It does us the power of good and enriches our prayer life to be thankful for all God's benefits.

(d) Pray for opportunity. Paul asked the Colossians to pray: That God may open a door for our message for which I am in chains. Paul prayed earnestly, and wanted others to join with him in praying, for opportunities to proclaim the gospel.

These days, in my 77th year, I am still given opportunities to challenge unbelievers with the claims of Jesus. Next week, for example, I will be conducting Robert's funeral. His family have chosen the Bible reading: John6v35to40. In this passage Jesus asserts: "For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

This will be the third funeral I have conducted this year (2018) and on each occasion I have had the opportunity of reminding the congregation of the great promises of Jesus.

(e) Pray for clarity. Jesus asked the Colossians to pray that he might proclaim the gospel clearly.

During my last years as a teacher the local vicar would appear sometimes and conduct a whole school assembly. He tried to be too clever by half. No one, and I really mean no one, could understand what he was getting at. He spoke in indecipherable riddles. If the staff were left amused but totally baffled, just imagine the reaction of the children.

Every so often I was able to take an assembly. Below is one of my efforts. I say, one of my efforts, but that is not entirely the case. I always prayed for God's help.

A schoolassembly: THE VILLAGE FOOTBALL MATCH

I spent most of my boyhood on the Brockley village green. It was not a very prepossessing green but it had some assets. There was a shallow pond and moat on one side. The pond was full of roach and carp that we fished for with rods of hazel cut from the hedge, bent pins and lumps of dough. The moat was a mass of frog spawn in spring. We picked it up in handfuls and threw it at each other. Fringing the pond were several low mounds made of past dredgings. We used these for gun fights when playing cowboys and Indians. The pond was an important source of water for washing before the arrival of piped water. The green also had a well and pump. Unfortunately the water we loved to pump up was oily. The well had been fouled. One of the drawbacks of our play area was that we shared it with Mr Vincent's horse. It was a horse with character. It had mad fits when it would career wildly back and forth with thundering hooves. I think it only did this to frighten us. Mr Vincent's carthorse also suffered from flatulence. It was a very windy horse. Woe-betide anyone who left a jacket or jumper on the green over night. By next morning the horse had chewed it to death. Worst of all the horse used to kick the hell out of our cricket pitch.

I had arranged a football match on the village green against the boys from Hartest for Saturday afternoon. Those were the days when children did everything for themselves. No adults were involved. It promised to be a tough game because the Hartest boys were older and bigger than we were. However I had a side and still possessed the optimism of youth. I spent Saturday morning marking out a pitch. This was done in a very rudimentary fashion with pea sticks. The leather football was inflated and laced up with great difficulty. This was an almost impossible task for a small boy.

After dinner I was the first 'up the green'. I eagerly awaited the arrival of my team. It wasn't long before an ill assorted group had arrived for a preliminary 'kick about'. We were still two key players short. I then saw something that changed my life forever. The two players on whom I depended were all dressed up and walking along Mill road to catch the bus to Bury St Edmunds. I can remember crying out in despair, "You said you would play. You said you would play." They said nothing. They just walked in silence to the bus.

The Hartest team turned up - big boys all. We were handicapped by two asthmatics, a little boy who ran away from the opposition and a mental defective who kicked in the wrong direction. I played my heart out. We lost 39 goals to nil.

It is no exaggeration to say that this incident changed my life. It destroyed my faith in human nature. I have never expected personal loyalty again. It was a kind of betrayal and it is easy for me to understand why Jesus was so troubled by the betrayal of Judas. Integrity is an under valued virtue. It is so much more important to be nice! One of the boys who let me down all those years ago was very charming and that has stood him in good stead down the years. Jesus said, "Let your 'Yes' be 'Yes', and your 'No', 'No'." Matt5v37. - that is something I have tried to live by. I have kept my word.

(2) Some advice on witnessing.

(a) Act wisely. Paul advises the Colossians: Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders.

We need to be careful not to give unbelievers grounds for criticism. It is easy to do this as a Christian tradesman by overcharging. It is even easier to cause offence as a Christian customer by paying as late as possible for work done.

Old Perce didn't commend Christianity to his nephew who he caught by the ear and banged his head against the fence because he was playing with a ball on the 'Sabbath Day'.

Aileen deeply offended her neighbours by keeping a pack of hounds whose incessant barking while she was away at work drove Mr and Mrs X to distraction.

My outbursts of temper during my career did not enhance my reputation as a teacher with either staff or pupils.

(b) Be intent on serving. Paul wrote: Make the most of every opportunity.

When a person is in need we are given an opportunity to meet that need and thereby commend the Lord Jesus who himself went about doing good.

Philip Yancey in his book, 'Finding God in unexpected places', writes about Louis. One evening a mother called her about supper time. Louis went straight over. The mother was sitting on the floor with bruises all over her face. Her husband had beaten her up again. Her two kids were crying like mad in the next room. Louis had brought some much needed groceries with her. So Loius and the mother worked together to prepare a meal. The children calmed down. Then the two women spent 2 hours cleaning the house. By the time they finished both were singing hymns together.

The poor mother's acute distress provided Louis with an opportunity to obey her Master and serve one in need.

(c) Be gracious in speech. I think one of the key requirements of a gracious conversationalist is a willingness to listen.

Some Christians are incredible bores. They talk incessantly about themselves. When I served at Pioneer Camp - a Christian camp for young people - there was a fellow worker who monopolised every conversation. If the skipper of the camp saw him heading in his direction he would retreat to hide in the latrines.

I am afraid many conversations between Christians are far from gracious. We must beware boasting, complaining, criticising and flattering. Christian's can be ultra critical. I can remember my mother saying that the lady who picked her up to speak at a women's meeting spent the entire journey criticising one person after another. My mother should have been brave enough to say, "Now, dear, choose someone we both know and love and say something nice about them."

(d) Be a salty advocate. Paul wrote: Let your conversation be seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

No one exemplifies this better than Jesus. He was asked all sorts of difficult questions. Jesus gave some very tasty responses as, for example, when he was asked if taxes should be paid to the Romans. See Mt22v15to27.

I always try and introduce a little humour into my funeral tributes. Recently I conducted the funeral of 95-year-old Phyllis - a long standing friend of mine. I told the congregation: Phyllis suffered from deafness. On one occasion she mistakenly thought I was proposing marriage. I had to say, "No, no Phyllis - you misheard me." The look of profound relief on her face did not do my ego any good.

My assemblies usually made my pupils smile - they certainly held the attention of the boys and girls. See my story about the little old lady. and the account of the pink blancmange.

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