Welcome to the last DIY Sunday Service Kit before we take a short summer break.
The last six months have involved a great deal of work behind the scenes as we've been dealing with strong pastoral challenges, the Battle for the Station Café and speaking at one conference then forging the foundations for running one of our own in the Spring.
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.)
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