MBC is now meeting back in church at 11am each and every Sunday. However, alongside our face to face services we continue to stream all our get togethers on YouTube. You are most welcome to join us either in person or on line.
The YouTube link is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoWpfG51baXnRz0Szh_VRRg
On Sunday October 17th – 11am on YouTube and in church – we continue our series on The Body by taking a look at the heart. Karen Handley will be reading from the book of Proverbs (you can see the text below), we’ll be getting a reminder about how important our in-house defribillator can be, we have a guest speaker; Wally Bamford from West Grange Church and if time allows we’ll be having a chat with a few people who with 50 years of marriage under their belts should be in a fairly strong position to talk about affairs of the heart. 20 My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words.
21 Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.
23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
Last Sunday we opened our Harvest café and saw over 90 people join us either in church or on line to have a drink, a pastry, make an autumn wreath, to sing and to pray but most importantly to make a difference.
We were overwhelmed with all the donations of food and toiletries that were brought in both before, on the day itself and even some on the following Monday.
Our next task was to sort and carefully put half of the donations into one huge pile and the rest into another. Only then could we load them into our cars and set off on our first run, to the Leeds North and West Foodbank. Here we were told that as stocks were running short they were ‘very ready’ for harvest festivals. Indeed the following day Martin Lewis the Warehouse and Logistics manager emailed to say “Thanks for the generous donation, the total weight was 257kg! We will distribute the food to the most needy in the community”.
The following day, Tuesday, Zac kindly brought his van up to MBC and we took the other half of your donations to Cragg House Farm at Cookridge, the home of Caring for Life. Here we were greeted by Pam Parkinson and two of her volunteers who helped us unload the van and put all the stuff into a tent ready to be sorted.
Pam was bowled over by all the gifts, and she asked if we would pass on her grateful thanks and told us that she would be praying for Moortown Baptist Church too as we help build God’s kingdom in Leeds together. In fact before we left Zac and I spent some time talking with the CFL team looking at ways in which we might partner more closely with them in the future.
So, thanks again for all your donations as well as the help in receiving them, loading them and taking part, in person or online.
Please keep praying for God to open doors to new opportunities and to renew our vision to see what we can do that is already right in front of us.
I was reminded of this today as it popped up on my phone… I’m not sure who actually said it first but I think it fits pretty well with all that we have been trying to do together this week
“When you have more than you need, build a longer table, not a higher fence”.
Shelley
The message from MBC’s Harvest Service was clear… there’s far more to this annual ritual than simply turning up and gifting toilet rolls, UHT milk and tins of tuna to people in need!
Yes, Caring For Life and the Leeds North and West Foodbank will be more than grateful for our generous donations, but as Nathan pointed out in his message, as Christians, playing our part in planting seeds and weeding out that which will stifle their growth, in watering, in feeding and then finally rejoicing with God at the strength and the heartfelt commitment of the yield is also an inescapable part of the plan.
So thank you to everyone who brought gifts to our Harvest, may God bless you and as He does may He remind us all that “Raising the glorious Harvest home” isn’t something we can simply pick up from a supermarket shelf.
Not wishing to be outdone by teenager Emma Raducanu’s recent win at the US Open, MBC’s Senior’s Worker Carole Smith decided that a new sport ought to be added to the Lunch Club timetable… balloon tennis!
“It was” says Carole “not only a great way to get a little bit active but it was also a whole lot of fun. In fact such was the excitement that one lady lasted the whole 40 minutes, whilst others rather than changing ends swapped round with new partners.”
This was the first time Carole had tried balloon tennis and by looking at the pictures it proved a huge success.
“It’s a great addition to our active games repertoire” said Carole “joining amongst other sports floor curling, soft archery and adapted table tennis.”
“The beauty about all of these sports is that they each require slightly different skills and therefore suit different members of the group. However, we also discovered that once you have been brave enough to break the traditional mould (and replace balls with balloons) there are no end of combinations you can try.”
City Fibre is planning to carry out the works to install their apparatus within the carriageway at the junction of the Stonegate Road with Street Lane. To be able to carry out the works safety it is considered necessary to prohibit vehicular use of Stonegate
Road between its junctions with King Lane and Queenshill Approach and one way of Street Lane (South Easterly lane). There will be no right turn from Street Lane to B6157 Stonegate Road.
The works are to take place from Saturday 16th October 2021 to Sunday 17th October 2021 between the hours of 08:00 and 18:00. The road will be reopened outside of these times. A diversionary route for vehicles affected by the closure will be available via King Lane,
Scott Hall Road and Stonegate Road and vice versa. Access to pedestrians, property and for emergency vehicles and construction traffic will be maintained.”
Simon’s mother-in-law was bedridden, sick with a high fever, so the first thing they did was to tell Jesus about her. He walked up to her bedside, gently took her hand, and raised her up! Her fever disappeared and she began to serve them. Later in the day, just after the Sabbath ended at sunset, the people kept bringing to Jesus all who were sick and tormented by demons, until the whole village was crowded around the house. Jesus healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons. The Passion Translation
No sooner had the fever left than she was up fixing dinner for them. Mark 1 v 29-32 The Message
Jane Coates steps into the story.
I live in Capernaum and love and support my daughter and her husband, a Galilean fisherman. Times are hard and their income is uncertain. He is a good man, he works hard, and endures impossible hardships to make a living, selling the fish in the market that he and his brother catch. Fishing on the Sea of Galilee is a treacherous and demanding business and there are the boats and nets to manage. The dramatic changes in the weather on the water make the fisherman’s life and work even harder. Their life together is challenging. For all his faults- which in my opinion are many, Simon is strong, hardworking, and a good and faithful man. He may not be the most stable of characters as he can be strong willed, impulsive, and doesn’t always think through his plans. He is full of ideas, schemes and crazy notions, tends to speak before thinking, and often fails to consider the impact of his words on others. But I love him dearly and I do what I can to help them both.
Recently, his time has been taken up with other things. The two brothers have met with a local itinerant teacher who visits the towns and villages. By report, this man has been doing some amazing things. I hear accounts of Him healing ailments and diseases. But more than that, He brings a message of love and transformation which is certainly different to what you might hear in our local synagogue. I am intrigued by this man and have heard Andrew and Simon give Him high praise. They are keen to follow Him. But what of my daughter? If they go off to the countryside, leaving boat, net, and livelihood behind, what will become of her?
One day, I began to feel very unwell, and my sickness turned to a high fever. I was unable to carry on with any daily chores, and unable to help my daughter. I became so ill that I had to take to my bed. I could take no food and my condition was growing worse. Barely opening my eyes, I felt a gentle touch on my hand. It was the teacher who had been calling the men to leave their nets and to follow. His touch and His voice were gentle. The strangest of things happened next. I immediately felt the fever go from my body and my energy return. How could this be? From being so sick and laid up in my bed, I was restored, energized, renewed. I got up out of the bed, washed and dressed and immediately thought that food should be prepared for our guests. Then, later in the day, after Sabbath, our little house was surrounded by other visitors- many visitors, dozens of visitors! It seemed as if the whole village was descending on our little home. They came with various illnesses and Jesus began to heal them, one by one. They were healed, restored, and freed.
I was restored and renewed, and I had a place to serve the One who had touched my life.
Thoughts
We have trusted in Christ and received His free grace and salvation. But we are also saved to serve- not in our strength but with His strength and power. Strengthened to serve.
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father encourage you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.
2 Thessalonians 2 v 17
As you live this new life, we pray that you will be strengthened from God’s boundless resources, so that you will find yourselves able to pass through any experience and endure it with courage. Colossians 1v 11
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3 v 16-19
Jane Coates
This Sunday we once again mark our Harvest Service in a rather novel way. That’s because as we did last year we are inviting you to drive through our carpark and drop off your gifts.
However, unlike last year when the building was sealed off this time we are extending our invitation by asking you to park up and then join us for a cup of coffee and a croissant. What’s more, if you happen to be with us around 11am please feel free to join us for a short time of worship.
As you can see from the image above our gifts this year are being shared between Caring For Life and the Leeds North and West Foodbank. Below is a list of their requirements.
The foodbank are in particular need of tinned tomatoes, milk (uht), fruit juice (long life), rice, men’s deodorant, women’s deodorant, toilet roll, shampoo, liquid handwash, powdered milk (not baby milk) and biscuits. And Caring For Life are asking for coffee, juice, rice, pasta sauce in Jars, long life milk, meat meals, tinned potatoes, tomatoes, tuna, vegetables, fruit, rice pudding, custard, chocolates and biscuits.
Thank you, we look forward to seeing you any time between 10.30am and 12.30 on Sunday.
At 11am this coming Sunday (October 3) we continue with our series on The Body – the church of God – and if you can pardon the pun we are “focusing” on the eyes.
As our text we will be turning to Matthew chapter 6 verses 19 to 24 to find out what the author has to say about serving two masters, that’s God and money.
19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
So if you can join us in church at 11 we would be delighted to see you, if not you can always tune in to the MBC YouTube channel and either watch live or at any time you like.
