte, mais vivante et je proclamerai ce que le Seigneur a fait.

Mon âme, bénis le Seigneur! Que tout qui est en moi bénisse son saint nom. Mon âme, bénis le Seigneur, et n’oublie aucun de ses bienfaits!

Alléluia! Alléluia!  Alléluia!

Vanity of Earthly Life ~ La Vanité de la Vie Terrestre

Job 14:1-14

Job 14:1-14

Vanity of Earthly Life

La Vanité de la Vie Terrestre

Job starts on an interesting thought stating that “man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble” (v. 1). He thereby reminds us the basis of the human condition - shortness of life implying the certainty of death, and sinfulness. As man is impure, can anything pure come out of him (v. 4)? Why would a perfectly righteous and pure God consider an imperfect and unrighteous man?

So what hope does man have?

Man has this hope in the Redeemer of this world (Job 19:25-27) who was from the beginning and in Him all things were made whether visible or invisible in all of creation (Colossians 1:15-17) and in Him we have life (John 1:4).

Job predicts the future led by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21) that heavens will pass away and men will be roused from their sleep (v. 12) and be changed (v. 14), the regenerate to everlasting life and the unregenerate to shame and everlasting contempt (Daniel 12:2-3).

We will live because our Redeemer lives.

Dans ce passage, Job nous révèle la condition de la vie humaine: l’homme est pécheur et impur, et les jours de sa vie sont bien déterminés. Dans ce contexte, Job établit le seul lien possible entre Dieu qui est pur et parfait et l’homme qui est impur: la nécessité d’un Rédempteur (Job 19 :25-27). Job sait que l’homme « ne se réveillera pas tant que les cieux subsisteront » (Job 14 :12). Ayant donc confiance que nous vivons et allons vivre car notre Rédempteur est vivant.

Dr Anu & Marika David

How patient He

“…Peter denied again; and just then a cock crew.” (John 18:27). 

“Let us not give up meeting together…..” (Hebrews 10:25).

"...Pierre le nia de nouveau, et aussitôt, un coq se mit à chanter." Jean 18:27

Ne prenons pas, comme certains, l'habitude de délaisser nos réunions...  Hébreux 10:25

Both the gospel passage and the section from the Letter to the Hebrews talk about abandonment and desertion of both our faith and our Saviour. Yet, looking deeper and further, there is hope. Peter became the rock on which the church was built. And the writer to the Hebrews tells his readers that they can “…have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus….” (Hebrews 10:19).

We should take the opportunity to read slowly and thoughtfully the full account of the crucifixion as told by John the Evangelist. We should re-live the horror of it all. And we should gratefully fall down on our knees and thank Him for making the perfect sacrifice.

As I am writing this mediation we are the middle of rehearsals for the performance of Bach’s Matthäus-Passion: you will be reading it on the day of the performance. I hope you will be able to come. The first great chorus captures the message of our guilt and inadequacy but yet our great hope and assurance:

Sehet! Was? Seht die Geduld. Seht! Wohin? Auf unsre Schuld. Sehet ihn aus Lieb und Huld Holz zum Kreuze selber tragen!

Behold! What? Behold his patience. Behold! Where? Behold our guilt. Behold him, out of love and kindness, Bearing himself the wood of the cross.

David Brown

I am thirsty ~ J’ai soif

Psalm 42

Psaumes 42

We all know what it feels like to be thirsty. After a long run, walk, or cycle ride. especially in the heat, our bodies crave water to rehydrate, refresh, and cool us down.
Yes, in the same way our souls thirst for the living God. There's a longing for our souls to experience that deep inner peace, love, and joy.
The only way that it can be quenched is for us to come to God as we are with all our imperfections, receive His unconditional love and anticipate His power at work in our hearts, souls and minds.
In our desert times, we need to remember God's faithfulness to us. We need to allow the knowledge of His faithfulness to us in our own lives encourage us to stay close to Him. God desires for us to rest in Him and take hold of all His promises.
St. Augustine of Hippo said " Our hearts are restless until they find rest in Him."
As we put our hope in God and fix our eyes on Him, the power of God works deep within our souls to replace what's disturbed and downcast with praise and rejoicing.


St Augustine de Hippo a dit " Nos cœurs sont inquiets jusqu'à ce qu'ils trouvent le repos en Lui." 
Lorsqu'on met notre espérance en Dieu et on fixe nos yeux sur Lui, la puissance de Dieu agit en profondeur au sein de nos âmes pour remplacer ce qui est perturbée et abattu par la louange et la joie.


Priscilla Stairs

The reason I am a Christian.

Hebrews 12:1-3

Hébreux 12:1-3

I am not a Christian because I was walking down the street one day and a great light shone on me accompanied by  a booming voice bellowing my name. The main reason I am a Christian is because of the influence of people around me. The many people who led me to know that there is a living God by giving me glimpses into their relationship with him. Through them I saw Jesus.

Following the metaphor of the writer of Hebrews those people led me to the race track but I had to run myself . I had to be willing to run. Looking into the crowds will not get me to the finishing line.  I need to keep Jesus in view and move towards him.

Not only that I want to be a witness too.

Jane Brown     

Tuesday 2 April

Psalm 27
Psaumes 27

I like to think that I am a non traditionalist. I believe that God, Father Son and Spirit dwell with me 24/7. There is no need for a church building. A Believing Community can worship under a tree or in a front room. A special  building is not required. But take me to a Gothic cathedral and maybe my story changes. It gives me 'chills' just to walk down the street beside the Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula in Brussels. Fortunately it is near the station so I can often allow my feet to wander in that direction and often they take me inside just to stand for a second or two. People have worshipped on that site for 12 centuries and I am one little dot in that historical landscape. 

Another of my special places is the Church of Our Lady in Bruges. We first went there to see a Michelangelo Madonna but I looked around me and saw a vibrant church reaching out to the tourist. A church built on the site of a Roman church living its faith today. This of course brings my mind to Canterbury but not firstly to the great and spectacular cathedral but to the simple church of St Martin's where St Augustine set up his mission 597 AD. And there is The Great Cathedral. I have not mentioned York Minster and my beloved St David's.

Each time I enter one of these places I count it as a privilege, a gift. For me they are embodiments of the Celtic concept of a 'thin place'. A place where Heaven and Earth, God and I, might seem just that little bit closer.
Jane Brown

“How time flies”

Psalm25

Psaumes 25

“How time flies” as the old saying goes.  It doesn't seem long since Advent when we were waiting expectantly to celebrate the birth of Christ – the incarnation, and here we are already in Lent, called to a time of waiting again, this time going towards Easter and to celebrate the his Resurrection.

Waiting seems to become ever more counter-cultural, everything conspiring against it.  I shiver as I see the spring fashions displayed in shop windows in January!

Waiting  causes us more than ever to be impatient, yet patience is supposedly a virtue. So how do we, how can we regard 'waiting'.  How can we make sense of it.  What can we do as we wait?  How can we be as we wait?  What about the saying 'to kill time' – surely that must be a dubious activity.

Well the Psalms are full of injunctions to wait.  It would seem that waiting is a crucial spiritual discipline.  Indeed some things simply cannot be speeded up – such as the nine months it takes for a baby to fully form in the womb.  This is a powerful symbol of how waiting time, appropriate time, Kairos as opposed to Chronos or clock time is an important element in life.

This inspires me to think of waiting as useful in terms of attentive preparation.  Most good things in life require careful preparation, be it a good meal, a good celebration, a good exam result or a good decision being taken.  Perhaps even waiting in the supermarket queue could, with a little imagination, be seen in this light!

Above all experience tells me that waiting is an opportunity to be attentive to myself and to God, to listen and reflect – rather like prayer in fact.

On my journey through many different life experiences Psalm 25 has became one of my favourite Biblical texts to read, as it really gets me into asking for divine guidance through trials and tribulations, and through the more ordinary ups, downs, and sometimes sideways moves through life.  To keep on track I need to keep re-reading it!

Janet Sayers