WESLEY GUILD (SA)

Friday, 13 January 2012

Evening Devotion

WESLEY GUILD (SA)

Evening devotion:

Bro. Sonwabile Nomnganga

Share the Word of God with us

Okokuqala ndizakuphakamisa isandla sam sokunene ndizibulisele kuni nonke bazalwana ngelihle igama lenkosi yethu enguYesu Krestu, engumfeli nomvukeli wam. Ehleliyo xa kunamhlanje ngasekunene kuYise esihlalweni sobukhosi. Esazakubiya ngenye imini ize kulanda abangabayo. Athi xa ethetha uPawulosi, asikazazi into eziza kuba zizo, kodwa ngethemba nokholo, xa ethe wabonakala thina sofana naye... ukwenjenje bhotani bazalwana. One way. Nakuwe ndithi camagu mfo kaNcapai.... tatalahote ndlovu enomxhaka. i thank the opportunity presented to me.

Shall we therefore turn our bibles to the book Genesis Chapter 37 verse 28. I just want us to focus on last words of the verste that say, "and" they "sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites"... ithi ngolulwimi lwase khaya, "bamthengisa uYosefu kumaIshmayeli ngeesilivere ezimashumi mabini".... Brothers and sisters, I will not dwell on the history about the book, who wrote it, where and why. I will not even brother about the history of joseph, where he was born, and all that... kodwa ngale mva kwemini ndiza kuni uthixo endithume nge theme ethi.... "FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH"....

As i was reading the story of Joseph and this whole incidence, something stroke my heart and left me amazed and challenged. and I decided to come and share the challenge that overwhelmed me to you... I first looked at myself and the challenges and daily trials and tribulations that young people are faced with today and i found that, we can learn something or two from the example of Joseph. Joseph, was a young men who had a favor from God like all of us, regardless of the differences in the favours. He was a young man who had dreams and visions like all of us. He even saw himself and ruler and a man of authority, which is what we all at times to see ourselves as. he was enthusiastic about his future. he had wishes about his future like all of us... all the time, he spoke with authority and walked tall and rouse above all coz, more to his plans about future, he felt God's presence by his side all the time.

But unplanned and unexpectadly, the was a drastic change in his life.. he found himself in a big disaster that might have even brought him to the hopeless state... surely the moment they were selling him, he saw a dead end and culc-de-suc in his... he saw no way farward. bamthengisa kuma Ishmayeli ngamashumi amabini esilivere. I am sure the heart was telling him to give up in life.... Listen to what God tells me to tell you today, the moment the sold him, it was a major transition and change in his life.. neither did he know that it was the needed transition and change.. but the moment it was happening , it was hard to take and believe.

Ndifuna ukuthi kuwe.. there are changes that are hard in our lives that even bring us to hopeless situations... the moment they happen, they become bitter pills to swallow. kodwa those changes are vital and and needed kuhle ke apha ethubeni ubomi bukhe bube ngahti bukujikele... that moment is the moment to bring the greatest miracle and change in your life... hlala uthule uzole naxa benga bakuthengisa kuma Ishmayeli, abazi ukuba kukhulu okukuzelayo... through those changes in your life, there are those that can benefit and be blessed through that change... mamemla ke ndikxelel.. ndithe kuwe our theme says, from strength to strength.. before the change in Josesh.. he was such a strong and motivated person in life who had dream and good visions about his life.... even after the change, he still continued to let the dream in him live and flourish... in the tough situation he was in he still grew to be the strong man... he moved from strength to strength. ... ndifuna ukuthi nawe you might have had dream but the situations changed, that does not mean stop dreaming.. keep on moving from strength to strength... the willing and dreaming person you were before the change, can still become the strong person after the change..

kodwa i want you to know one thing, Joseph did not do all by his power, might and glory, but by the grace of God..athi umculi wasekhaya asenzanga ngawethu amandla... athi lomculi, kungawo amandla avela enkosini. God is the able god.. he can move us from strength to strength. You might be in a tight corner, god can move you from strength to strength.. he grace is able to keep and move you from strength to strength.. know one thing, God's hand can never put you in a place where his grace cannot sustain you..

xa ndisehlela.. ikhe yathi enye intwazana xa indikuthaza, trying to motivate me based on the situation i am in, she said, "soso efforts may fail, but dont fail to make efforts"... ndifuna ukuthi kuwe,... it might be hard, keep trying.. keep making efforts. whatever the situation might be, keep trying... you will see a miracle, and be moved from strength to strength.. ungamlibali uthixo... and keep inviting him.. ucele amandla emandleni..Mandithi bazalwana, from strength to strength we can go, only if we god with our god. Bonke abazalwana babathi Amen

Thursday, 8 December 2011

Shawbury Circuit

Location

Shawbury is situated about 50km from Umthatha, the former capital town of the then Transkei homeland in the Mpondomiseland in Qumbu district.

Tsitsa River

Umzimvubu River

It lies between two rivers - the Tsitsa and Umzimvubu - which are well respected by the Mpondomise people as the place of the dwelling of their kings and it is in Tsitsa where the Mpondomise kings were buried. Shawbury circuit was extensive, covering an area of probably 3000 square miles and embracing the whole Qumbu and a large portion of the Libode district east of the Tsitsa river.

The Shawbury Area

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History

The name Shawbury is associated more with the Institution of Education than with the church.
The circuit is one of the oldest circuits in the Clarkebury district and in the MCSA.
According to the certificate of occupation, Shawbury received the deed of grant in 1891.
Shawbury was not the one of the chain of stations which were planted by Rev William Shaw, but it is an offspring of Rev William Shaw’s missionary work.
The name Shawbury was given by the missionaries to the honour of that great leader William Shaw.
The name, Shawbury, first appeared in the minutes of the meeting which was held in 1843.
It was Chief Ncaphayi of the amaBhaca who had sent the message asking for missionary, for purpose of education and development after the ravage of the wars of that time. Those messengers were sent to Grahamstown, with a present of a pair of tusks. W.H Garner was the first missionary appointed at Shawbury.
Chief Mhlontlo heartily supported Rev William Shaw Davis in his plan of building of a school for indigenous girls in Shawbury.
The great work started and education was the core of the life of Shawbury circuit which impacts the whole region of Transkei and beyond.

The Church Building

A Manse

Another Manse

The Church Building

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Places of Interest

Kitchen Bake House

Workshop and Garage

Teacher's Cottage

Reservoir

Workshop

The Old Chapel

Old Houses from the Missionaries

An Old Fridge House for Dairy Products

Thursday, 17 November 2011

Flags procession at Clarkebury district

Wednesday, 16 November 2011

The previous bishops of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa

Methodism

METHODISM In the 18th century churches in England were very discriminatory and were mainly formed by factory workers and mine workers. Scriptures were preached to them but they were never told about the love of God for them. John Wesley (one of the Anglican priest) with his brother Charles did not just confine themselves to preaching to the workers but went out of their way to preach to the crowds both rich and poor. The people heard and were converted and they formed a Christian group teaching people about faith and Christ. Rev John Wesley never intended to break up the Anglican Church and open his own church; his intention was to ensure that even the poor received the word of God. The people themselves left the Anglican Church and formed the Methodist church in 1795 after Rev John Wesley had died in 1791 still an Anglican. 1. The beginning of Methodism in S.A Methodism was started in Cape Town in 1806 by an organization of studies that met and conducted prayer meetings. As their numbers grew they wrote a letter to the head office in England asking for a minister. In 1814 the London Wesley Mission Society sent Rev John McKinney but he was not allowed to preach in Cape Town because the Dutch government was worried that he would split the Dutch reformed church. He spent 18 months in Cape Town frustrated because he was not allowed to preach and then eventually he sent Rev Barnabas Shaw. Rev Shaw arrived in Cape Town in 1861. As soon as he heard that he was to be sent to South Africa he started learning Dutch. On his arrival in Cape Town he was sent to preach to the heathen instead of the army. One of the members of the London Methodist Society in Namaqualand met with Shaw in Cape Town and advised him to go up to Orange River but Shaw stayed in Olifants River and opened a new station called Leliefontein. Between 1816 and 1826 he formed a strong church with Khoi-Khoi people. Between 1820 and 1825 he opened another station between Orange River and North East Namaqualand. In 1826 he was called back to Cape Town where he preached until his death in 1851. 2. The 1820 settlers The British government decided to increase the number of white people in Fish River with the hope of stopping the war between the Xhosa’s and the English. In 1820, 1600 families arrived in Algoa Bay and started the town that is now called Port Elizabeth. Amongst them was a Methodist minister, Rev. Shaw who stayed about 25 miles from Grahamstown where they built a small town called Salem. Grahamstown was the headquarters of the army in Eastern Cape. Near to this in Betheldorp and Graff-Reinet there were churches that were started by Rev Johannes van der Kamp from the London missionary society. Shaw was the only minister in Eastern Cape until the arrival of Rev Bathurst on Anglican minister in 1832. William Shaw did not just concentrate on Methodist but he preached the word of God to all people. He used Grahamstown as a mission in 1821. He used the English common of prayer to make the Anglicans feel at home. Methodists, Anglicans, Baptists and Presbyterians formed his first congregation. He did not only preach to the converted but he preached to the heathen as well. He had an inscript in Salem that said “There is not a single missionary between my residence and the Northern extreme of the Red sea”. In 1823 he started another mission called Wesley Ville between As soon as the congregation settled he started class meetings, an organization for local preachers and class leaders. He then opened a string of churches from Eastern Cape to Transkei as follows - Toworal South African Independence - The Cape of Good Hope and Grahamstown districts formed by and were supported financially by the British conference. New districts were later formed i.e.: 1853-Natal District 1863-Kaffrarian 1881-Transvaal All these 6 districts fell under the British conference. To promote unity and strength they met once every 3 years in a General meeting that was called the Trienial. In 1882 an attempt was made to form a South African conference of the Methodist but as Hewson says in his book “Introduction to South African Methodist” PG 84 “This was still, however not complete independence as South African conference was in union with and subject to the authority of the British conference “. 3. Union In the beginning of the 20th century there were 3 parts of the Methodist church. I) The Wesleyan Methodist church of Southern Africa This was formed by the districts that formed conference in 1882. II) The Transvaal and Swaziland District. This district was under the British conference and was supported financially by the British Wesleyan Methodist church. III) The primitive Methodist Mission The British started this section in Aliwal North in 1870 and Johannesburg in 1912. Most Methodist agreed that, it was not good to have three different sections of the Methodist church in one country operating differently. (1) There must be one church not many churches and differences do not conform to the word of God. (2) There must be a central Authority that will look after the needs of the Methodist church i.e. The Government not to have any powering the running of the church. (3) Money available to use to build new churches. The integration of these 3 sections happened in 1932 under the leadership of the Dutch Reformed church. NB Back page of 14: Structure of the Methodist church of SA. 4. Later Development of the Methodist Church The Methodist church has Societies Circuits and Districts. The Bishop and the chairman head districts. The conference is the high court of the Methodist church in all countries. 5. The Methodist belief 1) Methodism is practical Christianity 2) Involves purity of the soul that is shown by the fruits of the spirit e.g. Love; Peace etc Galatians 5.22. 3) Involves the whole community- has social dimensions. 4) Has 5 universals as follows I) Every man has a savior The greater sin that befall all human kind must be the main the focus to be fought above all other sins. The 1st catechism say “We are all born in sin if not for the grace of God we would all perish in sin ”St Paul in Romans 7.14-25 also speaks about this sin that govern our bodies .He says in verse 24 “Who shall save the from this body of sin”. II) Every man can find a Savior The Methodists do not believe that salvation comes by election and by birth (Calvinism) but they believe that all man can be saved and Salvation is free by the grace of God (Armenian). It is the Methodist wish that all must be saved because God’s grace is enough for all. III) Every man can know that he is saved. John Wesley first experienced salvation from the Moravians in a ship on his way to America. When the ship was almost sinking he was scared but the Moravians (under Rev Peter Bohler) were calm and carried on singing with their wives and children. Peter Bohler explained to him then that they were not scared of death because they were saved and believed in God without hesitation. IV) Every man can be saved to the uttermost The Methodist believe that all men can reach spiritual maturity where the body is one with the soul. This means that as we grow in faith and in our knowledge of God. We come close to the measure of the fullness of Christ. Eph 4:13. V) Every man can witness to his savior To testify about salvation is to spread the good news that we were saved by the blood of Jesus, so he can have eternal life. St Paul says in 2Cor 5:2 “we are ambassadors for Christ”. 6. The Methodist Way of Worshiping. I) Reading of Bible. The old and new Testament agrees. The promises made in the Old Testament are fulfilled in the new, because our Christology is rooted in Judaism. We believe the whole Bible is the word of God from the 1st book to the last book. II) Apostles Creed ( Ingxelo yenkolo-Ndiyakholwa) We believe the Apostles creed includes all aspects of the Christian belief and therefore we should strive to live our lives by it. III) Preaching Preaching is important because the word of God needs to be explained so it is easier for us to understand. Explaining and interpreting the scriptures is not easy, therefore we need to ask for guidance from the Holy Spirit before we attempt to. Peter and other Apostles got the power to spread the word after receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. IV) Music Methodism was born in music. Charles Wesley, younger brother of John wrote the first Methodist songs e.g. (1) O For a thousand tongues to Sing (2) Jesus, lover of my soul (3) Let me to thy bosom fly (4) Grace to cover all my sin (5) Amazing love! How can it be? Other composers followed in Charles Wesley and produced other songs praising God and calling people to worship e.g. “Thixo akunangqaleko, Thixo akunangqibeko” H.H. Dugmore “Nzulu yemfihlakalo, Nzulu yesimanga” Mark Mbusi “Wakrazulwa ngenxa yami, Liwa laphakade” W.S. Davis “Rock of ages cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee” A.M. Toplady “Uyabiza ndiyanqwena,zundibize ndize nam” W.S. Davis “Hee! Ba nyoriloeng thong le tle metsing” F. Coibard “Sikuyo Indlela Yelizwe Lobomi” W.S. Davis “Siyakudumisa Thixo, siyakuvuma ukuba unguYehova” Te Deum Laudomas In the scriptures we see how the women sang, praising David after he killed Goliath (1 Psalms 18 6-7) and we see Paul and Silas in the Philippians prison singing in the middle of the door for the doors to open (Acts 16:25). John also in his vision of the Island of Patmos he saw elders, angels and the whole of creation singing songs of joy.

About Me

Friday, 13 January 2012

WESLEY GUILD (SA)

Evening Devotion

Thursday, 8 December 2011

Shawbury Circuit

Thursday, 17 November 2011

Flags procession at Clarkebury district

Wednesday, 16 November 2011

The previous bishops of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa

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