“We have a high priest who has been tempted in every way,

just as we are – yet he did not sin”

(Hebrews 4:15)

This week is the start of Lent, a period of forty days (not including Sundays) where Christians traditionally fast from something and reflect more deeply on their walk with God. This is modelled on Jesus’ wilderness experience, when he spent forty days fasting and being tempted by the devil.

What was the point of this? The gospels tell us that it happened after Jesus had been baptised, but before he started his public ministry. It is tempting in our instant culture, to think that being “zapped” by God is all that is necessary to become a brilliant minister for God. Jesus was certainly “zapped” at his baptism when he was empowered by the Holy Spirit and encouraged by the Father who declared, “This is my Son, with him I am well pleased.” What more did Jesus need to get going?

He needed to wrestle with the astounding temptations that his calling would bring. This was the point of the wilderness experience. In two of the temptations, the devil begins with, “If you are the Son of God…” At his baptism, Jesus had the Father’s reassurance that he was God’s Son, but what did that mean for how he should live? Was he to use his power to meet his personal needs and turn stones into bread? No, his mission was to live by God’s word. Was he to use his position to test God’s protective power? No, he was not to put God to the test. Was he to build a kingdom the easy way, by worshipping Satan? No, he was to worship God alone. The kingdom would come about the hard way, through the cross and resurrection.

In the wilderness experience, Jesus wrestled with what it really meant to be God’s son. In so doing, he prepared himself to resist the temptations of a public ministry. Let’s all use this Lent, to learn afresh what it means to be a disciple of Christ and to prepare ourselves to resist the temptations we may face.

Paul Worledge

Sunday Service, 9^th March, 11am

Paradise Regained (Luke 4:1-13)

What has forty days in a wilderness fasting and being tempted by the devil to do with paradise? Everything. Join us this Sunday to find out. This week we have all the normal paise, prayers and Bible teaching and the children’s groups will be running as normal.

Ced Hann’s funeral

Ced Hann’s funeral will be on Wednesday 12^th March, 1:30pm at St. Luke’s church. Afterwards there will be a committal at the Crematorium followed by refreshments back at St. Luke’s. All welcome to attend to give thanks for Ced’s life and faith. If you cannot attend in person, then you can watch the service livestreamed. Link to Livestream.

If anyone wants to be part of a singing group or music group for the service, then please let Fiona Worledge know.

Electoral Roll

The electoral roll is the list of members of St. Luke’s parish who have the right to vote at our annual meeting. Every six years, the roll has to be renewed from scratch and 2025 is one of those years. So, if you consider yourself a member of St. Luke’s then please complete an electoral roll application, whether you were on the electoral roll before or not. To qualify to be on the electoral roll, you must be baptised, over 16 and either live in the parish of St. Luke’s or have attended St. Luke’s for six months or more. It’s quick and easy to fill in an online form: apply to be on the electoral roll. If you are not sure which parish you live in then you can check via this website.

Youth and Children’s Pastor

St. Luke’s is now advertising for a Youth and Children’s Pastor. You can check out the details on the website. The deadline for applications is on 31^st March. Please pray that we can find a really good candidate for this important role. Find out more…

Thanet Prayer Diary

You can download and print the Thanet Prayer Diary for March and April.

Robin Plant – Bible teaching on Genesis

The Earth is the Lord’s: The Message of Genesis. So often the book of Genesis is the battleground for debates about science and evolution. But if we listen to it on its own terms, what is it trying to tell us? About being human? About the world we live in? About different faiths? About mission? Genesis, we discover, tells the story of a world disfigured by human folly, but also of a creator who didn’t give up on it – and still doesn’t.Tuesdays, 7:30-9:00pm, Newington Free Church from 11^th March to 1^st April. See flier for more information.

Free Piano Concert – 12pm, Thu. 20^th March, St. Luke’s

Featuring music from local composer, Bob Ward, Petra Hadjuchova will be performing a piano concert just after Cafe4All.

Revelation Strings Concert – 3pm, Sat. 22^nd March, St. Luke’s

This orchestra is made up of experienced and young musicians and is in association with St. Lawrence College. It should be a lovely concert. £10 entry, but children are free.

Titanic Journey – 2-4pm, Sat. 5^th April, St. George’s

Local historian, Bob Pryor presents, ‘My life with Titanic’. Tickets are £5 in advance and available onlineof £7 on the door.

St. George’s Day Parade

In preparation for the St. George’s Day parade on 27^th April, GB Carnival are looking for donations of clean tin cans and plastic tubs. You can drop off your donations at the Carnival Club in St. George’s Hall 5-7pm every Wed. or at Community Soup in the church from 12 -2pm every Wed. and Sat.

Links to Share:

Dust to Dust: A reflection on the fear of death

At our Ash Wednesday service, many of us received a sign of the cross in ashes on our head. Part of the point is to remember our mortality… “ashes to ashes…”. But how are we shaped by our fear of death? Read 5 min. article.

Real Life Stories: Jack and Amy

Watch this 5-minute video of the latest ‘Real Life story’ from Christianity Explored, where Amy and Jack talk about their journey to faith. Watch video…

Finally, let’s set Lent as a time to prepare for the future work God has called us to.

Yours in Christ

Paul Worledge

(Vicar, St. Luke’s Ramsgate)

 

Weekly Calendar

Sunday 9^th – First Sunday in Lent

Family Service (St. Luke’s Church), Luke 4:1-13, 11:00am-12:00pm

Monday 10^th  

Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Study Group (South Eastern Road) – 7:15-9:30pm

Tuesday 11^th

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 12^th

Study Group (Langdale Avenue) – 10:00-12:00 noon

Ced’s Funeral Service (St. Luke’s Church) – 1:30-2:30pm

Study Group (South Eastern Road) – 7:30-9:30pm

Thursday 13^th

Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Cafe4All (St. Luke’s Church), Coffee and Chat for all – 10:00-11:30am

Friday 14^th

Play and Praise (St. Luke’s Church Hall) – 10:00-11:30am

Saturday 15^th

Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Sunday 16^th – Second Sunday in Lent

Family Service (St. Luke’s Church), Luke 13:31-35, 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. of who has done the training.