[Friday's Devotional] - Well Fed

Well Fed "As evening approached, the disciples came to Jesus and said, 'This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so that they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.' Jesus replied, 'They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.'" Matthew14.15,16 [TNIV] At Overslade, and in m2o more generally, we have learnt how important it is to share food with each other and with those around us. Messy Church has become part of our lives. A new congregation has been formed in m2o. It's a congregation that worships together, plays together and eats together, and its people of all ages and with a variety of backgrounds, needs and gifts. m2o Community breakfasts on Sunday mornings before worship provide an opportunity for people to meet informally and to enjoy the company…as well as the food! It has become normal for churches like ours to collect food to be distributed by food banks. Make Lunch is an initiative that has been piloted over the six weeks summer holiday. For many children who are entitled to free school meals the summer holiday can be a time of hunger and boredom. Twice a week at Oakfield School, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, lunch has been provided for families, together with an opportunity for everyone to play games, talk and laugh. Jesus had compassion on those who needed food. He said that the disciples should give them something to eat! Read the full story in Matthew 14. Ponder on Jesus' challenge to feed those 'in need' and consider the state of our society where such need is growing. The Trussell Trust food banks, like ours in Rugby, are becoming clearer in their message; this situation is unacceptable. Pray that God's Kingdom will be extended in matters such as this. Richard Farnell    Twitter Website Copyright © 2017 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Thursday's Devotional] - Flames of Fire

Flames of Fire "The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. He makes winds his messengers and flames of fire his servants." Psalm 104.2-4 [TNIV] God makes 'flames of fire his servants'! Now that is an interesting thought. It certainly would have been on the Saturday morning when Alan and Chris looked out of their bedroom window to see smoke coming from the roof of the Overslade Community Centre. It was early, very early, and time to call the fire brigade. An old Ford Fiesta had been driven round the back of the building and set on fire by the occupants. It wasn't long before the roof of the centre was alight. Considerable damage was done and the Centre was out of action. OK, insurance money was available to replace what had been destroyed, but the fire stimulated others to act. The police and local authorities, together with other agencies, supported a new life for the Centre. A larger, better equipped centre was needed. Imagination was engaged. Lottery grants were received for £500,000 to double the Centre's size. Alan, Overslade Church leader, became the project manager in his 'spare time'. Everyone benefited. The common good of Overslade was enhanced. The Kingdom of God extended. We don't seek disasters, but sometimes we experience them. So often it's hard coming to terms with what happens. If you or those close to you are going through such an experience, just hold gently to the poetry of this Psalm. He makes winds his messengers and flames his servants! Read it again and ponder. Richard Farnell   Twitter Website Copyright © 2017 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Wednesday's Devotional] - The Unexpected

The Unexpected "This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem into Babylon: ' Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce…..Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers you will prosper.'" Jeremiah 29.4,5,7 [TNIV] When Israel was conquered and exiled in Babylon, God gave instructions that they should settle down and work for the common good of the people and places where they had been put. Presumably they had little choice where, but they had a choice about how they should live. Would they do as Jeremiah in his letter said that they should do? The instruction was rather unexpected! Whilst life on Overslade over the years has been quite ordinary, there was one evening when the totally unexpected happened. David had arranged for someone from the police to come to the Community Centre for a chat about the nuisance that some were creating on the estate. This was meant to be a small, private meeting! Well, the word got out and about sixty people turned up, irate with the police and the Borough Council for not doing their jobs properly. Anger and frustration led to decisions to meet again in a few weeks when proposals would be announced about what the authorities would do. The outcomes were unexpected. In the following months, police liaison was improved, the Council established a residents association, and family support workers were employed. The opportunity for us, the church, to employ a children's worker became clear. Life on the estate improved, thank God. Perhaps the call from God is for us to settle down and work for the improvement in our communities and neighbourhoods. This is an important dimension of God's Kingdom at work; his work in which we are invited to participate. Pray for your neighbourhood and take encouragement from Jeremiah's letter. Richard Farnell    Twitter Website Copyright © 2017 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Tuesday's Devotional] - Jesus in the Neighbourhood

Jesus in the Neighbourhood "The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighbourhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, generous inside and out, true from start to finish." John 1.13,14 [The Message] Eugene Peterson has a way with words! Just ponder how he interprets the thoughts of St John to describe the 'incarnation', Jesus the Messiah entering his creation as a human being. We can appreciate the analogy and with our imagination see its relevance to our call to Overslade over two decades ago. For Dorothy and David, Martin and Abi, and later Alan and Chris this meant a literal move to homes opposite the Community Centre. They saw God's call to them and made life changing decisions in the knowledge that God would be faithful. They moved into the neighbourhood. 'Generous' and 'true' are Peterson's words to describe Jesus. They are not out of place in the description of our friends. Sometimes we are called to make changes that, with hindsight, we can see were important for the long term. In personal, family and church life we are often presented by such challenges from God. He wants us to respond generously and truly. For m2o we have become aware of a 'call to the people of the parish'. We still need to focus on what this means practically, with all the joys and sorrows that are part of the journey. Pray for the people of the parish, for the neighbourhoods where we live out our lives as followers of Christ and be encouraged. Jesus has moved into the neighbourhood! Richard Farnell      Twitter Website Copyright © 2017 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Monday's Devotional] - A Call to Overslade

A Call to Overslade "Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, 'Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.' Deuteronomy 31.7,8 [TNIV] Well, the call to Overslade wasn't of the same significance as Joshua's call to lead Israel into the 'promised land', but in 1995 there was some trepidation and anxiety for a dozen or so of us.  We were 'sent out' from St Matthews to worship and work for the Kingdom on Overslade.  Those church families who lived in this part of the parish felt that for many of their neighbours even entering a church building was an alien experience. So God was calling to us to be present in their neighbourhood. Initially we met in an annex to Harris School, Westfield Lodge, and eventually were able to meet on Sunday mornings in the Overslade Community Centre and to become more fully involved in the life of that centre. Taking a step like this was possible because we could grasp that the promise to Joshua had some relevance to us, thousands of years later.  God would be faithful, even if we wobbled!  In our personal, family, community and church life we continue to meet challenges and our Lord wants to encourage us to face them in the knowledge of his love and faithfulness. Read again the promise made by God through Moses to Joshua and make it your own.   Richard Farnell   Twitter Website Copyright © 2017 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!