Prayers 15 February

Irene: Praise for the continued healing of my friend Joe...they removed his breathing tube! Peace for my daughter and her husband, Bob.

Wilfried: for focus on my work and things I have to do.

Johnnie: continue prayer for hours at work to stabilize, regular hours, consistant, not 10 one week and one 40 hours

Saskia: for guidance and knowledge

Able: Son (sick) gets better AND focus for work (exam coming up).

Joyous: For my friend Richard, who is still suffering results of an auto accident. That he regain health and courage

Adam: for my brother in law and family- he has leukemia

Helene: for guidance and peace while waiting for decision regarding ordination process

Joycelyn: for a good job - for stabilizing of her mother's health

One impression of the book of Mark

A Catholic clergyman reads through the book of Mark in one go: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article5679078.ece

Prayer requests week of Feb 8, 2009

Note: please pray * especially * for Adam and Charlie this week.

Adam: pray for his family; his brother-in-law was just diagnosed with leukemia and the family is struggling with this.

Charlie: Please Pray for me as Margarita and I are going through a rough time as we re-assess our relationship. She just wants to be friends, So I am feeling a great loss of love.

Able: Focus in working through current commitments and space to come before God with things I feel burdened by

Sas:
a) That she would know that the present direction she believes God is leading her in is right, and that she will be doing what God wants her to do

b) That she might know the right course to begin in September, and in that it will fit around family commitments and that funding / support might become available

c) A return to focus in spirituality / devotions

Joycelyn: would very much like to be working full time, and thankful that all SL is helping me with. thanks for mom's helath improving too

Joyous: Guidance on where I should be putting my time and energies.

Helene: Peace as I wait for the next interview. An acceptance of God's will.

Irene: Not sure how to phrase my request. I had words with my daughter and would like swift reconcilliation. And a blessing on our little business that it might not become a source of contention within the family.

Wilf: Peace, focus, freedom from anxiety to get work & other things done - is quite crucial.

Tom Wright on corporate Bible reading & ecumenism

Bishop Wright visits a Catholic synod of bishops & discusses the place of reading the Bible together in ecumenism:

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/features/f0000362.shtml

Prayer requests, 31 January

Joyous: For guidance. And that I may make a contribution on the vestry

Helene: I have at least two diocesan interviews this week coming - it's all becoming very 'real' - so peace would be good - wisdom, honesty

Irene: Wisdom for David's doctors and for my son-in-law that his doctors will have wisdom and be able to accurately diagnose his illness.

Saskia: For a youth event that we are tryin to organise in our community, that everything comes together and that we are not aiming to big with it. And also that God will show me where he wants me to be and from September.

Able: For focus, and clarity in drawing up a couple of alternative proposals for my dissertation.

Joycelyn: For mom's health to continue to immprove, my house to be sold quickly, and for me to both get an unemployment extension and to find suitable and local full time employment with benefits soon.

Wilfried: For my job, and for getting my things order

Allie: for my parents and my work

Messianerin: for a new job

St. Matthew Passion (music, Bach)

Now that we are reading the Passion part of the gospel of Mark (the part about the crucifixion), you may want to enrich your study and meditative experience with Bach's St. Matthew Passion.

I've been listening to the St. Matthew & St. John passions for probably about 25 years. They have been a very important part of my meditation on Christ's great gift to us.

This is an oratorio for Good Friday, about 2 hours long. It's sometimes been referred to as the high point of Western music. You can click on the "autoplay" link and it will play the whole thing for you without having to advance from video to video.

Link to the St. Matthew's Passion on Youtube

There are also St. Mark passions - there is one which is either attributed to Bach, or else was not completed by Bach. The two passion pieces which are really considered Bach masterpieces are the St. Matthew Passion (probably the best-known) and the St. John Passion.

This is a playlist series of the whole Passion (I think, haven't listened it through yet), 20 videos. Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra are very good. There's a recording of them doing this which I have heard many times. I've heard better ones, but this is nice since it's completely youtubed.

You can find the lyrics here along with some other information about the St. Matthew Passion and the musical genre of passion oratorios in general.

[ NOTE: * don't * get your theology from music pieces, even Bach! ;) ]

The Lord's Supper

Dear all

I promised I would try and find an mp3 teaching session about the Lord's supper at the last study. I struggled to find the file location, but I am glad to say you can now download this from the following URL:

http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/viewcat.php?cid=539&min=20&orderby=titleA&show=20

Yacov and his family used to be regular worshippers at a Pentecostal / AOG church that Emma and I went to many years ago and he has a worldwide teaching ministry through Moriel.

http://www.moriel.org/Moriel_USA/Moriel_USA.html


Yavoc is a messianic Jew, and whilst he has quite a unique style I know that God has used him in many many ways, and continues to do so.

Not sure if it is obvious but I am fascinated by Jewish life and culture, particulary bearing in mind how we seem to have 'Westernised' the Bible. There is so often an emphasis on 'what does it mean for us today' rather than 'what did this mean then'!!

Anyway, the recording quality is not the best but certainly worth a listen.

Enjoy (and there are some other sermons too!)

God bless

Able

Prayer requests Jan 24 2000

Helene: my interviews (discernment process for ordination), my journey in general, Phil's health

Joycelyn: for work, have a job I've applied for, would really like your support in prayer for it, mom's health, and me growing a circle of honorouble persons who will standy by me in my hour of need shoudl it arise again.

Able: wisdom

Irene: I just found out that I am likely going to have to leave my current school and move to another position. I have some options and I want to take the one that will be the one God would have me choose. Please pray that I will hear the Holy Spirit clearly and that I won't choose what I think is best but what He does.

Saskia: youth work in my community

Joyous: for my friend, Chris, whose mother died recently. Chris has been providing care for her mother, and her father can be difficult for her to deal with. That I can provide support to Chris. Beyond that, discernment of what I should be doing

Wilf: That I follow God's leading obediently

Prayer requests for week of Jan 11

Irene: Please pray for my son-in-law Bob - he has been diagnosed with a non-maglignant tumor in one part of his brain and he has another "lesion" in his temporal lobe and is seeing a neural surgeon on Tuesday."

Loo: The ability to withstand the winter and a series of colds, my son has his mocks next week, and Moo has a piano exam

Allie-Please pray for my family, my class and my ministry that God may make clear to me my purpose in his own time.

Helene: I would like people to pray for Phil's vision to improve. Also that I get over the tiredness I feel.

Joycelyn: continued prayer for work and mom's health and things here to continue upward :)

Sas: my younger bro, the band are in the recordin studios for their new album and over the next two months it will be really tense time and a lot of travellin
and for me to stop havin so much doubt

Wilf: Strength, wisdom, obedience

Able: I would like to pray for a gift of faith :-) Never can have to much

Arundel: for everyone to experience God's peace

_____________________________________________

Special prayer request: I'd like to ask you to pray for a very good Anglican SL friend of mine, Cady. Cady is having tensions at her job right now which are very unpleasant, and things are seeming very unfair indeed as well. Please remember her about her job, that God would provide for her, and that God would give her peace and help her job situation.

Web resources for Bible Study and Exegesis

You may want to check out the following resources which I have come across in studies, and would strongly recommend. If you want a summary of the features, IM me:

Bible Study Tools

1. Advanced Bible Study Tools - Biblos.com (http://biblos.com/)
2. Interlinear Study Bible - Search God's Word (http://www.searchgodsword.org/)

Prayer

1. Kindle - (http://www.kindlejoy.com/)
2. 24-7 Prayer - Prayer, Mission and Justice (http://www.24-7prayer.com/)
3. Common Worship Daily Prayer - updated daily, including Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer and Night Prayer (Compline) - an excellent resource (http://www.cofe.anglican.org/worship/dailyprayer/)

Spirituality

1. Lectio Divina - (http://www.osb.org/lectio/about.html)
2. Rejesus website - (http://www.rejesus.co.uk/)

Daily Devotions

1. Scripture Union's Word Live, accessible via (http://www.scriptureunion.org.uk/)
2. From the Heart of Jesus (http://www.fromtheheartofjesus.blogspot.com/)

More to come if you find these useful.