United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands

CIRMC Weekly

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A Word of Thanks

Wednesday Aug 12, 2020
 
Those involved in youth ministry are much too familiar with the
constant ups and downs, highs and lows of engaging young
people. On some days it feels extremely rewarding and on
others it is the most frustrating, challenging experience one can
imagine; and that is under normal circumstances!

How about now, when the world and our personal lives have
been turned upside-down? Certainly, the highs and lows have
been amplified manifold. Yet, in the midst of global and local
turmoil, life goes on, albeit with adjustments.

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God’s Promises -By Mr. John Macmillan

Thursday Aug 06, 2020
 
Please read Genesis 12: 1-4
How do you like to receive gifts? I am sure that most of us do,
and we see this here with Abram, but of a different nature: he
will get a whole country!

Call to Prayer and Support for Beirut -By Phil Tanis  -August 5, 2020 WCRC website

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not
forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always
carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life
of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.
2 Corinthians 4:8-10
The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC)
calls on its member churches to pray for all those who have been
impacted by the explosion in Beirut’s port on 4 August and to
provide support as they are able.

please click here for more information (PDF file)


Giving is a Grace from God - by Rev. Donovan Myers

Wednesday Jul 29, 2020
 
For many people, giving represents an appeal to altruistic
feelings. We give because it’s the human thing to do. If others
are in need, our duty is to ‘help out’ where we can. But also,
many see giving as a necessary outpouring of their excess. I
have more than I need, so I should share. While those two
motivations might be reasonable, the letter from Paul to the
Corinthians speaks about giving in a way that challenges some
commonly held assumptions.

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Sin and Grace by Rev Otto Menko

Wednesday Jul 22, 2020
 
Please read Genesis 3:1-19 and Romans ch.1:18-32

It is the year 58 A.D. The apostle Paul is in Corinth and is
planning to set out on a missionary journey to Spain. To this
end he needs to secure both spiritual and financial support from
those who were strategically best situated for this purpose. His
obvious choice was Rome. Unfortunately, he had never been in
Rome before and although by this time there were maybe half
a dozen house fellowships of Jesus believers scattered in the
city, they were not the fruits of his missionary work, he was not
familiar with any of them. Not only that, but some of these
‘house churches’ were dominantly Jewish, made up by
proselytes and Jews, while others were mostly Gentile and both
had their own, conflicting versions of faith in Jesus Christ.

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God’s Own Purposes Fulfilled in Creation By Mrs. Sonia Wallace

Wednesday Jul 15, 2020
 
Since the start of this month we have been reflecting on God’s
creation as outlined in the Bible. We firmly stand on the truth
that God created the world and today we want to highlight three
(3) purposes God fulfilled:
• Relationship with humankind
• Revelation of Himself and
• Restoration of all His creation to His presence.
As we emerge from a worldwide pandemic, we are still feeling
the effects of having our social relationships and activities
suddenly and drastically reduced or even stopped. For many
this resulted in varying degrees of feelings of isolation during
the lockdown. I was deeply moved when I saw a news clip from
New York showing a little girl outside the window waving to
her grandmother, seeking to be in her presence, but having to
settle for placing her hand on the window pane over
the image of her grandmother’s hand. In that moment,
the yearning for a grandmother’s intimate presence
was evident but in reality they were separated. They
craved for the freedom to practice the loving
relationship they knew.

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Humanity’s Place in God’s Creation-By Mr. Roy McGregor Youth Minister, GT Charge

Wednesday Jul 08, 2020
 
Please read Genesis 1:26-28 and Colossians 1:15-23

Stewardship and Discipleship (Proclamation of the good news)

The story is told of a young man who was burned out from riding his bike across the country, he stopped at a church and
gave his bike to the caretaker, including everything on it, a backpack tent, saddlebags, and a number of bike tools. Included
among the tools were a couple of gadgets that the caretaker had no idea what they were for. Since then, the caretaker has figured
out what one of them does, but the purpose for the other one still eludes him. Tools that you don’t know the purpose for are
of no use.

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A Gentle Giant of the Faith-Tribute to the late Rev. Ashley Smith

Wednesday Jul 01, 2020
 
The General Secretary of the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands ,Rev. Norbert Stephens  wrote this tribute to the Rev. Ashley Smith: 
On this 27th day of June 2020, we sadly acknowledge the passing of A Gentle Giant of
the Faith, the Rev. Ashley Alexander Smith. Rev. Ashley Smith served the UCJCI, the wider church and
the people of the Caribbean in various capacities since his ordination to the Christian Ministry in the antecedent
Presbyterian Church in Jamaica sixty-five years ago. For forty-one of the sixty-five years he served as
congregational pastor, in rural, inner-city, suburban and regional congregations /charges, namely, Lowe River, Retirement, St. John’s, Hope, St. Paul’s
(Lockett Avenue) and the Presbyterian Church in Grenada. He served as Chair of numerous Synodical committees and as Moderator of Synod for two periods, 1969-1972 and 1979-
1980.

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Billy Graham On Race

Wednesday Jun 24, 2020
 
“For God shows no partiality.” (Romans 2:11) “So God created man in his own image, in the image of
God he created him…” (Genesis 1:27) The Bible is clear that there is no room for racism in God’s plan
for His people. Each person you interact with today, each one you pass on the road or in the store, every single man, woman
and child is a unique creation of God Almighty. He loves them—and you—with a divine love so strong we can’t possibly
comprehend it. While our imperfection, our rebellion and our sin creates a divide between us and the One who created us—and therefore
a division between us and others—God formed a plan to close that gap and draw us back to Him. That plan was Jesus Christ,
who heals and changes our hearts and gives us the ability to love others and God as we should.

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Father’s Day – Boldness- By Mr. Bryan Bothwell

Wednesday Jun 17, 2020
 
Please read Genesis 21: 8 – 21

This is probably not the Bible passage we would seek out to
celebrate Father’s Day! Neither does it immediately epitomize
our popular conception of “boldness”; and today we are
exploring the boldness with which we must live by, daily, if we
would follow and serve Christ. 

Voices of Our Children and Youth 
Fathers play an important role in their children’s life
because fathers are central to the emotional being of their
children. He is a pillar of strength, support and discipline.
(George Town Charge)

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SIGNS AND WONDERS By Mr. Herbert Crawford

Wednesday Jun 10, 2020
 
Do you think that we should pray like that today? I mean the
way they prayed in verses 29–30: “Stretch out your hand to
heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your
holy servant Jesus.”
Should we pray for boldness of witness and signs and wonders
like healing? Or should we pray only for boldness of witness?
Were the signs and wonders specially designed by God to
confirm the authority of the apostles so that after the apostles
have done their work in providing the church with the
foundation of revelation in the New Testament the signs and
wonders cease?

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United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands