Pastor @ mbc’s Weblog

It was a great weekend – lovely warm sunshine – the chance to visit family – some time with my grandson – fresh air and good food – and above all (of course) the sound of England beating Australia in the Ashes tests. Nicky and I were away for a few days, and very nice it was too – but my closest companion was my pocket radio with the earphone, as I kept track of England’s progress at the Oval run by run and wicket by wicket. Victory, in the end, was swift and satisfying; and we are able at last to enjoy a short period of national gloating, before they (no doubt) thrash us once again in fifteen months time.

The lazy hazy crazy days of summer are fast drawing to an end, and we will soon be back in the hustle and bustle of a busy autumn programme of activities. Before we do that, however, I want to ask everyone to pause and take a day out to pray. Wednesday 2nd September will be our Church’s Day of Prayer. The Church itself will be open from 10am – 12 noon; from 3 – 5pm; and from 8-9pm for people to come and pray. The 8-9pm spot will be our monthly prayer time; and we will be using the day to commit all our work and activity to the Lord. How can we expect God to bless and prosper our plans, if we are not prepared to get on our knees to seek his grace?  Please note down the date, and make your preparations to come and be with us at 8pm; and if at all possible to spend some time in the Church in prayer during the day.

This Sunday (30th August) we will share in the last of Marmaduke’s Mysteries at our 11am Family Service. We will also be joined by some visitors from Hounslow Community Church.  Our 6.30pm service will be led by the Sunset Housegroup as they tell us  about what they have been up to over the past year.

May we all be bowled over by God’s love, and hit for six by his amazing purposes for us…

God bless, Stephen

“I went up in a plane to do a parachute jump, but I dropped out at the last minute.”

Christians know that the Bible is the foundation of their faith. Everything we know about God the Father and his love; everything we know about Jesus the Saviour of the world; everything we know about the Holy Spirit, the Life-giver, comes from the Bible. Without the Bible, where would we be? It is uniquely precious, uniquely powerful, uniquely inspired. And yet, which of us can say that we know the Bible as well as we ought to? Surveys show that only a tiny percentage of regular church-goers actually read the Bible regularly in their own devotional lives. More and more people own a Bible; fewer and fewer people read their Bibles. Its worrying.

One of the problems is that the Bible can be confusing and puzzling for those who dont yet know their way around it. Its not like any other book – in fact it is a collection of 66 books, of many different kinds. Who wrote these books? How do they all fit together? How should I read it with some degree of understanding? There are some huge issues involved in getting to know the Word of God.

This autumn, we are going to run two short courses on Sunday evenings – an Introduction to the Old Testament (September 20th, 27th, & October 4th); and an Introduction to the New Testament (November 22nd, 29th, & December 6th). These will all be at 6.30pm; and will begin with worship, before going on to our main subject. The aim will be to give us all a better grasp of the full sweep of the Bible, and of how it all fits together. I do hope you will come – and try to come to all of the sessions, not just one or two!

This coming Sunday, I will be away, but our Morning Worship (at 11am) will be led by our good friend, Heather Whitehead. In the evening (at 6.30pm), worship will be led by Rev Ewart Graham. It is sure to be a good day – do please try to make it if you can!   Blessings be with you – Stephen.

“I invented a new kind of parachute – it opens on impact!”

Yes, hi folks – its Folk Week again, and Broadstairs is bursting at the seams with people enjoying the music, the dancing and the atmosphere. We have been to one or two concerts – a very good evening on Saturday with an Australian singer/songwriter called Eric Bogle; a wonderful concert by an American singer with an extraordinary name – Devon Sproule; and tonight some clog-dancing and some blue grass dance music at the Bandstand. The Broadstairs Folk Week is a real highlight of the year – it is hard to beat live music, and its great to see families of all ages out enjoying themselves.
At Church we had a very quiet weekend, with so many of our regular congregations away on holiday. This Wednesday (12th) we have a monthly prayer evening at 8pm – I hope you will be able to join us. Then next Sunday (16th) we have Morning Worship at 11am, when we will be continuing with Marmaduke’s Mysteries – the service will also include Communion. In the evening at 6.30pm, we will look at “Relationships” as part of our study in Ephesians.
Have a good week, and come to share with us as we worship God on Sunday!
Every Blessing – Stephen.
“On the menu at a vegetarian restaurant: veg and two veg.”

Phew – it was great to have our grandson Jacob all to ourselves for the weekend, but it did remind me of why young people have babies, and not old fossils like me. Its over 20 years since I last changed a nappy, and I am no better at it now than I was then. Looking after babies is TIRING – and all you mums (and dads) have my heartfelt admiration for the job you do. It was great though…

This week will have two main highlights. On Thursday is John & Pat’s Coffee Day again (where have the last twelve months gone?) – do come and enjoy it if you can, from 1.30pm onwards. Then on Saturday, I shall be taking part in Vivienne Alexander’s ordination service at Newington Free Church – a really happy occasion for Vivienne and the family. She is the second of the students I have been supervising to “fly the nest”, and we wish her every blessing in her new ministry in Shoeburyness.

On Sunday morning we have the second of Marmaduke’s Mysteries to unravel at our Famly Service at 11am; and in the evening we continue our study of Ephesians. Come and worship with us – it would be great to see you. Have a great week ….Stephen
“My wife thinks she is the Queen. I would tell her that she isnt, but that might blow my chances of a knighthood.”