LEIGH BAPTIST CHURCH “MESSENGER” OCTOBER 2021
VERNON ST / CHURCH ST . LEIGH. WN7 1BH
Website : www.leighbaptistchurch.org.uk Contact: admin@leighbaptistchurch.org.uk
Pastoral Leader – Val Hulme ( Days Off Wed and Fridays)
email : pastoral.leader@leighbaptistchurch.org.uk TEL 07817142192
Check LBC website for updates and info also LBC FACEBOOK page
The Power of Prayer
As services in Church are gradually being resumed and people are meeting up again after a year and a half, we can give thanks to God for different ways in which He has helped us and for ways in which we have been able to keep in touch as a fellowship.
We especially say thank you to a small group of willing members who have enabled that to happen, including Val and Angie who have worked tirelessly to enable services to be held on You Tube, or Zoom, and on Face Book. We are also grateful to Jean, John and David who, with them have seen to making sure the church building is ready for use. Thank you also to all who have prayed for all those associated with our Church.
Prayer is so important in the life of the church. Jesus made that clear, as He regularly went to a quiet place to pray to His Father in Heaven. He even left us a pattern for prayer in what we call the Lord’s Prayer. Shortly before His arrest in the garden of Gethsemane he prayed for not only His Disciples, but also for those who would come after them. We can therefore be sure that He included all His followers who are in the world today.
The Old and New Testaments of the Bible tell us of those who spent time in prayer, such as Daniel who prayed three times a day at an open window even when there was an edict forbidding praying to anyone or anything, except to King Darius. This resulted in him being thrown into the lion’s den which would normally lead to certain death. But God saved His faithful servant, resulting in the king commanding everyone to worship Daniel’s God. (Daniel 6)
In the Psalms we see how David trusted in God, by his cries for help, and his prayers of anguish, praise and thanksgiving as he affirmed the help given to him by the Lord his God.
All the prophets were in constant touch with the Lord their God. They were therefore able to receive messages from him to pass on to the people, very often calling them to turn from worshipping other gods who were only idols, to trusting again in the Lord who had led them out of slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land, supplying their needs of food and water and saving them from their attackers on the journey and in the land ‘flowing with milk and honey’
In Acts 1:14 (NIV) we read how the Disciples ‘all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the Mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.’ It was while they were together that the Holy Spirit ‘came upon them’ and Peter stood up and spoke to the crowd of Jewish religious men ‘from every nation under Heaven’ who were living in Jerusalem at that time and explained that what had happened had been predicted by the prophet Joel. (Joel 2:28-32)
Paul wrote about prayer in his letters to the different churches, and to Timothy whom he said he thanked God for and remembered in his prayers night and day. (2Timothy 1:3. To the Philippian church Paul wrote, ‘I thank my God every time I think of you; --- every time I pray for you all, I pray with joy because of the way in which you have helped me in the work of the gospel.’ (chapter 1:3-5 GNV)
In his epistle James wrote about living the Christian life of faith, ending with the prayer of faith, saying that ‘the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.’ James 5:16 NIV. He therefore urges people to pray for the sick, and for those in any kind of trouble. In chapter 4:3 he warns that if we ask for the wrong things or with a wrong motive we will not receive our requests, so we need to be close to the Lord so that the Holy Spirit will prompt us to pray. I can remember wondering why I was praying for something or someone and finding out afterwards why those prayers were needed. James 4:8 says, ‘Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.’(NKJV)
For a church to grow and be effective in serving the Lord the same principals apply and prayer needs to precede every decision that is made.
Recently I read in the online Baptist Times of June 2019 about an Evangelism award given to the Pastor of the 3D Church in Estonia. He had been part of a group of young students who, in 2010 met together to pray about reaching their friends with the gospel. It is now a thriving Baptist church which has about a dozen congregations on different sites throughout Estonia and there are now more than 200 people who are committed to serving the Lord. I am particularly interested in this, having been to Estonia on a Baltic Cruise in 2006. We also visited Rostock in the former East Germany. So I was interested to read some years ago in another Christian paper that a group of people had met in Rostock to pray about planting a church in a district of 30,000 people where there was no church. A few years later the first service was held in the newly formed church. Those churches in Estonia and Rostock, which had been in the former communist block, were started because people felt God calling them to pray about reaching people in those areas with the gospel.
May we draw close to the Lord in faith and prayer, believing in His guidance by the Holy Spirit for His will to be done in our lives, in the church and also in the communities where we live.
‘Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. ----, be alert and always keep on praying for all God’s people,’ Ephesians 6:18 ‘PRAY WITHOUT CEASING.’ I Thessalonians 5:17
Pastoral Leader’s notes
Following discussion at the recent Church and Congregation meeting, we are changing the structure of our Sunday worship. We do want to live stream some of our services in order to continue to connect with those who have followed us online during lockdown. A suggestion made at the meeting, that we continue to record two services a month from Val’s living room until we have the necessary equipment to live stream successfully, was agreed. Therefore, we will continue with recorded services on YouTube and Facebook on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month, with the remaining Sundays being on-site, ie: in church. The 2nd Sunday of the month will be All-age worship, similar in style to the way we ran Messy Church and the Light and Christmas parties, but without the meal. They will include craft type activities for all, with Bible readings, songs and a short message.
The 4th Sunday, which will include communion, and any 5th Sunday, will be both on-site and on Zoom, to allow for those who are unable to be on-site to join with us. If you are unable to be in church, but would like to join us on Zoom, please let Val know (pastoral.leader@leighbaptistchurch.org.uk) so that she can send the link to you.
The first three services of the month will include more modern worship songs, whilst the fourth and any fifth services, will be more traditional, and will include the Sunday sermon provided by the NWBA.
Dates for your diary Sunday Services:
3rd and 17th October: Online service via YouTube or Facebook 3:15pm. (No on-site service).
10th October: On-site All-age worship 10:45am with activities, songs, Bible readings and a short message. This month we will be celebrating Harvest. We are collecting items such as tea/coffee/pasta/rice/tinned goods/sponge puddings/tinned rice/custard/both men and women’s toiletries and nappies to pass onto Atherton and Leigh Foodbank. If you are able to donate anything, please bring it along to the service. If you would like to donate, but know that you will be unable to come on the 10th, contact Val by email or phone, to arrange collection.
24th October: On-site/ & Zoom Communion Service 31stOctober: On-site/& Zoom worship.
Saturday 9th October: Coffee Morning Zoom 11:00 – 12:00. Starting in November, we will be launching our twice monthly Coffee+. Look out for more details in our November Messenger.
Thursday 21st October: Deacons’ Meeting 1:00pm
Saturday 23rd October: As we prepare for the launch of our Coffee+, and following the unexpected and lengthy closure of the church, we are holding a Church Housekeeping Day from 10:30am - 3:00pm. Come along to help us with the tidying up of equipment, papers, art/craft essentials, the kitchen and store-room, weeding, (particularly the area that can only be accessed by key holders) – in other words – whatever needs to be done. If you can come for the whole time, bring your own lunch. If you don’t think that you could do much in the way of tidying, but could make tea/coffee, then come along too –whatever you are able to do, your services will be much appreciated.
Our Pastoral Leader will be on annual leave from Monday 25th October – Sunday 31st October inclusive.
Teach me to pray Lord © Rev Phil Jump and John Weaver 2021
Teach me to pray Lord,
To do more than place before you my own concerns and expectations;
To seek help to accomplish more than what I have already determined;
To assume more than simply my definition of good
Are those to which you should comply.
Remind me that prayer is not an invitation for you to become involved in my agendas
So much as one that I might accept to align myself with your intent and purpose.
Help me to hear your voice amidst the noise of this day’s clamour;
To align my routines according to your ways;
To seek to see this world through the eyes of the one to whom all things belong.
Operation Christmas Child Shoebox National Collection Week: 15-22 November
We are unable to organize the usual collection of boxes at LBC, but there will be a SPECIAL OFFERING on SUNDAY, 14th NOVEMBER for those who would like to make a donation through church.
If you would like to PACK A SHOEBOX ON LINE, go to shoebox online.org.uk
Click on ; Add essentials - Shoebox Online – Samaritan’s Purse. Follow the instructions. Scroll to the top of the page to see the cost of £20., please mention you are part of the group from Leigh Baptist Church WN7
THANKS. After 40 plus years of supporting our children and young people through Sunday School, Followers and Youth Club, John Matthias has stepped down from his role in this work. During September's Communion Service, this was recognised as he was presented with a card and gift.
