Hi FGC family,
It’s been a hot one this week, hasn’t it, and it’s going to get hotter over the weekend! It seems like we’ve not had any real significant rain since the beginning of lockdown. The lawn in our back garden looks more like a desert and everywhere is dusty and dry. Although I love the hot weather it would be good to have some rain just to freshen everything up and dampen down the dust.
Jesus talked about conditions like this in the parable of the sower. He mentioned that when the farmer goes out to sow his seeds in the field, they fall in four different places. One of them was as follows in Matthew 13:5,6, ‘Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.’
How important it is to make sure we have some depth to our relationship in Jesus Christ, that we read God’s Word, The Bible and talk to him regularly in prayer, especially through these past months when we haven’t been able to meet as much to worship together.
The Christians in the early church in Acts had a strong faith because, we are told, it was based around four things, it says, ‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.’ This put them in a good place when persecution came, they were able to stay strong and not shrink back when the heat was on.
May God keep you strong in the Faith, particularly through these strange times. Stay close to Him by practising His presence through reading The Bible and praying often and in all circumstances. And gradually over the next few months we may be able to meet more often for Fellowship and the breaking of bread and give testimony to the goodness of God even when the heat was on through these difficult times.
Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
Psalm 1
The notices for your particular attention are:
Every blessing for the coming week,
Pete (on behalf of the leadership team)
To the Frinton Gospel Chapel Family,
The past months of turmoil have in some way tested each and everyone of us in our ways of living. Each of us will have a different story to tell. That is because each and everyone of us is looked on by our Father in heaven as an individual.
In the Gospel of Luke and chapter 12, we are reminded by Jesus that we should not fear, because if we put our trust in God he has even numbered the hairs of our head. That is how much he cares for each one of us and pays attention to our every need.
David in the Psalms says 'Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts'. If we continue to trust in God and openly ask him to look into our deepest thoughts he will answer our prayers.
That is why as a Chapel family it has been so wonderful that our first physical meeting to open has been the Prayer Meeting.
Of course we do have to be prepared for His answer and not look for an answer that we want, and that is so often the hardest part, that in all circumstances, to totally trust in him.
This Sunday we will be holding our 9.30 am Communion Service in the Chapel. There will of course be provisions made to ensure our protection from the virus, but we look forward with expectation and joy to meet together to celebrate the out-poured love of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The notices for your particular attention are:
Every Blessing. Martyn, on behalf of the Leadership Team
Hi FGC friends,
So today (Friday 24th July) sees another step in the ‘New Normal’ when we have to wear masks in shops, banks, takeaways, etc. If we don’t wear a mask we could be and probably will be turned away. So, we need to go prepared otherwise the shopping is not going to get done!
The Bible has a lot to say about being prepared, especially when it comes to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. It reminds me of the parable of the 10 bridesmaids in Matthew 25: 1-13. When the Bridegroom was delayed the bridesmaids decided to have a nap. Suddenly, sometime later, during the night, the call went out that the bridegroom had arrived. The Bridesmaids woke up and joined in the procession, but five of them realised they hadn’t got enough oil in their lamps so they went off to buy some more. By the time they got back the wedding was underway, the door was shut and they were excluded from the festivities.
The parable is a warning for us to be prepared for when Jesus returns remembering what Jesus said in John 14: 6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Don’t forget to be prepared with your mask when you next go shopping but, more importantly, be prepared for when Jesus, the heavenly Bridegroom comes and calls us to the wedding feasts of all wedding feasts. You don’t want to be turned away from that one.
‘Believe in the LORD Jesus, and you will be saved’ Acts 16:31
The notices for your particular attention are:
Love and blessings,
Pete (On behalf of the leadership team)
To the Frinton Chapel Family,
We hope you have all had a good week and pray that you continue to stay well.
As many more venues are beginning to reopen and normalities reappear it is giving me a real sense of hope and joy for seeing you all again in the not too distant future. It is encouraging that we have been able to take the first step in reopening by running the prayer meeting on Thursday evenings and the leaders are in discussion and constant evaluation of what it looks like to reopen on Sundays, so we will keep you posted on this for when that can happen.
I was reading some different verses on hopefulness and I found these verses in Job which I thought really illustrates the hope we can have in our God:
Job 11:17–19
"And your life will be brighter than the noonday; its darkness will be like the morning. And you will feel secure, because there is hope; you will look around and take your rest in security. "
In faith we can move through the trials of life with confidence and hope.
The notices for your particular attention are:
God bless you all again in this coming week,
Becky, on behalf of the Leadership Team.
To the Frinton Chapel Family,
We hope and trust that you are all well and safe – please do let us know if there is any need you have.
This week, I have been doing some running and as I ran I was thinking about how tough it is to go from the flat land to running up a hill, but the beauty of running up the hill is the achievement in reaching the top and that you get the experience of running down again. I was thinking of this relating to tough situations in our life – sometimes it can feel like we are running up a hill, that it is feeling tough and that we have resistance, but in those times we tend to seek God more, rely on him more and that feeling of drawing close to Him is such a big reward – we then get to experience His goodness when we can see Him and feel Him closer, much like running down the hill. It reminded me of this very famous verse:
Psalm 121 vs 1
I lift up my eyes to the hills -- where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
So I pray that this is an encouragement for you all this week.
The notices for your particular attention are:
God bless you all,
Becky, on behalf of the Leadership Team
To the Frinton Gospel Chapel Family,
The Government has announced that places of worship in England can reopen from the 4th July. Of course there are many restrictions and provisos that accompany this announcement.
Please pray for the Chapel Leaders, that they will be endued with 'all wisdom' as they discuss ways and means to gradually open up our chapel building safely.
Not only do we want to physically meet together again, we also want every body to feel and be safe, so that this disease, that has caused so much disruption, will not re-emerge.
Of course we can also look at all the new things that we have been blessed with and discovered as individuals and as a Church family.
We therefore look forward with hope and assurance in that, above all things, our God is still firmly in control.
For our prayers
Our Chapel notices for your particular attention are:
In all things we endeavour to praise and glorify our God, at all times and in every situation.
Martyn, on behalf of the Leadership Team.
Dear Chapel Family
I pray you are all well and feeling God's peace, I am keeping you all in my prayers and missing you all.
Please remember Judi and Lars and the family in your prayers as sadly Judi's father passed away this week.
Many of you may already know but, Dave Garlick is trying to raise money for 2 new classrooms, a basket ball court, new toilets/water system and a new wall to be built at their project Mano & Mano. They do an amazing job sharing the love of God and spreading the Gospel in the community of El Tingo. If you would like to get involved in doing a fund raising event for the project please contact Dave or myself. Here is a link to his video explaining more...
And here is a link where you can donate to this project if you would like to.....
https://www.give.net/bikewalkrunoff
Just wanted to also share one of my favourite prayers that I have been using a lot lately that I am sure many of you will already know.
God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardship as a pathway to peace;
taking, as Jesus did,
this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it;
trusting that You will make all things right
if I surrender to Your will;
so that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.
Reinhold Niebuhr.
Notices
God bless you all from Abi, on behalf of the leadership.
It was so lovely lying in bed during the night this week and listening to the rain beating on the windows. We have enjoyed such a prolonged period of dry and good weather over this period of lockdown but the garden was desperately crying out for a natural watering. I am sure the farmers, allotment keepers and gardeners amongst us were praising God at the sight and sound of the rains and, relieved that for a while at least, they wouldn’t have to spend time watering the plants and crops manually to try and keep them growing.
For weeks I have been trying to keep everything going with regular watering with the hose but, the morning after the night of rain it almost seemed like my garden had come to life and was singing in gladness and praise for the refreshing it had received.
We sometimes go through dry periods of our life spiritually when for various reasons we are just managing to keep things going between us and God, we might feel like we are existing on very little input from us and receiving very little from Him. At times like this we need to pray for that refreshing and restoration of the Holy Spirit
In the Book of Isaiah the Children of Israel were in the doldrums, going through a dry period of their walk and relationship with God. They had moved away from principals and commands that God had asked them to live by and that would keep them in a healthy relationship with Him. God so wanted to shower His blessings on them but there needed to be a change of heart. This is what he says to them.
‘If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.’
May you know the refreshing and blessing of God in the coming week, As the old hymn says:
There shall be showers of blessing,
If we but trust and obey;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
If we let God have His way
Notices
Please let the leadership know if you have any pastoral concerns for yourself or other members and friends of FGC
Every blessing,
Pete (On behalf of the FGC Leadership Team)
To the Frinton Chapel Family,
Although restrictions are slowly being lifted for some people, we are all still feeling the effects of this world wide virus. But now that we are coming through a time when there was a single focus, that was to save and preserve lives, we are now being made aware of many other events happening and taking place across the world.
Because we are bombarded from all sides with so many things to fill our minds, then it is so easy to feel at a loss or helpless and in many cases totally isolated.
But we know that is not the case. Jesus said 'And surely I am with you always, to the end of the age'. At all times we look to God who is the creator of all things and with us every step of the way in Christ Jesus. It is at such times then that we look to the words of the Psalmist who said:
Praise the Lord, all you nations;
extol him, all you peoples.
For great is his love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord.[a]
We therefore look forward with hope and assurance in that, above all things, our God is still firmly in control.
We know that some of our Chapel family have had a testing and troubled week, so we give thanks for the answers to our many prayers for those in their needs.
The notices for your particular attention are:
May God continue to pour out his blessings on each and everyone.
Martyn, on behalf of the Leadership Team.
Hi FGC Family,
As I write this week’s bulletin, I am sitting on the boat slope in Walton whilst out with the grandchildren on our morning walk. There are a few families on the beach enjoying the relative liberation from the restrictions that they have had to abide by over these past two months. As I watch the children play it made me wonder just how difficult it must have been for them and their parents to stay within the confines of their homes and gardens for such a long period of time. There is an almost unbridled joy as they smile, laugh, jump, run, dig and play on the beach. They are so enjoying the space and freedom of having such a large area to express themselves and release all the energy that has been suppressed for weeks on end.
It reminds me of a verse from Psalm 118:5. ‘When hard pressed, I cried to The Lord and he brought me into a spacious place.’
What a wonderful freedom we experience when we find Christ and accept Him as our Saviour and Lord. We are set free from the restriction, restraint and bondage of sin and released to unlock the future God had planned for us. A future that was the suppressed, and frustrated, for as long as we didn’t know and love Him. Now in Christ we no longer have to be held back by worry or fear, we do not have to be dragged down by the empty promises and false claims of the world around us, but live in the spaciousness of God and His kingdom which allows us to bring into fruition all the potential He has put within us to bless Him, bless others and bless ourselves.
My prayer for the coming week is that you and I will be like those children on the beach and enjoy the freedom that Christ brings with an unbridled energy and joy.
Jesus Himself said. ‘. . . if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’ John 8:36 36
We send our congratulations to Sharon and Martyn on the birth of their granddaughter, Maisie Grace. Although the baby was four weeks early we thank God that Mum (Bethan) and baby are both doing well.
Some further notices for your attention are:
Have a blessed week all,
Pete Davison (On behalf of the FGC leadership team)
To the Chapel Family
Hello all. I do not know about you, but I have stopped counting the weeks since we were first told to stay in our homes. Now restrictions are being lifted and we can look forward to a little more freedom in our routines. This brings new challenges as people talk about life returning to 'normal'. But as Christians should we be expecting our lives to return to a past way of living?
What have you learnt over the past few weeks about yourself that could bring about a new way of walking with the Lord Jesus Christ?
May I point you to consider the words of Psalm 96. The Psalmist desires three things, first that we Sing to the Lord a new song (vs. 1), second that we Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength (vs. 8) and it goes on to say Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his Name, and third that we Say (proclaim) among the nations, "The Lord reigns" (vs.10).
So is there a 'new' song on our lips, so that we can ascribe glory to the Lord and that we may say to those around us that the Lord reigns. Have we seen God's creation, plans and purposes in a revitalising and 'new' way? I pray that is the experience for each of us as we continue to look 'forward' in the coming days.
Some notices for your attention are:
May God continue to pour out his blessings on each and everyone.
Martyn, on behalf of the Leadership Team.
To the Chapel Family
Hello everyone, I pray you are all healthy and happy.
Its such a blessing that we can still do church online together, I am finding it really encouraging, the fact that, though we can't be in the building together, we are still church and still sharing, supporting and praying for each other in any way we can. The online services have been brilliant and I can't thank enough, all those who have taken part in contributing and helping put these services together, thank you. Especially Paul Hepworth, you are doing an awesome job thank you.
The midweek thoughts are always really encouraging too, and its great to see the familiar faces. This week Ben shared a lovely message and he shared this verse,
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:17
In this period of lockdown when for some every day can feel the same, Ben reminds us to look at ways to serve God in every small situation. If you haven't already listened to his midweek thought I recommend it. It can be found on the Frinton Gospel Chapel You Tube page, and of course you will also find our service there this Sunday at 11am. Link below, please do join us. Also please do contact any of the leadership if you need help or prayers.
Also we would love to see everyone in a photo collage as part of the chapel service online. If you can, could you send a photo of you/your family to wavebreakstudio@gmail.com thank you.
God bless you all,
From Abi, on behalf of the leadership.
To the Chapel family,
We hope that you are all OK - please let us know if there is anything you need.
We are in May! How did that happen? It seems crazy to think what we thought this year would be compared to what it actually is, but I found real hope and reassurance in the mid week thought from Sue this week. She really spoke to me about letting God be our constant even when everything around seems uncertain. These are the verses she shared from Isaiah 40:30-31:
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
I found these verses to be really reassuring that God is our hope and our strength and we can get through this time trusting that He is in control. I hope you also feel encouraged by that.
We hope you can join us again for the Sunday service which can be accessed directly from the Frinton Gospel Chapel YouTube page.
The mid-week thought is also featured via that YouTube link, if you haven’t seen that yet! These will also be posted on the Facebook page, if you are able to access that, and on the Frinton Gospel Chapel website as well.
God bless you all,
Becky, on behalf of the leadership team.
To all the Fellowship at the Chapel,
As each of us continues to bring our best endeavours to stop the spread of this worldwide virus, we also continue to seek the Lord in prayer.
Thursday evenings is the time for our weekly prayer meeting. At 7.30pm can I ask you to continue to spend some time in prayer.
Among the many things on your heart please pray for:
Please add your own thoughts as the Spirit leads.
Every Blessing to you, Martyn of behalf of the Leadership Team.
To the Chapel family,
I hope you all had a good Easter weekend despite the situation that we find ourselves in. I don't know about you, but I'm starting to get a bit of cabin fever, but as we can see, it is important to stay home and stay safe for others and ourselves. I hope you've all found your routines and are safe and well.
My message for the youth group on Easter Sunday was a simple one of 'Love' - Jesus went to and stayed on that cross because of His love for the world and we are therefore called to love others around us, even from our own homes. One of the daily bible verses on the Bible App this week was this:
"Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." John 13:35
I think now is a great opportunity to have more time to love others and show God's love - an encouraging message, a drop off at their doorstep, a prayer, a conversation about faith and anything else you have in mind to support and love those around us.
We hope you can join us again for the Sunday service which can be accessed directly from the homepage of this site together with the mid-week thought and worship.
God bless you all,
Becky, on behalf of the Leadership Team.
To the Chapel Family,
One of my contemplatives reading this week has been from the book of Psalms.
Psalm 130 is a Psalm of ascents and one way that it is thought to have been sung by pilgrims as they travelled up to Jerusalem. Verses 5 & 6 say:
I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in his word. I long for the Lord more than sentries long for the dawn, yes, more than sentries long for the dawn.
As we are all restricted in our 'goings out', then I am sure this theme has become part of our daily thoughts and prayers.
Easter celebrations are going to be very different this weekend, but in this difference may we 'Long for the Lord more than sentries long for the dawn'. May we see the Lord Jesus Christ in a new and deeper way than ever before.
We do hope that everyone in the Chapel will be able to join in. May God bless each and everyone who celebrates the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ this weekend.
Martyn, on behalf of the Leadership Team.
'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