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Lessons from the watchtower

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I will climb my watchtower now and wait to see what answer God will give to my complaint. Habakkuk 2 v 1 

Watchtowers have been built since the earliest of times and were frequently built as part of a defending wall and occasionally as a single structure on high ground as an important lookout station. We have had the privilege of walking on a part of the Great Wall of China and discovering its beautiful watchtowers. In its original design and form The Great Wall is thought to have had 25,000 watchtowers built along its length.  

The watchtower had several very important functions. As I was thinking about this, for me, the most important aspect was the watchtower as a place of resource and supply. It was where all supplies were kept and so was the place of supply. It was also the place of safety, security, and refuge. The watchtower was the place of communication, to give and receive signals and give an early warning. The watchtower was a beacon, a significant landmark, and could even be thought of as a lighthouse as it was always built with a clear view of the landscape. Often signalling fires would be lit at the watchtowers. 

There are a few times that the word watchtower occurs in the bible. The prophet Habakkuk spoke of retiring to his watchtower while he waited for God to respond to his struggles and questions. Habakkuk had foreseen God’s judgement on His people and the downfall of Judah at the hands of the Babylonians, and he was struggling with some very tough questions. “God why are you doing this and why are you doing it this way?” He took his frustration, struggles, questions, and confusion to God, and in his waiting at the watchtower, he was giving God time to respond in His own good time. He knew that God would answer him. The watchtower would be his quiet place of retreat while he prayed and waited. He would watch and wait, confident and expectant that God would speak and answer.  

Unless the LORD builds the house,  they labour in vain who build it. Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise early, to retire late, to eat the bread of anxious labours. For He gives blessings to His beloved even in his sleep. Psalm 127 v 1-2 

 If God doesn’t build the house, the builders only build shacks. If God doesn’t guard the city, the night watchman might as well nap. It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. Don’t you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves?  The Message Version 

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Psalm 9 v 9 

You have been a refuge for me, a strong tower in the face of the enemy. Psalm 61 v 3 

PRAY   Lord, we watch and wait in your watchtower. This is our place of supply and where your resources for us are to be found. When we are confused, troubled, dismayed and don’t know the way ahead, we come to you in the watchtower and wait to hear your voice. Give us patience as we wait. Don’t let us run ahead with our own building plans. We are in a place of resource and supply. You long to bless. May we trust you. Amen

Jane Coates

Sunday Feb 20… how do we love?

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Dear friends

Yesterday I sat in Chapel Allerton and saw the snow fall at a pace from the skies!  I travelled back to Leeds city centre, only 15 minutes away, sat in the flat I am temporarily staying in, and there is no snow…I realised that things look differently depending on where you are sitting.  And so it is with us.  Even just 15 minutes away in the same city and we can have a totally different view with different concerns and experiences.  We carry these with us…and that’s again why its so important when it comes to faith in Jesus that we ‘Seek first’ (Matthew 6:33) to quote our theme from the start of the year, because so many other things can come to take that place, depending on where we are sitting.  That doesn’t mean our viewpoint isn’t important, on the contrary, Jesus encourages us to “Wake up and look around..”(John 4:35) but we need to ask, where is God in this view?  What does God want me/us to see? 

Today we continue to look at Jesus through Mark’s gospel with a focus on Mark 12:28-34… How do we love?  It will be live in the building from 11-12 and on the Moortown Baptist Youtube Channel.  There will be an all age focus with something practical to make for those who like to learn in this way. 

It’s the start of half term but Beacon café will still be on.  Do come along and share a coffee/chat/pastry/or just be, from 10-12.   Just before 12midday there is an opportunity to pray together and lift those on our hearts to God with others. 

On Tuesday we partner with the Queenshill gardeners project, a newly funded project in the community on a climate awareness day in church.  Its a day where we hear/share climate/environment concerns creatively but all ages are invited to make water filters for their homes/streets. No previous experience needed.  There is a free lunch and it will run from 10.30 until mid afternoon.

More news on the run up to Easter to come over the next few days…

Hope to see you soon

In Christ

Shelley Dring

Sunday 13th Feb… 11am in church and on YouTube. “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief”

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Over the last few weeks we have been following a series on Sundays called Seek First.  The aim was to intentionally put God at the centre of all our decision making, thoughts, worship, at the start of the new year as we looked at ‘what are we building?’ All ages engaged with the Bible passages on Sundays as we considered the cornerstone, foundations, Nehemiah and living stones.

Thanks to all who have shared in leading worship and teaching over the last few weeks.  We have all been blessed and enriched by sharing with each other.  It’s been good to have gathered together with you either in person or online on this journey since Christmas; but there is more…   

This Sunday we continue to Seek First…a sort of ‘Seek First part 2’, a series looking into the gospel of Mark.  It can become overwhelming at times when we think about the kingdom of God and how we truly seek his kingdom before all other agendas, but one way to overcome this is to realise that it is not simply about the expectations we or others have on us, but rather it’s about a relationship with the King himself.

I will send you a list of the passages in the next few days so that you can have a look in advance or you may want to contribute something on a Sunday or even chat or pray about it with one or two others in the week.  There will be opportunities to engage in different ways as the series develops. 

This week we start with a passage from Mark 9 where we meet a young man who’s son is healed by Jesus and declares to Jesus, “I believe, help me with my unbelief”.

Shelley

Seek first, living stones – 11am, Sunday Jan 6

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Here’s the link to today’s service. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uat-S_nTDBI

This coming Sunday we come to the end of our most recent series which we called Seek First.  Over the last month we have looked at four quite different ways of thinking about vision. These were and are: seeking the cornerstone, seeking firm foundations, seeking warrior builders (people prepared to hand everything over to God) and finally seeking living stones. 

All these services are still available to watch or indeed to watch again via the Moortown Baptist Church YouTube channel. 

So whether it be in person or on line we look forward to welcoming you at 11am on Sunday 6Th February when our text will be seeking living stones 1 Peter 2:1-7.

As our month long focus on vision draws to a close, we’re still here to listen to your suggestions

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On Sunday January 9th we threw out a challenge, and that was for you to spend until the 6th of February talking, thinking, dreaming and praying about what you think MBC ought to be focussing on.

Since then we have received a dozen or so emails, texts and phone calls as well as being invited to attend a number of face to face meetings. 

However, just because this coming Sunday is the 6th of February don’t think you can’t still contact us with your thoughts; after all as someone once said “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

Our next job is going to be to collate all the information we have, split it into sections and arrange to get back to you with some times and dates on which we can host anything from informal chats to slightly more formal workshops. 

The email address you will need to contact us is leadership.team@moortownbaptistchurch.onmicrosoft.com or of course you can always grab one of us whenever you see us. 

 

Q. Have you the heart to take on one of the most important jobs at MBC? A. If you can smile then you’re at least half way there.

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There’s an age old saying that “you only get one chance to create a good first impression.” And here at MBC, just like anywhere else that is so, so true.  

Since we reopened our doors Alan Gould has done a sterling job of being our welcomer in chief but now with upwards of eighty people joining us each and every Sunday we’re looking to add to Alan’s army so that we can give him the odd Sunday off.

So, if you have a heart for welcome, and equally important a heart for making people feel at home please either speak with any of your leadership team us or drop an email to leadership.team@moortownbaptistchurch.onmicrosoft.com

All we would ask is that on “your day” you be at church twenty to twenty-five minutes before our normal start time and that you stay around the entrance until about ten past eleven. There will be a bit of training – like making sure you know where the fire exits are and being familiar with where we muster if in fact the building were to go up in flames but depending on your response we shouldn’t be calling on you more than say once every six weeks.

All change as Kate, Shelley and newcomer Rachel move into new offices… and there’s even a space for your Deacons.

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I would like to thank Rod Russell and Paul Chadwick for giving up their time so willingly to paint the office for the new Seniors worker, Rachel Beedle. It has made a big difference as we have been able to now set the room up with the resources she will need for her work. Rachel actually starts with us after half term but will be at Lunch Club for two weeks before that to get to meet the regulars and the teams. 
 
However, Rachel’s isn’t the only office currently undergoing a clean up. After a very smart coat of paint Shelley has moved into what used to be one of the minister’s offices with the other, smaller one being given over to a Deacon’s Resource Room. Kate meanwhile is now in what used to be Shelley and James’s office.
 
Thanks also to Nicky Gibb, Megan Hornby and Diane Sunter who have worked so hard to tidy and sort the cupboards and drawers in other rooms, and of course to Hilary Darling and her team for the work they did in the old church hall. 
 
Like every good bottoming (as my old granny used to call it) the exercise threw up several items that had somehow become separated from their owners; these are now in the lost property box. 
 
Karen Ross
 

Lessons from a dry stone wall

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In Him [and in fellowship with one another] you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2 v 22 

Brick walls are made using identical shaped blocks glued together with mortar, but dry-stone walls are just a stack of stones- stones of different sizes and shapes, laid together, one on top of another. The stones are placed slowly and carefully, tightly packed together, locked under their own weight, by the skilled and experienced eye of an expert builder. There are no gaps between the stones so that the stones in each layer look like interconnected jigsaw pieces. Dry-stone walls really have two walls or sides, built very close together and ‘in-filled’ with smaller stones. As the twin outer sides are built, they form an ‘A’ shape, with the wall at the base being a little wider than the wall at the top for stability. Each layer of wall has large stones (tie-stones or through stones) at key places, holding the two sides together, with the essential smaller stones packed in between them. 

As I have thought about these beautiful walls, perhaps there are lessons about ‘being church’ that we can learn from them and their construction. 

Specialist builders use the stones that they have or that can be found in the fields nearby. It would be lovely to have perfectly formed and shaped stones, but very unlikely that such perfectly flat, squared off stones would be available and just where they need them. So, the builders must use what they have-stones with bulges and bumps, and a vast array of odd shapes too.

The wall is only held together by the sheer weight of stone, and so it is the skill of the builder that is crucial when he selects and fits the stones together. Each stone is used to its maximum benefit by a master builder. 

Many different stones are needed- face stones for the front, filling stones, through stones (for strength), cover stones, capping stones (the protective stones at the top) and so on. Every kind, shape and size of stone is essential and needed.  

The large, flatter ‘through’ stones are essential for the wall’s strength and must be placed at regular intervals to hold the sides of the wall together. Without these stones the wall would bow and might collapse.  

As a guiding principle each stone rests on two others and each stone has to support the stones on top of it. 

The brilliance of the dry stone-wall is that it can flex and move- it is flexible! As the ground settles or moves a well-built dry stone-wall will simply move with the ground. So, good construction is vital. 

The dry stone-wall is fundamentally held up by friction and gravity. The friction between the stones keeps them from sliding apart and the sheer weight of the stones means that it will stand firm.  

The good builder steps back at regular intervals to look at his work. Is the wall pleasing to the eye, is it standing true and is it following his marked-out guidelines? 

He’s (God) using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home. Ephesians 2 v 22 The Message 

So, you are no longer outsiders or aliens, but fellow-citizens with every other Christian—you belong now to the household of God. Firmly beneath you in the foundation, God’s messengers and prophets, the actual foundation-stone being Jesus Christ himself. In him each separate piece of building, properly fitting into its neighbour, grows together into a temple consecrated to God. You are all part of this building in which God himself lives by his spirit. Ephesians 2 v 22 JBP 

And now you have become living building-stones for God’s use in building his house. What’s more, you are his holy priests; so, come to him—you who are acceptable to him because of Jesus Christ—and offer to God those things that please him. 1 Peter 2 v 5 Living Bible 

Welcome to the living Stone, the source of life. The workmen took one look and threw it out; God set it in the place of honour. Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you’ll serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God. 1 Peter 2 v 5 The Message

PRAY 

Father God you are the master builder and you have set Jesus, your Son as the chief cornerstone. 

You are building your church with living stones, people of different identities, cultures, backgrounds, shapes, and sizes. We are imperfect and sometimes rub against each other, but all are needed. I am needed. 

You have placed us here in our church carefully and deliberately. This is the place where you want us to be. May we support each other as we stand in this place of your choice. All are needed. I am needed. 

We are imperfect, with rough edges, but we are yours. 

I may be concealed in the centre, I may attract attention on the outer edges, I may be a significant ‘tie stone’ or a cap stone but I am needed.  

When storms come and rock and shake your church, may we flex and bend and stand secure. You have built well. 

Build us Lord. Amen

Jane Coates

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