Daily Readings for Sunday 1st September 2024

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 expression 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 for the 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.)


Daily Reading
Preface - The prophet is directed to represent a mock siege of Jerusalem for a sign to the Jews: and to lie before it in one posture for a set number of days, in order to denote the time of their sins for which God did visit: his allotted provisions, with design to prefigure the people's defilement among the Gentiles, and the scarcity they should be reduced to by the siege.
Ezekiel 4
Psalms 40) Preface - David from his own experience sheweth the benefit of trust in God. Obedience the most acceptable sacrifice. David's grateful return of praise: he prayeth for salvation to himself, and confusion to his enemies.
Psalms 41) Preface - The recompence of the charitable man. David prayeth for mercy, complaining of the treachery of his enemies and apostate friends: he acknowledgeth God's favour, and blesseth him. 
Psalms 40-41


Daily Light - Morning
The fruit of the spirit is...meekness.

The meek...shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. - Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. - The ornament of a meek and quiet spirit...is in the sight of God of great price. - Charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.

Follow after...meekness. - Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.  - He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. - 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...but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.
Ga. 5.22,23; Isa. 29.19; Mt. 18.3,4; 1 Pe. 3.4;
1 Co. 13.4
1 Tim. 6.11; Mt. 11.29; Isa. 53.7; 1 Pe. 2.21-23


Daily Light - Evening
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report. - All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. - The offence of the cross.

If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye...but let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

Unto you it is given in the bahalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake. - If one died for all, then were all dead: and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. - If we suffer, we shall also reign with him.
Lu. 9.23; 2 Co. 6.8; 2 Tim. 3.12; Ga. 5.11
Ga. 1.10
1 Pe. 4.14,15-16
Phil. 1.29; 2 Co. 5.14-15; 2 Tim. 2.12


A Puritans Catechism
​Q 12 - What special act of providence did God exercise towards man in the state wherein he was created?
A - When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience, forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death.


The 1689
Baptist Confession of Faith
Of the Communion of Saints
Chapter 27
PARAGRAPH 2
Saints by profession are bound to maintain a holy fellowship and communion in the worship of God, and in performing such other spiritual services as tend to their mutual edification;4 as also in relieving each other in outward things according to their several abilities, and necessities;5 which communion, according to the rule of the gospel, though especially to be exercised by them, in the relation wherein they stand, whether in families,6 or churches,7 yet, as God offers opportunity, is to be extended to all the household of faith, even all those who in every place call upon the name of the Lord Jesus; nevertheless their communion one with another as saints, does not take away or infringe the title or propriety which each man has in his goods and possessions.8

4 Heb. 10:24–25, 3:12–13
5 Acts 11:29–30
6 Eph. 6:4
7 1 Cor. 12:14–27
8 Acts 5:4; Eph. 4:28


Robert Murray M'Cheyne - God Makes A Path - Daily Devotional Readings
Precious Bible
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
Isaiah 40 v 11

I shall never forget the story of a little girl in Belfast, in Ireland. She was at a Sabbath School, and gained a Bible as a prize for her good conduct. It became to her a treasure indeed. She was fed out of it. Her parents were wicked. She often read to them, but they became worse and worse. This broke Eliza's heart. She took to her bed and never rose again. She desired to see her teacher. When he came he said, 'You are not without a companion, my dear child,' taking up her Bible. 'No,' she replied -
'Precious Bible! what a treasure
Does the Word of God afford!
All I want for life or pleasure,
Food and med'cine, shield and sword.
Let the world account me poor,
Having this I ask no more.'
She had scarcely repeated the lines when she hung back her head and died. Beloved children, this is the way Jesus feeds His flock. He is a tender, constant, Almighty Shepherd. If you become His flock, He will feed you all the way to glory.