Claiming the Crown (Words during worship)

As we sang 'boldly I approach His throne, and claim this crown' I had a mental image of myself as a young child approaching a royal throne where royal robes, a crown and a sceptre were laid aside, climbing onto the throne and dressing up in the robes with the crown a little crooked on my head. Then my perspective changed and I was the loving parent approaching the throne, delighting in the sight of the child's eyes turned to me in trust, love and that anticipation children have in their eyes at moments like that. The image touched me deeply, affirming that love that our Heavenly Father has for us, His beloved children, and giving a deep sense of the warmth with which he embraces us, cradling us with love in His lap as He sits on the throne of Heaven. Where else would we choose to be?

Simon B_ felt that some of us at the meeting had chains that need to be broken - he brought the reading of Jesus' meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well and expounded it for us, pointing out that the woman had come to the well at the middle of the day when she didn't expect anyone else to be there, suggesting that she couldn't face her neighbours, that she felt unacceptable. Jesus was there to respond to the woman's need. Simon said, "If that is you, you're feeling unacceptable, come now - acknowledge Jesus is the well, the water of life - come and receive".

(Simon didn't know it, but that passage from Scripture was the very passage Mark had chosen to preach on this morning).

Wayne: Recently God said to him that we come into contact with people in the ordinary events of our lives but life sometimes gets in the way and we don't have the time to take full advantage of those contacts. There is a purpose behind it - to learn from these people. The people God puts in our hearts to spend time with, sometimes it's difficult to get out of the normal rhythm of life to take time to be with them - God wants us to take that chance, to make use of those opportunities while you can.

Mark spoke on the passage of the Samaritan woman at the well and how Jesus engaged with her, and afterwards felt strongly that any divorced women who had been disappointed by men needed to come forward for prayer and to receive a fresh blessing from the Holy Spirit.