Burnside Presbyterian Church
Mill Road, Portstewart, BT55 7SW
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Friday 25th September 2020

25/9/2020

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Beside The Burn
This week we continue our theme from Sunday of ‘REBUILDING’. Each day we develop the theme a little more in a short 5 minutes video.

Frances On Friday
Every Friday, Frances shares a song that means something to her.
CityAlight is the Worship Ministry of a Church in Sydney, Australia.

The group states that their vision is to write songs with Biblically rich lyrics and simple melodies for the Christian Church to sing.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834 –1892)  was one of the greatest preachers and expounders of the Gospel, who spent his time travelling and teaching the Word of God. Known as the ‘Prince of Preachers’, Spurgeon was famous for his firm, straight talking nature.

He once commented, ‘If men are dull in the worship of the Lord our God, they are not acting consistently with the character of their religion.’ In other words, the realities of Christianity provide us with so many opportunities for deep and lasting joy.

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This may be a reminder of the Acronym I mentioned over the last couple of weeks: JOY…..  Jesus, Others, Yourself.
We read in Psalm 100 NIV, Verse 2,  ‘Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.’
Each verse in the Song for today by CityAlight, concludes with the reminder that we can do nothing on our own, stating, ‘Yet not I but through Christ in me.’ 
 Frances.

Let’s Pray For Blended children's and youth work
Pray for those involved in planning and delivering children’s and youth work in congregations as restrictions continue to make meeting together difficult and programming has to be provided with a blend of digital limited gatherings with social distancing, asking God for creativity and wisdom.
Pray for the maintenance of good contacts with children, young people and their families at this time, asking that God would make his love, care and encouragement evident in every conversation and communication.  ​
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Beauty In The Familiar
It is always interesting when you see something that is very familiar from a different perspective. This week I was out walking and met a friend who I hadn’t been talking to for a few years. We were on the coastal path at Rock House and he was admiring the view and said, “I suppose you get very used to all this and don’t really appreciate it!”. I was able to say truthfully, that after twenty years in Portstewart, we still do appreciate the beauty of the coast and have never taken it for granted. It is a very odd day that we don’t walk to the beach or at the very least walk past the beach.


Yesterday however I did see something very familiar that I had totally taken for granted, and I can say truthfully that I never appreciated the beauty of it. Yesterday afternoon our TV was tuned to RTE2 and the Irish Open Golf from Galgorm Castle. I left the TV turned on and as I moved about the house I would sneak another peak at the screen. I wasn’t watching the golf, but the scenery. I attended primary school in Gracehill and everyday the school bus would drive past the gates of Galgorm Castle and over the river Maine. I hardly noticed the castle or the river, but yesterday in the sunshine they looked magnificent. The camera operators captured the images and the commentators describe the setting, and the world watched.


Sometimes this world becomes so familiar that we do not realise the beauty all around us. We get annoyed by thoughtlessness, frustrated by incompetence and frightened by uncertainty and yet everyone we meet is created in the image of our heavenly Father. The people that we hardly notice each day, as we go about our business, have a dignity instilled by their creator and the same need of Salvation from our Redeemer as we have. Imagine if Jesus was providing the commentary for our lives today, how would he describe the people that we rush past? What needs would he notice that we have ignored? What beauty would he gaze upon that we have taken for granted?


The Irish Open from Galgorm Castle continues this weekend, televised live on RTE 2 & Sky Sports with highlights each evening on BBC1.
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Do You Feel Empty?  (2 minute video)
While we may see the emptiness of our lives as our greatest problem, that’s not how God sees it. He sees his greatest opportunity. Nancy Guthrie speaks about her new book, ‘God Does His Best Work With Empty’. She looks at the emptiness that is left in our lives by disappointment and unexpected circumstances.

Teach The Bible
Nancy Guthrie has produced an incredible resource. It is a podcast where she interviews prominent bible teachers on how to teach a particular book of the bible. She now has episodes on the whole bible. Well worth listening to. We have featured some of her books on previous blogs.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/help-me-teach-the-bible-episodes-by-scripture/
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These Three Remains - Refined
In the last #TheseThreeRemain blog Jane Nelson, minister of First Omagh Presbyterian Church, reflects on her experience of the truth of 1 Corinthians 13:13 lived out during the pandemic - and reminds us that "the greatest of these is love"
http://bit.ly/35QL3d8
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What Does God Think About Money?
Can money really buy you happiness? Listen to this episode of the 'Not Playing the Game' podcast on UCB Player as our hosts are joined by businessman Arron Kent and musician Jon Kendall to talk about what God thinks about money!
https://ucb.lightcast.com/player/21338/262911
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Jigsaw
The times for yesterday’s Jigsaw

Janice 1:24
Derek 3:10
Frances 4:10

A Familiar picture of the harbour but it should take a little longer than the other puzzles this week.


Play the "Portstewart Harbour" puzzle!
https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=152a998876f8

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