A Happy New 2024

At this time of the year, two of the saddest words of the English language are used; namely if only. We look back on some of the events and occasions of a past year, and in the gift of hind sight realise the opportunities we messed up on, and how things could have made such a difference,…if only we had etc. I wonder if our Church leaders feel that way when they look at the state of Christianity in the country today.

The Church in this country, is losing members almost weekly, and is failing to be of any interest or relevance to the under 50 age ranges. This should give all sincere Christians real concern, and as we enter a new year, reflect on the challenges facing the Churches, especially the Church of England.

The foundation of the Church is built on the teaching of the Apostles. However unpleasant it may be to accept, we are failing God, Jesus, the saints down the ages, and the Church we have been called to serve and save, by failing to maintain that teaching.

Jesus said, ‘if anyone serves me, the Father will honour him.’
In every business the owners, or the company which owns, want to promote the product they have to the best advantage. When one considers the success of just two outstanding British companies such as John Lewis and Marks & Spencer, the application of the desire for perfection in every aspect of their business, promotion, caring for customer satisfaction by offering what is sought, and the loyalty of staff, the reason for such success is obvious; commitment to the purpose of their business. Bankruptcy does not face them.

The Church is engaged on the Lord’s business, and we should show similar devotion rather than appear to be striving for bankruptcy. Jesus said, ‘I will build my Church’, but it seems as if those within are saying and we will knock it down.

Can anyone imagine a director in a secular business being allowed to tell customers not to believe the firm’s advertising because it wasn’t true, or the goods being offered were faulty; he would be dismissed forthwith. Would a branch manager be allowed to sell goods from a rival firm, or be indifferent as to whether customers attended his branch?
Such comparisons may appear frivolous to some people, but just take some similar situations to those displayed by those engaged in the Lord’s business.

We are to lead people to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who came to earth to redeem us, by dying on the Cross. That was the reason he suffered such a painful death willingly, so that God could forgive us.

The prime purpose of the Church is to offer and present the teaching of the Bible; to proclaim the gospel (as it is written) and known to be the Word of God. All God’s teaching is contained within, just as He intended. We are to preach the Word, not express opinions, nor make any amendments.

The Bible is the supreme authority for the Church, yet liberal minded people want to re-interpret to give justification for alternative living and behaviour, without any respect for the fact that God laid down clearly what He expects.

The Bible tells us God made a man, and then woman to be man’s companion, equal in every way but different in style. But our bishops tell us God got it wrong, so we should allow two people of the same sex to go through a form of marriage.

Read your Bibles you will find, God created man in his own image, male and female he created them .Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife. To the woman God said, you shall bear children.

In recent times the leaders of the Church have made one concession after another to meet the agenda of the LGBT activists, who will never be satisfied until everybody not only accepts their agenda, but approves of it.

Following a vote in the Synod of the Church, same sex marriage was not approved, but blessings for those who were ‘married’ elsewhere was approved. This resulted in the Church of England, which was the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, being displaced from that Communion until the Archbishop of Canterbury repented for the Church celebrating that which was contrary to the Word of God as written in the Bible.

A previous Bishop of Liverpool was reported in the Telegraph newspaper of calling fora wholesale reappraisal of traditional interpretations of the Bible relating to sex and marriage. In fact the bishop was a great supporter of gay rights, and if the gospel had have been preached with equal ardour, there might have a revival in Liverpool. This was in contrast to Jesus who said, ‘the Scriptures cannot be altered’, (John10 v 35)

Such comments therefore from a person holding Office in the Church, would to men of integrity and loyalty to the Lord, consider the Bishop should consider his position, remembering that every person ordained in the Church vows to banish false doctrine, and uphold the teaching of Holy Scripture.

How individual people live is a personal matter for each person to decide. God gave us free will and we place ourselves in His hands; we do not bear personal animosity, nor should we, but we do resent the provocative acts of the activists who have caused so much hurt in pursuit of their agenda, causing people to be deprived of their occupation, just for having a different belief. Tolerance and goodwill means allowing someone to have a different opinion.

If you are not a (true) believer these things may not matter to you, indeed may seem trivial to mention, but to those who have chosen to enter a preaching ministry it is quite out of order to support, and even more so to practise. If we are to be the witnesses for Jesus, we must tell positively what Jesus stated and commanded.

We have people not being satisfied with having perfect bodies, they want to change their sex. How people with body problems must be irritated to hear such selfishness . We even have young children of very tender ages being questioned in schools as whether they feel they have the right body. Anyone so asking a child that question should be ashamed of themselves. But however outrageous, this happens in Church schools. Obviously there is need to ask how on earth this could be allowed, and then to give them some strong advice.

The most eminent surgeons in the country have stated clearly that no matter how much medication may be minded, each sex has a chromosome which cannot be changed, with X type for women and Y for men. Bodies are being mutilated for no purpose. And the Church at all levels should stick to their day jobs.

Furthermore, as managers we must offer just the product we are in business for, not what people in opposition to us would like others to have.

We should be assuring people we offer week by week on a regular basis, pure solid food of Scripture and not some junk food, and have that offered carefully presented, with enthusiasm and purpose to make the people want to come to us regularly; we are not just here for special offers, such as baptisms and weddings.

So, coming back to reality, we should never suggest the Bible has got things wrong; we must maintain the Bible is the inspired, authoritative, unbreakable, fully trustworthy Word of God, and stop trying to please people in order to be accepted.

God chose 40 men of different occupations and characters and over many years inspired them by His Spirit to write all He wanted people to know and believe and practise. They did not know each other or what others were writing. There are so many interlinked stories, yet there was no contradiction on what was collectively written; not even the most sophisticated computer could do that.

The Church has thrown out the Bible and in doing so the country has lost its influence, guidance and standards with the consequence the young are growing up not knowing right from wrong. Today there are many attacks on the truth of the Bible.

The Bible is not the book of the month; it is the unchanging book of the ages, unlike modern technology, it doesn’t need regular updating. The early Church never questioned it, they just preached it. Can you imagine a Muslim cleric ever questioning the Koran?
If the Church is to survive in any meaningful way it is down to the ordinary Church members, as there is now no one on the national scene with any notable charisma or the will and courage to speak out.

Let us Christians be as proud of our faith as other faiths are of theirs. Jesus gave his life on the Cross so that all who believe in him will be forgiven all sin, and restored to a relationship with God. Remembering there is salvation in no one else than Jesus, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we can be saved. No one else in all history made such a sacrifice for all people, who are ready to accept him as Saviour.

The Bible calls on us to love God and serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.

In conclusion, never be ashamed of the gospel. When Paul wrote to Timothy he told him not to have a spirit of timidity, but be ready to preach the word that God saved us by His grace which He has given us through Christ Jesus.

I close with this prayer.
God, who in generous mercy sent the Holy Spirit upon the Church in the burning fire of your love; grant that your people maybe fervent in the fellowship of the gospel that, always abiding in you they may be found steadfast in faith and active in service. Defend your Church from all false teaching and give to your people knowledge of your truth that we may enjoy eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.



Thank you to all who so kindly read these sermons throughout the year. I wish you a sincere and blessed life in the year to come

  

    

.   Matthew 16. V18

I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.  These are the words of Jesus as He makes His way to the Cross. 

Men build many places and property, but only Jesus can build the Church, and he was approved by God.

When Jesus used the word ‘Church’, He was referring to an assembly of believers meeting together in worship.  The Church has a special place in the plan of God, and we have to know how we are to live and function within that plan.

God calls us to listen, to accept and follow Jesus, bringing the message of the gospel, which would lead people to gain salvation

The Church which Jesus promised to build, is the company of all faithful people. It does not belong to any nation or place. It is one composed of those who have joined to Christ in faith.  It is a Church with one body, one heart and mind, holding the same beliefs and believe the same doctrine for salvation. It is a Church with one head, Jesus Christ.

Men have disputed over Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptists, Presbyterian and Independent Churches, as if any one Denomination is composed of better Christians.  It does not matter where we have worshipped, if we are not found to be members of the true Church of God’s chosen people.

It is however, still true, that when we have the annual week of Christian unity, in which the Churches unite to worship as one, it all falls apart as the Roman Catholic Church, will not administer Communion to non-Catholic people.

When Jesus stated the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church, he means the power of evil shall not destroy the people of Christ. The mystical body of of Christ shall never perish, and every member will be brought to glory. No member of the Church will be cast away.

Having delegated first to Peter and the Apostles, to continue the work He had begun, Jesus now passes the responsibility down to us in our age to continue to preach the gospel, and every Christian has the duty to play their part in the spread of the gospel.

From the first days the Church has been persecuted, but the Church to-day is at the peak of persecution as modern technology has been a great access for the persecutors to spread their evil. Jesus stated his intention to build his Church,  and we can rely on the fact that he does not retreat from his word.

In Acts 2, we find the early Church responded without coercion, to meet to listen to the preaching of the gospel as given by the Apostles, and we see they grew daily as they acted upon that teaching.  God blessed that Church and added to their number.

This raises the presumption that God will not bless those who now lead the Church,   as it celebrates that which contradicts His Holy Word. The Bible is the supreme authority for the Church, the conveyance of all truth.

When you buy a car, or some electrical goods, the maker gives a warranty assuring you of free attention if any failure of the product occurs—providing you have acted in accordance with the procedure stated in the manual. That assurance does not apply if you fail to act with the manual.

God has promised to care for all his people, if they have observed all that God has laid down in his manual, which will lead to eternal salvation; it is called the Bible. The alternative is eternal darkness

It is generally considered, that people are motivated to attend services by the preaching of the gospel, but a very successful means of people attending, is due to individual persuasion by Church members to family and friends. A sound way of carrying this out. is by inviting a friend to accompany you to a service when you can rely on the Minister of the Church to proclaim the gospel.

Every Christian who values and loves their Church, must at times feel depressed at the lack of people attending   I accept that numbers are not the be all and end all of Church worship, or a verdict on any particular Church, but there must always be a need for every Church, to consider whether the worship offered is as worthy as it ought to be.  In many cases I do not think it is.

We have just passed through Advent and Christmas. In this period, especially at Christmas services of carols, a large number of Churches will have seen much bigger congregations than normally.

. But the same thing happens at Easter, Remembrance day, which reveals that a large number of people are still attached to the Christian faith. We should consider why people come so readily for such services , yet never come at weekly services: there must be a reason. We cannot put it down to deaths or illness, there must be an obvious alternative.

If, when you decide to go out for a visit to a restaurant, you may see one claiming to provide good food well prepared, so will enter.  If you find the food was poorly cooked and little better than junk food, you will not go to that place again. Is there not a similar analogy with Church services.

Cast your mind back to 1954, when Billy Graham came to hold meetings at the large Harrington Arena.  Despite the sneers in the press, and attempts by the Church to prevent him coming, he came expecting to stay for three weeks. Such was the public response he had to stay from the 1^st March to 29 May as crowds nightly attended in their thousands, and the Crusades were taken to cities beyond London.

People who would never have thought of attending Church, were converted into sincere faith by the tuneful hymns and songs, with well prepared and organised services, the preaching by the most successful evangelist in Christian history, the people were captivated. The visit led to a considerable increase in Church attendances, but the people did not stay.  They faced Morning Matins, with ancient canticles and anthems, and sermons which did not inspire, and there was no follow up with the people from the Crusades to which they had attended.   

However, the most important part is that between the coming and leaving.  Services should be bright with tuneful hymns, perhaps altering tunes to hymns that are felt necessary, if the set one is of the mournful type.  I was at a service where for ten minutes a choral rendition of Purcell’s ‘Rejoice in the Lord’ was sung, followed later by Stanford’s ‘Te deum’, which is fine for the right place, but an ordinary parish Communion is not my idea of the right place. 

I don’t think it is generally recognised how important music is in a service. Music stirs the mind and moves the heart.  In every Crusade, from Sankey and Moody, the Welsh revival, and most notably the great Billy Graham Crusades, the singing of hymns and spiritual songs has been a dominant feature to complement the inspirational preaching. The Evangelical Churches mostly pursue this format, which needs to be introduced into more Churches, and dispense with the philosophy that seems to pervade that as long we put something on it will suffice.

The sermon has been relegated in importance, where once it was a central feature.  Sermons are there for a purpose, namely to tell the good news about Jesus Christ.  How can people be taught to believe the good news of the gospel if the Church fails to tell?  This is our business first and foremost.  The pulpit is there for the declaration of the gospel, and any Church which fails to respond cannot justify its reason for being there.  Ministers are to be messengers from God, bringing God message to congregations.

Sermons often lack sound teaching however, with preachers watering down the message to provide spiritual potions, which will make people feel happy and guiltless.  One Vicar tells me regularly, sermons need to be nice and friendly so people won’t be upset.  This always amuses me, for Billy Graham use to preach to audiences of up to 80 thousands and beyond regularly, and tell them they were all a lot of sinners who would go to hell if they didn’t repent, and people flocked to hear him. 

In the Church of England we have softened our messages, had all sorts of changes, all sorts of gimmicks, and we are still losing members..   At one time every village and neighbourhood, had its own parish Church (in addition to Catholic and Free Churches) and congregations were strong enough to maintain them.  This is no longer the case, yet we are still trying to keep that system going.  To do so we have Vicars fleeing from one Church to another, offering a token service which does no one any good, or a local preacher  who however well intentioned, often has not been properly trained and rides his/her own hobby horse, not the Bible.

It would be far more sensible and realistic to prune the number of Churches.  We have seen evangelical Churches drawing people from a wide area and offering inspiring worship, and similarly High Churches offering beautifully conducted and meaningful worship.  People find no difficulty travelling to supermarkets which are not on their doorstep, and with some innovative transport offers the Church could be in a like position.  

The Bible states attending Church is not optional.  The Bible assumes people who are believers, are connected to a local Church where they live out their faith. Individual or independent Christianity cannot be found anywhere in the Bible. Whilst Jesus is present bodily in heaven with believers, He is also present on earth by His Spirit so that when people are gathered  Jesus is amongst us, just as  when He was present with His Apostles. 

A problem has arisen of late; the once great Methodist Church provided a solid evangelical service in the image of its founders, yet now it has surrendered to the activist culture and approved same sex ‘marriages’, as other denominations have.

I cannot tell you what the Church of England believes now, it is a mixture of ideas dependent on where you live.  Any true Bible based Christian must surely act in accordance with their conscience; in the words of Martin Luther, the great protestant revivalist, . If, then, I am not convinced by proof from Holy Scripture, or by cogent reasons, if I am not satisfied by the very text I have cited, and if my judgment is not in this way brought into subjection to God’s word, I neither can nor will retract anything; for it cannot be either safe or honest for a Christian to speak against his conscience. Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise; God help me! Amen.

The Bible uses several terms to describe the Church, the most powerful being a family, consisting of people of different backgrounds, experiences, class, ages and gender.  This family extends right across the world, so that wherever you go you can have fellowship with other believers. 

Of course, the Church does not exactly encourage people, when it is seen to be unable to resolve theological and procedural problems quickly and quietly.  For a long period the Labour party was unable to attain office, because the public saw them squabbling and unable to determine what they stood for.  Then the Conservative party followed the same path, and they remained unpopular with the public.  So indicating clearly, that people have no respect for any body which cannot state positively what it believes in and stands for. 

It has to be faced there are men with a personal agenda, who seem determined to undermine the Church.  The Leaders of the Church have opposed ‘gay marriage’, yet, what is loosely called senior clergy, are challenging in a disloyal, irresponsible and shameful way, with no respect for unity within the Church or for Bible teaching.  This and other issues are liable to split the Church of England within, but separate it from the universal Church which includes Catholic and Orthodox Churches. 

It would be less damaging if we followed the example of  the Anglican Church of North America and formed a new Anglican Church of Great Britain based on the same foundations as of our American friends.

In the meantime each Church should strive to be true to its calling with vows honoured, and work independently of the national scene.  I firmly believe that if a Church is a welcoming one, offers a well-constructed service, with tuneful hymns and an inspiring message, it will surely attract members.

May more individual Churches turn back to firm Bible teaching, and put forward nothing which is contrary to the teaching and commands of our Lord 

    

.     

  

Matthew 16. V18

I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.  These are the words of Jesus as He makes His way to the Cross. 

Men build many places and property, but only Jesus can build the Church, and he was approved by God.

When Jesus used the word ‘Church’, He was referring to an assembly of believers meeting together in worship.  The Church has a special place in the plan of God, and we have to know how we are to live and function within that plan.

God calls us to listen, to accept and follow Jesus, bringing the message of the gospel, which would lead people to gain salvation

The Church which Jesus promised to build, is the company of all faithful people. It does not belong to any nation or place. It is one composed of those who have joined to Christ in faith.  It is a Church with one body, one heart and mind, holding the same beliefs and believe the same doctrine for salvation. It is a Church with one head, Jesus Christ.

Men have disputed over Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptists, Presbyterian and Independent Churches, as if any one Denomination is composed of better Christians.  It does not matter where we have worshipped, if we are not found to be members of the true Church of God’s chosen people.

It is however, still true, that when we have the annual week of Christian unity, in which the Churches unite to worship as one, it all falls apart as the Roman Catholic Church, will not administer Communion to non-Catholic people.

When Jesus stated the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church, he means the power of evil shall not destroy the people of Christ. The mystical body of of Christ shall never perish, and every member will be brought to glory. No member of the Church will be cast away.

Having delegated first to Peter and the Apostles, to continue the work He had begun, Jesus now passes the responsibility down to us in our age to continue to preach the gospel, and every Christian has the duty to play their part in the spread of the gospel.

From the first days the Church has been persecuted, but the Church to-day is at the peak of persecution as modern technology has been a great access for the persecutors to spread their evil. Jesus stated his intention to build his Church,  and we can rely on the fact that he does not retreat from his word.

In Acts 2, we find the early Church responded without coercion, to meet to listen to the preaching of the gospel as given by the Apostles, and we see they grew daily as they acted upon that teaching.  God blessed that Church and added to their number.

This raises the presumption that God will not bless those who now lead the Church,   as it celebrates that which contradicts His Holy Word. The Bible is the supreme authority for the Church, the conveyance of all truth.

When you buy a car, or some electrical goods, the maker gives a warranty assuring you of free attention if any failure of the product occurs—providing you have acted in accordance with the procedure stated in the manual. That assurance does not apply if you fail to act with the manual.

God has promised to care for all his people, if they have observed all that God has laid down in his manual, which will lead to eternal salvation; it is called the Bible. The alternative is eternal darkness

It is generally considered, that people are motivated to attend services by the preaching of the gospel, but a very successful means of people attending, is due to individual persuasion by Church members to family and friends. A sound way of carrying this out. is by inviting a friend to accompany you to a service when you can rely on the Minister of the Church to proclaim the gospel.

Every Christian who values and loves their Church, must at times feel depressed at the lack of people attending   I accept that numbers are not the be all and end all of Church worship, or a verdict on any particular Church, but there must always be a need for every Church, to consider whether the worship offered is as worthy as it ought to be.  In many cases I do not think it is.

We have just passed through Advent and Christmas. In this period, especially at Christmas services of carols, a large number of Churches will have seen much bigger congregations than normally.

. But the same thing happens at Easter, Remembrance day, which reveals that a large number of people are still attached to the Christian faith. We should consider why people come so readily for such services , yet never come at weekly services: there must be a reason. We cannot put it down to deaths or illness, there must be an obvious alternative.

If, when you decide to go out for a visit to a restaurant, you may see one claiming to provide good food well prepared, so will enter.  If you find the food was poorly cooked and little better than junk food, you will not go to that place again. Is there not a similar analogy with Church services.

Cast your mind back to 1954 when Billy Graham came to hold meetings at the large Harrington Arena.  Despite the sneers in the press, and attempts by the Church to prevent him coming, he came expecting to stay for three weeks. Such was the public response he had to stay from the 1^st March to 29 May as crowds nightly attended in their thousands, and the Crusades were taken to cities beyond London.

People who would never have thought of attending Church, were converted into sincere faith by the tuneful hymns and songs, with well prepared and organised services, the preaching by the most successful evangelist in Christian history, the people were captivated. The visit led to a considerable increase in Church attendances, but the people did not stay.  They faced Morning Matins, with ancient canticles and anthems, and sermons which did not inspire, and there was no follow up with the people from the Crusades to which they had attended.   

However, the most important part is that between the coming and leaving.  Services should be bright with tuneful hymns, perhaps altering tunes to hymns that are felt necessary, if the set one is of the mournful type.  I was at a service where for ten minutes a choral rendition of Purcell’s ‘Rejoice in the Lord’ was sung, followed later by Stanford’s ‘Te deum’, which is fine for the right place, but an ordinary parish Communion is not my idea of the right place. 

I don’t think it is generally recognised how important music is in a service. Music stirs the mind and moves the heart.  In every Crusade, from Sankey and Moody, the Welsh revival, and most notably the great Billy Graham Crusades, the singing of hymns and spiritual songs has been a dominant feature to complement the inspirational preaching. The Evangelical Churches mostly pursue this format, which needs to be introduced into more Churches, and dispense with the philosophy that seems to pervade that as long we put something on it will suffice.

The sermon has been relegated in importance, where once it was a central feature.  Sermons are there for a purpose, namely to tell the good news about Jesus Christ.  How can people be taught to believe the good news of the gospel if the Church fails to tell?  This is our business first and foremost.  The pulpit is there for the declaration of the gospel, and any Church which fails to respond cannot justify its reason for being there.  Ministers are to be messengers from God, bringing God message to congregations.

Sermons often lack sound teaching however, with preachers watering down the message to provide spiritual potions, which will make people feel happy and guiltless.  One Vicar tells me regularly, sermons need to be nice and friendly so people won’t be upset.  This always amuses me, for Billy Graham use to preach to audiences of up to 80 thousands and beyond regularly, and tell them they were all a lot of sinners who would go to hell if they didn’t repent, and people flocked to hear him. 

In the Church of England we have softened our messages, had all sorts of changes, all sorts of gimmicks, and we are still losing members..   At one time every village and neighbourhood, had its own parish Church (in addition to Catholic and Free Churches) and congregations were strong enough to maintain them.  This is no longer the case, yet we are still trying to keep that system going.  To do so we have Vicars fleeing from one Church to another, offering a token service which does no one any good, or a local preacher  who however well intentioned often has not been properly trained and rides his/her own hobby horse, not the Bible.

It would be far more sensible and realistic to prune the number of Churches.  We have seen evangelical Churches drawing people from a wide area and offering inspiring worship, and similarly High Churches offering beautifully conducted and meaningful worship.  People find no difficulty travelling to supermarkets which are not on their doorstep, and with some innovative transport offers the Church could be in a like position.  

The Bible states attending Church is not optional.  The Bible assumes people who are believers, are connected to a local Church where they live out their faith. Individual or independent Christianity cannot be found anywhere in the Bible. Whilst Jesus is present bodily in heaven with believers, He is also present on earth by His Spirit so that when people are gathered  Jesus is amongst us just as  when He was present with His Apostles. 

A problem has arisen of late; the once great Methodist Church provided a solid evangelical service in the image of its founders, yet now it has surrendered to the activist culture and approved same sex ‘marriages’, as other denominations have.

I cannot tell you what the Church of England believes now, it is a mixture of ideas dependent on where you live.  Any true Bible based Christian must surely act in accordance with their conscience; in the words of Martin Luther, the great protestant revivalist, . If, then, I am not convinced by proof from Holy Scripture, or by cogent reasons, if I am not satisfied by the very text I have cited, and if my judgment is not in this way brought into subjection to God’s word, I neither can nor will retract anything; for it cannot be either safe or honest for a Christian to speak against his conscience. Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise; God help me! Amen.

The Bible uses several terms to describe the Church, the most powerful being a family, consisting of people of different backgrounds, experiences, class, ages and gender.  This family extends right across the world, so that wherever you go you can have fellowship with other believers. 

Of course, the Church does not exactly encourage people, when it is seen to be unable to resolve theological and procedural problems quickly and quietly.  For a long period the Labour party was unable to attain office, because the public saw them squabbling and unable to determine what they stood for.  Then the Conservative party followed the same path, and they remained unpopular with the public.  So indicating clearly, that people have no respect for any body which cannot state positively what it believes in and stands for. 

It has to be faced there are men with a personal agenda, who seem determined to undermine the Church.  The Leaders of the Church have opposed ‘gay marriage’, yet, what is loosely called senior clergy, are challenging in a disloyal, irresponsible and shameful way, with no respect for unity within the Church or for Bible teaching.  This and other issues are liable to split the Church of England within, but separate it from the universal Church which includes Catholic and Orthodox Churches. 

It would be less damaging if we followed the example of  the Anglican Church of North America and formed a new Anglican Church of Great Britain based on the same foundations as of our American friends.

In the meantime each Church should strive to be true to its calling with vows honoured, and work independently of the national scene.  I firmly believe that if a Church is a welcoming one, offers a well-constructed service, with tuneful hymns and an inspiring message, it will surely attract members.

May more individual Churches turn back to firm Bible teaching, and put forward nothing which is contrary to the teaching and commands of our Lord 

    

.     

  

Matthew 16. V18

I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.  These are the words of Jesus as He makes His way to the Cross. 

Men build many places and property, but only Jesus can build the Church, and he was approved by God.

When Jesus used the word ‘Church’, He was referring to an assembly of believers meeting together in worship.  The Church has a special place in the plan of God, and we have to know how we are to live and function within that plan.

God calls us to listen, to accept and follow Jesus, bringing the message of the gospel, which would lead people to gain salvation

The Church which Jesus promised to build, is the company of all faithful people. It does not belong to any nation or place. It is one composed of those who have joined to Christ in faith.  It is a Church with one body, one heart and mind, holding the same beliefs and believe the same doctrine for salvation. It is a Church with one head, Jesus Christ.

Men have disputed over Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptists, Presbyterian and Independent Churches, as if any one Denomination is composed of better Christians.  It does not matter where we have worshipped, if we are not found to be members of the true Church of God’s chosen people.

It is however, still true, that when we have the annual week of Christian unity, in which the Churches unite to worship as one, it all falls apart as the Roman Catholic Church, will not administer Communion to non-Catholic people.

When Jesus stated the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church, he means the power of evil shall not destroy the people of Christ. The mystical body of of Christ shall never perish, and every member will be brought to glory. No member of the Church will be cast away.

Having delegated first to Peter and the Apostles, to continue the work He had begun, Jesus now passes the responsibility down to us in our age to continue to preach the gospel, and every Christian has the duty to play their part in the spread of the gospel.

From the first days the Church has been persecuted, but the Church to-day is at the peak of persecution as modern technology has been a great access for the persecutors to spread their evil. Jesus stated his intention to build his Church,  and we can rely on the fact that he does not retreat from his word.

In Acts 2, we find the early Church responded without coercion, to meet to listen to the preaching of the gospel as given by the Apostles, and we see they grew daily as they acted upon that teaching.  God blessed that Church and added to their number.

This raises the presumption that God will not bless those who now lead the Church,   as it celebrates that which contradicts His Holy Word. The Bible is the supreme authority for the Church, the conveyance of all truth.

When you buy a car, or some electrical goods, the maker gives a warranty assuring you of free attention if any failure of the product occurs—providing you have acted in accordance with the procedure stated in the manual. That assurance does not apply if you fail to act with the manual.

God has promised to care for all his people, if they have observed all that God has laid down in his manual, which will lead to eternal salvation; it is called the Bible. The alternative is eternal darkness

It is generally considered, that people are motivated to attend services by the preaching of the gospel, but a very successful means of people attending, is due to individual persuasion by Church members to family and friends. A sound way of carrying this out. is by inviting a friend to accompany you to a service when you can rely on the Minister of the Church to proclaim the gospel.

Every Christian who values and loves their Church, must at times feel depressed at the lack of people attending   I accept that numbers are not the be all and end all of Church worship, or a verdict on any particular Church, but there must always be a need for every Church, to consider whether the worship offered is as worthy as it ought to be.  In many cases I do not think it is.

We have just passed through Advent and Christmas. In this period, especially at Christmas services of carols, a large number of Churches will have seen much bigger congregations than normally.

. But the same thing happens at Easter, Remembrance day, which reveals that a large number of people are still attached to the Christian faith. We should consider why people come so readily for such services , yet never come at weekly services: there must be a reason. We cannot put it down to deaths or illness, there must be an obvious alternative.

If, when you decide to go out for a visit to a restaurant, you may see one claiming to provide good food well prepared, so will enter.  If you find the food was poorly cooked and little better than junk food, you will not go to that place again. Is there not a similar analogy with Church services.

Cast your mind back to 1954 when Billy Graham came to hold meetings at the large Harrington Arena.  Despite the sneers in the press, and attempts by the Church to prevent him coming, he came expecting to stay for three weeks. Such was the public response he had to stay from the 1^st March to 29 May as crowds nightly attended in their thousands, and the Crusades were taken to cities beyond London.

People who would never have thought of attending Church, were converted into sincere faith by the tuneful hymns and songs, with well prepared and organised services, the preaching by the most successful evangelist in Christian history, the people were captivated. The visit led to a considerable increase in Church attendances, but the people did not stay.  They faced Morning Matins, with ancient canticles and anthems, and sermons which did not inspire, and there was no follow up with the people from the Crusades to which they had attended.   

However, the most important part is that between the coming and leaving.  Services should be bright with tuneful hymns, perhaps altering tunes to hymns that are felt necessary, if the set one is of the mournful type.  I was at a service where for ten minutes a choral rendition of Purcell’s ‘Rejoice in the Lord’ was sung, followed later by Stanford’s ‘Te deum’, which is fine for the right place, but an ordinary parish Communion is not my idea of the right place. 

I don’t think it is generally recognised how important music is in a service. Music stirs the mind and moves the heart.  In every Crusade, from Sankey and Moody, the Welsh revival, and most notably the great Billy Graham Crusades, the singing of hymns and spiritual songs has been a dominant feature to complement the inspirational preaching. The Evangelical Churches mostly pursue this format, which needs to be introduced into more Churches, and dispense with the philosophy that seems to pervade that as long we put something on it will suffice.

The sermon has been relegated in importance, where once it was a central feature.  Sermons are there for a purpose, namely to tell the good news about Jesus Christ.  How can people be taught to believe the good news of the gospel if the Church fails to tell?  This is our business first and foremost.  The pulpit is there for the declaration of the gospel, and any Church which fails to respond cannot justify its reason for being there.  Ministers are to be messengers from God, bringing God message to congregations.

Sermons often lack sound teaching however, with preachers watering down the message to provide spiritual potions, which will make people feel happy and guiltless.  One Vicar tells me regularly, sermons need to be nice and friendly so people won’t be upset.  This always amuses me, for Billy Graham use to preach to audiences of up to 80 thousands and beyond regularly, and tell them they were all a lot of sinners who would go to hell if they didn’t repent, and people flocked to hear him. 

In the Church of England we have softened our messages, had all sorts of changes, all sorts of gimmicks, and we are still losing members..   At one time every village and neighbourhood, had its own parish Church (in addition to Catholic and Free Churches) and congregations were strong enough to maintain them.  This is no longer the case, yet we are still trying to keep that system going.  To do so we have Vicars fleeing from one Church to another, offering a token service which does no one any good, or a local preacher  who however well intentioned often has not been properly trained and rides his/her own hobby horse, not the Bible.

It would be far more sensible and realistic to prune the number of Churches.  We have seen evangelical Churches drawing people from a wide area and offering inspiring worship, and similarly High Churches offering beautifully conducted and meaningful worship.  People find no difficulty travelling to supermarkets which are not on their doorstep, and with some innovative transport offers the Church could be in a like position.  

The Bible states attending Church is not optional.  The Bible assumes people who are believers, are connected to a local Church where they live out their faith. Individual or independent Christianity cannot be found anywhere in the Bible. Whilst Jesus is present bodily in heaven with believers, He is also present on earth by His Spirit so that when people are gathered  Jesus is amongst us just as  when He was present with His Apostles. 

A problem has arisen of late; the once great Methodist Church provided a solid evangelical service in the image of its founders, yet now it has surrendered to the activist culture and approved same sex ‘marriages’, as other denominations have.

I cannot tell you what the Church of England believes now, it is a mixture of ideas dependent on where you live.  Any true Bible based Christian must surely act in accordance with their conscience; in the words of Martin Luther, the great protestant revivalist, . If, then, I am not convinced by proof from Holy Scripture, or by cogent reasons, if I am not satisfied by the very text I have cited, and if my judgment is not in this way brought into subjection to God’s word, I neither can nor will retract anything; for it cannot be either safe or honest for a Christian to speak against his conscience. Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise; God help me! Amen.

The Bible uses several terms to describe the Church, the most powerful being a family, consisting of people of different backgrounds, experiences, class, ages and gender.  This family extends right across the world, so that wherever you go you can have fellowship with other believers. 

Of course, the Church does not exactly encourage people, when it is seen to be unable to resolve theological and procedural problems quickly and quietly.  For a long period the Labour party was unable to attain office, because the public saw them squabbling and unable to determine what they stood for.  Then the Conservative party followed the same path, and they remained unpopular with the public.  So indicating clearly, that people have no respect for any body which cannot state positively what it believes in and stands for. 

It has to be faced there are men with a personal agenda, who seem determined to undermine the Church.  The Leaders of the Church have opposed ‘gay marriage’, yet, what is loosely called senior clergy, are challenging in a disloyal, irresponsible and shameful way, with no respect for unity within the Church or for Bible teaching.  This and other issues are liable to split the Church of England within, but separate it from the universal Church which includes Catholic and Orthodox Churches. 

It would be less damaging if we followed the example of  the Anglican Church of North America and formed a new Anglican Church of Great Britain based on the same foundations as of our American friends.

In the meantime each Church should strive to be true to its calling with vows honoured, and work independently of the national scene.  I firmly believe that if a Church is a welcoming one, offers a well-constructed service, with tuneful hymns and an inspiring message, it will surely attract members.

May more individual Churches turn back to firm Bible teaching, and put forward nothing which is contrary to the teaching and commands of our Lord 

    

.     

  

Matthew 16. V18

I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.  These are the words of Jesus as He makes His way to the Cross. 

Men build many places and property, but only Jesus can build the Church, and he was approved by God.

When Jesus used the word ‘Church’, He was referring to an assembly of believers meeting together in worship.  The Church has a special place in the plan of God, and we have to know how we are to live and function within that plan.

God calls us to listen, to accept and follow Jesus, bringing the message of the gospel, which would lead people to gain salvation

The Church which Jesus promised to build, is the company of all faithful people. It does not belong to any nation or place. It is one composed of those who have joined to Christ in faith.  It is a Church with one body, one heart and mind, holding the same beliefs and believe the same doctrine for salvation. It is a Church with one head, Jesus Christ.

Men have disputed over Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptists, Presbyterian and Independent Churches, as if any one Denomination is composed of better Christians.  It does not matter where we have worshipped, if we are not found to be members of the true Church of God’s chosen people.

It is however, still true, that when we have the annual week of Christian unity, in which the Churches unite to worship as one, it all falls apart as the Roman Catholic Church, will not administer Communion to non-Catholic people.

When Jesus stated the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church, he means the power of evil shall not destroy the people of Christ. The mystical body of of Christ shall never perish, and every member will be brought to glory. No member of the Church will be cast away.

Having delegated first to Peter and the Apostles, to continue the work He had begun, Jesus now passes the responsibility down to us in our age to continue to preach the gospel, and every Christian has the duty to play their part in the spread of the gospel.

From the first days the Church has been persecuted, but the Church to-day is at the peak of persecution as modern technology has been a great access for the persecutors to spread their evil. Jesus stated his intention to build his Church,  and we can rely on the fact that he does not retreat from his word.

In Acts 2, we find the early Church responded without coercion, to meet to listen to the preaching of the gospel as given by the Apostles, and we see they grew daily as they acted upon that teaching.  God blessed that Church and added to their number.

This raises the presumption that God will not bless those who now lead the Church,   as it celebrates that which contradicts His Holy Word. The Bible is the supreme authority for the Church, the conveyance of all truth.

When you buy a car, or some electrical goods, the maker gives a warranty assuring you of free attention if any failure of the product occurs—providing you have acted in accordance with the procedure stated in the manual. That assurance does not apply if you fail to act with the manual.

God has promised to care for all his people, if they have observed all that God has laid down in his manual, which will lead to eternal salvation; it is called the Bible. The alternative is eternal darkness

It is generally considered, that people are motivated to attend services by the preaching of the gospel, but a very successful means of people attending, is due to individual persuasion by Church members to family and friends. A sound way of carrying this out. is by inviting a friend to accompany you to a service when you can rely on the Minister of the Church to proclaim the gospel.

Every Christian who values and loves their Church, must at times feel depressed at the lack of people attending   I accept that numbers are not the be all and end all of Church worship, or a verdict on any particular Church, but there must always be a need for every Church, to consider whether the worship offered is as worthy as it ought to be.  In many cases I do not think it is.

We have just passed through Advent and Christmas. In this period, especially at Christmas services of carols, a large number of Churches will have seen much bigger congregations than normally.

. But the same thing happens at Easter, Remembrance day, which reveals that a large number of people are still attached to the Christian faith. We should consider why people come so readily for such services , yet never come at weekly services: there must be a reason. We cannot put it down to deaths or illness, there must be an obvious alternative.

If, when you decide to go out for a visit to a restaurant, you may see one claiming to provide good food well prepared, so will enter.  If you find the food was poorly cooked and little better than junk food, you will not go to that place again. Is there not a similar analogy with Church services.

Cast your mind back to 1954 when Billy Graham came to hold meetings at the large Harrington Arena.  Despite the sneers in the press, and attempts by the Church to prevent him coming, he came expecting to stay for three weeks. Such was the public response he had to stay from the 1^st March to 29 May as crowds nightly attended in their thousands, and the Crusades were taken to cities beyond London.

People who would never have thought of attending Church, were converted into sincere faith by the tuneful hymns and songs, with well prepared and organised services, the preaching by the most successful evangelist in Christian history, the people were captivated. The visit led to a considerable increase in Church attendances, but the people did not stay.  They faced Morning Matins, with ancient canticles and anthems, and sermons which did not inspire, and there was no follow up with the people from the Crusades to which they had attended.   

However, the most important part is that between the coming and leaving.  Services should be bright with tuneful hymns, perhaps altering tunes to hymns that are felt necessary, if the set one is of the mournful type.  I was at a service where for ten minutes a choral rendition of Purcell’s ‘Rejoice in the Lord’ was sung, followed later by Stanford’s ‘Te deum’, which is fine for the right place, but an ordinary parish Communion is not my idea of the right place. 

I don’t think it is generally recognised how important music is in a service. Music stirs the mind and moves the heart.  In every Crusade, from Sankey and Moody, the Welsh revival, and most notably the great Billy Graham Crusades, the singing of hymns and spiritual songs has been a dominant feature to complement the inspirational preaching. The Evangelical Churches mostly pursue this format, which needs to be introduced into more Churches, and dispense with the philosophy that seems to pervade that as long we put something on it will suffice.

The sermon has been relegated in importance, where once it was a central feature.  Sermons are there for a purpose, namely to tell the good news about Jesus Christ.  How can people be taught to believe the good news of the gospel if the Church fails to tell?  This is our business first and foremost.  The pulpit is there for the declaration of the gospel, and any Church which fails to respond cannot justify its reason for being there.  Ministers are to be messengers from God, bringing God message to congregations.

Sermons often lack sound teaching however, with preachers watering down the message to provide spiritual potions, which will make people feel happy and guiltless.  One Vicar tells me regularly, sermons need to be nice and friendly so people won’t be upset.  This always amuses me, for Billy Graham use to preach to audiences of up to 80 thousands and beyond regularly, and tell them they were all a lot of sinners who would go to hell if they didn’t repent, and people flocked to hear him. 

In the Church of England we have softened our messages, had all sorts of changes, all sorts of gimmicks, and we are still losing members..   At one time every village and neighbourhood, had its own parish Church (in addition to Catholic and Free Churches) and congregations were strong enough to maintain them.  This is no longer the case, yet we are still trying to keep that system going.  To do so we have Vicars fleeing from one Church to another, offering a token service which does no one any good, or a local preacher  who however well intentioned often has not been properly trained and rides his/her own hobby horse, not the Bible.

It would be far more sensible and realistic to prune the number of Churches.  We have seen evangelical Churches drawing people from a wide area and offering inspiring worship, and similarly High Churches offering beautifully conducted and meaningful worship.  People find no difficulty travelling to supermarkets which are not on their doorstep, and with some innovative transport offers the Church could be in a like position.  

The Bible states attending Church is not optional.  The Bible assumes people who are believers, are connected to a local Church where they live out their faith. Individual or independent Christianity cannot be found anywhere in the Bible. Whilst Jesus is present bodily in heaven with believers, He is also present on earth by His Spirit so that when people are gathered  Jesus is amongst us just as  when He was present with His Apostles. 

A problem has arisen of late; the once great Methodist Church provided a solid evangelical service in the image of its founders, yet now it has surrendered to the activist culture and approved same sex ‘marriages’, as other denominations have.

I cannot tell you what the Church of England believes now, it is a mixture of ideas dependent on where you live.  Any true Bible based Christian must surely act in accordance with their conscience; in the words of Martin Luther, the great protestant revivalist, . If, then, I am not convinced by proof from Holy Scripture, or by cogent reasons, if I am not satisfied by the very text I have cited, and if my judgment is not in this way brought into subjection to God’s word, I neither can nor will retract anything; for it cannot be either safe or honest for a Christian to speak against his conscience. Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise; God help me! Amen.

The Bible uses several terms to describe the Church, the most powerful being a family, consisting of people of different backgrounds, experiences, class, ages and gender.  This family extends right across the world, so that wherever you go you can have fellowship with other believers. 

Of course, the Church does not exactly encourage people, when it is seen to be unable to resolve theological and procedural problems quickly and quietly.  For a long period the Labour party was unable to attain office, because the public saw them squabbling and unable to determine what they stood for.  Then the Conservative party followed the same path, and they remained unpopular with the public.  So indicating clearly, that people have no respect for any body which cannot state positively what it believes in and stands for. 

It has to be faced there are men with a personal agenda, who seem determined to undermine the Church.  The Leaders of the Church have opposed ‘gay marriage’, yet, what is loosely called senior clergy, are challenging in a disloyal, irresponsible and shameful way, with no respect for unity within the Church or for Bible teaching.  This and other issues are liable to split the Church of England within, but separate it from the universal Church which includes Catholic and Orthodox Churches. 

It would be less damaging if we followed the example of  the Anglican Church of North America and formed a new Anglican Church of Great Britain based on the same foundations as of our American friends.

In the meantime each Church should strive to be true to its calling with vows honoured, and work independently of the national scene.  I firmly believe that if a Church is a welcoming one, offers a well-constructed service, with tuneful hymns and an inspiring message, it will surely attract members.

May more individual Churches turn back to firm Bible teaching, and put forward nothing which is contrary to the teaching and commands of our Lord 

    

.     

  

Matthew 16. V18

I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.  These are the words of Jesus as He makes His way to the Cross. 

Men build many places and property, but only Jesus can build the Church, and he was approved by God.

When Jesus used the word ‘Church’, He was referring to an assembly of believers meeting together in worship.  The Church has a special place in the plan of God, and we have to know how we are to live and function within that plan.

God calls us to listen, to accept and follow Jesus, bringing the message of the gospel, which would lead people to gain salvation

The Church which Jesus promised to build, is the company of all faithful people. It does not belong to any nation or place. It is one composed of those who have joined to Christ in faith.  It is a Church with one body, one heart and mind, holding the same beliefs and believe the same doctrine for salvation. It is a Church with one head, Jesus Christ.

Men have disputed over Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptists, Presbyterian and Independent Churches, as if any one Denomination is composed of better Christians.  It does not matter where we have worshipped, if we are not found to be members of the true Church of God’s chosen people.

It is however, still true, that when we have the annual week of Christian unity, in which the Churches unite to worship as one, it all falls apart as the Roman Catholic Church, will not administer Communion to non-Catholic people.

When Jesus stated the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church, he means the power of evil shall not destroy the people of Christ. The mystical body of of Christ shall never perish, and every member will be brought to glory. No member of the Church will be cast away.

Having delegated first to Peter and the Apostles, to continue the work He had begun, Jesus now passes the responsibility down to us in our age to continue to preach the gospel, and every Christian has the duty to play their part in the spread of the gospel.

From the first days the Church has been persecuted, but the Church to-day is at the peak of persecution as modern technology has been a great access for the persecutors to spread their evil. Jesus stated his intention to build his Church,  and we can rely on the fact that he does not retreat from his word.

In Acts 2, we find the early Church responded without coercion, to meet to listen to the preaching of the gospel as given by the Apostles, and we see they grew daily as they acted upon that teaching.  God blessed that Church and added to their number.

This raises the presumption that God will not bless those who now lead the Church,   as it celebrates that which contradicts His Holy Word. The Bible is the supreme authority for the Church, the conveyance of all truth.

When you buy a car, or some electrical goods, the maker gives a warranty assuring you of free attention if any failure of the product occurs—providing you have acted in accordance with the procedure stated in the manual. That assurance does not apply if you fail to act with the manual.

God has promised to care for all his people, if they have observed all that God has laid down in his manual, which will lead to eternal salvation; it is called the Bible. The alternative is eternal darkness

It is generally considered, that people are motivated to attend services by the preaching of the gospel, but a very successful means of people attending, is due to individual persuasion by Church members to family and friends. A sound way of carrying this out. is by inviting a friend to accompany you to a service when you can rely on the Minister of the Church to proclaim the gospel.

Every Christian who values and loves their Church, must at times feel depressed at the lack of people attending   I accept that numbers are not the be all and end all of Church worship, or a verdict on any particular Church, but there must always be a need for every Church, to consider whether the worship offered is as worthy as it ought to be.  In many cases I do not think it is.

We have just passed through Advent and Christmas. In this period, especially at Christmas services of carols, a large number of Churches will have seen much bigger congregations than normally.

. But the same thing happens at Easter, Remembrance day, which reveals that a large number of people are still attached to the Christian faith. We should consider why people come so readily for such services , yet never come at weekly services: there must be a reason. We cannot put it down to deaths or illness, there must be an obvious alternative.

If, when you decide to go out for a visit to a restaurant, you may see one claiming to provide good food well prepared, so will enter.  If you find the food was poorly cooked and little better than junk food, you will not go to that place again. Is there not a similar analogy with Church services.

Cast your mind back to 1954 when Billy Graham came to hold meetings at the large Harrington Arena.  Despite the sneers in the press, and attempts by the Church to prevent him coming, he came expecting to stay for three weeks. Such was the public response he had to stay from the 1^st March to 29 May as crowds nightly attended in their thousands, and the Crusades were taken to cities beyond London.

People who would never have thought of attending Church, were converted into sincere faith by the tuneful hymns and songs, with well prepared and organised services, the preaching by the most successful evangelist in Christian history, the people were captivated. The visit led to a considerable increase in Church attendances, but the people did not stay.  They faced Morning Matins, with ancient canticles and anthems, and sermons which did not inspire, and there was no follow up with the people from the Crusades to which they had attended.   

However, the most important part is that between the coming and leaving.  Services should be bright with tuneful hymns, perhaps altering tunes to hymns that are felt necessary, if the set one is of the mournful type.  I was at a service where for ten minutes a choral rendition of Purcell’s ‘Rejoice in the Lord’ was sung, followed later by Stanford’s ‘Te deum’, which is fine for the right place, but an ordinary parish Communion is not my idea of the right place. 

I don’t think it is generally recognised how important music is in a service. Music stirs the mind and moves the heart.  In every Crusade, from Sankey and Moody, the Welsh revival, and most notably the great Billy Graham Crusades, the singing of hymns and spiritual songs has been a dominant feature to complement the inspirational preaching. The Evangelical Churches mostly pursue this format, which needs to be introduced into more Churches, and dispense with the philosophy that seems to pervade that as long we put something on it will suffice.

The sermon has been relegated in importance, where once it was a central feature.  Sermons are there for a purpose, namely to tell the good news about Jesus Christ.  How can people be taught to believe the good news of the gospel if the Church fails to tell?  This is our business first and foremost.  The pulpit is there for the declaration of the gospel, and any Church which fails to respond cannot justify its reason for being there.  Ministers are to be messengers from God, bringing God message to congregations.

Sermons often lack sound teaching however, with preachers watering down the message to provide spiritual potions, which will make people feel happy and guiltless.  One Vicar tells me regularly, sermons need to be nice and friendly so people won’t be upset.  This always amuses me, for Billy Graham use to preach to audiences of up to 80 thousands and beyond regularly, and tell them they were all a lot of sinners who would go to hell if they didn’t repent, and people flocked to hear him. 

In the Church of England we have softened our messages, had all sorts of changes, all sorts of gimmicks, and we are still losing members..   At one time every village and neighbourhood, had its own parish Church (in addition to Catholic and Free Churches) and congregations were strong enough to maintain them.  This is no longer the case, yet we are still trying to keep that system going.  To do so we have Vicars fleeing from one Church to another, offering a token service which does no one any good, or a local preacher  who however well intentioned often has not been properly trained and rides his/her own hobby horse, not the Bible.

It would be far more sensible and realistic to prune the number of Churches.  We have seen evangelical Churches drawing people from a wide area and offering inspiring worship, and similarly High Churches offering beautifully conducted and meaningful worship.  People find no difficulty travelling to supermarkets which are not on their doorstep, and with some innovative transport offers the Church could be in a like position.  

The Bible states attending Church is not optional.  The Bible assumes people who are believers, are connected to a local Church where they live out their faith. Individual or independent Christianity cannot be found anywhere in the Bible. Whilst Jesus is present bodily in heaven with believers, He is also present on earth by His Spirit so that when people are gathered  Jesus is amongst us just as  when He was present with His Apostles. 

A problem has arisen of late; the once great Methodist Church provided a solid evangelical service in the image of its founders, yet now it has surrendered to the activist culture and approved same sex ‘marriages’, as other denominations have.

I cannot tell you what the Church of England believes now, it is a mixture of ideas dependent on where you live.  Any true Bible based Christian must surely act in accordance with their conscience; in the words of Martin Luther, the great protestant revivalist, . If, then, I am not convinced by proof from Holy Scripture, or by cogent reasons, if I am not satisfied by the very text I have cited, and if my judgment is not in this way brought into subjection to God’s word, I neither can nor will retract anything; for it cannot be either safe or honest for a Christian to speak against his conscience. Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise; God help me! Amen.

The Bible uses several terms to describe the Church, the most powerful being a family, consisting of people of different backgrounds, experiences, class, ages and gender.  This family extends right across the world, so that wherever you go you can have fellowship with other believers. 

Of course, the Church does not exactly encourage people, when it is seen to be unable to resolve theological and procedural problems quickly and quietly.  For a long period the Labour party was unable to attain office, because the public saw them squabbling and unable to determine what they stood for.  Then the Conservative party followed the same path, and they remained unpopular with the public.  So indicating clearly, that people have no respect for any body which cannot state positively what it believes in and stands for. 

It has to be faced there are men with a personal agenda, who seem determined to undermine the Church.  The Leaders of the Church have opposed ‘gay marriage’, yet, what is loosely called senior clergy, are challenging in a disloyal, irresponsible and shameful way, with no respect for unity within the Church or for Bible teaching.  This and other issues are liable to split the Church of England within, but separate it from the universal Church which includes Catholic and Orthodox Churches. 

It would be less damaging if we followed the example of  the Anglican Church of North America and formed a new Anglican Church of Great Britain based on the same foundations as of our American friends.

In the meantime each Church should strive to be true to its calling with vows honoured, and work independently of the national scene.  I firmly believe that if a Church is a welcoming one, offers a well-constructed service, with tuneful hymns and an inspiring message, it will surely attract members.

May more individual Churches turn back to firm Bible teaching, and put forward nothing which is contrary to the teaching and commands of our Lord