God said to Israel:
“I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.
Then you will know that I am the LORD your God,
who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.”
(Exodus 6:7)
In last week’s sermon, I spoke about vision statements. We looked at Genesis 12 and saw how God’s vision statement was basically: “I will bless Abraham’s family and bless all nations through Abraham.” However, vision statements by themselves are not enough. There needs to be a plan with various mission goals. For Abraham these were to make his family into “a great nation,” which would involve giving him myriads of descendants and a land for them to live in.
At the start of Exodus, the first of those goals has finally been achieved, Abraham’s family is huge. Yet, the second goal now seems impossible: they are not in the land God promised, but slaves in Egypt. So, in Exodus 6, God sets out the next phase of his mission plan to Moses. Stage 1 would see God bring Israel out of Egypt and in stage 3 he would bring them into the promised land.
What about stage 2? Being a great nation involves more than having lots of people living in a land. It requires an identity, a culture, a set of laws and rules. This is the mission goal that comes into focus for Moses and Israel in the second half of Exodus and is summed up in the verse at the top of this page. The goal was that they would become God’s people and know him as the God who rescued them from Egypt. This would become their identity, the foundation of their culture and the guiding principle behind their laws.
How does this guide our discernment process as churches in Ramsgate? Like the goal of numerical growth, we need to be about growing new disciples of Christ. Like the issue of the land, we need to think about practical issues like buildings, finances and volunteers. But most importantly, we need to ensure that our identity is rooted in knowing Jesus Christ as the God who has saved us from slavery to sin and death, through the power of his death and resurrection.
Paul Worledge
This Week’s Sunday Service – 11am
We continue our series on Biblical Visions. This week we look at God’s plan to rescue Israel from slavery in Egypt. Sparklers, Sunday Club and Pathfinders are on as normal. Although, this is the third Sunday of the month, we have postponed Holy Communion until 22nd September.
Claire Coleman’s Licensing, Thursday 19th, 7:30pm
It would be great if as many people as possible from St. Luke’s and St. George’s could support Claire at her licensing this week (7:30pm, Thursday 19th September) at St. Martin’s Dover. You can travel by car or train, but it would be good to car share as much as possible because parking is difficult.
In order to let the people in Dover know how many of us are coming for catering purposes, but also to organize car shares, it would be really helpful if you could fill in this online formfor yourself, family or group by the end of Sunday 15th. If you are filling it in for a family or group, please make sure no-one else from the family or group has already filled it in. The form also contains details you will need for parking and / or travelling by train.
Harvest Appeal – Gaza
This year we are going to be supporting Tear Fund’s work in Gaza. Israel’s military action in Gaza in response to the terrorist attack by Hamas last October has been devastating for the population of Gaza. At our Harvest service on 29th September we will have a collection to support Tear Fund’s work in Gaza. In the meantime, how should we pray? This article from Tear Fund has some suggestions. Read more…
Kent Womens’ Convention
A day of encouragement from scripture, worship and prayer just for the ladies. 5th October at St. Nicholas Church, Sevenoaks. See Brenda Clarke for more information.
Summer Fair
The summer fair a couple of weeks ago raised over £550, which will go towards the two churches. Thank you to everyone who supported the event.
Pastoral Care Team
We are exploring the possibility of setting up a pastoral care team, which would include arranging visiting, befriending schemes or offering prayer after services. If you are interested in being a part of a team, then please let Paul know, or fill in this form to express interest.
Tear Fund’s Big Quiz
Put this exciting quiz evening to raise money for Tear Fund in your diaries: Saturday 16th November, 7:30pm, St. Luke’s Hall.
Links to Share:
As churches we are increasingly engaging with the wider community in different ways. Here are two articles to make us think about how we go about that.
What kind of social action?
Many people are positive about the social action we take as Christians. It is something that many would like the church to do more of. But what kind of social action is truly helpful and makes a difference. Read this challenging article on the subject…
Tips for Youth Ministry / Church Life
As we prepare to start an after school club, here are some tips for youth ministry. Actually, a lot of them are just great tips for being part of a church. A quick read…
Finally, let’s keep celebrating God’s blessing.
Yours in Christ
Paul Worledge
(Vicar, St. Luke’s Ramsgate)
Weekly Calendar
Sunday 15th – The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity
Creative Group Singing Practice (St Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:30am
Family Service (St. Luke’s Church), Exodus 6:1-9, 11:00am-12:00pm
Monday 16th
Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Study Group (South Eastern Road) – 7:15-9:30pm
Tuesday 17th
Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Christ Church Toddlers @ St Luke’s (St. Luke’s Church Hall) – 9:30-11:30am
Study Group (Lyndhurst Road) – 2:30-4:00pm
Wednesday 18th
Study Group (Langdale Avenue) – 10-12 noon
Depression & Anxiety Self-Help Group (Perry Room) – 6:00-7:30pm
Study Group (South Eastern Road) – 7:30-9:30pm
Thursday 19th
Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Cafe4All (St. Luke’s Church), Coffee and Chat for all – 10:00-11:30am
Claire’s Licensing (St Martin’s Church, Dover) – 7:30pm
Friday 20th
Play and Praise (St. Luke’s Church Hall) – 10:00-11:30am
Gather, Women’s Drop-In (St. Luke’s Church) – 12:30-2:30pm
Creative Group Singing Practice (St Luke’s Church) – 4:30-6:00pm
Saturday 21st
Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Sunday 22nd – The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity
Creative Group Singing Practice (St Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:30am
Family Service (St. Luke’s Church), 2 Samuel 7:1-17, 11:00am-12:00pm
Online Forms
Under the ‘Contact’ tab on the website, there are now three forms that you can use to help us in managing the church:
- Events Application Form. Use this if you are organising a church event that needs a church room booked, advertising or ticketing.
- Submit a Notice. Use this if you want to ask us to include a prayer request or other notice in the church notice sheet or email.
- Maintenance Reporting Form.Use this to report any non-urgent issues with our buildings or grounds.
St. Luke’s Website
- What’s On – a page which lets you know what is happening this week and gives information about upcoming events.
- Notices – You can read the latest notices on this page.
- Sermons – Read a transcript of a recent sermon or watch the YouTube version recorded at St. Luke’s. You can also listen to the sermon through the podcast website castbox.
Safeguarding Training
If you volunteer in anyway at church the national authorities are strongly encouraging you to take at least the Basic Module in safeguarding training once every three years.
If you have not completed the training in the last three years, then the module can be completed online and takes about ninety minutes. You can access the training by following this link. You will need to first register, to access the training. Once the training is completed, you will be sent a certificate. Please forward that certificate to James (office@stlukesramsgate.org), so that we can keep records of who has done the training.
St. Luke's Church Ramsgate 