General Chat

Hello All

Happy Easter blessings to Cynthia and to all who pop into this Christian thread.

What great sadness and heartache with the bombings in Sri Lanka on what is the most important and happiest Easter Sunday in the Christian churches calendar.
Such devastation and sorrow for everyone caught up in this horrific terrorist attack.
Prayerful support for everyone who is affected by all the bombings there.

Today is the 93rd birthday of H.M. the Queen. What a wonderful lady she is.

Good morning :-)


Oh my goodness! So many kind words - thank you my friends <3 I am happy to continue posting what I can, when I can. Now that life has taken the turn it has, I find myself doing more and more online - and that has opened up new horizons for me with my faith. I edit our church's FB page and we have over 1,200 followers at the moment - there is a hunger out there.

Love the hymn Rosie.....I could even say it is almost 'transforming' :-D

Easter is a truly wonderful time……so many great stories to read. This week, we’ll take a brief look at some of the events recorded after the resurrection.
.
The story of The Road to Emmaus

Two disciples on their way to Emmaus are pondering what they have heard about rumours of Jesus’ resurrection when Jesus comes up behind them. They do not recognise him but continue with the conversation. As they go along, Jesus speaks to them and then joins them for a meal. As the meal is eaten, their eyes are opened and they recognize him in the breaking of the bread.

Meet us, Lord, on the road to Emmaus,
Guide us on the path toward our destination,
and renew our strength as we continue to walk
and commune with you.
Open our eyes, so we see the signs of your presence around us;
Open our hearts, so we may receive your peace and love;
and empower us to pass on to others
the grace you have shared with us so freely.
Amen.


Remembering those brutally killed in Sri Lanka.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Another wonderful story from after the resurrection of Jesus…..

Jesus in the flesh
When the two men from Emmaus arrived in Jerusalem where the apostles were staying, it was Sunday evening. They probably immediately began to tell their story. But just as they were getting into it, Jesus appeared and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

As you can imagine, they were terrified and thought He was a ghost. But Jesus tried to convince them that He was not. He said to them, “Look at my hands and feet and side and touch me.” And He asked them to give Him something to eat, and He ate a piece of fish in front of them. Jesus’ disciples had thought they’d lost him, but he came to them again.

Prayer: Lord My God (St Anselm of Canterbury)
O Lord my God.
Teach my heart this day,
where and how to find you.
You have made me and remade me,
and you have bestowed on me all the good things I possess,
and still, I do not know you.
I have not yet done that for which I was made.
Teach me to seek you,
for I cannot seek you unless you teach me,
or find you unless you show yourself to me.
Let me seek you in my desire;
let me desire you in my seeking.
Let me find you by loving you;
let me love you when I find you. Amen.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Remembering another story from after the resurrection.... 'Doubting Thomas'...

Thomas was not with the disciples when Jesus appeared to them on Sunday evening, and when he heard that Jesus had appeared to them, he didn’t believe it. He told them that he wouldn’t believe it unless he saw the nail wounds in His hands and the wound in His side.

Well, eight days later, on a Monday, Jesus appeared to them again, this time with Thomas present. Jesus again greeted them with, “Peace be with you.” And He gave Thomas a great opportunity to believe. He said to him, “Put your fingers here on the wounds in my hands and touch the wound here in my side.” Then Thomas believed and said, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed”.

Dear Lord
When I'm lacking in strength, lend me Your hand
When I am clouded in ignorance, guide me to wisdom
When I am taken over by fear, lead me towards love
And when I doubt that You are there, send me reminders

Thank you.


Cx :-)

Why was Peter, the only one recorded saying of Jesus , "You are the Christ"
subsequently crucified ?

David, as I understand it and I am happy to be corrected, the idea of Peter being crucified upside down is a Christian tradition and the belief is that Peter chose this way. There are hints in the Bible that he will die by crucifixion but nothing that says he actually did. Some historians believe he may have died in prison. If you google you will find quite a bit about it.

I enjoy the occasional questions you post here as they make me think a bit about what I know and don’t know and google to fill in some of the gaps, so thank you :-)

Thank you SuffolkVera, I seem to recall he he was crucified on the the orders of his successor, why I don't know.
Also Paul, formerly the Roman Jew Saul after much traveling and two spells in prison,
was beheaded.Beheaded because they couldn't crucify a Roman.

Thank you Cynthia as always for your posts,
gives me lots to think about x

Good question David and Vera thank you for explanation :-)

I read that the only one of the Disciples to survive a full life span

was John who wrote Revelation to John from Jesus for the Churches

Good morning :-)

Brilliant question David - thank you. You have led me down another path of discovery and given me some food for thought. I too, have had to google and its really interesting and its something I'm going to work on. I like this....'People do not die for a lie - these disciples must have seen something that made them choose their cruel death over denouncing their faith' Thanks again :-)


Jesus continues to be seen after his resurrection……love this one!

Sometime after Jesus appeared to His disciples in Jerusalem, Jesus appeared to seven of His disciples beside the Sea of Galilee—Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, the two sons of Zebedee, and two others.

As it happened, they were fishing in a boat not far from shore, and they fished all night without a catch. The next morning Jesus appeared on the shore. They saw Him but they didn’t recognize that it was Him. He said to them, “Have you caught any fish?” They said no. Then Jesus said, “Throw your nets on the other side of the boat and you will catch plenty.”

They indeed caught fish—153 of them; big ones! Peter was the first to recognize Jesus, and he was so excited to see Him that he jumped out of the boat and swam to shore to meet Him. There on the shore they all had fish for breakfast. And Jesus was the cook!

Father, we know that you have wonderful blessings in store for us when we faithfully follow our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Our prayer is that we will always be obedient disciples. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Cx :-)

Thank you Cynthia, I have some more information for your thread.

James was the first to be martyred 44 AD Stoned and clubbing to death.
Peter crucified 66 AD Rome
Paul beheaded 66 AD Rome
Andrew crucified Turkey
Thomas pierced by 4 soldiers
Philip died cruelly Carthage
Matthew died Ethiopia
Bartholomew died Southern Arabia
Simon died Persia
Matthias died by burning Syria
John died Patmos
Judas committed suicide.

Very interesting.

I remember a programme about Jesus' female disciples
and seeing the statues of them which I knew nothing about.

Shame that they are of little importance and appear to have been forgotten.

The Disciple Mark died in Alexandria, Egypt. His remains were later taken to Venice.

I cannot find (yet) what became of Mary Magdalene

Hello all

Lots of interesting questions and answers going on here, thanks to David.

Heavy rain most of today but really needed in the garden. God know what's needed.

My ongoing thoughts and prayers for those who struggle with each new day. xxxx

I'm pleased my thread contribution has helped. I didn't pull it all out of my mind.

No, I looked them up and copied what I read, some here, some there.

Goodness me - you've been busy David. There are some interesting facts there - maybe I could use them on here soon - we could all learn something I'm sure.

Post resurrection appearances of Jesus....

Nothing much is known about the post-resurrection appearance of Jesus to James – one of his half-brothers. It is simply mentioned just once in the 1st book of Corinthians. Some ancient writings suggest that they ate together.

James did not grow up a believer. Though Jesus and James had the same mother, Jesus was the son not of Joseph, as James was, but of God the Father Himself—a fact that wouldn’t fully sink into James’ mind for years. It wasn’t until Jesus’ resurrection and His appearance to James and the disciples that James finally really understood who his half-brother was. From Jesus’ resurrection on, James gave himself entirely to God and soon became an important figure in the early Church.

Grant, O God, that, following the example of your servant James, brother of our Lord, your Church may give itself continually to prayer and reconciliation. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Cx :-)

Cynthia and others, I have to confess I struggle with the concept of a Virgin Birth.

Paul and the Disciples make no mention of it in the New Testament.

Yet the Rosary, used by millions of Catholics begins with Hail Mary, blessed art thou

among women. This is a direct quotation from the Gospel of Luke .Mary's birth was

itself a miracle to two elderly people. Is the Rosary dedicated to Mary or her son

Jesus ? or both ?

I "think" the parents of Mary, Mother of Jesus were Jochahim and Anne.

Still don't know where Mary died, but she spent some time in Ephesus.

When you have the time, should you feel inclined, have a look on Y**Tube

about the Loretta Chapel built between 1873 - 1875 in Santa Fe Mexico.

A quarter of a million people visit it every year to view the staircase that was built in

eight moths, using only a hammer and a set square. No screws, no nails no charge.

Staircase built by a stranger looking for work after after Chapel was built.

The mourning bell was sounding this morning at service time - it's Good Friday here.