Daily Prayer - Tuesday
- Give thanks to God for those who have recently recovered from sickness. - Pray for those who are sick or receiving treatment in our congregation. - Pray the Lord would grant us grace to be good ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5.20) Church Services Sunday morning at 11:00am in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Doctrine Class - in church (after lunch) (and also available online via FaceBook) Sunday evening at 6:30pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Bible Study and Prayer Wednesday evening at 7:00pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Lunch Hour Service Thursday afternoon between 1:00pm and 1:30pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Outreach/Witnessing Saturday morning at Victoria Street (outside the big Boots store) for 10:30am (across the road from Town Hall - No. 64). Afterwards we go back to church for prayer. Daily Reading Preface - The prophet lamenteth the invasion of Jewry; he reproveth their trust in human means, and not in God; and their desperate rioting, when the times called for humiliation. He prophesieth the downfall of Shebna, and Eliakim's advancement in his room. Isaiah 22 Preface - The apostle declareth it to be the design of both his epistles ro remind the brethren of Christ's coming to judgment, in opposition to scoffers. No argument can be drawn against it from the delay, which is designed to leave men room for repentance. He describeth the day of the Lord, and exhorteth to holiness of life in expectation of it. He sheweth that Paul had taught the same in his epistles: and concludeth with advice to beware of seduction, and to grow in Christian grace and knowledge. 2 Peter 3 Daily Light - Morning My brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. - I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. - The gospel of Christ...is the power of God unto salvation. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. - I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. - We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. The joy of the LORD is your strength. - Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness. Eph. 6.10; 2 Co. 12.9-10; Ps. 71.16; Ro. 1.16 Phil. 4.13; Col. 1.29; 2 Co. 4.7 Ne. 8.10; Col. 1.11 Daily Light - Evening Jesus Christ our Lord. JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. - He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth. Messias...which is called Christ. - The LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives. The last Adam was made a quickening spirit... The second man is the Lord from heaven. - My Lord and my God. - Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ourght to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. 1 Co. 1.9; Mt. 1.21; Phil. 2.8-10 Jn. 4.25; Isa. 61.1 1 Co. 15.45,47; Jn. 20.28; Jn. 13.13-15 A Puritans Catechism Q 74 - How do Baptism and the Lord's Supper become spiritually helpful? A - Baptism and the Lord's Supper become spiritually helpful, not from any virtue in them, or in him who does administer them, but only by the blessing of Christ, and the working of the Spirit in those who by faith receive them. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith Of Christ the Mediator Chapter 8 PARAGRAPH 1 It pleased God, in His eternal purpose, to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, His only begotten Son, according to the covenant made between them both, to be the mediator between God and man;1 the prophet,2 priest,3 and king;4 head and savior of the church,5 the heir of all things,6 and judge of the world;7 unto whom He did from all eternity give a people to be His seed and to be by Him in time redeemed, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified.8 1 Isa. 42:1; 1 Pet. 1:19–20 2 Acts 3:22 3 Heb. 5:5–6 4 Ps. 2:6; Luke 1:33 5 Eph. 1:22–23 6 Heb. 1:2 7 Acts 17:31 8 Isa. 53:10; John 17:6; Rom. 8:30 Robert Murray M'Cheyne - God Makes A Path - Daily Devotional Readings Divine Sympathy - Jesus wept - John 11 v 35 When He saw the cave, and the stone, and the weeping friends, 'Jesus wept'. He wept because His heart was deeply touched. It was not feigned weeping, it was real. He knew that He was to raise him from the dead, and yet He wept because others wept. He wept as our example, to teach us to weep with one another. He wept to show what was in Him: 'For we have not an high-priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet wihtout sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need' (Hebrews 4 vs 15&16.)
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Prayer - Monday
- Give thanks to God for salvation and the redemption that is found alone through Jesus Christ. - Give thanks to God for granting us particular skills and abilities that we might fulfil our vocations (jobs, studies, family responsibilities and time we spend alone). (Ecclesiastes 9.10, Ephesians 6.6) - Pray for the Lord's blessing on the working week for us and all in the congregation. - Pray the Lord would grant us grace to be good ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5.20) Church Services Sunday morning at 11:00am in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Doctrine Class - in church (after lunch) (and also available online via FaceBook) Sunday evening at 6:30pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Bible Study and Prayer Wednesday evening at 7:00pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Lunch Hour Service Thursday afternoon between 1:00pm and 1:30pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Outreach/Witnessing Saturday morning at Victoria Street (outside the big Boots store) for 10:30am (across the road from Town Hall - No. 64). Afterwards we go back to church for prayer. Daily Reading Preface - The prophet seeth in vision the fall of Babylon by the Medes and Persians. He giveth warning to Edom. The set time of Arabia's calamity. Isaiah 21 Preface - The apostle fortelleth the appearance of false teachers, the impiety of them and their followers, and the judgments that would overtake them. The godly shall be delivered, as Lot was out of Sodom. The wicked principles and manners of these seducers described. The mischief of relapsing into sin. 2 Peter 2 Daily Light - Morning Take heed unto thyself. Every man that strveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. - Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness o fthis world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. - For as many are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. - Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. 1 Tim. 4.16; 1 Co. 9.25-27; Eph. 6.11-12 Ga. 5.24-25; Ro. 8.14; 1 Tim. 4.15 Daily Light - EveningFear not: Jesus saith unto her, Mary. for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. - The sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name...and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. - We have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. Thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel... And Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial... And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment... And thou shalt set in it settings of stones... And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel... And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually. Jn. 20.16; Isa. 43.1; Jn. 10.3,4 Isa. 49.16 2 Tim. 2.19; He. 4.14 Ex. 28.9,12,15,17,21,29 A Puritans Catechism Q 73 - How is the Word made effectual to salvation? A - The Spirit of God makes the reading, but especially the preaching of the Word, an effectual means of convicting, and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort through faith to salvation. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith Of God's Covenant Chapter 7 PARAGRAPH 3 This covenant is revealed in the gospel; first of all to Adam in the promise of salvation by the seed of the woman,5 and afterwards by farther steps, until the full discovery thereof was completed in the New Testament;6 and it is founded in that eternal covenant transaction that was between the Father and the Son about the redemption of the elect;7 and it is alone by the grace of this covenant that all the posterity of fallen Adam that ever were saved did obtain life and blessed immortality, man being now utterly incapable of acceptance with God upon those terms on which Adam stood in his state of innocency.8 5 Gen. 3:15 6 Heb. 1:1 7 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 1:2 8 Heb. 11;6,13; Rom. 4:1–2; Acts 4:12; John 8:56 Robert Murray M'Cheyne - God Makes A Path - Daily Devotional Readings A Golden saying And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. - Revelation 14 v 13 Blessed are the dead. Learn the value of this saying. It is a golden saying - there is gold in every syllable of it. It is sweeter than honey and the honeycomb, more precious than gold, yea, much fine gold. It is precious in the eyes of God. Write it deep in your hearts; it will solemnise your life, and will keep you from being led away by its vain show. It will make the syren songs of this world inconvenient and out of tune; it will sweetly soothe you in the hour of adversity; it will rob death of its sting, and the grave of its victory. Write, write deep on your heart, 'Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.' Dear Congregation,
I want to thank all of you who have prayed and supported the work of the Gospel through the church in 2023 and this first month of 2024. It is a great joy to minister at Westminster Baptist and I love the church here greatly. Through this past year, there have been heart-wrenching tragedies alongside blessings too. This is often the case in Christian life and yet we are called to keep trusting and believing. We often bear the battle scars of past experience and circumstance, as we live in this sinful world and anticipate heaven. We see Mordecai, mocked and scorned for years in Esther and on the brink of execution, yet he latterly knew blessing from God. The most important thing was he was faithful in serving the Lord. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful - 1 Corinthians 4.2. This verse especially applies to ministers, church workers, but to all Christians. We are stewards of the oracles of God and to us has the light of the gospel been revealed. We should therefore be striving to be faithful, not popular, faithful. May that be our aim by the grace of God. In the beginning month in recent years we have spent a week praying together on each day for certain things. As a reminder that with continuing faith that prayer is essential. Key to our hope and joy and endurance and love, and with new resolve to make time to pray regularly alone and with your family and with some group of fellow believers. Alongside reading the Scriptures these should be our daily routine. There are various encouragements in the Scriptures to pray: - Pray without ceasing (1 Th. 5:17). - Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; (Ep. 6:18). - Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; (Col. 4:2). These are a few verses of the many that encourage us to pray and undoubtedly set before us a biblical mandate that we should be concerned to pray. Maybe you have fallen out of the 'habit' or relegated prayer to a part time practice; or you only pray when trouble or danger comes. To that end I would ask the church to pray, if led, the suggested topics below so we might pray for the same things (roughly speaking) on the same day to encourage us. Let us be prayerful people and realise we too need prayer. To say we are praying for someone should be an expressio of concern but an indication of our own action to bring the matter before God, before the throne of Grace through the believers mediator and High Priest. Jesus Christ, Paul even requests prayer for himself and those labouring fo rthe Gospel with him twice in 1 and 2 Thessalonians saying 'brethren pray for us'. May we be a prayerful church and prayerful individuals, knowing that we have a prayer hearing and answering God. Pastor Jonathan Arnold Daily Prayer - Sunday - God thanks to God for His character, perfect, unchangeable, the same yesterday today and forever. - Give thanks to God that we can meet in the church and have fellowship with one another. - Pray the Lord would grant the preaching of his word power and clarity, and there are ready ears to hear and believe it. (2 Thes. 3.1.) - Pray we would be granted faithful ministry and good spiritual food from God's Word. (1 Peter 2.2.) Church Services Sunday morning at 11:00am in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Doctrine Class - in church (after lunch) (and also available online via FaceBook) Sunday evening at 6:30pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Bible Study and Prayer Wednesday evening at 7:00pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Lunch Hour Service Thursday afternoon between 1:00pm and 1:30pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Outreach/Witnessing Saturday morning at Victoria Street (outside the big Boots store) for 10:30am (across the road from Town Hall - No. 64). Afterwards we go back to church for prayer. Daily Reading 19) - Preface - The confusion of Egypt. The foolishness of her princes. The calling of Egypt into the church; and God's blessing upon her in union with Israel and Assyria. 20) - Preface - A type prefiguring the shameful captivity of Egypt and Ethiopia. Isaiah 19-20 Preface - The apostle, saluting the Christians, admonisheth them of the gifts and promises of the gospel, and their tendency to promote a godly life. He exhorteth them to add to their faith such virtues as would make it fruitful; and thereby to make their calling and election sure. He is careful to remind them hereof, knowing his dissolution to be near; and urgeth the evidence of what he had seen and heard in the holy mount in confirmation of Christ's second coming, together with the word of prophecy, which he recommendeth to their regard. 2 Peter 1 Daily Light - Morning Wash me throughly from mine iniquity. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me. - Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. - If the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? He saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known. - Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. Ps. 51.2; Jer. 33.8; Ezek. 36.25 Jn. 3.5; He. 9.13-14 Ps. 106.8; Ps. 115.1 Daily Light - Evening Fellowship in the gospel. As the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. - That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. - These words spake Jesus... Neither pray I for these alone but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us. Phil. 1.5; 1 Co. 12.12-13 1 Co. 1.9; 1 Jn. 1.3 1 Jn. 1.7; Jn. 17.1,20-21 A Puritans Catechism Q 72 - How is the Word made effectual to salvation? A - The Spirit of God makes the reading, but especially the preaching of the Word, an effectual means of convicting and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort through faith to salvation. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith Of God's Covenant Chapter 7 PARAGRAPH 2 Moreover, man having brought himself under the curse of the law by his fall, it pleased the Lord to make a covenant of grace,2 wherein He freely offers unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ, requiring of them faith in Him, that they may be saved;3 and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto eternal life, His Holy Spirit, to make them willing and able to believe.4 2 Gen. 2:17; Gal. 3:10; Rom. 3:20–21 3 Rom. 8:3; Mark 16:15–16; John 3:16 4 Ezek. 36:26–27; John 6:44–45; Ps. 110:3 Robert Murray M'Cheyne - God Makes A Path - Daily Devotional Readings Learn to stoop low Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. - Romans 14 v 1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. - Romans 15 v 1 There is much of an opposite spirit, I fear, amongst us. I fear thatyou love our Mays and Pauls and Johns, you highly esteem those that are evidently pillars. But can you condescend to men of low estate? Learn to stoop low, and to be gentle and kind to the feeble. Do not speak eveil of them, do not make their blemishes the subject of your common talk. Comer their faults. Assist them by counsel, and pray for them. Daily Prayer - Saturday
- Give thanks to God that we have good news of salvation to tell that the repentant sinner might have everlasting life through Jesus Christ. (John 3.16.) - Pray the Lord would bless the Gospel outreach by the church in Westminster. Both on Saturday mornings and at services; through personal conversations and online contacts. Church Services Sunday morning at 11:00am in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Doctrine Class - in church (after lunch) (and also available online via FaceBook) Sunday evening at 6:30pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Bible Study and Prayer Wednesday evening at 7:00pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Lunch Hour Service Thursday afternoon between 1:00pm and 1:30pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Outreach/Witnessing Saturday morning at Victoria Street (outside the big Boots store) for 10:30am (across the road from Town Hall - No. 64). Afterwards we go back to church for prayer. Daily Reading 17) Preface - Syria and Israel are threatened. A remnant of Israel shall forsake idolatry. The desolation of the rest. The rebuke of the enemies of Israel. 18) Preface - God threateneth to destroy the Ethiopians. An access will from thence be made to the church. Isaiah 17-18 Preface - The elders are exhorted to feed the flock of Christ conscientiously, looking to the chief Shepherd for a reward. The younger are required to submit to the elder, and all to practise humility toward each other; with resignation to God; to be sober, watchful, and stedfast in the faith, resisting the devil. The epistle is concluded with a prayer and benediction. 1 Peter 5 Daily Light - Morning As the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself. Our Saviour Jesus Christ...hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. - I am the resurrection, and the life. - Because I live, ye shall live also. - We are made partakers of Christ. - Partakers of the Holy Ghost. - Partakers of the divine nature. - The first man Adam was made a living soul; and last Adam was made a quickening spirit. - Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. - Who liveth for ever and ever. - The blessed and only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality. - Unto the King eternal, immortal...be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. Jn. 5.26; 2 Tim. 1.10; Jn. 11.25; Jn. 14.19; He. 3.14; He. 6.24; 2 Pe. 14; 1 Co. 15.45; 1 Co. 15.51-52 Rev. 4.8; Rev. 4.9; 1 Tim. 6.15-16; 1 Tim. 1.17 Daily LIght - Evening Let us not be desirous of vain glory. Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey... And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house. Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not. - Lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there wa given to me a thorn in the flesh. Let nothing be done, through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. - Charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me. Ga. 5.26; Judg. 8.24-25,27 Jer. 45.5; 2 Co. 12.7 Phil. 2.3; 1 Co. 13.4-5 Mt. 11.29 A Puritans Catechism Q 71 - What are the outward means whereby the Holy Spirit communicates to us the benefits of redemption? A - The outward and ordinary means whereby the Holy Spirit communicates to us the benefits of Christ's redemption, are the Word, by which souls are begotten to spiritual life: Baptism, the Lord's Supper, Prayer, and Meditation, by all which believers are further edified in their most holy faith. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith Of God's Covenant Chapter 7 PARAGRAPH 1 The distance between God and the creature is so great, that although reasonable creatures do owe obedience to Him as their creator, yet they could never have attained the reward of life but by some voluntary condescension on God's part, which He hath been pleased to express by way of covenant.1 1 Luke 17:10; Job 35:7–8 Robert Murray M'Cheyne - God Makes A Path - Daily Devotional Readings Christ our righteous For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. - 1 Corinthians 15 v 22 We have seen that in the fall and ruin of man, it pleased God to deal with man, not as a field of corn, each standing on his own root, but as a tree, in which all the branches stand or fall together. We were not made sinners, each by his individual sin, but all by the sin of one. In like manner it has pleased God to justify sinners, not each by his own obedience, by his own goodness and holiness, but 'by the obedience of one.' Just as Adam by his one sin brought death, the curse of God, and total spiritual death, not only upon himself, but though unborn; so the second Adam, by His own obedience, brought pardon, righteousness, spiritual life, and eternal glory to all His branches, even the most distant, the smallest, even those unborn. Daily Prayer - Friday
- Give thanks to God for many good things we enjoy and daily blessings. - Pray the Lord would supply the needs o fthose in the congregation at Westminster and guide us as we help those destitute and suffering. Especially those we have met in the pandemic. (Numbers 6.24-26.) - Pray for the ministry among the children and that they would know Christ from a young age. A rich blessing in this troubled world. - Pray for the evangelistice work, that people would know the greatest blessing of all: salvation by the grace of God through Christ. Church Services Sunday morning at 11:00am in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Doctrine Class - in church (after lunch) (and also available online via FaceBook) Sunday evening at 6:30pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Bible Study and Prayer Wednesday evening at 7:00pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Lunch Hour Service Thursday afternoon between 1:00pm and 1:30pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Outreach/Witnessing Saturday morning at Victoria Street (outside the big Boots store) for 10:30am (across the road from Town Hall - No. 64). Afterwards we go back to church for prayer. Daily Reading Preface - The moabite is exhorted to yield obedience to the throne of David. He is threatened for his pride with lamentable judgments, and that within three years. Isaiah 16 Preface - The apostle exhorteth to cease from sin, in regard of Christ's having suffered for it, and of a future judgment. From the approaching end of all things he urgeth to sobriety, watchfulness, and prayer; to charity, hospitality, and a right use of spritual gifts. Various motives of comfort under persecution. 1 Peter 4 Daily Light - Morning I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them. As he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. - He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked...If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him. - Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God. - Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God. - Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. - The God of peace...make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ. Ezek. 20.19; 1 Pe. 1.14; 1 Jn. 2.6,29; 1 Co. 7.19; Jas. 2.10 2 Co. 3.5; Ps. 119.33 Phil. 2.12-13; He. 13.20,21 Daily Light - Evening I have exalted one chosen out of the people. Verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham... In all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren. - Upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. - The Son of man which is in heaven. - Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. Who...made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. - Be watchful, and stregthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Ps. 89.19; He. 2.16,17; Ezek. 1.26; Jn. 3.13; Lu. 24.39 Phil. 2.6-10; Rev. 3.2 A Puritans Catechism Q 70 - What is repentance unto life? A - Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, does with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose to strive after new obedience. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith Of The Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment Thereof Chapter 6 PARAGRAPH 5 The corruption of nature, during this life, does remain in those that are regenerated;13 and although it be through Christ pardoned and mortified, yet both itself, and the first motions thereof, are truly and properly sin.14 13 Rom. 7:18,23; Eccles. 7:20; 1 John 1:8 14 Rom. 7:23–25; Gal. 5:17 Robert Murray M'Cheyne - God Makes A Path - Daily Devotional Readings Sweet and easy Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? - John 6 v 60 A great many persons are much taken with Christ; they have some anxiety about their souls; they follow anxiously after the preaching of the Word; but when we show them that Christ is the bread of heaven, that they must have a personal closing with Christ, as much as if they were to eat His flesh and drink His blood, these souls say, 'it is a hard saying, who can bear it?' By-and-by, they are offended, they believe not, they go back and walk no more with Jesus. Is any hearing me in this condition? Oh! think again, I beseech you, before you go back. Oh! seek the teaching of God, and He will show you that none of Christ's saying are hard sayings, but that they are all sweet and easy. When the heart of a poor Indian was brought under the teaching of God, he said: 'Some people complain that the Bible is a hard book; but I have not read so far as to find it a hard book. To me it is all sweet and easy.' Daily Prayer - Thursday
- Give thanks to God that we are part of a global church made up of true Christians across the world. - Give thanks to God for the freedoms we have to share the Gospel in England and pray that it may continue. - Pray for missionaries across the world who are seeking to preach to Gospel and establish a faithful church. - Pray for those in persecuted countries who have to meet in secret. Even those who are now in prison for their faith. Give thanks to God that we are part of a global church made up of true Christians across the world. Church Services Sunday morning at 11:00am in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Doctrine Class - in church (after lunch) (and also available online via FaceBook) Sunday evening at 6:30pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Bible Study and Prayer Wednesday evening at 7:00pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Lunch Hour Service Thursday afternoon between 1:00pm and 1:30pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Outreach/Witnessing Saturday morning at Victoria Street (outside the big Boots store) for 10:30am (across the road from Town Hall - No. 64). Afterwards we go back to church for prayer. Daily Reading Preface - The lamentable state of Moab Isaiah 15 Preface - The apostle teacheth the duty of wives and husbands; exhorting all men to unity and love, and to return good for evil: to suffer boldly for righteousness' sake, and to give a reason of their hope with meekness and fear; taking esppecial care to suffer, as Christ did, for welldoing, and not for evildoing. The preaching of Christ by his Spirit to the old world. After what manner Christian baptism saveth us. 1 Peter 3 Daily Light - Morning A servant of Jesus Christ. Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. - If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. - Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. - Being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. - Thou art no more a servant, but a son. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage... For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an ocasion to the flesh. Ro. 1.1; Jn. 13.13; Jn. 12.26; Mt. 11.29-30 Phil. 3.7; Ro. 6.22 Jn. 15.15; Ga. 4.7 Ga. 5.1,13 Daily Light - Evening I will bless the LORD. who hath given me counsel. His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor. - Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. - Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. - Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. - Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. - Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. - He knoweth the way that I take. - Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way? Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. - This God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death. Ps. 16.7; Isa. 9.6; Pro. 8.14; Ps. 119.105; Pro. 3.5-6 Jer. 10.23; Isa. 30.21; Pro. 16.3; Job 23.10; Pro. 20.24 Ps. 73.24; Ps. 48.14 A Puritans Catechism Q 69 - What is faith in Jesus Christ? A - Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is set forth in the gospel. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith Of The Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment Thereof Chapter 6 PARAGRAPH 4 From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil,11 do proceed all actual transgressions.12 11 Rom. 8:7; Col. 1:21 12 James 1:14–15; Matt. 15:19 Robert Murray M'Cheyne - God Makes A Path - Daily Devotional Readings Eternity It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. - Hebrews 10 v 31 In the time of health and strength, it is common for men to boast against God. They are not in trouble as other men, neither are they plagued like other men; therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain. They can sin with a high hand. But when they are brought to the brink of the grave by fever or wasting consumption - when they need someone to turn them on their bed, or to hold up their fainting head, or to feed them like a child - then we see that a sinner is nothing in the hands of an angry God. And O what will it be in eternity, when he falls into the hands of the living God! Perhaps he doubted whether there was a God; but all of a sudden he sees there is a God. He thought there was no hell, and laughed at those who believed it - in a moment he is tossing among its fiery waves; and now he feels it must be eternal. After a thousand years it is but beginning, and no nearer an end. The soul will sink into insupportable gloom - it will wish to die, and not be able. 'What if God, willing to show His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much long-suffering the vessles of wrath, fitted to destruction? O brethren, flee from the wrath to come! You cannot bear it. Can you bear a fever or the stroke of palsy, or a strike of lightning, or wasting consumption? And these are but the little finger of the hand of God's anger. Daily Prayer - Wednesday
- Give thanks to God for the Bible, its inspiration and preservation for us to read it today. (2 Timothy 3.16, Proverbs 30.5.) - Give thanks to God that we have easy access to the Scripture in English, in our mother tongue. - Pray the Lord would bless us as we study the Bible through the ministry this coming year. That as we work through a book of the Bible the Lord would continue to help us to grasp God's truth. - Pray for the Lunchtime outreach service and those who attend; pray that more from the offices nearby and Christians who commute are able to join us. Church Services Sunday morning at 11:00am in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Doctrine Class - in church (after lunch) (and also available online via FaceBook) Sunday evening at 6:30pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Bible Study and Prayer Wednesday evening at 7:00pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Lunch Hour Service Thursday afternoon between 1:00pm and 1:30pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Outreach/Witnessing Saturday morning at Victoria Street (outside the big Boots store) for 10:30am (across the road from Town Hall - No. 64). Afterwards we go back to church for prayer. Daily Reading Preface - God's merciful restoration of Israel. Their triumph in the fall of the king of Babylon. God's purpose against Assyria. Palestina is threatened. Isaiah 14 Preface - The apostle exhorteth the Christian converts to lay aside all uncharitableness. He sheweth their privileges through Christ the chief corner sone. He beseecheth them to abstain from fleshly lusts, and by their good conversation to promote God's glory among the Gentiles. He enforceth obedience to magistrates; and teacheth servants to obey their masters, and to suffer patiently for well doing, after the example of Christ. 1 Peter 2 Daily Light - Morning God shall wipe away all tears... there shall be no more death, neither sorrow... for the former things are passed away. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. - Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. - The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therin shall be forgiven their iniquity. - The voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. - Sorrow and sighing shall flee away. I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction. - The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death... Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. The things which are not seen are eternal. Rev. 21.4; Isa. 25.8; Isa. 60.20; Isa. 33.24; Isa. 65.19; Isa. 35.10 Hos. 13.14; 1 Co. 15.26,54 2 Co. 4.18 Daily Light - Evening Together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Fear not... I am he that liveth. - Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am. We are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. - He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. - Ye are completer in him, which is the head. Forasmuch...as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destoy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. This corruptible must pur on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in voctory. Eph. 2.6; Rev. 1.17,18; Jn. 17.24 Eph. 5.30; Col. 1.18; Col. 2.10 He. 2.14-15 1 Co. 15.53-54 A Puritans Catechism Q 68 - How may we escape his wrath and curse due to us for sin? A - To escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for sin, we must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting alone to his blood and righteousness. This faith is attended by repentane for the past and leads to holiness in the future. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith Of The Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment Thereof Chapter 6 PARAGRAPH 3 They being the root, and by God's appointment, standing in the room and stead of all mankind, the guilt of the sin was imputed, and corrupted nature conveyed, to all their posterity descending from them by ordinary generation,6 being now conceived in sin,7 and by nature children of wrath,8 the servants of sin, the subjects of death,9 and all other miseries, spiritual, temporal, and eternal, unless the Lord Jesus set them free.10 6 Rom. 5:12–19; 1 Cor. 15:21–22,45,49 7 Ps. 51:5; Job 14:4 8 Eph. 2:3 9 Rom. 6:20, 5:12 10 Heb. 2:14–15; 1 Thess. 1:10 Robert Murray M'Cheyne - God Makes A Path - Daily Devotional Readings Wide Open And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: - John 3 v 14 The whole Bible shows that Christ is quite willing and axious that all sinners should come to Him. The city of refuge in the Old Testament was a type of Christ; and you remember that its gates were open by night and by day. The arms of Christ were nailed wide open, when He hung upon the cross; and this was a figure of His wide willingness to save all, as He said: 'I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.' But though His arms were firmly nailed, they are more firmly nailed wide open now, by His love and compassion for perishing sinners, than ever they were nailed to the tree. Daily Prayer - Tuesday
- Give thanks to God for those who have recently recovered from sickness. - Pray for those who are sick or receiving treatment in our congregation. - Pray the Lord would grant us grace to be good ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5.20) Church Services Sunday morning at 11:00am in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Doctrine Class - in church (after lunch) (and also available online via FaceBook) Sunday evening at 6:30pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Bible Study and Prayer Wednesday evening at 7:00pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Lunch Hour Service Thursday afternoon between 1:00pm and 1:30pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Outreach/Witnessing Saturday morning at Victoria Street (outside the big Boots store) for 10:30am (across the road from Town Hall - No. 64). Afterwards we go back to church for prayer. Daily Reading Preface - God mustereth the armies of his wrath; he threateneth to destroy Babylon by the Medes; her utter desolation. Isaiah 13 Preface - The apostle's address to the trangers elect in Christ, dispersed throughout the lesser Asia. He blesseth God for having raised them to the hope of a blesed immortality. He sheweth that their salvation in Chrst had been foretold by the prophets of old; and exhorteth them to a vigilant and holy confersation, suitable to their calling, and redemption by the blood of Christ; and to mutual love. 1 Peter 1 Daily Light - Morning The fellowship of his sufferings. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we etseemed him not. - In the world ye shall have tribulation. - Because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. I looked for some to take pity, but there was none. - At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. - Here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Phil. 3.10; Mt. 10.25 Isa. 53.3; Jn. 16.33; Jn. 15.19 Ps. 69.20; 2 Tim. 5.16 Mt. 8.20; He. 13.14 He. 12.1-2 Daily Light - Evening They overcame... by the blood of the Lamb. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died. - It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. - I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. There is...no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?....These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Rev. 12.11; Ro. 8.33-34; Lev. 17.11; Ex. 12.12-13 Ro. 8.1 Rev. 7.13,14 Rev. 1.5-6 A Puritans Catechism Q 67 - What does every sin deserve? A - Every sin deserves God's wrath and curse, both in this life, and that which is to come. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith Of The Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment Thereof Chapter 6 PARAGRAPH 2 Our first parents, by this sin, fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and we in them whereby death came upon all:3 all becoming dead in sin,4 and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body.5 3 Rom. 3:23 4 Rom 5:12, etc. 5 Titus 1:15; Gen. 6:5; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 3:10–19 Robert Murray M'Cheyne - God Makes A Path - Daily Devotional Readings No condemnation Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us - Romans 8 v 34 Paul looks around all the judges of the world - all who are skilled in law and equity; he looks upward to the holy angels, whose superhuman sight pierces deep and far into the righteous government of God; he looks up to God, the judge of all, who must do right - Whose ways are equal and perfect righteousness - and he asked, 'Who shall condemn? It is Christ that died.' Christ has paid the uttermost farthing: so that every judge must cry out. 'There is therefore now no condemnation.' Prayer - Monday
- Give thanks to God for salvation and the redemption that is found alone through Jesus Christ. - Give thanks to God for granting us particular skills and abilities that we might fulfil our vocations (jobs, studies, family responsibilities and time we spend alone). (Ecclesiastes 9.10, Ephesians 6.6) - Pray for the Lord's blessing on the working week for us and all in the congregation. - Pray the Lord would grant us grace to be good ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5.20) Church Services Sunday morning at 11:00am in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Doctrine Class - in church (after lunch) (and also available online via FaceBook) Sunday evening at 6:30pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Bible Study and Prayer Wednesday evening at 7:00pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Lunch Hour Service Thursday afternoon between 1:00pm and 1:30pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Outreach/Witnessing Saturday morning at Victoria Street (outside the big Boots store) for 10:30am (across the road from Town Hall - No. 64). Afterwards we go back to church for prayer. Daily Reading 11) Preface - The peaceable kingdom of the branch out of the root of Jesse. The calling of the Gentiles, and restoration of Israel. 12) Preface - A joyful thanksgiving of the faithful for the mercies of God. Isaiah 11-12 Preface - Wicked rich men are warned of God's impending judgments. The brethren are exhorted to patience after the example of the prophets and of Job: to abstain from swearing; to pray in affliction and sickness, and sing psalms in prosperity: to acknowledge mutually their faults, and to pray for one another: and to endeavour to reclaim sinners. James 5 Daily Light - Morning Pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. The true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him in spirit and in truth.. - Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. - When ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any. Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. - Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the LORD. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the LORD will not hear me. - My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins. 1 Tim. 2.8; Jn. 4.23-24; Isa. 58.9; Mk. 11.25 He. 11.6; Jas. 1.6-7 Ps. 66.18; 1 Jn. 2.1-2 Daily Light - Evening My heart panteth, my strength faileth me. Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end o fthe earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. He said unto me. My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me...for when I am weak, then am I strong. When (Peter) saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?-If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. - He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. - The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. - Stregthened with all might, according to his glorious power. Ps. 38.10; Ps. 61.1-2 2 Co. 12.9,10 Mt. 14.30-31; Pro. 24.10; Isa. 40.29; Deu. 33.27; Col. 1.11 A Puritans Catechism Q 66 - Are all transgressions of the law equally heinous? A - Some sins in themselves, and by reason of various aggravations, are more heinous in the sight of God than others. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith Of The Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment Thereof Chapter 6 PARAGRAPH 1 Although God created man upright and perfect, and gave him a righteous law, which had been unto life had he kept it, and threatened death upon the breach thereof,1 yet he did not long abide in this honor; Satan using the subtlety of the serpent to subdue Eve, then by her seducing Adam, who, without any compulsion, did willfully transgress the law of their creation, and the command given to them, in eating the forbidden fruit,2 which God was pleased, according to His wise and holy counsel to permit, having purposed to order it to His own glory. 1 Gen. 2:16–17 2 Gen. 3:12–13; 2 Cor. 11:3 Robert Murray M'Cheyne - God Makes A Path - Daily Devotional Readings Higher upon the rock From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is highter than I - Psalm 61 v 2 Every wave of trouble for Christ's sake lifts the soul higher upon the Rock. Every arrow of bitterness shot after the believer makes him hide farther back in the clefts of Jesus. Be content dear friend, to bear these troubles which make you cling closer to your Beloved. Dear Congregation,
I want to thank all of you who have prayed and supported the work of the Gospel through the church in 2023 and this first month of 2024. It is a great joy to minister at Westminster Baptist and I love the church here greatly. Through this past year, there have been heart-wrenching tragedies alongside blessings too. This is often the case in Christian life and yet we are called to keep trusting and believing. We often bear the battle scars of past experience and circumstance, as we live in this sinful world and anticipate heaven. We see Mordecai, mocked and scorned for years in Esther and on the brink of execution, yet he latterly knew blessing from God. The most important thing was he was faithful in serving the Lord. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful - 1 Corinthians 4.2. This verse especially applies to ministers, church workers, but to all Christians. We are stewards of the oracles of God and to us has the light of the gospel been revealed. We should therefore be striving to be faithful, not popular, faithful. May that be our aim by the grace of God. In the beginning month in recent years we have spent a week praying together on each day for certain things. As a reminder that with continuing faith that prayer is essential. Key to our hope and joy and endurance and love, and with new resolve to make time to pray regularly alone and with your family and with some group of fellow believers. Alongside reading the Scriptures these should be our daily routine. There are various encouragements in the Scriptures to pray: - Pray without ceasing (1 Th. 5:17). - Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; (Ep. 6:18). - Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; (Col. 4:2). These are a few verses of the many that encourage us to pray and undoubtedly set before us a biblical mandate that we should be concerned to pray. Maybe you have fallen out of the 'habit' or relegated prayer to a part time practice; or you only pray when trouble or danger comes. To that end I would ask the church to pray, if led, the suggested topics below so we might pray for the same things (roughly speaking) on the same day to encourage us. Let us be prayerful people and realise we too need prayer. To say we are praying for someone should be an expressio of concern but an indication of our own action to bring the matter before God, before the throne of Grace through the believers mediator and High Priest. Jesus Christ, Paul even requests prayer for himself and those labouring fo rthe Gospel with him twice in 1 and 2 Thessalonians saying 'brethren pray for us'. May we be a prayerful church and prayerful individuals, knowing that we have a prayer hearing and answering God. Pastor Jonathan Arnold Daily Prayer - Sunday - God thanks to God for His character, perfect, unchangeable, the same yesterday today and forever. - Give thanks to God that we can meet in the church and have fellowship with one another. - Pray the Lord would grant the preaching of his word power and clarity, and there are ready ears to hear and believe it. (2 Thes. 3.1.) - Pray we would be granted faithful ministry and good spiritual food from God's Word. (1 Peter 2.2.) Church Services Sunday morning at 11:00am in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Doctrine Class - in church (after lunch) (and also available online via FaceBook) Sunday evening at 6:30pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Bible Study and Prayer Wednesday evening at 7:00pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Lunch Hour Service Thursday afternoon between 1:00pm and 1:30pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Outreach/Witnessing Saturday morning at Victoria Street (outside the big Boots store) for 10:30am (across the road from Town Hall - No. 64). Afterwards we go back to church for prayer. Daily Reading Preface - God's judgments for injustice and oppression. The Assyrian, the instrument of God's vengeance, for his pride shall be broken. The remnant of Israel shall return after the determined desolation. Judah is comforted with a promise of deliverance from Assyria. The approach of the Assyrian to Jerusalem, and his destruction. Isaiah 10:5 Preface - Our evil lusts and passions tend to breed quarrels among ourselves, and to set us at enmity with God. The way to overcome them, and recover God's favour. Against slander and censriousness. We must not presume on the future, but committ ourselves to God's providence. James 4 Daily Light - Morning Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. - Ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. - He that believeth on the Son of God hath the sitness in himself. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. - In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace. - That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 1 Jn. 4.7; Ro. 5.5; Ro. 8.15-16; 1 Jn. 5.10 1 Jn. 4.9; Eph. 1.7; Eph. 2.7 1 Jn. 4.11 Daily Light - Evening Reproach hath broken my heart. Is not this the carpenter's son? - Can there any good thing come our of Nazareth? - Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? - He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils. - We know that this man is a sinner. - He deceiveth the people. - This man blasphemeth. - Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. - This is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully... For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. - If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye. Ps. 69.20; Mt. 13.55; Jn. 1.46; Jn. 8.48; Mt. 9.34; Jn. 9.24; Jn. 7.12; Mt. 9.3; Mt. 11.19 Mt. 10.25; 1 Pe. 2.19,21-23; 1 Pe. 4.14 A Puritans Catechism Q 65 - Is any man able perfectly to keep the commandments of God? A - No mere man, since the fall, is able in this life perfectly to keep the commandments of God, but doth daily break them in thought, word, and deed. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith Of Divine Providence Chapter 5 PARAGRAPH 7 As the providence of God does in general reach to all creatures, so after a more special manner it takes care of His church, and disposes of all things to the good thereof.23 23 1 Tim. 4:10; Amos 9:8–9; Isa. 43:3–5 Robert Murray M'Cheyne - God Makes A Path - Daily Devotional Readings The true value of an action Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. 1 Samuel 2 v 3 In order to know the true value of an action, you must search the heart. Many a deed that is applauded by men, is abominable in the sight of God, who searches the heart. To give an alms to a poor man may be an action either worthy of an eternal reward, or worthy of an eternal punishment. If it be done out of love to Christ, because the poor man is a disciple of Christ, it will in no wise lose its reward. Christ will say: 'Inasmuch as ye did it to the least of these my brethren, ye did it unto me.' If it be done out of pride or self-righteousness, Christ will cast it from Him; He will say, 'Depart, ye cursed; ye did it not unto me.' |
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