ØDiary Dates

Saturday February 4^th 11.00am

We are pleased to congratulate Andy Harris who will be licensed as a reader for Hazelwell Church on Saturday

ØAddendum to the Hazelwell Directory please add the following details to the back page of your directory -omitted in error

Rev’d Barbara Calvert Supernumery Methodist Minister

5 Middleton Hall Road

Cotteridge

Birmingham B30 1AB

07712184569

barbara.calvert@methodist.org.uk

ØWe have re-introduced foodbank collections in church. The recipients will be the Spearhead trust based at Bells Farm, Druids Heath Fred Rattley is our link with the trust and the following is a recent appeal from their website.

“The Spearhead Trust at Bells Farmhouse runs a foodbank alongside other services to help and support members of our community. Due to the recent rise in the cost of living we have seen a massive increase in demand for our foodbank and food supplies are running low.”

You are still encouraged to donate directly to the B30 foodbank during your weekly shop if that is more convenient

Foodbanks are currently faced with demand which exceeds the level of donations so please help if you are able.

A Reflection on Salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16)

Jesus said we are "the salt of the earth" and "the light of the world."Being salt and light is not optional. Jesus did not say you can be...or you have the potential to be...He said you are. Everyone who has trusted Christ for salvation and is born again is the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

Salt (of the Earth)

The value of salt, especially in the ancient world can not be underestimated. Roman soldiers received their wages in salt. The Greeks considered salt to be divine. The Mosaic Law required that all offerings presented by the Israelites contain salt. (Lev. 2:13)

When Jesus told his disciples that they were "the salt of the earth", as recorded in Matthew 5:13 they understood the metaphor. While the universal importance of salt is not as readily apparent in our modern world, the mandate that Jesus gave to his first disciples is still relevant and applicable to His followers today.

What are the characteristics of salt that caused the Lord to use it in this context?

Theologians have different theories about the meaning of "salt" in Matthew 5:13. Some think that its whiteness represents the purity of the justified believer. Others say that salt's flavouring properties imply that Christians are to add divine flavor to the world. Still others believe that Christians are to sting the world with rebuke and judgment the way salt stings an open wound. Another group asserts that, as salt, Christians are to create a thirst for Christ. Salt, however, has another vital purpose which is probably what the Lord had in mind-it stops decay. When Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth", He meant that all of His disciples were to serve as preservatives, stopping the moral decay in our sin infected world.

We have been given a wonderful privilege to be the salt of the earth, but Jesus gave us a warning. The second half of Matthew 5:13 states: "But if salt loses its taste, how would its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by men". Jesus did not say that we can lose our salvation; He said that we can lose our saltiness. When salt is contaminated it becomes corrosive and poisonous. Contaminated salt cannot even be used for fertilizer on the field, so it has to be thrown on the road. If we have allowed disobedience, carelessness and indifference to rule our lives, we have become contaminated salt and have lost our saltiness. We need to confess our sin and let the Lord restore us to the purpose for which we were called.