We are considering the account of the ten lepers, as told in Luke chapter 17 verses 11-19. We discussed how one was a Samaritan, thus making him doubly rejected, doubly isolated, and doubly hated by society. The lepers recognised that Jesus was no ordinary teacher. They knew he had a higher authority. They asked for pity, possibly seeing themselves as unworthy of a gift as great as healing. Then Jesus presented them with a divine predicament by telling them to go to the priests, which was something people with leprosy legally couldn’t do. We thought about our own divine predicaments, and the times in which Jesus has given us strength to do things we never thought we could.
Continue reading “Learning From The Lepers (part 2), By Rev. Ernie Banwell.”
Month: February 2022
Learning From The Lepers (Part 1), By Rev. Ernie Banwell.
I’d like us to consider a story found in Luke chapter 17, starting at verse 11. If you’re not familiar with this story, it is when ten lepers have an encounter with Jesus. And as we know, when someone has an encounter with Jesus, they are never the same again. When people have an encounter with religion, they stay the same, but when you have an encounter with Jesus, he changes your whole life. It is impossible for him not to, because that’s who he is. He is a God of transformation. He is a God of all power, and he works to heal and to restore.
Continue reading “Learning From The Lepers (Part 1), By Rev. Ernie Banwell.”
Hide And Seek
Do any of you remember playing games of Hide and Seek as a child? I do. It was a huge favourite. One of my parents would begin counting backwards from ten, allowing me time to search out the best hiding place. I would scurry through the house, trying to be as light on my feet as possible. I didn’t want to give them any clues about where I was going. All the while, I was listening, and the closer they got to the end of the countdown, the more my heart pounded. Sometimes I barely got into my chosen corner before I heard those dreaded words: “Ready or not I’m coming!”
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The Darkest Hour
I have often heard it said that the darkest hour comes just before the dawn. I wondered once if this was a quote from the Bible, but I now realise it’s not. However, I saw this for myself in the natural when a close friend and I had the crazy idea of going back to our childhood and camping out in her garden overnight. It was mid-summer, so sunrise came early. We chose a warm night ideal for being outside. Yet an hour or so before the birds began their early morning song, a cold breeze started blowing, and the night sky seemed to be at its darkest. I would have to say this was the most eery part of the night, as I lay awake waiting for dawn. Then I saw the first glimmer of light, which seemed all the brighter and more hopeful given the darkness that had gone before. The first bird chirped, and a new day dawned – full of hope and promise. It has only been in the last few years that I have started noticing and appreciating such things, as I realise how many of god’s best lessons are taught through his marvellous creation.
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