Contact - The WHBC Occasional Newsletter
Contact is
published three times a year - Christmas, Easter and Harvest.
The Pastor's Letter is
published below.
Click on Snippets from Contact
for bits
and pieces from past editions.
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FROM THE PASTOR - HARVEST 2009 While ‘doing it myself’ this Summer I began to reflect upon what I was doing in the light of my understanding of God’s ‘doing it himself’. Having removed previous residents’ poorly constructed, built-in shelves I was in the process of ‘making good’ prior to applying paint when my reflection began. Allow me to share something of my journey. Firstly, God: he created and ‘[he] saw all that he had made and it was very good.’ (Gen. 1:31a) Lesson? Whatever I do, make a good job of it; better still, make a very good job of it. That must mean my attitude must be similar to God’s: he is love, all that he does is in love and with love, selfless love. Therefore, chores should no longer be tedious, tasks no longer thankless, when all are transformed into acts of love for the good of myself and for others present and future. Then, I remembered; God’s very good creation had been spoiled. From the earliest of days we, who are made in the image of God, have not acted with the Father’s heart and is reflected in all that we do - shoddy work and the need to ‘make good’. The need to be made good has been met by God’s love in and through the Lord Jesus. Re-creation is made possible by trusting in him. However, elements of earlier poor workmanship remain and deconstruction is carried on as reconstruction begins. The old disappears as the new appears. God’s love flows. As I remove poor work, fill holes, smooth the rough places, and prepare surfaces for fresh paint, my love of God seems to increase, my work becomes an expression of love, even an act of worship. God is in the process of ‘making good’, perhaps, even ‘making very good’. It is a comfort to know that God the Father is always at his work (John 5:17), always proving his love, the evidence of which is in our celebrating the harvest and our church anniversary. May we reflect God’s love in all we do at all times and, as he makes us good, so he will begin to do his work in others – making them good.
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FROM THE PASTOR - EASTER 2009 When I read, “As I walked Out One Midsummer Morning” by Laurie Lee many years ago, I was hooked on Lee as a brilliant writer. One of his books currently beside my bed is “I Can’t Stay Long”, a collection of short essays perfect for those moments before my head hits the pillow. One of the essays is about appetite, not ‘just the lust for food, but any condition of unsatisfied desire.’ Laurie Lee closes his essay with the following observation, ‘Too much of anything – too much music, entertainment, happy snacks, or time spent with one’s friends, creates a kind of impotence of living by which we can no longer hear, or taste, or see, or love, or remember. Life is short and precious, and appetite is one of its guardians, and loss of appetite is a sort of death. So if we are to enjoy this short life we should respect the divinity of appetite, and keep it eager and not too blunted. ‘It is a long time now since I knew that acute moment of bliss that comes from putting parched lips to a cup of cold water. The springs are still there to be enjoyed – all one needs is the original thirst.’ Before I close my eyes for sleep I console myself with the affirmative answer to the question, “Do I still have my original thirst for Jesus?”
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FROM THE PASTOR - CHRISTMAS 2008 Dear Friends and Neighbours, Please, receive our Christmas greeting to you and yours. Christmas is the Season of Peace and Goodwill. The word Christmas is from the Old English December 25 is the day when Christians in the Western Church celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, who is described in the Holy Bible as The Prince of Peace. Hence, Christmas may be truly described as The Peace Festival, The Festival of Peace. My prayer is that you experience Peace in In Christian love, Allan
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FROM THE PASTOR - HARVEST 2008 It is September and I am listening to Christmas Carols as I reflect upon the past year. Change! We have all been affected by significant change at WHBC: we have the responsibility that comes with acquiring the land around our buildings; we have suffered the loss of a member; we have welcomed new friends. All of us have experienced personal sorrow and personal joy, loss and gain, pleasure and pain, as well as seeming success and/or seeming failure. Our circumstances and our relationships have changed. But has anything really changed? Reflection brings into sharper focus a realisation that preceding years were not very different from the last twelve months. The writer of Ecclesiastes appears to have got it right with his statement that there is nothing new on this earth; “Year after year it’s the same old thing.” Read the first chapter and you’ll see what I mean. Consider the recent weather. I guarantee that had it been sunny, hot and dry for the past couple of months we would complain just as much as we have been complaining about the dreariest summer on record. Why? Because human nature has not changed since the beginning! Consider the state of the world. Christians in India are suffering terrible persecution unchanged from early days of the Church. Everywhere is the same, even here. Here? You must have an inkling of the so-called art exhibition in Gateshead! The statue of Jesus causes offence to Christians. Had the ‘artist’ portrayed Islam’s Prophet or Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, in the same way there would be a public outcry, even riots in the streets. It is persecution at a different level from the beheading of Christians in India, which only qualified for a short reference on one of the International News pages in my newspaper and nothing on national radio or television news. For Christians nothing changes. We have been warned. Read John 15 from verse 18. We must prepare to suffer for our faith. Christmas Carols remind us of the One who came to be with His people at all times and in all our experiences. Hold on to the most encouraging statement of all, “I have chosen you.”
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FROM THE PASTOR - CHRISTMAS 2007 Merry Christmas! Some people prefer ‘Happy Christmas’! Whichever you prefer, have a good time celebrating the birth of Christ; enjoy yourself. My dictionary defines Christmas as the festival of Christ’s birth, celebrated on 25 December and devoted especially to family reunion and merry-making. A festival is a feast day, a celebration. Festivity is a noun meaning gaiety and rejoicing. Celebrate, to perform publicly and duly (religious ceremony, etc.); officiate at (Eucharist); observe (festival), honour, with rites, festivities, etc; praise widely, extol. Here’s a little history – Oliver Cromwell and the Long Parliament - 1642-60. In the early 1640s, as power passed from Charles I, parliament began the process of clamping down on the celebration of Christmas. In January 1645 a group of ministers appointed by parliament produced a new Directory of Public Worship, which set out a new church organisation and new forms of worship to be adopted and followed in England and Wales. Sundays were to be strictly observed as holy days, for the worship of God, but that there were to be no other holy days – ‘festival days, vulgarly called Holy Days, having no warrant in the Word of God, are not to be continued’. In June 1647 the Long Parliament abolished the feasts of Christmas, Easter and Whitsun. During the 1650s parliamentary legislation made it illegal to hold or attend a special Christmas church service. Shops and markets were ordered to stay open. At the Restoration not only the Directory of Public Worship but also all the other legislation of the period 1642-60 was declared null and void and swept away. Both the religious and the secular elements of the full Twelve Days of Christmas were once again celebrated openly, in public and with renewed exuberance and wide popular support. The attack on Christmas failed. There are those who, today, try to abolish Christmas. Unlike Cromwell’s Biblically and theologically barren ‘holy’ cronies, today’s enemies of Christmas are the so-called ‘politically correct’, who are afraid that a Christian festival will upset the followers of other faiths and of no faith. Have a good time celebrating the birth of Christ; enjoy yourself. Celebrate the Feast Day of Christ’s birth! Happy Christmas! Merry Christmas!
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FROM THE PASTOR -
HARVEST 2007 From the Pastor ‘Our church web-pages includes a brief history of our church, the first paragraphs of which are as follows: A Christian mission work was initiated in 1877 in a cottage at Hawley's Corner by Miss Thorneycroft, the daughter of a local farmer, who was concerned that there was no place of worship within two miles of South Street. Ten years later, on 14 July, 1887, Brasted Baptist Church was informed that the Thorneycroft family was leaving the area and requested that Brasted Baptist Church adopt the responsibility for the work of the Hawley's Corner Mission. In September 1887 a unanimous resolution was carried, "That the Mission Work carried on in the cottage at Hawley's Corner now, become, by request of Miss Thorneycroft and the friends worshipping there, a branch of Christian work carried on by Brasted Baptist Church." "The opening meeting was a Harvest Thanksgiving Service held on Wednesday, 12 October, 1887. This was followed by Tea and a Public Meeting when officers were appointed as Secretary, Treasurer and Sunday School Superintendent. Supply preachers served the worshipping community and met with increasing success." In 1897 the lease on the cottage at Hawley's Corner expired and a new plot of land was purchased next to South Street Farm for £45 and arrangements made to erect a new hall. The new Chapel was opened on 8 October, 1900, free of debt at a cost of £204 15s 9d.’ So, a Christian mission was started here 130 years ago and 10 years later it had grown into a thriving fellowship of believers. It is from that date, 1887, 120 years ago at a Harvest Thanksgiving Service, that a church was formally recognised and leaders appointed. We celebrate with gratitude Harvest and 120 years of faithful service to our Triune God, who continues to work out His purposes at Westerham Hill. With His enabling and encouragement we will endeavour to continue to follow His calling and His leading until He comes.
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FROM THE PASTOR - EASTER 2007 Do you remember the Bible Study programme I planned for last September? It started on the 5th and ended on the 31st October – eight studies of (that fearsome book) the Book of Revelation to be completed on eight Tuesday evenings. We finally completed the study on 13 February! The many extra weeks of study were thoroughly worthwhile and I was tempted to use the ancient proverb Man proposes, God disposes as an excuse for my poor planning. (Yes, we can ill-use the Bible.) I wonder how many know from where that proverb comes. Often it is used to describe a natural occurrence that prevents someone doing something he or she has planned; a day at the seaside spoiled by the weather, an unexpected visitor, or a tsunami. The Royal Holloway Collection has Sir Edwin H Landseer’s dramatic painting Man Proposes, God Disposes (1877), which “was based on the real incident of the loss of Sir John Franklin's expedition to find a North-West Passage in 1845. Landseer's painting illustrates the futility of human effort in the face of the destructive forces of nature. Two polar bears, their fierce and brutal natures uncompromisingly portrayed, tear up the remnants of the expedition.” (from the Collection’s archive) Thomas à Kempis (1379 or 1380–1471) quotes it in his The Imitation of Christ, Book i. Chap. 19. I find it remarkable that it is also in the Hindu holy book Bhagavad Gita - Chapter V: Action In Krishna Consciousness Text 15 and used by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, in a letter to his friend Janardana dated Wednesday, 7 February, 1968 to validate their teaching programme of Krishna Consciousness. He wrote, “Now, man proposes, God disposes. I do not know what is Krishna's desire, but I have chalked out my program like this. Pray to Krishna that He may give me strength to render some service to you and to the humanity at large.” “Man proposes, God disposes” is explained in the simple words “People can make plans; God determines how things will turn out.” It is, of course, from the ancient writings found in the Old Testament’s Book of Proverbs, “A man’s heart deviseth his way; but the Lord directeth his steps.” (16:9) I will revisit The Book of The Revelation again and again because, for me, it is no longer fearsome. We may even visit it in future sermons! We can ill-use the Bible. We can use the ancient proverb as an excuse to make no plans whatsoever and become wholly fatalistic with a “what will be will be” attitude. Our attitude to one another and to ourselves should be as Christ’s, we read in Philippians. A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami has the right attitude but the wrong God. We may use his words as we consider one another, edited of course, “Now, man proposes, God disposes. I do not know what is Christ’s desire (for my life or yours), but I have chalked out my programme like this: pray to Him that He may give me strength to render some service to you and to the humanity at large.” Christians know that service is rooted in His sacrificial and redeeming Easter love.
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FROM THE PASTOR - CHRISTMAS 2006 A most useful book in my library is ‘Jewish Holy Days – their prophetic and Christian significance’ by Coulson Shepherd. In his preface he writes, ‘The holidays in Jewry are not only historic, but prophetic and very definitely point to Israel’s Messiah. “These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons” (Leviticus 23:4).’ It is interesting to note the meaning of the Hebrew word translated “feast.” The root idea of the word carries the thought of “to keep an appointment.” God made appointments with His people to meet them at certain times. He told them to come to Him and gave the exact days when they should come and how these special days were to be observed. When we, Jews or Gentiles, keep our appointment with God, we really feast with Him. Christmas is the Feast of the Christ, the Messiah. Christmas is when we celebrate the fulfilment of prophecy in the birth of Jesus. It is our annual appointment to feast with God. The Foreword to the above book is provided by Clarence E Mason Jr. and has, “We resent the desecration of these days by the greedy encroachment of commercialism.” Of course we do. However, everything done to celebrate this most important event in the history of the world witnesses to the birth of the one and only Saviour of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ. Rather than being filled with resentment it would be better to take every opportunity to speak up for our faith. Perhaps this Christmas we should all make an effort to wear the symbol of our faith as well. Enjoy a truly happy feast with our Triune God.
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FROM THE PASTOR - HARVEST 2006 Have you ever defined ‘ a year’? My trusted dictionary tells me that a year is the ‘time occupied by the earth in one revolution round the sun. That time was measured as 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds when my dictionary went to press in 1984. It may be different today! Our calendar year begins on January 1 and ends on December 31, from midnight to midnight. The UK fiscal year is from April 1 to March 31. The Church Year begins with Advent Sunday, 3 December 2006, so we are coming to the end of the church year. Father Christmas works on a different calendar and you can decide for yourself whether December 25 is the first day of his year or the last. WHBC works to a different calendar; anniversary to anniversary, harvest festival to harvest festival. Our church year ends on the last day of September every year, so the first Sunday in October is a celebration of a new year, a new start; an expectation of something wonderful to come. Years pass very quickly and the time is swiftly approaching when time as we know it will cease to be. The Bible tells us that we can expect something wonderful when this age comes to an end and that ‘something wonderful’ will be experienced only by those who know Jesus as Saviour and Lord. Putting one’s trust in Jesus now, in this age, guarantees that something wonderful can be experienced right now, every day, even before time runs out. Rather than defining ‘a year’ define ‘my present and future life’. God bless you.
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FROM THE PASTOR - EASTER 2006 Some of you may remember my 1996 Easter message about my “happy knack of stating the obvious”. Perhaps my mention of the friend in Mozambique stating something obvious in a letter which we received will jog your memory. ‘There is no such thing as a flee-bite.’ The thrust of the message was that ‘the obvious needs to be stated from time to time to focus our attention or we forget’. From Contact, Easter 1996: ‘The fundamentals of our Christian belief can so easily be forgotten as we personally struggle with so many daily burdens, which take up so much of our time and weary us. Our attention is drawn, too often, to the burden and away from the one who says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28) We need to be regular in worship, regular at the Communion table, to hear again and again the obvious words of comfort and encouragement lest we forget.’ Chapter 17 of the Gospel of John is, to my mind, an obvious passage for regular study and reflection. It is the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus in which he prays for himself, for his disciples and also for us. “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” Our complete unity is his desire; complete unity with God and with all Christians everywhere. What does disunity in the Church tell the world? Ephesians 4:3 has, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” It is incumbent upon us to warn one another time and time again to listen to Jesus at prayer, to reflect upon his words, and to act upon them. Happy witnessing!
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FROM THE PASTOR - CHRISTMAS 2005 December is the month that encourages me to think about presents. A couple of questions – What shall I give? and What will I receive? (not necessarily in that order!). [Notice that references to ‘me’ and ‘I’ indicate my natural inclination towards selfishness. It must be the ‘old man’.] If I have difficulty resolving the first question, I worry. As the days approaching Christmas Day become fewer and fewer, worry increases: worry > tension > short temper > unrighteous anger > aggression > transgression > sin. The second question may tempt me to consider my desires rather than my needs and, when I open my presents… disappointment > indignation > withdrawal of affection > breakdown of relationship > indigestion! Is that really me?
Attached to a recently received birthday card was a badge, which I wear around the house, reminding me that I have everything. As a Christian, a member of The Family, that must be true. The wonder of Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ; Father God’s gift of himself in the body of the Child Jesus. The One who created everything has offered us everything by our putting our trust in Jesus, the only Saviour. All we have belongs to God and that means we are called to the responsible stewardship of our lives - God being completely in control – resulting in our being free from worry. We can, therefore, receive every Christmas gift with joy and gratitude. Now, what should I give to…? Enjoy a worry-free Christmas and a worry-free New Year.
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FROM THE PASTOR - HARVEST 2005
‘God is good! We sing
and shout it,’ go the words of a popular song. He is good. You will
recall his words to a rich young man in response to his question,
“Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “There is only
One who is good,” he said.
Whatever happens to us we must never lose sight of the fact that God is good. Earthquake, typhoon, hurricane, flood, war, acts of terrorism—all those things that affect us—cannot and must not be blamed upon the One who loves us, for He is good. He is the “only One who is good”. There is no doubt that bereavement is horrid. Recently, Iris and I have experienced grief once again following the death of her mother. Her passing marks the end of another generation in our family and we have realised that our generation will be the next to move on. Mam’s loss is the main source of our grief; the truth of our present status could well be another. During Family Worship on the first Sunday in September I mentioned the fears raised by scientists about the effects of global warming causing widespread flooding through melting glaciers followed by a huge shortage of drinking water in about fifty years from now and the economic fallout. Huge reasons for worry in addition to grief for millions of people in Asia. But the perfections of God remain unchanged and unchanging. He is good. The thrust of the message was essentially simple and summed-up in this year’s motto, “The only thing that matters is faith expressing itself in love.” We are not to lose faith in the only One who is good, whatever our grief or fear. We are called to express our faith in love. That must mean, surely, taking responsibility for the present and for the future. Who knows what may be achieved when we allow God to guide us? Will our children and grandchildren become those who will, with God’s help, empower those of their generations to survive in a new world with all its challenges? That love enables us to love one another, to carry one another’s burdens, to share the grief. Thank you for your support during our time of bereavement, for your prayers and your cards of sympathy. Your faith has been expressed in love.
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FROM THE PASTOR - EASTER 2005 The Rt. Rev. Dr. S. Tilewa Johnson, Bishop of Gambia and Dean of the Province of West Africa in his Easter Message two years ago said that “the Feast of the Resurrection – or Easter Day – is the backbone of the Christian faith. The Easter Message is one of “liberation”, “victory”, “hope” and “renewal”.” How true! Easter is the season when we celebrate God’s plan of salvation through Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Saviour of the world. Because of the events of Good Friday and Easter Day, we can receive salvation from sin, have the living hope of eternal life and share in God’s glory. When we put our trust in Jesus and accept Him as Saviour and Lord, then we are enabled by the Holy Spirit to appreciate what liberation, victory, hope and renewal means: freedom from the consequences of sin in our lives, victory over sin and the devil, a hope in our hearts that gives us peace when the going is tough and a new life. We become brand new people, who have the mind of Christ; the way we perceive the world around us is from heaven’s perspective of compassion – very different from our former selfishness. Through our ‘renewal’ we are empowered to respond to need in ways that surprise and encourage us. [As an example we need only to reflect upon our rapid meeting of need in Asia following the tsunami last Boxing Day.] God knows the needs of our world better than we do and he most certainly knows our personal needs. Our need is to remain open to His will so that He will direct our lives and our prayers and our responses wherever and whenever people are in need. This Easter celebrate with me our liberty, our
victory, our hope and our renewal through our Lord Jesus, who died, was
raised and lives in us for His glory. May the joy and peace of our risen
Lord be yours this Easter,
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FROM THE PASTOR - CHRISTMAS 2004 It has been a busy year and our Church Annual Meeting made that very clear indeed. We have moved through times of sorrow as well as rejoicing and we have proven again that, "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, who call upon Him in truth." Iris and I travelled to Nepal at the beginning of May and returned in early June. It was something we had wanted to do for a long time. During early 1977 we were called to service in Nepal and, following the testing of that call, it was recognised by our church, Perry Rise Baptist Church, Forest Hill, and then the Baptist Missionary Society. From September 1978 we were full-time missionaries studying at Spurgeon’s College and then, in January 1979, learning the Nepali Language in Kathmandu. We returned in 1985. In May this year we found that the language had been well learned (well taught!), for we found that we were very fluent as soon as our ’plane’s tyres hit the tarmac at Tribuvan International Airport, Kathmandu. We were there to celebrate 50 years of Christian witness through the United Mission to Nepal. Our meeting old friends and former colleagues was a great joy and very informative; we learned first hand about the legal changes with which the UMN must comply to continue serving the people of Nepal in Christ’s name by Word and Deed. Tej Jirel, the Executive Director of the Nepal Bible Society, is known to those who were able to hear him speak at a mid-week meeting during November last year, 2003, and the leaders of our local churches, with whom he shared his testimony at our fraternal meeting the following morning. Tej and Preeya greet us this Christmas with Christ’s love. Our Christian-life experiences, the people in whom Christ dwells and who have drawn near to us, conspire to urge us on to maturity in the One who is our Saviour and Our Lord. During this Season of Joy, take time to recall and reflect upon those positive influences that the Lord Jesus has encouraged to encourage each one of us in our walk of faith. Then, encourage others!
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FROM THE PASTOR - HARVEST 2004 Food is important. Without food we cannot live. (I have been told that I have the happy knack of stating the obvious!.) Those who live in parts of the world that cannot produce sufficient food to feed themselves know far more intimately than we how important food is. Do I need to mention the Sudan? The Bible often uses bread to represent food. The Old Testament book Deuteronomy has, "Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." [Deut 8:3b] It is a passage quoted in Matthew 4:4. Recently we heard sermons from John's Gospel where Jesus states that he is the bread of life. I remember when I first heard that the meaning of Bethlehem is 'the house of bread' or 'the bake-house'. The smell of freshly baked bread is irresistible. Chemically produced baked bread aromas have been used to draw people into supermarkets, I understand. So, with Jesus being Living Bread, I believe that we need to present him as fresh bread, sweetly smelling, an irresistible aroma. Let's make some bread. John 6:35, Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." This is food for thought. I was once confronted with the idea that nobody need be physically hungry if everybody becomes a Christian. It is a theology which is very attractive. Feed spiritual food and physical food becomes available. It certainly fits with Matthew 6 and seeking first God's kingdom and his righteousness and, 'all these things will be given to you as well'. During our 118th year let us bring
the sweet aroma of fresh bread, Jesus, to our friends, families, and all
with whom we come in contact, so that he will be irresistible. |
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A recent sermon on Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 included the following by J V McGee from his Thru The Bible commentary:
“Isaiah enlarges
upon his first question by asking further, “To whom is the [bared] arm
of the Lord revealed?” “Bared arm” means that God has rolled up His
sleeve, symbolic of a tremendous undertaking. When God created the
heavens and the earth, it is suggested that it is merely His
fingerwork. For instance, Psalm 19:1—“The heavens declare the glory
of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork.” That word handiwork
is literally “fingerwork.” Dr. T. DeWitt Talmage used to say that God
created the physical universe without half trying. When God created the
heavens and the earth, it was without effort. He merely spoke
them into existence. When He rested on the seventh day, He wasn’t tired;
He had just finished everything; it was completed. But when God redeemed
man, it required His “bared arm,” for salvation was His greatest
undertaking. One of the objections offered to God’s salvation is that it
is free. If Christ’s Passion does not drive each one of us to our knees in contrition and with a broken spirit, we have not appreciated the price he paid. Here is the Isaiah passage. Read and reflect.
The Holy Bible : New
International Version. 1984; Published in electronic
form by Logos Research Systems, 1996 (electronic edition.)
(Is 52:13-53:13). London: Hodder & Stoughton.
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FROM THE PASTOR - CHRISTMAS 2003 Paul Beasley-Murray in his Faith and
Festivity has helpful suggestions for preaching through Advent (p.
135). One of his suggestions is a series on Light with the following
headings and texts: Our Advent theme is Light but the sermon headings
and the texts are different. However, it is the same Light. |
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FROM THE PASTOR -
HARVEST 2003 Harvest and our church anniversary offer us an opportunity to reflect upon the outcome of hard work - the culmination of disciplined graft followed by patient hopefulness. Soil is prepared long before seed is sown and then the farmer watches and waits, for the harvest depends upon God’s grace. Writing to the Corinthians regarding this same principle, while chastising them for their sectarianism, Paul has, " I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase." [1 Cor. 3:6]
We sing that ‘prayer is the soul’s sincere desire', and that it ‘is the Christian’s vital breath, the Christian’s native air'. True? How ‘clear-minded and self-controlled are you so that you can pray’? 'The harvest truly is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest.' [Matt. 9:38] Outcome? You are called as one of them, called to work, called to be patient.
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FROM THE PASTOR - EASTER 2003 My Easter reflections centre upon the Cross - on that Good Friday when Jesus was killed, the moment he was taken down for burial, and what happened to it afterwards. Images of a simple Cross sometimes depict the Saviour firmly fixed to it or it is bare. To get Jesus down from the Cross must have been very difficult -more difficult, perhaps, than fixing him to it. Reflect with me: Jesus would have been nailed to the Cross while it was laid out on the ground with its foot at the edge of the hole dug in preparation for it. Then the Cross would have been manhandled upright and dropped in the hole where it would have been fixed upright in exactly the same way fence-posts are fixed today. Now get him down. Would the Cross have remained intact? Who cares? Its work was finished as was the work of the Son of Man, our Saviour. The Cross is a powerful symbol of the redemptive work of Jesus; the Cross itself has no meaning apart from him. We recognise that fact when we see it worn as a piece of decorative jewellery rather than as a statement of faith in the One who forgives sinners. Did you know that there are more references in the New Testament to his resurrection than to his death? A bare cross witnesses to the Resurrection of Jesus. Paul reminds us in Romans 6 that when we put our trust in Jesus he not only forgives our sin but, ‘We died to sin;’ [so] ‘how can we live in it any longer?’ He goes on, ’...don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.’ Hence, our theme this Easter is the outcome of Christ’s work on the Cross:
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FROM THE PASTOR -
CHRISTMAS 2002 [This year the last page of the Newsletter was given to the Pastor rather than the first.] The last page and the last word!
Getting in the last word is something we all desire… Christmas is all about the last
word. I hope that you have enjoyed the
illusions printed on some of the pages The New Testament writings prove
that, from the beginning, the Church has maintained My dictionary has for illusion
‘n. deception, delusion; (instance of) sense-perception To test whether someone is truly
born again use 1 John 4:2 f.
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FROM THE PASTOR - HARVEST 2002 For the past two years our Christmas offerings have been shared with the Yala Urban Health Programme in Nepal. Christine Preston keeps us informed with her annual report and the latest arrived on the day that I had chosen to write this article. How is that for timeliness? Christine writes, 'Please, share the enclosed [Annual Report] with all at Westerham Hill B.C. to help them see how their gift is making a difference.' she goes on, 'It is a great pleasure and privilege to be writing again to express our appreciation to you for your continuing commitment to the work of the programme.' 'We covet your prayers for this nation as it prepares for parliamentary elections in November. The date for the local government elections is still undecided. This makes it very difficult for our partner who is the local government. We give thanks for the cooperation and support we receive.' Copies of the report are available for study and personal encouragement. It was a thrill, while attending the Baptist Assembly, to learn that the BMS/Operation Agri Harvest Appeal this year is for the Yala Urban Health Programme - we were ahead of the game... Supporting Christian Mission by giving money is laudable but not sufficient. Prayer is paramount. Intelligent prayer is powerful, hence, the need to read current missionary publications as a primary aid to prayer. The Baptist Missionary Society's magazine is filled with information leading readers to prayer. As Christine points out in her report, we need to pray not only for people to find the Saviour but also for governments, those in authority, those who influence the work of those called to witness through their actions as well as their words. It is, after all, Biblical...
May our intelligent prayers accompany our giving this harvest-time. |
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FROM THE PASTOR -
EASTER 2002 My Easter reflections are coloured
by my memories of times past. Then there was the sunrise service
on a Bermuda beach on a cloudy Easter Sunday. Another sunrise service on a
hillside in Nepal found us dressed much more warmly than The memories are of collective
joyful worship; community in Christ. We remembered together Easter reflections include the Good Friday
meditation, the celebration of Communion, |
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FROM THE PASTOR - CHRISTMAS 2001 Have you heard people say that
nothing is black and white anymore? Certainly, when I look in the
mirror, my hair has changed from the dense blackness of childhood What are people really saying? Is there no right
and wrong, truth and untruth, justice and injustice, The Bible states in brilliant
colour that there are absolutes and we ‘grey’ them at our
peril. In December the Church celebrates
Advent (from the Latin verb adventio meaning, ‘I draw near’). We celebrate at Christmas the true
truth that God gave us Jesus, his Gift of Love. Will we hear Gospel truth again? Absolutely!
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FROM THE PASTOR - HARVEST 2001 On Tuesday, 11th September, 2001, I returned home from a lunch-time meeting with the ministers of our local cluster of Baptist Churches, and switched on the television. Every station was broadcasting live from New York and, minutes later, I watched the second tower of The World Trade Centre collapse. To attempt to describe my immediate feelings and thoughts would not be possible. Throughout that afternoon, as the horror unfolded, I realised that the events of that day would impact the whole world, and the words of a hymn leapt into my mind— ‘Everything changes but God changes not!’ As I reflected upon the words, I was reminded of Lord Tonypandy speaking at my college when he was a youngish member of parliament. The Methodist preacher dwelt upon the ‘spleandours three’ which proceed from God—Goodness, Truth and Beauty. Those who were in any way party to the Day of Infamy can have no regard for Goodness, Truth or Beauty. During subsequent days, it has become abundantly clear that everything has changed: at government level there are new political alliances, there is a resolve to wipe out terrorism, and war has become a probability; for everyone travelling from country to country will become more difficult, and there will be a growing awareness of our personal and corporate vulnerability. How should I respond? As someone who has tasted the grace of God in Jesus Christ, Saviour and Lord. What does that mean? A helpful Scripture is Ephesians 4:26,27 "In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down when you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." So, somehow, any sense of outrage
I may feel must not force me into actions which are not within the will
of God. All I have to remember is, 'Everything changes but God changes not!'
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FROM THE PASTOR - EASTER 2001 Spring has come. The long cold-wet winter with its
short days and long nights is over. More daylight hours and sunshine
lifts the spirit. There is the promise of something better in the air.
Sadly, this Spring, for many in our country there is little in their
experience to lift their spirits; foot and mouth disease, disappointed
politicians, Christian Radio applicants, those living in flood-prone
areas, teachers, rail enthusiasts and professionals, refugees, and so
on, and so on. There are many for whom there is little hope of relief
from their anxieties in the near future or even the more distant Summer
and Autumn. Take the words of the song seriously and
apply the Biblical principle,
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