Daily Reading for Wednesday 16th August 2023

Prayer
-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
Sermons
Sunday morning at 11:00am in church (also available online via Facebook)
Sunday evening at 6:30pm in church (also available online via Facebook)
Bible study and prayer
Wednesday evening at 7:00pm in church (also available online via Facebook)
(Wednesday evening) scripture reading - 1 Peter 1-5
Lunch our service
Thursday 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). And afterwards we go back to church for prayer.

Daily reading
1 Samuel 7 Preface - The ark is brought into the house of Abinadab at Kirjathjearim, where it is kept by one of his sons, and abideth twenty years. At the exhortation of Samuel the Israelites solemnly repent at Mizpeh. The people are alarmed with an irruption of the Philistines. While Samuel prayeth and sacrifieth, the Lord discomfiteth the Philistines with thunder at Eben-ezer. The Philistines are subdued. Samuel peaceably and religiously judgeth Israel.
1 Samuel 8 - Preface - By occasion of the ill government of Samuel's sons the Israelites desire a king. Samuel is displeased, and prayeth; he is comforted by God, but withal admonished to hearken unto the people's request. He setteth before them by God's command the manner in which they must expect a king  to rule over them. The people still continue their imprtunity, and God directeth Samuel to yield to them.
1 Samuel 7-8 
Preface - Though justified by grace, we may not live in sin; since the very figure of batism requireth us to die with Christ unto sin, that we may lead a new life of holiness unto God. The dispensation of grace freeth us from the dominion of sin; but we are still the servants of sin, if we obey it; therefore being freed from sin, we are bound unto holiness. The end and wages of sin is death; but the fruit of holiness through God's grace is eternal life.
Romans 6

A Puritans Catechism
Q49 - Which is the fourth commandment?
A - The fourth commandment is , Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservent, no thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Robert Murray M'Cheyne - God Makes A Path - Daily Devotional Readings
Temporal judgements
For the time is come that judgement must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? - 1 Peter 4 v 17
There are some sins which God visits with temporal judgements, as weakness of body, sickness, and death. When Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Ghost, they fell down dead at the apostles' feet. When Herod gave not God the glory, he was eaten up of worms, and died upon his throne. So it is especially in profaning the Lord's table. This is God's word, who knows best: 'For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.'