Month: August 2010

Cutting the grass

I grew up in the countryside. We had about 2000 m² of grounds, and as I grew up, it became my responsibility to cut the grass from spring to autumn. No need to say that I hated it. It took a good part of te afternoon, and I thought I had better things to do. But I was getting paid for it, so I did it.

In Pabu, we have about 700m² of grounds, mostly grass. That’s at least 10 times what we had in Cardiff. I made the most of the sunny weather to cut the grass today. It took almost 2 hours, because it had grown quit a bit. But I am ashamed to admit that I quite enjoyed it. After a part of the day in the study, it was good to be outside, enjoying the sunshine, talking to the lady next door, and to a little girl from across the road who was playing with Jean-Baptiste and Maxime. There we are, I enjoyed being in the garden. I must be getting old.

Ministry

We are taking our time to settle down, and see how we will fit in, and to see how the Lord will uses our gifts here. Nevertheless, there is no time wasted, and there are already some opportunities to be useful. So, I will be preaching every first Sunday of the month as well as leading two services a month until the end of 2010. I will also be preaching and leading the service this coming Sunday (29/08) as my colleague Emmanuel is filling the pulpit for another church, in Lannion. That means I am preaching two Sundays in a row (29th and 5th September). There may be more opportunities arising soon, I’ll keep you posted.

Ar poull-neuial – The Swimming pool

We went to the swimming pool in Guingamp today. I must say that I am not a big fan of water, and usually avoid this kind of places. But as we say in French: “Il n’y a que les imbéciles qui ne changent jamais d’avis” We all had fun, me included. No pictures to show, as we are not allowed to take pictures there, but you can check on their website: http://www.cc-guingamp.fr/piscine/piscine.htm. It was also quite cheap. We only paid € 9,80 for the four of us (that’s about £8).

It was also a new cultural experience. The changing rooms were mixed, as well as showers and toilets. That’s the kind of things you have to do when you are a missionary. Off course, you don’t get changed in front of everyone, but go in a small cabin. Although I am a Frenchman, I was a bit surprised at first. Maybe I have lived in th UK too long.

John Calvin on 2 Samuel 7:1-13

We have here an act of David which was highly praise-worthy, and yet it was utterly condemned by God. This is to show that all our devotion must be properly directed and that we are being thoughtless and presumptuous when we fail to recognise what is right, but instead imagine in our head that things are a certain way. It is true that David’s basic motive was good and holy -that is, to build a temple for God. For however much “he dwells not in a house made by human hands” (Acts 17:24), still he wanted to be worshiped in this manner during the time of the figure of the Law. But David was too hasty in not waiting for God to order him to do this, and so he took upon himself more than was appropriate for him. And yet it was not that he failed to handle himself with modesty, or that he failed to leave himself open to submitting to God. For he did not call in his counsellors so that he could tell them: “Here is what I have concluded -it must be carried out!” The pride of earthly kings is such that they want people to agree with them, and they want all that they have said to come into  effect. Well, David did not proceed to act so presumptuously. Rather, he called Nathan, the prophet. Indeed, although God had given him the spirit of prophecy to teach others, yet still he submitted himself to seek out the will of God. Nevertheless, he was still at fault, because in addition to addressing the prophet, he ought to have waited patiently for a fuller revelation to be given him. Be as it may, God undoubtedly approved his fervent zeal. And yet he kept him in check to show him what we saw above, that “obedience is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22).

John Calvin, Sermons on 2 Samuel (Translated by Douglas Kelly), Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1992, p 295-296.