It is getting very close to Easter now. I hope you can make it to tomorrow’s Working Bee (8.30 am), as we set up the church for Palm Sunday. Don’t forget the Daylight Saving ends at 3 am on Sunday morning. With an extra hour of sleep, it should be easy to be on time for church!!
This week, I happened to hear of congregation members sharing “visions” they had seen. (This was topical for me, because on Thursday our family went to see Joseph and his Technicolor Dreamcoat – all about a man from the Bible who had visions and dreams.)
People often wonder whether their supposed visions are “real”. Are they from God, or just from their own mind? The Bible helps us enormously on this question, with the simple advice “Test everything. Hold onto what is good” (1 Thess. 5:21). If you have a vision which encourages you to believe that Jesus is Lord, love others, fight against sin, and devote yourself to prayer, then it’s from God. This is still true, even if there were to be a complete “scientific” explanation for how your mind produced the vision.
On the other hand, a vision which leads you into sin or away from Christ is not from God, no matter how supernatural it might seem.
I think it is wonderful for us to be able to share how God has worked in our lives (Psalm 66:16), and all the means he has used to bring about “the obedience that comes from faith” (Romans 1:5).
In brief:
- This is the final week for our Easter letterbox drop! We’re having a great response, and I’d love to see all 4000 postcards go. Pick up a map and a bundle of postcards, and deliver early in the coming week.
- Sign up for Maundy Thursday dinner (to come and/or to help!) after church on Sunday.
- We’re also still collecting Easter Egg donations for the egg hunt at 4 pm Easter Sunday.
- Our final Lenten Evening Prayer this Wednesday, 7.00 pm, will be an excellent way to move into the right frame of mind for Easter.
- Lastly, don’t be shy to invite family and friends to church at Easter time!!
Yours,
Andrew Schmidt,
Rector