Colossians 3:12-14

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Colossians 3:12-14

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Dont' Forget....

3rd February

New members service, if anyone is interested in joing the church please see the Pastor. We always welcome new members with open arms, it is a very important function to not only be a member of the congregation but also of the church.

10th February

Shorter Service followed by annual general meeting, bring and share and mission assembly after.

Church of the Nazarene Knowle Park Bristol BS4 2RD

Thomas Goodwin - Blessings

Those blessings are sweetest that are won with prayers and won with thanks.
Thomas Goodwin
www.cotn.co.uk

60 Years Ago Today

Mohandas Gandhi is assassinated in New Delhi by a Hindu extremist. Gandhi first fought for the rights of Indian people in South Africa before returning home to India in 1915 to join the Indian independence movement.

He gave up western ways to lead a life of spirituality and launched a campaign of civil disobedience against British oppression. In 1947, he was a leading figure in the negotiations that led to Indian statehood. He called the granting of independence the noblest act of the British nation, but was distressed by the religious partition of the former Mogul Empire into India and Pakistan.

When violence broke out between Hindus and Muslims in 1947, he resorted to fasts and visits to the troubled areas in an effort to end the religious strife. He was on one such vigil when Nathuram Godse, a Hindu who objected to Gandhi's tolerance for the Muslims, fatally shot him.

A few things we didn't know until last week...

1. "Fischer chess" is a game in which the pieces are placed on the board in random order.
2. Using a mobile before bedtime can delay you getting to sleep.
3. A bear helped carry ammunition for Polish troops during World War II.
4. Moleskin clothes used to be made of moles' skins.

5. Wealthy people are more likely to drink than those in low-income homes.
6. Ships emit twice as much CO2 as planes.
7. "Plain vanilla" is a term for basic financial instruments such as shares.
8. Only offal-free versions of haggis are available in the United States.
9. Super-fast broadband fibres are laid in the sewers.

The Ten Commandments

Above all else love God alone;
Bow down to neither wood nor stone.
God's name refuse to take in vain;
The Sabbath rest with care maintain.
Respect your parents all your days;
Hold sacred human life always.
Be loyal to your chosen mate;
Steal nothing, neither small nor great.
Report with truth, your neighbor's deed;
And rid your mind of selfish greed.
— McGuffey's Reader

Two of the best known school books in the history of American education were the 18th century New England Primer and the 19th century McGuffey Readers. Of the two, McGuffey's was more popular and widely used. It is estimated that at least 120 million copies of McGuffey's Readers were sold between 1836 and 1960, placing its sales in a category with the Bible and Webster's Dictionary.

Be it ever so humble,

There's no place like church....

King of Kings Skateboard for Jesus

The scruffy, tattooed skateboarders performing high, 360-degree turns and flying through U-shaped ramps are accustomed to stares from parents who don't know an ollie from a hippie jump.
"The way we look - the tattoos, the earrings - people automatically think, 'Who are these guys?'" says Darren Wells, cofounder of King of Kings Skateboard Ministry, part of a growing attempt to connect with a subculture of youth who feel alienated from the mainstream.
"It's funny to see peoples' faces, but this is a new era," says Wells. "We Christians are called to let this generation know about Jesus."

The King of Kings have almost a rock star status for the long-haired, scraggly-looking teens who make up the skateboarders' audiences, and they are often swarmed by packs of kids seeking their autographs.
After winning audiences through vertical climbs and flipping the boards or themselves, the skateboarders tell their own stories about how Jesus changed their lives.
Some estimates suggest that there could be 300 skateboard outreach ministries affiliated with churches throughout the United States, as well as 30 to 50 skateboard teams, such as King of Kings, that travel, sometimes internationally, to skate and preach.
Skateboarding originated on the West Coast of the United States in the 1950s, and the largest ministries are based there, part of a growing movement aimed at extreme sports that include snowboarding and surfing.
Based in Arizona, King of Kings was founded by Wells in 2002 and has been described in The New York Times as an "edgy, modern version of the old-fashioned revival meeting". Most skateboarders are individualistic, less likely to do team sports and more likely to see themselves as outsiders and loners, said Wells in an interview with Ecumenical News International.
Parents often don't know how to reach their own skateboarding children or find it difficult to accept their long hair, baggy jeans, dark T-shirts and chains for jewellery, he notes.
"We tell the kids it's OK to do their own thing, to be who they are, but we also are trying to bridge a gap, to give them a message of hope and plug them back into their parents," says Wells.
Tattoos worn by Christian skateboarders are as individualistic as the boarders themselves, Wells said. But popular tattoos are "Saved by Grace", and "Jesus is Lord".
The Christian skateboarders have a unique way of intertwining scripture with their jumps and tricks. "People ask me if I get more air because I know Jesus," said one. "Well, Isaiah 40: 31 says, 'But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles.'"

On this Day 27th January 1926

John Logie Baird, a Scottish inventor, gives the first public demonstration of a pictorial-transmission machine he calls a televisor. Baird's invention used mechanical rotating disks to scan moving images into electronic impulses.
This information was then transmitted by cable to a screen where it showed up as a low-resolution pattern of light and dark. Baird's first television program showed the heads of two ventriloquist dummies, which he operated in front of the camera apparatus out of view of the audience.
The principle behind transmitting images through electric currents had actually existed since 1875, but Baird was the first to make practical advances in television technology. In 1928, he made the first overseas broadcast from London to New York and the same year demonstrated the first colour television.
His early British broadcasts never reached more than about 100 television sets, but he was responsible for launching a revolution in communication and entertainment.

(Note - he also invented the couch potatoe)

You know you should start going to church when....

A cow plunged from a 200-foot (61-metre) cliff onto the hood (bonnet) of a minivan on a highway in central Washington state, according to police.
The car's occupants, Charles and Linda Everson, were not hurt in Sunday's accident, but the cow was euthanized at the scene.

"If the cow had fallen a split second later, the animal would have landed right in their laps," said Jeff Middleton, criminal deputy of the Chelan County Sheriff's Department.
Middleton estimated the animal weighed 600 lbs (272 kilograms), or the average size of a mature cow. It had been missing for two days and wandered 5 miles (8 km) from home near the popular Lake Chelan tourist area.

reuters

Psalm 91:14

"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name."
Psalm 91:14

Christians hope BBC's Passion will get nation talking about Jesus

The Chair of the Churches’ Media Council has written to a hundred national church leaders urging them to prepare for the broadcast of BBC1’s series The Passion.

In his letter Rev Dr Joel Edwards says, “From time to time opportunities arise nationally that provide significant moments for the Christian faith to engage with our culture.

"One such opportunity will be the forthcoming BBC series The Passion," he adds.

Dr Edwards expects the series to make “a huge national impact” over the Easter season.

The series, which starts on Palm Sunday on 16 March, will be scheduled in peak time on BBC1 and is likely to attract audiences in excess of 10 million.

It tells the story of the last week of Jesus’ life, his trial and crucifixion. The last episode, to be broadcast on Easter Sunday on 23 March, dramatises his post-resurrection appearances.

The Passion has been made by award-winning drama producer Nigel Stafford-Clark, who was responsible for Bleak House and Warriors. The cast includes Cold Feet star James Nesbitt as Pilate and EastEnders actor Paul Nicholls as Judas Iscariot. The part of Jesus is played by the relatively unknown Joseph Mawle, who at 33 is the same age as Jesus during the events of the Passion.

A multi-denominational group convened by the Churches’ Media Council today launched a website to provide resources and information about the series.

It can be found at www.churchesmediacouncil.org.uk/passion. The group is encouraging the Christian community to seize this “golden opportunity to contribute to a contemporary public discussion about Jesus”.

Guidelines on the site encourage the Christian community to welcome the retelling of the stories for a new generation, but to treat it as drama first rather than theology.

Andrew Graystone, Director of the Churches’ Media Council, was profoundly moved by early versions of the series.

“This is an extremely vivid piece of drama. You feel you are right there, in amongst the Passover crowds, alongside the disciples as Jesus comes out with these simple but earth-shattering messages. And then of course, he’s taken away and makes the ultimate sacrifice, and like the disciples, you’re left to decide what you are going to do about it.”

A hundred Christian leaders will be invited to a preview screening of the series in February. Meanwhile a panel of speakers has been formed to contribute to national press, radio and TV discussions. The Passion website also has ideas to help local churches prepare for the series.

Mr Graystone urged Christians to “cancel all leave” and prepare a welcome for the series, describing it as “a once-in-a-generation opportunity” to engage the whole nation in a public conversation about the Christian message.

“This Easter the whole country will be talking about Jesus. Not about church politics or the finer points of theology, but about Jesus," he said.