St Ninians Family Church

St Ninians Family Church How can we pray for you? Contact us about Weddings and Memorial services. Join us for Worship on Sundays at 09h30 We want to be Good News to all who are in need.

A community of people who are loving, pursuing deep fellowship with God our neighbours and one another.

29/05/2025

Ascension Day

Luke 24:44-53
Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them,
"Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."
Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them.
While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.
And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.

Today is Ascension Day.
In our reading from Luke’s gospel about the Ascension I found six things that struck me as noteworthy.

1. The first is that Jesus opened the apostle’s minds.Why could they not do that themselves? Why were their minds closed? Well that is the human condition isn’t it. Our minds seem to be closed to God’s truth. And the reason is simple. We are limited in our understanding. And we tend to be focussed on the here and now. What we can see and perceive with our senses. And of course the disciples were no different. Their minds had to be opened by Jesus.

2. Secondly he did this in order that they might understand. Understand the Scriptures. How the Scriptures speak of the Messiah. The Christ. Himself. But notice that understanding is not the first thing that happens here it is the second. Jesus had to do something before they could understand. He had to open their minds.
You see our own human reason fails us. And for this reason we cannot argue people into the kingdom of God. St Anselm said: I believe in order that I might understand, Faith first. Then understanding. I have to believe in Jesus and then I will understand.

3. Thirdly they are witnesses of all this. All they have seen. The crucifixion. The resurrection. And now the ascension. And we as Christians continue this witness. We were not there. But we have come to believe what the apostles saw. Witness It is an essential part of being a Christian.
Challenge: what does your witness look like?

4. Fourthly: the apostles would be clothed with power from on high. God does not leave us to cope on our own as Christians. He fills us with his Spirit. But that only really manifests in our lives when our minds are open and we understand the gospel. And we step out in faith to witness to him. And then that power manifests. As long as our hearts are open to God. And our minds are captive to him and his Word. And we are receiving the sacrament. There is a great power available to us. If only we realised it. (Pause and think about it.)

We need to allow God to work in us and through us. John Wesley who was a great figure in the revival that gripped England and Wales and America for that matter in the 18th Century said: “Give me 100 men on fire for the Lord and we will change the world.” And that happened! You see fire spreads. Little flames they have a danger of blowing out. God wants to set our hearts ablaze. That the fire might spread.

5. Number five. They had to wait. They had to wait in Jerusalem for the Spirit to come. And that was not convenient. I am sure they wanted to get back to their fishing boats back in Galilee. And anyway things

were dangerous in Jerusalem. Their leader had been crucified. But Jesus says wait. Wait and you will receive power from on high. And they did and they received that power.

6. Lastly. Note the response to the Ascension itself. They worshipped him and were filled with joy and were continually in the temple praising God. After this service are we going to be filled with joy?

You see once we have had our minds opened by God and we have understood the gospel and have experienced the power of God in our lives we cannot help but be filled with joy. We cannot help but worship, And we won’t be able to stay away from Church.

May this Ascension Day be a moment of experience for us all as we receive and celebrate the risen and ascended Christ.

Let us pray.

25/04/2025

https://cac.org/daily-meditations/an-ongoing-celebration/

Passage for Contemplation:

Matthew 10:34-36 ESV
[34] “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. [35] For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. [36] And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.

Reflection: These words of Jesus do not come easy to me. They seem to contradict what Jesus is all about: love, joy, peace. However if we accept that the gospel is about change, transformation, we need to accept that it will cause disruption. This is because gospel values are often the opposite of the status quo. To stand with Jesus is to stand against everything that is wrong in the world. As Christians our agenda is not self interest and preservation - our agenda is shaped by the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles.

Prayer: Lord show us your ways that we might see what is wrong not only in the world around us but also that which is within us: worldly values that do not belong in our hearts Amen.

Bible Study series. At St Giles Presbyterian Church, cnr F***y and Nellie Roads, Norwood.
23/04/2025

Bible Study series. At St Giles Presbyterian Church, cnr F***y and Nellie Roads, Norwood.

Celebrating the Ressurection of Our Lord with St Giles.
20/04/2025

Celebrating the Ressurection of Our Lord with St Giles.

Tenebrae Service this evening - Maundy Thursday.
17/04/2025

Tenebrae Service this evening - Maundy Thursday.

Passage for contemplation: John 14:27 ESV[27] Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do ...
16/04/2025

Passage for contemplation:

John 14:27 ESV
[27] Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Thought: The peace that Jesus offers is his legacy to his disciples and us. It comes from the Holy Spirit. But three things had to happen to secure that peace: the cross, the empty grave and the ascension.

May this peace devours today. The peace of the Lord be with you all.

04/04/2025

On Wednesday at Bible Study we had a good look at John 6.

A verse we did not discuss is this one:

John 6:15 NRSV
[15] When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

The world and it's expectations can press heavily against us. If we are to retain our inner peace and divine purpose we have to do something to prevent this interference. Here we have Jesus's example - to withdraw.

Take time out to do exactly that - withdraw to an isolated place. That place can be your inner being.

Have a blessèd Lent.

02/04/2025

Shared Ministry
St Ninians & St Giles
Congregations of the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa

Holy Week and Easter - The Path of Redemption – Combined Services

In Lent we have been on a journey, a pathway if you like. This path following the life of Jesus leads to Jerusalem. A path that ends in suffering. But the suffering gives way to redemption. In this series of sermons we will visit various places on this path of redemption. And as we do may our hearts be filled with the hope that is ours in Christ Jesus, Our Lord. Have a truly blessed Easter, Mike.

Monday in Holy Week, 14 April 2025, 18h45, St Giles
Bethany
"Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume." (John 12:3)

Tuesday in Holy Week, 15 April 2025, 18h45, St Ninians
The Path to Jerusalem
"Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."
(John 12:25)

Wednesday in Holy Week, 16 April 2025, 18h45, St Giles
The Upper Room
Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, "Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." (John 13:21)

Maundy Thursday, 17 April 2025, 18h00 for 18h30, St Ninians Fellowship Meal, Service of the Last Supper and Tenebrae

Good Friday, 18 April 2025, 09h00, St Giles, Combined Service
The Path to Golgotha
"So they took Jesus … to the place called … Golgotha." (John 19:16-17)

Resurrection of the Lord, Sunday, 20 April 2025, 09h30, St Ninians, Combined Service
The Path to the Garden Tomb
"But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb." (John 20:11) __________________________________________________Ministry Contact: The Revd Michael Craig (Cell) 0832841056 Email: [email protected]
St Ninians, 2 10th Avenue, Parktown North, Johannesburg
St Giles, 53 F***y Avenue, Norwood, Johannesburg

26/03/2025

https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-power-of-stillness/

We are a products of a culture that seems to value busyness. I remember being told as a child that the devil finds work for idle hands. My own heritage is Protestant piety - inactivity is usually associated with guilt. Only sleep and incapacity due to illness are grounds for rest. Consider though this story in Luke's gospel:

Luke 10:38-42 NRSV
[38] Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. [39] She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. [40] But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” [41] But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; [42] there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Martha is worried and distracted by many things says Jesus. Mary has chosen the better part. We may be quick to come to Martha's defence. Mary we may say is so heavenly minded she is no earthly good. See how our culture of business leads us to make that judgement! Work of course is important - without Martha's busyness there would have been no food on the table. However the point is her busyness means that she is missing out spiritually. She has lost balance. It is this balance we need in our lives. To find time to be with Jesus, like Mary.

Have a blessed Lent.

18/03/2025

https://cac.org/daily-meditations/welcoming-strangers-in-scripture/

Today's devotion from the Centre for Action and Contemplation.

Passage for reflection:

1 Peter 2:10-12 NRSV
[10] Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. [11] Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. [12] Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge.

Thought: We were not a people writes Peter. We are a people because of God's calling in Christ. There are no grounds for nationalism and ethnicity amongst Christians - we belong to God. We are citizens of his kingdom. Furthermore writes Peter we are aliens and exiles. If this is what we are how do we view others?

Have a blessèd Lent.

Address

2 10th Avenue, Parktown North
Johannesburg
2193

Telephone

+27847000777

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when St Ninians Family Church posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category