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!
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