11th June 2017 Number – 921

Riverside WeeklyA warm welcome to everyone joining us to worship

on this Sunday

11:00 Morning Worship — Ebenezer SamMusic provided by Ted Blackman Elisabeth Pybus welcomed you at the door.The books were given out by Margaret DaviesRefreshments by Norman & Elisabeth PybusReadings by Alan Williams & Norman Pybus

(2 Corinthians 13:11-13 page 178 in NT & James 1:1-27 page 218 in the NT)

Today’s Steward is Alan Williams

Happy Birthday to:

Rev Phil Poole (Tuesday), Poppy Hughes (Thursday) & Mia Spedding (Saturday).

Do join us for tea & coffee after the service this morning

T h e C o m i n g W e e k sSunday 11th June

11:00 Morning Worship — Ebenezer Sam12:00 Church Review

Monday 12th June10:00 Open the Book” rehearsal at the Memorial Hall12:00 Pastoral Meeting at the Memorial Hall7:00 for 7:30 Church Meal at Sweeny Hall see Gill or John to today if you have not ordered.

Tuesday 13th June10:00–12:00 Coffee Morning by Welfare House at the Memorial Hall12:30 Bible Study at the Memorial Hall — James 1:1-27 Doers of the Word — led by Rev Phil Poole

Wednesday 14th June10:00 Prayer Group meet in the vestry — you are welcome to join us7:30 Bible Studies at Penllwyn, Dinbren Road— we will be starting a new study “Fruitfulness on the Front-line

Thursday 15th June10:30 “Open the Book” at Ysgol Bryn Collen

Sunday 18th June 11:00 Church Anniversary — Rev Richard Sharples

Monday 19th June10:00 Messy Church planning meeting1:30 ‘Party in the Park’ planning meeting at City Church2:00 Home Group at 5 Gerddi-y-Bache6:00 Games Evening - our annual walk to the Castle do come and join us, leaving from the Hall at 6:00

Tuesday 20th June10:00–12:00 Coffee Morning by FLIME at the Memorial Hall12:30 Bible Study at the Memorial Hall — James 2:1-26 Faith and Works — led by Rev Phil Poole

Wednesday 21st June10:00 Prayer Group meet in the vestry — you are welcome to join us

Saturday 24th June 3:00–5:00 Messy Church at the Memorial Hall

The editor’s jottings!“Eisteddfod Week” — will soon be here! Starting with the Cymanfa Ganu at Capel Seion on Sunday, our Festival Praise on Monday (posters and fliers available) and there will be hospitality throughout the week. All our help will be required to provide the hospitality, see page 5 for details.

Norman

Church Review12:00pm Sunday 11th June

atLlangollen Methodist Church

Two years ago, we held some meetings to discuss the past and present activities of our church and to think about some of the things we would like to do going forward. We were asked to decide our top three priorities for the future. All the churches in the circuit did the same, and together these formed the Circuit Review. We have now been asked to review our progress, and to reassess if our priorities have been met, remain the same or have changed, or if we have new ones to add.We’ll be holding a meeting at church after the morning service on Sunday 11th June to do this – We’ll start with a faith lunch and expect the meeting that follows to last around one hour. Please come along if you can and share your thoughts to help decide this church’s priorities for the future.Peter

Action for Children BoxesCatherine is collecting in the ‘Action for Children’ collecting boxes early this year. She would like all the boxes to be handed in to her by ‘Action for Children Sunday’ on 9th July. Please bring your boxes in by then so that they can all be checked for the £1 & £5 coins and notes going out of use.Thank youCatherine

Minister:- Rev Philip Poole (01978) 860877 Email:- philpoole@btinternet.com

“James in June”Announcing a Bible Study series focussing on the Letter of

James:Tuesday 13th June – James 1:1-27 Doers of the WordTuesday 20th June – James 2:1-26 Faith and WorksTuesday 27th June – James 3:1-4:12 Speech and WisdomTuesday 4th July – James 4:13-5:20 Living for the LordMeeting in the Memorial Hall after coffee morning.Come early and bring your lunch - the study itself will start at 12.30pm. and last for about an hour.Rev Phil

MHA collection envelopePlease take your envelope home and give as you feel appropriate and put the envelope in the collection when you next come to church.MHA is a charity providing care, accommodation and support services for more than 17,000 older people throughout Britain. Our mission is to improve the quality of life of older people, inspired by Christian concern.Founded by members of the Methodist Church back in 1943, today we support:-• 5,000 older people living in our care homes, many receiving specialist

dementia or nursing care• 2,000 older people living independently in purpose-built apartments,

with access to social and leisure facilities and flexible care should they need it

• 10,000 older people living independently in their own homes with the support of our Live at Home schemes across the UK.

Hospitality During Eisteddfod WeekMonday 3rd July – Saturday 8th July 2017

Thank you to those people who have already offered to help in providing refreshments at the Memorial Hall during Eisteddfod Week - We anticipate being able to open the doors most days of the week.If you can offer help by baking cakes or providing Tombola prizes, or assist in the hall on any of the days, there will be a “sign-up sheet” on the coffee table after each of the services throughout June.It would be great if we had enough help to offer refreshments each day during Eisteddfod week, and at the same time raise some extra funds for special church projects to enhance our worship.With love,Peter & Amanda.

Festival PraiseMonday 3rd July at 7:00

doors open from 6:15with

Soloist — Ruth Moore-WilliamsOrganist — Ted Blackman

Compère — Revd. Patrick RuddenAll Welcome : Refreshments

Posters & Fliers are available if you can use them

Today’s Bible Study (from the Methodist Church Website)

ReadingsMatthew 28:16-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (v. 19)Psalm 8BackgroundToday is Trinity Sunday, when the Church traditionally celebrates the ‘mystery’ of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It’s an understanding of God that has developed over time: God is not a singular tyrant, unaffected by the pain and struggles of this world, but rather God exists in a community of love: dynamic, involved, generous, vulnerable even. God is a holy trio whose very existence is defined by the giving and receiving of love. It is a love that is so strong, that we’d be mistaken to say that Father, Son and Spirit are anything other than ‘One’. Here, we find one of the earliest written expressions of that understanding, contained within the Gospel of Matthew’s record of Jesus final ‘earthly’ words. He gives his disciples three things: good news, a mission, and a promise. To understand this, it may be helpful to look back at other mountain-top experiences in Matthew’s Gospel.First, the good news: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (v. 18). In Matthew 4:1-11, the devil takes Jesus up a mountain and offers him the kingdoms of the world, if only he would bow down and worship him. Somehow, at that point, it is the devil and the forces of evil which hold authority over the world. God wanted God’s own image-bearing humans to ‘have dominion’ over the things of the earth (Genesis 1:26). Instead, they made idols of them, becoming slaves in the process. But on another mountain, God says of Jesus: “This is my Son ... Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5). Jesus has a place high above the other rulers of this world. In order to break their power, on the cross Jesus confronted the other rulers and took onto himself every act of rebellion against God. Paul wrote: “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15). Jesus has won back the true throne of the universe and those who were once slaves can find release.The New Testament describes this as a ‘New Exodus’: we are set free to enter the new community as forgiven disciples in a renewed relationship with God, following the Lord who rules with absolute self-giving love. This leads to the mission: “Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing... and teaching...” (vv. 18-19). Jesus’ sermon on another mountain (Matthew 5-7) gives us the basis for the teaching of God’s renewed people: striving to live on earth “the kingdom of heaven”. Baptism is the sign: passing through the waters, following Christ through death

Information for ‘Riverside Weekly’ should be sent to the editor,Norman Pybus (01978) 861390 Email:-editor@llangollenmethodist.org.ukPage 7

Some of the religious programmes on TV & Radio each week

BBC1 17:00 Sunday 11th June — Songs of Praise Carers WeekRadio 2 DJ Johnnie Walker and his wife Tiggy reveal what it is like to become a carer when your partner has to battle cancer. Plus the soldiers preparing for this year’s Trooping the Colour.Radio Wales — 7:30 & 18:30 Sundays — Celebration Radio 2 — 6:00 Sunday Morning —The Sunday HourRadio 2 — 7:00 Sunday Morning — Good Morning Sunday with Clare Balding Radio 4 — 8:10 Sundays — Sunday Worship Radio 4 (LW) — 9:45 Monday to Thursday Mornings — Daily WorshipRadio 4 (LW) — 9:45 Friday Mornings — Act of Worship

into eternal life. It is performed in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - because it’s inadequate to talk about God as being anything less, and because all three persons are intimately involved in God’s saving and liberating love.“The end of the age” (v. 20) will signal a new dawn, the coming ‘New Creation’ when all will be infused with the glory of God and we will see Father, Son and Spirit face-to-face. For now, Jesus leaves them with a promise: “Remember, I am with you always” (v. 20). It’s a promise that lasts, even though we are often like a people wandering in the wilderness: fighting enemies outside and within; trying to live in community; struggling with persecutions, hardship and our own mistakes. We are his people, and he is with us!To Ponder

To what extent would you call yourself a disciple of Christ? In what ways do you consider yourself under Christ’s ‘authority’?

How are God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all involved in your life as a disciple?

Are you baptized? Do you know who baptized you? Whoever it was, they were a disciple of Christ. Continue it backwards and we get an unbroken line of Baptism that goes all the way back to these disciples with Jesus. And the story continues...

Bible notes author: The Revd Andrew Murphy

Wordfor

Today

Use words befitting a Christian

‘The lips of the righteous know what is fitting.’

Proverbs 10:32

When George H. W. Bush was running for president

of the United States in 1988, he admitted he’d made an inappropriate remark about American journalist Dan Rather and White House correspondent Lesley Stahl after an on-air confrontation. Bush referred to Rather in an unprintable term, and also took God’s name in vain in speaking about the Columbia Broadcasting System. When confronted, he said, ‘If I’d known the microphone was on I wouldn’t have taken the Lord’s name in vain, and I apologise for that.’ The fact is, he shouldn’t have said it whether the tape was running or not. Remember, God’s tape is always running! The Bible says, ‘A man’s ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths’ (Proverbs 5:21 NIV 1984 Edition). Centuries ago Jesus declared: ‘There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from

the roofs’ (Luke 12:2-3 NIV 2011 Edition). Take a moment and consider these two Scriptures: ‘The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil’ (Proverbs 15:28 NIV 2011 Edition). ‘The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse’ (Proverbs 10:32 NIV 1984 Edition). The first Scripture tells you that a wise person will think before he or she speaks, because they realise every word has a consequence. The second Scripture tells you that a righteous person automatically knows what’s acceptable, and keeps in mind the fact that God hears every word.

Published by UCB, Stoke on Trent

For free daily readings see Elisabeth or Norman