16th February 2020

ASHFORD COMMUNITY CHURCH

NEWSLETTER: 16^th February 2020

       FROM THE PASTOR’S PEN

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ

In Deuteronomy 31 verses 7 to 8 we read the following:

Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, ‘Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. ⁸ The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.’

I am very encouraged by this. Moses, aged 120, was about to die and he now passed on the baton of leadership to Joshua…who by now must be about 60 years old! Smith-Wigglesworth, as we declared last week, was in his 60’s when he fully took up the mantle of God’s calling on him to prophecy and evangelise. And I was 60 when I was called to serve God and you back in 2017.

So, don’t despair if you have still not yet entered into your calling by God…there is time yet. The challenge is on you to allow yourself to be trained and equipped while you wait patiently, and then to not delay when the time is ripe for you to pick up the mantle of your calling.

Today we are very pleased to invite Chris to bring us God’s message. He might not be in his 60’s as yet, but – like you – he is preparing, a step at a time, for the ministry that God has for him in the future.

So, let those amongst us who have the “calling of Hur” to support and encourage, get alongside him right now and pray that the hand of God rests wonderfully upon him today – just as God wants to lay His wonderful hand upon you as well.

God bless you all

Peter

THIS WEEK: “FROM THE HEART”.  Our brother Chris Hill will be speaking to us for the first time. We look forward to hearing what the Lord has laid upon his heart in recent days.

NEXT WEEK: “FROM THE HEART”.  Our brother Dudley Ward will bring the message next week. We look forward to hearing what the Lord has to say through him.

FILM NIGHT: On Wednesday 26^th February we invite everyone to come along to watch “The Shack”. Please bring friends and relatives if you are able. There is no charge but if anyone wants to make a donation to help cover costs of refreshments etc. a box will be provided.

BAPTISM SERVICE: On Sunday 8^th March we will be having a Baptism during the service. Please come along and bring friends and family if you can.

SPECIAL OFFERINGS: We currently give our special offerings to The Gideons, Ashford Street Pastors, London City Mission, Open Doors, MAF, Tear Fund and Danielle Gilbert. We are currently looking to review this and possibly add others such as Christian Concern and Ashford Winter Night Shelter. Please would you speak to Ernest before the 1^st  of March if you have any views on who we should continue to support or not or who we should begin to support. Thank you.

BIBLE STUDY: The next Bible Study will be at 2.30pm on Friday, 21^st  Feb, at Church House. Everyone is welcome to come along for

LADIES’ FELLOWSHIP:. Ladies Fellowship meets fortnightly in various homes. The next meeting will be on Friday, 28^th February, at Gill’s. 

FOODBANK/STAMPS; Please place any food or stamps in the boxes provided. These contributions are always gratefully received so a big thank you to everyone.

ASHFORD CHRISTIAN WOMEN: The next Women’s Breakfast event will be on Saturday 29^th February at the Holiday Inn, Hothfield. The speaker will be Tanya Foster and the cost is £12 and includes a cooked breakfast. Further details and booking information can be found at info@ashfordchristianwomen.net

PRAYER TABLE; Please help yourself to any literature that you might be interested in and other items available on the prayer table. Also, the donations box provided for voluntary offerings towards the purchase of Bloss coffee can be found on the prayer table.

WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK

Tues 18^th          11:00 – 14:00    Open Arms

                       19:00 – 20:30   Worship Practice

Weds   19^th       09:30 – 10:30    Weight Watchers

                       19:30 – 21:00    Home Groups

Thurs 20^th       19:30 – 22:00    East Kent Chorus

Fri 21^st            09:30 – 10:30    Revival Prayer

                       14:00 – 15:30      U3A Singing for Pleasure

                      14:30 – 16:00      Ladies Fellowship

                                            No FYN tonight

Sat 22^nd            09:00 – 10:00    Run in Victoria Park

Sun 23^rd            10:30 – 12:00     Celebration Service

Refreshments served from 10am  

 Prayer in the Prayer Room from 10:10