Bishop David Roller continues his Whole Earth Stories series this time looking at:
Family problems? Two families crash into each other in this story. The great prophet Samuel is birthed out of the bullying of Hannah by her co-wife and the concurrent stripping of the priestly role from Eli and his boys.
Paul Young is the author of the massively popular book The Shack.
In this interview Paul talks about his own journey of faith.
At one point he says this:
I sat in front of him on the first day and I said “Scott, my life is over” and for the first time, I’m 38 years old, and for the first time in my life I say to another human being, “can you help me”.
To that point in my life that was the greatest single risk I had ever taken, because if the answer is no, why would I take the risk of doing this again?
One of the question you asked me earlier was “Can we get past this, can we get through brokenness, can we actually be healed of our addictions?” and I’m here to tell you “absolutely yes, but it’s not easy, it’s hard work, and you can’t do it by yourself; you have to take the risk of trusting someone…
At the end of 2004, 11 years of dismantling my soul, 11 years of saying “I have no idea who God is”, 11 years at the end of 2005 I turned 50, but in those 11 years I worked to the place where I could finally wipe the face of my father completely off the face of God. Because my view of God largely came through this difficult relationship with my dad and we are all impacted by our histories and our backgrounds, by the end of 2004 I was one of the healthiest people that I know, I had no secrets…
I had the privilege of being in a church in Atlanta, GA where Chris Tomlin is on the staff and a few thousand people attend a few weeks ago.
While Chris Tomlin wasn’t leading worship on that day, singing this song brought me to tears.
There’s a place where mercy reigns and never dies, There’s a place where streams of grace flow deep and wide. Where all the love I’ve ever found, Comes like a flood, Comes flowing down.
At the cross At the cross I surrender my life. I’m in awe of You I’m in awe of You Where Your love ran red and my sin washed white. I owe all to You I owe all to You Jesus.
On August Bank Holiday weekend our team of 12 will head out to Kibogora for a two-week visit to the hospital, church and school that are run by the Free Methodist Church in Rwanda. At the hospital we will be running a children’s club for patients and their families. Patients depend on their families to provide meals for them, and families bring in their healthy children to visit, so these children will also join our club. Some of us may get involved with the chaplaincy and working with the management team.There is a possibility that we will lead some school assemblies. We are planning some training sessions with youth and children’s workers in the local churches, and also hope to get involved in activities with the church in Kibogora.
A group from Fulwood FMC are sewing dresses for us to take, as well as the usual knitted hats and jumpers especially for new-born babies. We will take good quality used children’s and teenagers’ clothes to distribute via the hospital social work team. To help carry the clothes, we need suitcases. If you have any unwanted suitcases that we can take and leave in Rwanda, please let Dave Brown know. THANK YOU!
The pictures are of a knitted jumper and hat, and children’s clothes distributed on 2011 Visa Team visit
