Heath Church Magazine Dec 20 - Jan 21

HEATH EVANGELICAL CHURCH

MAGAZINE December 2020 - January 2021

God’s glorious autumn colours in Aberporth Road. See p9

Grace is more than a doctrine Preaching as the Word of God News from around Wales Advent memories Books Craft Afternoon

Editors: Mr Leighton Hargest Tel: 029 2068 9075 Dr Paul Tench Tel: 029 2061 9109 email: tenchp@cf.ac.uk Pastor: Rev. Wyn Hughes 122 Whitchurch Road, Cardiff CF14 3LZ. Tel: 029 2061 7738 email: office@heath-church.org Church Website: www.heath-church.org

Pastoral Letter

Dear Brothers & Sisters,

I sometimes get asked "What is our ethos as a church?" This is a very good question and even though it includes what we believe in, it is more than that. Neither is ethos limited to the way we do things. In some ways it's best "felt than telt"! Yet we still need some sort of definition as to what we are about, our raison d'être. So let me have a go at giving a rough definition.

Surely our ethos as a church can be put in 2 words: Calvinistic Methodist (the denomination we came out of), or Word and Spirit, or experiential Christianity etc.We hold to a historic Reformed theology but with an emphasis on the Gospel, that is, preaching Christ.Also we believe in the need for the Holy Spirit to make this Gospel effective, and to revive us as believers.This is why we are not into gimmicks even though we believe in using every means to spread the Gospel. Prayer is also essential especially in upholding the preaching for which the pastor is set apart and called by God. The elders as well as the minister have the responsibility of pastoral oversight, and to help him and uphold him. Not only are we blessed with godly elders married to godly wives but church workers/assistants/trainees to help with this.Also we are blessed with a hard working diaconate to look after the running of the church and with a membership

that seek to look out for one another and be a witness to Christ. So many do so much behind the scenes it's not just about those in official positions but a living church.

Our lineage is that of men and women like Lloyd-Jones, Helen Roseveare,Tozer, Isobel Kuhn, Spurgeon, Hudson Taylor, John Elias, Jonathan Edwards, Daniel Rowland,Whitfield, Bunyan, Luther etc etc. Not all of these would have held Reformed convictions but were men and women who knew God.We love true believers from different traditions and this is reflected in our congregation.We want to worship God in a reverent but not a dour manner, teaching one another in our hymnody as well, not a performance but worship in Spirit and in Truth.This is reflected in a wide variety of hymns including Sankeys and Stuart Townend.We don’t just want to be concerned about spreading the Gospel in our local area but wider afield and hence an emphasis on sending missionaries all over the world.

Those are some random thoughts of our ethos. More could be said, but I love this kind of Christianity; it does something to my soul. I consider it a great privilege to be pastor of such a church and how we should be proud of who we are and especially of being Christ's people. May we guard and nurture these precious things.

Yours in Him, Wyn Hughes

P r e a ch i n g D i a r y

(in the church building and live streamed)

Sundays 10.45am & 6.00pm

Midweek

December

Midweek Bible study /prayer session 7.30

6th*, 13th The Pastor 20th The Pastor [am] Hywel George [pm] 27th Rev David Jones [Merthyr]

Wednesdays throughout December and the foreseeable future

January

Wednesday 9 December - Michael Prest (UFM)

3rd*, 10th The Pastor 17th, 24th The Pastor 31st Dr Dustin Benge [UST]

Week of prayer Tuesday 5 - Friday 8 January

February 7th*, 14th The Pastor 21st The Pastor * Evening Communion

Home Bible studies Monday 7 December Monday 4 January Monday 1 February

Christmas Eve Carol Service Given the ban on congregational singing and the need for 48 hours gap between services with different congregations, the Elders have decided that this year's Christmas Eve Carol Service will be wholly on line.

There are a number of positives from this. God willing, it will be viewed by more people than would come to the church. To that end, it is being advertised in nearly 8,000 Christmas cards that are being delivered by Royal Mail in the second week of December. It is being advertised on the church website and on social media. The words of the carols will be displayed so that people at home can join in singing.

As for the service itself, it will be led by the Pastor and he will preach. There will be several Bible readings from men and women and Sunday School children. The carols will be recorded and will include one each by the Sunday School, our young people and by a group of our adults. Please pray that the Lord will richly bless the truths preached and sung to the salvation of precious souls.

Online access to services YouTube: select Heath Evangelical Church.

This is also the case for Daily Thoughts.

Computer: www.heath-church.org ; select Live streaming in the top banner on the home page Telephone: dial 029 22 670600

Christmas Services Christmas Eve 5.30 (live streaming only) Christmas Day 10.30 The pastor Watchnight service 11.15 pm

Material for the next issue must be in the editors’ hands by 17th January in order to avoid delay in publication.

2

Wales Prayer Update There are encouraging signs that some Christians and churches are seeking to prioritise prayer.The Evangelical Alliance (EA), for example, called for a Day of Prayer on the 13 November for UK churches which has met with an encouraging response.The EMW Board has similarly been exercised concerning the matter of prayer and would like to reinstate monthly regional prayer meetings on Zoom for Churches/Christians.As a church at Heath we will have our own times of prayer early in January to seek the Lord for His blessing and a powerful movement of the Holy Spirit in Wales.This is a personal challenge to each of us, too, to seek the Lord, but please pray for the Lord’s work in Wales, including the following items.

A new Christmas edition of the EMW evangelistic Ask/Holi magazine is available for purchase and distribution by churches and individuals.The size is A5 which is ideal for posting and for giving away to friends and relatives.There are 32 pages divided equally between both Welsh and English languages.There is a clear and warm Gospel presentation with testimonies, as well as Bible teaching and a children’s page. Newtown church are considering another town wide mail drop of 8,000 copies of this edition of Ask/Holi. Other churches have ordered varying quantities with Mount Elim, Pontardawe intending to distribute 2,000 copies in their area.

Their pastor is Steffan Jones. Feel free to obtain copies for your distribution to friends and family over Christmas. Paul Tench distributed recently 400 copies of a previous edition of Ask/Holi in the streets around Heath church while 1,000 copies are on order for distribution in a different part of the Heath area.

children linked with their club and toddlers.There will be an online carol service video on the 20th December and people will be invited to watch. Bilingual children's videos about local Christian history have been well received by local folk; the videos show what God has done in their area in the past.

Pete's wife Rachel has kept the Toddler Group going informally in the park, which has been appreciated with good contacts being made.

Please pray for John Bolger, a church member who is a committed open-air evangelist regularly preaching in Porthmadog, Pwllheli, and Dolgellau. Over a few years, some folk have been converted through this preaching, and John has a good hearing from locals, so it is a strategic ministry.

Seion, Maerdy:Andrew Scully is finding ministry complicated under current restrictions but recorded services are transferred to CDs for people to listen to on Sunday mornings as most people are not on line.They have a midweek telephone conference prayer meeting with good numbers joining for that. Nearly all their congregation are vulnerable due to age or ill-health but they are encouraged in that after the CDs have been distributed, they are later handed on to others so they reach more people than used to attend their services.They ask for prayer and wisdom in preparing for Christmas outreach.

Pete Campbell is grateful for like-minded churches in Criccieth, Bala (Gareth Williams), Bangor (David Finney in Ebeneser and Dafydd Job in Capel y Ffynon) and Talsarnau (where the pastor is Dewi Tudor).The Criccieth church is stable but in need of prayer.A charismatic church in Criccieth has plans to establish a witness in Harlech so please pray that the witness will be Christ-centred.

There is a Christian Cafe, The Big Rock, in Porthmadog, and Graham, the owner, was encouraged last summer as he held meetings outside. Please pray for their witness over the winter. In Ffestiniog, there is a Christian doctor currently working in a practice there who would value prayer.

Pete Campbell in Penrhyndeudraeth (North West Wales) gives thanks for encouragements during lockdown and for being able to support the foodbank in the village.The regular Zoom prayer meetings and Bible studies have been a source of help while notes of sermons have been given to people in Care Homes and to unbelieving neighbours with opportunities also to witness.The church is excited about distributing the EMW Ask/Holi Magazine in Penrhyndeudraeth, Llanfrothen, and Minfordd and also Christmas craft packs to

Please continue to pray for the Lord to give pastors to churches in Caergwrle (Wrexham), Llansamlet (Swansea) and Clarbeston Road (Pembrokeshire).These and many other churches desperately need a pastor.

Eryl Davies

Church Council update is on p9.

Personalia is on a separate sheet for this edition; please contact the church office if you haven’t received it.

3

Grace Is More Than a Doctrine Grace is a beautiful thing. It is God-like.

Our Maker and Redeemer Himself is ‘full of grace and mercy’.When Moses pleaded with God to show him His glory, God responded by saying,‘I myself will make all My goodness pass before you’ (Exodus 33:19) and spoke of His goodness in terms of the exercise of His mercy.

We speak of salvation by grace.What is that if not kindness and acceptance of the undeserving? Who of us has earned the right to God’s blessings? Who of us has won his way to heaven? Grace looked upon us in our filthy unworthiness and, in spite of our inability to forsake our ways, in spite of our stubborn rebellion, embraced us, forgave us, restored us and secured for us unimaginably eternal blessings.

Ezekiel puts it in embarrassingly stark terms in what has become a very familiar text (Ezek. 16:1-14), the essence of which is that God saw Israel in her filth and unworthiness, yet embraced her with kindness and beautified her with the splendour of His glory.The New Testament message is very much the same:

For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom. 5:7-8).

We also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Saviour and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through

Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:3-7; see also 1 Tim. 1:12-16).

We rightly revel in such passages and love to preach them. But do we live by them?

After all we are commanded to show others the same grace shown to us. God instructed Israel:‘You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt’ (Exod.

23:9);‘the stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God’ (Lev. 19:34). Salvation is not by human merit, neither is membership in the Body of Christ.

The whole point of Paul’s reflection on God’s grace to sinners in his letter to Titus is as plain as plain could be. He prefaces the above quoted passage with the words,

Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men, for we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures… (Titus 3:1-3).

And he concludes with,

This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds.These things are good and profitable for men. But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.

Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned (Titus 3:8-10).

4

We delight to summarize our distinctive doctrines by the term ‘The Doctrines of Grace’. But grace is far more than a doctrine. It should characterize our lives.

It should characterize the way we treat others.Yet there is often so little grace in our relations.

We declare in practice a meritorious basis for belonging to a community that declares a non-meritorious message.

How? By the fact that we are factious, overly critical, quick to disagree and quick to divide over our disagreements. By making unsurmountable doctrinal mountains out of molehills on which there is scriptural room for different opinions.

The successful among us are happy to engage in feel-good, socially beneficent activities, while ignoring the poor and the conflicted among us.We reach out to those in faraway countries while we have nothing to do with our neighbours.We ignore gossip, back-biting, unkindness and long-term bitterness because we deem these abominations lesser sins than doctrinal deviations, real or imagined.

The words of Isaiah are as relevant to the church today as they were 2,700 years ago:

They seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways, as a nation that has done righteousness and has not forsaken the ordinance of their God.They ask, … ‘Why have we fasted and You do not see?

Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’ Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, and drive hard all your workers. Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist … Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord? Is this not the fast which I choose: to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke and to let the oppressed go free and break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with

the hungry and bring the homeless poor into the house, when you see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? (Isa. 58:1-7, emphases mine).

It is possible to be orthodox in doctrine but completely heretical in terms of conduct, to affirm the Doctrines of Grace in our speech while denying them in practice. Our lives often speak so loudly that people cannot hear what we are saying.

When will we learn from the Gospel to dare to leave our comfort zones and reach out with a grace that is not a mask of selfaffirming righteousness? When will we love sincerely those with whom or from whom we differ? When will we seek to live, worship and serve alongside them? When will we learn to confirm by our conduct what we affirm with our lips? When will we refuse to break bruised reeds and extinguish dimly burned wicks, to cease ignoring the needy among us and to accept one another generously, rather than in the hope of winning them over to our side?

When will we choose to be Christ-like in

the way we manage our differences?

Frankly, we are often sternest where, deep in our hearts, we are the least secure.When we felt threatened by another person’s opinion our weakness drives us to respond by attacking the person rather than considering what he or she may have to say, and learning from it or offering them a respectfully thoughtful reply.

The unity of the Apostolic church was strained by fierce disagreement, particularly over the place of non-Jewish believers in the purposes of God and the Jewish tradition in one’s spiritual life. It was made up of different cultures that created real tensions.Yet it never occurred to the apostles to separate over such issues.They knew that Christ had but one Body, made up of several parts, each in need of the other.They knew it was their glad but difficult duty to maintain the unity of that body in the bond of peace.That is what our Lord prayed for in the garden on the night He was betrayed, when He sought His Father’s grace on our behalf so that we

would be one as He, the Father and the Spirit are one. In our striving to learn from Him and from His apostles, and as we insist that we—more than others— are in line with Biblical guidelines, ought we not to learn this lesson as well?

May the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God (Rom. 15:5-7).

Baruch Maoz With permission, from the Banner of Truth magazine, October 2020.The editors are grateful to Peter Ernest for drawing our attention to this article.The author, Rev Baruch Maoz, is the predecessor to Rev David Zadok at the Grace and Truth Church, Rishon LeZion, Gedera, Israel.

Prayer meeting for the Gospel among Jewish People There has been a prayer meeting for the Salvation of Israel, led by one of our members, in progress since April 2014.

Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, it has not met since April 2020.

As things are now more settled, and ways of meeting are more accessible, the prayer meeting will, by God's grace, resume in the New Year, at a date to be finalised.

In light of the Church’s fellowship in the Gospel with Grace and Truth Congregation in Israel, led by Pastor David Zadok, and our ministry of helping Holocaust Survivors with vitamins over the recent years, it has been decided by the Pastor and Elders, that the meeting

become a Heath Evangelical Church prayer meeting, for the Gospel among Jewish People.The new name brings it into line with the new name that Christian Witness to Israel is adopting in January 2021, the International Mission to Jewish People.

The meeting will be open to any Heath Church member, and a warm welcome would be extended to any brother or sister from any other congregation.The Church has appointed Peter Ernest to lead the meeting, as he has done since its beginning.

The structure of the meeting will be as at its beginning: greetings, committal to the Lord,

5

hymn, short reading as foundation to prayer, prayer points and time of prayer.

Our reason for the meeting:

"I exhort therefore, that first of all, supplication, prayers, intercession, and giving of thanks, be made for all men” (1 Timothy 2:1).

"Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved" (Romans 10:1).

Information on the start date and time of the meeting will be announced in due course.

Trusting the Lord will guide us and help us pray aright for the saving of His ancient people.

Preaching as the Word of God Worship by Hearing

When we gather Sunday by Sunday, it is to worship. One Puritan said worship is "a communal desire to commune with God."1 Communion with Father, Son and Spirit, that’s what we’re about when we come to church! However, even in the simplest communication there are always two sides; speaking and listening.The Westminster Confession states that “…the sound preaching and just hearing of the word…are all parts of the ordinary religious worship of God.”2 As members of the congregation, what do we hear when we come to commune with God? The Word of God

Scripture applies “the word of God” to Christ, to preaching, and to Scripture (John 1:1; 8:47; Rom 10:17).These three are the Word of God which we hear when we come to church: Christ preached, according to the Scriptures.

This was the vivid experience of our brothers and sisters in Thessalonica:“You received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God” (1 Thess 2:13). Peter speaks similarly in 1 Pet 1:25, as does the writer to the Hebrews:“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you” (13:7). Our Scriptures don’t blush to call preaching ‘God’s word.’3 This emphasis has been brandished by our brothers and sisters in the faith ever since, especially during the Protestant Reformation.

In his unique way, Martin Luther said, “Every honest pastor or preacher that

1 2 3 4

5 6

7 8

speaks Christ’s word may freely boast that his mouth is Christ’s mouth.We rightly call their word God’s word.”4 Not long later, John Calvin weighed in:“When a man has climbed up into the pulpit…it is so that God may speak to us by the mouth of a man.”5 Puritan William Perkins cited Jeremiah to say that it is not so much the preacher but the Holy Spirit who is heard in preaching; contemporaries like Thomas Cartwright, agreed.6 Would you?

One of the confessions says:“The preaching of the word of God is the word of God… when this word of God is now preached in the Church by preachers lawfully called, we believe that the very word of God is proclaimed and received by the faithful; and that neither any other word of God is to be invented nor is to be expected from heaven: and that now the word itself which is preached is to be regarded, not the minister that preaches; for even if he be evil and a sinner, nevertheless the word of God remains still true and good.”7 Those are bold words! For the Reformers, sound preaching is not just about Christ, but it is the personal address of Jesus himself.8 Hearing Men Speak

This begs the question: How should we think about what the preacher says?

Does this mean that we ought to act like seagulls, indiscriminately eating from bins and restaurants and calling it all good? Should we accept any noise tumbling from the pulpit as divine? Not at all! When the Lord Jesus made us, He

Jeremiah Burroughs, Gospel Worship (Orlando: Soli Deo Gloria, 1991).

WCF 21.5 Jer 1:9, 5:14; Rom 10:17; 1 Cor 14:24-25; 2 Cor 5:20; 1 Pet 4:11 Karl Barth,“The Word of God as the Criterion of Dogmatics,” in The Doctrine of the Word of God (ed. G.W. Bromiley and T. F.Torrance; trans. G. W. Bromiley; vol. 1 of Church Dogmatics, ed. G.W. Bromiley and T. F. Torrance; London:T & T Clark, 2004), 95-6. Martin Luther, Eine treue Vermahnung (1522),WA 8:263, line 13.

John Calvin, Sermons on 1 Timothy (trans. Robert White; Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2018), 327-44.

William Perkins, The Art of Prophesying (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2011).

D. M. Lloyd-Jones, The Puritans:Their Origins and Successors (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2002), 376.

Second Helvetic Confession, ch. 1, in The Book of Confessions (PCUSA: General Assembly, 1991).

Oswald Bayer, Living by Faith: Justification and Sanctification (trans. Geoffrey W Bromiley; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003), 49.

9 10

11

12 13 14

15 16 17

6

gave us brains with which to discern what our ears hear. In Acts 17, the Bereans heard the preaching of the Gospel through their ears.Then, they used their brains to discern that it was indeed God’s word coming from the preacher’s mouth. In 1 John 4, we are encouraged to test what we hear to discern whether it is from God. John even tells us how to do that if you want to look it up.

Just because the sound preaching of Christ according to the Scriptures is the word of God doesn’t mean that anything a preacher happens to say is also the word of God.Andrew Davies is helpful here:“Preachers have a derived yet real authority. He is the authoritative servant of a Master.The preacher is to proclaim God’s message and presence through preaching; the message is powerful and authoritative yet delivered by a servant.”9 That is to say, every grain of authority which the preaching carries is derived from Jesus’ word.The authority of preaching is real and on par with Jesus’ own words but only in so far as it is this: Christ, according to the Scriptures. Preaching must conform to the Scriptures, not the other way around.10 Besides, as the confession at the beginning says, it’s the word, not the preacher, that is to be heard.

Putting all this together we have what Glen Scrivener calls his central conviction: “At God’s initiative, preaching is God’s own word when Christ is proclaimed according to the Scriptures.”11 When it is Christ according to Scripture, then preaching is the Word of God (Col 1:28, 1 Cor 15:3).

Davies,“Preaching and Worship” (paper presented at a Preachers’ InService Training Day, Cardiff, November 2019).

T. H. L. Parker, Calvin’s Preaching (Louisville:Westminster John Knox, 1992), 23.

Glen Scrivener,“A Theology of Preaching.” No pages. Cited 19 October 2020. Online: https://www.uniontheology.org/resources/doctrine/ scripture/a-theology-of-preaching.

John Piper, Expository Exultation (Wheaton: Crossway, 2018).

Thomas Watson, Heaven Taken by Storm (ed. Joel R. Beeke; Ligonier: Soli Deo Gloria, 1992), 16.

John Calvin, as quoted in John H. Leith,“Doctrine of the Proclamation of the Word” in John Calvin & the Church:A Prism of Reform (ed.Timothy George: Louisville:Westminster John Knox, 1990), 211.

Davies,“Preaching and Worship”.

Davies,“Preaching and Worship”.

Ken Ramey, Expository Listening (The Woodlands,Tex.: Kress Biblical Resources, 2010).

Hearing God Speak

How does our attitude toward gathering for worship match up with these truths?

Every day is bursting with worshipful things to hear but the greatest is the preaching of the Gospel in the Church.

When we gather to meet with God, what we hear is His voice in the preaching of His Gospel.This makes preaching and its hearing the climax of worship.12 “When we come to the word preached, we come to a matter of the highest importance; therefore, we should stir up ourselves and hear with the greatest devotion.”13 Do we prepare for, come to, participate in and reflect on the preaching of the word of God believing that “when the Gospel is preached in the name of God, it is as if God Himself spoke in person”?14 Referring to 1 Cor 10:13 and Col 3:17, Andrew Davies said that “Preaching is both delivered and received as an act of worship. During preaching, we are hearing God and praising Him in

response. Is this your conscious experience? It is important to remember that the preacher and the congregation work together in the worshipful act of preaching. Both the speaker and hearers are involved in hearing and responding to the word of God, Jesus being present and working by His Spirit, in both.”15

When we come to church, do we expect to hear Christ address us personally?

Our Scriptures would have us anticipate it every time! As we approach the worship of preaching, we pray “Lord, what do you have to say to me today?”

As we leave, we say to one another, “Hear what the Lord said to me today!”

Warning: High Voltage!

When Christ speaks, whole planets pop into existence; that’s power! When we come to church, ready to hear the Word of God in the preaching of Christ according to the Scriptures, should we not expect powerful things to happen?

“Preaching is the spoken word of the

written word, carrying the same authority, power and Spirit-filled intention to change.Through preaching the Christocentric word of God, Jesus’ powerful and irresistible word is heard (1 Cor 1:18).”16 Preachers have the responsibility to tell what God has said in His Word. But we hearers have a responsibility too, and it’s equally pressing: We must engage ourselves as wholehearted listeners, responding to the call of God on mankind;“Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; for the LORD speaks” (Isa.1:2).17 Are you ready to hear the Word of God and to anticipate the change it necessitates in you?

Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand.

Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.

Psalm 95 From the church staff meeting

Lois Wells in Reach For the past year I’ve been involved in international student outreach in Cambridge, working as a Reach Trainee with Friends International. During this time, I have been seeking to get alongside and share the Gospel with international students from around the world, through various means including helping to run international cafés, group Bible studies and an Explore course covering the basics of the Gospel.When lockdown started, I returned home, but we continued the work from afar via Zoom and I have also had the opportunity to study John’s Gospel oneto-one with a student, N from Italy.

Please give thanks for encouraging times

with N over the last few months, especially the change in her view of Jesus, from not liking the message of Him being the Lamb of God to being amazed

by His grace, which makes me think she has been converted. Give thanks for N’s enthusiasm to continue studying John’s Gospel together as long as we are both able and please pray that she will want to find a church.

Please pray for M from Japan who made a profession of faith following the Spring term Explore course and for I from China who also seemed very close to becoming a Christian. Please also pray for the group of Chinese visiting scholars who attended the Autumn term Explore course, a

Reach Trainees from around the country at the January Conference

number of whom appeared to be counting the cost of trusting the Saviour.

Please pray they might each see His allsurpassing worth compared to anything they might lose for His sake. Please also pray for a number of students from the Middle East who showed varying degrees of interest to seek the Saviour.

Thank you so much to those who prayed for and supported me over the past year and to those who gave me wise advice at various points. I appreciate your love and care very much.

If you would like to hear more about the year, feel free to chat to me in person.

Team from the Spring Term Explore Course

7

Bookshop and reviews Have you thought about buying some books from Heath Christian Bookshop as Christmas presents this year?

We both thoroughly enjoyed reading this biography, which was given to us as a present last year, and would wholeheartedly recommend it as a Christmas gift. It is easy to read and an encouraging story of God’s work among His people.

An Open Door: A True Story of Courage in the Congo

by Maud Kells with Jean Gibson. 10 Publishing, 2019 The biography of Maud Kells is a fascinating and inspiring read. It takes the reader on a journey from Maud’s early years training in Ireland as a nurse, midwife and missionary to her arrival in the Congo where, aged 25, she replaced martyred missionaries.

God called Maud to the work with the words, “I have set before you an open door that no one can shut” (Revelation 3:8).At the outset the door appeared closed and over the years it would close many times. But God always reopened it. She went on to spend five decades there, providing maternity care and working to build a hospital and nursery in the rainforest village of Mulita There were many difficulties and dangers including being shot and badly wounded but Maud knew God’s keeping power.

When setting out for the Congo Maud would often think on ‘the traveller’s psalm’ (Psalm 121), particularly verse 8:“The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore.”

She ends the book as follows:“Thinking of what God has done in Mulita over the years, I return to verses He gave me many years ago:‘Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish … the weak … the lowly … the despised … so that no one may boast before Him …

Therefore, as it is written,“Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1.26 31).’ He has done it all.All glory belongs to Him.”

Lynda Newcombe

Knowing and Enjoying God trilogy

by Dr D Eryl Davies (Bryntirion Press, 2020) Like Stuart Olyott, who wrote Something must be known and felt, Eryl Davies wants to introduce more people to vibrant, experiential Christianity. He has written three very short books which together form a set. The design and layout are attractively contemporary and the English is accessible. Novel features are reader feedback (mainly by people known to you!) and imaginary dialogue.

Throughout there are Biblical, historical and contemporary illustrations and testimonies.

Book 2 is sub-titled Right with God. It is just over 50 pages and clearly explains the revolutionary doctrine of justification by faith. It aims to take a Christian further and demonstrate unshakeable Biblical grounds for assurance of salvation.

Book 3 which is sub-titled Experiencing God is more advanced and covers over 90 pages. It majors on the lovely

Book 1 sub-titled Keys is less than 60 pages and introduces the Gospel without assuming prior knowledge. The “keys” are prayer and the Bible. Nearly half of it is devoted to a variety of testimonies, many of whom you are likely to see in church.

8

doctrine of union with Christ. It aims to give us an appetite to know Christ better and walk with Him.

I warmly recommend that you buy and read the set and then think who else you could buy it for. Given the simple yet profound text the whole family could benefit from this set of three books.

Kerry Orchard

Systematic Theology

by Robert Letham (Crossway, 2019) Have you read “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy? You have? Well, here’s another hefty tome to read by the fire in lockdown, all 1,000+ pages!

To encourage you, it’s very well written, the author is a “safe pair of hands”; he is generous in his treatment of those with whom he disagrees and the text is lightened by his dry sense of humour.

So, who is Robert Letham? He is Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Union School of Theology, Bryntirion. His books are standard texts in conservative seminaries around the world. You may also remember he preached for us several months ago.

But do we need another systematic theology?

Louis Berkhof’s, for instance, was written nearly 90 years ago. He interacted with the

controversies of the day, notably Liberalism.

Dr Letham interacts with Post Modernism, Open Theism, Islam, the Charismatic Movement, Feminism, New Age, New Perspective on Paul and Vatican II, amongst others.

What are its strengths? It is very strong on the doctrines of God and salvation. The book strikingly starts with the Trinity. Too often this truth appears almost as an afterthought in otherwise good treatments, including Louis Berkhof and Wayne Grudem. Joel Beeke, Sinclair Ferguson and Carl Truemen are amongst those who warmly commend this book. That doesn’t mean they agree with every word but it does mean it is a reliable guide that will sharpen our thinking and help us to help others.

Kerry Orchard

Church Council Update We would like to restart youth meetings as soon as possible, to support our young people and students.

We would begin holding the combined Prayer Meeting and Bible Study in the Church building from 25th November.

The coffee shop seek additional volunteers and we need to identify a new Church Catering Supervisor.We thanked Kathleen Evans for her diligent years of service in the role.

More autumn glory in Aberporth Road!

We praised the Lord for preserving the Church finances during the pandemic, and we noted ongoing maintenance work to the Church and Manse.

The Elders are considering a job description for an experienced family man to assist the Pastor in Ministry at the Heath.

Tony Rucinski, Church Secretary.

Roath Park photos from Paul Willis

9

Craft Afternoon This year the Heath Craft Afternoon needed to take a different format and after some survey feedback we opted for a virtual event.This was always going to be very different from the usual day with lots of craft stalls to choose from and a roomful of chatting people - and lots of cake!

The event this year ran over Zoom for one hour on the afternoon of Saturday 10th October. It included a live demonstration of a craft for attendees to follow along with, using the simple list of materials that had been sent out in advance.We then stopped halfway through for a short evangelistic message.

There were close to 25 people that tuned in and it was lovely to see so many friendly faces and some young children joining too!

Maddy Dutkowski had planned a craft that perfectly suited different ages and the time available. In the first half of the session we made paper flowers out of different materials and then, after the talk, Maddy demonstrated the different ways to display the completed paper flowers.These included floral wreaths, garlands, cards, branches and stems. It was impressive how many flowers the attendees made throughout the session!

Towards the end we were able to split everyone into 'breakout rooms'.

Participants were separated into groups of four or five to be able to chat properly with each other whilst they finished up their craft and it was lovely to have some catch up.

I did the talk myself this time and it focused on the account of the woman who was about to be stoned to death when Jesus intervened.We covered how Jesus literally put Himself between the punishment and the person about to be judged.We looked at how Jesus was the only one in a position to carry out fair justice, as He led the only perfect life, and yet it is clear that Jesus' first choice is still to offer this lady mercy, forgiveness and kindness instead.We then looked at how Jesus did the exact same thing when He was put to death on the cross and how it was like the crowd still throwing the stones, even

though there was a man in the way that didn't deserve any punishment.We discussed how the cross was like Jesus not only trying to intervene for everyone that would ask him to, but also going right up to the woman to protect her.Why would we walk away from this opportunity for Jesus to jump right into our lives and save us whilst we are still sinners, that we might live?

The Craft Afternoon is an annual Autumn event - so please join us again next year!

Lauren Swain 10

Moldova - Casa Mea Those who have followed the work of Maureen Wise in Moldova will know that Fundatia Casa Mea is a Christian charity in Moldova which supports adults with disabilities in domestic-scale homes, who previously lived in closed institutions.

The Lord has seen fit to greatly bless this work, and there are currently four houses in the centre and north of Moldova, with many of the residents now being the Lord’s.

For many years, there was an unofficial steering group in Cardiff, chaired by Maureen, to facilitate administrative and financial support from UK for that work.

However, three years ago Casa Mea UK was registered with the Charity Commission to provide that support on an official footing, having a Board of Trustees to administer the charity.There have been seven trustees from the outset, five of whom are from Heath

Church, namely Maureen Wise (Chair), Brian Topley (Treasurer), Dr. Carwyn Shires (Secretary),Anita Piroozi, Paul Willis, with two close friends and colleagues of Maureen from other churches in Cardiff, namely Tricia Wiltshire and Jenny McMillan.

It is our particular concern that we should be looking ahead for the development of the work, and for the Lord’s guidance as we do so.A number of our trustees are no longer in the first flush of youth! So in recent days, three new younger trustees have been appointed, namely Tim and Keziah Toase and Emma Coalter.They are from different parts of the UK, but have been very much involved in praying and visiting Moldova (for the summer camps etc.).We are praying that the Lord will bless them, and all the trustees, as we seek to glorify God in this work in the days ahead.

We praise God that during the pandemic, both staff and residents have been protected from the virus, with the exception of Sora Galina who is the staff member working at Casa Bucuriei.

However, she has since recovered and is now back at work, for which we thank the Lord.

Until the pandemic struck last March, we had been continuing to hold our monthly prayer meetings in Brian and Rhydian’s home. Since then of course, we have not been able to hold them, but from this month it is our intention to hold monthly prayer meetings through the medium of Zoom, until it becomes possible to return to our normal meetings.We are so grateful for the prayers of the Lord’s people here in the Heath, in other parts of the country and indeed Moldova itself.

Paul Willis

Loved with Everlasting Love Marjorie was cycling through the peaceful seaside town of Penarth thinking about the nature of God. Suddenly, she experienced an overwhelming sense of God's personal love for her. As the apostle John writes, In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)

Marjorie was brought up in a moral and industrious family, but her parents had abandoned any adherence to the Christian upbringing they had received.

As the eldest daughter of nine siblings, she had learnt from an early age to put others first and had a strong sense of commitment to family. After the war, she married Geoff, whom she had first met when she worked as a telegraphist at the Head Post Office in Birmingham. She knew that he was a practising Anglican, but she did not fully understand or share his beliefs. In fact, her brothers and sisters were mainly sceptical about the Christian faith.

In 1966, they moved from the north of England to South Wales. The years went by

and Marjorie continued to dedicate herself to her family and the community. She also cared for her father-in-law, who lived in the family home. When the children were teenagers, he had a severe stroke and it became a great challenge for her to look after him, despite the support she received from Geoff. For the first time, Marjorie in her early 50s felt that she could not cope with her situation and that she could no longer rely on her own resources.

One day, an invitation came that would change her life forever. The Bible class (GCU) which her daughter, Joan, enjoyed so much held a special evening for mothers in Diana Crocker's home. In that meeting, Diana’s sister, Mary, shared the amazing news of Jesus bearing all our burdens. Mary was serving as a missionary at the time in Afghanistan. It was not long before Marjorie began to accompany Diana each Sunday to the Heath Church. She was stunned by the joyful singing and could not understand how the pastor knew so much about her.

He seemed to be speaking directly to her as if he had a personal file on her life!

11

After reading Basic Christianity, which she later gave to her son, also named Geoff, she finally understood that she could not win her way to heaven by hard work or duty. Forgiveness of sins is a free gift that she gladly received and the love of God filled her heart and transformed her life. She quickly grew in her knowledge and understanding of God's Word. The Heath Church became her church family and she later had the joy of worshipping there with her husband and family members. Recently, Marjorie celebrated a hundred years of the Lord's faithfulness to her. She remains constantly thankful for the way in which God has led her and continues to testify to His abundant love for her.

JD

An Advent message When working overseas I was introduced by a dear American sister, Portia Reimer, to this idea of hosting a small Advent/Christmas coffee morning in your home to which you would invite unsaved friends to come and share Christmas memories. Of course the idea was that your memories should give glory to the Saviour.

My first memories of Christmas were as a child growing up on a farm in Northumberland.The holidays and Christmas particularly were almost deliriously happy occasions when my brothers came back from boarding school and we became a family again; my father who had been in the army, stopped work and we set about with military precision transforming our grey and cold stone farmhouse into a warm and welcoming HOME. Piano music and singing filled the house as we decorated every window ledge and picture top with greenery and hauled up something approximating a Christmas tree felled from the nearby wood. On Christmas Eve we turned the Christmas tree LIGHTS on. It was truly magical, and I’d often creep in to sit all alone pondering on deep things, ... or so I thought.

Christmas meant the best china and linen and sparkling glass, and polishing silver whilst listening to Christmas Carols on the radio. Over and over again we heard and sang those carols, but not truly understanding the significance of the birth of the baby in the stable.

Christmas morning we woke to red and white striped oversized wool rugby socks which bristled with newspaper wrapped gifts such as diaries, pencils, alarm clocks, torches, batteries, yoyos and clementines in the toes. Father Christmas was SOO practical!

Christmas Day was an interminable wait whilst being GOOD and KIND for PRESENTS. I had to keep my temper in check. How did that carol go ..? Christian children all must be, mild, obedient good as He.. Christmas would not be special if we weren’t..This did NOT come easily, jealousy towards my sister was never far away, and disappointment frequently stole in – no amount of polishing, grandeur at the dining table, or military precision, no amount of glittering gold and light could make me as good as that carol exhorted us to be.

Much later as a young adult and recently bereaved of both my parents, and brothers married or far away, I attended an Advent carol service in Edinburgh cathedral. I was at first mesmerised by a sense of homecoming and grief overwhelmed me again. But it was more than the loss of childhood. I was overcome by the presence of God in the sanctuary; a searing purity was exposing the darkness of my heart – an uncleanness and guilt which would not go away.

The Lord was convicting me of not just sin but the sinful condition we all inherit. It was now clear to me that all my attempts to be good and to please had been to no avail. I was trapped in a sinful and selfish lifestyle, covetous and pulled in worldly directions, longing to feel loved but incapable of loving anyone. I remember starting to pray.

God did help me.After praying I would feel more peace. I began to see that prayer DID change things. Over the next months at some point I knew He had forgiven me. It was a miracle. I began to read the Bible.

The Bible was written through the lens of the history of Hebrew people. It’s a love story of God’s relationship with the people He created.They were people like you and me living with cultural diversity, social unrest and political upheaval. Sin and suffering was as widespread as it is now.

But in these periods of darkness, the God of Israel never ceased to love His people. Believers were still waiting, certain in God’s promises to rescue and deliver His people.

The people thought He meant from their enemies. God meant from the power of sin. God was promising to send a Saviour, a deliverer for ALL people.

I’m sure the very first Christmas nativity was a long way from the cosy idyll we see portrayed in Christmas cards.

Any glance to the cow byres across the way from our farmhouse would have confirmed THAT! Bullocks and cows are VERY DIRTY. Jesus Christ the Son of God was born in this environment. God had become one of us.

The Bible says For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.When Jesus Christ died on the Roman cross an extraordinary thing happened. He took away your sin and my sin. He set us free from the slavery and power of sin.

His death changed the course of history forever.

So at the beginning of Advent, will you join me in preparing for Christmas and ask for faith to believe, in an all-powerful all-loving God who loves us and answers prayer.A God who is slow to anger and quick to forgive.Will you ask God to shine light into your darkness and stop trying to be good in your own human strength? God will give you that strength and renew you.Will you join me in preparing for a new encounter with Jesus Christ so that you never feel a dreadful loneliness again?

Will you ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and to help you and to call to our Maker and Creator to satisfy your every desire, to feel loved and to love, to find purpose and meaning, and thus KNOW in our hearts a Christian joy once more?

Ann Duminil (As given at our neighbourhood advent carol evening 2 December 2019) 12