Daily Readings for Sunday 10th March 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 (1th. 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. May these verses challenge us all at the start of this new year to be a people of prayer. 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 someonce 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 teh church and have fellowship with one another.
- Pray the Lord would grant the preaching of his word power and clarity, adn 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)
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)
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 Readings
Preface - God proceedeth to shew his own power, and man's weakness and ignorance, by instances from the animal creation: I of he wild goats and hinds; etc.
Job 39
Preface - Paul sheweth the reason why, though he knew the forwardness of the Corinthians, he had sent the brethren beforehand to make up their collections against his coming. He stirreth them up to give bountifully and cheerfully, as a likely means to increase their store, and as productive of many thanksgivings unto God.
2 Corinthians 9


Daily Light - Morning
Jehovah-jireh. (marg. The Lord will provide)

God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offerning.

Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear. - There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.

Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God. - Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; to deliver their soul from death.

My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. - He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. - The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
Ge. 22.14; Ge. 22.8
Isa. 59.1; Ro. 11.26
Ps. 146.5; Ps. 33.18-19
Phil. 4.19; He. 13.5-6; Ps. 28.7


Daily Light - Evening
He feedeth among the lilies.

Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. - If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits. - I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey. - The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, termperance.

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. - Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. - Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
Song 2.16; Mt. 18.20; Jn. 14.23
Jn. 15.10
Song 4.16; Song 5.1; Ga. 5.22-23
Jn. 15.8; Jn. 15.2; Phil. 1.11


A Puritans Catechesim
Q 6 - How many persons are there in the Godhead?
A - There are three persons in teh Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; adn these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.


The Church
Chapter 26
PARAGRAPH 3

The purest churches under heaven are subject to mixture and error;4 and some have so degenerated as to become no churches of Christ, but synagogues of Satan;5 nevertheless Christ always has had, and ever shall have a kingdom in this world, to the end thereof, of such as believe in him, and make profession of his name.6

4 1 Cor. 5; Rev. 2–3
5 Rev. 18:2; 2 Thess. 2:11–12
6 Matt. 16:18; Ps. 72:17, 102:28; Rev. 12:17



Robert Murray M'Cheyne - God Makes A Path - Daily Devotional Readings
Crowed
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. - 2 Timothy 4 v 8
How sweet it will be when Christ puts on the crown on a sinner's brow! The just God and Saviour! Angels will shout for joy when they see the righteous Jesus crowning the sinners for whom He died. He will finish our redemption. He was crowned with thorns; He has been an advocate crowned with glory and majesty; but another step - He is to put on the crown of righteousness. All heaven and earth and hell own Him faithful and true, and righteous in all His ways. Oh! how sweet to be crowned by Jesus.