On the Jericho Road

I hope you are ready for another year. There is so much to look forward to. It was a fabulous Sunday to start the year, Stuart who lives in a project house was baptised along with Sharon and Sharron who have recently started helping at the Feast. In the morning a resident chose to give his life to Christ and in the process felt forgiven from past criminal activity. What a great day!

The Feast starts again tomorrow night and new for 2009 is that the support group is moving from Tuesday afternoon to Friday morning between 10.30 and 12.00 based at King's.

There is a training session for all volunteers on the evening of the 27th January 2009 which will focus on handling difficult situations and conflict between people in a way that honours God, respects people and diffuses aggression. This training aims to help volunteers feel confident in their roles and able to intervene should difficult situations arise.

This morning I was reading the story of the beaten up man on the Jericho Road. The Samaritan response to the need is an incredible lesson in generosity. Way beyond even a simple act of compassion, the Samaritan man invests his own resources to secure safety for the beaten up man. When Jesus asked "who was the neighbour?", the expert in the law replied "the one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him "Go and do likewise." As we start a new year lets be those who demonstrate great mercy to those on the Jericho Road!