SUNDAY 10TH MAY 2020
VICTORY’S SURE This week saw the nation remember and celebrate the 75th anniversary of V.E. Day when after the years of what was the bloodiest conflict in history, the victory was finally won and the constructs of peace and democracy could finally be put in to place. Victory has long been a watchword of Salvationists. We believe that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has brought us a victory like no other; eternal life. The Founder once wrote; “Whether in the Churches, the market places, the theatres, the music halls, the public houses, the brothels, their own homes or elsewhere, the death of Jesus Christ is our battle cry of victory.” For us this week it has been a golf course. We have been able to reach out to so many people in our new venture as well as being able to be a strong witness for Jesus as we demonstrate his love. The public have been hugely supportive of the project, not only complimenting our efforts but by supporting with donations too. Murdo has continued to help me, Iain from Stornoway Golf Club has been a fantastic support for us and Emma has been able to help me in setting up the Baby Bank support in the upper room of the building where mothers and babies can be better protected from the public. Car Hire Hebrides have been kind enough to loan us a van and I have been able to make a lot of use of it collecting and delivering items. One of the defining moments, for me, in the setting up of the golf course ready for our first opening on Wednesday was when I was able to get the old corps flag out of the cupboard and hang it over the rails (pictured). I remembered the old Army victory song ‘On we march with the Blood and the Fire’ and I couldn’t help but think that in amongst the sadness and hardship of this current situation, this was going to be a place of hope and joy because God would be here with us. This week’s first two openings have so far proven this to be very true as people leave with smiles on their faces. Every time I have looked up to the flag, I have been so reassured that this golf club is God’s place just now. ‘The victory's sure; we're trusting in the promise Of our Saviour, Lord and king; Lo, I am with you, Keeps us free from doubting; To the heavens our praises ring; The whole wide world shall come beneath the sway Of Christ; proclaim it loud and long, Join the fight for the right, in His everlasting might, And sing our marching song: On we march with the Blood and the Fire...’ (SASB 932)
The Salvation Army Stornoway Corps 59 Bayhead Stornoway HS1 2DZ
“We exist to worship God, to support each other and to serve our community. ” REGISTERED CHARITY NO: 214779 AND IN SCOTLAND: SC009359
Corps Officers Lts. Callum & Emma Newton Callum.newton@salvationarmy.org.uk
Telephone: 01851 703875 Mobile: 07493 880058
@stornowaysalvationarmy
Something to listen to...
Sunday meetings at 11:00am and 6:00pm. Music broadcast all week. Listen online at www.fortressradio.online
Enjoy listening to 22 hymns beautifully played by Brisbane City Temple Salvation Army Band. A chance to get your songbooks out and have a good sing along: www.regalzonophone.com/ Albums/22-Favourite-Hymns
A God-shaped box? - Lt. Emma Newton During recent weeks life has been characterized by boxes. Food parcels to those shielding have arrived in boxes. The closure of shops and the increase in online shopping sees purchases arriving in boxes. Food donations to the hall, and now the golf club, have arrived in boxes. We queue for and walk through Tesco in the boxes drawn on the floor. Eggs, cakes and papers are put in and taken out of boxes at the end of driveways. Gifts that would have been gifted in person have been packed into boxes and put in the post. This week we have ordered our boxes to start packing for our move to Aberdeen. And our very homes might be starting to feel like we’re living in a box; albeit with smaller boxes within it! There is a risk that with all the boxes already mentioned, we start to put other things in boxes too. We might put our relationships with other people into a box, because we can’t have the physical contact with them like we used to. We put our hobbies into a box, or maybe our hopes for the future because we can’t make plans. The good thing with these boxes is that we can store things in them temporarily. We might not see one another in person, but phone, post and email enable us to keep in contact. One day we’ll unpack the box with the hugs and handshakes in it! I hope you’ve found new hobbies and interests, although your old ones might be in a box for now. One day you’ll be able to unpack them and enjoy them again as if for the first time. Although our plans are all on hold, one day that box will be unpacked too as we look forward to holidays and time with family again. At the beginning of this year we shared together verses from Ephesians 3 as part of our Vision and Commitment Sunday. As I thought about the significance boxes have taken recently in our lives, I was reminded by these verses that we cannot contain God in a box. We can’t put God into storage; temporarily or permanently! 16 I pray that out of God’s glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell 18in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. We have been praying for you all in our time of social distancing. We know there will be times when you’ve felt isolated, lonely, frustrated and fed-up, because we have too! Our prayers for you echo these words of Paul; that your inner being is strengthened through the presence of the Holy Spirit. That you become a box which holds something of God’s light and love, whilst knowing that God can never be contained! Whilst we pray you will ‘grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ’, we know it can never be fully comprehended. We cannot understand the vastness of God, we can’t fit that kind of knowledge in the box which is our brain, but we can marvel at the knowledge that God is bigger than any challenge we face. At the moment it might feel like everything is a challenge, but I want to remind you of verses 20-21: 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Whatever you are dreaming of post-lockdown, whatever your hopes or concerns are for tomorrow, remember that God can do immeasurably more! For now, write them down – maybe put them in a box. You can go back to them then in six months or a year, or more, and see how God will answer your prayers, your dreams, your requests of today in ways you cannot currently imagine. I’m so looking forward to hearing your testimonies of what God has done! But the strength of our testimonies are dependent on God’s power within us. It might be tempting to put our spiritual disciplines in a box, because we’re missing each other and fed up of praying, reading, singing, fasting and celebrating by ourselves. But we must nurture our relationship with God through this time. It is by inviting the Spirit in that our prayers become powerful tools in transforming the world, by transforming us. For now, as our homes continue to be our churches, continue to give God glory there. Continue to share with one another through your phone calls and messages, looking forward to the day when we see each other in person. May God bless you in the days ahead.
Prayer Focus God of victory and peace, we look forward to the end of all evil – including our own; the end of all violence – including our own; and to the coming of your glorious kingdom of love and justice. And we commit ourselves once again to working with you towards that beautiful goal. Amen. Please remember in your prayers… • Continued peace and co-operation among nations. • Political leaders, locally and nationally, as they continue to make decisions about COVID-19. • Each member of our corps as we cannot share together as we usually would. • The continuing work at the Golf Club and all those who come through the doors. • The Salvation Army nationally as we continue to work in communities reaching out to those affected by COVID-19.
S.A. Songbook 1010 1. Peace in our time, O Lord, To all the peoples—peace! Peace surely based upon Thy will And built in righteousness. Thy power alone can break The fetters that enchain The sorely stricken soul of life, And make it live again. 2. Too long mistrust and fear Have held our souls in thrall; Sweep through the earth,
Keen Breath of Heaven, And sound a nobler call! Come, as Thou didst of old, In love so great that men Shall cast aside all other gods And turn to Thee again. 3. O shall we never learn The truth all time has taught, That without God as architect Our building comes to naught? Lord, help us, and inspire Our hearts and lives that we
May build, with all Thy wondrous gifts, A Kingdom meet for Thee. 4. Peace in our time, O Lord, To all the peoples—peace! Peace that shall build a glad new world And make for life's increase. O living Christ, who still Dost all our burdens share, Come now and dwell within the hearts Of all men everywhere.
Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy_1TvMbId0 Something to watch...
To mark the 75th Anniversary of VE Day we hear from three members of Regent Hall Salvation Army about their experiences during World War 2. We pay tribute to all those who served both on the battlefield and home front, and celebrate the coming of peace in Europe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSj4Ad6OQW0