Our first live service for eight months will be held at Maidstone Road on Sunday 25th at 10-30am. The service will not be online on any platform. A transcript of the service and the Weekly Sheet will appear here before 10-30am on Sunday morning. This week Mark continues our series on Abraham with “Being up front with God. We will produce some items for discussion & reflection too before Sunday.
This week’s service premieres at 10-30am and will be available on demand for about 14 days.
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Open Doors
For more information about Open Doors and their current campaign about India and how you can help go to https://www.opendoorsuk.org
For Reflection and Discussion
Read Genesis 17
1. In what ways do Christians show that they follow Jesus? What sorts of thing do you think tends to put people off Christians? What do you think impresses them? Try to think of examples of each from your experience.
2. Abram and Sarai got new names when they trusted God and those names reflected that trust. What changes to our status occurred when we trusted Christ? How do you think that this should be reflected in our lives?
Read Colossians 2:9-15
3. From this passage, what is “a circumcision not performed by human hands.” When does it happen to those who follow the New Covenant? What does it involve? Why is baptism such an important outward sign of it? What else should show that circumcision not performed by human hands?
The Service will premiere here and on the MRBC YouTube Channel at 10-30am and will be available on demand for about 21 days.
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OPERATION MOBILISATION
Ships Website: www.om.org/ships
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FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION
Read Genesis 16
1. Think of examples in the Bible of people who acted without properly seeking God? What happened? How did God respond in these cases and what can we learn?
2. Have you ever second-guessed God by just assuming something was God’s will, without really seeking Him? What was the result?
3. Have you ever had the situation where you questioned God about something wrong in your life? How do we get out of situations like this, knowing that we have a loving and gracious God?
4. To what extent has it been true in your life that even though God does rescue us from our mistakes, we still live with the consequences of them?
This Sunday’s service will be a Communion Service.Please have some bread and wine/juice ready. The Weekly Sheet will be available on Sunday morning.
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FOR REFLECTION & DISCUSSION
Read Genesis 15:1-6
1. Why is it that even though we are familiar with God’s promises to trust Him, we can still find ourselves acting out of impulse, fear, doubt or for our own ends. Why is that?
2. Think of times in life when you had a “faith lift”. What caused you to want to trust God more fully?
3. Abram believed God …. Many people reject the Christian faith as “easy believe-ism.” Yet this verse is the foundation of the Bible and of the Christian faith. We can see an explanation of this in Romans 4. Why as God made it so “easy” to be right with Him? To what extent is it true that becoming a Christian is easy, but being a Christian can be very difficult?
READING Hebrews 11:8-12
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
LET’S GIVE THANKS
– for answered prayer
– appointment of new EBA Regional Minister
– Mark feeling better
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
– Pray for Paul & Sarah Brown (for those equipped for business, for refugee work through partner church, for their forthcoming home leave)
– Pray for the persecuted church in India (recent rise in persecution there)
– Pray for an end to Covid restrictions
– Pray for those who have lost loved ones to Covid
– Pray for those suffering the effects of Long Covid
LOCAL & MRBC
Those needing prayer.
Two new families to join the church
Pray that ceiling may be sorted
Restart – July 25th other things restarting.
Seek God’s will for immediate future
Hope Trust
– Bereavement Support Course
– Restart of activities
– connecting with hard to reach people
– new trustees and volunteers
Town Pastors
– for new TPs and Base and Hope Prayer volunteers
Walton Parish Nursing
– restart of activities
Seafarers
Please pray for Father Herbert Fadriquela who was burgled this week and had many valuables taken from home. His family are very shaken up.
The Compass
CAP
The service premieres at 10-30am and will be available on demand for 28 days.
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For Reflection & Discussion
Please read Genesis 14 again before starting
1. After his debacle in Egypt Abram was blessed as he returned to Canaan. Have you ever a situation in your life that God showed you how trustworthy He is. We are told God blesses those who trust Him, but how have you found that works in your walk in life and expectation of your eternal future?
Read Ephesians 6:10-18
2. Oliver Cromwell once said “Trust in God and keep your powder dry.” What experience have you had as a Christian of being prepared to follow where God leads ? How does the “Armour of God” passage in Ephesians 6 help us to prepare to serve God in our present situation?
3. What does the part of the passage about Melchizedek tell us about the nature of worship? Mark’s sermon on the priesthood of Christ is at https://sermonindex2020.blogspot.com/2020/10/our-great-high-priest.html
4. Think of present day failures in integrity that are apparent in the behaviour of politicians, business people, influential people or just in people we know. Why do you think we often accept lack of integrity, immorality or dishonesty as a norm or acceptable? How does acting with integrity as a Christian further God’s kingdom? Think of situations you have come across where integrity has a Christian has made a difference for you or someone you know.
There are no Items for Discussion and Reflection this week.
This week’s Service is about Stepping Out In Faith and will be premiered at 10-30am on YouTube and can be viewed here on demand for up to 28 days afterwards.
For Reflection and Discussion
Read Genesis 12
1. Think of times in your life when God has called you to do something big that would involve life change or serious risk? What helped you understand the call was genuine and gave you confidence to move forward? What happened next?
2. “Faith is spelt RISK not SAFE”. Are Christians who play it safe spiritually shallow? Are there any times in your life where you regret playing it safe? Or perhaps times when you were relived that your did play it safe?
3. How often do you “count your blessings:” how important is thankfulness and worship in your prayer life?
4. Think of times in your life when you acted without discerning God’s will, or even knew what you were doing was wrong. What was the outcome?
Take time to pray, confessing times when God called and you didn’t follow, or when you knowingly acted outside of God’s purposes for you. Praise Him for His love and restoring grace that He brings us back from the sins and big mistakes that so easily beset us when we walk in the flesh and nit in the Spirit.
The service premieres at 10-30am on 6th June and will remain available for about 28 days.
For Reflection & Discussion
Read Hebrews 11:8-11
1. Abraham didn’t just leave the safety of one city, he left the safety of two! What did the writer of the Hebrews suggest was his motive? The following verses may help us understand the answer: Hebrews 11:16 , Hebrews 13:14, Revelation 21:2 .
2. Why do you think it is important to have eternal perspective as we go through life? How do the call and promises of God help us when we face the many unknowns of life?
Read Genesis 11:27 – 12:4
3. We don’t know precisely when Abram received his call to go to Canaan, whether that was in Ur or Harran, but he left his brother Nahor and his wife once Terah had died. What would it take for you to leave everything you know to go to a land full of uncertainties? What would it take for you to be convinced? What may that tell us about Abram’s faith?
4. What benefits did God promise Abram? How did that work out in reality for Abram? How long did it take for these promises to come into reality? What does that tell us about the expectations we should have of God?
9-30am on Zoom –
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83477257766?pwd=TkFCaVZSd0dCdXNta0Zmd0o5bXB1dz09
Meeting ID: 834 7725 7766 Passcode: 498731
Testimonies from Thy Kingdom Come and Unanswered Prayer
We invite you to bring short testimonies of answered prayer in recent weeks and how God has been moving in your life and others.
Prayer for the Pandemic
That progress will continue to be made with the vaccination programme
For countries still struggling with getting the pandemic under control
For the forthcoming relaxation (or not) of restrictions in the UK
For those who have been adversely affected by the pandemic and lockdown
For MRBC
For the Leadership Team as they meet on Tuesday
Pray for plans to re-commence face to face worship on 27th June
Pray that the problems with the church ceiling will be resolved soon.
Pray for those in the church who are unwell, lonely or need prayer for other reasons
Prayer for local ministries
Anything else that I’ve missed!