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"Messenger" newsletter FEBRUARY

LEIGH BAPTIST CHURCH   MESSENGER”    February  2022      

VERNON ST / CHURCH ST . LEIGH. WN7 1BH         

 

Website :  www.leighbaptistchurch.org.uk            Contact:  admin@leighbaptistchurch.org.uk

Pastoral Leader – Val Hulme ( Days Off Wed and Fridays)

email :   pastoral.leader@leighbaptistchurch.org.uk          TEL 07817142192

Check LBC website for updates and info also LBC FACEBOOK page

 

Dates for your diary

 

Sunday 6th February:  All-age worship led by our Pastoral Leader  10:45 am

Sunday 13th February:  Service led by the deacons  10:45 am 

Sunday 20th February:  Service led by our Pastoral Leader 10:45 am.

Sunday 27th February:  Communion service to include the NWBA Sunday sermon  10:45 am  Also on Zoom

 

Tuesdays 1st, 8th and 15th:  Toddlers @ LBC  9:30am - 11:30am  

Wednesdays throughout February: Prayer Meeting  10:00 - 11:00 am

Saturday 12th February:  Coffee+  10:30am - 12:30pm

Wednesday 16th February: Deacons' Meeting 11:30am

Thursday 24th February:  Coffee+  1:00pm - 3:00pm

 

 

All services and meetings will be in church, but are subject to change if government and BU advice around Coronavirus changes. 

 

Toddlers                                                        

Each week during Toddlers, we have a different craft activity. To help with this, please could you save your used kitchen roll inners and egg cartons? (Not toilet roll inners as that goes against health and safety advice) These can be passed to either Susan or Val.  Many thanks.

 

 

ROOTS

 

Colossians 2: 6-7, GNB. “Since you have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, live in union with Him; keep your roots deep in Him; build your lives on Him; become stronger in your faith as you were taught, and be filled with thanksgiving.” 

 

When I was reading Word for Today for January 4th, verses 6 & 7 in Colossians chapter 2 took my attention, so that I looked more closely at the advice they give us. I decided to write down how they speak to me.

They tell us that once we have committed our lives to Christ Jesus our faith can remain strong and continue to increase.

  Paul was writing to the Colossian church in Asia Minor to encourage them not to follow any false teaching which would weaken their faith and trust in Jesus with the warning in verse 4, “---do not let anyone deceive you with false arguments, no matter how good they seem to be.” This is also very relevant to us in these days, so let us look at what is essential for us to be effective Christians, sure of what we believe and not led astray by false teaching.

 

1) “Live in union with Him.”                                                                                                   How do we do that? To be in union with someone we need to be in constant contact with them. In relation to God this can only be achieved by prayer, not forgetting to include listening to what He says. The more we talk to God, the closer to Him we become so that we are able to recognise the different ways in which He speaks to us. This will also include reading the Bible.

 

2) “Keep your roots deep in Him.”                                                                                                        The roots of a tree need to grow bigger and bigger as the tree grows taller. They also need to go deeper into the ground and to spread out in different directions to enable the tree to stand firm, and not to be blown over by very strong winds. We need to stand firm in our faith so that we know what we believe and will not be deceived by false doctrines, or by the distractions and ways of the world. Trees also draw nourishment from the earth through their roots. In William Barclay’s words, “the Christian is rooted in Christ and Christ is the source of his (or her) life and – strength.” Are our Christian roots deep enough in Jesus for us to draw strength from Him who is the source of our nourishment.?

   

3) “Build your life on Him.”

Many of us know the chorus, “The wise man built his house upon the rock.” It is about Jesus teaching in Matthew 7: 24-27. It goes on to say, ”The foolish man built his house upon the sand.” Everyone is ready to give a loud clap as, at the end of that second verse, they sing, “and the house on the sand fell flat.” As children we loved to sing it, but it does demonstrate a serious point, that if we try to live our lives in our own strength, they will not be fulfilled and lead to Everlasting Life, but to separation from God. Our lives need to be built on a firm foundation, the strength of Christ, to enable us to survive the storms or problems that occur in our lives.

 

4) “Become stronger in your faith, AS YOU WERE TAUGHT.”

If we live in union with the Lord, are rooted in Him and build on him, we will become stronger in our faith. Paul knows that the Colossian Christians have been taught about the deity of Jesus and the truth of the Gospel, but he is concerned that they may be deceived by false teachers, so he warns them to keep to what they have been taught from the scriptures and not add to it. We, too, need to beware of those teachings which will lead us astray from the truth of the Gospel as we are taught, that we believe in One God, who is three in one, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In Romans 3: 21-23 NIV we read, “---- A righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known. (It) comes through faith in Christ Jesus to all who believe --- for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Nothing else but our faith will save us from the penalty for sin and bring us back into God’s presence. Doing good works, going regularly to Church, following rules, or even being baptised will not make us Christians, or give us Eternal Life, but will follow on from having true faith in Jesus Christ who died to save us. Only this true faith in Him can change us to where we accept Him as Lord. Once we have done this we need to put into practice the advice of Colossians 2:6-7.

  The words of Isaiah 30:21 tell the people of Jerusalem, ‘Whether you turn to the right, or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it.”’ Are we doing that? Let us make sure that we are and then let us “live in union with Him, be rooted in Him, build our lives on Him, and become stronger in our faith in Him as we have been, or are being taught from God’s Word. We should never forget to be filled with THANKSGIVING for God’s love to us and for the help and guidance he gives us as we trust in him.

 

Kathie.

 

 

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