Today's Scripture: Isaiah 5: 1-7 Philippians 3: 4b-14 S. Matthew 21: 33-end

Today: 8.35 a.m. Matins; 9.00 a.m. Church School; 9.30 a.m. Holy Eucharist; 6 p.m. EP.

This Week: Tues - Fri 12.30 p.m. Prayers; Sat 10 a.m. Prison Ministry.

Next Sunday: 8.35 a.m. Matins; 9.00a.m. Ch School; 9.30 a.m. Holy Eucharist; 6.00 p.m. EP

15^th Trinity After Sunday

Keep, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy Church with thy perpetual mercy; and, because the frailty of man without thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

FAITH IN FOCUS : HENRY’S FARM

People who saw Henry Jenkins’s farm would murmur to themselves. It was set in one of the most beautiful valleys in the area, with rolling fields that lolled into the distance and disappeared over the gentle inclines of the hills and mountains.

Although the farm was quite productive since Henry had a good herd of prize cattle and a flock of hardy sheep, there were one or two things that stood out as being rather bizarre.

The farmhouse was only just habitable. The rumour was that Henry had had a row with his family and when his father died Henry had been passed over and all the property had been bequeathed to Edward Jenkins, his younger brother with whom he didn’t get on. Henry was allowed to stay in it until he died. But knowing that Edward would inherit the house and land, he had deliberately spent nothing on it and let it go to wrack and ruin. The roof leaked, the window frames were rotten and the wall was on the verge of toppling down.

The arable fields that once were vast swathes of corn and barley had been left to grow into brambles and briars. There was plenty of opportunity for the land to be productive, but this was yet another way for Henry to get back at Edward.

Henry didn’t mind living in the place. He earned more than enough to live on from the animals and he couldn’t be bothered to put himself out. A few buyers came and tried to offer him a large amount for the property, given its potential. But Henry wasn’t interested and of course never mentioned it to Edward.

The sting in the tail came one November’s evening. News arrived that his younger brother had died. And when the will was read, Edward had left the farmhouse and all the property to Henry.

I AM THE LAY PASTOR of a small church. I am not ordained. I am not seminary trained. I was asked to leave both Bible Colleges I attended. I am divorced and remarried. On any given day, I am capable of being a jerk with my wife and family. I am terminally insecure, which causes me to compensate with bouts of arrogance. At times, people irritate me, and I hide from them. I am impulsive, which causes me to say things I shouldn't and make promises I cannot keep. I am inconsistent. My walk with Christ is a stuttering, stumbling, bumbling attempt to follow him. I have been a Christian 45 years. I am familiar with the vocabulary of faith, and I am often asked to give advice about matters of faith. But I am still a mess. I am 56 years old and still a struggling, flawed, clumsy, unstable, follower of Jesus. A bona fide failure. That bothers a lot of people. Over the years they have expressed their displeasure with my failings. Some have abandoned me, writing me out of the Kingdom. But not Jesus. He refuses to give up. You see, Jesus can't stay away from people who fail…(Rich Hadley)

WORD OF GOD

My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.

He dug the soil, cleared it of stones,

and planted choice vines in it. (Isaiah 5:1-2)

GRACE IS free sovereign favour to the ill-deserving.

(Benjamin B. Warfield)

THIS WEEK’S BIBLE READINGS

Mon: Zechariah 10, Mark 11: 1-11, Acts 16: 6-24

Tues: Zech 11: 4-end, Mrk 11: 12-26, Ac 16: 25–end

Wed: Zech 12: 1-10, Mark 11: 27–end, Acts 17: 1–15

Thurs: Zech 13, Mark 12: 1–12, Acts 17: 16-end

Fri: Zech 14: 1–11, Mark 12: 13-17, Acts 18: 1–21

Sat: Zech 14: 12-end, Mark 12: 18-27, Acts 18:22 – 19:7

NEXT SUNDAY : Isaiah 25: 1-9, Philippians 4: 1-9, S. Matthew 22: 1–14

The Cayman Islands are within the ancient Episcopal Jurisdiction

15th Trinity After Sunday

15^th Trinity After Sunday