Church at Home – Remembrance Sunday 8th 2020

Sunday worship on is on

We will observe the 2 minutes silence within our worship this morning at 11am.

The YouTube service and the DVD are timed so that the silence is observed 30 minutes after starting. So, if you want to join with thousands across the nation at 11am, please watch the service on YouTube or start to play your DVD at 10.30am.

This week, if you receive a DVD because you cannot access the internet, we have included the remembrance Sunday recording without a week’s delay (you have two DVDs this week!!)

Our ZOOM meeting (please join if you can) will start at 11.30am

The easiest way to find the link to the YouTube meeting each Sunday is to find the link on the Corps web page. Type www.salvationarmy.org.uk/ramsgate and select Church on YouTube 1 | Page You can also find us by searching on YouTube and on the Ramsgate Facebook page.

Sunday 8th 10.30 am Ramsgate worship on YouTube Sunday 8th 11.00 am Observe 2 minutes silence Sunday 8th 11.30 am ZOOM Fellowship

Sunday 8th 12 noon ZOOM Youth Group Sunday 8th 4.30 pm ZOOM Children’s Church Kids Club (up to 11 years) Tuesday 10th 7pm ZOOM Bible study and Prayers Wednesday 11th 7pm ZOOM Quiz

Ramsgate ZOOM 8651865167

And you can ring into Zoom by phone! If you ring 02034815240, followed by 8651865167# then you will hear the meeting! Calls charged at the normal UK rate.

This week we have included DVDs for those of you who we don’t have access the service over the internet

If you do not want a disc or if you do not have a DVD player – let us know.

Songs of Praise Sunday 1st 1.15pm

For Remembrance Sunday, Aled Jones visits the Brecon Beacons in Wales, where the British military has trained since the Second World War. Aled Jones is reunited with D-Day veteran Harry Billinge, who featured in the Songs of Praise episode to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of D-Day in 2019.

2 | Page There is a full day of activities on Fortress Radio with an emphasis on Remembrance Sunday . For the best of 'Army' music, make Fortress Radio your 'go-to' station. Listen again to your favourite Salvation Army melodies on Fortress Radio. Every day from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm we broadcast Salvation Army. Check out the schedules for more details. https://www.fortressradio.online/listen-now.html

Maggie is available with the constant prayer line where you can call or text for prayer. You can contact her on 07840 753 603

Daily Hope offers music, prayers and reflections as well as full worship services from the at the end of a telephone line.

Birthdays

Within the corps family there are no birthdays this week, but let’s take inspiration from Julian of Norwich who was born 8 November 1343

Julian (or Juliana) of Norwich (1343 – after 1416), also known as Dame Julian or Mother Julian, was an English anchorite of the Middle Ages. She wrote the best-known surviving book in the English language written by a mystic, Revelations of Divine Love. The book is the first written in English by a woman.

She lived practically her whole life in the English city of Norwich, an important centre for commerce that also had a vibrant religious life.

3 | Page During her lifetime, the city suffered the devastating effects of the Black Death of 1348–50. In 1373, aged thirty and so seriously ill she thought she was on her deathbed, Julian received a series of visions or "shewings" of the Passion of Christ. She recovered from her illness and wrote of her experiences.

“He said not 'Thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be dis-eased'; but he said, 'Thou shalt not be overcome.”

“God loved us before he made us; and his love has never diminished and never shall.”

“And all shall be well. And all shall be well. And all manner of things shall be exceeding well.”

― Julian of Norwich

Prayers please for

Those unwell or in recovery; Peter Ford and Jo Harrington still not recovered since discharge from hospital. We thank God that Major Murial Beagley is making good progress but do continue to pray.

Mo Jollah continues to battle illness, Al and David awaiting further surgery but advised that the new lock down may delay further. Pray that space will come. Adrian and Megan both friends of Jason; Paul, son of Hazel who continues his chemotherapy; Brenda Austin and Liz Harden. The Pearce family. John Miles, Roger and Marion. Continue to pray for Archie – and Lisa and Scott.

Pray for the family and friends of Anne Kew. We learned of her death last week after a period of illness.

4 | Page CORONA VIRUS

As a second national lockdown in England begins, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York are asking people to unite in prayer.

In a joint letter to the nation, they spoke of "deeply challenging and difficult times ... surrounded by fear and suffering".

The letter reads: "There is a story in the Bible where Jesus and his disciples are caught in a storm. The disciples are understandably terrified as the wind and waves threaten to overpower them. 'Why are you so afraid?', Jesus asks

"This year, we too have been caught in a storm which often feels overwhelming. And yet we can look to Jesus, in the boat with us, who calms the storm and comforts us in our fear."

Acknowledging that it was "hard to feel hopeful", they called for a "calm, courageous and compassionate" response to the challenges of the second lockdown.

"We are writing to share our belief that whoever you are, and whatever you happen to believe, you are loved by God. Beyond measure," they said.

"We also want you to know that we are praying for you, particularly asking that Christ's love will comfort us, calm our fears, and lead our nation and our world through this terrible pandemic."

Explaining what a "calm, courageous and compassionate" response looks like in practical terms, they said it meant reaching out to neighbours with kindness, and "not hoarding" but only buying what was needed.

5 | Page The Archbishops are asking Christians to pray each day at 6pm during the four-week lockdown.

"Even though there is much darkness around us, there are also many points of light in the weeks ahead," they said, including Christmas with its message that "God is with us, sharing our darkness and our struggles, bringing comfort and joy".

"This Sunday is ," the Archbishops continued.

"As we remember the courage and sacrifice of those who gave everything for this nation in war, we are also reminded of the possibility for hope after destruction, of new life after suffering."

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In 1912, Ramsgate Corporation acquired more land on the East Cliff and extended the walk as far as East Cliff Lodge, which cost £10,000 and which was completed in two years. The Winterstoke Gardens were opened in June 1923. The postcard show Dame Janet Stancomb Wills opening the Winterstoke Gardens.

Dame Janel Stancomb Wills (1854-1932) was the eldest daughter of George Stancomb of Trowbridge, Wilshire, her parents died when she was quite young and she was brought up by her uncle and aunt at Blagdon in Somerset. This uncle was Sir. William Henry Wills, the tobacco magnate. Janet was fifty seven when her uncle died. She moved to Ramsgate in 1911. (Thanks to David Richards)

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A book, written in 1890 by The Salvation Army Founder William Booth as a blueprint for tackling poverty and social exclusion in Victorian England, reveals remarkably modern solutions which are still being used today. ‘In Darkest England and the Way Out’ outlines how to tackle poverty, addiction, slavery, unemployment and homelessness. The Salvation Army has published a new book,‘In Darkest England: 130 Years On’, as a tribute to the original, highlighting how Booth’s social action principles are still relevant today. Booth’s book was a sensation with 10,000 copies sold on the first day. He proposed far reaching ideas including:

• Hostels for the homeless • Waste recycling centres • Skills workshops • Job centres for the unemployed • Access to banks and lawyers for the urban poor • Places of refuge for women Booth inspired many people to join The Salvation Army with campaigns for improved working and living conditions. Today these ideas form the frontline and the backbone of the church and charity’s work in 131 countries worldwide. In the UK it includes housing schemes, night

8 | Page shelters, church and community centres as well as safe houses for victims of slavery and Employment Plus

The Salvation Army have released a new book to commemorate the 130th anniversary of Booth's original.

‘In Darkest England: 130 Years On’, includes chapters from leading experts within the organisation today reflecting on how the contemporary Salvation Army owes much to the framework established by William Booth 130 years ago, such as: Labour exchanges - now known as Jobcentre plus, funded by the Government and in towns and cities across the UK. The Salvation Army still run a network of Employment Plus services to help people get back into employment. Homelessness services - from helping people out of rough sleeping and into safe accommodation to supported housing services (Lifehouses) and longer-term housing schemes. The Salvation Army is one of the largest homelessness charities in the UK, caring for more than 3,000 people. Modern slavery victim care – Since 2011 the Salvation Army has provided specialist support to over 12,500 adult victims of slavery in England and Wales through a Government contract. A confidential helpline is part of this service for anyone who suspects that they, or someone they have met, may be a victim. Older people services - The Salvation Army has 12 residential care homes and one regulated adult day centre. These provide loving environments driven by the needs, abilities and wishes of our residents. The Salvation Army Older People’s Ministries Team also run dedicated activities, classes and clubs for older people. Emergency response –The church and charity support the emergency services (fire brigades, police, etc.) by providing practical and emotional support during major incidents. Food parcel vouchers are also available and some centres operate their own food banks with demand rocketing throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Addiction support – The Salvation Army runs numerous schemes to help people tackle addictions. Booth's grand plan transformed The Salvation Army from a successful, but small evangelical church in England, to a global Christian mission that has transformed the lives of millions of people around the world.

9 | Page The Salvation Army also owns a bank (Reliance Bank) and an insurance company (SAGIC) as well as more than 600 churches across the UK which operate at the heart of their communities, putting belief into action inspired by the same Christian convictions that energised the Booths.

The Salvation Army’s Lieut-Colonel Dean Pallant said: “The language used ‘In Darkest England and the Way Out’ might be old-fashioned but the ideas are not. Booth’s grand plan transformed The Salvation Army from a successful, but small evangelical church in England into a global Christian mission that has transformed the lives of millions of people around the world.

“The challenges people were facing in the late 19th Century are not too different from those people are experiencing today. Pandemic Britain is concerned about rising unemployment, debt, alcohol abuse, modern forms of slavery, a lack of affordable housing and people still living on the streets. Booth’s solutions are, 130 years on, still relevant and, more importantly, we know they work.

The Salvation Army is still offering that help, inspired and passionately committed to Booth's vision for every person.

Lieut-Colonel Dean Pallant, Secretary for Communications

“At the heart of Booth’s plan was the valuing of every person without discrimination and a conviction that, with God’s help, no one was beyond hope. Booth recognised that people need help to change – and 130 years later The Salvation Army is still offering that help, inspired and passionately committed to Booth’s vision for every person.

“We hope that this 130th anniversary book reflecting on the impact of ‘Darkest England and the Way Out’ will further inspire people to join The Salvation Army in tackling issues and working at the heart of communities in the UK and around the world to offer practical help, unconditional assistance and help people to find ways to experience transformation in every aspect of their lives”.

10 | Page Thoughts from Major John

Thy Kingdom Come

As those who read the thoughts I share each week will realise, revival has been very much on my mind and in my prayers. In the Lord’s Prayer we pray, ’Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done.’ I think it is a good prayer to pray, as we pray for revival. Praying for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and an awakening to the things of God and his Kingdom. How our nation and the world desperately needs this. I make no claim to be a verse writer, but I share these words which came to me during my devotions recently….

For the coming of your Kingdom, Lord, we pray for it today. For the coming of your Kingdom, How we yearn for it each day.

For the coming of your Kingdom, Fill our hearts with Holy Fire. For the coming of your Kingdom’ Let us pray and never tire.

For the coming of your Kingdom, Lord, we pray it may be so. For the coming of your Kingdom, Give us faith to see it grow.

For the coming of your Kingdom, Fix our vision, keep us true. For the coming of your Kingdom, Cleanse us and your Church renew. Amen.

Heal our nation! Pour out your Spirit on this land! 11 | Page Time to Smile

In one of the harshest winters ever recorded, concerns were raised about the people living in a remote farm tucked away in the hills and cut off from civilization by deep snowdrifts. After many days of blizzards and freezing weather, it cleared enough for a helicopter to carry a Red Cross team to the area and drop them near to the snowbound farm. The rescuers eventually reached the farm and dug through deep drifts to get to the door. ‘We’re from the Red Cross,’ the leader said breathlessly when the door was opened by the old farmer. ‘Sorry, we’ve had a very tough winter,’ said the farmer, ’I don’t think we can give anything this year.’

The magistrate asked the prisoner in the dock what his trade was. He said ‘I’m a locksmith’. The magistrate asked him what he was doing inside the premises when the police raided them. He said, ‘I was making a bolt for the door!’

A medical student was working his way through medical college by moon lighting in a butcher’s shop. He worked in the butchers shop by day, then changed from one white outfit to another and worked as an orderly in the hospital by night. One night he had to wheel a patient down for surgery. The poor woman looked up from the trolley, saw the student and screamed, ‘Help…it’s my butcher!’

How do you catch a squirrel? Climb up a tree and act like a nut.

Quiz. 1.Who was the brother of Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail? 2.Which voice in singing is pitched between tenor and soprano? 3.What type of bars join places of equal atmospheric pressure on a weather chart? 4.Who was the British Prime Minister directly before Edward Heath? 5.The city of Philadelphia was founded by which religious group? 12 | Page Sport. Hot Wheels. 1.Who first had a record-breaking car and boat called Bluebird? 2.How many times did Stirling Moss win the world championship? 3.Who is the only man to win to be world champion on two and four wheels? 4.Which famous British car won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1967? 5.Which non-French city was the first to start the Tour de France this century? Anagram.

What is the only English anagram of PROCREATION?

INCORPORATE.

The only English anagram of PROCREATION is PROCREATION of anagram English only The

5.

3.John Surtees 4.Mini 4.Mini Surtees 3.John 1.Malcolm Campbell 2.Never 2.Never Campbell 1.Malcolm

Hot Wheels Hot

1.Peter Rabbit 2. Alto 3.Isobars 4.Harold Wilson 5.Quakers Wilson 4.Harold 3.Isobars Alto 2. Rabbit 1.Peter

Quiz

Answers

Christmas 2020

We cannot be sure what we will be permitted to do over Christmas – and especially if we can offer Christmas Dinner.

We are going to plan to serve 25 people on 24th and 25th December and next week there will be a form in your newsletter you can complete if you would like to request a place

13 | Page Worship at home 8th November 2020

In our Sunday worship this week we will remember all those who have given their lives for the peace and freedom we enjoy today. We will join with people across the nation to pause to reflect on the sacrifices made by our brave service men and women. We will observe the collective act of two minutes silence as we stand together and reflect on the price of freedom. That price is still being paid with more than 12,000 British Servicemen and women who have been killed or injured on active service since 1945.

14 | Page God is our refuge and strength; a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46.1

I lift up my eyes to the hills – from whence will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121.1-2

This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning. Lamentations 3.21-23

Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40.31

What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6.8

Song Book 1000

1 For the healing of the nations, Lord, we pray with one accord, for a just and equal sharing of the things that earth affords. To a life of love in action help us rise and pledge our word.

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2 Lead us forward into freedom, from despair your world release, that, redeemed from war and hatred, all may come and go in peace. Show us how through care and goodness fear will die and hope increase.

3 All that kills abundant living, let it from the earth be banned: pride of status, race or schooling, dogmas that obscure your plan. In our common quest for justice may we hallow life's brief span.

4 You, Creator-God, have written your great name on humankind; for our growing in your likeness bring the life of Christ to mind; that by our response and service earth its destiny may find.

Fred Kaan (1929-2009)

We commit ourselves to work in penitence We commit ourselves to work in penitence and faith for reconciliation between the nations, that all people may, together, live in freedom, justice and peace.

We pray for all who in bereavement, disability and pain continue to suffer the consequences of fighting and terror.

We remember with thanksgiving and sorrow those whose lives,

16 | Page in world wars and conflicts past and present, have been given and taken away. and faith for reconciliation between the nations, that all people may, together, live in freedom, justice and peace.

We pray for all who in bereavement, disability and pain continue to suffer the consequences of fighting and terror.

We remember with thanksgiving and sorrow those whose lives, in world wars and conflicts past and present, have been given and taken away.

Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. 2 You lust for what you don't have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn't yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it. You wouldn't think of just asking God for it, would you? 3 And why not? Because you know you'd be asking for what you have no right to. You're spoiled children, each wanting your own way. James 4:1-3 MSG

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Song 998

1 Beauty for brokenness, hope for despair, Lord, in your suffering world this is our prayer. Bread for the children, justice, joy, peace, sunrise to sunset, your kingdom increase!

2 Shelter for fragile lives, cures for their ills, work for the craftsmen, trade for their skills; land for the dispossessed, rights for the weak, voices to plead the cause of those who can't speak: God of the poor, friend of the weak, give us compassion we pray; melt our cold hearts, let tears fall like rain; come, change our love from a spark to a flame.

3 Refuge from cruel wars, havens from fear, cities for sanctuary, freedoms to share. Peace to the killing-fields, scorched earth to green, Christ for the bitterness, his cross for the pain.

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4 Rest for the ravaged earth, oceans and streams plundered and poisoned -our future, our dreams. Lord, end our madness, carelessness, greed; make us content wit the things that we need. Chorus

5 Lighten our darkness, breathe on this flame until your justice burns brightly again; until the nations learn of your ways, seek your salvation and bring you their praise. Chorus

Graham Kendrick

Hear these words from the New Testament

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. John 14:27

The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace. James 3:17-18

19 | Page This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5

Song 670

1 Abide with me; fast falls the eventide: the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide: when other helpers fail, and comforts flee, help of the helpless, O abide with me.

2 Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day; earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away; change and decay in all around I see: O thou who changest not, abide with me.

3 I need thy presence every passing hour; what but thy grace can foil the tempter's power? Who, like thyself, my guide and stay can be? Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

4 I fear no foe with thee at hand to bless; ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness. Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory? I triumph still, if thou abide with me.

5 Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes; shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies; heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee; in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847)

20 | Page REMEMBERING

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.

We will remember them.

At 11.00 Silence

Ever-living God we remember those whom you have gathered from the storm of war into the peace of your presence; may that same peace calm our fears, bring justice to all peoples and establish harmony among the nations, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

21 | Page The act of commitment is made:

Let us commit ourselves to responsible living and faithful service.

Will you strive for all that makes for peace? We will

Will you seek to heal the wounds of war? We will

Will you work for a just future for all humanity? We will

Merciful God, we offer to you the fears in us that have not yet been cast out by love: May we accept the hope you have placed in the hearts of all people, And live lives of justice, courage and mercy; through Jesus Christ our risen Redeemer. Amen

Let us pray for all who suffer as a result of conflict, and ask that God may give us peace: for the service men and women who have died in the violence of war, each one remembered by and known to God;

May God give peace God give peace

22 | Page for those who love them in death as in life, offering the distress of our grief and the sadness of our loss;

May God give peace God give peace for all members of the armed forces who are in danger this day, remembering family, friends and all who pray for their safe return;

May God give peace God give peace for civilian women, children and men whose lives are disfigured by war or terror, calling to mind in penitence the anger and hatreds of humanity;

May God give peace God give peace

For peace-makers and peace-keepers, who seek to keep this world secure and free;

May God give peace God give peace

23 | Page For all who bear the burden and privilege of leadership, political, military and religious; asking for gifts of wisdom and resolve in the search for reconciliation and peace.

May God give peace God give peace

O God of truth and justice, we hold before you those whose memory we cherish, and those whose names we will never know. Help us to lift our eyes above the torment of this broken world, and grant us the grace to pray for those who wish us harm. As we honour the past, may we put our faith in your future; for you are the source of life and hope, now and for ever. Amen.

24 | Page Remembrance Day

On November 14th 1940 a massive bombing raid was launched on the city of Coventry.

The city itself, home to around 200,000 people had a large number of factories making engines, tanks and munitions for the war.

The bombing lasted 8 hours and, together with subsequent raids in 1941, led to the damage or destruction of approaching 80% of the houses in the city.

At the centre of the city stood the fine 13th century cathedral which had, for 700 years, served as parish church to the people. It was heavily hit in the bombing raid, and burned to the ground.

On 25th December 1940, Christmas Day, the Provost of Coventry Cathedral, Richard Howard, was invited to preach the sermon on the main Christmas Day service broadcast on the BBC.

He did so; and in it he called for post-war reconciliation.

It was not a popular call. The ruins of the city were fresh, the bodies scarcely buried in graves, and the sense of shock at the effect of mass bombing was still raw.

Over sixty years later, when the current Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was serving in Coventry he met people that remained bitter at that sermon, and would never step into the rebuilt cathedral again.

But do we agree? After such a horrific war – should there be reconciliation and forgiveness.

25 | Page Yes - said those who in the aftermath of war worked to build international organisations like the United Nations.

Yes - said the politicians and policy makers who, after the war, promoted cultural exchanges, music, sport and the arts – exchanges between schools and the flowering of the teaching of modern languages and culture in our Schools.

Yes - said the business leaders and economists who put together trading associations – the European Free Trade Area, the European Economic Community the European Union.

But no to those who thought peace was merely the absence of war.

What is peace?

On this day of all days we must understand how peace comes – what we have to do to have peace

Peace in ourselves, peace in our families, peace within our community and peace in our world.

Shouldn’t it be easier than ever?

Never before has our awareness of the needs of others been greater. We see in an instant what is happening across our globe. We can never claim not to know how others are struggling.

Yet we struggle to live with each other, and learn from each other, and build relationships across barriers of race and colour and creed.

The images of today correctly remind us of the sacrifice of those in wars but we can all see how conflict can starts with individual acts of hatred. In the last weeks we have seen murder on European Streets, we have watched unrest in America and we are probably oblivious of on going suffering in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, of the Rohingya, and of the Uighurs, Ethiopia, Libya, North Korea, Kashmir, Belarus, Venezuela and Ukraine.

26 | Page We head these chilling words

Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again.

And for every conflict our there – we have to look at ourselves and ask if our own lives are ones that work for peace and work for reconciliation

Reconciliation is not forgetting the past, it is not allowing the past to poison the future.

Reconciliation is not surrendering our beliefs. Instead it is acceptance of difference.

Reconciliation is not surrender It is a commitment to work to understand the effect of our behaviour on others.

It is not an end point, it is a process. It is not a quick fix, it is a long struggle.

You cannot pass laws to bring about reconciliation of course.

You can only provide frameworks – or do things - which help the process itself. You cannot compel people or communities to be reconciled - instruct them to shake hands and make up –

You have to change hearts and minds.

It’s tough work. And that’s especially true when everyone around you is saying, “Don’t do it.” Or “You’re a fool to forgive”

Remember why Jesus says

Father forgive us our sins – as we forgive those who sin against us

As Tom Wright put it,

27 | Page Remind yourself that to be tender-hearted doesn’t mean being sentimental.

That being kind doesn’t mean being a soft touch.

That humility isn’t the same thing as low self-esteem.

That meekness is not weakness, but is what you get when a powerful wild horse has been tamed (all the same power, but now under control).

That large-heartedness doesn’t mean letting everyone do what they want with you.

Don’t let people scoff at the central virtues that make the Christian life what it’s supposed to be.

Why do you think people do that? Are they, perhaps, threatened by such a dazzling and demanding way of life?

Yes, friends, Jesus wants our lives to reflect his love—and to dazzle! In teaching us the Lord’s Prayer he’s teaching us to let our lives glorify God—to make him look good in the world around us.

That means striving to forgive others as freely and graciously as God in Christ has forgiven us.

And that takes discipline and determination.

But it also takes Grace

Grace is more than human effort, it is divine help. It takes God’s grace.

And the best way for me to help you see that, I think, is through a well known example.

You may have heard the well-known story about Corrie Ten Boom. “Arrested by the Nazis along with the rest of her family for hiding Jews in their Haarlem home during the Holocaust, she was imprisoned and eventually sent to the

28 | Page Ravensbruck concentration camp along with her beloved sister, Betsie, who perished there just days before Corrie's own release on December 31, 1944.

Inspired by Betsie's example of selfless love and forgiveness amid extreme cruelty and persecution, Corrie established a post-war home for other camp survivors trying to recover from the horrors they had escaped.

She went on to travel widely as a missionary, preaching God's forgiveness and the need for reconciliation.

Corrie's devout moral principles were tested when she came face to face with one of her former tormentors in 1947.

After a speech she gave in a church in Germany, A man came to her and said, "You mentioned Ravensbruck in your talk; I was a guard in there. But since that time I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well.

Fraulein,..." his hand came out, ... "will you forgive me?"

And Corrie writes, “I stood there — I whose sins had every day to be forgiven — and could not.

Betsie had died in that place — could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking?

It could not have been many seconds that he stood there, hand held out, but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do…. And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart.

But forgiveness is not an emotion — I knew that too.

Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. "Jesus, help me!" I prayed silently. "I can lift my hand, I can do that much. You supply the feeling."

29 | Page And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me.

And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.

"I forgive you, brother!" I cried. "With all my heart!" For a long moment we grasped each other's hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God's love so intensely as I did then.”

That, is grace. We cannot do such things without God’s help. We can be thankful for our salvation which comes by grace alone. And still we need God’s grace daily to live our life his way. And we need to pray for that, as Corrie did.

Just as Christ, by grace, forgave us, so we with his grace can forgive others.

It’s only when they got to the point of crying out to God, “I can’t do this” that we find grace from Jesus.

We need to look at the cross each day, especially when we feel wronged by someone. We can forgive others because Christ has forgiven us so much more. But we need to look to Jesus for grace to do that because we can’t do it in and of ourselves.

Forgiveness is hard work. And while we need to seek it and give it, we need God’s grace to humble us to the point that we realize we are nothing without Jesus and we’ll fail without his help.

We get so lost in ourselves and we’re so helpless in ourselves. We hold on to anger and resentment. We allow brokenness to get worse and worse.

30 | Page Only Jesus can forgive us. And only he can give us the grace we need to forgive as we have been forgiven. Amen.

We have rightly spent time today remembering those ho have given their lives so that evil might be stopped.

Yet our first reading reminded us that appalling wars and quarrels don’t just happen.

They come about because we want your own way and so often reject the call of forgiveness that is on our lives .

Lord, we have come to say we are sorry that we do not always forgive as Jesus teaches us to do. For counting carefully how much we will forgive others; Lord, forgive us. For taking your forgiveness for granted; Lord, forgive us. For pretending the wrong things we do are not important: Lord, forgive us. For saying sorry and not meaning it in our hearts: Lord, forgive us.

“As far as sunrise is from sunset, God has separated us from our sins.” “To all who are truly sorry, God says, “Your sins are forgiven.”

Thank you Lord. Help us to follow the example of Jesus and to forgive as You do, generously, without counting, and from the heart. Amen

1 We have caught the vision splendid Of a world which is to be, When the pardoning love of Jesus Freely flows from sea to sea, When all men from strife and anger, Greed and selfishness are free, When the nations live together In sweet peace and harmony.

2 We would help to build the city Of our God, so wondrous fair; Give our time, bring all our talents,

31 | Page And each gift of beauty rare, Powers of mind, and strength of purpose, Days of labour, nights of strain, That God's will may be accomplished, O'er the kingdoms he shall reign.

3 Founded on the rock of ages, Built upon God's promise sure, Strengthened by the cords of service, We shall stand firm and secure; When the Father, Son and Spirit Crown our labours with success, Men and angels then uniting Shall God's mighty love confess.

Doris Rendell (1896-1990) © Salvationist Publishing and Supplies Ltd

Lord,

While we may not be able to meet together as we would like to, I thank you that we can be united in prayer. We honour those who have sacrificed themselves for our freedom. Please bring comfort to those who are suffering and grieving at this time. I ask you to protect those in situations where conflict is currently raging. And I pray that your perfect peace may reign in my life, my community, and all across your creation.

Amen.

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