Download July - Thatcham Free Church

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Issue 29
Bernard Bowden ** Mike Harmsworth ** 0791 748 3326 ** Elizabeth Oxbury ** Ron Timms
I
From Mike’s Box in the Loft
HAVE ALWAYS BEEN FASCINATED by our solar
system. There are so many inconsistencies and
unknowns within it. For every rule you can think
of, there is one planet, moon, comet or satellite
which disobeys it.
When God created our
universe, He set laws into motion which govern all
within it. These laws are perfect, for He made all
things GOOD, but so that we should not become complacent with our
own, interesting and exciting solar system, He set a few things in place
which defy our logic. A few examples are: The hottest planet is not the one closest to the Sun, Mercury, as you
might expect, but Venus.
The surface of Mercury can reach a
scorching 450˚C, but Venus has an average temperature of over
482˚C; the Sun’s surface temperature is above Venus’s at 5,505˚C.
 Mercury and Venus are the only two planets without any moons.
 Mercury does have the greatest temperature range, more than 620˚C
(from +450 to -170˚C).
 Due to Mercury’s orbit around the Sun, a year on that planet is the
equivalent of around 88 Earth days. This means that on Mercury,
there are less than two days in a year because one of its full days
equals 58·8 of our days.
 But that’s not all: due to the planet’s strange orbit, the Sun actually
appears to travel backwards and forwards in the sky.
 The principal component of our solar system is the Sun, it contains
99·86% of the system's known mass and dominates it gravitationally.
 The Sun's four largest orbiting bodies, the gas giants, account for 99%
of the remaining mass, with Jupiter and Saturn together comprising
more than 90%.
 Jupiter was placed in its position to protect the Earth by God. Due to
its huge size and gravitational pull, it acts as a protective barrier that
shields the Earth from space debris, pulling dangerous objects into its
own orbit before they can reach us.
 Most planets and their satellites, rotate (spin) in the same direction,
exceptions being Venus and Uranus which spin in the opposite
direction.
 Uranus is the only planet to orbit the Sun while rotating almost
completely on its side. This odd orientation causes each of the
planet’s poles to be bathed in a frigid, icy winter while the other side
faces almost directly at the Sun for a quarter of its 84 Earth-year
orbit, giving Uranus unique weather patterns.
 Most of the objects in the solar system orbit the Sun in a counterclockwise direction. There are a few exceptions, comets for example,
which have a clockwise orbit, the most famous being Halley’s Comet.
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Although Earth is covered in oceans of water, Mars could have once
hosted seas as well. Nowhere else in the solar system can one find
atmospheres loaded with free oxygen, which ultimately proved vital to
one of the other unique features of Earth — us.
Venus has the longest day (243 Earth days), while Jupiter has the
shortest, 9·9 hours
Neptune has the longest year (time taken to orbit the Sun) of 164·8
Earth years, while Mercury has the shortest at 88 Earth days.
Cairo is the Arabic word for ‘Mars’. The city was so named because
the planet was rising on the day it was founded.
Saturn is not the only planet with amazing rings, which are made up
of small rocks, ice and other particles. Neptune, Uranus and Jupiter
also have them.
When William Herschel first discovered Uranus he wanted to call it
George or more specifically Georgium Sidus (‘The Georgian Planet’)
after King George III. The element uranium is named after it.
Kepler’s laws of planetary motion describe the orbits of objects about
the Sun. Following Kepler’s laws, each object travels, parallel, along
an ellipse with the Sun at one focus. Pluto goes against this rule. The
dwarf planet Pluto is considered to be the furthest body in our solar
system by most, but it orbits twice round the Sun for every three of
Neptune’s orbits. Its orbit also means that for 50% of the time it is not
the furthest out, for it crosses Neptune’s orbit and Neptune becomes
the furthest planet from the Sun.
Our Earth is unique in so many ways. When God created the Earth, He
made the elemental composition of the planet to be mostly iron, oxygen,
silicon, magnesium, sulphur, nickel, calcium, sodium, and aluminium.
While such elements have been detected in locations throughout the
universe, they are merely trace elements, vastly overshadowed by the
much greater abundances of hydrogen and helium. God made Earth
suitable for life and He placed Man and Woman in it. He created a
wonderful array of life and resources, and because He gave us
intelligence, we can convert these into heat, light, shelter and food.
There is no other planet in our solar system that could support life as God
intended apart from Earth.
We must be eternally grateful and thankful to God who has provided us
with so much, but His provision did not stop there. He also provided us
with a way to have a very special relationship with Him through the love,
life, death and resurrection of His dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, whose
love and forgiveness can only be found
through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Thank You God for everything you have
done for each one of us, THANK YOU.
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Eldest son of Adam and Eve
Peter’s name in Greek
Jesus was taken to his house after His arrest
The village where Jesus turned water into wine
Where Barnabas came from
A Roman Centurion who became a Christian
He met Jesus on the road to Emmaus
Elijah lived by this brook for a time
CAIN
CEPHAS
CAIAPHAS
CANA
CYPRUS
CORNELIUS
CLEOPAS
CHERITH
Did you find all the sayings, and did you spot the odd
one out? Peace in our time actually comes from the
Book of Common Prayer, 1662, Morning Prayer.
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A time for everything
Butter someone up
Chariots of fire
Drop in the ocean
Eat, drink and be merry
Fly in the ointment
Going from strength to strength
Haves and have-nots
In the twinkling of an eye
Job’s comforters
Keeping the best until last
Land of Nod
Man after one’s own heart
No room at the inn
On one’s own head
Peace in our time
Quick and the dead
Red sky at night
Skin of one’s teeth
Threescore years and ten
Under the sun
Vanity of vanities
Writing on the wall
Your sin will find you out
Ecc 3:1-3
Psalm 55:21
2 Kings 2:11
Isaiah 40:15
Isaiah 22:13
Ecc 10:1
Psalm 84:7
Matthew 13:12
1 Cor 15:52
Job 2:11
John 2:10
Genesis 4:16
1 Samuel 13:14
Luke 2:7
Psalm 7:16
Book of Prayer
Acts 10:42
Matt 16:2-3
Job 19:20
Psalm 90:10
Ecc 1:9
Ecc 1:2
Daniel 5:5
Num 32:23
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Open Day
Saturday 6th July
Come and enjoy the beautiful
grounds of this local Christian
drug and alcohol rehabilitation
centre, join in the fun and learn
more about our work. Entry
and parking are free.
Gates open at 1pm. Buy a hog
roast lunch or bring a picnic.
Drinks and ice-creams will be
available. From 1.30pm, there
will be stalls and activities for
all ages. Browse the plant stall,
homemade cakes and craft
stalls or try your hand at the
coconut shy, or skittles.
From 3pm, the Celebration in
the marquee is the highlight of
the day, with praise to lift the
roof and testimonies that will
touch your heart, as we thank
God for His faithfulness.
Afterwards enjoy delicious
strawberry teas on the lawn.
More information is available
from Elizabeth.
Thursday 4th July
19.30
NO BIBLE STUDY OR PRAYER MEETING
THIS MEETING WILL RESUME ON 5TH SEPT
Saturday 6th July
13.00
Yeldall Manor Open Day
See page 4 for details
Sunday
10.45
Morning Worship & Communion
Ron Timms
The Final Frontier
Prayer4Thatcham
At Our Lady of the Assumption
7th July
18.30
Thursday 11th July 19.30
NO BIBLE STUDY OR PRAYER MEETING
THIS MEETING WILL RESUME ON 5TH SEPT
Sunday
Morning Worship
Ron Timms
United Service of Remembrance
14th July 10.45
15.00
Thatcham Cemetery, London Road
Bereaved family and friends are invited to
take part in a simple, short service led by
clergy from across Thatcham
Thursday 18th July 19.30
NO BIBLE STUDY OR PRAYER MEETING
THIS MEETING WILL RESUME ON 5TH SEPT
Sunday
Morning Worship
Keith Leedham
21st July 10.45
Thursday 25th July 19.30
NO BIBLE STUDY OR PRAYER MEETING
THIS MEETING WILL RESUME ON 5TH SEPT
Sunday
Morning Worship
Tristan McDonald
28th July 10.45
Thursday 1st
Aug 19.30
NO BIBLE STUDY OR PRAYER MEETING
THIS MEETING WILL RESUME ON 5TH SEPT
Sunday
Aug 10.45
Morning Worship & Communion
4th
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