Funeral Notice for Mrs Mair Norton

Funeral Notice for Mr Gwyn Thomas

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Rainbows in our windows

Youngsters across the country are taking part in the movement known as the Rainbow Trail.  The idea has taken off and rainbows are now seen in windows all over the U.K. helping to cheer us up-a symbol of hope.

Our RDN photographer Mike Davies would have been out chasing rainbows for us now had he not been self isolating.  So instead, to lift our spirits, here are some images taken in happier times when  he pointed his camera at the sky from  his own back garden.

 

THE RAINBOW

Boats sail on the rivers,
And ships sail on the seas;
But clouds that sail across the sky
Are prettier than these.
There are bridges on the rivers,
As pretty as you please;
But the bow that bridges heaven,
And overtops the trees,
And builds a road from earth to sky,
Is prettier far than these

CHRISTINA ROSSETTI

 

IMAGES BY MIKE DAVIES

Message from Father Andrew

A Message from Father Andrew

Photo of St David’s Church, Resolven by Glyn Davies

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Lockdown

God of compassion,

be close to those who are ill, afraid or in isolation.

In their loneliness, be their consolation;

in their anxiety, be their hope;

 in their darkness, be their light;

 through him who suffered alone on the cross,

but reigns with you in glory,

Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

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We are now into our fourth week in lockdown and entering the fifth week. To say that life is strange would be an understatement. We have all had to adjust how we live our lives daily.

 

For many if not most of us the difficulty lies in our lack of social contact. Whilst some can go to the shops where we will see others, there are many who may see no-one during any given day.

 

However, like me I expect many in Resolven if not within the parish boundaries are watching on BBC 1 on Monday evenings the programme called Lockdown; a programme which has our very own Ross (autographs will be given after the crisis is over for those forming an orderly queue) my words not his.

 

As we watch those people who are participating in this programme, it has I hope helped us all to realise the seriousness of what is happening in the world at this time; at a more human level, whilst also keeping us amused (the Davies family from Swansea in particular).

 

In a way this programme shows our helplessness but, in another way, it shows our capacity for goodness, our compassion for others. This week I watched a colleague from Llantwit Major lock the doors of his church and walk away, however, I know that although he has had to walk away from a building like all of us who minister we have not walked away from church.

 

Our role may have changed, we no longer see many of those who live alongside us in the parish face to face, but we have found new ways mixed with old ways of staying in touch. I speak with so many of the congregation from all 3 churches during the week by phone. I also know that they in turn keep in contact with each other.

 

I am learning how to use aspects of social media I had not used before. Each Sunday I place a pre-recorded message on the parish Facebook page, I through the help of a colleague to join with their parish to form a zoom ministry area where some of our regular worshippers zoom in so to speak. We also hold a zoom coffee morning on a Friday at 10.30.

 

The church is alive in this place even though its buildings are closed. The community needs each other more than ever and I believe it is once again finding itself. From the stories that I hear from those telephone conversations I have daily people are reaching out for each, looking out for each other, caring for each other. What I see in the communities that I serve here in this parish is a God who alive and well and showing his face of love through each one of you.

 

If you feel the need to just have a chat about anything or nothing, then please feel free to give us a call 01639 711657.

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Lord Jesus Christ,

you taught us to love our neighbour,

 and to care for those in need

as if we were caring for you.

In this time of anxiety, give us strength

to comfort the fearful, to tend the sick,

and to assure the isolated

of our love, and your love,

for your name’s sake.

Amen.

___

 Father Andrew.

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Community Council Recognition

 

 

MESSAGE FROM COUNCILLOR DEAN LEWIS

 

I recommended others to receive a letter from the Lord Lieutenant – people who are going above and beyond in their efforts to help our community.  There are many more I would have liked to have nominated to receive one, but I had to make a decision on who, and I think that we’ll all agree the people who have received the letters are deserved recipients of them.

 

Kind regards and stay well

Dean

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Vale of Neath Practice “RED AREA”

The following information supplied by The Vale of Neath Practice

 

 

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This Photo’ by Hugh Lewis

This Photo’ by Hugh Lewis

This Photo’ by Hugh Lewis

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Local Girl Receives Recognition in National Awards Ceremony

Natasha Williams of John Street Resolven was recently nominated for the Tutor of the Year Award in the “Inspire! Tutor Awards 2019”.   Natasha, daughter of Mark and Janine Williams, is a support worker and tutor for adults with autism and learning difficulties and is based at the National Autism Society Centre in Llansamlet.   She was nominated from there by colleague Sam Howard and there were entries from all over Wales.

 

 

Although Natasha  just missed out on “Tutor of the Year”, she and the other worthy finalists were presented with certificates.

WITH TV PRESENTER NIA PARRY

 

 

WITH SAM HOWARD

Natasha’s mother Janine and younger sister Samantha (also a support worker in Llansamlet) joined her at St. Fagan’s Museum for the award-giving ceremony.

 

Many congratulations Natasha!

During these difficult and stressful times, both Natasha and Samantha are still dedicated and hardworking support workers and tutors at the Llansamlet Autism Centre.

 

 

 

 

Sardis message from Pastor Fortunato Santos-19th April

 

I am sending the sermon for Sunday and Bible Study for Tuesday.

God bless

Then the Lord reinvented the church – 19/04/2020

 Acts 11:1-15

When we read the book of Acts we are always very impressed with the power of the Spirit of God and how He moved upon the church. It is truly an impressive account. However, the church closed itself in a Jewish community and it stayed there. The apostles were not fulfilling the Great Commission as we find it in Matthew 28:16-20. It was the Lord’s desire for the gospel to be preached to the very ends of the earth. The church still being very Jewish, we look for instance in Acts 3 at the story of Peter and John going to temple at 3pm where a paralytic man is healed and he started walking and praising God. It is important to notice that Peter and John by now had seen Jesus ascended to heaven, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they were still practicing Judaism as their religion, at 3pm they went with all the other Jews to Temple to pray because this was the Jewish tradition of those days. They were doing what they knew and they did not see any need of changing anything. Then we read in Acts 8 the church being persecuted and then its evangelistic enterprise beyond Jerusalem started.  We read in chapter 10 Peter having a wonderful vision from God and how God worked in that vision. In the Jewish culture the gentiles would be considered impure people – God used an analogy to speak to Peter and show to him that they were not impure. Also in chapter 10 we see the vision God gave to Peter becoming true. Peter went with the soldiers to Cornellius’s house and they were God fearing people who did not know the way. When Peter arrived in Caesarea he found a group of people in whose life God had been working and they were ready to receive the truth of the gospel. Peter was called In front of the ‘synod’ to give an account of his actions to them. How could he dare to eat with non-Jews? It was against their culture. Between Acts 1 to Acts 10 spans around 7 years. For around 7 years the church was short sighted and God thought I need to do something new in order to change what is happening.

As we can see, God needed to reinvent the church. It was important for the church to have its own identity and take up her responsibility of breaking away from man’s traditions by sharing the good news with the world. It was a completely new concept to these Jewish boys ‘we are one’. ‘We are one not as Jews, but we are one as Jews and Gentiles’. Paul worked on this subject when he said in (Galatians 3:28) for in Christ there is no Jew, no Greek as we are one in Him. God just did not save the Gentiles, He poured out His Spirit upon them as well. It is wonderful to see people coming through the doors to worship God with other believers and it is a healthy position to take. However, it is wrong to think that we as church, have a monopoly over God. It wrong for us to think that we own God. There are lots of people out there who are truly God fearing people and who have a lot to teach us and encourage us in the ways of the Lord. The Spirit of God is working in people’s hearts much more that what we can think. We have the tendency to think of the church as being a cocoon. If it does not happen in the church it is not good and we are doubtful of it. We do  need to analyse things and check them against the scriptures. God isn’t in enclosure within the church and even less within our own spiritual culture. God is much bigger than what we can think and imagine and praise God for that.

It was necessary for God to give Peter a very drastic vision  in order to wake up the church for infinite possibilities ahead of her. To bring the church out of her own ghetto and be exposed to the reality of a world to be saved and ready to receive the truth. Of course I do not like what is happening around us at this very present moment. However God is giving us a wake up call as the body of Christ and shaking us from our conformism in doing church and showing to us new ways. For sure we are going to carry on doing lots of the things as we have been doing before but nevertheless we are going to do new things too. Our moment in history is teaching us to be innovative and creative. I have been greatly encouraged to see how people are developing their own spirituality and walk with God. I have been great encouraged in seeing people looking after people, caring for people, phoning, shopping etc. We are rediscovering us and reinventing our ways of doing church and promoting the gospel. There are so many lessons we can learn and God expects us to learn them. God shook the early church to its core and God is shaking us up today in order for us to shape up.

There is a great need for us to reach out to those who never heard, or are not listening, or responding to our conventional ways of doing church. We must come out of the situation we are living in much better than when we first entered it. We need to have a new vision and be reinvigorated in doing church in new and efficient ways. If Peter had not responded in a positive way to the vision he was given by God he would have covered himself with the blanket of prejudices within Judaism. If the church would have carried on with the mentality ‘for Jews’ only, most of us would not be part of the salvation in Christ because the majority of us are not Jews. We are gentiles and God had a plan and desire to save us too. The saving plan of God is inclusive and not exclusive. To achieve that, He  shook up the conventional ways the apostles were doing church.

BIBLE STUDY

The Power of Secret Prayer 21/04/2020

Matthew 6: 5 -8

A friend sent me today a poster that says ‘Prayer is the best gift you can give a friend’.

These verses are an introduction to the teaching of what we call ‘The Lord’s Prayer’.  We concentrate on the Lord’s prayer and we forget the wonderful principle of what He is teaching us, ‘Secret Prayer’

Prayer is when we talk to God and prayer is something you can do for someone even when they do not want it. Some times people tell you ‘please do not pray for me’; you still can pray for them and they do not need to know about it. Prayer can be kept as a secret between you and God. This is what we call ‘Secret Prayer’. Some people have had some disappointments in life and they turn against God and this is one of the reasons why they do not want prayers – still, in the secret of your room you are able to pray for them even though they do not know about it. Prayer is a wonderful tool the Lord has given us, there is no distance in prayer, no language barrier, no class barrier etc. You can pray for an astronaut who is in the moon, or for a naval man who is in a nuclear submarine in the deepest of the oceans on earth. You can pray for someone who speaks Chinese, Welsh or any other language and you can pray for them in a different language altogether. You can pray for your closest friend or for someone you have never met but you saw their photo in a magazine and the Lord puts in your heart the desire to pray for that person. You can pray for the richest man in the world or for a homeless person you have seen in Swansea. All of these examples and more you can do in the secret of your own room. The Lord Jesus was not impressed with people who liked praying to show off how beautifully they could pray and eloquent they could say prayers in public.  There is nothing wrong with long prayers, but it is wrong when we pray to show off.

The Lord Jesus prayed. The bible gives us example of Jesus praying alone and other times He prayed publicly (Hebrews 5:7; Luke 6:12; John 11:41). It is very important we develop our own prayer life with the Lord. Just to remind you ‘ prayer is a very powerful tool the Lord has given us, His people’.

There are some prayers that we need to keep as a secret because they are just between you and the Lord. In my own personal life I have lots of prayers which no one knows about. It does not mean I do not trust  people, but these prayers I am referring to, they are just between me and the Lord. They are like precious secrets between us. You just tell the deepest secrets of your heart to someone you fully trust. I can reassure you that there are no secrets between the Lord and I. I am referring to His omniscience -He knows everything. I know He knows everything, but I love spending time with Him and sharing with Him things which are in my heart. This is part of praying in secret.

The secret prayer has its prices to pay too. I personally l love to hear testimonies of people sharing how the Lord has answered their prayers. Some of the secret prayers, when the Lord answers them, it is to keep just between you two. The joy of it is shared just between you, it is not that you are afraid but it is a private matter between you and Him. You are not being selfish but wise.

Secret prayers are not a substitute for public prayers. Actually we should see both as part of the same parcel.  We should have private prayers and secret prayers too. Some people resource to secret prayers only ,not because it is a private matter between them and the Lord, but because they are embarrassed of praying openly in public. When you are among Christians we are all part of the same family. We have the same Father and we as children we pray to the same Father. One of the prayers that we believers should pray is ‘Lord help me to pray out publicly’. It is such an encouragement for others when we see people talking with God.

Very often we say like this to people ‘I will pray for you’. We say it in some way of being apologetic about it. This is the wrong attitude, because the best thing we can do for anyone it is ‘to pray for them’. When we say to someone I will pray for you, what we are really saying is ‘I know someone who is able to help you and I am going to ask Him to help you’. In times of great need a helping hand can make a great difference in someone’s life.

Going back to ‘secret prayer’. There is so much need for it. If you know of a situation which is not right but you do not have the opportunity to talk about or do something about it exercise what the Lord has taught you, ‘secret prayer’. If you see someone suffering injustice in your place of work and you cannot do anything about it, it is time for ‘secret prayer’. Someone is struggling emotionally and you know there aren’t any words to comfort that person, it is time for ‘secret prayer’. You can take ‘secret prayer’ with you wherever you go.

Be a believer who prays publicly but also a believer who understand and exercises ‘secret prayer’.

Prayer requests

Claire James and her daughter Elise. Both of them working in local hospitals and they need the Lord’s protection.

Pray for people within our own fellowship.

Pray for your family

Pray for your neighbours

Pray for our country

Family Enquiry from New Zealand

Family Enquiry from New Zealand

RDN has received the following enquiry from Lesley Picking who lives in New Zealand.

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“I’m writing from New Zealand in the faint hope you can point me to someone in Resolven who may be able to help me with of the family history of the Jenkins family. For years I’ve been searching via Ancestry websites to locate any of the families of my three Great Uncles. But so far it’s been to no avail so I wondered if some of their descendants might still live locally in Resolven. I thought it might be a good time to contact a local paper to see if they could forward this message to the right person, seeing people aren’t able to get out and about at the moment and may have free time to help me.

Specifically, I am trying to gather information on my Grandmother’s family. Her maiden name was Mary Jenkins (nicknamed Pollie, born 1894) and her siblings were Elizabeth (Lissy born 1898), Evan (born 1887), David (born 1884), and Daniel (born 1886) They lived with their parents Richard and Mary (nee James) first at Pan-tryn cottage in Llantwit Lower and later at 50 Bryn Golwg St in Resolfen. When her father Richard died in Feb 1922 the address given was Brynhenlog, Resolven. After he died Mary Jenkins relocated to Aberystwyth from Resolven to be nearer to her two daughters. Grandma (Pollie) married William Fazakerley in 1916 and my Dad Les was the second of her seven children raised in Penhrynduedreth. My Great Aunt Lissy had a family in Aberystwyth.

But nobody seems to know what became of Grandmas brothers David and Daniel and Evan Jenkins. I found records that indicate that Daniel may have married a Mary and went on to have children Gwyn and Gwendoline Jenkins. I think Evan might have become a teacher. I’m not sure about David at all.

Grandmas mother Mary James was born in June 1859 at 4 Shop Row Lantwit Juxta Neath and her parents were David and Margaret James.  Grandmas father Richard Jenkins was an under-colliery Manager born about 1855 in Lantwit Lower. As a child lived in the school house in Llantwit Lower with his widowed Mother Frances Jenkins and his siblings Anne, David and Thomas. Richard’s father was also a Richard Jenkins and had been a school teacher before he died sometime before 1861.

I would appreciate any advice about where to track down living members of the family, or even newspapers or records about my ancestors. Unfortunately I don’t speak Welsh so I haven’t had much luck with online Welsh records. I don’t know the name of the mine my Great Grandfather was Under-Colliery Manager for, so perhaps there could be leads in local mining records.

Anyway, thanks for your time and I hope you don’t mind the intrusion. I figure this is worth trying – just in case I have living family in Resolven.

All the best,

Lesley”

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If anyone has genuine information about the Jenkins family mentioned in Lesley’s e-mail would you please reply to am@resolvendistrictnews.co.uk   and we will forward your e-mail onto Lesley.

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High Sheriff Awards for Resolven Residents

The High Sheriff of West Glamorgan Awards are given to members of the public whose voluntary contributions to the community make a difference and open up opportunities for those who might not otherwise have them. There are 3 separate categories – adult, young person and group.

This year Resolven once again gained honours in this award, not just one but three Resolven residents were recognised.

Due to the coronavirus limiting social gatherings, we don’t have the full information we might have gained through interviewing people as in previous years, so if anything is missing from this article we apologise.

Saturday March the 28th was to be the day of the official presentation at Mumbles Cricket Club and a celebration party was planned for them at the Resolven Miners Welfare Hall that night. Sadly this was not to be the case after the necessary government rulings on distancing and isolation were put into place before it could happen. That doesn’t mean we can’t congratulate the Resolven winners here and celebrate with them some time in the future though.

 

GLORIA FELTON

Gloria was born in Resolven and attended Ynysfach Primary School before going on to study at Windsor Business Training College in Neath . She had two daughters who both attended Ynysfach Primary and it was when her grandchildren arrived more than 30 years ago that she became a volunteer there, to offer extra help with reading skills to the pupils. For 20 of those years she has also been a governor – always ready to help with events and never failing in her efforts to take the school forward.

Gloria is without doubt a highly respected and appreciated member of our community and deserves her recognition for this award.

 

DEBBIE CLARKE

Debbie lives in Resolven with her husband and 4 daughters. She is probably best known for her voluntary work as a leader with the 12th Neath scouts group in Resolven, but she is also involved with other groups locally such as the Resolven community events group who organise the village carnival. Her energy and spirit never falter and can often be both seen and heard in many local social events encouraging and supporting the young people of our village.

 

 

JACK ROBERTS

Jack was nominated as a young person for his contribution to the scouts’ movement in the village. He became a volunteer 2 years ago after their leader Debbie Evans put out a request for help to run the group. After making a good impression and gaining confidence, he responded to the Akela’s (Debbie’s) suggestion and began to train as a leader and is now known to the beavers he supervises as Shere Khan. Jack is an enthusiastic and encouraging role model to those in his care and will undoubtedly continue to be an asset to our community

Resolven District News recognises the achievements of the 3 worthy winners of this year’s award and both congratulate and thank them for their contribution to Resolven.

Original Report by Diane Sims

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Sad Death of Mr Gwyn Thomas

From  Angela, youngest daughter of Gwyn and Jean

Dad sadly passed away peacefully on the 15th April 2020 after a long illness fought with courage and dignity, the funeral is to be held on Saturday 25th April, leaving the house at 11:00am following a brief service outside their home.

Due to current Covid guidelines it is immediate family only, however Alun Lewis is putting a message on the firms Facebook page to request that anyone wishing to pay their respects acknowledges the hearse along the route, which if Mam’s funeral is anything to go by will be from their home in Rugby Road, up Cory street and from there to dads final resting place. If anyone wishes to do so they are more than welcome.

We have also decided as a family that we will be organising a celebration of dads life when we are able to.

Angela, Susan, Alyn & Gareth

Message from Resolven Food Bank

.

We have received a lot of lovely messages lately asking how people can donate items to us due to them self isolating. We have now made an Amazon wish list where you can get items delivered directly to us from the comfort of your home.

We have compiled a list which is the closest comparison to our ‘normal’ list used here at the food bank for people in need i.e essential non perishable foods . For those wishing to donate please use the list as a guideline, if products are out of stock similar items would also be accepted.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/YBK40AGEHUXT?&sort=default

 

Thank you so much to everyone for their invaluable support with donations and offers to help with the food bank, without your support we would not be able to continue supporting so many people who need it.

If you or someone you know is in need of a food parcel please get in touch, all queries are confidential.

*The delivery address on the wish list is that of a volunteer of the food bank due to the current reduced opening hours of our building. All donations will be taken straight to the food bank.*

 

Caitlin Gnojek (Resolven Food Bank)

Bank Holiday Refuse/Recycling Collections

Bank Holiday Collections

There will be no changes to rubbish and recycling collections on Good Friday (April 10th).

13 April – 17 April

All collections for this week will be 1 day later than normal

Normal collection rounds will resume on Monday 20th April 2020

Date Revised Date
Monday 13th April Tuesday 14th April
Tuesday 14th April Wednesday 15th April
Wednesday 15th April Thursday 16th April
Thursday 16th April Friday 17th April
Friday 17th April Saturday 18th April

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Easter Message for Sardis From Pastor Fortunato Santos

 

I am sending you messages for Good Friday, Sunday and Tuesday Bible Study.

On Good Friday at 3pm for those are who available we will be having communion in our own houses but being aware that we are not alone. We are part of a worldwide community of believers who will be together in spirit remembering the Lord till He comes.

 

Please, if you are able on Good Friday at 3pm to celebrate alone, or if there are other believers in your household celebrate with them the Last Supper. You will need bread, wine (Ribena or water). At 3pm stand for 1 minute silence in respect for what the Lord Jesus has done for us. Please have communion after you have read the message below.

Pray and sing a song

Please read Luke 22: 44 -56

It took them 33 and ½ years for the authorities to put their hands on Him. We know through the scriptures that when Jesus was born, King Herod tried to kill Him (Matthew 2:13-18). More than once  people tried to kill Jesus (Luke 4:28-30;John 11:53). Even though it took them 33 ½ years to lay their hands on Him, they were always harassing Him. Jesus was truly bullied by many people in those days. His enemies tried to embarrass Him, tried to cause Him to say or do something against the law of God, they tried hard to incriminate Him, but they could not because He was an innocent man. It took them a long time, but a day came when Jesus was caught by those who hated Him.

In the mind of the disciples it was just another Passover meal and it was a  time when they reminisced about the escape of the Hebrew children from Egypt. It was a very meaningful day when the whole Jewish nation would stop and celebrate the Passover. However this Passover was a different one from all the other Passover celebrations which took place. They were a representation of the True Passover. The True Passover would be when God Himself would be the Lamb to be sacrificed for us. In Genesis 22:7,8 we read about Isaac asking Abraham a question ‘Father, the fire and the wood are here but where is lamb for the burnt offering?’ Abraham gave an answer ‘God Himself will provide a lamb for the burnt offering’. We know that God did provide a lamb and Isaac’s life was spared. The question asked by Isaac ‘where is the lamb?’, was also answered by John the Baptist. When John the Baptist saw Jesus he said ‘Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29). Going back to the last Passover meal Jesus had with the disciples, He was eager to eat it with them (Luke 22:15). When Jesus entered the room and saw everything was prepared for them to ‘enjoy the feast’,  because for the Jews it was a festive occasion – Jesus saw the lamb on the table He knew what it represented, it represented Him, who would be the  very sacrifice that would be taking place just in matter of hours. 33 and ½ years and the time had come for the authorities to lay their hands on Him because He could not escape any longer. No, it was for this very hour Jesus had come into the world. Jesus willingly gave Himself into the hands of those who were going to crucify Him.  Isaac had a lamb which took his place, but Jesus was the very Lamb that was going to take our place. He prayed and cried out to God to help Him “Father if you are willing take this cup from Me” (Luke 22:42). God had the power to do so, God had the power to take that cup from Jesus, however, God decided not to. It broke God’s heart when His only Son cried out and pleaded with Him to pass that cup from Him. God knew it was the only way mankind could be brought back to Himself. God’s commitment to redeem mankind was stronger than His desire to spare His Son. God knew this was the only way we could find forgiveness and reconciliation with Him. The whole of the universe felt the pain of what was taking place. The Lord did not share The Last Passover only with His disciples, spiritually speaking He shared it with all of us. When we take Communion together we remember what He has done for us.

Calvary was not an accident in Jesus’ history. Calvary was planned by God. God in His infinite compassion provided a Lamb that was slain for us to take away our sin. Good Friday is a day of great paradox. A great paradox because an innocent man – Jesus – was found guilty so that the guilty ones could go free – us. It was a day of great sadness but also of great joy. Sadness because Jesus died, but joy because through His death we obtain eternal life. It was a day of what seemed to be a great defeat when  the Son of God was sacrificed, bur also great joy, because through His sacrifice we find forgiveness and reconciliation with God.

It was done for us, it was done for me.

God bless you.

At this moment if you wish sing a song to the Lord – I would suggest ‘When I survey the wondrous cross.

Now as we take communion together first we give God thanks for giving us Jesus.

If you have done anything you know that has displeased the Lord confess it now.

Open your bible and 1 Corinthians 11:23 – 26

Break the bread which represents the broken body of Jesus, pray and eat the bread

Take wine which represents the blood of Jesus, pray and drink the cup.

 

Tuesday Bible Study

The Lord’s Supper – 14/04/20

Pray and ask the Lord to speak into your heart.

We have just celebrated Good Friday. Good Friday gives a very clear teaching of the Last Supper and in our Bible Study today we are going to look at Paul’s teaching on the Lord’s Supper.

Sing to worship Him.

Read 1 Corinthians 11: 17-33

The city of Corinth was, and is located in the south of Greece. Paul first visited it during his second missionary journey. Corinth was a port city and because of that it was influenced by many different parts of the world. It was a very idolatrous town and also promiscuous . This is the sort of place where Paul took the gospel and he succeeded to plant a church which developed well. However, to put all of these people together proved to be a big challenge and they had a lot to learn in how to behave as children of God. They had a heart for God but it was necessary for them to learn to do things in God’s ways. Paul was afraid their meeting was causing more harm than good (in verse 17). This is a challenge to us as believers today  – our gathering should do more good than harm. We are part of the meeting and not just spectators. Paul had a lot to teach the people in Corinth of how to behave as Christians. In this passage we just read he was teaching them about ‘The Lord’s Supper’. These people came from a pagan background and found salvation in Christ but they did not have a Christian culture to support their new faith and they were doing things that weren’t right and Paul was teaching them how to live in newness of life.

It was part of the pagan culture of those days when people were meeting together in the pagan temples to eat and drink. The animals that were sacrificed to the pagan gods would be slaughtered and cooked and the meat given to the people to eat. The person who paid for the sacrifice ‘the patron’ he, and his family and friends would be the first ones to eat and also to drink. Then the rest of the food would be distributed to others and some people who were hungry would be fighting over the food and drink. Those people used to have proper food parties in the pagan temples and some people would go there only to eat and drink. Of course, when some of these people were converted to Christianity inadvertently they brought with them their pagan culture which would not resemble at all the Jewish Passover meal.  Paul took the opportunity to teach them about the ‘new faith they had embraced’. In our own walk with God we can be discouraged when we see people doing things that are not quite right. Do not lose heart but be willing to teach them the ways of God, it is part of discipling them about God.

To avoid problems of gluttony and drunkenness, Paul taught the Corinthians to eat and drink at home so that when they would have the Lord’s Supper together they would concentrate upon Jesus sacrifice. Paul never met with the Lord, he was not part of those who were present in the Last Supper, but he learned to ‘remember the Lord till He comes’.  The broken bread symbolizes the broken body of Jesus. All the physical and emotional torture He went through in order to save us. The punishment that was upon Him, was our punishment. He did not do anything that deserved such cruel punishment. The wine is a symbol of Jesus blood which was shed for us. Blood in the Bible represents life. The Lord Jesus shed His blood ‘life’ to redeem us from our sins. He paid the price.

Paul also calls to our attention for us not to participate of the Lord’s table with sin in our hearts. That’s why it is important for people to put their lives right with God and in some instances with others before they take communion. If we do it with impure hearts we are going to be bringing judgement upon ourselves. It is very unwise and it shows no fear of God when we take communion with sin in our lives. Paul said that it could even bring death to those who dare to do so (in verse 30).

One of the things we should refrain from doing is  looking around and thinking ‘this or that person should not be taking communion, I know what they have been up to’. Paul came across this problem in his days and that’s why he says in verses 28 to 31 ‘ let a man examine himself and judge himself’. I am not saying that we approve of people’s wrong doing, what I am saying is, when taking communion concentrate on what the Lord has done for you when he died on Calvary and do not be distracted from it.  During the Last Supper the Lord served even Judas Iscariot the one who betrayed Him. Communion is for us to partake in Remembrance of Him.

Prayer Points;

Joanne Morgan, and Joanna Davies (Mair’s daughter) as they work in Tonna Hospital.

People who are unwell

John Jervis, Kathy, Bethany, Terry Brock, June Harris, John Jervis, Alun Jones (Maureen’s brother)

Keep praying for those who are in the frontline (doctors, nurses, shop keepers, carers etc)

Pray for vaccination and medicine to combat Coronavirus to be found

Pray for the leadership in our country. Pray for the Prime Minister Boris Johnson

 

Neath Port Talbot Press Release – Cemeteries

Press Release

In common with a number of other Welsh local authorities, Neath Port Talbot Council will be temporarily closing its cemeteries to members of the public (unless they are attending a funeral) to help stop the spread of Coronavirus.

Tending to graves or memorials at cemeteries is not considered essential, though Council staff will continue to manage the maintenance of cemeteries and their grounds.

“Stopping the spread of Covid-19 and keeping our communities safe has to be our priority.”

The Council operates nine cemeteries in the following areas:
•     Cymmer
•     Goytre
•     Margam
•     Ynysmaerdy
•     Cwmbedd (Giants Grave)
•     Onllwyn
•     Llantwit
•    
Carmel
•     Godre’r Graig

The cemeteries will be locked from the 8th April but there will be access for the restricted family members allowed when funerals and burials are taking place during the current emergency.

The closures will remain in place until further notice.

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This notice does not apply to St David’s Churchyard/Cemetery Resolven which comes under the control of The Church in Wales and the Melyncwrt Cemetery (Top Cemetery) under the control of Jerusalem Congregational Chapel, Resolven but if you visit these cemeteries you will be expected to ensure social distancing to keep all cemetery visitors safe.

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