Today we have the first in our Unanswered Prayer series with Pete Greig of 24-7 prayer and presenter Gemma Hunt. Sorry, there is only an outline sermon in the Service Transcript this week, but do think through the Items for Reflection and Discussion.

As usual the Sunday Service will premiere at 10-30am and will be available on demand for about 28 days afterwards.

Unanswered Prayer is one of two courses produced by 24-7 Prayer to help us draw closer to God through prayer and you can find further details, as well as information about the main Prayer Course at https://prayercourse.org/

Pete also has a book called God on Mute from which most of the themes in Prayer Unanswered are drawn. There are paperback, Kindle and audiobook versions available on Amazon https://amzn.to/32lWXsw. The paperback version is also available from all good Christian bookshops.

For Reflection & Discussion

Read Luke 18:9-14, Matthew 5:3-5

1. Pete Greig said that we need to talk about unanswered prayer for three reasons: emotional, intellectual and cultural. Which feels most relevant to you at the present moment as you begin this series?

2. The words of Jesus in the book of Matthew teach us to expect blessing in the midst of challenges – how does this encourage (or discourage!) you in your faith?

3. Pete says that “there’s so much faking it” at church. If you could ask God one totally honest question about something you find difficult in your life, what would it be?

4. When have you experienced a ‘winter season’ in your relationship with God? How did it affect your faith?

5. What, practically, do you think is needed for persevering in faith and prayer through the ‘winter seasons’ of life?

The service premieres on Sunday 11th April 2021 at 10-30am and will be available for 28 days afterwards.

Please note that this service was recorded before the sad news of the death of HRH Prince Philip and so doesn’t appear as a prayer item on the video. We pray for the Royal Family at this time that they may be comforted at this time of loss.

Items for Reflection and Discussion

Read Deuteronomy 8:6-14

1. Dependence on God and respect for His laws and His creation are a fundamental part of the establishment of the Israelites in Canaan. Failure to do so was not only a moral disaster but an environmental one too. How can we as Christians bring biblical values into our own thinking and action on climate change and environmental issues?

2. The current climate crisis had been put down directly to climate change caused by human activity. Governments are trying to come together to address the problem. Are you pessimistic or optimistic about the outcome of efforts to curb global warming? On what do you base your hopes and fears? Where can the Gospel be transformative in this situation?

3. Knowing that when Jesus returns, he is going to sort out creation issues, what should our role be as God’s people today in promoting care for God’s creation?

Our service will premiere here at 10-30am on Sunday Morning and will be available on demand for about a month. There is no Service Transcript available for this service.

If you accepted Jesus for yourself as a result of listening to John’s sermon this morning or would like to know more about becoming a Christian or about the Christian faith, we’d be happy for you to get in touch with us by email at pastor@mrbcfelixstowe.org.uk or via our Facebook page www.facebook.com/mrbcfelixstowe. Our phone contact details are on our website’s contact page.

J John appears courtesy of the Philo Trust and we are grateful for his resources which have been used in our Easter services this year. Dai Woolridge appears courtesy of Bible Society. Do have a look at their website and prayerfully consider contributing to their Easter appeal.

The Worship Group video is also available HERE as a standalone video.

Our C-Kers Easter Edition will be out on Sunday Morning 4th April. Please let children and families know it’s available. It has the Resurrection story, an item by Jan and Scruffy as well as some craft ideas based around the resurrection. Do take a look for yourself. You can also get to it by clicking on the link to your right which will appear when it becomes available.

Hi everyone and welcome to our Easter edition of C-Kers Online. This comes out on Sunday 4th April; Easter Sunday, or as we prefer to call it, Resurrection Day. It is the Sunday that Jesus rose again from the dead, after being crucified, died and buried on the Friday. In our first video, Scruffy and Jan explore the meaning of Easter through his misadventures.

So what is Easter really about? Here’s a video written by J John that re-tells the story of Jesus life, death and resurrection and what it should mean to us. Enjoy.

After all the time spent home under Lockdown, you may be looking around for things to do if the weather’s a bit dodgy for the rest of the school holidays. Here’s a few activities we’ve got for you to try. As usual, you’ll need to be able to print the stuff out.

The first item is a craft project to create the scene of Mary Magdalene at the tomb of Jesus out of two plastic cups – great for the imagination this one! The first pdf file has a list of the items you will need.

We have puzzle and colour-in activities too if craft isn’t your thing.

That’s all for this edition. Let’s finish with some music. Our Worship Group did a song for Resurrection Sunday. Quite a few of them are Leaders in Wednesday and Sunday C-Kers. How many of them can you spot?

Good Friday Service, April 2nd. The service appears below.

Click on this link to get there. https://www.youtube.com/christchurchfelix

Sunrise Service, Sunday April 4th.

Our Maundy Thursday Service was live on Zoom and wan’t recorded. However, Mark’s talk was and is reproduced here.

Our regular Prayer Meeting will be online on Zoom and details have already been circulated.

Holy One of God,
Our Lord Jesus Christ,
who ransoms the souls of the faithful,
sets the captives free,
brings sight to the blind and
gives life to those who are perishing:
Death has no victory over you
or your kingdom.
Evil slinks away from your presence.

Rejoice all you nations!
Celebrate all you peoples!
Christ is Lord forever—
His reign is unending!  Amen.

~ written by Thomas, and posted on Everyday Liturgy. http://everydayliturgy.com/

Isaiah 53 – “The Suffering Servant”

Pray about Injustice

• The persecuted church
• Modern slavery
• The unequal world – coronavirus vaccine distribution, the effects of climate change, continued suffering in Syria and migrations from it
• Give thanks and pray for Christians who are bringing and being good news in such situations – Open Doors, IJM, Tearfund, BMS World Mission, Leprosy Mission, Bible Society.

Pray for our locality

Give thanks for those organisations trying to be good news in our town

• Boost
• CAP
• Hope Trust
• Parish Nursing
• Seafarers Centre
• Compass
• County ministries – A Rocha, Farm on the water, Suffolk in Prayer
• Churches Together in Felixstowe – Lent Course, Easter Services, Community Prayers

Prayer for MRBC

• For Easter Services – Sunday, C-Kers Online Easter
• For the upcoming season of prayer – Unanswered Prayer course, Thy Kingdom Come
• For life after lockdown – return of services, review of activities
• Smooth transition to CIO
• For our Leaders
• For those who are sick bereaved, isolated etc.

The service will premiere on YouTube at 10-30am and be available for approximately 28 days on demand. The Weekly Sheet will be posted here when it becomes available

For Discussion & Reflection

Read Mark 11:12-27 Isaiah 56:6-7 and Jeremiah 4:1-11

1. To what extend did Herod’s Temple fulfil the principles of Isaiah 56:6-7? In what ways do you think the practices of marketplace traders in the Court of the Gentiles may be reflected in the modern day church? In what other ways may how we use our church’s resources and buildings discourage those that seek God?

2. Why do you think Jesus used the extreme examples of actually killing a fig tree and talking about moving mountains into the sea when talking about prayers of faith? How do we know when it’s reasonable to pray for seemingly impossible things, or for that matter, praying through situations that are unclear?

3. Why is it so important that we forgive people we hold anything against. How do we find it in our heart to forgive when we have been grievously wronged? What about feelings we have about people who have died?

4. Jesus reacted angrily and physically in removing the traders and moneychangers from the Temple. In what circumstances do you think that it is OK to feel angry and act dramatically because of it?

Our service premieres at 10-30am and can be viewed on demand for 28 days.

For Reflection and Discussion

Read John 11:1-48

1. What may we learn about how God works in relation to our prayers from verses 1-16?

2. In verses 17-27 we read of Martha’s exchange with Jesus as He arrived in Bethany. What do you think she was expecting Jesus to do at that point (verse 22)?

3. Jesus speaks the well-known words in verses 25-26 followed by “Do you believe this?” The answer seems to suggest that she didn’t really understand the importance of what Jesus said. What do you think she may have understood in what she replied to Jesus?

4. The discussions with Martha Mary and others at the tomb indicated that their expectancy of what God can do fell far short of what God was purposing here. How can we avoid falling into the trap of low expectancy in prayer?

5. The religious people tried to kill Jesus even more after He raised Lazarus from death. Try to think of examples in our experience and generation where Christians have acted in clear opposition to the word of God and the gospel. Think too of how our behaviour and prayer lives may be shaped by prejudices and misconceptions. How can we identify them and repent of them?