http://museumstreet.methodistic.org.uk/

Museum Street Methodist Church, 17 Black Horse Lane, Ipswich (2026)

25/10/2026

Rev. Saul Tadzaushe brings us this weeks recorded sermon. The sermon can be viewed by clicking the following link https://bit.ly/3cpjlty.

25/10/2026

Today’s thought for the day is brought to us by Rev Steve Mann

The Last Dodos

Had the last dodos

seen what was coming,

would they have wised up?

Would they have

clung to life;

sacrificed innocence;

developed mistrust;

embraced cynicism;

and, in the world’s eyes,

avoided becoming

a watchword for stupidity?

This world

where wisdom is foolishness

and life is death.

© Steve Mann, 2026

Jesus asks his disciples to be as shrewd as serpents whilst remaining as innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16).

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres (1 Corinthians 13).

Go on being gentle. Go on trusting. Go on hoping. Go on persevering. Go on loving.

GO ON LIVING.

Prayer: Jesus, you modelled all of that for us. Give us the strength of your Spirit that we might live life your way. Amen.

If you have any contributions for thought of the day, please send them to: [email protected]

24/10/2026

Today’s thought for the day is brought to us by Lindsey Hanekom

www.ellel.uk

A Missing Key?

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
2 Timothy 3:16, NIV

It seems to be one of life’s strange phenomenons; that you find the odd key lying around and you have no idea what lock it is for! It must have a reason for being there, I mean, no one makes a key without a lock for it to work in.

This happened to me a while ago and I was loathe to throw the seemingly useless key away. So I put it in a safe place in case I ever found a lock without a key. Years down the line I find the missing lock – it was for my suitcase, which I haven’t used the lock on for a long time. Then came into play another of life’s phenomenon – that mysterious ‘safe place’ that can never be found again! I hunted high and low, looking in every nook and cranny that I thought likely, possible, unlikely and downright stupid… never to discover the elusive key.

It strikes me that this is how we can be when reading the Bible. We read something, know it is of some significance but can’t quite figure out how or why. But this is when we have a choice – do we throw it away from our minds or do we try to store it in a ‘safe place’ in our hearts in case we discover its significance later in life.

It is very easy to read the Bible and disregard anything that we deem as irrelevant to our lives here and now, but this verse tells us that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful. As we read the Scriptures, let us not limit our hunger by our human understanding or the immediate application of it.

The truth is, even if we can’t seem to find the immediate significance in what we read, it will eventually make sense and may even be important later in our lives. If we know the key is there somewhere, we have a Helper to guide us in our search for it: the Holy Spirit longs to reveal more of the Father through the Word. Let’s allow Him to do that so that we can grow and be strong in Him.

Prayer
Father God, thank You for Your Word, which is all useful. Help me not to disregard any of what I read but to store it in the depth of my heart. Help me to understand all of Your Word, through the power of Your Holy Spirit that I may grow strong in You and remain in you forever. Amen.

If you have any contributions for thought of the day, please send them to: [email protected]

23/10/2026

Every week, we publish a 10 minute service to help you relax, refresh and renew. Make yourself a drink and join us at a time to suit you by clicking the following link : https://bit.ly/3rKggKa

23/10/2026

Today’s thought for the day is brought to us by Christine O’Neill

Bs for Ts?

I’ve been thinking a lot about trust recently. I say I trust God, but do I really? It’s easy when things are going along smoothly but when the upsets of life come along – members of your family get diagnosed with cancer, others get scammed out of £thousands, fathers can’t see their children, and the world looks like an increasingly dangerous place, I start to question where God is in all this.

Then I read Psalm 56 – written by King David when he had been taken prisoner by the Philistines. He writes, “When I am afraid, O Lord Almighty, I put my trust in You. (v 3)” It doesn’t automatically happen – we have to actively make that decision to put our trust in God. Then he goes on to say (v 4) He is not afraid. God provides a balm for our terrors. In v 8 David says God has a bottle for his tears. What an amazing thought that God doesn’t just notice our tears but he counts and collects them. Not a tear goes by unnoticed – we don’t think about Kings crying – but they do and we do, but God is there to care. This verse goes on to mention God’s book where He writes it all down – He records the testimony of our life. He won’t forget. So now, when I start to lose trust, I remember God’s Bs for Ts:

Balm for my Terrors

Bottle for my Tears

Book for my Testimony

And know I can rest in His plan and thank Him that He will accomplish His purposes.

If you have any contributions for thought of the day, please send them to: [email protected]

22/10/2026

Today’s thought for the day is brought to us by William Glasse

Is God there?

Read
‘When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established’... (Psalm 8:3)

Reflect
In several of my thoughts recently, I have referred to the majesty of God as it is shown to us in creation: in the sky and in the natural world around us. All this drives us logically to ask, “So what? Does that really say anything about whether or not there is a God?”

Of course, whether or not there is a God is a matter of faith, and a very short Thought for the Day cannot possibly answer the question. But let me share an experience.

Very recently, we were on holiday in Northumberland and visited the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. While we were there, we looked over Lindisfarne Castle, which began as a 16th-century fortification, and were interested in the history of the place. We visited the ruins of the medieval Priory, near the site of the earlier monastery founded by Saint Aidan and his companions in AD 635, where the monks lived out their monastic life.

After we had finished looking at the architecture and the ruins, we remarked to each other that there did not seem to be a great sense of spiritual presence. Then we made our way up onto the clifftop, where we found the recently excavated foundations of what may have been an early chapel, possibly associated with Saint Aidan’s mission.

As we approached the few remaining stones, it was as though we had received an electric shock. Both of us felt the same thing. For both of us, there was an unmistakable sense of spiritual presence: the presence of God.

Since returning home, both of us have talked to other people who have also visited Holy Island and asked whether they experienced the same thing. Usually, the answer has been, “Yes, indeed.”

No, this does not prove that there is a God. But it does describe something for which there is no ordinary explanation. There, in that rectangle of stones on the site of an ancient ruin, we sensed a presence that, for us, makes sense of everything in the sky above, in nature around us and in the earth below us.

Whether that answers the question, “Is God there for you?” I cannot prescribe. But, for me, it is the answer. I have no doubt.

Pray:
God of mysterious force and inexplicable presence, we find you in thin places where the worlds of heaven and earth seem to merge. Help us open up spiritually to feel your nearness in the cloudier places of life, when we are busy and there is noise and stress. Then be with us to bring us calm we pray. Amen.

If you have any contributions for thought of the day, please send them to: [email protected]

21/10/2026

Today’s thought for the day is brought to us by Judy Steward

I have been thinking about inheritance recently, after preparing the story of Jacob and Esau from Genesis for a young people's Sunday morning session.

For most parents nowadays the pattern is to leave assets in equal measure to each of their children, unless special circumstances apply, meaning 1 child is particularly in need or has caused problems within a family.

200 years ago the pattern was different. Boys took priority when it came to inheriting wealth and women could not own property. There might be a dowry given to a daughter on her marriage, though her husband would usually control that, and if the family owned a substantial estate it had to pass to the nearest male relative. Fans of the TV series " Downton Abbey" will remember that none of Lord Grantham's 3 daughters could inherit the estate. It had to pass to Matthew, a distant male relative, but the problem was solved when he and the eldest daughter fell in love and married, a convenient solution to the problem!!

In early Bible times the rules were different and were governed by the concept of a birthright. The eldest son claimed his birthright, meaning he inherited a double portion compared with the other sons, and the daughters had no inheritance rights. Extra responsibilities went with the privilege of birthright, with the eldest son often being expected to take the main responsibility for managing the land, livestock and partitioning of the wealth and family. When Jacob tricks his brother Esau out of this birthright he is going against the cultural and familial norm, although to us it might seem ridiculous not to split the estate in half, especially as the 2 men were twins and their father had plenty of land and cattle to share with both sons. Yet the son who inherited the birthright had special status and could pass it on down the generations.

As Christians we have a very special inheritance as described by St Paul in his letter to the Romans, Chapter 8, verse 14

"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry 'Abba! Father!' it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and joint heirs with Christ - if in fact we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him".

Prayer. We thank you Lord that we need not fear that we will miss out or be passed over when it comes to inheriting the riches of God's grace. When we embrace your guiding Holy Spirit, we become adopted children and inheritors of the riches of your abundant provision for us.

If you have any contributions for thought of the day, please send them to: [email protected]

20/10/2026

Today’s thought for the day is brought to us by David Stone

IF THE CAP FITS.

I was prompted to write this contribution on the day my daily Bible reading “Verse of the day” was from James 1:19. “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry”. Amazingly, my wife quoted this same verse (from a Prayer Guide) as we sat at the breakfast table for our family Bible reading.

A few days earlier, following the arrival of Andy Burnham at No. 10 Downing Street, some unkind comments were made about his wife and the dress she was wearing. This resulted in criticism of people referred to as “keyboard warriors”. The combination of these two separate events made me realise how easily I fall into both areas. What I might consider to be “righteous anger” may result in typing a quick response on social media pages.

As a family, in England and the USA, at least 6 or more of us regularly participate in a computer link. Sometimes it is difficult “to get a word in,” and we jokingly say we need to raise our hand if we want to say something, or even use the hand facility on the link. There are occasions when I have something “important” to say, but don't get the opportunity straight away, and so the moment passes, and I may forget what was so important to contribute. The blessing is that nobody else in the group is aware of what has not been said, and usually, on reflection, it has either been said by someone else, or was not that important after all.

I am aware, at least in theory, that I need to heed the warning in today’s text to reduce my “keyboard warrior” input on social media, and also know Divine wisdom in any contribution that I want to make. My email has the facility of cancelling a sent email within 30 seconds, and possibly I need to “count to 30” before contributing in any way. Easier said than done. But I must try.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for the warnings and guidance you share with us in the Bible. Please remind us regularly whenever we forget. AMEN

If you have any contributions for thought of the day, please send them to: [email protected]

19/10/2026

Today’s thought for the day is brought to us by Liz Cope

Hello we’re open

On a recent group cycle ride we stopped at a delightful café in Wivenhoe. It is compulsory to stop for coffee and cake. (We are called FCC - Friday cycle and coffee/cake for a reason). This café is run by a Syrian couple and they serve delicious Mediterranean cakes and VERY strong coffee! Our group was quite large with nine of us to accommodate, and they were only about 6 tables in the café. The owner rushed outside brought in extra chairs, tables were pushed together and everyone got a place.

Some time later we left, after consuming our delicious coffee and cakes, and I noticed the sign on the side wall, “hello we’re open.” It was bright cheerful, simple and inviting.

Is this what our churches are like?

Are we inviting?

Do we keep our message simple?

Do we go the extra mile to make people feel welcome?

Prayer: Almighty God you sent your Son Jesus into the world. He met with strangers along the roadside, he ate with the marginalised in their own homes, his message was simple “follow me.” Help us to live as Jesus did, to feed the hungry, to welcome the stranger, to speak up against injustice, to help the poor, to love our neighbour. And may our lives be a welcoming, cheerful, simple sign of what it means to be a Christian. Amen

If you have any contributions for thought of the day, please send them to: [email protected]

Museum Street Methodist Church

25/10/2026

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