'Do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased'
Heb. 13:16
Hello Chapel Family,
So, we’ve nearly completed two weeks of lockdown and I guess to a certain extent we are adjusting to what we hope will only be our temporary way of life. I’ve been thinking a lot about you all and it’s also been good for me to hear about some of your experiences and feelings through this time. For many of you, if not all, experiencing isolation in the past weeks and seeing it stretch out for the weeks to come has been , and will continue to be, difficult in so many ways. Loneliness, boredom, coping with keeping the children occupied all day every day, looking after elderly parents and facing challenging situations at work are just some of the things you have shared.
All this has really highlighted to me the importance of standing together through this difficult time This period of separation could really grow us as a body of God’s people by the way we show love and concern for one another. Let’s continue to pray, offer help, contact and support each other so that when we do resume and meet up again, we will be able to tell of the wonderful things that were done among us, in the Name of Jesus Christ, and how that has brought us closer together.
Be encouraged by the words of Jesus in Matthew 25. 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'
We were blessed with our first FGC online service last Sunday and we plan to continue with this every Sunday morning until lockdown ends (Thanks to our technical geek, Paul Hepworth for making this possible). In addition, we will be having a mid-week thought every Wednesday (Kev Woods kicked us off this week with a very encouraging thought). If you haven’t heard either of these yet you can still catch up on YouTube.
We also ask that every Thursday between 7.30 – 8.30pm you set aside a time to pray for whatever and whoever the Lord lays on your heart. I know some house groups have also set up online groups so they can still meet up regularly to discuss and pray.
The leadership team are also meeting up at least once a week for an online meeting and we are constantly in touch with one another to discuss any issues arising that concerns the Chapel Fellowship.
If anyone has any needs (shopping, medications, etc), or you just need someone to chat with, please don’t hesitate to call Pete Davison or Alison Gooding and if we can’t help you, we will find some who can.
Finally, be strong in The Lord and in his mighty power (Eph.6:10)
Love and blessing to you all in the beautiful, wonderful, powerful name of Jesus.
Pete (on behalf of the FGC leadership team)
I have no doubt, that like me, when you switch your radio or TV on there is an expectancy to be updated on this virus spanning the world.
However, I am sure that many things are still happening that are now being ignored. For instance, how are those people in the UK doing that had their homes flooded, or lost them completely just a few weeks ago? Or what has happened to all those who are fleeing war and strife and are now refugees? How are those people in Australia coping that lost their homes to devastating bush fires?
The world has not stopped!! I am sure that those people are all still trying to put their lives back together, it is just not being reported. Our lives are being dominated by a Pandemic.
Thursday evenings is the time for our weekly prayer meeting. At 7.30pm can I ask you to spend some time in prayer.
Here are some suggestions, some from last week, some new, for our prayers to our God who is the maker of heaven and earth.
Pray for:
At the end of this past week how are you feeling, confused, anxious, frustrated? I will admit that these are just some of the feelings that I have had and this for a variety of reasons.
But we are reminded in Philippians Chapter 4:6 & 7, at all times we can come before God's throne of grace and bring all of our concerns before him.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
As a fellowship we have many requests for prayer for many things. We have also seen many answers to prayer. We need to acknowledge our grateful thanks to our great God. We will be looking at ways to do this as a fellowship to give the glory back to him.
Here is a particular prayer we can all pray for the current situation we find ourselves in, not only as a nation, but across the world:
Sovereign God, in Your mercy please comfort and heal vulnerable patients who are ill with Covid-19. Protect all those looking after them, especially doctors, nurses and carers, and prevent this virus from seriously disrupting the everyday lives of our communities, cities and countries. Grant great wisdom to those in authority to make effective plans and help us all to be vigilant but not give in to panic. Amen.
This world is God's creation and we will be considering this on Sunday morning when we look at Roman's Chapter 8.
The Leadership have worked unceasingly this week to enable an OnLine Worship and Devotional Service. I do hope you will be able to follow it at home on phones, tablets or computers.
Every Blessing in the name of the Lord Jesus, Martyn
Thursday evenings is the time for our weekly prayer meeting.
At 7.30pm can I ask you to spend some time in prayer.
Here are some suggestions for our prayers to our God who is the maker of heaven and earth.
Pray for:
To the Chapel Community
In all my years of being within the family of the Lord Jesus Christ, I have never experienced anything quite like this. The Coronavirus has changed our daily lives in a way that is staggering. The biggest thing that is apparent is that to many there is a fear of the unknown. But it is also apparent that Christians should and do have a different view of life and the events taking place. We walk by faith and not by sight. I now receive daily communications from organisations such as Premier, CARE, Evangelical Alliance and Partnership all having the same message. All saying now is the time when we show to the world that we have an answer, the Lord Jesus Christ.Be encouraged by the words of St Paul in Romans Chapter 8Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ............ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our LORD.So this Sunday we look to a change of the way we praise and worship the Lord Jesus Christ.
This Sunday is Mothering Sunday and also has been designated as a National Day of Prayer, so what can we do as a Church fellowship.Here are some ideas:
In addition we can connect to streaming services such as:
I have also been talking to Mark Massey and we are invited to link in to the Free Church service this week. If you go to www.frintonfree.com/YouTube you can subscribe to their channel straight away. There’s a short video up, explaining what services will be like and when. They then go live at 11am on Sunday.We are also exploring ways of using their equipment to provide our own services in the future.
As this is early days we are on a learning curve, but we will find new ways to be together to worship our Lord in the beauty of holiness. The Leadership team are continuing to look at ways to achieve this.
I pray this Sunday may be a time of refreshing and renewing to us all.Yours in the Lord Jesus Christ, Martyn