Riverside Weekly. Do join us for tea or coffee after the service this morning. Happy Birthday to: We welcome you to join with us as we Worship Jesus

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1 10 th March 2019 Number 1007 Riverside Weekly We welcome you to join with us as we Worship Jesus 11:00 Bible Club at the Memorial Hall 11:00 Morning Worship Rev John Wiggall Readings: Deuteronomy 26 verses 1 11 found on page 184 in the Old Testament Luke 4 verses 1 13 found on page 57 in the New Testament Read by Elizabeth & Fiona Music by Ted Blackman & Peter Brookfield Fiona welcomed you at the door, Sue gave out the books, Petro & Tommie are providing refreshments Jeanette Robinson is today s steward O God of transforming love, when I look at the news, read the papers, attend a meeting, or look in the mirror, I wonder, Can things ever change? Then I think of arrogant Joseph, flawed David, headstrong Peter, greedy Zacchaeus and zealous Saul. I marvel at the faith of Abraham, the devotion of Ruth, the obedience of Mary, the scandal of the woman washing Jesus feet and the desperate hope of Jairus. Then, when I watch the news, or look in the mirror, I thank you again, O God, for the transforming power and gracious love I see in Jesus. Amen. David Hinchliffe, Channel Islands District Chair Happy Birthday to: Thomas Tuesday Do join us for tea or coffee after the service this morning

2 Church Diary Sunday 10 th March 11:00 Bible Club at the Memorial Hall 11:00 Morning Worship Rev John Wiggall Monday 11 th March 7:30 Circuit Meeting at Rhosymedre Methodist Church. Tuesday 12 th March 10:00 Coffee Morning by Llangollen Museum at the Memorial Hall 1:00 Lent Study The Good News of God at the Memorial Hall 4:00 Cytûn Meeting in the Upper Room Wednesday 13 th March 10:00 Prayer Group meet in the vestry you are welcome to join us 7:30 Bible Study at Paul & Anna s, John s Gospel chapter 17 Thursday 14 th March 3:00 After-school Drop-In at the Memorial Hall Saturday 16 th March 9:00 Circuit Prayer Breakfast at the Buttered Crust, then the Memorial Hall Sunday 17 th February 11:00 All Age Worship Martin Woodhall Monday 18 h March 2:00 Open the Book at Ysgol Bryn Collen Tuesday 19 th March 10:00 Coffee Morning by Friends of the Health Centre at the Memorial Hall 1:00 Lent Study The time is now at the Memorial Hall Wednesday 20 th March 10:00 Prayer Group meet in the vestry you are welcome to join us Thursday 21 st March 3:00 After-school Drop-In at the Memorial Hall Saturday 23 rd March 3:00 till 5:00 Messy Church at the Memorial Hall Sunday 24 th March 11:00 Morning Worship Naomi Squire

3 Daring to See God Now "An ecumenical course for discussion groups in five sessions, written by Bishop Nick Baines, comprising course booklet, audio material and transcript. Ideal for Lent, yet not Lent-specific." 1. The Good News of God 2. The time is now 3. God is present 4. Change your mind 5. Live it! Contributions from: Prof Keith Ward, Rachel Lampard, Bishop David Wilbourne and Cathy Galvin. Mark's Gospel begins with Jesus 'proclaiming the Good news of God'. But, what is this 'good news', and who is it for? Taking Mark as a starting point, this course raises important questions about change, repentance, and how we can become in ourselves living evidence of the good news. Examples are taken from the rest of Mark's Gospel as well as contemporary and historic Christians."

4 Transport One Some of us in the congregation occasionally can t get to Services or events because of distance, legs feeling wobbly or because basically the inclement weather puts us off using Shank s Pony! It would be wonderful if someone would think of offering us a lift sometimes, as we are not very good at asking for favours. If you could help, we would be very grateful. Wrexham Methodist Circuit Workshop On Dealing With Stress And Anxiety For Pastoral Visitors and those interested in the topic. The aim of the Workshop is to help us come to an understanding of how we can deal with everyday stress and anxiety. It will be facilitated by Cynthia Fenton Jones and Yvonne Davies. When; Thursday March 21 st 2019 Time; 10am 12noon. Venue; Memorial Hall, Market St., Llangollen. Please let us know if you are coming by contacting Yvonne with your name and telephone number ; yand.davies@btinternet.com or Thank you. Transport Two Some of us have noticed that occasionally people are missing from our pews or at social events and we miss their company. It often doesn t occur to us until afterwards that maybe the only reason they weren t there is because of lack of transport, and we re not very good about thinking to offer a lift in advance. Please don t be afraid to ask if ever there s an occasion where we could be of use we would love to be able to help if we can. Llangollen Country market The Country Market is now open every Friday from 10:15 every Friday Morning at the Memorial Hall

5 The editor s jottings! Kitchen roll middles Janet no longer requires these, and thanks everyone for collecting for her. Last Tuesday s Coffee Morning Margaret & Jeanette thank everyone who helped and supported, 142 was raised. Norman

6 Today s Bible Study (from the Methodist Church Website) Readings Luke 4:1-13 He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. (v. 2) Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 Background As we begin the season of Lent we follow Jesus again into the wilderness with this familiar temptation story. During this season, we will see that Jesus is for others outside the norms of society: sinners, tax collectors, outcasts and demon possessed alike! We will also see that the human Jesus comes with the heavenly authority over human and earthly constructs and ideas. Today, we meet the human Jesus wrestling with human desires. In today s passage there are echoes of two Old Testament stories: the fall in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) and the Israelites wandering through the wilderness. In the first, the serpent whispers lies about God s nature (Genesis 3:4), just as the devil whispers lies to Jesus. In the second, the people are brought through the waters of the Red Sea and declared as God s children, (cf. Jesus Baptism in Luke 3); they are led into the wilderness (Exodus 15:22/Luke 4: 1), they grumble about being hungry (Exodus 16:1-3/Luke 4:4), they worship idols (Exodus 32/Luke 4:8), and constantly test God s reserve (cf. Luke 4:12). In this wilderness Jesus uses passages from the Israelites wilderness years to refute the devil s lies and to acknowledge God s sovereignty. The devil offers temptations linked to Jesus humanity (food, wealth, power). Jesus responds from his spiritual depths. Before he can engage in his public ministry, Jesus has to endure this private testing and prove to himself that he has the spiritual resolve to carry out his ministry. To Ponder From where do you draw your spiritual resolve when faced with temptations? How will you mark the season of Lent this year? Bible notes author: Revd Ian Worsfold

7 Monday House Group The next meeting will be at Margaret Davies house on March 4th at 2pm. We will not be meeting during Lent, but everyone is encouraged to attend the Lent Study Course being run by Phil on Tuesdays at 1pm in the Memorial Hall starting March 12 th instead. We will recommence on Monday 29th April at Yvonne s house. Once again, we invite anyone to join us come and try us out! Summer Term dates (avoiding Bank Holidays): April 29 th May 13 th June 10 th June 24 th July 8 th July 22 nd Plastic Milk Bottle Tops A colleague at work Is trying to help a friend who's 4 year old daughter suffers from Spina Bifida. The young girl needs a new, specialized wheelchair which is very very expensive. The main body of the wheelchair Is made from the same plastic that milk bottle tops are made from, and the manufacturer of these chairs has said to the parents that if they can collect the weight of the chair in milk bottle tops they will make the little girl a chair for free. Obviously this is an enormous amount of milk bottle tops! I would like to give her a helping hand, so, if you can save your milk bottle tops and let me have them when you remember I'd be most grateful. Doreen from Maes Collen Elisabeth has put a plastic basket at the back of church to collect the tops, and she will pass them on to Doreen Minister:- Rev Phillip Poole (01978) philpoole@btinternet.com

8 Stop Making Excuses Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Romans 12:2 NLT SOMETIMES OUR culture markets misinformation and half-truths. And since our parents grew up in that culture, they handed us the same guide for interpreting life. As a result we may have arrived at these three mistaken conclusions: 1) There s a special person out there who will make me happy. Only God can do that! Hurting people only hurt other people. Out of the abundance of the heart [the] mouth speaks (Luke 6:45 NKJV). 2) When I attain a certain position or accumulate a specific amount of money, I ll be happy. That s the old as-soon-as myth, and it breeds a life of discontent (see Luke 12:15). 3) I can t help it; it s just the way I am. That s the `I m-notresponsible lie, and it will stop you dead in your tracks. If you want to be happy, examine the excuses you keep coming up with to justify your behaviour. Here are a few of them: I m not the only one! So what? If everybody does it, does that mean God doesn t take it seriously? Like a kind of group-sin? I don t see any harm in it. And who gave you the authority to write the rules and Word for Today play God? I ll just try it once. So if you just try it once, does that mean there ll be no consequences? What are the lies behind your excuses? Examine them. They re keeping you in spiritual bondage, and they must be unearthed and removed! The Bible calls this renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2 NKJV). Jesus said once you know the truth, your old belief systems will be exposed and you ll be set free (see John 8:32). Imagine being free to become all God wants you to be! Isn t that worth pursuing? Pray for freedom from any belief systems which don t line up with God s Published by UCB, Stoke on Trent For free daily readings see Elisabeth or Norman