Today’s Meetings:

9.45am Children’s Bible Club
10.15am Sunday Prayer Meeting in cottage
11.00am Morning Service
6.00pm Evening Service
After Church Fellowship

Weekly Meetings:

Monday

3.45pm -4.45pm Children’s Hour - Children Rec to year 3

Tuesday

7.15am Prayer for revival
7.30pm Chapel open for craft preparation

Wednesday

9.30am Mum’s and Tots
7.00pm – 8.00pm KIC club - Children in years 4 to 6

Thursday

2.00pm Ladies Rest Hour - Pete Wigley
7.45pm Bible Study and Prayer Meeting - Led by Mark Higgins

Friday

7.30 FOY - For Secondary School Children

Sunday

11.00am & 6.00pm Sunday Services - Eddie Porter AM Joe Long PM

Thought For The Week:

“And I said: “I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments, please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night.” Nehemiah 1:5-6

Prayer For The Church:

Please pray for all those involved in planning and preparations for  HBC. Pray especially for Karen, Sarah and Daniel and Pastor as they prepare their talks.
Pray for Pete as he seeks employment.
Pray for CCIW camps as they begin preparations. Pray that the camps may have enough leaders for the camps to run effectively.
Pray for the Platts family as they attend the funeral of John Platts on Wednesday.
Pray for Joan and Michael following Michael’s diagnosis with throat cancer.

Prayer For The Local Area:

Epsom

“We continue to be blessed by God with good ministry and close fellowship. We thank our heavenly Father for His kindness to us in 2009 and for frequent reminders of how good and holy He is. Please pray for our ventures this year: a 2nd Holiday Club, continued Christianity Explored sessions, Open Air evangelism in the town high street, women’s meetings and coffee mornings, and so on. Our concerns are for more workers to join the fellowship, for a Sunday School work to be established, and for the church to continue to grow in grace and stature before the Lord.”

A Tribute

Some of the fellowship had the privilege of attending the thanksgiving service for Jessie Comber a former member of this church, who recently was called home at the age of 93. Before her death she composed a poem expressing her heart’s desire for her loved ones. As Free Grace was always in her thoughts we feel she would have loved to also share this poem with you. May it challenge all our hearts.

“My body is dead and my soul has gone,
But there’s no need for you to mourn,
For I am now with Christ on high,
In that home beyond the sky,
In the place prepared for me,
I’ll live through all eternity.

It was because of His great love,
That Jesus left His home above,
He bled and died upon a tree,
To save poor sinners, just like me,
And now I ever with Him live,
And to Him endless praises give.

I prayed for you on earth below,
That you my Saviour too would know,
Will you join the host above,
Washed and clean in the Saviour’s blood,
Or will it be your awful lot,
To hear God say “I know you not”?”
 
J.F. Comber 1916 - 2010

General Announcements:

Some dates
31st January - Mike Swales
4th February - Mark Higgins
7th February - am E.Porter  pm Joe Long
9th February - Members’ meeting
11th February - John Peet –“Questions Darwin asked “
15th – 17th February - H.B.C.
4th March - District Prayer Meeting at Belvedere
14th March - Barry King to speak at “Afterchurch”
16th March - Members’ prayer meeting
18th March - Paul Davies – A.E.M. 2pm and 7.45p.m.
Good Friday - Bill Gardner

Today’s Meetings:

9.45am Children’s Bible Club
10.15am Sunday Prayer Meeting in cottage
11.00am Morning Service
6.00pm Evening Service
After Church Fellowship at Bruce & Margaret’s home.

Weekly Meetings:

Monday

3.45pm -4.45pm Children’s Hour - Children Rec. to year 3

Tuesday

8.15pm Elders’ and deacons’ mtg

Wednesday

9.30am Mum’s and Tots
7.00pm – 8.00pm KIC club - Children in years 4 to 6

Thursday

2.00pm Ladies Rest Hour - John McIllmurray
7.45pm Mission Prayer Meeting - Please let Ken have your prayer notes by tonight please.

Friday

7.30pm FOY - For Secondary School Children
    
Saturday

9.30am OPEN AIR outreach

Sunday

11.00am & 6.00pm Sunday Services - Mike Swales.

Thought For The Week:

“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.” Isaiah 11:1

Prayer For The Church:

Pray for Mark as he is unwell this weekend.
Pray for Michael Whyte as he has been diagnosed with throat cancer and has an operation on Tuesday.
Pray in the 3 weeks leading up to H.B.C. for all involved in planning and preparation.
Pray for Pete as he seeks employment.
Praise God for encouragements at Thamesmead and the planned baptisms.
Pray for the continuation of our youth work that God will guard these activities from any attack of the enemy and pour out His Spirit upon the Word.

Prayer For The Local Area:

St John’s Wood The Lord continues to bless us with many small blessings. We are still weak in number and too small in faith, but he is great and his love never fails us. We are rejoicing that he has given one of our number permission to remain in this country when it looked unlikely. But we are longing that he would add new life to us. Please pray.
Treasurers’ event.  The Treasurers’ event is planned for 27th March at St John’s Wood Road Baptist Church, London NW8 8QX.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has issued a warning about a new email scam aimed at taxpayers. The email describes itself as coming from ‘HMRC Online services – test’ and says that the recipient has a new alert message. People are then invited to log into their online account to read the message. In fact, the email contains a link to a fake website that asks visitors to hand over their passwords and details about their personal accounts. People are being urged not to visit the website contained within the email or to disclose any personal information to the fraudsters. HMRC has said that anyone who receives a copy of the email should forward it to phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk

Prayer For The Wider Area:

The ‘flood gates’ of India open

“For 2,000 years, India has been resistant to the Gospel. Now, all of a sudden, it seems that the flood gates have opened, and now is the time for us to reap the harvest in India,” said David Rice, executive director of India Gospel League.
And that is exactly what IGL is doing.

“We are working strongly to raise up 1,000 new church planters to send into areas of India where there is absolutely no Gospel witness,” Rice said. They hope to have all of these pastors ministering within three to five years.

As they go out, people will hear of Christ’s love for the first time. Rice said with the number of workers they are sending out and based on past witnessing in new areas, they could see as many as two million people come to Christ in this time span.

For example, several years ago the ministry went into the state of Maharashtra. At the time, only one percent of the population was Christian. Today, around three percent of the population are evangelical believers.

Rice said they want to do this once again. However, they cannot do so without your help.

“These bold Indian brothers and sisters are going into places that you and I could never go. So our role is to undergird them with our prayer support, our financial support, and see a great harvest for the kingdom,” he said.
Pray for these pastors as they look to expand Christ’s Kingdom across India. Pray for their boldness and strength, even in the face of persecution.

It costs $100 per month to support one pastor, though IGL said a pastor should be self-sustaining within two years of the start of their ministry. In the meantime, $65 of this money will go to support the pastor and his or her family, while $35 will go toward Bibles and other supplies for the new church.

So far, IGL has seen God work tremendously through their ministry. “For every dollar we invest, based on our historical data, we’ll see a person come to Christ.”

General Announcements:

Members’ Mtg
Please let Ken have in writing any matters for consideration by the church officers- TODAY.
Mission Prayer Mtg Jan. 28th
Please let Ken have “bullet points” for prayer or praise for your link mission please – TODAY! kenandanne2009@live.co.uk

Some dates
28th January - Mission prayer meeting
26th January- Elders’ and deacons’ mtg
31st January - Mike Swales
4th February - Mark Higgins
7th February - am E.Porter  pm Joe Long
9th February - Members’ meeting
11th February - John Peet –“Questions Darwin asked “
15th – 17th February - H.B.C.
4th March - District Prayer Meeting at Belvedere
14th March - Barry King to speak at “Afterchurch”
16th March - Members’ prayer meeting
18th March - Paul Davies – A.E.M. 2pm and 7.45p.m.
Good Friday - Bill Gardner

Today’s Meetings:

9.45am Children’s Bible Club
10.15am Sunday Prayer Meeting in cottage
11.00am Morning Service
6.00pm Evening Service
After Church Fellowship at Paul and Janet’s home.

Weekly Meetings:

Monday

3.45pm -4.45pm Children’s Hour - Children years r - 3

Tuesday

8.00pm  Member’s Prayer Meeting

Wednesday

9.30am Mum’s and Tots
7.00pm – 8.00pm KIC club - Children in years 4 to 6

Thursday

2.00pm Ladies Rest Hour - Muriel Squires
7.45pm Bible Study and Prayer Meeting - Led by Paul - Prayer focus FOY

Friday

7.00  FOY - For Secondary School Children
    
Sunday

11.00pm & 6.00pm Sunday Services - Led by Pastor

Thought For The Week:

“My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; 5 Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God.” Proverbs 2:1-2 & 5

Prayer For The Church:

There is a lot to be planned and decided on in the next month for H.B.C. Praise God for the good number involved in the work and pray for these preparations that all may be subject to the mind of Christ.  Pray especially for Karen, Philip and Pastor as they prepare their talks.
Pray for Pete as he seeks employment.
Praise God for encouraging news from Thamesmead.
Pray for the continuation of our youth work that God will guard these activities from any attack of the enemy and pour out His Spirit upon the Word.

Prayer For The Local Area:

Hemel Hempstead (Gadebridge)

We are planning a new outreach strategy making use of an evangelistic newspaper. Please pray for wisdom and for zeal and for fruitfulness. Several of our older members are struggling with health and their faithfulness in simply attending is a great example. Pray that God’s glory would shine through as bodies wear out!

Thamesmead

Last week marked the beginning of Home Missions year-long commitment to strengthen the church at Thamesmead. During the first three months of the year Barry King will preach nine Sunday mornings, lead nine Bible studies and prayer times, and conduct three special meetings with the church family. During the remainder of the year Barry and Nigel Hoad will continue to assist the fellowship as they prayerfully seek a pastor.

A work day with 20 people (from six different churches) participating was held last Saturday. Much by way of cleaning and decorating was accomplished. A skip was filled to overflowing! On Sunday Nigel led worship and Barry preached for the first time. There was a good response to the service as well as the special meeting after lunch.

Over the next few weeks they will be speaking with 16 people who expressed an interest either in baptism and/or church membership. A group of 12 persons will begin studying ‘Nine Marks of a Healthy Church’ by Mark Dever this week. Even as we praise God for the progress seen so far please continue to pray for the work in Thamesmead in the days ahead.
 
Grace Baptist Partnership

A new charity aiming to “help churches plant churches” is being formed. David Chapman has been elected chairman of the trustees; Barry King has been appointed general secretary and Eric Cousins treasurer. Anyone desiring more information should contact gracebaptistpartnership@googlemail.com.

Prayer For The Wider Area:

Mission Aviation Fellowship national staff is feared dead in Haiti One indigenous MAF worker is feared dead, and two are missing following the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti. None of the ministry’s missionary staff in Haiti were injured, however, according to Ron Wismer, crisis team manager at MAF headquarters here. MAF is withdrawing its non-essential personnel and dependents from Haiti, Wismer said.

A team of key staff members will remain to coordinate relief efforts. MAF has sent ministry directors to Haiti to assess the needs and set up the ministry’s response. MAF expects to work with other relief agencies as they begin providing disaster assistance. Disaster response is an area of expertise for MAF. After an initial needs assessment is completed, Wismer said the ministry will coordinate logistics and provide air transportation for aid agencies working within Haiti.

In times of disaster, MAF often takes government and relief officials on flights to survey and assess damage and develop a response plan. MAF has served the missionary community and the people of Haiti since 1986. Currently, seven MAF missionary families, seven national staff members, and three aircraft serve 16 airstrips from a base of operations in Port-au-Prince.

The hope of the Gospel doesn’t go unnoticed by those who receive help. “They really understand the spiritual impact that ‘God must have sent you.’ When the dust settles, people start to ask those questions, ‘Why did you do that?’ then you have the opportunity to share the love of Jesus with them.”

General Announcements:

Members’ Mtg
Please let Ken have in writing any matters for consideration by the church officers.

Mission Prayer Mtg Jan. 28th
Please let Ken have “bullet points” for prayer or praise for your link mission please – by Monday 25th January
kenandanne2009@live.co.uk
Some dates
19th January - Members’ prayer meeting
28th January - Mission prayer meeting
26th January - Elders’ and deacons’ mtg
31st January - Mike Swales
4th February - Mark Higgins
7th February - am E.Porter  pm Joe Long
9th February - Members’ meeting
11th February - John Peet –“Questions Darwin asked “
15th – 17th - February H.B.C.
4th March - District Prayer Meeting at Belvedere
14th March - Barry King to speak at “Afterchurch”
16th March - Members’ prayer meeting
18th March - Paul Davies – A.E.M. 2pm and 7.45p.m.
Good Friday - Bill Gardner

Today’s Meetings:

9.45am Children’s Bible Club
10.15am Sunday Prayer Meeting in cottage
11.00am Morning Service
6.00pm Evening Service
After Church Fellowship at Mike & Rosemary’s home.

Weekly Meetings:

Monday

3.45pm -4.45pm Children’s Hour - Children in years R - 3

Wednesday

9.30am Mum’s and Tots
7.00pm – 8.00pm KIC club - Children in years 4 to 6

Thursday

2.00pm - Ladies Rest Hour - Bruce
7.45pm Bible Study and Prayer Meeting - Led by Pastor

Friday

7.30pm  FOY - For Secondary School Children
    
Sunday

11.00am & 6.00pm Sunday Services - Led by Pastor

Meetings this week are subject to change, dependent on the icy weather.

Thought For The Week:

“O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens!” Psalm 8:1

Prayer For The Church:

There is a lot to be planned and decided on in the next month for H.B.C. Praise God for the good number involved in the work and pray for these preparations that all may be subject to the mind of Christ.  Pray especially for Karen, Philip and Pastor as they prepare their talks.
Pray for safety during the icy conditions.
Pray for Pete as he seeks employment.
Pray for our local churches as they encourage members to take a more active role in the church. Pray especially for Thamesmead as Barry King (Wood Green) preaches there over the next three months with a view to re-establishing the work under God’s grace.
Pray for the continuation of our youth work that God will guard these activities from any attack of the enemy and pour out His Spirit upon the Word.

Prayer For The Local Area:

Streatham

‘We thank God that David Wilcox from Epsom is coming to help us part time, and praise God that we are able to start a monthly youth meeting and monthly ‘Dad’s’ toddler group in January. We need wisdom in dealing with some special needs folk in our congregation.’

Prayer For The Wider Area:

Iraqi Christians reach out

The war in Iraq has created a disaster situation for many vulnerable families. According to Duane Zook with Global Aid Network, however, there’s a silver lining. 
“The war has created, I think, a unique opportunity for us as believers to come alongside believers in Iraq, and to reach out to these families — the orphans, the grandmothers, the widows, who have been affected by the disaster and the war,” said Zook.

Sometimes a village may be closed to the Gospel, but doors open when Christians reach out with backpacks and school supplies. GAiN’s partners often bring in religious material and colouring books with Bible stories along with the backpacks. 
“One of the schools, I heard, was using some of the Bible stories as part of their curriculum,” Zook said.  “One of the Christian leaders in the community was actually asked to come in and be a substitute teacher, to teach about ethics — of course, based on the Scriptures and on the life of Christ. So, a simple backpack with some school supplies can do incredible things.”

When the Christians distribute food or other supplies, they keep Bibles and films about the life of Christ on nearby tables. One man picked up a JESUS film at a medical clinic and put it on his dashboard, even though he wasn’t really interested.  An hour later he came back to the clinic, telling staff the film had saved his life.

“He said, ‘I drove out, I came to one of these false checkpoints, and I was of the wrong brand of the majority religion there,’” Zook related. “‘My name indicated that I was a candidate to be shot.’”

But when the guard saw the film, he said, “Oh. you go on, you must be one of those dirty Christians,” Zook said. “And so [the man] came back and said, ‘I’ve got to watch this film now.’”

GAiN’s partners also serve people like one woman who recently moved with her family to a new city. A ten-year-old girl had walked into her home and shot the woman’s husband, disabling him. Now the woman was trying to care for her husband and three children in a new city, with no support. This woman was profoundly grateful for the food provided by the Christians in the city and wanted to learn more about their beliefs.

General Announcements:

CRB
If you have been given a CRB form to complete in the past week, please could you show your 3 ID documents to Ralph today along with the CRB form, so the forms can be sent away on Monday ready for HBC (this year!). If you are having trouble completing the form, please ask someone that has.

Some dates:

19th January - Members’ prayer meeting
28th January - Mission prayer meeting
26th January - Elders’ and deacons’ mtg
31st January - Mike Swales
4th February - Mark Higgins
7th February - am E.Porter pm Joe Long
9th February - Members’ meeting
11th February - John Peet –“Questions Darwin asked “
15th – 17th February - H.B.C.
4th March - District Prayer Meeting at Belvedere
16th March - Members’ prayer meeting
18th March - Paul Davies – A.E.M. 2pm and 7.45p.m.
Good Friday - Bill Gardner

Today’s Meetings:

9.45am Children’s Bible Club
10.15am Sunday Prayer Meeting in cottage
11.00am Morning Service
5.20pm Lord’s Table (please see note on back page)
6.00pm Evening Service
After Church Fellowship at Bruce and Margaret’s home.

Weekly Meetings:

Tuesday

7.15am Prayer for revival. 
8.00pm HBC Planning Meeting – we need urgently to get an accurate picture of help available – so if you can help but can’t attend on Tuesday evening please let Daniel know today.

Wednesday

9.30am Mum’s and Tots
7.00pm – 8.00pm KIC club - Children in years 4 to 6

Thursday

2.00pm Ladies Rest Hour - Cliff Higgins
7.45pm “John Calvin, reformer and theologian” –DVD pt 2 - followed by prayer

Friday

7.30pm FOY - For Secondary School Children

Saturday

Thamesmead work day – see over.

Next Sunday

9.45am Sunday Bible Club
11.00am & 6.00pm Sunday Services - Led by Pastor

Thought For The Week:

David said to Solomon before he died …
“ … be strong and prove yourself a man, and keep the charge of the LORD your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statues, His commandments, His judgments and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn.”  1 Kings 2: 2,3

Prayer For The Church:

Pray that we may be given grace to be more committed to His service in the new year and that God may pour out His Spirit upon us.
Pray for the continuation of our youth work that God will guard these activities from any attack of the enemy and pour out His Spirit upon the Word.
Pray for Pete as he seeks employment.
Pray that God will guide in the planning and preparation of this year’s Holiday Bible Club, and that we will all be enabled to find ways of sharing the burden through prayerful encouragement or personal involvement. Pray that young hearts will be committed to Christ.

Prayer For The Local Area:

Belvedere

‘We thank God for continued unity in service and for upholding Mark in the ministry. We were encouraged over Christmas to see some of the families we have contact with over the week come in to the Christmas Services. We ask for prayer particularly that God will effectually call many who are hearing the gospel in the various activities during the week and in the ministry on the Lord’s Day.

Please also pray for those who are going through times of testing either through ill health or uncertain employment.’
 
Prayer For The Wider Area:

Christmas outreach success in India

Persecution abounds in India. Christmas violence in 2007 and 2008 in Orissa State continues to affect believers. Today, at least 4,000 believers are still unable to return to their home villages because of death threats, and most are totally homeless after the government shut down the refugee camps where they were living. There had even been violence and a bomb attack in the camps themselves.

In nearby Andhra Pradesh, hard line Hindus are concerned so many people are coming to Christ the state could turn entirely Christian. That fear is causing tensions and many believe violence is imminent.

However, that tension isn’t stopping the work of Pastor Singh in the city of Vijayawada. Brother Singh has a vision. “[Our vision is] to reach 1,000 children in the slums and on the streets — destitute people. And also, [we want] to plant as many churches in the region. Already, we have 30 churches planted and we are looking forward to planting thousands of churches in the region.”

In order to do this Brother Singh needed help. That’s when he contacted E3 Partners to come help them with training. He says he called E3 Partners and found that E3 Partners Al Wilson was already in India — not only in India, but in Brother Singh’s home state.

Wilson interviewed Brother Singh at a restaurant. Brother Singh explains the rest. “I don’t know what happened to them. That night, they thought about it and early the next day they said to me that, ‘we want to bring a team to you.’”
They took a team to Vijayawada in early December. “They were led into the villages where there were no churches. Almost 500 people were led to the Lord.”

But, the story doesn’t end there. Brother Singh says despite being tired from hosting the team, local church leaders decided to hold Christmas campaigns in three areas of the city. “First, 150 people came. [The] second day, more than 200 people came, and the third day, almost 500 people. So, we see hundreds are responding to the Gospel and giving their lives to Jesus.”

He’s excited about what God is doing. “The spirit of God is strongly motivating them and we are working with them and discipling them. And, [they] are starting a small group where ever they are.”

General Announcements:

Lord’s Table - We invite visitors who are active members of an evangelical church and have been baptized by immersion to commune at the Lords Table. Friends who are not eligible to participate are welcome to observe but are kindly asked to refrain from taking the bread and wine.

Thamesmead

A workday is planned at Titmuss Avenue Baptist Church, Thamesmead in preparation for a new chapter in the life of the church. (Cleaning, painting, gardening, rearranging furniture) The date is Saturday 9th of January 2010 from 10:00am - 4:00pm. 
If you could give some time please let Pete W. know today.

Some dates:
5th January - H.B.C. planning
19th January - Members’ prayer meeting
28th January - Mission prayer meeting
26th January - Elders’ and deacons’ mtg
31st January - Mike Swales
4th February - Mark Higgins
7th February - am E.Porter  pm Joe Long
9th February - Members’ meeting
11th February - John Peet –“Questions Darwin asked “
15th – 17th February - H.B.C.
4th March - District Prayer Meeting at Belvedere
16th March - Members’ prayer meeting
18th March - Paul Davies – A.E.M. 2pm and 7.45p.m.
Good Friday - Bill Gardner

Today’s Meetings:

9.45am Children’s Bible Club
10.15am Sunday Prayer Meeting in cottage
11.00am Morning Service
6.00pm  Evening Service
After Church Fellowship at Paul & Janet’s home.

Weekly Meetings:

Monday

3.45pm to 4.45pm Children’s Hour

Wednesday

9.30am to 11.00am Mums & Tots
7.00pm to 8.00pm KIC club - For Year 4,5 & 6 children.

Thursday

2.00pm Ladies Rest Hour - Speaker – Grace Burch
7.45pm Mission Meeting - Andrzej Kempczynski from Legionowo, Poland  (G.B.M.)

Friday

7.30pm to 9.00pm FOY - For secondary school children

Saturday

9.30am Open Air Outreach

Sunday

11.00pm Harvest Thanksgiving - Speaker: Pastor
5:00pm Family Service - Speaker: Geoff Lowe - Tea Follows

Thought For The Week:

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin” Romans 4:7-8

Prayer For The Church:

Continue to pray for the commencement of the youth work. Pray that God may bring back the same children and bless His word in the epilogues.
Pray for Gina, the family and Gina’s brother Tommy.
Pray for Sarah and Mona as they approach the birth of their first child.
Pray for Lisa’s mum as she has now returned home following the repair of her broken hip.
Pray for Rosemary’s sister “Mu” as she is expected to return home today following a serious back operation, she is still quite immobile.
Pray for several in the fellowship who face uncertain times with regard to employment and the support of their families. Pray that in every case we may see our Lord’s special provision.

Prayer For The Local Area:

Covent Garden

Praise God for one of our parents who will be baptised in October and for another person interested. Over the summer there have been many opportunities to witness to tourists.North Watford Please pray for our street evangelism on St Alban’s Road each Thursday and our house to house visitation every Saturday.

The Association Annual Meetings are planned for Saturday 3rd October at Limes Avenue Baptist Church, Aylesbury, HP21 7HE.  Please pray that the preparations for the day will go smoothly and that the day itself will be a blessing to all who attend.
 
Lunch will be ‘Shepherds Pie’ plus a dessert. There will be a vegetarian alternative!
Seminar.  The seminar running at the same time as the Annual Business Meeting will be ‘Ministering to Seniors’.

Prayer For The Wider Area:

China raids Christian vocational school

The Chinese government appears to be making a move to pressure house churches to close their doors. China Aid Association gives an example of what happened a few days ago.

“A crowd of strangers, arranged by the Chinese government, violently broke down the door to a Christian vocational school in Beijing.”

The training school was located in the home of Brother Xu and provided training in basic job skills used for tent-making ministry, says Fu.

According to the prayer request sent by members of the Tent-makers Christian Fellowship in Beijing, local officials “swarmed into the living room with overwhelming scolding and commanded that [Brother Xu] should stoop down, as about twenty people entered the living room, some with uniforms and some without.”

According to the Fellowship, Brother Xu was commanded to show the officers the rooms in his home and surrender the training materials produced by ministry. “Brother Xu would not comply with their commands and replied “Who are you for me to obey you? I am a legal residence of Beijing and a child of God.” He was not intimidated and pressed on the issue of legality. Brother Xu demanded that they show him the warrant for the raid, which they could not furnish.

Without proof of a warrant, the officials reportedly “left without taking anything but warned they would return to confiscate the allegedly illegal training materials, although they did not do so that day. They further threatened Brother Xu and suggested he move away from Beijing to the Hebei province.”

Brother Xu is a faithful member of The Tent-makers Christian Fellowship in Beijing. The Tent-makers Christian Fellowship is led by internationally known Beijing house church rights defender Pastor Hua Huiqi. Pastor Hua and members of his family have been arrested and tortured numerous times for his leadership in defending the basic rights and freedom of vulnerable people. His 79-year-old Christian mother, Ms. Shuang Shuying, finished her two-year sentence for her human rights defense work in February, 2009. Forced to leave Beijing in August, Pastor Hua is currently being held on a “forced vacation” in Shanxi province by the Beijing PSB, in order to show the “stability of Beijing” during the 60th anniversary of the CPC rule in China.

Bible readings for the month of September are available – please ask.

General Announcements:

 Harvest thanksgiving

The offering for the day will be donated to Christian Compassion Ministries in the Philippines.
Non perishable goods will be donated to the work of  Fegans.

Today’s Meetings:

9.45am Children’s Bible Club
10.15am Sunday Prayer Meeting in cottage
11.00am Morning Service
6.00pm Evening Service
After Church Fellowship at Mike & Rosemary’s home.

Weekly Meetings:

Monday

3.45pm to 4.45pm Children’s Hour

Tuesday

8.00pm  Lord’s Table and Member’s Prayer Meeting

Wednesday

9.30am to 11.00am Mums & Tots
7.00pm to 8.00pm  KIC club - For Year 4,5 & 6 children.

Thursday

2.00pm Ladies Rest Hour - Open Mtg – Michael Whyte is unwell
7.45pm Bible Study and Prayer Meeting - Led by Pastor     

Friday

7.30pm to 9.00pm FOY - For secondary school children  

Sunday

11.00am & 6.00pm  Sunday Services

Thought For The Week:

“The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”  Numbers 6:24

Prayer For The Church:

Thank God for his blessing over the summer months. Pray that we will continue to see His blessing as we worship and serve Him together here.
Pray for Lisa’s mum as she has been in hospital after breaking her hip.
Continue to pray for the commencement of the youth work. Pray that God may bring back the same children and bless His word in the epilogues.
Pray for Gina’s brother Tommy as he awaits his operation.
Pray for Sarah and Mona as they approach the birth of their first child.

Prayer For Local Area:

Bexleyheath is the church on the Prayer link for the coming week. Jimmy  White, a former treasurer of the church, has recently gone to be with  his Saviour and Lord. The church correspondent writes, We praise and thank the Lord for the faithful witness of our brother and for all that the Lord enabled him to do over many years.’ Please pray for new committed workers to join the church.
 
Prayer For Wider Area:

Albania

For the church in Korçë and for the families of two young men from the church who were tragically drowned. We can rejoice that both were believers but grieve for the loss of young lives.

For Mozi and Alison Kotroçi who run the Logos Studios in Tirana and prepare video and audio productions to present the gospel through the Albanian media. Opportunities to do this in Albania are still far greater than they would be in the UK.

For Jasper and Jenny Otte, Dutch missionaries who have settled in the town of Tepelenë. They hope to begin meeting with a few Christians and other contacts they have made in the town in the autumn. They took part in the camp at Borsh where 60 Tepelenë children attended and are hoping to build on the youth work that has been going on since last September.

For James Clarke (Gjirokastër), Geni Dogani and Saimir Saliu (Memaliaj) who begin new courses of theological study this month.

Kosova

For new members of staff in the ‘Messiah’ church in Prishtina who take up their posts this month and particularly that the Lord will provide for the employment of Driton Zogaj who is to begin a street bookstall work in the city and in the town of Kamenice.

For the 26 non-Christian and 14 Christian young people who attended the Durrës camp in June. Reports of the camp indicate real blessing and unexpected opportunities to witness to young people at a Muslim camp on the same site.

Macedonia

For Niko who is being treated in Skopje for prostate problems. Early reports indicate that the treatment should be successful in clearing up the symptoms but we await confirmation of this. Thank God that Niko and Monda finally have long-term residence permits.

General Announcements:

Mid-Week Prayer mtgs 1st or 8th October
It would be helpful for me if any brother in the fellowship willing to lead one of these mtgs let me know. - Paul

Bible readings
September Bible readings are available on request.

Retirement service for Pastor Mike Swales
Saturday 19th September @ 3.00pm
Margate - map available
 
Anniversary service Sidcup Free Grace Baptist Church
Saturday 19th September @ 5.30pm.
Buffet followed by service at 7.00pm.
Speaker Sreve Whitton from Camberwell.

London Inreach Project - Open Day
Saturday 19th September @ 1.30pm and 3.30pm
Orange Street Chapel
Speaker Paul Pease

Today’s Meetings:

10.15am Sunday Prayer Meeting in cottage
11.00am Morning Service
5.40pm Lord’s Table – please see note beneath
6.00pm Evening Service
After Church Fellowship at Joyce and Cliffs.

Weekly Meetings:

Wednesday

6.45pm to 8.00pm KIC club - For Year 4,5 & 6 children.

Thursday

2.00pm Ladies Rest Hour  - Karen Orchard
7.45pm Bible Study and Prayer Meeting - Led by Paul - John 17 v17–20

Friday

7.30pm to 9.00pm FOY - For secondary school children

Sunday

11.00am & 6.00pm  Sunday Services  - Led by pastor
Childrens’ Sunday Bible Club will re-commence at 9.45am

Lord’s Table - We invite visitors who are active members of an evangelical church and have been baptized by immersion to commune at the Lords Table. Friends who are not eligible to participate are welcome to observe but are kindly asked to refrain from taking the bread and wine.

Thought For The Week:

“Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God.” Deuteronomy 7:9

Prayer For The Church:

Thank God for his blessing over the summer months. Pray that we will continue to see His blessing as we worship and serve Him together here.
Pray for the commencement of the youth work. Pray that God may bring back the same children and bless His word in the epilogues.
Pray for Gina’s brother Tommy as he recovers from his recent operation.
Pray for Sarah and Mona as they approach the birth of their first child each.
Pray that God will protect those who are new in faith following camps.
Pray for Pete that he may now the Lord’s leading at this time.
Pray that there may be souls brought to Christ even at Jimmy’s thanksgiving service.

Prayer For Local Area:
Angel:   ”We look forward to welcoming George Platt to our fellowship in late September. He is an incoming student at LTS and will be serving with us as part of the seminary’s mentorship scheme.”
Greenwich.  I am delighted to share that Jonathan Gravil has accepted an invitation to the pastorate of Devonshire Drive Baptist Church, Greenwich.  Jonathan began his ministry there last Sunday.  Please pray for Jonathan and Elizabeth as they settle into the area.

Bible Readings:

September
1st Ezekiel 1:1-2:10; I Timothy 3:1-16
2nd Psalm 119:89-128; 1 Timothy 4:1-16
3rd Ezekiel 3:1-27; 1 Timothy 5:1-25
4th Ezekiel 4:1-5:17; 1 Timothy 6:1-10
5th Ezekiel 6:1-7:27; 1 Timothy 6:11-21
6th Proverbs 27; 2 Timothy 1:1-18
7th Ezekiel 8:1-9:11; 2 Timothy 2:1-13
8th Ezekiel 10:1-22; 2 Timothy 2:14-26
9th Psalm 119:129-176; 2 Timothy 3:1-9
10th Ezekiel 11:1-25; 2 Timothy 3:10-4:8
11th Ezekiel 12:1-28; 2 Timothy 4:9-22
12th Ezekiel 13:1-23; Titus 1:1-16
13th Ezekiel 14:1-15:8; Titus 2:1-10
14th Ezekiel 16:1-63; Titus 2:11-3:8
15th Ezekiel 17:1-24; Titus 3:9-15;
16th Psalms 120-121; Philemon 1-25
17th Ezekiel 18:1-32; Hebrews 1:1-14
18th Ezekiel 19:1-14; Hebrews 2:1-18
19th Ezekiel 20:1-49; Hebrews 3:1-19
20th Ezekiel 21:1-32; Hebrews 4:1-13
21st Ezekiel 22:1-31; Hebrews 4:14-5:10
22nd Ezekiel 23:1-49; Hebrews 5:11-6:12
23rd Psalms 122-123; Hebrews 6:13-7:10
24th Ezekiel 24:1-27; Hebrews 7:11-28
25th Ezekiel 25:1-26:21; Hebrews 8:1-13
26th Ezekiel 27:1-36; Hebrews 9:1-10
27th Ezekiel 28:1-26; Hebrews 9:11-28
28th Ezekiel 29:1-21; Hebrews 10:1-18
29th Ezekiel 30:1-31:18; Hebrews 10:19-39
30th Psalms 124-125; Hebrews 11:1-19

General Announcements:

On Saturday 12th September the AGBC(SE) South East District will be holding a District Fellowship Day at The Pantiles Baptist Church, Tunbridge Wells.  This is an afternoon activitity which will include a walk in the local countryside, followed by tea at the church.  The afternoon will commence at around 2.00pm. We need numbers today.

Jimmy Whyte
Friday 11th September
Thanksgiving Service 11.00am at Bexleyheath Chapel.
We have been asked if we can help with chairs! and with the catering.

Swine Flue
We would ask friends to remain vigilant in case the outbreak becomes active again. The recommendation remains that we use plastic communion “glasses” but we will provide some glass ones for friends who are finding the plastic ones “unfriendly”

District Prayer Meeting – Thursday 10th at Borough Green at 7.45pm.

Mission Prayer Mtg
Thankyou to everyone who contributed. If you have positive suggestions for improving the mtg please let a church officer know.

Harvest Thanksgiving will be Sunday 27th September
Family Service 5.00pm – speaker Geoff Lowe - followed by tea

Sunday Services:

10.15am Sunday Prayer Meeting in cottage
11.00am Morning Service
6.00pm Evening Service
After Church Fellowship – the venue will be announced.

Regular Weekly meetings through August
Thursdays 7.45pm  Prayer Meeting  

Bible Verse:

The Beatitudes

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5v3

Prayer Matters for Camps:

Camp 3
August 8 to the 15th.
Leaders: Ralph and Fiona
Chaplain: Alistair Simms
Campers: Appoximately 60
Subject: The sermon on the mount.
Matthew is also going as a tent leader, with Karen, Jacob and Carys
Mark Rapley will be the tent leader in the oldest boys tent.
 

Main Prayer Points:
Pray that God will bless the ministry of His word through Alistair, Adrian and Tent Leaders.
Pray that there will be conversions and Christians will be encouraged. 
Pray that God may keep everyone safe remembering it is an adventure holiday and therefore always has potential risks in travelling and the activities.
Pray that there may be a spirit of unity on camp amongst both the officers and campers.
Pray for David and Helen as they prepare the food each day.

- 

Camp 4
15th-22nd August,
Rob & Jane Plant are the leaders with Darren & Ali Smith the assistant leaders. 
@ 65 campers
We’re back on the Brynglas site this year which should mean no trouble with B&B neighbours! 
Sarah and Daniel, and Mark and Debbie are going as leaders to this camp. 
Norman Gilbert is chaplain
Subject - Elisha
Please use above prayer points for this camp also.
*****************************************

Church officers’ holidays/camps
Paul and Janet away from 24th July to 8th August – hopefully back for services on 16th August, also 17th-20th
Cliff and Joyce away from 8th August to 22nd August and wedding
Mike and Rosemary 8th to 17th August and wedding
Philip and Elizabeth 24th to 8th August and wedding
Ralph – 8th – 15th August – camp

Dates for the Diary:

Unless otherwise shown the Thursday mtgs will be at 7.45pm

Tuesday 21st July 8.00pm - Members’ prayer meeting
Thursday 23rd July 2.00pm - Ladies Mtg – William Smith
Thursday 23rd July - Bruce
Sunday 26th July - Pastor
Thursday 30th July 2.00pm - Ladies’ Mtg - Jimmy
Thursday 30th July - Pastor
Sunday 2nd August - Pastor incl. Lord’s Table 5.20pm
Thursday 6th August - Pastor
Sunday 9th August - Pastor
Monday 10th August 7.30am - Camp prayer meeting in cottage.
Thursday 13th August - Paul – prayer focus camps.
Sunday 16th August -  John McIllmurray (wedding wknd)
Tuesday 18th August 8.00pm - Members’ Prayer Mtg
Thursday 20th August - Pastor
Sunday 23rd August - Pastor
Thursday 27th August - Pastor
Sunday 30th August - Pastor
Thursday 3rd September - Missionary Prayer Meeting
Saturday 12th Sept - Fellowship day at Tonbridge Wells.

Missions:

Here is the list of current contacts for missions.

G.B.M. incl. Anthony Green - Ken
M.E.R.F. - Ineke
S.A.S.R.A. - Ruth
A.E.M. - Mark T
S.G.A. - Gina
E.M.F. - Paul 
Day One prison ministries - Daniel
INREACH – Soho/Covent Gdn - Lee and Susanna
F.E.B.A. - Margaret/Mona/Peter
Andrew and Jenny (UFM) - Ralph
Mercy Ships - Mark and Debbie
Tel-IT tracts - Mike
London Embankment Mission - Sarah
C.W.I. workers - Janet
G.B.M. Radio - Paul or volunteer
C.C.M. Philippines - Paul or volunteer

Please be aware of the need to refresh our memories with general background information before sharing the request for prayer or praise.

We probably need to share about one G.B.M. worker at each M.P.M. as there are so many.
As we already have a couple of missionary evenings booked for the autumn the likely dates for these special prayer meetings will be 3rd September and 17th December. Obviously urgent requests for prayer can be shared at any prayer meeting.

Request from district secretary:

“On Saturday 12th September the AGBC(SE) South East District will be holding a District Fellowship Day at The Pantiles Baptist Church, Tunbridge Wells.  This is an afternoon activitity which will include a walk in the local countryside, followed by tea at the church.  The afternoon will commence at around 2.00pm
 
This is an opportunity for everyone in the district to get together for a time of informal fellowship and to enjoy the Kentish countryside and I would ask all of you to encourage the members of your fellowship to attend if possible.
 
In order to assist with the catering arrangements, please could you let David Levell know by Saturday 5th September how many members of your fellowship are likely to attend.
 
The next District Prayer Meeting will take place at Borough Green on Thursday 10th September.  Please make a note in your diary.  Items to be included in the prayer list should be emailed to me by Monday 7th September at the latest.”

Bible Readings:

July
19th Jeremiah 13:1-27; Luke 3:21-4:12
20th Jeremiah 14:1-22; Luke 4:13-44
21st Jeremiah 15:1-21; Luke 5:1-26
22nd Psalms 112-113; Luke 5:27-6:16
23rd Jeremiah 16:1-17:27; Luke 6:17-49
24th Jeremiah 18:1-19:15; Luke 7:1-35
25th Jeremiah 20:1-21:14; Luke 7:36-8:15
26th Proverbs 25; Luke 8:16-39
27th Jeremiah 22:1-30; Luke 8:40-9:17
28th Jeremiah 23:1-40; Luke 9:18-62
29th Psalms 114-115; Luke 10:1-42
30th Jeremiah 24:1-25:38; Luke 11:1-54
31st Jeremiah 26:1-27:22; Luke 12:1-34
August
1st  Jeremiah 28:1-29:32; Luke 12:35-59
2nd Jeremiah 30:1-24; Luke 13:1-35
3rd Jeremiah 31:1-40; Luke 14:1-35
4th Jeremiah 32:1-44; Luke 15:1-32
5th Psalms 116-117; Luke 16:1-31
6th Jeremiah 33:1-26; Luke 17:1-37
7th Jeremiah 34:1-22; Luke 18:1-17
8th Jeremiah 35:1-19; Luke 18:18-43
9th Jeremiah 36:1-32; Luke 19:1-27
10th Jeremiah 37:1-21; Luke 19:28-20:8
11th Jeremiah 38:1-28a; Luke 20:9-47
12th Psalm 118; Luke 21:1-38
13th Jeremiah 38:28b- 39:18; Luke 22:1-38
14th Jeremiah 40:1-16; Luke 22:39-71
15th Jeremiah 41:1-18; Luke 23:1-43
16th Proverbs 26; Luke 23:44-24:12
17th Jeremiah 42:1-43:13; Luke 24:13-53
18th Jeremiah 44:1-45:5; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
19th Psalm 119:1-40; 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16
20th Jeremiah 46:1-28; 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5
21st Jeremiah 47:1-7; 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13
22nd Jeremiah 48:1-47; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
23rd Jeremiah 49:1-39; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11
24th Jeremiah 50:1-46; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
25th Jeremiah 51:1-64; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12
26th Psalm 119:41-88; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
27th Jeremiah 52:1-34; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5
28th Lamentations 1:1-22; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-18
29th Lamentations 2:1-22; 1 Timothy 1:1-11
30th Lamentations 3:1-66; 1 Timothy 1:12-20
31st Lamentations 4:1-5:22; 1 Timothy 2:1-15

Today’s Meetings:

9.45am Children’s Bible Club ( last one until after the holidays.)
10.15am Sunday Prayer Meeting in cottage
11.00am Morning Service
6.00pm Evening Service
After Church Fellowship at Mike & Rosemary’s home.

Weekly Meetings:

Wednesday

9.30am to 11.00am Mums & Tots (cleaning)
6.45pm to 8.00pm KIC club - For Year 4,5 & 6 children.

Thursday

2.00pm Ladies Rest Hour - Speaker: Pastor Timothy Reynolds
7.45pm Bible Study and Prayer Meeting - Led by Pete   

Friday

7.30pm to 9.00pm FOY - For secondary school children  
Sunday

11.00am & 6.00pm Sunday Services - Led by Ben Hutton

Thought For The Week:

“Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”  Hebrews 3:15

Prayer For The Church:

Continue to pray that God will speak to the youth attending the midweek clubs.
Pray for Sarah, Mona and their babes
Pray that God may overrule in the preparations of this year’s summer camps. Pray that God may be with Alistair Simms and Norman Gilbert as they prepare their talks.
Pray for Pete as he has an interview tomorrow and as he prepares for Thursday.
Pray for Mark and Marilyn at Keswick, that the ministry and the Lake District beauty may be a blessing to them.

Prayer For The Local Area:

Tring is the church on the Prayer Diary for the coming week.

Please pray for Adrian Reynolds (Yateley) preaching at our Church Anniversary on 12 July. We thank the Lord for 9 people doing either Christianity Explored or a follow up course. Pray souls will be saved. We ask for continued prayer (wisdom, vision and energy) as we consider another scheme to improve our premises.

Prayer For The Wider Area:

Muslim mob attacks Christians in Kasur, Pakistan

Recent violent attacks on the Christian community in Pakistan are continuing.
After accusing of blasphemy, a Muslim religious leader whipped a mob into a frenzy and led them on an attack on a Christian village June 30th.

The mob destroyed Christians’ houses, looted valuables and tortured believers, beating one many to death.  In the aftermath, at least 110 Christian families, almost 700 people, were forced to flee. The families sought safety in the fields surrounding their village.

The government claims it is providing equal rights to religious minorities, including Christians. Voice of the Martyrs’ Todd Nettleton says ‘not so’.  “It’s great to say afterward, ‘Yes, we want to help you and we want to make this right.’ How much better would it be to actually provide some protection or put a stop to these attacks before they happen?”

In Pakistan, religious minorities are frequently faced with accusations and charges of blasphemy for disrespecting the last prophet of Muslims.  From this recent incident, Muslims have registered blasphemy cases against 11 believers.
Although it’s risky, people are still coming to Christ.  Voice of the Martyrs is still standing alongside the remnant church.   Nettleton explains that, “Voice of the Martyrs works with the Christians in Pakistan, and in some cases, we are also coming in afterwords to try to help them put their lives back together.”

It’s an opportunity for ministry.   “When Christians respond with love and with forgiveness to incidents like this, that can be an incredible spark for revival because the Muslims look at that and they say, ‘Wait a minute. How are these people able to respond that way? how are they still able to love us?’”

Pray that persecutors throughout Pakistan will be challenged by the consistent testimony of Christ’s followers and be drawn to Him.

Bible Readings

July
12th Jeremiah 5:1-31; Colossians 2:6-23
13th Jeremiah 6:1-30; Colossians 3:1-25
14th Jeremiah 7:1-34; Colossians 4:1-18
15th Psalms 110-111; Luke 1:1-56
16th Jeremiah 8:1-9:26; Luke 1:57-80
17th Jeremiah 10:1-25; Luke 2:1-40
18th Jeremiah 11:1-12:17; Luke 2:41-3:20
19th Jeremiah 13:1-27; Luke 3:21-4:12

General Announcements:

Swine Flue

We have been asked by the health authorities to recommend to our congregation that if a close member of the family have flue, that the whole family should consider refraining from having close contact in a church service.
We will also be purchasing disposable communion cups for this period. If in a doubtful situation the whole service can be heard in the schoolroom, and you can enter and exit by the side entrance.

Next week – we will be producing a seven week bulletin. If there are any matters you wish included please email me. (Paul)  - orcha@orcha.plus.com

Fitness Club – Monday at 7.30pm

Missions
I just need one more link person please to receive the prayer letters from Derek French for the GBM Radio Work, and to share live issues at the M.P.M.s

Our first M.P.M. will probably be Thursday 3rd September.