Prayer for those in trouble

We hold before God:
those for whom life is difficult;
those who have difficult decisions to make, and
who honestly do not know what is the right thing to do.

We hold before God:
those who have difficult tasks to do and to face,
and who fear they may fail in them;
those who have difficult temptations to face, and
who know only too well that they may fall to
them, if they try to meet them alone.

We hold before God;
those who know that they can be their worst enemies.

We hold before God;
those who have difficult people to work with;
those who have to suffer unjust treatment, unfair
criticism, unappreciated work.

We hold before God:
those who are sad because someone they loved has died;
and any who are disappointed in something for
which they hoped very much.

William Barclay

CHURCHES URGE LEADERSHIP AGAINST ‘UNEQUAL’ TRADE

Planned European Union economic agreements with developing nations could ‘undermine recent progress towards making poverty history’, senior denominational and development agency leaders believe. Saying they were ‘compelled’ to act by ‘a Biblical understanding of justice’, the group used The Times letters page to urge the Government to lead a change in EU thinking on economic partnership agreements (EPAs). Launched five years ago, the EPAs have failed to be ‘development-friendly’, the group says. Instead, they are forcing ‘free-trade agreements between very unequal partners’, the letter says. The group, which includes the UK leaders of the Methodist, United Reformed and Baptist Union churches, urges the Government to find alternatives to forcing developing countries to open their markets prematurely.

Source: The Times (27/9)

Online Bible Study Highlights

This week's Online Bible Study theme on http://methodist.org.uk/bible is Oppression and Injustice and today's Bible notes by this week's author, Alison Parker, starts us off today after her notes on Luke 16: 1-13 with the following questions to ponder:-

How does money affect your relationships?

If Jesus was making these points to the religious leaders and powerful men of the day, who might these comments be aimed at today?

Is there a link with power, wealth and a temptation to take one’s eyes off God?

Today's Bible study and questions occur on the same morning as a discussion on the BBC's Today programme between John Humphries and one of the Controllers of the BBC about the impending cuts in BBC programmes because of shortage of money. It is clear that money affects my relationship with the BBC if it changes the quality and content of future programmes and we will all be eager to see what decisions are made in the meeting about to be held. There have, to date, been too many programmes that rely on the winning of money to gain an audience, often replacing more educational programmes. We were told that whatever decisions are made, they will endeavour to include something of interest to all sections of the community.

Going back to the Online Bible Study, I can recommend a daily visit as a good start to each day, giving plenty to think about throughout the day and perhaps stimulating us to add comments at the end of the day. I do hope that this new service will grow into a vital online fellowship, not only within the Methodist connexion but with many other followers of Jesus. Thank you to all the authors and to those responsible for setting it up.