Waiting…

•December 11, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Waiting for the coming of the new shoot and what it brings is summed up beautifully in this song of hope and longing by Chris Bowater and Ian Taylor:


 Creation is awaiting the return of the King.
The trees are poised to clap their hands for joy.
The mountains stand majestic to salute their God;
The desert lies in wait to burst into bloom 
The King is coming
The King is coming
The King is coming
to set creation free
The King is coming
The King is coming
The King is coming
to set creation free 
The church is awaiting the return of the King.
The people joined together in his love.
Redeemed by his blood, washed in his word.
As a bride longs for her bridegroom,
the Church looks to God.
 The King is coming
The King is coming
The King is coming
to set creation free
The King is coming
The King is coming
The King is coming
to set creation free 
The world is awaiting the return of the King.
The earth is a footstool for his feet.
Every knee will bow down,
every tongue confess,
that Jesus Christ is lord
of heaven and earth 
The King is coming
The King is coming
The King is coming
to set creation free
The King is coming
The King is coming
The King is coming
to set creation free
Chris Bowater and Ian Taylor

Come Lord, bring freedom to our world.

Come Lord, and bring justice to this world.

Make it possible for people to live and work together.

Free those caught up in situations not of their own making.

Free those who have tied themselves in knots.

Come to each one of us.

Bring strength and hope to our situation.

Grow in us anew,

That we may grow in you.  Amen

Posted in Advent
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Roots and shoots

•December 10, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Isaiah 11: 1–9

Peace at Last

Like a branch that sprouts

from a stump,

someone from David’s family  will someday be king.

The Spirit of the LORD

will be with him

to give him understanding,

wisdom, and insight.

He will be powerful,

and he will know

and honour the LORD.

His greatest joy will be

to obey the LORD.

This king won’t judge

by appearances

or listen to rumours.

The poor and the needy

will be treated with fairness

and with justice.

His word will be law

everywhere in the land,

and criminals

will be put to death.

Honesty and fairness

will be his royal robes.

Leopards will lie down

with young goats,

and wolves will rest

with lambs.

Calves and lions

will eat together

and be cared for

by little children.

Cows and bears will share

the same pasture;

their young will rest

side by side.

Lions and oxen

will both eat straw.

Little children will play

near snake holes.

They will stick their hands

into dens of poisonous snakes

and never be hurt.

Nothing harmful will take place

on the LORD’s holy mountain.

Just as water fills the sea,

the land will be filled

with people

who know

and honour the LORD.

We had some ivy on our back fence.  When we moved in it was a quite attractive covering and something to have in a difficult corner.  But being ivy, it took over, and we have ever since been trying to get rid of it!  You cut it back, think you’ve got all the roots, and still it manages to spring back to life from somewhere.

God has not forgotten us. The stump may look dead – but a new shoot will grow.  Not a weed, not a nuisance – but strong new growth, new life.  However hopeless the situation, God is still living in it.  We might not see the growth today, but it will come.

The branch that shoots from this stump brings hope and restoration.  Because the roots are of God, filled by his Spirit.

The effects will be there for all to see.

Posted in Advent, God, hope
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Come Lord, we pray

•December 9, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Come Lord into our darkness.

Bring your light.

Show us the way.

Flush out evil things that can happen in dark places.

Shine in us and through us

Shine brightly in this world

We pray

Posted in Advent, Jesus
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