to console the mourners in Zion—
'to give them a crown of beauty for ashes,
the oil of joy for mourning,
and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified'
Isaiah 61:3
I was particularly struck by the garment of praise and the oaks of righteousness.
Last Sunday was Easter and we had a sermon on the resurrection, we also met to study the book of Galatians.
On Easter Monday I planted some seeds in the garden so it will nice to see them grow and develop over the next few weeks if all goes well.
This week the prime minister has come out of hospital, thanks be to God, and is recovering at home. Our former pastor went to glory at the beginning of the week. Our prayer meeting reflected on his passing.
The bluebells are looking lovely in the woods. It is a blessing to have nice places to walk so nearby.
I've continued working by telephone all week, it seems to work very well and many people have good motivation for exercise at the moment with plenty of time and good weather.
It's strange really some things seem to be getting easier - the regular daily routine, the method for going around the supermarket doing two lots of shopping, the routine of evening phone calls but somehow this week has seemed more difficult for the lack of face to face interaction. It was disappointing but not unexpected that the lockdown has been extended for another 3 weeks.
Many churches are taking advantage of online opportunities, running short evangelistic courses, seeing more people at their meetings, online Sunday schools and holiday clubs. There have been several online sermons and blogs about 'Don't waste your lockdown'. There is more time for Bible study and prayer but there are also many distractions. How wonderful it would be to see a bright shining church emerge from this full of zeal and no longer lukewarm.
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