No.45 - A joyful start

Two months of ministry, music, prayer and fun.

Verse Of The Month

'I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the loving God, the pillar and foundation of the truth'

1 Timothy 3:14-15

At the heart of Paul's first letter to Timothy, he shares that he is writing so that we may know how we should behave as God's family, the church. It has been such a joy to dive into this letter and explore God's amazing design for his church.

Seeing that God has given us the task of upholding the truth has helped me to get excited about church. What a privilege we can help each other and the world escape destruction and receive eternal life through knowing Christ!

A little update

We really are so thankful to God for all we have been able to be part of since we moved to London. From bible studies in 1 Timothy to training sessions in Philippians, lectures at Cornhill in 1 Peter and Church meetings focused on John, Luke and Genesis, the second month of the St Helen's associate scheme has really been a month full of the bible. Hopefully, this letter can provide a little update on what we've been up to and how things have been going.

An average week

Here is roughly what an average week looks like

Monday

• Practical set-up for ministry events

• Cornhill prep

• Bible study prep

Tuesday

• Prayer meeting

• St H in-house training (Session)

• Lunch-time talk

• Staff meetings

• Bible study prep

Wednesday

• Cornhill Bible School

• Leader's bible study or babysitting

Thursday

• Prayer meeting

• Bible study prep

• Cornhill prep

• Session prep

• Practical set-up for bible study

• Leading Bible study

Friday

• Prayer meeting

• Session prep

• Monthly music ministry training

• Practical set-up for Church

Saturday

• Rest

Sunday

• 10am Church

• 10am Church family social time

• Admin

• 6pm Church

Extras for October

• Gave a talk at Cornhill - 1 Peter

• Started serving in the music team at the 10am and 6pm

• Attended 3 prayer and planning meetings for the 10am

• Helped with Church family lunch

• Started a St Helens Music ministry training course

• Attended the New staff and Wardens party

• Put on a bible study group social

• Attended a whole church family prayer meeting

Give thanks for

My two main joys over the last month have been getting to spend lots of time in God's word and lots of time amongst God's people.

Leading and attending weekly bible studies in 1 Timothy has continued to be a big highlight. It has been a joy to start to see just how wonderful a design God has for his family, the church, and it has been a real privilege to get to be a part of helping others get excited about it too!

A few weeks ago, I got to give my first talk at Cornhill Bible College. This was on a passage in 1 Peter, and the talk went down very well. I had lots of positive and helpful feedback. We've also had a number of great lectures; a particular highlight was two lectures going through the whole of Romans.

Having spent many hours preparing for various bible studies, it has been wonderful to see my ability to make progress in understanding passages slowly improve. I am also finding it more and more enjoyable to spend time in God's word.

It has been really great to see all the different ministry work at St Helen's. One great help with this has been the monthly prayer meetings. It has been amazing to hear updates about the different meetings, mission partners and upcoming events. Praise the Lord, his word is going out, and more and more people are getting to hear God's word and come to know Christ!

Finally, I've started to get involved with the music at St Helens. Praise the Lord I've been able to be of service at the 10am and the 6pm. I have also started St Helen's monthly music ministry training course, run by the music director at St Helen's. It has been great to learn from Richard and other music directors from great churches around the UK.

Pray for

Over the next few weeks I am planning to read the bible 121 with two members of my congregation. I would love your prayers that I could serve them well. Specifically I would love prayer that I could help them grow in their love for God and his word, and their desire and ability to share God's word with others.

As my congregation moves building and time (10am in St Peters, to 9:30 in the main St Helen's building) we would love prayer that we could welcome people well. We imagine there will be lots of new people and it would be wonderful to be able to show them some of the love that Christ has shown us.

Praise the Lord, my brother and sister in law and their new baby are doing well! Luci has been loving getting to support them over the last few weeks and would love your prayers to continue trying to serve and care for them well.

Finally we would love your prayers that we would have a godly view of the energy and capacity God has given us. We both want to be using our time to serve God and the church, but often the best way to do that can be to make sure we are resting well. We'd love your prayers that would manage our energy and time well and be able to continue serving joyfully over the next few weeks.

Many many thanks for all your prayers and support. Please do let us know how we can be praying for you.

Love and prayers in Christ.

God bless,

Joshua & Luci.

P.S. - If you want to hear more about how I've been delighted by Christ over the last week, feel free to check out my podcast on Youtube

Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/@helpmedelight

You can watch the latest episode below.