Tapton Church Blog

On Saturday 6th July at 7.30pm John Silverton will be providing a challenging programme of organ music at the church.

John Silverton was born on Long Island New York State. Educated in England he studied at Trinity College of Music in London before gaining an Organ Scholarship at Lincoln Cathedral where his studies were under the direction of the Cathedral Organist Dr Philip Marshall.

Moving to Sheffield he entered the Music Department of Sheffield University gaining his B.Mus. specialising in composition and Organ performance.

Past Organ Teachers include Harry Gabb, Christopher Robinson and Simon Lindley.

He has been Organist at Tapton Hill since 1993.

Programme
Triumphal March (Caractacus) op.35 arr. Lemare – Edward Elgar 1857 – 1934

Ciaconna in c minor Bux 159 – Dietrich Buxtehude 1637 – 1707

Voluntary in d minor Anon attrib John Blow 17th cent

Adagio and Allegro K594 – W A Mozart 1756 -1791

Epiphanie – Gaston Litaize 1905 – 1981

Psalm Prelude Set 1 no.2 Psalm 37 ‘But the meek spirited
shall possess the earth’ – Herbert Howells 1892 -1983

Fantasia and Fugue in g minor BWV 542 – J S Bach 1685 – 1750

Thomas Tomkins; His fancy – Philip Marshall 1921 – 2005

Sweet Anne Swindel – Simon Mold b 1957

Finale (Symphony no 1) Op. 14 – Louis Vierne 1870 – 1937

Tickets £5 or £3 for concessions
Available from Tel: 2308085 or the Lounge@Crosspool

Led by Fulwood Preaching Team – sermon by Howard
Readings: Daniel 9 v16-23 Luke 11 v1-13

Theme – Prayer

Are most Christians hypocrites when it comes to prayer?

Learning to pray can be a humbling experience with real difficulty avoiding platitudes and thinking of original and new prayers.
In Luke we read of a relationship with our Heavenly Father and companionship as a natural process developing the relationship. Prayer is about us individually or corporately being on speaking terms with God!

Why is there such reluctance by church goers to attend prayer groups. Is this a lack of discipline, lack of belief in the effectiveness of prayer or do we feel all our needs are met? Do we believe befriending others is the way forward rather than through prayer – we must engage with prayer as the secret to success.

God will answer prayer.

Jesus Christ had a diligent prayer life where he set time aside to pray. Are we disciplined enough – avoiding distractions. There is plain instruction to pray in secret which is a hard discipline but we can gain strength from praying with others, complementing and feeding off each other.

The incentives are that God does answer our prayers.

As we experience something of an English summer the Wednesday night gatherings will be suspended for the months of July and August.

Activity at the church will not stop but will be organised on an ad-hoc basis to take account of holidays and other activities.

The table tennis teams will continue to receive coaching on Monday evenings.

Services will still take place at 2.45pm each Sunday

Readings from 1 Samuel 16: v1-16, Luke 19: v1-11, Psalm 139

Earlier this year, Darryl starred for Walkley Ebeneezer Amateur Dramatic Society (WEADS) in the pantomime ‘Beauty & the Beast’ . He used the characters Belle and the Prince Pavel aka ‘The Beast’ to highlight his theme of choice.

We all have choice and the answers might not always be what we expect. In Samuel we see David as a shepherd in the fields being overlooked in favour of his brothers. However his heart was in the right palce and he was the chosen one.
Outward appearance can be misleading as displayed in the pantomime as Belle found out with ‘the Beast’. We need to give all people a chance. In Psalm 139 we read; “the Lord examines our heart and knows all about us”. God knows us and will forgive us when we stray.

Zacchaeus was a rich, social outcast, tax collector but Jesus saw the man who could repent.

Don’t make rash judgements on first appearance – change can happen!

Just a few seats remained empty as 40 members of the choir led by the inimitable Graham Pratt really entertained the audience with fun, serious and emotional songs.

The entry charge went to Chenobyl Childrens Lifeline and we raised sufficient to bring one child to the UK for a month to breathe clean air.

Thanks for all the support

Keith Bradley
Deacon

A small group gathered at church for prayer before moving to the Crosspool Tavern where a dozen people enjoyed fellowship together.

The choir will be singing a new repertoire on Saturday and there are only a few seat left. Please also note the footpath adjacent to the church on Tapton Hill Rd has been dug up in preparation for re-surfacing and is very uneven. Best access is via the Manchester Road entrance.

Leader: Mary Coates
We started the evening discussing Matthew 4 18-21 Simon and Andrew left their father and their boat to follow Jesus. Optimism
Then Matthew 26 36-46
Passion Sadness Humility
Jesus wanted his friends to be with him to support him in his hour of need.
Betrayal – Judas and Peter both let him down.
we all need friends we can rely on BUT
we all need God as our friend and support too through optimism, passion, sadness, humility and betrayal.
“not my will but yours Father”

Leader: Ray Bridden
Text: Jesus as our substitute
Readings: Exodus 12 1 – 13
Roman 5 1 – 11
A substitute can change the course of a game – can change a life
When Abraham was about to sacrifice his only son Isaac God gave a substitute of a ram
At the Passover God told the people to sacrifice a pure and spotless lamb and smear the blood on the door and this would be a substitute and save their lives.
The Pascal Lamb has been sacrificed for us – the ultimate sacrifice.
We were treated to a lovely guitar accompanied solo by Ray “Standing in my place Jesus died for me he is my substitute”

Leader – Mike Warren
Readings: Galations 1 11-24
Luke 7 11-17
Saul/Paul
The Gospel is not of human origin. Paul’s Gospel was a simple one – he got his faith direct from Jesus. Christianity is a supernatural source – not man made.
Only God can change people.
The Resurrection is the keystone to it all
No resurrection no salvation
Try and take resurrection out of the Gospel and you’re left with a Gospel of human origin – not from God.
The Gospel is a way of life out of death.
Jesus said ” I am come that they might have life”
Where God is not present there is an emptiness