BH Bulletin - Thursday 26 March 2020

Thought for the day by Matt Jones (BH Associate Minister for Music)

​Psalm 102:25-27
In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
and they will be discarded.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end 
Normal 
If there was a word to sum up what most of us would like right, now it would be a return to normal. 
Normal work hours, normal amounts of food on the shelves, normal freedom to go outside, to the pub, to see extended family, normal church. And that’s just in the last week! What about normal politics, normal environment, normal civil discourse..
 
We like normal. We find comfort in it. It doesn’t surprise us, it doesn’t offend us. Normal seems to make sense to us. As creatures of habit, rhythm and routine, of course it does.
 
But everything feels different, and everyone is trying to get a grasp on what is, for now, the new ‘normal’. Everyone is affected, including the church. But as we journey through the next weeks of months of abnormality, there are two things we can cling onto:

1. Our God never changes

 
He is the true constant. His love for us does not change. Where through the course of our lives we will experience huge amounts of change; in work, relationships, emotions and so much more, God is the firm foundation in whom we can completely trust. As the hymn says it, On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. So if things are feeling shaky, we can take confidence that He will never, ever. The writer of Psalm 102 got that. Verse 12 ‘But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever’ and in verse 25-26 ‘[Heaven/earth] will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you remain the same,and your years will never end.’
He is true normal. And that is truly comforting.

1. Our God is working good in our change

 
Yes we will go through times that are really tough, or unnerving, or uncomfortable, but our God who never changes and whose love for us never changes, is working great good in that change. He is using circumstances, even the one we find ourselves in right now, to mould and shape us and change us by the power of His Spirit into the likeness of His Son. That’s great news! We know that He will bring to completion the good things that He has started in us. 
 
And so as we go through the weeks or months ahead where normal will shift constantly, let us fix our eyes on God who never changes, and the one that is working great change in us.

For the Youth Tonight

​Don't forget ROOTED Hangout - 7:00-8:00
For Rooted young people a chance to hangout and chat about how we're doing.
Message Stephen to get involved.

Clap for our carers

A nationwide round of applause to thank NHS staff working during the coronavirus pandemic will be taking place tonight.
Clap for our Carers is asking people to show their appreciation for workers including doctors, nurses, and GPs, at 8pm on Thursday, March 26.
Those joining in can do so from their front doors, windows, gardens and balconies.