Thy Kingdom Come

Thy Kingdom Come is a global prayer movement that invites Christians around the world to pray for more people to come to know Jesus.  What started in 2016 as an invitation from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to the Church of England (and in which we here at St Nicholas joined in) has grown into an international and ecumenical call to prayer. 

Starting this Thursday I am encouraging you to consider praying for 5 people as part of the “Thy Kingdom come’ initiative I talked about last week for 11 days.  Karen has put together a number of simple resources which you will find on the table in front of our sound desk to help you in this. Please look at these, take a prayer card, prayer sticks, stones or threads.  We are going to have the church building open on June 3rd Saturday 10 am to 4 pm for prayer using prayer stations based on the Lord ’s Prayer as an option for you.  Our women’s group meeting on Wednesday evening are also going to take time to pray together. I have offered resources to our small group leaders available as an option for your group meetings next week.

From  the ‘thy Kingdom come website’ : During the 11 days of Thy Kingdom Come, it is hoped that everyone who participates will deepen their friendship with Jesus, bring others to know Jesus or know him better, and come to know that every aspect of their life is the stuff of prayer. 

The under-girding of everything we are doing here and in the Minster is prayer. Come and join in!

Shalom

Jamie

Our Father in heaven

We are now in our season of Easter, an exciting time leading to Pentecost and the out pouring of the Holy Spirit.  During this time we are holding our Alpha Courses beginning on Wednesday 26th April @6pm and Friday 28th April @9.30am.  People can register by email (stnicholasminster@gmail.com) or by filling out the registration form and placing in the box near the entrance of the church.  Also during this Easter time, following on from the prayer course we will be joining the Diocese in praying the Lord’s Prayer in the form of prayer stations. This Sunday you will notice the first of our stations – ‘Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name’.  This is an invitation for you to connect with God as the perfect father.  At this station, I invite you to sit before the portrait and images and consider what it means for God to be the perfect Father.  The Lord’s Prayer invites us to speak directly to God as Father, and we are invited to be a part of His family.

Yours in Christ

Karen

 

How do I pray? A prayer course @St Nicks

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“Lord, teach us to pray . . . “.  Jesus’ disciples watched Jesus praying and wanted to learn how to do it themselves.  In response Jesus gave them the Lord’s Prayer.  Throughout the six weeks of Lent we have the opportunity to learn and grow more in prayer too, by participating in The Prayer Course: six interactive sessions for small groups, based on the Lord’s prayer, covering topics such as intercession, dealing with disappointment, learning to listen and spiritual warfare.  The course has been produced by Alpha International and 24-7 Prayer, and features teaching by Pete Greig, founder of 24-7 prayer.

As Pete Greig says, ‘Prayerfulness doesn’t just get beamed down on super-saints . . . it is the heart and soul of every aspect of our relationship with God’.  However, if we are honest, most of us need help with prayer.  Come and join us and see where this adventure with prayer may lead you!

  When:  Tuesdays 3.00-4.30pm starting on February 28th venue to be announced

                Wednesdays 7.00-8.30pm at the church building starting on March 1st

                Mondays 2.00-3.30pm at the church building starting on March 6th

Find out more at www.prayercourse.org or talk to Jamie or Verity Murray

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Being Creative – Using Prayer Stations in our Church

Come Holy Spirit

Over the last few months we have been praying the Lords Prayer through prayer stations. During Pentecost the children created one of their own which seemed to glow with the light of the Holy Spirit.

This has been a valuable tool in visualising the words that Jesus gave us. As we quieten ourselves before the stations we make it easier to become aware of the inner presence of God’s Spirit. Like all learning listening to the voice of Jesus takes practice, and visualising the words we want to pray is just one way we can use prayer in our daily lives. Have you tried prayer stations before? Perhaps you could try making one at home.

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