Daily Reading for Sunday 24th September 2023

Prayer
-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
Sermons
Sunday morning at 11:00am in church (also available online via Facebook)
(Sunday morning) scripture reading Matthew 6 v 11-13
Sunday evening at 6:30pm in church (also available online via Facebook)
​(Sunday evening) scripture reading Romans 6
Bible study and prayer
Wednesday evening at 7:00pm in church (also available online via Facebook)
Lunch hour service
Thursday afternoon between 1:00pm and 1:30pm in church (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 - Sheba revolteth with the men of Israel. David on his return to Jerusalem shutteth up his ten concubines for life. Amasa, made captain of the host, is slain by Joab. Joab pursueth Sheba to Abel. By the persuasions of a wise woman Sheba's head is thrown over the wall, and the city saved. David's great officers.
2 Samuel 20
Preface - Paul threateneth to vindicate his authorityy at his coming by punishing severely unreclaimed offenders. He adviseth the Corinthians to try if they had as good proofs of their faith, as he trusted to have of his mission. He wisheth that by a blameless conversation they might prevent him from using sharpness toward them, whatever became of his proofs. He concludeth with an exhortation, salutation, and prayer.
2 Corinthians 13

Q4 - What is God?
A - God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

Robert Murray M'Cheyne - God Makes A Path - Daily Devotional Readings
Take away the stone
Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
John 11 v 39
Christ's ways are not as our ways, nor His thoughts like our thoughts. One would have thought that He would have commanded the stone to fly back by His own word.
When he rose from the dead Himself, 'the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it'; but He did not do so now. He said to the men, 'Take ye away the stone' for two reasons. First, He wanted to bring, out Martha's unbelief, that it might be made manifest. Unbelief in the heart is like evil humour in a wound - it festers; and therefore Jesus wanted to draw it out of Martha's heart. Second, to teach us to use the means. The men around the grave could not give life to dead Lazarus, but they could roll back the stone. Now Jesus was about to use His divine power in awaking the dead, but He would not take away the stone.
Have any of you an unconverted friend for whom you pray? You know it is only Christ that can give him life, it is only Christ that can call him forth. Yet you can roll away the stone - you can use the means, you can bring your friend under the faithful preaching of the gospel. Speak to him, write to him.
'Take away the stone.'