Hello and welcome to the third in our series preparing for Easter ... which is now fast approaching.

We start today with a traditional hymn that meditates on the Glory of Christ's sin-atoning work on our behalf.

Let's pray ...

Father we come before you today conscious of our failures and weaknesses, and our need of your mercy and forgiveness.

Please give us a large and clear understanding of the extent and of the wonders of your grace towards people who share our need of it.

For Jesus sake.

Amen.

"Obey His voice

And all His will esteem" 

We'll need help with that!

So let's pray

Lord we come to you from a week when your presence has been a comfort and a joy to so many of us ... but also something missed and longed for by so many of us from time to time too.

We thank you for every sort of reminder of the precious treasure that it is to walk with God. We rejoice in it and we long for it in our experience.

We rejoice in and we long for the presence of our God that we can personally feel ... help us to rejoice also in your REAL presence, when we are conscious of it and when we are not, when we are comforted by it and when we challenged by its mere remembrance to put our trust again in the God Who sees me even at those times when I do not clearly see Him.

Strengthen, we pray, those of us who feel weak in our faith today.

Safeguard and watch over those of us who feel strong in our faith today, and keep us from stumbling and falling.

Give us all admiration and gratitude for the incredible thing the Lord Jesus did a Calvary for those of us who have come to trust in Him, and may this appreciation of His finished and completed work for us on the Cross draw our hearts out to praise and love Him more.

Give us all an awareness of yourself through the course of each day as things arise that turn our hearts back towards you and prompt us to refer to you on the things that crop up.

Give us a fresh understanding of how your cross and resurrection apply to the challenges and experiences that we are experiencing.

And therefore give us a personal testimony to the world around us of the real presence of the Lord with His people who have turned from sin to trust in Christ and have benefitted from His sin atoning death, His indwelling by the Holy Spirit and His resurrection to eternal

life in Glory.

Would you Lord enable us to see the lost condition of those who are our family, friends and neighbours living without your presence and your power?

Would you give us a little of your care and passion for those who as yet don't 'get' your Gospel?

And would you move us to be people who pray consciously and determinedly for people's souls?

Would you put your Gospel like a fire in our own hearts, and would you fire our readiness to bring others to understanding of all you did for us at thew first Easter?

For Jesus sake we pray ... may He have Glory even through us who stand in such need of His grace.

AMEN.

Here's a taster of the sermon that's coming, and then a song from

 20 Schemes to inspire us in our hearing of God's Word

Clic the pic below for today's reading

Our next song is in Hebrew, but don't panic. 

There's a translation ... and the words don't seem hard in the Hebrew so give it a go! 

(It's the Psalm you've just read, Psalm 117)

Now let's open up that passage of God's Word together

The sermon video this week comes to you from a new phone camera 
(... can you spot the differences?!)

Click the pic

Let's pray

We thank you Father for your generosity to us in the Gospel.

We thank you for the Lord Jesus Who gave Himself for us without swerving away at the cost.

We thank you that there is grace in the Lord Jesus that's enough to cover for all our sin and to establish us in a new, right relationship to our Saviour and our God.

Take us into the coming week with large thoughts of this Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.

We ask for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

If you would like to worship with us by giving to support the work, please click the offering bag below to be taken to our Giving Link.

And if you would like to get in touch, please feel very free to do so!

Thanks.

DIY Sunday Service Kit 18/03/2023 Psalm 116 - Resilient faith in the resilient Lord

 

Welcome to the second in our series of DIY Sunday Service Kits in the run-up to Easter!

We'll be looking later at the things Psalm 116 can teach us about the resilience the Lord showed in pursuing His Father's will and some priorities the psalmist shows us if we are to prove resilient in walking in God's will for us.

Here's a fore-taste of that ...

Let's pray

Lord and Father, whenever we gather in your presence we come conscious of ways that we have both by your grace overcome temptations and walked with you in the recent past, as well as those times when we have proven less resilient in walking according to your will.

Give us today, we pray, a fresh grasp of our dependence on your mercy and the extent of our Saviour's love for us that motivates us once again to follow our God.

We ask for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

This week we are praying for Bible translation in Cameroon, the aftermath of Cyclone Freddie in Malawi and Uyghur believers in China ...

Cameroon - the Weh people

Seventy per cent of the Weh people would say they are 'Christian' with 25% being evangelicals, and 30% following tribal religions.

And yet there is still no translation of the New Testament available in the Weh language.

A believer called Eugene had trained a small team of Weh Bible translators. 

Through illness and financial difficulties, Eugene’s team shrank to just him and one other member. But worse was to come.

In 2018, terrible conflict came to the region. Eugene says, ‘Huge numbers of homes were burnt to the ground. Families had to flee to the bush for their lives. Churches couldn’t meet. A Bible translator I knew was attacked and killed. His wife had her arm chopped off. It was a terrible time.’

Eugene and the team had to flee. But still he continued to translate Scripture, despite difficulties. His three children are still traumatised. The team regrouped but faces daily battles against power cuts, sometimes working through the night to make the most of the limited electricity supply.

And one of his translation team recently got sick and died. He never got to see the printed New Testament. In fact, no one will see it printed – unless the funds are raised.

Despite all the obstacles that have been put in Eugene’s path to bringing Scripture to the Weh people, he is so close to his goal. He just needs the funds to print the completed New Testament.

Let's pray

•  that the funds will be raised to make these New Testaments widely available

• that the Lord will speak to the hearts of the Weh people in the language of their heart

Malawi

Thousands of Christians in Malawi have been left homeless and in need of urgent assistance in the wake of Cyclone Freddy, which has also hit Madagascar and Mozambique ... countries that are far less evangelised than Malawi.

In Malawi, the cyclone has displaced close to 160,000 people. Torrential rain, flooding, and mudslides have caused over 320 known deaths. Hospitals are being overwhelmed with the injured and children have been orphaned in this natural disaster.

Those who can are sheltering in the schools and churches that are still standing, or have found refuge in newly set-up camps. People are often currently taking shelter in buildings lke schools which can be housing over 4,000 other survivors. In such desperate circumstances, even basic essentials are hard to come by, and everyone is struggling for food. Clean water is also hard to come by, so an outbreak of cholera is also a constant threat.

Food aid is being sent to Malawi from South Africa ... the need is enormous in this record-breaking storm, and Malawi is often a country that receives the least aid in Africa, due to its landlocked position.

Let's pray

•  for the adequate supply of basic essentials, food, shelter and clothing to internally displaced people in Malawi

• for protection from the aggravation of the existing problems by outbreaks of the sorts of diseases that can follow on from natural disasters of this sort

Uyghur believers

The Uyghur people are a Moslem minority people living in North East China and are being detained in huge 're-education camps' by the Chinese state, abused and put to forced labour there. But even there, the Lord has His people.

China Aid has recently confirmed that Uyghur Christian Alimujiang Yimiti was released from prison after his 15-year sentence. While other details are unconfirmed, the Uyghur house church pastor is home with his family.

Alimujiang Yimiti, also known as Alim, converted from Islam to Christianity in 1995 and served as a house church pastor to Uyghurs in Kashgar, Xinjiang. His work in Xinjiang painted a target on his back, as the Chinese government began to scrutinize Uyghurs in the area. In 2007, authorities initially accused Alim of using his business to “infiltrate” Christian ideology into Kashgar. 

Alim was criminally detained on Jan. 12, 2008, for “inciting separatism” and “unlawfully providing state secrets to overseas organizations” due to a conversation he had with an American colleague, possibly about his interaction with authorities in 2007. 

Twice before his final sentencing in August 2009, the Court in Kashgar secretly tried Alim. After the first trial, they decided there was not enough evidence to convict him. The prosecution decided to drop his separatism charge and tried him a second time a year later. For both secret trials, Alim’s family was prohibited from attending.

Since Alim’s trial and conviction, the world has come to know about China’s crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, also known as East Turkistan. 

An estimated 1-2 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other ethnic minorities are kept in concentration camps. 

According to witness testimonies in the Uyghur Tribunal in 2021, prisoners were forcefully sterilized, tortured, and “re-educated.”

No other news about Alim or his family is currently available.

    Let's pray

• For the protection of God's Uyghur people from the persecution that is being heaped up on their ethnic group because it is (generally) Moslem and therefore persecuted by the communist state

• For justice and peace for the Uyghur people as a whole and an end to their suffering and persecution

Father please hear our prayers for people in pain and undergoing suffering across our troubled world, especially those for whom we pray today. 

We ask especially for those who don't enjoy the spiritual blessings that we enjoy, that your people might have freedom to exercise their faith in you and that those who as yet are strangers to the Good News about Jesus might have the opportunity to hear.

We ask for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Let's read the Bible (click the pic below)

Here's a great old hymn celebrating a central Easter truth

Here's the studio cam sermon video

Let's pray

We thank you Lord and Father that you have made us aware of the riches of the blessing we can enjoy in Christ.

We pray for a greater appreciation of the truths that you have revealed to us, and the strength of your love to us as people who need you so very much.

Take our minds in the quiet moments of this week to the Lord Who sang in the Upper Room with disciples, walked out to Gethsemane and persevered to Golgotha, and deepen our understanding and appreciation of the One Who has loved us and given Himself for us.

We ask in His Name and for His Glory.

Amen.

If we can be of help to you this week please feel free to get in touch using the email HoWChaplain@gmail.com or texting, WhatsApp messaging or calling 07748 64958.

If you'd like to join us in showing your gratitude for God's grace by giving, the giving link is accessed by clicking on the offering bag below.

Have a great week!

DIY Sunday Service Kit - 12/03/2023

 

Welcome to the DIY Sunday Service Kit for March 12th as we start to take our run-up to Easter!

It's been an exciting week with developments and possibilities emerging plentifully ... but we're here for the excitement of considering Christ, understanding Him better and having our hearts drawn out more passionately in HIS worship

 ... so let's listen to this encouraging explanation of our first powerful worship song today, and then get to it!

The Lord's commitment to holding us fast emerges from the first of our pre-Easter Bible expositions this week ... it's Psalm 115.

Here's a foretaste ... click the pic.!

Let's pray

Father God we thank you for the commitment of the Lord Jesus to us, who did not deserve His love and faithfulness to us because we have not always loved and been faithful to you ... quite the reverse.

Please help us to understand a little better today the cost to the Lord Jesus and to you our Heavenly Father of walking the way of the Cross for your people, and stimulate our love and commitment to you in joyful response.

We ask for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Today we pray for Tanzania in East Africa, for Ukraine in Europe and for Llandovery!

Tanzania

The evangelical population of Tanzania grew from 2.4 million in 1990 to over 9 million in 2020, in mainline Churches (Lutheran, Anglican), in Pentecostal denominations and in African Initiated Churches. 

New church-planting agencies came about since the 1980s, as did partnerships between nationals and expatriate missionaries. 

Praise God that the commitment to plant new churches and to reach the unevangelized peoples of Tanzania bore good fruit in recent years among both animists (spirit-worshippers) and Muslims!

Materially

Widespread and systemic poverty is both a challenge and an opportunity. 

Many areas require development assistance - schools, universities, hospitals, roads, drinking water and agriculture. 

Half of all secondary schools are privately funded. 

Rapid urbanization and endemic corruption intensify the problems. 

Mercy ministry is necessary and a wonderful way to bring transformation to all levels of Tanzanian life. 

Most foreign Christian agencies at work in Tanzania already minister in this capacity; pray for more projects to be started and to be finished effectively.

Spiritually

Discipleship

Tanzania's Christian population, though numerous, needs discipleship. 

More than half of Tanzanians might be "Christian", but church attendance runs around 8%. 

Many see lack of biblical knowledge as the greatest challenge for the Church. 

As immature Christians are discipled, lifestyles and worldviews will change, and this in turn will impact the social, economic and political life of the nation.

Pray that gifted Bible teachers will be sent to this region to establish believers in the lifestyle and the faith taught in the Scriptures.

Children, young people and students

Tanzania's young population makes ministry to youth and children essential. 

Religious education in schools is an open door that requires trained instructors; Christian teachers can and do have a big impact. 

Scripture Union's Aid for AIDS programme educates and encourages young people toward pure lifestyles. 

TAFES(IFES) groups operate on 37 university and college campuses. Many students are being converted, including Muslims.

Pray for workers to be raised up to meet the opportunities and for the spirit of God to empower their work so that young people and a new generation of Bible literate new leaders will be raised up in the faith and service of Christ.

Bible translation

The widespread use of Swahili, the historic trading language that works throughout East Africa, has to some extent hampered the numerous tribes and people groups in Tanzania having the Bible in there own languages.

The launch of the Ikoma New Testament this week (10 March) is the first of five launches in Tanzania in the next five months.

Pray that these New Testaments get ver well-used in homes, in families and in new churches that spring into being.

Ukraine

Church leaders in Ukraine are being singled out for persecution by Russian forces in occupied areas.

Evangelical pastors have been arrested, interrogated, tortured and even expelled from their towns by the Russian military and their supporters.

Occupying forces have confiscated church buildings and Christians have received harsher treatment at Russian military checkpoints.

Let's pray that the Lord will protect His people in occupied Ukraine and give them great strength to continue to walk with Him.

Llandovery

The Urdd Eisteddfod is due to take place in Llandovery from 29th. May - 3rd. June.

This will see THOUSANDS of young people and their families descend on the town for this great festival of the performing arts and we hope by then to have our premises set up in the town.

We are RIGHT NOW trying to organise how we can reach out with the love of the Lord to the people attending the eisteddfod. This is obviously going to take some doing, but we're on it!

Please will you pray we make ourselves useful to the Lord and that we manage to understand and to achieve what He would have us do with this huge opportunity?

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.

For Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Twenty Schemes from Scotland now lead us in a Welsh hymn meditating on the Lord's love for His people ...

Let's read the Bible together ... click the pic below to be taken to Psalm 115

And now we'll unpack that reading in its New Testament, Easter context in the life of the Lord Jesus ...

The video version is here ...

Our final hymn today come to us from Celtic Worship

Let's pray

"Oh to grace how great a debtor, 

daily I'm constrained to be.

Let that grace Lord, like a fetter, 

bind my wandering heart to Thee."

So may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

the love of God the Father 

and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, 

be with us all. 

Evermore. 

AMEN.

Thanks very much for being with us here online again today.

The developments we've seen in the course of the last week do tend to indicate that we shall soon be in a position to meet together face to face again soon ... for which we are really grateful to God.

When that happens we will see the components in this DIY Sunday Service Kit change a bit, but it's a development that would also give many of us the chance to meet facet to face for worship again. It's been a long haul! Please continue to pray that the Lord will bring us to a point where we'r more useful to Him and one another when we have the opportunity to meet in this way again? Thanks.

If you'd like to continue to worship the Lord by giving, the Stewardship Giving Link lies behind the offering bag below ... just give it a click. Thanks.

God bless you - have a great week thinking over and experiencing His grace!