A delightful in-house meeting this week as we came together to share our stories from Christmases past and to bring our Christmas cards to each other.  We were grateful to John who acted as the postman, sorting and personally delivering the cards – thank you John!

Sue brought along a nativity scene puzzle for us to complete – only 50 pieces, until we found that one was missing! Sue had deliberately hidden the piece in her pocket and of course it was the piece depicting the baby Jesus in the manger! Sue commented that for the most part, the majority of people leave Jesus out of Christmas – how sad and how thought provoking!

It was good to be together in a more relaxed setting, hearing about our friends’ memories of past Christmases ably led by Sue who encouraged all to contribute in some way. We sang, In the Bleak Mid Winter, While Shepherd’s Watched (Sweet Bells) and O Little Town of Bethlehem.

A cup of tea and a mince pie to close our time was most welcome and we look forward to next week with our Carols, Candles and Cake, our final meeting of the year.

Please do consider coming along to join us – we can assure you of a very warm welcome.

The first of our festive afternoons when we welcomed back, Tom, Rosemary and Mike from Seaford Baptist Church to delight us with some Christmassy music, and a short message from Rosemary to help us prepare for Christmas.

What a lovely afternoon we all had, plus the opportunity of joining in with the singing. 

Rosemary’ s message was entitled, ‘bitter and sweet, yet God’ and Rosemary posed the question, “What would we look for in the mother of God?” We would probably think about worldly attributes and yet God’s expectations are way beyond ours! Mary was humble and modest, not at all arrogant or proud. She knew the scriptures and God was at the heart of everything she did. And because of that, Mary found favour with God and was used to bring about God’s purposes.

Although Mary questioned the angel’s message in Luke 1 v 28-33, she believed and was able to respond, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said.” ( Luke 1 v 38). Mary accepted God’s will for her life which would be bitter and sweet.

Do we always turn to God in every circumstance? Rosemary encouraged us to follow Mary’s example.  

The team then sang that beautiful song by Graham Kendrick – Thorns in the straw – the chorus of which reads:

And did she see there
In the straw by his head a thorn
And did she smell myrrh
In the air on that starry night
And did she hear angels sing
Not so far away
Till at last the sun rose blood-red
In the morning sky

These words remind us of the real message of Christmas – that Jesus, God’s Son, came as a baby to die on the cross for the sins of humankind that we might be reconciled to God and have eternal life.  

We enjoyed tea and homemade mince pies and the opportunity to share together.  What a great start to our Christmas countdown!

What an enjoyable afternoon we had at Thursday Fellowship this week! It was an opportunity to relax together and make some Christmas decorations guided expertly by Lis.

We do so enjoy these craft sessions and even those of us who admit we are not very creative or very good at this sort of thing, had a go and were pleased with their efforts.

Thank you Lis for all of your hard work in preparing the different activities.

On Thursday 13 November we welcomed back our friend Connie Croly as our speaker. Connie’s talk was entitled “Moving On”. Connie reminded us that this week we commemorated Remembrance Day, giving thanks for the sacrifice made by so many to defend our freedom. We too are called to fight – to wage war against darkness and the evils in our society.

The people of God in the Old Testament knew a great deal about war, and the trumpet sounded to call them to “move on”. Christians too need to be moving forward, not backward-looking or stuck in the past.

• Are we moving on in the power of the Holy Spirit? God has promised the strength and guidance of the Holy Spirit to all who ask.
• Are we moving on in believing prayer? We need to connect with God’s power in prayer, to recharge our spiritual batteries.
• Are we moving on in our commitment to share God’s good news whenever an opportunity arises?

Connie shared some examples from her own life of chance encounters which have led to interesting conversations about the Kingdom of Heaven.

We had our annual visit from Gillian Carr of Books Alive.  Gillian was accompanied by Amanda who will be taking over as Manager of the Christian bookshop in the new year.

Once again, Gillian brought a lovely selection of books, Bibles, Christmas cards, calendars, diaries and gift ideas for members to stock up in preparation for Christmas.

Gillian’s last message to us was based around Jeremiah 29 v 4-14, focussing on that well know verse, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. Gillian said that this is the verse that people most enquire about and often buy cards, bookmarks, coasters etc to give to others.  But it is important not to take this verse in isolation.  It is always best to read the surrounding verses to get a sense of what the context is.

Gillian shared that in the Jeremiah passage, those who had been carried off into exile were told to build houses and settle down, grow things to eat and to marry and produce sons and daughters, to increase in number and to seek and pray for the peace and prosperity of the place to which they were sent – then they would prosper.  God has great plans for each of us just has He had for Israel, “plans to prosper and not to harm us!” We don’t always understand God’s ways but we need to trust His plans for our lives and His timings, not our plans. For we know that “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Romans 8 v 28).

Gillian’s plan for the move to be nearer her daughter, seems a long way off at present, but the song we sang, Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord was a timely reminder to wait and trust in God’s plan and timing.

We look forward to welcoming Amanda back next year as she takes over as Manager of the shop.

Head to Books Alive – Christian Bookshop to find out what Books Alive can offer.

Persecution of Christians in Nigeria

Recently the persecution of Christians has increased, and at least 3 and a half million Christians have been driven from their homes.  They are now living in absolute squalor in displacement camps in makeshift garbage bag tents.  They are starving and the women have often been kidnapped and targeted for sexual violence.  Many Christians have been hacked to death or burned alive and their homes burnt down.  More believers are being killed In Nigeria than in the rest of the world put together. The persecution has spread down from the North into the Middle Belt, into Benue State in particular, and even further south.  There is now a sense of urgency before civil war happens.

This persecution has been inflicted by the Boko Haram terrorists together with Islamic militants from the Fulani tribe.  The intention is to turn Nigeria into a Muslim caliphate and the fear is that if they take Nigeria, then the rest of Africa will follow. Several of the Northern States are already under Sharia law.   Sadly, the Nigerian Government is complicit with the terrorists and has failed to protect the Christians, which strengthens the militants’ influence.  It refuses to acknowledge that persecution exists.  The Christians therefore have no access to organisations like the Red Cross.  The Fulani tribe meanwhile maintain that they, as herders are victims too and persecuted in Benue State where most of the farmers are Christians.

Needs of the persecuted Christians

1. To rebuild their lives because they have lost everything
2. Food aid
3. Medicines
4. Sanitation
5. Funds to respond to the attacks
6. Help and support to equip the villagers to prevent persecution

If you would like to help, you can donate online to relieve the suffering of these persecuted believers at Equipping The Persecuted –  To find out more, speak to Maria Nwanwene.

Please pray for our suffering brothers and sisters in Nigeria.

We welcomed back Ann Dracott to our meeting which is always a delight.

Ann brought along some visual aids to help set the scene for her talk – a cushion, a mug, a detective novel, a chocolate biscuit and a crossword and pen. It wasn’t difficult for us to see that these items represented comfort and Ann shared how she enjoys settling down in a favourite chair especially as the nights draw in to relax.  It’s a time when she feels at peace and in her comfort zone. We could all identify with this!

But life can become too easy and cosy and Ann told us of a time in her life when God shook her out of her comfort zone.  It was an uncomfortable experience and despite not wanting to do what God asked and seeking a sign that it was God actually speaking, it wasn’t until Ann was obedient to God’s call, will and purpose that she felt at peace. This has happened many times and has always been a struggle.

Ann recounted some examples from the Bible of people who willingly did what God asked – Noah, Abraham, Mary the mother of Jesus, but also those who were hesitant but eventually did – Moses, Gideon and Jonah.

If God wants us to do something, He has promised to be with us – we are not alone and He will equip us to fulfil His purposes.  We just need to be obedient.

Ann encouraged us to be prepared for the Lord to shake us and move us out of our comfort zone.  Life isn’t always cosy, it can be a battlefield at times but we just need to be faithful, to keep our eyes on Jesus and allow Him to use us. We may not see any outcome but that doesn’t matter.

Ann finished with some lovely verses from 2 Corinthians 1 about the God of all comfort:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” (Verses 3-4 NIV)

Our real comfort zone is with the Lord doing His will and serving His purposes!

Sue led our meeting today and intrigued us all by saying it would be an “upside down” time!

Sue read Psalm 63 introducing her theme for the afternoon where we thought about putting God first, thirsting for Him and allowing Jesus to be the centre of our lives,  Her song choices reflected that.

We commenced with the vesper (May the Lord, bless you and keep you), which we normally sing at the end and Sue showed us a frame with a hidden word that she had prepared which when turned upside down, read the word ‘Stones’.

We heard the story of Lazarus and the miracle of his resurrection.  Yet, we learned that Jesus tarried even though Lazarus was sick much to the dismay of Mary and Martha. Why did Jesus delay His coming to His friend? So that God would be glorified, Mary and Martha and the villagers would believe, they would glorify God and they would trust God for the future. But they had to do something really important – they were told to “Take away the stone”.

Jesus is looking for a willing response! He wants us to see and believe.  Do we see miracles in our own lives? Is there a stone or stones in our lives that stand in the way of us moving on and being blessed by God?

To help us understand, Sue brought 5 types of stones and a picture of a cross.

Fossils. The fossils were and are fixed in the stones, some perhaps over millions of years! Are we stuck in a comfort zone with an inability to change? Do we feel threatened and frightened by new things and ideas? Roll away the stone and place it at the foot of the cross!

Precious gem. This could be something important to us, attractive, beautiful, comforting and pleasing. It could be something that takes up a lot or too much of our time, something that we love more than God! Do we need to reappraise and put this at the foot of the cross?

Heavy stone. Are we carrying a burden, a worry, some anxiety, fear or even guilt over something in our past or present which weighs us down? Take it to the foot of the cross!

Ugly black stone. Sue handled this stone and her hands turned black! This is a stark reminder that sin separates us from God but also has far-reaching effects on those around us! Keep going to the foot of the cross!

White stone. Looked fine from the outside but Sue showed us that some of the inside was black. This represents those little white lies, gossip, angry and unkind words – those little things which perhaps don’t add up to much but are not ok.  Drop them at the foot of the cross!

The imagery that Sue brought to us was really powerful and we were encouraged to take the initiative, to roll away the stone, to believe and trust in God for a miracle and to see what God will do in our lives.

It is always a delight to welcome back Graham Dawson from Holland Road Baptist Church. Having been a pastor, Graham brings such wonderful teaching and opens up the Word with clarity and practical insight to make us all stop and think.

Today was no exception as Graham opened up the mysteries of 1 Corinthians 15 concerning some interesting truths about the resurrection of Jesus and what it means for us.

What happens after we die? What sort of body will we have when we are resurrected? Graham said we can learn so many lessons from the garden, the animal kingdom and space! (1 Corinthians 15 v 35-41).

“What goes down must come up!” Graham reminded us that we sow autumn bulbs for spring flowers and the bulb/seed has to die before new life comes.  It is the same with us – for new life, physical resurrection follows physical death. And the wonderful thing is that there is something infinitely better.

Graham opened up the truth from the scriptures that identity passes through the ground. The daffodil bulb dies and becomes a daffodil, it doesn’t become a poppy! So with us, our individual identity reappears – there is no ‘identity theft’ – we are resurrected as ourselves and people will recognise and know us and we will recognise others.

Graham posed the question, why is the second body different to the first? Well, we need a body fit for the environment in which we live – the old body cannot crossover! The modified resurrected body is transformed and suitable to live in heaven.

The resurrection of Jesus is the prototype for every believer’s resurrection.

Death/dead versus resurrected/life
Perishable versus imperishable
In dishonour versus in glory (a glory that will never fade)
Weakness versus raised in power
Natural/physical versus supernatural/spiritual

Isn’t it wonderful to know that we are being changed into His likeness, that death isn’t the last word.  For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive (verse 22).

Graham left us to mull over the thought that “the reality of our bodily resurrection will always be richer than the language it tries to describe.” He also prayed that we would be at peace and would know the glorious hope to which we are called because of Jesus and what he did for us on the cross.  Death has been conquered and life will be transformed.

Why not read 1 Corinthians 15 over the next week in the light of some of these thoughts!

Our meeting today had a harvest/creation theme. It was a joy to welcome back our friend, Phil Cook from Lancing Tabernacle Community Church.

“As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease.”

Genesis 8 v 22 (NIV)

Phil remarked that some churches are not in the habit of commemorating harvest, which is a shame! Phil felt it was important to share the abundance of what we have with others especially those who have very little and he reminded us that it is Biblical!

We were encouraged to be enthusiastic in the harvest of the five ‘P’s because we should all be involved!

1. Ploughing: Harvest involves ploughing with thorough and necessary preparation for sowing in order to see good results.
2. Planting: We need to sow but also to know and believe that the seed will produce a great and mighty harvest.
3. Patience: Crops do not come up over night! Phil told us about the farmer who had to get down on his knees and put his head to the ground to see the green shoots. It is so easy for anxiety to take over while we are waiting for something to happen.
4. Power: Remember, nothing is impossible with God.   God multiplies. We were reminded of the stories of the feeding of the 4,000 and the 5,000 and how much was left over after everyone had been filled.
5. Prayer: We need to be faithful in prayer and a good place to start is by saying the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples, the Lord’s Prayer. It is a pattern for all true prayer.

This harvest time, let’s celebrate with great joy all that the God of creation, our Heavenly Father has provided for each one of us.

We sang, We plough the feeds and scatter and You shall go our with joy before Sue closed our meeting with the blessing from The Message version:

“God bless you and keep you, God smile on you and gift you, God look you full in the face and make you prosper” – Numbers 6 v 24-26