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At the end of our time in England we took the bus to Windsor, the location of the famous Windsor Castle. While walking about the town of Windsor, we entered a local church – the Parish Church of St. John the Baptist. The building was dedicated on June 22, 1822, but the first church building on this site dates back to about 1100 AD. The interior of the church building is stunning – typical of many Anglican (Church of England) churches in England.

Three details stood out. The first was the decorated altar at the head of the building. The second was an original painting of the Last Supper. This is not the famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci, but a no-less stunning painting by the 16th-century German painter Franz de Cleyn. It captures the moment Jesus announces to his disciples, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19). The painting is hung high on the wall above the entrance to the sanctuary.

The third detail was a small table with a simple wooden cross on it. This table is positioned precisely at the centre between the “nave”, where the congregation sits, and the “bema”, the section reserved for the choir and altar.

Standing beside this small table and the wooden cross, with the altar in front and the picture of our Lord Jesus blessing the bread and the cup behind, reminded me that Christ and his Gospel surround me. We are “in Christ”, to use a phrase the Apostle Paul often repeats. This profound sense of Christ surrounding us is echoed in one of the passages we explore in our 40 Days of Prayer this week: Romans 8:38-39.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What does this passage mean to you today? Perhaps you need to hear the confidence the Apostle Paul expresses in these words and echo them in your prayers. Perhaps you need to rest in the knowledge that Christ is with you, no matter the circumstances you face. Or maybe you need to cling to the cross, remembering how much Christ loves you and the cost he paid to redeem you. Today, Jesus wants you to know that you are secure in him and in his love because he holds you now and forever.

視頻大意翻譯(video Chinese translation):

一天傍晚，就在英格蘭之行快結束前，我們乘坐公共汽車前往溫莎，這裡是著名的溫莎城堡的所在地，是國王或王后的夏季住所。在溫莎散步時，我們進入了當地的一座教堂—聖約翰教區教堂。該建築於 1822 年 6 月 22 日落成，但該遺址上的第一座教堂建築可以追溯到西元 1100 年左右。教堂建築的內部令人驚歎—是英國許多聖公會教堂的典型特徵。

有三個細節讓我印象深刻。第一個是建築物頂部的祭壇。你看到它在這個視頻的後面被點亮了。

第二是《最後的晚餐》的原畫。這不是達文西的名畫，而是 16 世紀德國畫家法蘭茨·德·克萊恩 （Franz de Cleyn） 的畫作。這幅畫同樣令人驚歎。它捕捉到了耶穌向他的門徒宣佈的那一刻，“這是我的身體、為你們捨的．你們也應當如此行、為的是記念我。（路加福音 22：19）”有趣的是，正如你從這段影片中看到的，這幅畫被高高地掛在大堂入口上方的牆上。

第三個細節是一張小桌子，上面有一個簡單的木製十字架。這張桌子正好位於會眾所在的“中殿”和“貝瑪”（為唱詩班和祭壇保留的部分）之間的中心。（這樣的設計在教堂建築中並不罕見。）

站在這張小桌子和木製十字架旁邊，前面是祭壇，後面是我們的主耶穌祝福餅和杯的畫像，提醒我基督和他的福音圍繞著我—包圍著我們。我們“在基督里”，用使徒保羅經常重複的一句話來說。這種深刻的基督圍繞著我們的感覺，在我們本周40天禱告中探索的一段經文中得到了呼應：羅馬書8：38-39。

因為我深信無論是死、是生、是天使、是掌權的、是有能的、是現在的事、是將來的事、是高處的、是低處的、是別的受造之物、都不能叫我們與　神的愛隔絕．這愛是在我們的主基督耶穌裏的。

今天這段經文對你意味著什麼？或許你需要聽到使徒保羅在這些話語中表達的信心，並在你的禱告中回應它們。或許你需要安息，因你知道基督與你同在，無論你面臨什麼情況。或者，你需要緊緊抓住十字架，記住基督是多麼愛你，以及他為救贖你而付出的代價。今天，耶穌想讓你知道，在他裡面，在他的愛裡，你是安全的，他現在和永遠都擁抱著你。

Grace and peace

Pastor Callum