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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 - A lamentation for the fearful fall of Egypt. The sword of Babylon shall destroy it. It shall be brought down to hell among all the uncircumcised nations. Ezekiel 32 Preface - The Psalmist in his prayer complaineth of the miseries of the church. God's former favours are turned into judgments: a prayer for deliverance. Psalms 80 Daily Light - Morning Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us. The love of Christ, which passeth knowledge. - Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. - Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, thou he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. - Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. - Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. - Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. - For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. - Christ...suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps. Ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. - We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 1 Jn. 3.16; Eph. 3.19; Jn. 15.13; 2 Co. 8.9; 1 Jn. 4.11; Eph. 4.32; Col. 3.13; Mk. 10.45; 1 Pe. 2.21 Jn. 13.14-15; 1 Jn. 3.16 Daily Light - Evening The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. The LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. - I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart. - My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Them that are sanctified by God the Father. - He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. - The fulness of him that filleth all in all. I even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. - This is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. Grace, mercy and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour. Jn. 5.19; Pro. 2.6; Lu. 21.15 Ps. 27.14; 2 Co. 12.9 Jude 1; He. 2.11 Jer. 23.24; Eph. 1.23 Isa. 43.11; Jn. 4.42 Titus 1.4 A Puritans Catechism Q 40 - What did God reveal to man for the rule of his disobedience? A - The rule which God first revealed to man for his obedience is the moral law, which is summarized in the ten commandments. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith Of the Holy Scriptures Chapter 1 PARAGRAPH 6 The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down or necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelation of the Spirit, or traditions of men.9 Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word,10 and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.11 9 2 Tim. 3:15-17; Gal. 1:8,9 10 John 6:45; 1 Cor. 2:9-12 11 1 Cor. 11:13,14; 1 Cor. 14:26,40 Robert Murray M'Cheyne - God Makes A Path - Daily Devotional Readings A holy Carefulness But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Ephesians 5 v 13 Remember you must have a holy carefulness - 'Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.' Dear brethren, some of you will say, How is it possible? Do not I live in an ungodly family? Do I not live in Sodom? But, dear brethren, here is the secret. If you will not be like the world, be transformed to it. God is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. God is able to enlarge your heart so that you will run and not weary in God's ways. Then be of good courage, for there is enough in Christ to satisfy you. Do you want to be holy? Then God wishes to make you holy. Then God's will and yours are one. Say, then, 'Make me holy, I want to be holy.' Holiness is the brightest attribute of Jehovah. Ah! I fear we are not living up to what is in Christ, or we would not live as we do. How much useless talk and conversation is there? Oh! the time of our life is more than sufficient to have wrought the will of the flesh. - Let us now live to Him. Let us give ourselves away to Christ - solemnly to Him; give your wills and affections to Him for time and for eternity. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with your spirit. Amen.
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