Catching up on our sermon series in the book of Daniel

As well as livestreaming our Sunday Morning Worship Service via the YouTube channel "Artful Stampin", we also continue to record the sermons for uploading to our Welshpool Community Church profile on Soundcloud.  

Below is the recording from last Sunday (11th):

Welshpool Community Church · A Heart-Led, Word-Fed Prayer (Daniel 9)

Sunday Morning IN-PERSON Worship Service, livestreamed 13th June 2021

Last Sunday 13th June, we held our first in-person Sunday Morning Worship Service since lockdown began over a year ago!  We've hired the United Church building in town, as they are currently not holding any meetings on a regular basis.

Below is a video of the service, which we livestreamed on YouTube.  We thank God for an uplifting time together.  As the weather was dry, we ended the service by going into the church garden to sing before having a more informal time of socially-distanced fellowship and mutual encouragement.

We're planning to continue meeting in the United Church building on Sunday mornings at 10:30am on a regular basis until the Lord provides something more long-term.

Sunday Morning Worship Service, 6th June 2021

During our worship service on Sunday, we spent time looking at the book of Daniel chapter 5 and found an example of what Jesus once described:

Matthew 13:12: "For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

Below is the full service that was livestreamed on YouTube, in which we also have communion in remembrance of the death of Jesus Christ for us.

Sermon: The Glory of Unspectacular Obedience (Luke 3)

The last three years of Jesus' ministry, full of incredible teaching and miracles, were spectacular and memorable, and hence we find lots of details about those years recorded in the Bible.  

But there's hardly anything written down about the first 30 years of his life.  However, at the baptism of Jesus, we learn about the glory of unspectacular obedience, and in this sermon we consider how that can encourage us now to be holy.

Welshpool Community Church · The Glory Of Unspectacular Obedience (Luke 3)

A Christmas Message: God's Extended Household (Luke 2:22-38)

 After the challenging year we've had, many people are seeking comfort and consolation at this Christmas time.  In this sermon (recorded on Sunday 20th December), we look in Luke's gospel at a man called Simeon, who was also waiting to be comforted.  We discover why he was able to rejoice when he saw the baby Jesus and how the comfort he experienced is still available today to people from all walks of life.

Welshpool Community Church · Christmas Message: God's Extended Household

Sermon: The King in His Suffering (Psalm 22)

In this sermon, we look at Psalm 22 and learn how we are able to connect the suffering of David with both the suffering of Jesus Christ and our own suffering. When we do that, we discover truths that give us hope for the future and help us to move forward in life after we have experienced unjust suffering.

Welshpool Community Church · The King in His Suffering

Just Another Melodic Monday - Church (Take Me Back)

In Ephesians 2:11-22, the Apostle Paul describes how, through the reconciling work of Jesus Christ, we are able to find a solid foundation and a spiritual family in the church.

But later, in Revelation chapter 2, we find a letter written to the church in Ephesus where Christ warns them (verse 4): "But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first."

"Church (Take me back)" is a testimony song by Cochran & Co. about a person who had drifted away from church and from the cross.  The words of the second verse of the song struck me:

Tried to walk on my own but I wound up lost

Now I'm making my way to the foot of the cross

It's not a trophy for the winners

It's a shelter for the sinners

And it's right where I belong

Let's pray that, with so many church worship services now being made available to watch online, there will be many coming back to Jesus Christ and the love they had at first.

Just Another Melodic Monday - Forever Jesus

"Forever Jesus" is the newly released song from writers Matt Papa and Stuart Townend.  

Here are the words from the video's description on YouTube:

"Little did we know, when we were crafting the last verse of this new hymn, how relevant the lyric would be to the times we are living in:

“My final breath shall be forever Jesus

When shadows lengthen before my eyes;

My Lord and Friend, companion through the valley

When dearest ones are left behind,

His hand will lead me to the light.”

Not only are so many of us facing the prospect of battling this awful virus that has claimed so many lives already. But loved ones, relatives and friends are literally having to "be left behind" as the ill are taken into hospital, because of the dangers of passing on the virus. How important, then, to be reminded that Christ is there to "lead us to the light" - whether that is the light of eventual recovery, or (and this is the reality) the light of His eternal presence.
Perhaps we are not keen to be reminded of the awfulness of the times in which we live in a song! But to know that we are completely held in His loving arms, and guided by His all-powerful hand, is so vital for every single one of us right now."

Sermon: Knowing Christ (1 Peter 1:20-21)

In this message, we learn about God's rescue plan for sinners and how Jesus Christ is "made manifest" today.

Welshpool Community Church · Knowing Christ

Just Another Melodic Monday - Your Grace Still Amazes Me

Here's a beautiful reminder of the wonder we experience when we think about God's grace.  The song is called "Your grace still amazes me" and is performed by Fountainview Academy, a Christian High School in Canada.

Spiritual Growth, Episode 4: Love

In this Bible study, we first recognise God's plan for Christians to grow up spiritually, even when experiencing suffering. Then, we look at 1 John 4:7-11 and 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 and consider how important Christian love is in the life of a believer: "...and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love..."

A Midweek Message: A Fatal Mystery (Daniel pt. 3)

How can someone remain calm in a crisis?  

In Daniel chapter 2, a mystery becomes an emergency when human power and knowledge are ineffective.  However, while others are panicking, Daniel exhibits prudence (being calm and wise), prayer (trusting God to help) and praise (in response to God's mercies).  

In this message, we consider how we can respond in the same way if we have the same faith as Daniel.

A Midweek Message: Dinner or Death! (Daniel pt.2)

We're continuing our series called "Choose God's Adventure" in the Book of Daniel.

Can God be in control, even when life is difficult?  The answer from the first chapter of Daniel is "Yes!"  In this message, we see the sovereignty of God in the life of His people, especially Daniel and his 3 friends.

Just Another Melodic Monday - For the Cause

"For the Cause of Christ the King", by Keith and Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend, calls us to renew our commitment to walk in faith and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

Words from the last verse can be offered as a prayer: "Let it be my life's refrain: 'To live is Christ, to die is gain!'

A Midweek Message: Something starts, another thing ends, and one thing never changes (Joshua 5)

Having crossed the river, the people now pause.  In this message, we consider why God reinstated male circumcision; why He stopped providing manna; and what it means for God to be sovereign.

A Midweek Message: Crossing the River (Joshua 3 and 4)

In this message, we recognise the power of God demonstrated at the crossing of the Jordan and consider how, as God's people, we are to prepare to receive our inheritance.

A Midweek Message: The Importance of the Gospel (Acts 3)

In this sermon, Roger Davies looks at the Book of Acts chapter three, highlighting the importance that the Apostles gave to the Gospel and encouraging the church to pray for and anticipate "times of refreshing".

A Midweek Message: God's Unseen Ways (Ruth 2)

In this sermon based on chapter two of the Book of Ruth, we look at how Ruth, Naomi and Boaz began to discern God's will through their obedience to what He had made clear.

A Midweek Message: Humility and the Kingdom of God (Matthew 18)

In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 18, Jesus says: "Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever humbles himself like this child will be greatest in the kingdom of heaven."  

In this message, Brandon Oram explains why humility is such a necessary part of life in God's kingdom.

The Midweek Message: The Transfiguration (Matthew 17)

In chapter 17 of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus ascends a mountain with three of his disciples, and suddenly begins to shine brightly in front of them.  In this sermon, we consider what the disciples witnessed and what it means for us today.