Northfield Methodist Church

Dear Friends—

Our theme today is Practicing the Presence of God. I am sure you recognize these words. They are the title of a well known and deeply loved little book written by Brother Lawrence. He discovered that in his work in the kitchen he could experience the Presence of God just as powerfully as he did at the Sacrament of Holy Communion. In this book he shares his secret of how he learnt this. I hope this morning that like Brother Lawrence we will also learn how to be more open to the Presence of God in the midst of our very busy and full lives.

The first and most basic thing we can and must do is to keep God before our minds. David knew this secret and wrote, “ I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved”. Somehow we need to learn how to direct and redirect our minds in a God-ward direction. In the early time of our practicing, we will find it very awkward. Our minds have deeply embedded habits that want to dwell on other things. But these habits, with the help of God, can be transformed.

Practicing the Presence of God does not mean that “we are so heavenly minded that we are of no earthly use”. In fact the exact opposite is true. We discover that we are able to do what is front of us with far greater effectiveness. This is the testimony of those who have gone before us. When God is an active Presence in our lives we are much more present in the here and now!

One great help in Practicing the Presence of God is regular meditation on Scripture. So do not miss Gavin Sklar-Chik tonight! Born into a Jewish home Gavin became a Christ-follower when he was at University. The direction of his life changed totally. He became a Baptist pastor and has given much of his life to pasturing a congregation in Brackendowns. Tonight he will be sharing something of his story, as well as helping us to learn how to meditate on God’s Word in the Scriptures.

We hope that God will meet you in our worship today.

God bless
The Ministry Team