Prayer meeting – Thursday 30th May 9.00 -10.00 am (and every Thursday).
A time of prayer for God’s renewing work in All Saints’ and in Christ Church. All welcome. Come when you can.
Future dates for joint prayers at Christ Church : Wednesday 5th June, Monday 17th June, Thursday 11th July at Christ Church
Thy Kingdom Come
Thy Kingdom Come is a global prayer movement that invites Christians around the world to pray for more people to come to know Jesus. What started in 2016 as an invitation from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to the Church of England has grown into an international and ecumenical call to prayer.
During the 11 days of Thy Kingdom Come, it is hoped that everyone who takes part will
- Deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ
- Pray for God’s spirit to work in the lives of those they know
- Come to realise that every aspect of their life is the stuff of prayer
After the very first Ascension Day the disciples gathered with Mary, constantly devoting themselves to prayer while they waited for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Like them, our reliance on the gift of the Holy Spirit is total – on our own we can do nothing.
Thy Kingdom Come begins on 30th May, Ascension Day and concludes on 9th June.
For details of our programme for the week please see our coming soon page
There is a special Thy Kingdom Come Beacon Service at on Pentecost Sunday 9th June at 7.30 pm at Blackburn Cathedral.
Resources and further information about the Diocese of Blackburn’s involvement in Thy Kingdom Come are available https://www.blackburn.anglican.org/thy-kingdom-come-2019
A Prayer thought from Wendy – June 2019
One Sunday 40-year-old James Moskito had a remarkable encounter with a female humpback whale in the San Francisco waters. He was a rescue diver who had gone with a team to rescue the mammal which had become entangled in crab traps and nylon lines. The whale was 45-50 feet long and weighed approximately 50 tons. She had been spotted struggling to stay afloat as she occasionally let out breath through her blow hole. Knowing that it only needed one flap of the tail to kill him, James needed to keep focussed as he drew near her to assess the situation. Crab pot ropes are 240 feet long with weights placed every 60 feet. The whale’s tail and back flipper were enmeshed. Worse still, a line went right through her mouth, and the ropes had already begun to dig into her blubber. 12 crab pots each weighing 12 pounds were hanging on to her pulling her down. No wonder she was struggling!
James and three others began cutting the ropes with special curved knives. As he cut the one which was across her mouth, she winked at him. Once freed the whale swam in a joyful circle. Then she swam towards James, stopped a foot away, and began to push him around a little. She continued flapping around her rescuers coming back to each in turn and nudging them. he said, “It felt to me it was thanking us, knowing that it was free and we had helped her.”
This story made me think of the dramatic encounter that Jesus had with the woman who had been caught in an act of adultery – an act of sin. John 8: 1-12. The religious leaders of the day, the Scribes and Pharisees, had brought her to stand before Jesus. There was no doubt that she was entangled in the sin of lust. However, her accusers were also guilty of sin, albeit they were blind to the fact. They were hypocrites. In addressing Jesus as “Teacher,” they had no intention of learning from Him. They thought that they had trapped Him into a tight corner where they could accuse Him of breaking the Law of Moses, which would enable them to bring charges against Him. It was they who were trapped, enmeshed in their self-righteousness, caught in a web of criticising as they cast a critical eye on the woman, and a piercing gaze on Jesus.
Jesus knew the content of the Law, and the penalty awaiting the woman. She had broken the 7th Commandment, and the requisite punishment was stoning to death. (Deuteronomy 22:23-24.)Why had they not done so?
Jesus was not going to take their bait. He kept silent as He bent down to write on the ground with His finger. When He straightened up, He said,
“Let anyone who is among you who is without sin be the first to stone her.” v.7. He bent down again and wrote more. Jesus had exposed their sin. They were still bound by it, and its shame, as they turned and went off. Jesus turned to the woman asking her,
“Where are they? Does no one condemn you?”
“No one,” she replied. Jesus said,
“Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”
The woman was no longer bound. She had been freed from her sin.
Let us pray asking what sin has entangled me/you in its grip? From this passage, for example, we see it could be lust, self-righteousness, deceit, hatred, bitterness, gossip, and there is more. Let us ask Jesus to come alongside us and expose it. He alone has the power to cut the cords that bind us, and remove the weights which drag us down. His forgiveness sets us free and gives us total release. Mark 2:10.
Three Minute Retreat
Do you feel that it’s hard to find time for prayer?
Even a short time spent in prayer can help you to refocus and to connect with God. Rev’d Sue and Reader Diane recommend this website which offers a guided 3 minute retreat. There’s a time to pause, a short reading, two questions to get you thinking and a little prayer. You can get it as an app for different types of mobile phone too.
https://www.loyolapress.com/retreats/simple-rules-start-retreat
United Christian Broadcasters (UCB)
UCB produce a great daily devotional which is recommend by our church. It is a helpful reflection on a very short daily Bible reading which helps readers to apply Biblical truths to their everyday lives. Click on the link below to read or listen to the UCB ‘Word for Today’
https://www.ucb.co.uk/word-for-today
Pause/Pray
Pause/Pray is a free series of Bible reflections, available as a podcast or download. They include original music, guided prayers and themes related to daily life. A new one is available each fortnight. To stream or download the episodes or subscribe to the podcast go to iTunes or your regular podcast app.https://www.engageworship.org/pausepray
Pathways to Prayer
The Diocese are running 3 ‘Pathways to Prayer’ events over the next few months. This is a wonderful opportunity for all people of every tradition to explore fresh perspectives on patterns and styles of prayer, contemplation and meditation through a diverse range of workshops. For further details, and to book, click on the links below.
Day with Archdeacon Mark 6th July at St Oswald’s Preesall
Day with Bishop Julian 21st September at St Ambrose Leyland
Day with Bishop Jill 19th October at Xavarian Mission Spirituality Centre
Our Diocesan Prayer.
Heavenly Father, we embrace Your call for us to make disciples, to be witnesses and to grow leaders. Give us the eyes to see Your vision, ears to hear the prompting of Your Spirit and courage to follow in the footsteps of your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. AMEN
This Prayer Page
At All Saints’ Appley Bridge, we believe that earnest, thoughtful, regular and honest prayer is the key to our individual and collective relationship with our wonderful Creator, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If you want to share a prayer or prayers on this page, do not hesitate to contact us with your thoughts. If there is a situation that you wish to bring before God and would like us to be mindful of as a Church family, share it with us. We want to share together what we want to say to Him.