Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2 Blessed is the one whose sin theLord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.
Psalm 32:1,2

Aware that you are forgiven and accepted, who can you help today and thereby point to Jesus?

As one does, I asked Google for help! For Friday I needed inspiration….. yes, I was being prompted very clearly to concentrate on one Hymn in particular.  I had no doubt that the Hymn for this week was to be ‘I Know Who Holds Tomorrow,’ but the word ‘Tomorrow’ was to be the main emphasis.  So I turned to Google to find how often this word might be used….and Google presented me with 39 pages of ‘Tomorrow Quotes!’  Some were familiar, some were not. According to my Google Guide, Mark Twain said: ‘Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.’   And then I went back to depending on what I knew from ‘days gone by.’  I thought of familiar phrases such as:  ‘….as if there was no tomorrow’,   ‘….here today, gone tomorrow’,  ‘….tomorrow is another day.’ I recalled that my Father often quoted:  ‘Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday, and all is well.’ We have song titles which include the word:   ‘Will you still love me tomorrow?’   ‘If tomorrow never comes,’   ‘It’s almost tomorrow.’ Hebrews 13:8 NIV reminds us   ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.’        And that includes every tomorrow! ​ Let’s listen to   ‘I know who holds Tomorrow.’  ​- ​Frances

A survey reveals surge in online religious worship during pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic has led to a surge in online worship across the island of Ireland, new research from Queen’s University has revealed.

Many churches have moved their services online during lockdown Copyright: Press Eye Ltd
The research was conducted in the form of a survey by Dr Gladys Ganiel, from the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work at Queen’s University Belfast and published by the Irish Council of Churches.
The survey reveals how people of faith are grieving, coping, moving religion online, and serving the wider community; and allows us to see how faith leaders are coping with the stresses of ministry.
During the pandemic, many faith leaders who responded to the survey described an increase in religious practice, linked to moving worship and services online. They observed surprising numbers of people tuning in for worship services and other events, noting that people who would not have entered their church building were accessing online services.
“Moving faith online has created new opportunities for religious practice. In some cases, lay volunteers have assisted faith leaders in moving faith online. This is an opportunity to increase and enhance lay involvement in many aspects of ministry and should be encouraged,” Dr Ganiel said.
“Religious practice will continue to feature a mixture of online and in-person elements. Faith communities should invest in training and resources for faith leaders and laity to develop blended online/offline ministries.”
The key findings include:
* Before the pandemic, 44% of faith communities did not provide online worship opportunities; now only 13% of faith communities do not provide these opportunities.
* 70% of respondents agreed that they would retain aspects of their online ministries when restrictions on public gatherings are lifted.
* 74% of faith communities from the largest denominations – Catholic, Church of Ireland, Presbyterian and Methodist – were providing social services to the wider community during the pandemic.
* 89% of faith leaders said that faith had helped people cope with stress during the pandemic. They provided examples of people praying more and people who had previously demonstrated no interest in faith or religion tuning in to religious services or seeking prayer.
* 46% of faith leaders said their ministry had been more stressful than usual.
* 82% of faith leaders who are cocooning for age or underlying health conditions have continued their ministry.
Speaking about the findings, Dr Ganiel commented: “It is hoped that the results of this survey can inform and improve the practices of faith communities as the people of this island continue to negotiate the effects of the pandemic and lockdown.
“It also affirms the important role that faith leaders and communities continue to play across society, documenting the scale and character of their services.”
During the pandemic, clergy and religious staff have been designated as ‘key workers’ by both the Irish and the UK Governments, signalling their important role in burying the dead, comforting the grieving, and providing focal points for communities.
The survey was distributed to over 2,000 faith leaders via direct email throughout the island of Ireland, with 439 responses received between 6 - 22 May 2020.

‘This, then, is how you should pray:
‘“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.”
MATTHEW 6:9-12

Jesus is telling us that his Father is also our Father.
We are brothers and sisters of Jesus and adopted into the family of God.
In prayer we do not approach someone distant,
​but a father who is keen to hear us.

Tides - Wednesday Anne sent me the following message yesterday, “Having read Tides today "consider the ravens" it reminded me of an old hymn which I had forgotten about but heard yesterday. It is called "The raven He feedeth" showing us of the tender compassion and wonderful love of a Heavenly Father.” We are unable to find a recording of this hymn but you will find the sheet music at this link, and the words are below. https://hymnary.org/hymn/CYBER/11739

1 In tender compassion and wonderful love,
The Father looks down from on high;
He knoweth the raven hath need of its food,
And heareth in mercy its cry.

Refrain:
The raven he feedeth, then why should I fear,
To the heart of the Father his children are dear;
So, if the way darkens or storms gather o’er,
I’ll simply look upward and trust him the more.


2 His arm is abundantly able to save,
His eye is a guide to my feet;
Since love sought and found me, I constantly dwell
With him in companionship sweet.
[Refrain]

3 No need have I ever to trouble my breast,
Or fear what the morrow may bring;
The heart of the Father is planning my way,
And I am the child of a King.
[Refrain]

My piece of advice to myself - “Buy a phone with more memory so that I don’t have to keep deleting the videos that I record each week for Burnside At Home”

Twice here Jesus gets us to ‘consider’ the world around us.
We’re to look at the ravens (v24)
and we are to gaze at the wild flowers (v27).
We are left in no doubt as to what Jesus wants us to learn –
we have no need to worry because all around us
​we can see the evidences of God’s care and blessing.

Wednesday Evening Quiz 7:00pm You are invited to join us tonight, Wednesday for a short quiz via Zoom. I know that some of you have been using Zoom to keep in touch with family or for work meetings. We haven’t tried this before so we are going to try a Burnside meet up for half an hour on Wednesday evening, 27th May 2020 7:00pm - 7:30pm. You can either take part in the quiz or simply watch and listen to what is going on. If you would like to take part please email [email protected] and I will send you the meeting code and password. It is the same code that was in the Saturday email this week. Join at 6:55pm and be ready to start at 7:00pm.  You will need some paper, a pen and a lot of patience

Can I be honest with you? I'm actually not into prayer. I’m into Jesus, so we talk.

I don’t believe in the power of prayer. I believe in the power of God. So I ask for his help. A lot.​

I'm not into evangelism. I hate evangelism!  I'm into Jesus. So I talk to people about him.

Listening To God What does it mean to listen for God's voice? We hear it all the time, but HOW do we actually do that? This episode of 'Mark & Mark at Full Volume' talks about the different ways that God speaks to us. Click below to listen! https://player.lightcast.com/yMzN3EjM

everything that occurred in your life today has been put in place by your Heavenly Father to finish a work in you.
Such awareness radically changes how we view each happening of every day.

Dear Lord, help me 
- every single morning - 
to find faith in the midst of the chaos. 
Give me the desire and ability to 
see you, 
hear you, 
talk to you, 
and give thanks to you. 
And as I do, 
I pray that I will draw nearer and nearer to you, 
and that my faith will multiply exponentially 
as I understand in new, deeper ways 
that you are everything 
I ever hoped you would be, 
and so much more. 
Amen.
Kelly O’Dell Stanley

Last week should have been the Chelsea Flower Show. Garden designers, plant experts, flower arrangers, gardeners etc were very disappointed, that it had to be cancelled. I have attended the show on two occasions. It is a most rewarding experience, visiting the Grand Pavilion, getting close to the prized blooms, seeing celebrity designers and gardening experts and generally soaking in the atmosphere. It was decided this year, that there would be a virtual version of the Show on TV and on line, filmed in the presenters’ gardens. It was good to be able to see these programmes and go down memory lane to past shows. One of the presenters said, having a virtual version "is the next best thing to being there".

In lockdown, we have been experiencing "the next best thing" to worshipping in our church building. At present, each Sunday, there is a virtual church service, 
also a sermon available by telephone, and a virtual prayer room. It has been marvellous to be able to access these services, "the next best thing" to  meeting together in our church building. Thank you, Richard for all your work in keeping our fellowship together in this way. Many in Burnside, and the wider community have been blessed and encouraged. 

The Moderator's Sunday sermon recently, mentioned the subject of loneliness, and the need to be with other people. He raised the question, could we be getting tired or restless with the VIRTUAL? We have a deep need for fellowship and "the real thing"  and getting back into our church building again. But we have to wait, and be patient for that day to return, in God's time.

Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.  
Psalm 27 v 14

We will meet again!
Wilma

Keswick - Kes Talk The latest Kes Talk is out now! Delving into Psalm 100 with Alistair Begg. The Psalm reminds us that the Lord doesn’t dismiss our suffering but calls us to worship him because he is God & he is good. Very apt at this time. https://keswickministries.org/podcasts/

New Horizon Online A scaled-down evening celebration on the theme 'Healthy Church; Serving Church' each evening at 8pm from Sunday 26th July to Thursday 30th July.

Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Acts 2:2-4 (NIV)

What are you expecting from God right now? Some of us might expect too much, but honestly, I think most of us expect too little and the outcome of that is that we take the supernatural out of our Christian experience! Some words of Francis Chan come to mind.

“I don’t want my life to be explainable without the Holy Spirit.”

Forgotten God Francis Chan may have some unusual ideas about communion but he has written an intriguing little book about the Holy Spirit - “Forgotten God” Which is well worth a read.

Wednesday Evening Quiz 7:00pm You are invited to join us on Wednesday evening for a short quiz via Zoom. I know that some of you have been using Zoom to keep in touch with family or for work meetings. We haven’t tried this before so we are going to try a Burnside meet up for half an hour on Wednesday evening, 27th May 2020 7:00pm - 7:30pm. You can either take part in the quiz or simply watch and listen to what is going on. If you would like to take part please email [email protected] and I will send you the meeting code and password. It is the same code that was in the Saturday email this week. Join by 6:55pm and be ready to start at 7:00pm. If you do not have Zoom clicking on the meeting code will help you download it. You will need some paper, a pen and a lot of patience.