LEIGH BAPTIST CHURCH “MESSENGER” JUNE 2020
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.
Isaiah 52: 7 - 10
In a book of favourite Bible verses I came across these verses from Isaiah 52. It is well worth reading I find it an inspiration.
Verse 7 begins with, “How beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of them that bring good news.” We also sing a hymn based on that passage of Scripture. It has the chorus “Our God reigns.”
I love to hear those words, partly because I love to picture the mountains which remind me of holidays in Scotland and Wales. Also, I think of looking up to the hills from the kitchen window where we lived in Barnoldswick.
But more importantly than those memories, I think of the work of the Missionary Aviation Fellowship, known as MAF, which, as a Church, we supported for many years. As well as taking material help, MAF pilots do indeed enable the good news of the gospel to be taken to remote areas in various countries, many of them having to fly over the mountains. Many people rely upon them and must rejoice when they see those planes landing near their villages.
I am reading a book in which an MAF pilot tells of his experiences over many years from the 1960s to the 1980s, mostly in the mountainous areas of Papua New Guinea. As a pilot of a light aircraft, he flew missionaries, medics, supplies of various kinds, people with medical emergencies and other needs, either to or from the remote areas. Landing strips were made in clearings in forests and were only just big enough for the aircraft to land. Some were several thousand feet above sea level, or even on the side of a valley with ‘sheer rock faces and jagged mountain peaks’ which could be 12,000 or 13,000 feet high. The weather was extremely unpredictable and could change from being clear to thick cloud in a few minutes, making many journeys hazardous. Roger Young tells of times when in desperation he asked God to help him and a short time later there would be a break in the cloud to enable him to see enough to land or continue the journey to his destination; too precise to be a coincidence. His prayer had been answered.
This made me think we must make an effort to continue to pray regularly for the work of MAF in this day and age and for the skill and the safety of their pilots.
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of them that bring good news.”
In this time of lockdown we have the opportunity of spending time drawing closer to the Lord in prayer, praise and intercession. So let us pray for those (especially those we know of) who take the Good News of Salvation, by word or deed, to people in various parts of the World, including the work of MAF. For more info: visit www.maf.org
Please remember BMS workers, especially those who are unable to travel either home from, or back to where they work because of present travel restrictions.
There are still atrocities in Nigeria. Please pray for K and D, and their family and friends.
Many people are helping refugees and homeless people in volatile areas. Please pray for their safety.
Please continue to pray 1) for our Church Pastoral Leader who is working hard to keep us together; 2) for everyone we know from Church, and for the churches we know locally and in the NW Baptist Association.
Kathie Williams
Here’s a new coronavirus prayer from our friend and former Minister Rev Nick Fawcett: to help support and encourage during the continuing crisis. (with permission)
In our need, Lord, be our provider.
In our fear, be our encourager.
In our anxiety, be our reassurer.
In our weariness, be our invigorator.
In our doubt, be our redeemer.
In our tears, be our comforter.
In our dismay, be our uplifter.
In our sickness, be our healer.
In our brokenness, be our restorer.
In our isolation, be our visitor.
In our weakness, be our supporter.
In our darkness, be our illuminator.
In our hopelessness, be our renewer.
In whatever we face, Lord, whatever we endure,
help us to hold as fast to you –our all in all –
as you hold fast to us AMEN.