Pastor's Message January 2012
Dear Friends Some see New Year as an opportunity to turn over a new leaf; start a fresh page; begin all over again. The blank page before us gives us a chance to do things a bit differently - perhaps with a little more thought,kindness and wisdom. To think of one's life as the different pages or chapters of a book can be quite helpful. It seems to suggest that each section of our life is part of some bigger still unfolding story. Some,will find it easy to divide their lives into nice neat chapters,others will find that very difficult, for them life is just one big unintelligible horribly tangled mess.
But the idea can be helpful. For example, if my life is part of a bigger story, then no part of it is without meaning, my life is not insignificant. It also means that those sad, bad, or even mad chapters which most of us have been through at one time or another are not the end of the story. That's helpful when life just does not make much sense and things don't seem to be working out right.
But we must also remember that the good times don't always last either, it is not wise to be to be proud or presumptuous - life can turn upside down in a moment. The wise heart stays humble.
One of the most important things about any book in the physical sense is the binding. A well bound book will last for many years - a book with poor binding will fall apart. What is it that provides the binding for human life - just luck or good fortune? Or can we see the hand of God's providential goodness? A true awareness of God will give us a great sense of purpose and meaning.
We wish you all true happiness and peace in the coming year.
Eddie Jones - Pastor
But when the fulness of time had come, God sent forth his Son....to redeem. Galations 4 verse 4
Dear friends, throughout the world people are preparing to celebrate one of the greatest events in history - the birth of Jesus. Many of the prophets predicted it. Luke and the others carefully recorded it. The apostles and the others went out in to the world proclaiming it. Millions have believed it. The Son of God came into the world to show us who God is and what he is really like. If you want to know God - look at Jesus - to study him. As the Christ/ Messiah he came to save. He came to rescue us from our sin through his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. He also came to share all the richness of God's great purpose for man. The world we live in at this moment is in a mess: morally,religiously,politically,socially and financially. Our leaders seem lost - they have no real answers. Many hearts and lives seem to be so empty. Many of the things people pursue have no more weight and content than the baubles on our Christmas trees. We really do need to consider Christ this Christmas.
May you know the peace and joy that only Jesus can give.
Eddie Jones Pastor
Pastors Message November 2011
Dear friends,
There have been some very mild,mellow and beautiful days over this last month. But last night it was very dark,stormy,wild and windy - a rather rough reminder that winter is probably not too far away. Like, and often, with the weather our moods tend to change. Dark mornings seem to bring out dark moods. Bright sunny mornings seem to distribute free smiles to everyone you meet. But there are always some exceptions. Some folk seem to to have a resident smile, their own inner sunshine,ready to brighten everyone's day. Others actually revel in dark and stormy weather. And some poor souls don't ever seem to be truly happy inside.
If you care to think about it - there are some things God cannot do. He cannot tell a lie because he the God of truth. Truth is at the very heart, the essence of who He is. Neither can He change. He is the everlasting God, eternally the same. His love never changes. His will never changes. Therefore, there is a constancy in God and in His word, that is ever firm,steady and reassuringly reliable. At the same time, He has an infinite number of ways in which He can express His love, or communicate His kindness to us.
With warm thoughts Eddie Jones, Pastor.
Pastor's Message September 2011
Christianity is not Dying
Dear Friends,
You probably think that I must be wrong about that. But on a global scale the growth of the Christian Church has been nothing less than astonishing.
For example - in a recent article 'China's Revival' in Evangelical Times, author Bob Davey says :-
In 1949 there had been, at most, one million Protestant believers in China. Fifty years later, in 1999 there were estimated to be around ninety million. You will read almost nothing of this in the secular press. But you will read of the daily excesses and failures of our decadent and destructive materialistic society.
What millions of people in China have found is, that the Christian message is able to bring about a powerful change for good within the human heart. They have experienced the power of God's Word, the presence of God's Holy Spirit and the reality of God's Son.
Oh! That our land was so blessed.
Eddie Jones - Pastor
Pastor's Message July 2011
Dear Friends. Most of you have prayed at one time or another, in one form or another. Perhaps your parents taught you a simple children's prayer at bedtime.Or you have (sort of) said prayers in a service or at school. Many people, who will never admit it, have prayed in a moment of fear or panic with nowhere else to turn. The Bible teaches enough about prayer to occupy a long life time, but if I understand it aright -true prayer must flow from the heart. It is nothing less than a God given desire planted deep within us. We all surely need to pray for forgiveness - who is without sin amongst us? We need also to pray with faith in our hearts. To pray without faith is like shooting arrows aimlessly into the clouds never knowing where they might land. We need faith in Jesus who came to earth to die for sinners like us. We need faith in the Father from whom all blessings flow. We need faith in the Holy Spirit who will help us as we pray. And, like Abraham of old, we need to pray with humble hearts that believe God's promises.
With our constant prayers Eddie Jones (Pastor)
Effective prayer is a quartet, the Father,the Son,the Spirit and the Christians.
John Blanchard
Prayer is a sincere,sensible affectionate pouring out of the soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the spirit, for such things as God has promised.
John Bunyan
Only the prayer that comes from our heart, can get to God's heart.
C H Spurgeon
Pastor's Message July 2011
Dear Friends Most of you have prayed at one time or another, in one form or another. Perhaps your parents taught you a simple children's prayer at bedtime.Or you have (sort of) said prayers in a service or at school. Many people, who will never admit it, have prayed in a moment of fear or panic with nowhere else to turn. The Bible teaches enough about prayer to occupy a long life time, but if I understand it aright -true prayer must flow from the heart. It is nothing less than a God given desire planted deep within us. We all surely need to pray for forgiveness - who is without sin amongst us? We need also to pray with faith in our hearts. To pray without faith is like shooting arrows aimlessly into the clouds never knowing where they might land. We need faith in Jesus who came to earth to die for sinners like us. We need faith in the Father from whom all blessings flow. We need faith in the Holy Spirit who will help us as we pray. And, like Abraham of old, we need to pray with humble hearts that believe God's promises.
With our constant prayers Eddie Jones (Pastor)
Effective prayer is a quartet, the Father,the Son,the Spirit and the Christians.
John Blanchard
Prayer is a sincere,sensible affectionate pouring out of the soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the spirit, for such things as God has promised.
John Bunyan
Only the prayer that comes from our heart, can get to God's heart.
C H Spurgeon
Pastor's Message July 2011
Dear Friends Most of you have prayed at one time or another, in one form or another. Perhaps your parents taught you a simple children's prayer at bedtime.Or you have (sort of) said prayers in a service or at school. Many people, who will never admit it, have prayed in a moment of fear or panic with nowhere else to turn. The Bible teaches enough about prayer to occupy a long life time, but if I understand it aright -true prayer must flow from the heart. It is nothing less than a God given desire planted deep within us. We all surely need to pray for forgiveness - who is without sin amongst us? We need also to pray with faith in our hearts. To pray without faith is like shooting arrows aimlessly into the clouds never knowing where they might land. We need faith in Jesus who came to earth to die for sinners like us. We need faith in the Father from whom all blessings flow. We need faith in the Holy Spirit who will help us as we pray. And, like Abraham of old, we need to pray with humble hearts that believe God's promises.
With our constant prayers Eddie Jones (Pastor)
Effective prayer is a quartet, the Father,the Son,the Spirit and the Christians.
John Blanchard
Prayer is a sincere,sensible affectionate pouring out of the soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the spirit, for such things as God has promised.
John Bunyan
Only the prayer that comes from our heart, can get to God's heart.
C H Spurgeon
Pastor's Message May 2011
Rugby Bruise.
As I write two Welsh rugby players plying their trade beyond the borders of Wales are in trouble with their clubs. One of them for allegedly 'bad mouthing' and then fighting with his own teams mates, the other it seems for getting into a fight with some soccer supporters in a pub.
But I am not sure that either of these lads can compete with the record of former player Chris Jones. According to the 'sporting marvels' website Chris has the unenviable (and almost unbelievable) record of being banned for life not once, but twice! In fact Chris was the kind of rugby hard man who regularly got himself sent off the rugby field and through drinking and fighting got into plenty of trouble elsewhere as well.
In fact there was a time when Chris found himself in a police cell with the propect of facing some very serious charges.
His distraught wife came to visit him and made it clear that he had let her and the family down once again. " I was frightened and ashamed " said Chris, "and I took a good look at myself and didn't like what I saw. Though I had tried to change the past, I had failed each and every time. I was thirty two years old and was obviously living my life to an image. I knew I coudn't go any lower. I couldn't sleep and I was pacing my cell. I knew I needed help."
We have asked Chris to come and share his real life story at our next Meeting for Men On Tuesday May 17th 7:30 pm at the Chapel.
Admission free: Light refreshments provided.
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Message April 2011 A Happy Easter To All
The Resurrection
John Chapter 20.
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdelene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don't know where they have put him!"
So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter,who was behind him arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus's head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene.
Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus's body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, "woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him."
At this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realise that it was Jesus. "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it that you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him. and I will get him." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic,"Rabboni!" (which means teacher).Jesus said,"Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father, go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version 1978 by the International Bible Society
EASTER SERVICES:
Good Friday 7:30PM Speaker Robert Ramos
Easter Sunday 10:30AM Pastor Eddie Jones
Easter Sunday 6pm Charles Unsworth
A Warm Welcome to All.
Pastor's Message March 2011.
Dear friends, Some time, a long time ago, while I was a student at the Art College down in Swansea, I had a friend who, in purely intellectual terms seemed to be head and shoulders above the rest of us. He always seemed to be able to grasp the essential elements of any topic and go right to the heart of the matter in any discussion. It was the same when he attempted to draw anything, he seemed to grasp the essential quality of any object or subject before he began to work. He somehow saw the whole thing before his mind's eye.
There are those who have the same ability in relation to other people. They seem to know what makes people tick. They have a gift, the ability to perceive the essential elements of personality or character. Some people are essentially trustworthy while others tend to be disingenuous and rather dishonest. Some are essentially kind, others have a cruel streak that surfaces in conversation.
There is of course a limit to our knowledge of each other. That becomes evident when somebody who everybody accepted as a normal and decent person does something almost too horrible to mention. 'He/she seemed to be such a quiet neighbour' is a comment often heard after some hideous crime has been committed.
But we are known to God. One thing we can be certain of is, his knowledge of us. He sees our hearts, he understands our thoughts. What then is the essence of the Christian faith? What is at the heart of it's message?
Clearly there is a personal God. One who can be known. From the first page of the Bible God himself is there. And he is a communicative being:He speaks to us:He reveals himself in words and deeds: He makes himself known to men,women and children. This is the great thing we need to grasp about Jesus Christ: In Him his own Son, God himself is speaking directly to us. At the heart of everything that can accurately be called Christian you find all the things that are true about Jesus Christ. The very essence of the Christian faith is this message from God, centered upon his son Jesus Christ.
At the very heart of the Gospel you will find these facts: Christ died for our sins just as the scriptures said he would: Christ rose from the dead just as the scriptures said he would and then he was seen alive by many reliable witnesses. It was these foundational truths that the early Christians preached. So at the heart of everything in the New Testament you find the Evangel: The Christian Gospel: the good news about Jesus Christ - thus to be an evangelical is to regard the Gospel: the message of salvation through personal faith in Jesus Christ as absolutely essential to everything called Christian.
With warm regards Eddie Jones (Pastor)
News Letter November 2010
You are to give Him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1 v 21
Pastor’s Message.
Dear friends, Names in the Bible usually mean something - they tell us something about the character or calling of the person. The child of Mary is to be called Jesus because his work is salvation, his great mission is to save, his personal interest is in sinners.
His name means so much to sinners.
Especially those written off as worthless and unworthy of heaven by the proud religious elite. (see Luke 15) Jesus has an interest in those regarded as a lost cause, hopeless moral failures.
Jesus means Hope: we can be rescued from our sin and depravity.
Jesus means Life: he promises new, abundant life to penitent believers.
Jesus means Love: in him the love of God is most marvellously and explicitly revealed for us to see.
Jesus means Power: he is able to save completely all those who come to God through faith in him.
Jesus means everything to those who have no answer to the sin that is controlling and marring their lives.
Jesus means good news to those living in spiritual darkness who have never known the light of the gospel.
But in a society where the reality of sin is denied, the name of Jesus is often despised. It is useful only for swearing.
His name means much to his people.
It is clear that they need salvation. It is clear that Jesus came to provide salvation. It seems fair to conclude that his people are those who enjoy and experience the salvation he gives.
They are saved entirely by his Grace:not through their own works
They are saved by Faith: through looking to Jesus Christ alone and putting their whole trust in him.
They are saved through his Cross and his conquest of death. The babe of Bethlehem must go to Calvary and then rise again to save his people.
To believers the name of Jesus is Precious. We love the one who first loved us and gave himself for us.
News Letter October 2010
Pastor’s Message.
Dear friends, As I write, the heart warming story of the rescue of those trapped miners is still fresh. And I have just read that a number of them returned to give thanks to God for their deliverance. The whole world rejoiced because they did not die, they survived, and they are safe. Obviously much of their story has yet to be told.
In my own more local experience, three people I knew well have died within a few days of each other. Two were women in their nineties, and the other a friend just a few years older than me. They were all Christians and each of them lived a good useful life.
It is at times like these that I find myself in profound disagreement with the popular sentiment that ‘death is nothing at all’ – it most surely is something! We all rejoice when people escape from it. We weep when others are taken by it. What can hurt more deeply than that which forcibly, and sometimes suddenly, separates us from those we most love, need and respect?
Is Death the End?
It is clearly the end of our earthly life and experience. Some see it as the end of a journey or pilgrimage. For others it might be the end of a successful career and a lifetime of achievement, but it can also be the conclusion of a long drama full of fear, foolishness and failure. Rightly November is the time of year when we remember the many lives that end in an act of noble self- sacrifice – movingly and honourably their memory lives on.
Is Death an Exit?
Some people actually long for death. They do so because their lives are full of trouble, heartache and suffering – they just need relief. Whatever comfort is available to them it is not enough to overcome the pain they are in. Persecuted Christians must surely long for the peace and glory of heaven.
Is Death an Entrance?
This was clearly the Apostle Paul’s view of death, he speaks of being ‘absent from the body and present with the Lord’ and of ‘being with Christ, which is far better.’ For him death was an entrance into life.
Heaven is where Jesus is.
Heaven is a world of love.
Heaven is a place of purity, free from sin, sorrow and suffering.
Heaven is our hope and comfort.
This is a matter of Faith, but true faith is neither blind nor foolish.
True Faith rests upon the promises of God in the Bible. Jesus said’ in my father’s house there are many rooms’
True Faith looks to the Lord Jesus Christ alone – no other. He claimed to be The Way to the Father in heaven. He died for sinners and then rose again I triumph from the dead. Our confidence is in him.
True Faith is created, strengthened, enabled and encouraged by the presence of God the Holy Spirit dwelling and working within our hearts.
May God grant us each of us a true faith and a living hope.
Eddie Jones (Pastor)
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