It's been a joy ... but it's also been a tiring One! And this experience has in no small way laid the foundations for today's episode in our short summer series 'IRrelevant', looking at the absolute relevance of the Christian faith to some of the most difficult challenges currently facing our culture, but which our culture seems determined to turn its back on as a solution.
Here's a one minute taster of what we're tackling today ...
So Father we ask for your presence with us today in the truth of your Word and the presence and power of your Holy Spirit, that we might find strength to persist in walking in your way.
We ask for Jesus' sake.
Amen.
Here comes the five minute word for the week video: 'Time Out'
We have two new songs to learn today, but our first we sing a traditional hymn that seeks the Lord, pursuing further the things we just started out by praying for
Click the Bible below for today's Bible reading
Today we are praying for the Indian sub-continent
(You wouldn't guess that these prayer needs arise there when we play these guys at cricket!)
Pakistan
Pakistan continues to be a nation where Christians suffer horrendous persecution.
Let's pray for:
1. A young Christian named Zaki Masih (22 yrs), living in Sargodha, Pakistan, has been booked under the country’s draconian blasphemy laws and is potentially facing a death sentence.
Tahir Naveed Choudhary, a local community leader and former Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA), has spoken out in support of Zaki Masih, stating his innocence. According to Choudhary, “Zaki Masih is an illiterate individual who runs a small grocery shop in the village.”
Following the allegations, the entire Christian community in the area has fled their homes, fearing reprisals and seeking safety.
2. Asma Bibi (28 yrs), a pregnant Christian mother of four, was falsely accused, imprisoned and beaten by her Muslim employers in Sialkot, Pakistan.
Accused of stealing 1 million rupees, Asma was subjected to ten days of brutal torture in an attempt to extract a false confession.
Her husband, Ashir Masih, was also arrested without charges when the attempt to force a confession out of Asma failed and was tortured by Police investigating the allegations made against his wife to extract a confession from him.
Let's pray for this family and give thanks that the baby has survived.
3. The recent burning of a copy of the Koran in Sweden has led to death threats being made against Christians in Pakistan.
This Swedish incident perpetrated by an ex-Muslim who now has no religious faith has rather irrationally led to demands for retribution in Pakistan against Pakistani Christians.
Just recently, on July 1st, a militant jihadist group known as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, operating within Pakistan, issued a statement vowing to avenge the desecration of the Quran by targeting and killing Pakistani Christians. They have sworn to make life in the country a living hell for them.
Let's pray that our God protects Christians living under the direct threat that this poses.
Punjab
In a harrowing incident that highlights the vulnerability of minors, a seven-year-old Christian girl named Javeria Javed fell victim to a brutal rape in Cheechawatni, Punjab.
The perpetrator, Muhammad Shameer, a Muslim individual, forced the innocent girl to a nearby farm field where he subjected her to a horrific assault.
This shocking case sheds light on the urgent need for improved protection for children and the importance of swift action by law enforcement authorities. Let's pray that this become the norm and sends the message that there is no 'open season' for Moslem attacks on Christians.
Let's also pray forth family of this young girl, who spent two days in intensive care, who now face large medical bills for her treatment.
Manipur
Over 60,000 people have been displaced in Manipur, nearly 200 people are known to have been killed and women have been raped and tortured as rape is being used as a weapon to intimidate Christian communities.
Let's pray for the protection of the believers in the historically Christian Indian region of Manipur, and a minister we know who spends a good part of each year there training local men to minister in the region's rural areas. Let's pray that he continues to be able to do so freely and safely.
Lord, for this massively populous area of the world we pray that those who love you and see you there will be able to worship you and serve you there freely and that the injustice and persecution they face there will be turned back.
Please build your church and glorify your Name right across this huge sub-continent.
We ask it all for Jesus' sake.
Amen.
Here is the studio cam of the sermon recording
Let's sing a new song as we close ...
Thanks for being here again today.
I'm afraid there won't be a DIY Sunday Service Kit next week ... online visiting preachers seem not to come equipped with video, transcript and audio recordings, so it proves difficult to find people topic up the responsibility of ministering for the DIY Sunday Service Kit and that's why you get such a lot of me on here and nothing when I really need to take a break. I'm sorry to be letting you down next week, but if I don't do this sometimes there won't be very much of me left!
However, as ever, once I can get my phone reliably working again, I'll still be available for emergency prayer or support if you need me and you'll probably do much better getting hold of me by WhatsApp or email for some technical reason I really don't understand.
Otherwise, until next time folks ... Pob bendith!
(The offering bag below still works though in my absence, if you'd like to join us in giving. Thanks.)
Hello and welcome again to the DIY Sunday Service Kit.
In the coming week, all roads from rural Wales, and quite a few from urban Wales too, will be leading to Builth Wells and the largest agricultural show in Europe ... y Sioe Fawr, or The Royal Welsh Show.
We'll be praying about that later, and also for the on-going efforts to reach this spiritually needy land of ours with the Good News God's given us to share with it.
But first, let's sing a psalm of praise to God ...here's Psalm 121.
Click the box 👇
Let's pray
Father we thank you for the promises of your Word, which we have tried and tested for ourselves across the years.
We thank you that in life's trials and in its changes you have kept us through hurt and hardship and fulfilled to us the promises your Word brings.
Whatever we face today, please be with us, convince us again your unfailing loyalty and care for us and build in us afresh the resolve that we WILL walk with you.
We ask for Jesus' sake.
AMEN.
Here's a 60-second taster for the sermon that's coming later
(Stick with us!)
Here come the ...
Today we pray for Wales, for India and for the developing situation
Many of us have prayed long and hard for this, and it looks as if we will shortly be sent the tenancy agreement to sign.
To quote Winston Churchill out of context, this is probably just 'the end of the beginning', but when the 'beginning' has been quite such a battle, it is definitely time now to pause for thankfulness!
Prayers
Let's pray today for Pastor Rob Morse from Memorial Chapel in Llandovery. Rob is an active sort of person but he has had some health problems over the last few months. He has been back to the hospital for further tests ad investigations in the last week. Let's pray the doctors get to the bottom of this and fix him up properly soon.
Let's pray for the various Christian activities at the Showground in Builth this week.
There's a major effort from the Evangelical Movement of Wales with a big tent and a good-sized team drawn together from across Wales down in the trade stands. look them up if you're going to the show!
Simon will be up there too for y GRWP on Monday and Tuesday, getting amongst people in the cattle and sheep lines, meeting people and mingling wearing his placard (well, Chaplain shirt in fact, but it seems to do the same sort of job ... while looking at least marginally less freaky!)
Let's pray that the Lord puts the right person in touch with the right people on the day at the show to actually achieve something good for His Kingdom.
Let's pray for the Basic Life Support trainingthat we're offering in livestock markets, in a few villages and rural work-places across the summer.
Some Korean friends have this week made a very generous gift to fund a set of manikins to teach CPR. These will enable us to move on from delivering training with individuals to being able to offer training to groups of up to eight people at a time. We have found that teaching CPR has the secondary benefit of giving people the opportunity to tap about traumatic life and death events and issues.
Let's give thanks for Korean friends who have helped us, and let's pray for really useful CPR training that saves lives as well as creating helpful interactions with people who are living with their hurts alongside this training in the months to come.
India
The British Asian Christian association have been in touch about a horrifying video that emerged on July 19, 2023 that has sent shockwaves through India, exposing the brutal realities of religious and ethnic tensions in the state of Manipur.
You may well have heard about this event on the mainstream media, but no mention gets made there about the fact that this was an instance of the specific persecution of two women from a Christian ethnic minority.
In actual fact, the distressing footage depicts a gruesome assault on two Christian women from Manipur, as they became victims of a frenzied mob’s violence.
As the nation grapples with the disturbing images, questions arise about the need to safeguard human rights and religious freedom and the delayed response from authorities in addressing this alarming issue.
Let's pray for the Christian people regularly facing violent persecution in India.
Israel
Christians, Messianic Jews, and missionaries face increasing hostility from Jewish radicals in Israel. Recently, activists from the Lehava organization and the Or l’Achim organization physically attempted to block persons from attending a convention of Messianic Jews in Jerusalem.
While there have long been occasional incidents of hostility and even violence towards Christians in Israel, there has been a rise in recent months. Some analysts assess that the rise in hostility and violence is tied to the current Israeli ruling coalition, which is largely supported by radical factions strongly protective of the Israeli Orthodox Jewish character and opposed to Christianity in the public square.
Let's give thanks that senior figures in Israel have spoken out against violence against Christians, and let's pray that the civil unrest in Israel sparked by protests against proposed judicial reforms by the current Israeli government will stop and that God's people will be free and at peace again.
Father accept our thanks and hear our prayers for Jesus' sake we pray.
AMEN.
It's time to sing ...
Click this Bible for today's reading
Here's the video of that sermon recording
We finish today with a traditional hymn from the Aber. Conference in 2019
Let's pray
Father we thank you that your word teaches us things that are relevant to the sort of things we face in life from day to day.
Help us to take your Word to heart as we face officialdom in the course of this coming week. may we draw strength from you as we try to handle our lives your way, and play some small part in bringing glory to the Name of our God.
We ask for Jesus sake.
AMEN.
As usual - no pressure but - the Giving link is open if you'd like to join with us in supporting all of the work of y GRWP, including the production of this DIY Sunday Service Kit. You access it by just clicking on the bag.
In our series 'IRrelevant' on the way the Christian message really doe tackle the issues real people have in real life, we come to the issue of 'Loss' ... loss of all sorts.
There's a taster to come after our opening song, a totally new one from City Alight, 'Grace'
The sermon today tackles the big issue of the adequacy of God in our experience of all sorts of loss.
Here's a quick introduction to whet your appetite!
All our worship songs today come from City Alight
- this one's a bit of a spoiler for the sermon, too!
Let's pray today for Wales
Union School Theology
Yesterday, fifty people finished their studies at Union School of Theology in Bridgend.
Far from all of those will be setting out to serve the Lord in Wales!
But let's pray that the Lord WILL, though, settle each of them exactly where He wants them to be at the start of useful and fruitful lives in Christian ministry.
Evangelical Movement of Wales children's camps
Camp 1 starts on July 22nd and is led by Pete Campbell and Sharon Owen at Bryn-y-Groes near Bala in North Wales.
Camp 3 starts the same day at Woodcroft Christian Centre, Chepstow and is led by Matthew Jones and Helen Jackson.
Please pray for the young people going on these camps to be kept safe throughout all the activities and for many of them to be brought to clear and settled faith in Christ.
Please pray great compassion, kindness, wisdom and energy for their leaders and for all the challenges of the week to be met prayerfully and in a God-honouring way on these camps.
Royal Welsh Show
The Royal Welsh Show runs from 24th-27th. July this year in Builth Wells.
There will be a team of people leading outreach there from the Evangelical Movement reaching out to the visitors and we will ourselves be up there on two full days moving around amongst the exhibitors in full rural chaplain attire(!) looking for people we know or can meet for the first time to share Christ with them.
Please pray that spiritual fruit will come from all of this summer outreach at y Sioe Fawr ... the big show.
This is the latest in a steady stream of positive developments in the last couple of months ... please will you pray that we finally get a base to use as a hub to reach out to the community in Llandovery?
(Thanks for sticking with this project ... it's been a long time!)
Lord we pray for our land of Wales in its spiritual need and in its widespread rejection of you.
We pray that, as you have shown great mercy and worked powerfully in previous generations you would dob so again in ours bringing people to life-changing faith for your praise and your glory, for Jesus sake.
AMEN.
Please click this link for the Bible reading
The video version is here ...
Let's pray
Father we thank you for the reassurance we draw from your Word whatever our circumstances.
Help us, whatever this week throws up, to cling to the might and the faithfulness of our God to us, and with joy to remain committed to Him in our turn.
We ask for Jesus' sake.
AMEN.
Sunday 9 July 2023
Welcome to the DIY Sunday Service Kit this second Sunday in July.
Here's the Word for the Week - 'Two blades on my Turbine'
What's the POINT of the deep theology we recite and cling to? Well, here's an attempt to handle the doctrine of the Trinity with the outsider in mind, showing the point of it as simply as I can ... using a different laptop, operating system and software so I hope the quality is going to improve!
Is there somebody you might want to share this with?
Last week was a really busy one for y GRWP, with needs arising that had to be addressed and the addition of a board meeting last Thursday which took some preparation and led to extras to be done in the following few days. There's a specially made little video in the Prayer Points arising out of that meeting and a few other needy situations around the world to be praying for.
So at the start of a new week I'm really happy to have survived more internet outages to be able to send this DIY SSK out to you ... I hope it will be published in time for Tom to get it when he wakes up in Australia well ahead of the rest of us for his very early Sunday morning devotions!
Let's start with worship led by City Alight ...
Let's pray today
For the *Zim people (not their real name) of Western Asia
Received on Friday from Wycliffe bible Translators
Dear Simon,
I’m writing to ask you to pray for an urgent need.
There are 2.2 million Zam* people in West Asia, living in a place that is hostile to the gospel.
They currently have no Bible in their language, but the local translation team has recently been given a wonderful opportunity to get God’s word out through a film called The Covenant, which is based on the first five books of the Bible.
The script has been translated. The voice actor has been recruited. The team is ready.
But there is a problem.
Riva*, the lead Bible translator, has lived with her 16-year-old son as a refugee for nine years. Now, she and her son, and the voice actor (Spencer*), have all been threatened with deportation because of their faith.
Riva is going to see her lawyer today, Thursday, to lodge a new appeal. The lawyer says there is no reason not to do this, and it should buy time for another six to nine months. So that is good news, though there is not much chance of a positive outcome from the appeal. But we pray that this could happen, or that she gets an invitation from another country in the meantime.
Spencer and his wife moved to the country two years ago as asylum seekers, and have applied for refugee status. They have still not had an answer.
This film could have a huge impact. But if Riva and Spencer have to leave the country, the recording may be delayed indefinitely. Will you join us in asking God to provide for them, and protect the recording of this film?
Ways you can pray:
Pray for Riva’s appeal to be successful.
Pray for God to provide a place of sanctuary and safety for Riva and her son, and for Spencer and his wife.
Pray that Riva and Spencer will be able to record the dialogue for the film successfully.
Pray that God will use this film to change the hearts of the Zam people.
2. For churches on Sumatra Island in Indonesia
Mobs of Islamist militants are reported to have stopped Christians from worshipping in two cities on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island.
i) Pray about whether you might be able to help with this
ii) Pray that this will encourage people to engage with one another in mission in rural Wales, whether with us or with others active elsewhere in this area
iii) Pray that we will all be able to learn things that will help us serve the Lord better in rural Wales for having been involved in this effort
Lord and Father we thank you for the access we have into your presence by the precious blood of Christ, which has enabled us again today to pray around the world and back to a God Who can do anything, any where at any time.
May our prayers today be acceptable in your presence and powerful in your world, not because we are deserving but because of the merits of the Son in Whom you are well pleased.
We ask for Jesus' sake.
Amen.
Let's sing to the One Who can do more than we can even think or imagine
Click below for the Bible reading
Here's the video of today's sermon
Let's pray
We thank you lord that your Word so often comes to us in the time and at the point of our human need.
Help us to store up your Word in our hearts so that we can profit from it when our need grows most strong, and walk more closely with you for having found your way for us through the challenges we meet in this life.
Hold us close to you in dependent and joyful faith, we ask for Jesus' sake.
Amen.
Thanks for being with us here again today.
As ever, if we can pray for you or be of help please text or WhatsApp 07748 644958 or email HoWChaplain@gmail.com
If you are on the new social media service 'Threads', you can find our stuff on there now too! Look for HOWChaplainGmail and follow along.
Have a great week!
Simon.
(Also 'as ever' ... here's the offering bag! Thanks.)
