Magazine for the Children and Young People
4-US
EDITION SPRING 2007
Message
from Mrs Houghton.
Hi
Welcome to the first edition of 4-US, the magazine for all you younger folk in the South Church. I hope you enjoy the articles and look forward to your stories, poems and viewpoints in the future editions.
Once you have read the magazine, let us know what you think of it and what would make it more enjoyable for you in the future. We ask you to do this because you are very important to us indeed. I enjoy being your minister and think you are all great. I only wish I could spend more time with you.
Hey, if you give us your ideas, maybe we could manage this. I look forward to hearing from you and shall ask the ‘Editor’ if I can have a regular place in the magazine…maybe you could think what to call it…..something like the ‘REV’s spot’. Bye for now….
Christine
The Fish Symbol
The
FISH Symbol is to have been used by the early followers of Jesus. The Christian
church teaches that this symbol has existed for centuries- representing the
concept: “JESUS IS THE FISHER OF MEN”, which means he is FISHER of PEOPLE.
Wonder how many of you have spotted this symbol on someone’s jacket or on a car sticker?
New Testament Matthew 28:6: He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
There are many things that remind us of Easter. There are flowers, chocolate Easter bunnies, and pretty Easter baskets. One thing that all of us think of when we think of Easter is Easter eggs. How many of you have ever been on an Easter egg hunt? Have you ever wondered why we use the egg to represent Easter?
When a mother hen sits on her eggs for a few weeks, do you know what happens? That's right, in a few weeks the eggs begin to crack open and little baby chick come out. An egg means new life. It reminds us that there is a new life inside that can come out. It reminds me that on Easter Sunday, when Jesus' followers went to His tomb, the tomb was empty. An angel was there to tell them, "He is not here; He has risen, just as He said." The grave is empty, Jesus isn't in there. He is alive, and because He is alive, we too can have a new life in Him.
We celebrate Easter Sunday because that is the day that Jesus came out of the grave and He was alive.
Lord God, Easter is when we remember that Jesus rose from the dead and showed the world that whoever believes in You has everlasting life. AMEN.
New
Testament:
Matthew 5:1-12
Have you ever watched a bee buzzing around in a flower garden? As you watch that bee, you will see that he isn't worried about a thing in the world. He is too busy enjoying all of the beautiful flowers that God has provided for him. He is as busy and as happy as a bee can be. If you were asked what makes you happy, what would your answer be?
Does it surprise you to know that God wants you to be happy? Well, he does, but you might be surprised to find out that what Jesus said about happiness is quite different from what you and I might expect. Most of us think that to be happy means having a lot of money, having plenty to eat, having someone to take care of us, or being well-liked by everyone. That isn't what Jesus said. One day Jesus went up onto the side of a mountain. He sat down, gathered his disciples around him, and began to teach them about happiness. Even though these are not the exact words Jesus used, they will help us to understand what he taught. He said things like:
Be happy when you are poor in spirit, because then you will find that your riches are in the kingdom of heaven.
Be happy when you feel you have lost what is most dear to you, because it is then that you will feel the love of the One who is the most dear to you.
Be happy with what you have, because then you will find that your heavenly Father provides everything that you need.
Be happy when you are hungry for the things of God, because then you will find that only He can satisfy.
Be happy when you are caring for others, because it is in caring for others that you will find that you have a heavenly Father who cares for you.
Be happy when your heart is right with God, because it is then that you will see that God is at work in the world around you.
Be happy when you help others to get along peacefully with one another, because it is then that you will know the peace that comes from being a part of the family of God.
Be happy
when others treat you badly because you follow me, because your reward will be
great in heaven.
You see, happiness is not a feeling that is brought about by the things that happen to us. It is an attitude that we have because of what we have in our heart. We need to be like the bee, buzzing happily through life because of what God has done for us.
About Christian Aid (more information available online www.christian-aid.org.uk)
Christian Aid is an agency of the churches in the UK and Ireland. We work wherever the need is greatest – irrespective of religion or race.
Because we believe in strengthening people to find their own solutions to the problems they face, we support local organisations, which are best placed to understand local needs. We also give help on the ground through 16 overseas offices.
Christian Aid strive for a new world transformed by an end to poverty and we campaign to change the rules that keep people poor.
You give them something to eat ……(Luke 9:13)..
'The disciples said to Jesus, 'Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place.' But Jesus said to them, 'You give them something to eat.'
The Bible has a good few stories of people in need - from the Israelites desperate for food or water in the book of Exodus to sick people begging Jesus to heal them. But on the scale of human suffering, the hungry crowd who listen to Jesus teaching in a deserted place must rank pretty low. They were not, after all, very far from help.
Yet the incident that leads to the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 give us vital guidelines in helping people in difficult situations.
• The disciples are aware of the
problem - no doubt they too were feeling peckish and perhaps a little fearful as
night began to fall.
• They saw how the situation could be resolved. People would only move to a
safer environment if Jesus himself told them to go.
• But Jesus doesn't want to send the people away - he wants to feed them. So he
puts the solution back into the hands of the disciples themselves, albeit with
some help: 'you give them something to eat'.
Seeing the problem is not always as easy as it may seem. The sheer frequency of horrific events, brought instantly to our TV screens and newspapers, can blind us to reality, obscuring the real people involved, the suffering individuals caught up in famines, earthquakes, accidents on land, sea or air.
Knowing what to do is still more difficult. There will be a few remarkable individuals who can take effective action on their own, but most of us need to trust in something bigger than we are, governments or aid agencies, to act on our behalf.
But this doesn't let us off the hook. No organisation, however big and powerful, can relieve large-scale suffering unaided. They need our money, our support, our prayers: the problem is back in our hands.
Our Prayers
Lord Jesus, Thank you for all the good things that have happened today. Thank you for keeping me safe and well. Thank you for fun with my family and friends. Thank you for what I have learned. Thank you for loving me. Amen.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for all that you have given us; fill our minds and hearts with wholesome ideas and constructive thoughts for others, so that through our thinking and living we may strengthen the lives of others. Help us to overcome our weaknesses and make us strong in you. Amen.
People in our Church
Name: Mr Houghton
Role in the Church: Elder, Co-Convenor of Mission & Outreach Group
Member of the Congregational Board
Favourite Colour: Red
Favourite Song: “We are the champions”, by Queen
Hymn – 527 Eternal Father Strong
to Save
(The Sailor’s Hymn)
Favourite TV Programme: Foyle’s War
Favourite Sweet: Wine Gums
Favourite Food: Spaghetti Bolognese
Favourite Sport or Game: American Football
Name of Pet(s): Rolo our dog
Message
for You: Always remember that God
is with you at all times
and in all places and WILL
LOVE YOU FOREVER.
Silly Jokes
What pie can fly? A Magpie
What goes tick, tick, woof, woof? A watch dog
What city cheats at exams? Peking!
Little boy says to his dad, “I want a haircut please”. His dad says, “certainly, which one”.
Who invented fire? Some bright spark!
WORD SCRAMBLE
When you unscramble the words “The Eyes” you get “THEY SEE”
When you unscramble the words “The Morse Code” you get “HERE COMES DOTS”
When you unscramble the words “Presbyterian” you get “BEST IN PRAYER”
SPOT THE DIFFERENCE (There are 7)
Answers on the next page
Answers for Spot the Difference are:-
- Hair, 2.Mouth, 3.Arm, 4.Sleeve, 5.Pocket, 6.Plant, 7. Plant
The Stained Glass Windows
Explanation of Stained Glass Windows installed in the left and right transepts in 1979.
The left hand window was donated by the Reverend William Hume in memory of his wife and the right hand window was donated by the Guild to mark their 75th anniversary.
Left Hand Window Right hand Window
Left Hand Window
Being on the pulpit side, the theme here of “Preaching” is quite appropriate.
The central anagram is a symbol of Christ – the “Chi Rho” – coupled with a Greek Cross. This in itself gives a radiatory impression: the Word, too, has spread outwards from a single source (Christ)
The Word was initially spread by Christ’s disciples, and the symbols of the four Evangelists have been chosen as representing the spreading of the Word through preaching.
The symbols are: Matthew : on a winged tablet.
Mark : winged lion.
Luke : winged ox.
John : eagle.
These four symbols are drawn in a night sky, contrasting with the brighter central section.
The figures Alpha and Omega represent the beginning and the end (i.e. a life), and the Lamb of God holds the banner of victory.
Right Hand Window
The Guild Window takes as its subject “Fishers of Men”
The theme is taken as a parallel within the Whitburn Community : as man takes fish from the sea, so does man take coal from the body of the land. The hands in the central panel can be seen as symbols of manual work.
The fish is also a symbol of Christ, for the 5 Greek letters forming the word “fish” (seen in the upper sections of the window) are the initial letters of the 5 words “Jesus Christ God’s Son Saviour”. A reference is made to night, here also, as work must continue throughout the daily cycle. In each window, a raven in flight is mentioned, as a reminder of the deeper powers of darkness.
