Excerpt from a sermon at Next, Feb 2014.

You know what makes Kingston a place worth living? You guys. You bring value to otherwise meaningless lives… Not worthless lives, but lives that have been deemed unworthy by the privileged, by the media, by the powers that be. Into those lives, you – the community at Next – bring meaning, bring hope, bring direction, bring love & community. You are the GPS by which others find their way to God. You are the light at the end of the tunnel for those suffering from depression or lack of friendship. Your lives and friendships offer a kind of hope to those around you that nothing else in the world can even come close to. When you love those around you, it’s on of the only things that can break through their feelings of being unloved or unlovable and the knowledge of that love can lead to understanding the possibility that our great God (the God of the universe) loves them too, even for folks who would never be able to imagine that before. Wake up and shine the light of Christ into the world. You may feel like the downtrodden, like the rejected, like you don’t have enough – and that may even be true at times – but that can’t stop the effect of your beacon in the darkness. Your acts of kindness are the only gospel some people may ever hear. This is what friends of Jesus look like – this is what a community filled with the Holy Spirit will become. You are such a people, the light of Christ is in you.

(Based on Matthew 5 and Ephesians 5)

Labyrinth Light Painting

Just a closer walk with thee - new verses!

(Simple version, with optional fancy chords in brackets)

C (Dm) G
I am weak, but thou art strong;
(Dm) G C (A / Dm / G)
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
C C7 F (F#dim / Fm/Bb)
I’ll be satisfied as long
C G7 C (A / Dm / G)
As I walk, let me walk close to thee.

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but thee, dear Lord, none but thee.

Lead me onward in thy ways,
following your steps always,
let my every move be praise,
as I walk, dear Lord, close to thee.

As we walk into thy light,
Jesus, please renew our sight,
let your spirit now alight,
as we watch and walk, Lord, with thee.