Page 1 Responding to God s love - Church of the Good Shepherd...King-Smith, Jonathan Rooke, Alan...

Responding to God’s love


Vicar Revd. Howard Wright. The Vicar-age, Four Marks, GU34 5AA (01420-563344) *

howardwright.cogs @gmail.com

Youth and

Family Worker

Children's Worker : Lorna Littlewood

Jane Hughes (07711 407831)

Lorna.cogs @gmail.com

[email protected]

Admin- istrator

Matt Senior (01420-560622)

Cogsoffice @googlemail.com

Church- wardens

Lynn Vine (560672) Christopher King-Smith (564247)

[email protected]

c.kingsmith@

btinternet.com

Acting Treasurer

David Craigen Davidacraigen

@gmail.com

Synods Deanery: Janet Foster, Howard Short, Frank Maloney.

Diocesan: Kennett Westmacott, Janet Foster.

PCC David Craigen, Paul Dorey, Janet Foster, Alison Frater, Pip Hughes, Helena Hunt, Natalie Senior, Chris McGrath, Tim Littlewood (Sec).

Licensed Lay Ministers

David Bush, Janet Foster, Robert Hughes, Christopher King-Smith, Jonathan Rooke, Alan Thain.

Keyholder Val Lucas, The Flints, Lymington Bottom, Four Marks. (561139) [email protected]

Safeguarding Officer

Paul Dorey (for the parish) cogssafeguard-

[email protected]

Magazine Editor

Robert Parker (563433) Contribu-

tions no later than the 15th of the month please

parker305 @btinternet.com

www.Goodshepherdfourmarks.org.uk

Other Ministries at The Good Shepherd

Rev. Howard Wright leads the Discipleship (with Val Lucas) and Pas-

toral ministries; Alan Thain: Prayer ministry; Chris McGrath: Worship

ministry; Nigel Pink: Mission ministry.

mailto:[email protected]



The Churchwardens’ Letter

Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias ... (Acts 1:26)

An unusual verse to take for a theme, but very relevant to us as we approach our Annual Parish Church Meeting (APCM). The context is the decision by Peter to elect another apostle to fill the gap left by Judas Iscariot. The believers were called together to decide. There were two candidates. Matthias was one and he was chosen, but who was the other? Nobody remembers those who come second, so you’ll have to look it up in Acts 1:23.

120 disciples attended that first APCM; will we be that fortunate at our 20th? We have heard some excellent presentations these last weeks on gifts and our encouragement to use them. I don’t sup-pose there was one of us who thought that their gifts might make them a valuable member of the PCC, let alone a Churchwarden! Yet the fact remains that, like many organisations, unless there is an ef-fective focus to our fellowship, equipped to make the spiritual, logistic and financial decisions to promote our vision, we can become so many individual “resounding gongs or clanging cymbals”.

There are currently several vacancies on the PCC. Will each of us please look around next time you’re in church and think and talk about what gifts you can offer to promote our long-term governance. If you feel you have an “intelligent” dissatisfaction with some aspects of what we are and how we do things and would like to contribute to change, then please speak to Lynn or Chris. Don’t worry about the “casting lots” bit, we’ll sort that out!

In Chris’ view, it was a dark moment at the APCM in 2018, when the church voted, in effect, to let Lynn, a young working mother, car-ry the duties and responsibilities of a Churchwarden on her own. As for electing an eighty-year-old last year … Lynn will stand down at our APCM on April 21st. This church is big and active enough to re-quire two Churchwardens. They are much more than being just the “house” managers. They are the senior lay members of the fellow-ship; they have specific responsibilities and duties and they answer through Howard to the Bishop. Please each of you consider whether your skills map onto these tasks. Talk to one of us and borrow a copy of the “Hayne’s Manual” for Churchwardens and PCC members to find out more.


We wrote in our first letter how fitting it would be for Howard on his return to find the parish in better shape than when he left it. His first PCC meeting is on May19th. Please let us ensure that, at the least, he chairs a PCC up to strength and with two Churchwardens.

When the moment came those early disciples, spurred on by the Spirit, acted decisively. We pray that this time, enough of us will do like-wise.

God’s Blessings,

Lynn and Chris

A Recent Youth Event In January we held our annual Youth Bake Off event; this year in col-laboration with other local youth groups. Young people competed in three baking challenges and produced some amazing bakes themed around Bible stories as well as following a slightly cryptic recipe for two types of truffles. The creativity, as always, was fantastic and even in-cluded a coin hidden inside a sponge cake to represent the parable of the lost coin!

After judging and a good deal of clearing up (I'm sure you can im-agine the amount of mess we made!) we shared dinner together and headed down to Southampton for a monthly event called “Big City Worship”. It's a great opportunity to join with lots of other people to worship God together and hear the gospel - our young people from different churches are starting to get to know each other quite well now, so any chance to be church family together is one we all abso-lutely love.

Next stop for our collaborative work is our weekend away on the Isle of Wight in February - please pray for us as we embark on a week-end of activities, adventure, worship and exploration of the book of Philippians!"

Lorna.

Youth and Children’s Worker.


Finance Report

The 2019 accounts are currently with the examiners for their “audit” (in time for the APCM on 21st April) but the draft results reflect an overall deficit on general fund, as predicted, of just under £11,000, which is less than half that originally anticipated.

Income during the year was better than forecast, due to an unex-pected legacy early in the year, and one or two “one-offs” we didn’t see coming!

Expenses were commendably controlled well within budget.

Though unplanned, legally-required upgrading of the electrical sys-tems meant that we had to use most of the restricted legacy balance from 2018 to fund this major work.

However we also benefitted in the final quarter from a 3- year grant from the EHDC to support our Holiday@Home events, so the De-cember event was fully-funded in this way.

So overall an encouraging result compared to a somewhat gloomy outlook 12 months ago.

2020 vision: That said … The 2020 forecast presents a serious chal-lenge. However we have started well and income for the first two months is in line with forecast if not slightly ahead.

A few regular donors have thus far reviewed their monthly dona-tions (upwards) and we are very grateful for this generosity.

We need to have faith in God to provide, but at the same time rec-ognize that we all have a part to play in this balancing of funds into the future.

Treasurer Function: I am now on my own as your Acting Treas-urer, though to my great relief and gratitude Tim Wettone has contin-ued to stand in the wings to rescue me during the completion of the 2019 accounts.

Please note that I now have a dedicated e-mail address for treas-urer activities ([email protected]) All claims and enquiries re-garding finance matters should henceforth be directed to me, face-to-face, or via e-mail or using the pigeon-hole at the back of the church.

Meanwhile we continue to seek from within the congregation a possible candidate to take over from me as full-time treasurer, but so



Messy Church

Meets 4 to 6 pm on the Second Saturday each month except in

April when with COGS Club, June (is at Village Picnic) and August

Next: 14th March

Setting up normally at 9.30 am and preparation from 3 pm

For further information contact Jane Hughes, the Families Work-er, on 07711 407831 or [email protected]

Pray for

Ali Beckett, and for her work with the Starfish Malawi organisation.

Our link Church of the Good Shepherd

in Lotome, Karamoja.

far with no luck. Please consider whether this is some-thing you would be interested and prepared to take on.

David Craigen, Acting Treasurer

COGS Club

Easter: Sat. April 4th, with families

Summer: September 2nd, 3rd & 4th

Setting up normally the day before.

For offers of help and further information contact Lorna Little-wood, the Youth and Children’s Worker at [email protected]


Each Month in the Church

(You are welcome to attend any of our meetings)

* NB Howard is currently on Study Leave

Our Sunday Services are − in Church − at 8 am (a quiet style),

9.30 am and 7 pm (a celebration service).

Kid’s Church

During the 9.30am service.

There is a crèche at the 9.30 service.

COGS Clubs

April 4th and September 2nd, 3rd, 4th

Further information from Lorna.

COGS Youth (Year 6 up)

Sundays during the 9.30 am service.

Wednesdays 7.00-8.30pm in the hall.

Contact Lorna about Bible Studies.

Regular UNITED events, trips and resi-dential times.

Instagram page: “cogsyouth”

goodshepherdfourmarks.org.uk/youth

Further information from Matt in the Church Office or the

diary on www.goodshepherdfourmarks.org.uk

Tea and Praise 3 pm Sundays three times a year. Next: 5th April.

Prayer Ministry

This is offered at all 9.30am Services.

Holiday at Home

For the over-60s held three times a year. Next: Tues 24th March

Contact: Frank Maloney

W? Worship Event

Next: TBA.

Next Alpha and Christianity

Explored Courses.

Contact: Nigel Pink.

Worship Matters

Next: TBA

Contact: Chris McGrath


Prayer Meetings

Tuesdays at 7.30pm in Church

Next: TBA

Tea and Chat

& Tea and Bowls

2pm 18th March

More information from the office (560622)

Coffee and

Communion

11am 4th March

More information from the

office (560622)

Toddlers’ Lunches 12.30 − 2.30pm March 5th &1 9th, April 2nd

More information: Caroline c/o the Church Office

Prayer Chain If you have any urgent requests for prayer through the Prayer Chain, please email (or phone) Matt in the Church Office ([email protected], 01402-560622) ) or Howard Wright *([email protected], 01420-563344) or Alan Thain ([email protected], 01420– 85185).

Pastoral Care

If you would like a visit by a member of the Visiting Team or you know of someone who would, please contact the team leaders, Debbie Norgate (84534) or Gilly Cobb (544404), or Howard Wright * (01420-563344) or Matt in the office (01420-560622)

Bumps and Babies

10am - 12 noon Mondays (except bank holidays)

for expectant and new parents

with babies aged under one

year. Contact: Jane Hughes


Care Homes Ministry

Westlands: 11th March.

Belford House: as announced

Contacts: Janet Foster, Rob Hughes or the Church Office (560622)

Small Groups

Groups meet during the week.

For further information contact Val Lucas, the ministry leader for

small groups (561139).

Litter Picking: Sat 21st March 10 - 11 am, third Saturday each month. Meet in the car park behind the garage at Oak Green. Further information: John Fowler-Wright

(01420-563380) or the Church Office.

Coffee and Questions

Meets on the 4th Wednesday each month at 10.30 am in the Church Hall (except December). Next: 25th March.

Resource Sharing Network (RSN)

Email [email protected] to share the Church's talents and

other resources amongst the Church Family.

Over 60s Lunch Club at the Village Hall Next: 11th March, 1.00pm, £3.50 per meal.

Phone: 01420 769435 / 01420 562448.


Our Celebration on 26th January From Elaine King-Smith

It was good to see so many of our three congregations together to cel-ebrate Howard’s 20 years as our Vicar.

Andy Hunt and I shared memories of the selection process and in-terview day. I recalled that the then Bishop of Basingstoke, with Andy and I, conducted the interviews and that members of the congregation met the three candidates over lunch. At the end of the day it was a unanimous decision that Howard was the man we wanted.

We showed a film of Howard’s Induction service . Who are all these young people on the screen?

Chris Wood gave thanks to God for Howard’s ministry, saying how much he had enlarged and expanded the church and instigated many outreach activities.

Lynn presented Howard and Helen with a gift from the congregation. A cake, made and beautifully decorated by Chris McGrath, was ceremonially cut and later enjoyed by everyone.

Chris King-Smith ended the celebration with a prayer of blessing for Howard, Helen and their family, and for God’s protection and guidance on Howard during his three months study leave and for the years ahead with us. (seen under, right, Elaine King-Smith. Bottom: Lynn, Andy, Jamie,

Kayleigh, Howard, Helen, Isabelle, Elaine, Chris Wood, Chris King-Smith).


The Mission of the Month, Tearfund, believes that everyone has an amazing God-given potential to create change. We show peo-ple around the world how to unlock these gifts and put them to use escaping poverty. Many of our partners in this work are local church-es, who discover how to offer their communities material and spiritual hope.

Luke 4:17-19: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anoint-ed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

What We Care About:

Communities Learning how to Escape Poverty.

God creates all of us with incredible inner resources. Tearfund works with local churches and Christian or-ganisations to unlock this potential – showing communities that, to-gether, they can escape poverty.

Being Ready when Disaster Strikes

Tearfund has over 50 years' experience of responding to disasters and crises. We serve the most vulnerable people and communities – wherever they are.

Changing Laws and Lifestyles

We work with supporters and partners to influ-ence powerful decision-makers around the world. And we encourage everyone to alter their own lifestyles, as a way to love our neigh-bours.

March topics, and prayer requests ...

After the Cyclone:After the Cyclone:

Cyclone Idai tore through Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe in March last year, affecting an estimated three million people and leaving thousands dead. It has been described as one of the worst tropical


storms on record to hit Africa and the southern hemisphere. Tear-fund’s local partners have been helping those most affected. Thank God that emergency supplies were able to get to those in need. Pray for the continued efforts to help people get back on their feet.

Swift Work in the DRC:Swift Work in the DRC:

Through our partnership with the SWIFT Consortium in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), we are tacking cholera – a disease often contracted by drink-ing unclean water. In 2017 there was a mass out-break in the DRC, with 55,000 reported cases and almost 2,000 deaths. We are training local communities in hygiene and sanitation and seeing a real reduction in this waterborne disease.

Pray for protection of children, who are the most vulnera-ble when disaster hit. For continued good relationships in an area that has often been hostile.

Full of Beans:Full of Beans:

During March, many people are choosing to eat a basic diet of rice and beans as part of Tearfund’s Mean Bean Challenge. It gives them a small taste of what it is like to feel hungry, and an insight into how hunger affects us physically and emotionally. We hear back from people who took the challenge last year..

Pray for people who live in places where there is no easy access to food – that their situation might change.

The Deepening Yemen Crisis:The Deepening Yemen Crisis:

Conflict in Yemen has left many people unemployed and unsafe. Tearfund and our partners have been responding as alarming reports and investigations have identified millions of people in the re-gion as living on the brink of famine. We’ve been teaching people how to avoid life-threatening dangers.

Praise God for our local partner, working in such diffi-cult conditions, and pray for strategy and influence as they change lives.


Growing Futures in Malawi:Growing Futures in Malawi:

Most people in Malawi rely on small scale farming to live, but challeng-es like climate change have made life increasingly difficult. Tearfund’s local partners have been introducing a Church and Community Transformation (CCT) process to empower communities to improve their living standards, by changing their farming methods, and introducing greater crop diversification.

Pray that crop yields will improve as a result of this work. That the hope of farmers and their families might be strengthened as they draw nearer to God.

Plague of Locusts Hits East Africa:Plague of Locusts Hits East Africa:

East Africa is facing plagues of locusts – the worst in decades, destroy-ing vital food supplies and sources of income. Tearfund staff and part-ners in the region are calling on us to pray for it to not get any worse. Ethiopia and Somalia are in the midst of the biggest invasion of the insects in 25 years – and the worst in Kenya for 70 years.

It’s believed the locusts have come across the Red Sea from Yemen and Oman. Towards the end of 2019, heavy rainfall created ideal con-ditions for the insects to breed.

Ask God to give the authorities in these nations wisdom to know how to tackle the plagues, and for sufficient funds to be made available.

And watch out for the Big Quiz Night in November

Submitted by Rod Eckles for the Mission Committee

A Large Gathering and Fun at Messy Church The activities team (left) and the catering team (centre), and the pray-er board (right). Keep up with Messy Church at facebook.com/Messychurchcogs.


The Persecuted Church Worldwide In the Central African Republic of Congo, jihadists captured and tor-tured a pastor to convert to Islam and name other pastors, neither of which he did and was executed for not doing so.

In Sri Lanka, a Christian going to church was attacked by Buddhist monks and spectators while the Police watched on.

In Burkina Faso and the Republic of Cameroon there have been nu-merous killings of ordinary Christian people by jihadists in recent months.

In Northern Nigeria recently a church was attacked and over 100 Chris-tians were killed.

But over five million Christians paraded in Lagos, Nigeria, on 8th February to get government action on the matter.

Pray for the above daily?

[Source: Barnabus Fund for the Persecuted Church. Sub-mitted by Vic Stroud]

Oh Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, the Son of God, we thank you for the example of those from other religions who decide to follow you − to willingly take up their cross, enduring rejection, loss, poverty, and physical violence, sometimes from their nearest and dearest.

At the hardest and most difficult times, let them know Your love and presence in a very special way and remind them that their place in Your family can never be taken away from them.

Help us to learn from their lives, to love You with a total commit-ment, and to be willing to suffer for You. Amen

[Source: Barnabus Fund.]

Many people are hanging by the very thinnest of threads. If you treat them well, without knowing it you may very well be that thread.

John Pavlovitz.

Always be kinder than seems necessary.

Lynne Lee.


Sponsored Children

I am trying to update the list of children sponsored by COGS members.

If you sponsor a child abroad and I have not telephoned you recent-ly, please speak to me at church or email or telephone to tell me whether you still sponsor the child whose photo is on the board, or whether you have a more recent photo.

I have heard the board described as “the Compassion board” as many of the early sponsorships were through Compassion but many of the children whose photos are currently on the board are of children sponsored by COGS members through several charities.

If you do not sponsor a child but would like to find out more about what is involved, I can talk to you and/or send you a list of the websites of the charities through whom they are sponsored for you to look up where they work and how much their sponsorship is, as these vary from £30 a month to £3.50 a month depending on where they work, what they provide for the children and whether their staff are all salaried or include volunteers.

Tricia Saltmarsh on [email protected] or 01420-563413

Four Marks and Medstead Community Cupboard

[email protected]

www.neighbourly.com : Donating surplus to local good causes

We ensure your product surplus is put to good use in the community. Work with a team of surplus redistribution experts, supported by a platform transacting thousands of donations every day.

fareshare.org.uk: Surplus with Purpose.

Alton: www.facebook.com/pg/altoncommunitycupboard.

[A number of us were at the introductory meeting. A Four Marks venue is being investigated at the time of writing; do let the editor know if you are interested in this venture.]


https://fareshare.org.uk/


Refugee Tales

Last year we had a visit from Wes Sutton, the Director of the Acorn Christian Heal-ing Foundation, who preached at a heal-ing service. Wes is married to Mary who works with the Gatwick De-tainees Welfare Group (GDWG). One of their outreach products, Refu-gee Tales, is inspired by the experiences of men held in immigration at Gatwick and the work of the welfare group in 20 years of visiting these immigrants.

Refugee Tales is where a group of refugees and supporters under-take a walk and at each stop share tales with all those willing to listen. The GDWG are organising a walk from Crawley on 3rd July to Dorking, Guildford, Farnham, Four Marks and finishing at Winchester on 8th July. As you will see one of the venues is Four Marks and as a church we have agreed to host the walkers on the evening of 7th July and the walkers will be spending the night in the church. They will also be us-ing the village hall for catering purposes.

It is hoped that as many people as possible will attend for the even-ing on 7th July and hear the tales that are shared. There is no charge. Please invite your friends and neighbours as we are sure the subject matter is of interest to everyone especially as we will by then no longer be members of the EU with the implications that could have for our immigration policy.

There will be a further update next month but please reserve the date so as a church we can sup-port this worthy cause.

[Websites: www.refugeetales.org and www.gdwg.org.uk. Submitted by Alan Thain]

The Passion Conference, 2020

A huge crowd of 65,000 Christian millennials and members of Gen Z attended the Mercedes Benz stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, to tell the world that Jesus is alive and the church is still the answer.

Passion 2020 comprised students and leaders from over 1,680 uni-versities, all 50 states, and 81 countries.

[Source: CBN News. (Millennials were born 1982-1995, Generation Z 1995-2012 approximately and Gen Alpha is now.)]


Other Faiths and Sects, a Short Summary

Buddhism’s Key facts

Buddhism arose as a result of Siddhartha Gautama's quest for en-lightenment in around the 6th Century BC.

Their path to Enlightenment [Nirvana] is through the practice and development of morality, meditation and wisdom.

There is no belief in a personal God. It is not centred on the rela-tionship between humanity and God.

Buddhists believe that nothing is fixed or permanent - change is always possible.

The two main Buddhist sects are Theravada Buddhism and Maha-yana Buddhism, but there are many more.

Buddhism is 2,500 years old, has 376 million followers worldwide and over 150,000 in Britain.

Buddhists can worship at home or at a temple.

[Source: www.bbc.co.uk]

The Christian Gospel

God reveals Himself in many ways; including in creation, in the prophets and apostles, and in Jesus Christ.

God became a man in Jesus Christ.

He lived the perfect life that we couldn’t live.

He died on the cross the death for sin for which we should die.

Three days later he rose from the grave, so proving that he is the son of God.

He offers forgiveness of sins and eternal life to all those who will repent and believe.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thess 5:23

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be se-cure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels. Psalm 122:6-7


Luminosa Concert at 7.30pm, 28th March

Alton-based choir Luminosa Voices celebrates its ten-year anniversary with a concert in the magnificently-refurbished All Saints Church, Odiham. In a spirit of joy, rebirth and all things new, the programme fea-tures music from three composers:

Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs, which finishes with the ma-jestic Antiphon “Let all the World in Every Corner Sing”.

The first performance outside London of Cecilia McDowell’s large-scale Da Vinci Requiem, premiered in May 2019 at the Royal Festival Hall in London. The composer herself will be giving a talk during the evening.

The newly-commissioned Salve Deus, Rex Judaeorum, an Easter Cantata composed by Alison Willis.

Tickets are £15 from [email protected].

More information from Roger Buckley.

The Bible App for Kids Download the most popular kids Bible app for free, and help your kids fall in love with God's Word. Learn more at bible.com/kids.

Since the start of OneHope UK in 1997, over 8 million Books of Hope have been distributed to children and young people across the UK.

Today, the Book of Hope is mainly distributed through the Bag of Hope (at Halloween and at other key periods throughout the year).

[Source: www.ucb.co.uk/onehope]

The reward for loving is the power to love Him [God] and others more. [Mike Bickle.]

Keep the switch of faith turned on. [Dr. Kenneth E Hagin.]



The First Great Awakening in Europe - Moravians There have been hundreds of revivals over the centuries, some personal, some affecting entire churches and some touching whole localities and nations. But there have been six massive movements of the Holy Spirit since the six-teenth century Reformation which have affected the glob-al Christian community simultaneously. These are com-monly called “Worldwide Revivals” or “Great Awakenings,” because of their universal scope and influence. They all began with Christians ex-periencing God in a new and powerful way, becoming more passionate in their love for God and in their desire to serve Him in their world. Subsequently, the Holy Spirit used them to invade in the non-Christian world, resulting in masses of conversions, huge social changes and a better world to live in. Jonathan Edwards, in his book “The History of Redemption” states his view that "though there be a more constant influence of God's Spirit always, in some degree, attending His ordi-nances; yet the way in which the greatest things have been done to-wards carrying on this work, always has been by remarkable effusions of the Spirit at special seasons of mercy…"

The first of these “Great Awakenings” began in about 1727 in a Mo-ravian community called "Herrnhut" (the Lord's watch) in Saxony, (modern Germany) later spreading to Britain and America. This was not the greatest revival in numerical growth or geographical scope. Nevertheless, it well deserves the name because it was the first dis-cernible occasion that God's Spirit was outpoured simultaneously across different nations.

The Moravians were the spiritual descendants of the fifteenth centu-ry Hussite movement who had settled on the estate of Count Nicholas Zinzendorf. They began a community dedicated to following the teach-ing of Christ in simplicity, holiness and truth. Soon, others from various church traditions joined Herrnhut, which grew into a small town. Un-derstandably, major religious disagreements emerged and by the mid 1720’s the disgruntled community was deeply divided and highly criti-cal of one another.

Zinzendorf was appalled at this blatant display of ungodliness and pleaded for unity, love and repentance. He visited all the adult mem-bers of the community and drew up a covenant calling them “to seek out and emphasise the points in which they agreed,” rather than stressing their differences. On 12th May 1727, they all signed an


agreement to dedicate their lives, as he dedicated his, to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. They gave themselves afresh to God and prom-ised to bury their disputes for ever. Many of them decided to set aside certain times for continued earnest prayer.

On 16 July, Zinzendorf poured out his soul in a public prayer accom-panied with a flood of tears. His prayer produced an extraordinary ef-fect. The whole community began praying as never before.

During those days they were deeply affected by the Word of God and the power of the Blood of Christ. Their hearts were set on fire with new faith and love towards the Saviour and a similar pure and burning love towards one another. They began to grow together into a holy union among themselves, banding themselves together into small groups of two or three to discuss their spiritual state, to exhort, re-prove and pray for each other.

One historian records, “On the Lord’s day, the 10th of August, the minister Rothe was seized, in the midst of the assembly, with an unu-sual impulse. He threw himself upon his knees before God, and the whole assembly prostrated themselves with him under the same emo-tions. An uninterrupted course of singing and prayer, weeping and sup-plication, continued till midnight. All hearts were united in love.”

On Wednesday, 13th August, the Holy Spirit was poured out on whole assembly. During the communion service, loud weeping drowned out the singing. An electric anointing flowed through all those present with inexpressible joy and love as they all shared the bread and wine, knowing they were baptised into one Spirit. The scene was so moving that the pastor could hardly tell what he saw or heard.

A few days after the 13th of August, a remarkable revival took place among the children at Herrnhut and Bertholdsdorf. On the 18th of Au-gust, all the children at the boarding school were seized with an ex-traordinary impulse of the Spirit, and spent the whole night in prayer. From this time, a constant work of God was going on in the minds of the children, in both places. No words can express the powerful opera-tion of the Holy Spirit upon these children, whose lives were so trans-formed.

On the 25th of August the brethren began the ministry of 24 hour-a-day prayer which continued for over a hundred years. They consid-ered that, as in the ancient Temple the fire on the altar never ceased to burn, so in the Church, which is now the Temple of God, the prayers of the saints ought always to ascend to the Lord.


In January, 1728, the brethren held their first missionary meeting. This meeting was celebrated by meditations on different portions of Holy Scripture, and fervent prayers; in the midst of which the church experienced a remarkable enjoyment of the presence of the Spirit.

In the next 25 years they sent out 100 radical missionaries from that small community, a figure that rose to 300 in 65 years. What is remarkable is that there were 226 Moravian mission stations before William Carey, (who we now call the father of modern missions) was born! He began his life in 1761 and set sail as a pioneer missionary to India in 1793, after the Moravians had seeded the world with the gos-pel.

[Source: www.revival-library.org]

“Return to Zero” Threatens Millions of Chinese Christians

Beijing – According to the 2018 Chinese census, there are 40 million professing Christians living in mainland China. Some informed individu-als believe the number of Christians is actually closer to 100 million. Given the rising repression of Christianity under the administration of President Xi Jinping, it is reasonable to assume that many did not pub-licly acknowledge their Christian faith on census documents.

A great wall separating Christians from the rest of the population has been under construction since President Xi took control in 2013. Yet, the number of Christians has continued to grow. Some estimate that, allowed to continue to grow at the same rate, the Christian popu-lation in China will become the largest in the world by 2030.

That poses a threat in the mind of the communist leadership, stimu-lating efforts for officials to limit the unregistered church population.

Many, therefore, are unaware of the latest initiative of the Xi admin-istration. The project is dubbed “Return to Zero.” Its objective is to completely eliminate Christianity from “the public sphere.”

We can expect a continuing campaign of house church closures us-ing municipal governments and resources to enforce the nationwide campaign. Officials have no inclination for negotiation. Informed sources at International Christian Concern believe that the Chinese will not use violent measures this time, since their primary goal is to shut down gathering places or merge house churches into Three-Self churches.


The only alternatives open to pastors and churches is to become a Three-Self church or to be closed. Three Self churches are required to teach a profane, Sinocized version of the Bible which, according to the Apostle Paul “is no gospel at all.” Three Self pastors must have all ser-mons pre-approved by government officials.

Pray for the true believers in China. Should the Lord tarry, the re-pression they are facing will certainly digress to outright oppression and unabated persecution. On the other hand, should He return soon, President Xi will have his wish come true. The Chinese believers will be gone, but they will be at home in Heaven, safe from all harm.

[Source: www.missionsbox.org]

The Kingdom of Heaven is Like

1. The parable of the weeds. Jesus told them another parable: The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. Matthew 13:24

2. The parables of the mustard seed and the yeast, He told them an-other parable: The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Matthew 13:31

3. He told them still another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about thirty kilograms of flour until it worked all through the dough.’ Matthew 13:33

4. The parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl: The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Matthew 13:44

5. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. Matthew 13:45

6. The parable of the net: Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. Matthew 13:47

7. He said to them, Therefore every teacher of the law who has be-come a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old. Matthew 13:52

8. The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. Matthew 18:23


9. The parable of the workers in the vineyard: For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. Matthew 20:1

10. The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding ban-quet for his son. Matthew 22:2

Some of the Names of Jesus

Advocate (1 John 2:1)

Apostle of our Profession (Heb. 3:1)

Author of Life (Acts 3:15)

Author and Perfecter of our Faith (Heb. 12:2)

Author of Salvation (Heb. 2:10)

Faithful and True Witness (Rev. 3:14)

First and Last (Rev. 1:17; 2:8; 22:13)

Firstborn From the Dead (Rev. 1:5)

Firstborn over all creation (Col. 1:15)

Great Shepherd (Heb. 13:20)

Great High Priest (Heb. 4:14)

Lamb of God (John 1:29)

Lamb Without Blemish (1 Pet. 1:19)

Last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45)

Life (John 14:6; Col. 3:4)

Light of the World (John 8:12)

Our Great God and Saviour (Titus 2:13)

Our Holiness (1 Cor. 1:30)

Our Husband (2 Cor. 11:2)

Our Protection (2 Thess. 3:3)

Our Redemption (1 Cor. 1:30)

Our Righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30)

Our Sacrificed Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7)

Son of David (Lk. 18:39)

Son of God (John 1:49; Heb. 4:14)

Son of Man (Mt. 8:20)

Son of the Most High God (Lk. 1:32)

The steward needs an open hand to receive from God and then an ac-tive hand to give to God and to others.


Brother of Man Shot Dead by Ex-Dallas Police Of-ficer Forgives and Hugs Her in Court

It was an act of Christian forgiveness that brought tears to the eyes of those in the courtroom. Amber Guyger, 31, a white police officer, had just been jailed for 10 years for shooting dead her black neighbour, Botham Jean, 26, whom she mistook for an intruder.

While protesters outside the court building in Dallas were outraged by the “lenient” sentence, the victim's brother took a different path.

Brandt Jean, 18, asked the judge if he could hug his brother's killer. He then embraced Guyger for about a minute in the middle of the courtroom.

The teenager told her: “If you truly are sorry, I forgive you. And I know, if you go to God and ask him, he will forgive you. I'm speaking for myself, not my family, but I love you just like anyone else. “I'm not going to say I hope you rot and die just like my brother did. I want the best for you. I don't even want you to go to jail.”

Judge Tammy Kemp then went to her chambers and returned with a Bible. She too hugged the killer, and told her: “You just need a tiny mustard seed of faith. You start with this.”

The extraordinary scene played out at the end of a long trial that stemmed from the shooting of Mr Jean, a black PricewaterhouseCoop-ers accountant, on September 26, 2018.

Guyger had returned to her apartment building after a 14-hour po-lice shift, still in her uniform, and in a state she later described as “autopilot”. Her flat was number 1378 and Mr Jean lived at 1478, one floor above. His door was unlocked and he was sitting on the sofa eat-ing ice cream. After entering the wrong flat Guyger saw a person she thought was an intruder, drew her gun, and shot him twice.

Mr Jean's mother Allison said she had no idea that her surviving son was going to hug the killer. She said: “I think what Brandt did was to heal himself and to free himself from what has been wrapped up within him for the last year. And so we forgive. But I don't want forgiveness to be mistaken with a total relinquishing of responsibility.”

A video of the hug was played at the Dallas West Church of Christ, which the Jean family attends. The congregation applauded, cried, and said “Amen.”

[Source: The Daily Telegraph, and can be seen on www.YouTube.com]


Sheep Among Wolves II This film by Dalton Thomas, Joel Richardson and Marco Moreno tells the story of Iranian Muslims converting to Christianity − the “fastest-growing church” in the world, an underground, persecuted Christian movement in a country known for exporting radical Islamic terrorism, Iran.

People in Iran, a Muslim-majority nation, are fleeing Islam in droves as believers bow their knee to Jesus and become aggressively pro-Israel, according to the documentary “Sheep Among Wolves Volume II.”

More Iranians have come to faith in Jesus in the last 20 years than the 1,300 years since Islam swept through Persia-combined.

Thomas calls the movement “the Iranian awakening. It owns no property, no buildings, no central leadership, and is predominantly led by women,” he said in a statement.

But the new believers in the Islamic Republic face great risks.

“We know that if they get us, the first thing they will do to us as a woman is rape us and then they will beat us and ultimately they will kill us,” one believer said. “This is the decision we have made that we want to offer our bodies as sacrifices. Because I have this thought when I wake up, that when I leave, that door I might not come back.”

[Source: www.foxnews.com]

Kanye West's service at Joel Osteen’s Church Kanye West is continuing his faith-based crusade, telling thousands of college students at a youth conference Sunday how Jesus radically changed his life.

The “Jesus Is King” rapper and husband of Kim Kardashian shared his experience in between songs with the Sunday Service Choir at the Strength to Stand Conference in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., where 1,483 of the 12,400 students in attendance made decisions for Christ, according to organizer and evangelist, Scott Dawson.

“I believe Jesus died for my sins. There was a time when the devil had me.”

As the 135-member gospel choir sang, West added: “Do you know the good news? Jesus can save a wretch like me.”

[Source: www.foxnews.com]


“Am I My Brother’s Keeper?”

By Oswald Chambers

None of us lives to himself… Romans 14:7

Has it ever dawned on you that you are responsible spiritually to God for other people? For instance, if I allow any turning away from God in my private life, everyone around me suffers. We “sit together in the heavenly places…” (Ephesians 2:6). “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it…” (1 Corinthians 12:26).

If you allow physical selfishness, mental carelessness, moral insensi-tivity, or spiritual weakness, everyone in contact with you will suffer. But you ask, “Who is sufficient to be able to live up to such a lofty standard?” “Our sufficiency is from God…” and God alone (2 Corinthi-ans 3:5).

“You shall be witnesses to Me …” (Acts 1:8). How many of us are willing to spend every bit of our nervous, mental, moral, and spiritual energy for Jesus Christ? That is what God means when He uses the word witness. But it takes time, so be patient with yourself. Why has God left us on the earth? Is it simply to be saved and sanctified? No, it is to be at work in service to Him.

Am I willing to be broken bread and poured-out wine for Him? Am I willing to be of no value to this age or this life except for one purpose and one alone — to be used to disciple men and women to the Lord Jesus Christ. My life of service to God is the way I say “thank you” to Him for His inexpressibly wonderful salvation. Remember, it is quite possible for God to set any of us aside if we refuse to be of service to Him …lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Wisdom from Oswald Chambers

God created man to be master of the life in the earth and sea and sky, and the reason he is not is because he took the law into his own hands, and became master of himself, but of nothing else.

[Source: www.utmost.org]


2020 Grammy Award Winners for the Christian and Gospel Music Categories

Best Gospel Performance/Song: Love Theory.

By Kirk Franklin; Kirk Franklin, songwriter.

Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song: God Only Knows.

By: For King & Country & Dolly Parton.

Josh Kerr, Jordan Reynolds, Joel Smallbone, Luke Smallbone & Tedd Tjornhom, songwriters.

Best Gospel Album: Long Live Love.

By Kirk Franklin.

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album: Burn The Ships.

By For King & Country.

Best Roots Gospel Album: Testimony

By Gloria Gaynor.

[Source: By Hallels News Jan 26, 2020]

Bible Familiarisation with Core52

Most of us want to know the Bible better, but often we don’t reach our goal, perhaps because we're too busy or we don't know where to start. Core 52 of-fers a common-sense solution that fits into our busy lives.

Each week features a brief essay, memory verse, Bible story, trajectory verses, and practical ways to put what you've learned into practice. An optional "Overachiever Challenge" offers the chance to memorize the top 100 Bible verses by year's end.

This simple approach allows you to become familiar with the big ideas of the Bible in less time and with less effort than other reading plans. In one year, you can master the core of the Bible--focusing on topics from God's will to worry, happiness to holiness, and leadership to love. These fifty-two core passages are lenses through which you can read the rest of the Bible with clarity and confidence.

[Available through Jenny and Brian’s bookstall.]


The place where you live is your home, or “habitation”. So when you praise God, you’re saying, “Make Yourself at home, Lord.” Where does God dwell? He has many different addresses and one of them is “praise”.

Just as we enjoy a deeper level of intimacy with those we share our lives with at home, praise creates a sense of intimacy between God and us. Just as words spoken in love and appreciation draw two people together, words of praise draw you closer to God. The New King James Bible says, “You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Is-rael.” Note the word enthroned. The Japanese have a wonderful way of translating this. Recalling how their emperor was once carried on a throne and those around him would stop and bow down, they say, “When we worship God we create a seat, and He comes down and sits in it.”

Five times in two back-to-back Scriptures we are commanded to “sing praises” to God. “Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding” (Psalm 47:6-7 NKJV).

When God repeats the same thing five times in two verses, it’s be-cause He wants to be sure you get the message. You say, “But I couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket.” Listen to a praise song and hum along. The psalmist wrote, “Because Your loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name” (Psalm 63:3-4 NKJV).

The Bible in a Year

Exodus 14-15, Matthew 17

A sample from UCB’s Word for Today

When you worship, God feels right at home

O thou that inhabits the praises of Israel.

Psalm 22:3

Copies of The Word for Today are available from www.ucb.co.uk


Trypraying.com

Pray for:

a willingness to keep changing, growing and learning.

for the people who are struggling to see that their life has

purpose

that you would maximise each opportunity and relation-

ship that comes your way today.

ask God to show you the areas in your life where you need

to grow or change.

for your Church leaders.

pray for an understanding that the more you give, the

more you’ll have.

ask the Holy Spirit to show you new things as you read the

Bible today.

thank God for all the blessings in your life.

for those who you struggle to get along with.

for opportunities to meet the needs of others.

[Source: UCB]

Looking for God? www.lookingforgod.com or talk to us.

Find us at GU34 5AA and On-line at:

Web: www.goodshepherdfourmarks.co.uk

facebook.com/COGSFourMarks

facebook.com/Messychurchcogs

and

twitter.com/COGSFourMarks

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