John Sherbourne

A travelogue – into the unknown.

It was by faith that Abraham obeyed the summons to go out to a place which he would eventually possess, and he set out in complete ignorance of his destination. It was faith that kept him journeying like a foreigner through the land of promise, with no more home than the tents which he shared with Isaac and Jacob, co-heirs with him of the promise. Hebrews 11

Abram, at the age of 75, was called by God to leave Haran, a place of security and stability, and to step out into an uncharted, unknown land, but a promised land, even though that land was already occupied. God had promised Abram a land, a blessing and a nation that would come from Abram and Sarai. Believing God’s promises, Abram became a tent dweller travelling south, with no permanent base or land of his own, and so the chapters in Genesis read a little bit like his travelogue. Abram travelled to Sychar, then on to Bethel and his journey with family and flocks would take him hundreds of miles from his first home in Ur of the Chaldeans (now Iraq).

While trusting God and His promises, with the occurrence of a devastating famine in this parched, inhospitable land, Abram feared that he would not be able to provide for his family and livestock, and so travelled to the safety of Egypt. This decision to go south into Egypt was a very human, rational, understandable, and life-saving decision, to escape famine. But God had called Abram to a promised land and not to Egypt. In alarming, and worrying circumstances, God’s promise still held true. Even though Egypt would prove to be a place of trouble, trauma and setback for Abram and Sarai, and there would be challenging consequences in connection with Hagar, the Egyptian handmaid that they took with them, God continued to bless and protect them, bringing them out to a better place, with lessons learned about faith and trust. God’s long-term plan for Abram, Sarai and their descendants, no human error or weakness could ultimately disrupt.

Leaving Egypt, Abram travelled across the Negev Desert, the largest area of desert in Israel, returning to Bethel. It was here that Abram and Lot parted company. This was a difficult separation. Abram gave first choice of the land to Lot, Lot choosing the fertile plains of the River Jordan, leaving Abram with the area around Hebron. From a human perspective, Abram’s land would seem to be second best and far from ideal. But God here renewed His promises to Abram and Abram built his altar of thankfulness. God again promised that all the land that Abram could see would be his, and that his descendants would be like the dust of the desert, so vast a number that they could not be counted. Abram’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars-that were so clearly visible in the desert night sky.

Abram and his descendants would not take ownership of the land for more than 400 years and only after the Israelites had escaped captivity in Egypt. Abram himself would only ever own a small piece of land near Hebron that he purchased for a burial ground. Yet Abraham, the ‘Father of Nations’, would be known as one of the great heroes of faith. Abram had no road map for where he was going and the timing of it, but he stepped out in faith- one step at a time.

Jane Coates

Ayo! Over the last few months we’ve been following the theme ‘Journeying with Jesus’ together and even though we have a new theme starting on Sunday 6th June, I know there’s lots more for us to discover as we reflect on Jesus the healer, Jesus the miracle worker or Jesus the builder over the next few months. I hope you have found it helpful, challenging and encouraging but most of all I hope you have discovered Jesus himself and not just learnt loads about Him. If you want to find out more, do get in touch with us and continue the conversation.

In June we continue our journey with the disciples as they prayerfully figure out what life looked like after Jesus had gone to heaven. The theme is called Devoted and it’s all based on Acts 2: 42-47 as well as a few other bible verses too. 

It seemed timely that God should be speaking to us about how the friends of Jesus put into practice being Jesus’ body  on earth after world changing events. There were ups and downs, it was messy, such a lot had happened and life would never be the same again. But Jesus had promised that they would do greater things than He did (John 14:12).

So here’s the plan for Sunday’s…
June 6th – they devoted themselves
June 13th – devoted to each of their teaching
June 20th – devoted to fellowship
June 27th – devoted to sharing a meal 
July 4th – devoted to prayer

We’ll be continuing with the playlist for now but also doing zooms and in person get togethers, some of these will be through the week, this isn’t just a Sunday thing, just as it wasn’t for the friends of Jesus.
I’ll be contacting all those who want to get involved or have done something before. Also if something from the theme gives you an idea do get in touch with me or any of the leadership team.

As a leadership and staff team together we prayed, listened to God and heard people of all ages (remember our last theme was something that kept coming up from the children) who are connected to our community. We pray that as we journey together, this theme underpins what we do and say but also really comes to life in all ages in all sorts of ways.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” Acts 2.42

Shelley Dring
Family and Children’s Lead with staff and the leadership team.

In 2010 Phil and I went to the Atacama Desert in Chile. Not your usual holiday destination of course, but this was a working trip for Phil to Santiago, Chile, and I had the opportunity to travel with him. We spent several days in the desert, walking Rainbow Valley and the Valle de La Luna where the moon landings were trialed (2,250 meters above sea level), enjoying the hot springs in the desert, observing the night sky, the sunsets, the extinct volcanoes and enduring the vast differences in temperatures between night and day. It was a very memorable trip. Now, if you tell someone that you were to holiday in the desert, they might think that you were slightly crazy. But the desert is beautiful and magical. The colours of the rocks, earth and sand dunes are breath taking. It can be a place of stillness.

Many individuals in the Bible accounts had key times when they experienced life in the desert. I think of Abraham, Moses, Elijah and of course Jesus himself. Times when they were isolated or wandering in these arid, bare, wilderness places- times which dramatically shaped and transformed their lives.

In 1 Kings we read that Elijah spent several periods in the desert or wilderness. He had challenged the evil King Ahab and his Queen Jezebel about their Baal worship. Consequently, God sent drought and famine for a period of years.

God instructed Elijah to go to the Brook Cherith in the wilderness where he would be fed by the ravens. His desert stay was a place of rescue, hiding, safety, protection, and stillness. A place of quiet and hiddenness.

God then sent Elijah to Zarephath where he, the woman and her son would be cared for and miraculously provided for, as protection from the intense three-year drought and famine. The desert was his place of refuge, rest, and recovery and provision. God had pressed the pause button for Elijah.

After Elijah returned to challenge King Ahab and Elijah’s victory over the prophets of Baal, Elijah once again ran to the desert in fear for his life. Elijah had been hounded, hunted, and was in a place of exhaustion, isolation, and depression. Sitting under his broom bush, the desert was a place of despair. But it became the place of grace, re-setting, reassurance, and recommissioning. Elijah was not left in solitary isolation. After declaring to God, “only I am left!” he is reassured that there are 7,000 men who have not worshipped Baal. He is not alone. And then the rains come. The drought is over.

The desert or wilderness can be beautiful, providing lessons that perhaps cannot be learned elsewhere. We should not be afraid of the desert. There is water in the desert.

“Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
¹⁹ See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.
²⁰ The wild animals honour me,
    the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
²¹     the people I formed for myself
    that they may proclaim my praise.

Isaiah 43 v 18-21

A prayer… Father God

I want to stop and be still. The world is a noisy and distracting place.

Help me not to be alarmed by the lonely place, the dark place, the wilderness and the desert. You are there with me. You will never leave me.

What feels like a wasteland, can be turned into a place of plenty.

You will hide me and shelter me. You make a way in the desert places.

Amen

Jane Coates

Next Monday, June 7th via Facebook you are invited to join with the Wyatt family and their invited guests at a Service of Thanksgiving for the life and work of Irene Wyatt.

Following a private cremation the Service starts at 2.15pm and will available by going to the MBC Facebook page, by visiting facebook.com/moortownbaptistchurch or by clicking HERE

This coming week MBC’s king sized gazebo is going to come into its own. 

On Monday morning Beacon café will be in full swing if you’d like to pop in for a chat and a coffee, on Wednesday Carole and the Lunch Club team host the first of two cream teas and then on Thursday lunchtime between 12 and 1.30pm there’s our new drop in prayer time. Immediately following that Karen Ross and her Thursday afternoon Craft Group will be hard at it doing anything and everything that craft groups do. 

With the exception of the cream tea each of these events are open to anyone who fancies calling by… you will be most welcome.