Saturday, 18 March 2023

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!













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