Welcome to our service today. Please join us on zoom afterwards for coffee at 12.15pm. The link is here
This week the leaders are meeting on Tuesday to think about how things are going and to begin to reflect on some of the challenges that we are going to face in the coming months as news is made available about if and when we are allowed to meet. There will be some difficult decisions to make in the coming weeks so please pray for us. Tonight you are invited to join our Baptist brothers and sisters in prayer in the bi-weekly Prayer Broadcast at 8pm which will be followed by the inducting of our new President at 8.25pm. You can access the broadcast by clicking on this link https://youtu.be/qsCR8IX-N-o
We will be having the second of our studies - Hiking through Hebrews on Wednesday at 8pm on zoom. You are very welcome to join. If you would like the material from last week please contact our minister, Claire. Evolve our peer support group for young adults will also be meeting on Wednesday evening at 7.30pm - contact us for more details.
Today is the third in our series looking at Hebrews 11, focussing on v5-6 which talks about Enoch - who lived his life walking faithfully with God. You can find a few verses on Enoch in Genesis 5.
Now let us pause and pray as we worship together.
"Going through a long line of prophets, God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries. Recently he spoke to us directly through his Son. By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end. This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God's nature. He holds everything together by what he says - powerful words!" Hebrews :1-2 (The Message)
Watch this video which tells us something about who Jesus is https://youtu.be/-9hRH5MA8eQ
Here is a playlist of songs for the service. You might want to listen to the first three at the beginning and then put the other two before and after the sermon.
Faith
What does it mean to have faith? Watch this video - it gives some ideas from different voices
You may not agree with them all, or you might do! What would you write?
What does it mean to have faith in Jesus and what difference does that make in your life?
Perhaps you might want to make a poster full of words and pictures and Bible verses that speak about what you think faith means. You could stick it in your window or send a picture to Claire or on the church WhatsApp.
Our faith in Jesus means that we know that whatever happens right now we are not alone, and one day all will be well.
Prayers
As we hear the news this week that the death toll in the UK is now the highest in Europe, and the way ahead is uncertain yet there may be a plan, all we can do right now is to rely on the one who we have faith in to help us through. Use this prayer, written by Nick Fawcett and published here to lift this all to God. Let us Pray.
Show us a way forward, Lord –
a way to begin the task of rebuilding after this crisis,
of restoring hope and faith in the future,
of renewing creaking economies,
of creating a wiser and better world.
Show us a way to recover,
not just from this virus
but from the impact it has had upon us in so many ways –
the jobs lost,
the businesses closed,
the debts incurred,
the tragedies suffered.
Show us how to appreciate,
and how to reward,
those who have given so much during this time,
risking their health,
working above and beyond the duty,
in order to bring help and support to others,
and without whose efforts we simply would not have been able to continue.
Show us how better to work together,
as individuals,
as communities,
as nations,
should we be faced with a threat such as this once again:
how we might learn from each other,
share resources,
and collaborate in medical and scientific research.
Give us a vision of a fairer world
and a more just society,
and help those whose decisions will shape the future
to make the right ones,
so that, despite all the pressures and problems we will face
in the weeks, months and years ahead,
somehow everything we have faced together may yet be turned to good.
Amen.
Word
Our sermon today is based on Hebrews 11:5-6 and Genesis 5:18-24 and brought to you by our minister, Claire.
And we will close with the UK Blessing, which was released last Sunday, and reminds us that we are not alone in trusting in Jesus - across the UK and across the world we stand together knowing that there is always hope in Him.
Don't forget to join us on zoom at 12.15pm!