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 expressio 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 fo rthe 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.) Church Services Sunday morning at 11:00am in church (and also available online via FaceBook) (Sunday morning) Scripture reading - Psalm 19; (Message - Writing upon the Heart) - Jeremiah 17 v 1-4; Isaiah 43 v 25-26; Jeremiah 31 v 31 - 33 Doctrine Class - in church (after lunch) (and also available online via FaceBook) (Doctrine Class) - The Intercessory work of Christ - John 17 v 12-22; Romans 8 v 34-26; Hebrews 7 v 25; Exodus 30 v 7-8 - Class taken by Dennis Arnold Sunday evening at 6:30pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) (Sunday evening) - Scripture reading - Psalm 32; Psalm 9 v 1-11; Proverbs 18 v 10; Isaiah 43 v 1-7 Bible Study and Prayer Wednesday evening at 7:00pm in church (and also available online via FaceBook) Lunch Hour Service Thursday afternoon between 1:00pm and 1:30pm 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 Reading Preface - Isaiah prophesieth the coming of Christ's kingdom. Wickedness is why God hath forsaken his people. The prophet forewarneth them of the terrible day of the Lord. Issiah 2 Preface - The sacrifices of the law, being often repeated, could not take away sins. The abolition of them, and substitution of Christ's body in their stead, foretold by the Psalmist: by the offering of which body once for all we obtain perfect remisssion. An exhortation to stedfastness in the faith, and to love and good works. The danger of a wilful relapse after having received the knowledge of the truth; and of forfeting the reward of a good beginning for want of perseverance. Hebrews 10 Daily Light - Morning Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?...for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. - No good thing will he whithold from them that walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee. I would have you without carefulness. - Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Are not two sparrows sol for a farthing? and once of them shall not fall o nthe ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. - Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? - Have faith in God. Mt. 6.31,32; Ps. 34.9-10; Ps. 84.11-12 1 Co. 7.32; Phil. 4.6 Mt. 10.29-31; Mk. 4.40; Mk. 11.22 Daily Light - Evening He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. - There shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain. The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand... The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. - The LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: he took not away the pillare of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Ps. 105.39; Ps. 103.13-14 Ps. 121.6; Isa. 4.6 Ps. 121.5,8; Ex. 13.21-22 He. 13.8 A Puritans Catechism Q 58 - What is forbidden in the seventh commandment? A - The seventh commandment forbids all unchaste thoughts, words, and actions. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith Of Creation Chapter 4 PARAGRAPH 3 Besides the law written in their hearts, they received a command not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil,9 which while they kept, they were happy in their communion with God, and had dominion over the creatures.10 9 Gen. 2:17 10 Gen. 1:26,28 Robert Murray M'Cheyne - God Makes A Path - Daily Devotional Readings The heart of Christ But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. - Hebrews 2 v 9 The four Gospels are a narrative of the heart of Christ. They show His compassion to sinners, and His glorious work in their stead. If you only knew that heart as it is, you would lay your weary head with John on His bosom. Do not take up your time so much with studying your own heart as with studying Christ's heart. 'For one look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ!'
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