Winter 2007
FROM THE PASTOR
It is both
a wonderful thing as well as a frightening thing, that together we embark on
another New Year. On one hand it is just a group of days that can be used
profitably or wasted foolishly. Yet on the other hand it is a time for
contemplating and assessing your life, and what in the past year has been
achieved in the light of Eternity! For a few moments I want to gather your
thoughts around the issue ..
How To Have
A Great New Year Psalm 13:5 says,
“But I
have trusted in thy mercy;
my heart
shall rejoice in thy salvation.”
This new
year can be one of the best you have ever experienced. There are several keys to
living this new year to the maximum height of enjoyment.
I.
Listening–
See Psa. 85:8. the Psalmist said, “I will hear what God the Lord will
speak….” This new year should be a time of listening to the Lord. He will
speak when He has listeners (Psa. 50:7). Listen intently and carefully.
II.
Laughing-
Consider Psa. 126:2. It says, “Then was our mouth filled with laughter....”
Some folks do not laugh enough. They take themselves too seriously. No laughter
means one lacks a merry heart. The Bible says---- “A merry heart doeth good
like a medicine” (Prov. 17:22). Laughter is cheap medicine. It often does us
good to trust God and then laugh at our problems. Laughter is what bodily
exercise is to health----it can relieve tension, sooth pains of disappointment,
and strengthen the spirit for the tasks ahead.
III.
Learning-
Think about Psa. 119:73. It states, “Give me understanding that I may learn
thy commandments....” This year should be a year of learning about ourselves,
most of all about God, and as well about others. The key to learning is
understanding. The Lord will give the teachable heart understanding. Learning
adds a good flavor and taste to one’s life.
IV.
Labouring- Psa.100:2
says, “Serve the Lord with gladness…” Saved people are called and
commanded to service to the One who saved us by His grace. We should not serve
him merely from outward demand, but out of an inward
compulsion. Christ lives for us, so we should live for Him. There are so
many avenues through which we can gladly serve the Lord our God. Redeem the time
(Col. 4:5)
V.
Loving-
I Jn. 4:21 states, “He that loveth God loveth His brother also.”
Everyone has a psychological need to be loved. It is a basic, inbred need
of all mankind. It stands to reason if God loved us when there were undesirable
things about all of us, then we should love one another in spite of our faults
and our
flaws. One
proof
of your love for God is love for your brethren. God’s love works out through
us.
Have a
great New Year, and a Blessed 2007, knowing that whatever comes our way, we have
a God who knows all about it and will sustain us through it.
Pastor Kennedy.
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My
Testimony
Ps 71:5-6
For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust
from my youth. By
thee have I been holden up from the womb:
I would thank those
responsible for the Magazine for letting me have this
opportunity to testify of God’s grace and provision to me from the day
I was born till now.
I cannot remember a time when
I was not aware of my need of Jesus Christ. Even at an early age I had a heart
felt dislike for lying, cursing, taking God’s name in vain, smoking, alcohol
and any under hand thing. Looking back I can only put it down to the grace of
God on my life. My father and mother were not Christians, but they sent me to
the Sunday school of High Kirk Presbyterian church when I was about three years
old.
Many
a time when in bed, I used to lie and think ‘if I died to-night where would I
go?’ When I learned of the second coming of Christ, that added to my concern
and I wondered if He came that night would He take me to be with Him?
So I would have got out of bed and knelt at the bedside and prayed as
well as I knew how.
I
remember one evening especially when my mother and father had gone next door to
my grandmothers. I must have been around the age of eight at the time.
I had received an hymn book as a prize for good attendance at Sunday
School so being new fangled with something new, started to look through it and
came across hymns about the second coming of Christ. The words hit me hard, even
now many years later, the solemnity of them still moves me.
That
day of Wrath, that dreadful day.
When
heaven and earth will pass away.
What
power shall be the sinner’s stay?
How
shall he meet that dreadful day?
When
shrivelling like a parched scroll,
The
flaming heavens together roll.
When
louder yet, and yet more dread.
Swells
the high trump that wakes the dead.
O,
on that day, that wrathful day,
When
man to judgment wakes from clay,
Be
Thou the trembling sinners stay.
Though
heaven and earth shall pass away.
WHEN
rising from the bed of death,
O'erwhelm'd
with guilt and fear,
I
see my Maker face to face,
O
how shall I appear?
If
yet while pardon may be found.
And
mercy may be sought,
My
heart with inward horror shrinks,
And
trembles at the thought;
When thou, O Lord! shalt stand ,
disclos'd
In majesty severe,
And
sit in judgment on my soul,
O
how shall I appear!
As
I read these words and others like them I cried for fear knowing that I was not
ready to appear before God I got down on my knees at the fire side weeping and
asked God to forgive my sin and that if He should come, take me to be with him.
I
suppose many of you reading this would say that, I was saved that night. No I
was not, why? Only the conviction and fear of God’s wrath and me falling down
before the Lord took place. That isn't salvation. There was no faith, I didn’t
know how to take by faith Jesus’ death in my place, Him taking God’s
punishment for sin for me. As yet
God had not revealed this to me. One can go no further than the scriptures
allow. (“By grace are ye saved through faith.”) To do so is wrong and many
have suffered by it, especially young children.
Not the
labours of my hands,
Can fulfil Thy law's demands;
Could
my zeal no respite know,
Could
my tears for ever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.
I realise
that at that age I didn’t know this, but I had no assurance that I was right
with God and certainly couldn’t say that I was saved till a few years later.
I became
involved in the church’s activities, attending the meetings twice on the
Sunday and the BB bible class in the afternoon, the CE meeting and the BB
during the week. I didn’t
smoke, drink or dance, so I suppose many thought that I was a Christian.
The leaders of the young
peoples meetings, which I attended, called the “Saturday Night Rally”,
arranged a special week of meetings for November of 1953 to be held in the
Wellington Street church meeting place. The speakers were three Americans.
The surprise was, I did not
attend the meetings till the Saturday night and when I arrived at the meeting,
the question to me from two or three of the boys whom I knew was “where have
you been all week?”
I just shrugged my shoulders
and they reached me a collection basket to lift the offering upstairs in the
gallery.
That evening the preacher Mr.
James Johnston preached very clearly and he posed the question “ If you were
to die this evening, would you be sure without a doubt of going to heaven?”
This hit me hard for this was the question that had haunted me from an early
age. I realised more than ever that I was a sinner and I was not prepared to
meet God.
In ending
the meeting he made an appeal to all those who wanted to get right with God to
come forward. Now the place was full with two to three hundred people, maybe
more. I went from the gallery down the stairs up the aisle to the front. I
didn’t care who saw me, there was only one thing in my mind that was to get
right with God.
So that night the 14th Nov.
1953 aged 15, confessing I was a sinner by faith I took Jesus Christ to be my
Saviour. Now I had that assurance that I was right with God.
Now don’t
get this wrong, it was not the coming ‘out’ at the appeal that saved me, but
God that night gave me the grace to trust Christ by faith and receive the gift
of Salvation. That and that alone is what my salvation depends on. ‘Saved by
grace alone this is all my plea, JESUS died for all mankind and Jesus died for
me.
The strange thing was that
after a week or two I did not go on very well with the Lord.
I knew afterwards that it was because I did not spend much time in the
secret place to read the Word and pray.
Then one
evening I went to a missionary meeting organized by the late Tommy Stockman. The
speaker at the meeting was Willie Weir of Worldwide
Evangelisation Crusade (WEC). He put the challenge to us “Who here will
give one hour a day to read the Word and pray?”
As I sat there painfully
aware that I failed in spending time alone with God, I said to the Lord “I
will” and from that time on as I waited before God, reading His word and
praying. He showed me the things
that were wrong and other things which were not convenient in my life and as I
obeyed He led me deeper. (It was then I started to read the Scriptures through
consecutively. A practice, which I still do to-day.)
I was able to stand for Him in the place where I worked and in the home.
Great grace was given to me to go against the wrongs which I saw, even though
others who were my age were doing them.
To
be continued.
YPF
Report
The
youth fellowship has seen great numbers attending our meetings so far this year;
a great encouragement for the committee has been sourced
especially from the great numbers attending our prayer meetings before
every youth event.
Our
‘Introductions’ evening, which started the year off, took the form of a
table quiz, which involved everyone chatting and getting familiar with one
another after a long summer. The fellowship was good; as was the supper! New
youth co-ordinator, Pastor Jones, took our following meeting, giving us an
encouraging word as well as taking the time to introduce himself as our
youth co-ordinator. We thank him for his continued support and his attendance to
many of our meetings thus far.
We
were delighted to sing at Carnlea Mission Hall’s Harvest service, at the end
of September. It was a privilege to hear two of our own young people, Matthew
Campbell and Christopher Cameron, give a word of testimony. It is so good to see
what the Lord is doing in these young lives! Praise Him, for He hasn’t
finished yet!
Attracta
Hanna, a representative of C.E.F, warmly invited us to consider the work of
C.E.F when she came to speak to us early October. She reminded us that
missionary work needn’t be a distant country necessarily, but that our own
little island, particularly Dublin where she is based, is full of children who
have never heard the gospel. It was a challenge to hear what the Lord is doing
through her.
Ballyclare
Baptist Youth Fellowship joined us for an evening, and
ministered to us one Sunday evening, and it is always a joy to share
fellowship with them. We had a quiz, a testimony and a member of Ballyclare
Youth Fellowship spoke
to us. It was a night enjoyed by all. A thank you must also go out to Cherith
Cameron, who arranged for a lot of food to be acquired for this evening.
The
youth choir were away again, singing praises at another Harvest service in
Ballykeel Baptist. Again, we had the pleasure of hearing two of our young people
give words of testimony- Louise Cameron and Peter Symth.
Recently,
we have had our outreach evening, which was a great
opportunity for our own young people to get active in asking unsaved
friends and relations to our fellowship meeting, where Geoffrey re-introduced us
to Jesus Christ. It was such an encouragement to see how burdened our youth is
for friends and family, and we know our next outreach evening will be strongly
supported as well. Thank you for your continuing prayer for the work of the
young people. It has not gone unnoticed, and we wish to thank you all most
sincerely for your encouragement since the summer.
Deborah
Kennedy
He Shall Be Great. ( Luke
1v32)
More than 1900 years ago
there was a man born contrary to the laws of life.
This man lived in poverty and was reared in obscurity. He did not travel
extensively. Only once did He cross the boundary of the country in which He
lived; that was during His exile in childhood. His possessed neither wealth nor
influence. His relatives were inconspicuous, and had neither training nor formal
education.
In infancy He startled a
king: in childhood He puzzled doctors; in manhood He ruled the course of nature,
walked upon the billows as if pavements and hushed the sea to sleep. He healed
the multitudes without medicine and made no charge for His service. He never
wrote a song and yet He has furnished the theme for more songs than all the
songwriters combined. He never founded a college but all the schools put
together cannot boast of having as many students.
Though time has spread
nineteen hundred years between the people of this
generation and the scene of His crucifixion, yet He lives. Herod could
not destroy Him and the grave could not hold Him!
He stands forth upon the
highest pinnacle of heavenly glory proclaimed of God, acknowledged by Angels,
adored by saints and feared by devils, as a living,
personal Christ, our Lord and Saviour.
We are either going to be
forever with Him or forever without Him.
Submitted
by David Mitchell
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Time
to go to church today
I’ll
wait a while and see
I’ll
first look at the guardian
And
see what’s on TV
Time
to say a little prayer
Well
I might just manage that
But
it all depends if one of my friends
Should
give the door a knock.
I
have nothing against the church you see
That
I’d like you to know
But
sure it takes a bit of an effort
And
I haven’t the time to go.
Anon
LADIES FELLOWSHIP
By the time you read this
another year will be over and we will be preparing to resume after a Christmas
break. We finished our year with a visit from Lo debar Trust in November. They
had some Russian ladies with them ~ 2 who spoke
perfect English and the 3rd who spoke no English at all. It was wonderful
to have a word of testimony from each of them and to realise that language is no
barrier even though there may be a big difference culturally! Many Christians
face very harsh circumstances in Russia and so to hear these ladies praising God
THROUGH their trials and living conditions put many of us to shame.
Unfortunately in the West we have become very comfortable in our
Christianity. October seen a visit from Attracta Hanna from C.E.F and to hear
about the children
just over the border who have a hunger for learning more about God was
wonderful. What a marvellous God we serve that cares for not only the Russians
but for Irish children who may live in just as desperate circumstances and are a
lot closer to home. We thoroughly enjoyed having Attracta back with us again.
At the beginning of October
we had a visit from Mazie Smyth. It is always a great source of joy to hear
reports from Mazie of what God is doing in Africa. In all of these meetings we
learnt that our God is indeed omnipresent and neither slumbers nor sleeps.
Our prayer meetings continued
as usual throughout these months and again God is blessing our times of prayer
with our numbers increasing and some new faces from time to time. If you are
free please come and join with us the last
Wednesday of each month. A warm welcome will await you.
Lesley Kennedy
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Jimmy
was a fine Christian lad who got an after-school job in a grocery store. One day
a customer entered and, after making a purchase of fruit, whispered “throw in
a few extra. The boy who was here before used to give me a large portion in
return for a tip from me”. “No” said Jimmy “I can’t do that, the Boss
wouldn’t approve”. “But” said the man “the boss isn’t in”. “O
yes He is” said Jimmy “my Boss is always in. you see, I’m a Christian”
ACTS 6.3.
Submitted
by Wilson Burgess
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Hola
amigos,
Hi
from a cold and windy Madrid, and Happy New Year (or Feliz Año Nuevo) if
you’re reading this in 2007.
At
the time of writing this, we are still very uncertain about what the next year
might hold for us. We are still working in Madrid until the end of 2006,
although thankfully with just one job each now (at one point we had five between
us(!)). Jose is pastoring the church and Susan is editing English books for
Spanish secondary schools.
You
may know that we have been prayerfully considering our
circumstances here in Madrid for most of 2006. As Jose explained at a
recent prayer meeting in Ballee, we have had a growing conviction in
recent months that our time here was coming to an end. As a result, we
asked the church in October to begin to look for someone else to take over the
pastoral ministry. The congregation has just voted to ask a couple who study at
the Bible college here, Tomas and Doris, to pastor the church for the next
eighteen months (after which they plan to go abroad as missionaries). We pray
that they will have a good relationship with the church members, who we have
come to know and care about a lot, and that together they will be able to move
forward in faith.
This
past year has been a busy one. In the Sunday morning Bible Studies, Jose has
just finished a series on Revelation. He really enjoyed preparing these studies,
focusing on the meaning of the book’s images and symbols for the early
Christians in the first century. He also enjoyed leading
numerous discussions on apocalyptic themes, which could get quite lively
at times (the Spanish tone of voice can be a tad louder than the typical British
one...).
On
Sunday mornings, he has done a short series on Proverbs, the ‘minor’
prophets and the parables of Jesus. In the summer, we led the youth weekend on
the theme of building relationships with God and each other. Jose also had the
privilege of speaking at the wedding of two of our church youth leaders. A good
proportion of the members continue to
attend the midweek prayer meetings. We have recently attended the
annual Conference of Baptist Churches of Spain, where people from all
over the country meet to worship and hear reports of the various missions and
activities held at a national level. Lately, we have been busy with Christmas
preparations - choir and handbell choir practices, designing decorations and
rehearsing with the children and young people.
It
has been encouraging to see some members begin to take initiative and get
involved in various ministries. One couple has begun recording and distributing
Sunday services on DVD, as well as taking over the book ministry. The church
continues to provide food and clothes to any local people in need who come
along. In September, a Holiday Bible Club was organized for the first time in a
few years. Several children who do not normally attend came along to listen to
stories, learn verses and do crafts. We even imported a couple of Northern Irish
quizzes - the sheep and foxes and spaghetti saucepan were well received.
It’s
so important to encourage everyone to get involved in a small church like this.
Apparently minor changes, like the church pianist moving to Barcelona (last
year) or the worship leader going to live in America (next year), or people’s
changing timetables and long working hours (all the time) can make a big
difference to the running of the various ministries. Yet it has been good to
welcome some new people to the Sunday services and prayer meetings in recent
weeks.
Thank
you so much for all your prayers, emails, cards and support during our time at
Belfast Bible College and then at the Iglesia Evangélica Bautista de San
Sebastián de los Reyes here in Madrid. You have helped and encouraged us more
than you know.
God
bless,
Jose
and Susan Fernandez
joseandsusanfernandez@yahoo.co.uk
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What
would you do if tomorrow you knew
That
the Saviour was coming again?
Would
you throw up your arms, or use all your charms
And
ask to be one of the few?
It’s
not by your deeds from your sins that your freed
But
by the One who died on the cross.
So
take heed my friends
You
don’t know the end
And
tomorrow may well be too late.
Anon
GOD'S
WAY
When times seem bad
And clouds are gray
A window in heaven will open
And there will be a way.
God has this perfect plan
For us all defined
We just need to tune into God's will
And all will be fine.
Sometimes in the course
Of our busy day
We offer our problems to God and say
'Your will be done' we pray.
After we give it all to God
Our faith begins to fade.
Lord Jesus, I think I have a better solution
And another request is made.
Remember, just give it to the Lord
And leave it there
God in all his miracles,
Will always be fair.
When he works out your problems
And delivers you from despair,
It's not just a one time shot
He will always keep you in his care.
~By Sharon Lambkin~
THE
SECOND COMING OF THE LORD
In
1 Thessalonians 4. 16-17, we have seven steps of his advent.
1. The
Arrival
of the Lord:- ‘The Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven’
2. The
Announcement
from the air:- ‘with a shout’
3. The
Archangel’s
voice:- ‘with the voice of the archangel’
4. The
Alarm
of the trumpet:- ‘with the trump of God’
5. The
Awaking
of the believing dead:- ‘the dead in Christ shall rise first’
6. The
Ascent
of all believers:- ‘we shall be caught up together’
7.
The Assembly
with the Lord:- ‘to meet the Lord in the air’
‘And so
shall we ever be with the Lord’
Wilson
Burgess
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Is anybody
happier
Because you
passed this way?
Does anyone
remember
That you
spoke to them today?
The day is
almost over,
And it’s
tolling time is through,
Is there
anyone to utter
Now a
kindly word of you?
Can you say
tonight in parting
With the
day that’s slipping fast
That you
helped a single brother
Of the many
that you passed?
Is a single
heart rejoicing
Over what
you did or said
Does the
man whose hopes were fading,
Now with
courage look ahead?
Did you
waste the day or lose it?
Was it well
or sorely spent?
Did you
leave a trail of kindness
Or a scar
of discontent?
As you
close your eyes in slumber,
Do you
think that God will say
“You have
earned one more tomorrow
By the work
you did today?
Julie
McCullough
What’s
on ?
Special
dates for January to March
January
Tues
2nd - Fri. 5th
WEEK OF PRAYER
Tues
9th
8pm
Gordon
Stewart (Asia Link)
Sunday
AM
& PM
Pastor
Jim Garrett
Tues
16th
8pm
Alan
Armstrong (ECM)
February
Friday
16th
7.30pm
Annual
Business Meeting
Friday
23rd
Mr. Don Flemming
Missionary
Weekend
Saturday
24th February
Mr. Stephen Mawhinney (IMF)
Sunday
25th
February
AM
Mr.
Tom Lewis (BEE)
Sunday
25th
February
PM Mr.
Tommy Anderson (WGM)
March
Tues
6th
Majid (Arab World Ministries)
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New
Members
Julie
McComb
8th October
Stephen
and Ann Hunter
29th October
David
Cameron
12 November
Gareth
Carmichael
10th December
New Additions
Congratulations
to Ian and Claire Calderwood on the birth of their daughter
Rebekah
on 10th August.
Congratulations
to Ashley and Gillian cotton on the birth of their daughter