Heath Church Magazine Dec 18 - Jan 19

HEATH EVANGELICAL CHURCH

MAGAZINE December 2018 - January 2019

Craft Afternoon (see p11)

He came for a purpose God’s Word in a Wikipedia World Rev Stephen Rees, Stockport

Sharing our Faith Rev Mike Mellor

Christian witness at the National Eisteddfod Men of God who made an impact Rev Gwynn Williams; Rev Dr Won Sang Lee; Samuel Rutherford; George Gillespie

China’s Millions - a later generation The Mark of a Christian; Under the Thorn Tree 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

Pastor’s Letter Dear Brothers & Sisters,

ROGER CARSWELL MISSION: “REAL LIVES” (2-6 OCTOBER 2019)

In our studies in 1 Peter we have been looking at the responsibilities of pastor and elders (chapter 5 vv1-4).

It may seem a long time away, but here is a wonderful evangelistic opportunity to pray and plan for.

Roger Carswell is a uniquely gifted evangelist that has been mightily used by God. He will not only preach several times but will also interview two people with stories to tell of God’s profound dealings with them. The Friday and Saturday evening meetings in particular would be ideal occasions to bring along unconverted family members, neighbours, colleagues, fellow students and friends.

If we are not in such roles, or ‘up front’, we can think that what we are doing in the church is not as important! But according to God’s word this is definitely not the case. It is not what we do, but how we do it – in other words, the Lord is more concerned about our attitude rather than how much we do.The key is to do it – whether it is preaching or stewarding – FOR HIM. The Psalmist put it beautifully when he said “I would rather be a DOORKEEPER in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Psalm 84:10). St Columba, the 6th century missionary to Scotland prayed this prayer:-

Wed 2nd Oct: 7.30pm Heath Church Prayer Meeting (Roger Carswell to speak and bring items for prayer) rd Thu 3 : Lunch time: Cardiff CU event (Roger speaking) Evening: Cardiff Universities’ CUs evangelistic event (interview + sermon by Roger). th Fri 4 : 12.30pm: Heath Seniors’ lunch (10 minute talk by Roger between courses) 7.30pm: Heath Gospel Meeting + (interview (Billie McCurrie, former Irish terrorist) + 30 minute sermon by Roger) Sat 5th: 9am: Heath + men’s breakfast (30 minute talk by Roger) 2pm: Heath Craft Afternoon (20-30 min. talk by Roger) 7.30pm: Heath Gospel Meeting (Interview (Heath Church member) + 30 minute sermon by Roger) Sun 6th: 10.45am: Heath Gospel service: Roger to preach 6pm: St Mellons Baptist Church: Roger to preach

‘Almighty Father, Son and Holy Ghost, Eternal, ever blessed gracious God, To me, the least of saints, to me allow That I may keep a door in Paradise; That I may keep even the smallest door, The furthest door, the darkest, coldest door, The door that is least used, the stiffest door, If so it be but in Thy house, O God! If so it be that I can see Thy glory Even afar and hear Thy voice, O God! And know that I am with Thee – Thee, O God’.

May this be our prayer too.

Please mark this in your diary. Come yourself but also start praying now for those you can invite.

Yours in Him, Wyn Hughes

Kerry Orchard - Evangelism Committee Seniors' Lunch Friday 7 December 12.30pm

P r e a ch i n g D i a r y Sundays 10.45am & 6.00pm

Mondays/mid-week Bible study: 7.30pm

December

December

3rd 2nd*, 9th, 16th† The Pastor 23rd The Pastor [Baptismal Service] 10th 30th Rev. Peter Milsom [Newport] 17th 24th January 2019 25th 6th*, 13th The Pastor 31st 20th†, 27th The Pastor 3rd*, 10th 17th† 24th

Welsh Carols Monday 17 December 7.30pm

Home Bible Studies TBC Welsh Carol Service Christmas Eve Carol Service [The Pastor] Christmas Day Service [The Pastor] Watch Night Service [Rev. Peter Milsom]

January 2019

February The Pastor The Pastor TBC

Home Prayer Meetings & Week of Prayer [Tues - Fri in Hall] 14th, 21st, 28th The Pastor

7th

February * Evening Communion; Morning Communion †

Fellowship festive tea Sunday 9 December

4th Home Bible Studies 11th, 18th, 25th The Pastor

Carol Singing in the locality Saturday 22 December 6pm Baptismal service in the morning Sunday 23 December Christmas Eve Carol Service Monday 24 December 5.30pm (combined with Sunday School) Christmas Day service Tuesday 25 December 10.30am Sunday Services Rev Peter Milsom preaching Sunday 30 December Watchnight service Monday 31 December 11.15 pm Fellowship lunch 10 February 2019

Material for the next issue must be in the editors’ hands by 13th January in order to avoid delay in publication.

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Personalia One of our elderly members, Len Mallett, has received his long awaited home call, and we offer our deepest sympathy to all his numerous relatives in their bereavement. Len was one of eleven children and during his life he worked on repairing the buildings at Swansea Bible College and the Wycliffe Bible Translators for many years. In his quiet manner he greatly loved hearing the Gospel being preached each Sunday and as his health declined he felt ready to depart to his eternal rest.

In addition, one of our associate members and long-time friend of the church, David Hafod Jones, has passed into glory at the good old age of 96.While living in Pencoed, he was active in lay preaching in the Bridgend area and often attended our services, when many will remember his resounding “Amens” from the back gallery.

After moving to Devon, he maintained his faithful proclamation of the Gospel and personal witness until the Lord called him home. Our deepest sympathy is extended to Glenys and her family and we pray their consolation will be in knowing that their loss is heaven’s gain.

We also offer our deepest sympathy to Joyce Cousins on the death of her brother, to Fiona Steward on the death of her grandfather, and to Mohammed Piroozi, and Anita, on the sudden death of his son in Australia. May the Lord bless them with His presence and console them in their sorrow.

Let us continue to pray for Siân Prothero, Dilys Lloyd, Elvet Davies,Vera Thomas, Edgar Virgin and Joan Drotta who have been in hospital recently, and Anatole Lordon who suffered multiple injuries in a serious road accident in Cameroon.

Those unwell at home include Beverley Duddridge, Peter Hayes, John Peters, Ian Taylor, Marilyn Hughes, Doreen Lee with an eye injury and Jan Major recovering after a fall, while Joyce Akrill, Nora Lewis and Rona Moore have also been ill lately.

May God tenderly watch over them and bless them while they are laid aside, and also those who through age and infirmity are unable to attend church.

We thank God for the gift of a baby son (Jesse Rhys) to Aled and Katie Lewis and pray His blessing will rest upon them.

Klaus and Janice Spreda and Dörthe Schilken send their greetings to the church following a visit by one of the elders and his wife.

It is good to know that our services are available to watch on the internet, either at the time or later on, and we trust this will be a blessing not only to our own members and friends, but also to many others worldwide.The link is now on the main menu on the church website home page, or simply via heath-church.org/video *** Mohammed and Anita would like to thank all those who have visited, sent cards and flowers at this time.

Christian witness at the National Eisteddfod The national eisteddfod attracts about 160,000 people annually.This August there were even more. If you went to Cardiff Bay to see the event you would have come across many tents publicising organisations, schools, selling food and thankfully one or two tents spreading God's great message of hope.

One such tent was led by Steffan Job from the EMW.The front of the tent had the words Life to the full written bilingually in bold letters; there was some free Christian literature, a wall where people would write what they believed the meaning of life was and free tea and coffee at the back. In addition to this a team would approach people with a questionnaire.

The questionnaire was predominantly about the meaning of life and if they believed that God had a part in their life. People were very open to discussing these issues and it was a useful tool to start discussing what the Bible says about the meaning of life.

Many conversations were had with very differing responses.

As a newbie on the team I was pleasantly surprised that so many people were willing to talk but was sad to hear from so many people that they were discontent with life.

There was a great contrast, however, when I spoke to a couple who I found were Christians.We had a mutual appreciation for the great purpose God has given us in our lives.We realised that we were so privileged to know the Saviour. Our great challenge is whether we tell others about Him or keep this pearl of great price to ourselves.

Hundreds were spoken to during the 8 days of the eisteddfod. Over 700 of the Christian magazine Holi were given out to those who wanted them. Please pray for people to read these very Gospel- filled magazines, for all of the events where there is a Gospel presence and that many people will come to know the real meaning of life:To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.

Heddwen Cross

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Church Council Update After the usual formalities, we began by highlighting a need for additional handy-man assistance and anybody willing to help is asked to speak to Roland Lamble in the first instance.

The annual review of how activities in the Church report through Church Council and Elders was carried out with minor amendments where necessary.

We agreed to promote the use of the library to our members in various meetings over the coming weeks.

It was reported by property committee that works were being undertaken to replace the lead that was stolen from the link roof. One additional pew would be replaced with chairs to meet the needs of members.We expressed our gratitude for the ongoing work of the property committee - much of which goes on unseen.

We agreed the suggestion that Sue Gigg would take on the role of giftaid administrator and we thanked Brian Topley for his many years’ service in the matter.

Further to discussions and feedback, the introductory hymn would be dropped as of the beginning of the New Year.

We noted the organisation around Roger Carswell’s mission visit to the Church next October - and we would request that prayer be made beginning now.

Jon Harris had agreed to manage the production of the new hymn supplement. Hywel George was being supported by the Elders in exploring his call to the Ministry.

Finally, we recognised the need for a one-day-a-week (equivalent) paid support role in the Church Office to manage our online materials and oversee publications - including the website. If you or somebody you know has the relevant skills mixed with an evangelistic passion for such work, please speak to myself.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, I’d be glad to speak to you.

Tony Rucinski, Church Secretary.

Men of God who made an impact Rev Gwynn Williams (1945-2018) Gwynn was brought up in a godly Christian home in Ammanford where his father was the well-known pastor of Bethany Welsh Presbyterian Church. Bethany had a long tradition of Gospel preaching and had been affected by the 1904 revival. Gwynn's father, referred to by many as 'JD', was a diligent preacher of the Word and grounded his people in the profound Gospel truths. Revival was a burden he, like his predecessor, shared with the people as he encouraged the church to seek God for an extensive, powerful movement of the Holy Spirit.

No wonder that Gwynn referred to Bethany as his “first College” so that when he eventually studied theology in Aberystwyth before entering the ministry, his knowledge of the Bible and theology was considerable. He studied maths in Cambridge and started preaching there to Welsh language students. He then trained for the ministry in Aberystwyth before undertaking research. His first pastorate was Sandfields church,Aberavon, where Dr Lloyd-Jones had been pastor, then later, the Rev John Thomas. Gwynn referred to his pastorate in Sandfields as his “finishing school” making his training complete!

committees and conferences, sharing personally while also discussing the contemporary needs of churches.They were precious occasions.

In 1983 he began to pastor the recently formed Welsh Evangelical Church in Cardiff until four years ago. His ministry was blessed; he always insisted on preaching the Gospel in at least one Sunday service. He was in demand as an itinerant preacher in Welsh and English speaking churches, Conferences and Christian Unions. His burden was for Welsh language churches, so his death represents a major loss for these churches where he was in demand. His heart's desire was for revival.

Gwynn was heavily committed to the Evangelical Movement of Wales for years and also served on the Council of UCCF Wales. For a significant period, Gwynn also served on the Council of the College in Bryntirion where his support and wisdom were invaluable. Personally, I miss him already.We used to travel together to EMW

Gwynn was also a visionary in training young men in his church for the Christian ministry by giving them opportunities to preach and gain pastoral experience; some were given brief periods of training while Trystan Hallam and Emyr James were appointed co-pastors before Gwynn retired, so that the church's ministry could continue consistently. Gwynn's ministry was fruitful as well as timely.

About two years ago, I suggested to Gwynn that he should write his autobiography. He smiled and declined, but when I repeated the request months later, he was more open to the suggestion. Providentially he has written some chapters describing key periods in his life and ministry.This will be published eventually in Welsh, but hopefully too in English.

Your prayers are requested for his wife, Liz, and family, as well as for the Welsh church in Cardiff where Emyr James is now the pastor. 1 Corinthians 15:58.

Eryl Davies

Won Sang Lee (1937-2016) You do not know him and probably have never heard of him. Nor had I heard of him until he contacted me seeking advice. A Korean theology professor whom I knew then spoke highly of Won Sang, urging me to accept him for PhD studies in Bryntirion. He also urged me to supervise his research.

Impressive I learned that Won Sang was approaching retirement as senior pastor of the Korean Central Presbyterian Church inVirginia, close to Washington from 1977-2003.The church had very few members in 1977 due to division when Won Sang became their pastor, but the church grew to become one of the more spiritually healthy and largest Korean Presbyterian churches in the country.Won Sang became famous, especially on the East coast of America and in Korea.A recent President of the Republic of South Korea had served as an elder in Won Sang's church while he was the Korean ambassador in Washington.They telephoned each other, even while he was President and on trips to Korea, they met together socially for prayer and encouragement.

Won Sang was accepted in our College for PhD studies. His qualifications were impressive. He had several degrees and had majored in Old Testament studies and mastered Hebrew,Aramaic and Syriac. He prepared thoroughly for preaching and dug deep into the Biblical text – a challenge for all preachers! Won Sang was also the International Director of SEED International which supported missionaries overseas.

Research studies Over a five year period from 2005, he visited Bryntirion often, a few days at a time for the purpose of supervision and fellowship. Basically his research involved a critical evaluation of his own pastoral ministry over 26 years in which he identified four key principles governing his ministry: integrity, humility, prayer/spirituality and preaching of the Word. He then studied in-depth the life and writings of John Chrysostom (347-407 AD), a famous preacher and pastor. Here he discovered a similar emphasis on integrity, humility, prayer and preaching. It was an academic study, yet one which is relevant for preachers and church leaders today. He was awarded the degree of PhD

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by the University of Wales in 2010, and his research was published in 2015.

Prayer My impressions of Won Sang are many. He was, above all, a man of prayer and he loved for us to spend time praying together.When suggesting to him times for our meetings when he was in Bryntirion, he would often tell me he was not free.

Reluctantly but with a smile, he told me he was planning to spend that morning or afternoon in prayer and fasting. In his Obituary, the Presbyterian Church of America on-line Magazine had the following title: Won Sang Lee Lived a Praying Life.That was no exaggeration.

I witnessed his commitment to prayer when he visited Bryntirion.As pastor, he not only attended daily early morning church prayer meetings at 5.30 am but very often arrived an hour earlier to pray alone first. He also prayed for hundreds of his church members and missionaries daily and it was a joy for him to do so. His indeed was a 'praying life'. For Won Sang, prayer was the work, even though he worked hard in other ways too.

Humility The Presbyterian on-line Magazine remarks that “Lee's humility set him apart”. He never coveted power or position for it was the Gospel alone that mattered to him. If friends told him he should have been recognised more in some circles, he would smile and dismissed the suggestion as being unimportant. Each year he refused a salary increase from his church and lived in the same modest house for his entire ministry.

Won Sang was so unassuming, gentle and gracious while rejoicing that he was a sinner saved by grace in the Lord Jesus.

Caring Over the years, it was common knowledge in his church that Won Sang was unselfish and sacrificial in expressing individual care to each church member. No one was left out and there were no favourites or cliques with him in the church. Pastoral care was a delight for him, visiting the homes of families and singles regularly, often with his wife.Approachable, relaxed, yet caring, people found it easy to share their concerns and problems with him. He was a scholar, but essentially a preacherpastor who loved his people.

Peace After receiving a diagnosis of terminal cancer in 2015, he was not distressed.“Rather than fear, anxiety or resentment about death”, he said,“God gave me a heart of peace”. Despite considerable discomfort and weakness over the following months,Won Sang died as he had lived – trusting the Lord but with deep thankfulness for His mercy in Christ and a burden for Christ's church.

I was saddened to hear of Won Sang's death but his heart had been in heaven for many years!

I will miss him.

Eryl Davies

The HAPPY MAN and TRUE GENTLEMAN The happy man was born in the city of regeneration in the parish of repentance unto life; he was educated at the school of obedience and lives now in perseverance; he works at the trade of diligence, notwithstanding he has a large estate in the country of Christian Contentment, and many times does jobs of self denial: he wears the plain garment of humility, and has a better suit to put on when he goes to court, called the robe of Christ’s righteousness: he often walks in the valley of self abasement, and sometimes climbs the mountain of spiritual mindedness: he breakfasts every morning upon spiritual prayer, and sups every evening upon the same; has meat to eat that the world knows not of, and his drink is the sincere milk of the Word.

Thus happy he lives, and happy he dies.

Happy is he who has Gospel submission in his will, due order in his affections, found peace in his conscience, sanctity and saving grace in his soul, real divinity in his breast, true humility in his heart, the Redeemer’s yoke on his neck, a vain world under his feet, and a crown of glory over his head. Happy is the life of such a one! In order to attain which, pray fervently, believe firmly, wait patiently, work abundantly, live holy, die daily, watch your heart, guide your senses, redeem your time, love Christ, and long for glory.

The true gentleman is God’s servant, the world’s master, and his own man: virtue is his business, study his recreation, contentedness his rest, and happiness his reward: God is his father, the church his mother, the saints his

brethren, all that need him his friends; heaven is his inheritance, religion his mistress, loyalty and justice, his two ladies of honour, devotion is his chaplain, chastity his chamberlain, sobriety his butler, temperance his cook, hospitality his housekeeper, providence his reward, charity his treasurer, piety his mistress of the house, and discretion his porter, to let in and out as is most fit.Thus is his whole family made up of virtues, and he is the True Master of the family.

He is necessitated to take the world in his way to heaven; but he walks through it as fast as he can, and all his business by the way is to make himself and others happy.Take him all in two words, He is a Man and a Christian.

Samuel Rutherford (1600-61)

George Gillespie (1613-1648) George Gillespie was one of that remarkable band of statesmanlike ministers that God gave to the seventeenth century. Gillespie died while yet a young man, but before he died it was written of him, he had done more for his Master than many a hundred greyheaded and godly ministers.

When he was ready for ordination, and many congregations were eager to have him, this patriotic and pure-minded youth would not submit to receive ordination at the hands of the bishops of that day, and this kept him out of a church of his own long after he was ready to begin his ministry.

Eventually Gillespie was ordained to the charge of the congregation at Wemyss in Scotland. In 1643 Gillespie was sitting in the Westminster Assembly. His great ability was well known, his wide learning and controversial powers had already been well proved. His appearance in the debates at Westminster astonished those who knew him best, and won for him a name second to none of the oldest and ablest statesmen and scholars who sat in that famous house.

John Selden was an English jurist, a scholar of Jewish law and described by John Milton as “the chief of learned men reputed in this land”. Selden’s Erastian views were well known and one day he made a speech where these came out and both friend and foe alike thought were unanswerable. One after another of the Constitutional and Evangelical party tried to reply to Selden, but failed.

Sitting next to Gillespie was his friend Samuel Rutherford.“Rise, George, man,” said Rutherford to Gillespie, who was sitting with his pencil and notebook beside him.

“Rise, George, man, and defend the Church which Christ hath purchased with His own blood.” George rose, and when he sat down, Selden is reported to have said to someone who was sitting beside him,“That young man has swept away the learning and labour of ten years of my life.” Some of Gillespie’s friends seized upon his notebook to preserve at least the heads of his magnificent speech, but all they found in his little book were these three words: Da Lucem, Domine; Give light, O Lord.

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It is told also that when the Committee of Assembly was engaged on the composition of the Shorter Catechism, and had come to the question,What is God? Like the able men they were, they all shrank from attempting an answer to such an unfathomable question. In their perplexity they asked Gillespie to offer prayer for help. He began his prayer with these words:“O God,Thou art a Spirit, infinite, eternal, unchangeable in Thy being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.” As soon as he said Amen, his opening sentences were remembered, and taken down, and they stand to this day the most Scriptural and the most complete answer to that unanswerable question that we have in any creed or catechism of the Christian Church.

In 1648 Gillespie's health was fast failing, and at the age of thirty-six, he went to be with the Lord.

There were giants on the earth in those days.

China’s Millions – a later generation Hudson Taylor reached China in 1853 and Griffith John in 1855, and both served the Lord for well over 50 years and into the 20th century. Both were remarkable, gifted, men, who achieved far more than they could ever have imagined, and, during their 50 years, another 1,000 joined in missionary service with China Inland Mission (CIM), the London Missionary Society (LMS) and other agencies in China.

Perhaps the most famous group of missionaries of the new generation were the ‘Cambridge 7’, seven young men of outstanding spiritual power and experience, and who caught the imagination of the public and not just the church.That was because two of them at least had won high honours in sport, C T Studd as the most famous cricketer of his day and S P Smith as the captain of victorious rowing teams.They were all connected to Cambridge University, and one by one, the Holy Spirit touched their hearts in salvation and caused the flame of the Gospel to burn powerfully within them. God used them mightily in university missions around the country; many thousands came to their meetings, thousands became Christians and hundreds of those later became missionaries.The ‘Cambridge 7’ were all quite different in gifts and temperaments, but they gelled together as a team and sailed together to China in 1885, with great pubic interest and acclaim.

S P Smith served in northern China for 46 years and died there. C T Studd also served for 46 years, but the Lord opened up a new work for him, first in India and then more famously in Africa from 1910.

Two brothers,Arthur and Cecil PolhillTurner, served for many years in China; Arthur in northern China until 1928, and Cecil on the borders of Tibet until close to his death in 1938. Montagu Beauchamp

A brand new biography of the great missionary Hudson Taylor, just in time for Christmas!

Price £12.99; accompanying dvd £14.99

served with Hudson Taylor right in the interior of the country until 1911, and then made three extensive visits to China, dying there in 1939.William Cassels had been a theological student who showed great pastoral gifts as he too worked in the interior; he was consecrated Bishop of Western China in 1895, serving 30 years until his death there in 1925. Dixon Hoste had served in the army – his brother had been at Cambridge – but served the Lord in China’s interior; he was nominated by Hudson Taylor to be his successor, for he was a man who was disciplined, prayerful, gentle and wise. He led CIM for 30 years until he retired in 1935, but continued living in Shanghai until the Japanese invaded, and interned him, in 1944. He died back in London in 1946.

But there is another story to tell. Dr Harold Schofield, described as a brilliant young Oxford doctor, reached China in 1880. He served for 3 years before he was stricken with illness, but he gave his final months to incessant prayer. God laid upon him a deep desire to petition Him to send a fresh spirit of humble service among Christian students to serve Christ in a sacrificial way. He could not know that at that very time the ‘Cambridge 7’ were filled with the Spirit as they conducted university missions and were, in fact, ready to travel to China. On the very day he died, Hudson Taylor received a letter from members of the ‘Cambridge 7’ asking for an interview to join CIM!

God often moves in mysterious ways,“His wonders to perform”. Despite the Boxer Uprising in 1900, a revolution in 1911, the Japanese invasion, civil war in the 1930s and 1950s, leading to a Communist Government that sought to crush the church, and the lethal Cultural Revolution of 1966, God quietly kept His people, tied

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Population in 2016: 1,379 million (World Bank) to the Message that the missionaries took, that He loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son so that sinful people like us could come to know Him.And millions – literally, millions – have done so in China.

In the 2010 edition of OperationWorld, it was reported that there were over 105 million Christians in China, and that figure will have grown since then, despite the present government’s crackdowns.

Language note: gay in the original sense of happy, fun-loving and carefree There is now a congregation of 4,000 in the church at Xinzhou, with another 40 congregations in the towns and villages nearby.This is where Herbert Dixon and his wife from Wales, Elizabeth, who had also sailed out to China in 1885, were cruelly deceived and killed in the Boxer Uprising in 1900, as they served with the Baptist Missionary Society; their life story is told in Lives from a BlackTin Box, a remarkable account of how Prudence Bell, a great-granddaughter of the Dixons, managed to arrive on the very day that a signature from a family member was required to claim ownership of the original missionary property. God’s impeccable timing in small things as well as for the great Church of millions in China.

(Chris Owens reviewed this book in the church magazine of December 2015.)

Know your history!

Get the books!

Use our library!

God’s Word in a Wikipedia World I was taken aback by a conversation I had recently following a Sunday service. In the course of the sermon, I had made reference to the Great Fire of Rome. I quoted a Roman historian by the name of Tacitus. Tacitus wrote about the Emperor Nero’s attempts to blame Christians for the fire, and detailed the persecutions Nero unleashed against them. And in passing,Tacitus mentioned that these Christians derived their name from Christ, a criminal who was executed by Pontius Pilate, governor of Judaea during the reign of Tiberius.

After the service, a visitor approached me. He had found my reference to Tacitus interesting, especially because, as he admitted, he had never had the opportunity to read much ancient history.

But he thought he ought to point out that actually there’s a lot of doubt about whether Tacitus did in fact write the words I had quoted. How did he know?

Well, because he had checked the Wikipedia entry “Tacitus on Christ” and it says that though “the majority” of scholars consider the passage authentic, others doubt it.

While I was preaching, our friend was using his smartphone to check out what I was saying.And the source he turned to was Wikipedia.

For those of you who don’t know, Wikipedia is an online encyclopaedia which aims to provide information on every conceivable subject.

Who edits it? Anyone who wants to. If I decide that Wikipedia needs an article on the history of Grace Baptist Stockport, I can write it and add it to the encyclopaedia. And if you want to revise what I’ve written, you can. If I want to find information on the Beatles, on nuclear physics, on nineteenth century lacemaking, or on Tacitus, I’ll find it on Wikipedia. And if I don’t like what

others have written, I can rewrite their work. I don’t need to give my name or state my qualifications. I may be a world famous physicist or I may just have passed my physics GCSE. It doesn’t matter. Wikipedia is for everyone. It’s a truly democratic institution!

Of course, when I’ve changed other people’s articles, other people can come along and change them back again if they want to.And in the end, one of Wikipedia’s official editors (yes, there are some) can intervene and give a ruling as to which edits should stand. But with more than 5 million articles in English alone, false information or absurd claims can go unchecked for a very long time.

Wikipedia is the first port of call for many people wanting instant information on almost any subject.

A student needs to produce an essay quickly on the Stalinist purges. He could go to the library and borrow half a dozen hefty volumes written by top ranking historians who have spent many years researching the subject and who teach at the world’s great universities.

Or he could go to Wikipedia and read a single article written by… well, written by whoever has decided he wants to write on the subject. Maybe the writer is a fine historian who reads Russian fluently and has dug deep into the archives. But equally he may be an ignoramus or a dedicated Communist, determined to defend Stalin at all costs.

Either way, the temptation for our student is to go for the easy option.

Why trudge to the library when someone else can give you your essay on a plate?

I use Wikipedia myself. I’m arguing with a friend about the population of the UK. “OK. Let’s see what Wikipedia has to say”. I’m taking my children to have a look at the Manchester Ship Canal.

When was it built? Wikipedia will have the answer. Instant information at the

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press of a key. But no way of knowing whether it’s reliable or not.

True of False?

Take the article our visitor referred to. I had a look at it myself. And our visitor was quite right. The article does indeed suggest that there’s some doubt about whether Tacitus wrote the words I quoted.

And it’s nonsense. As far as I’m aware no competent Tacitean scholar in the world shares that view. The only scholars the article cites to support its claim are campaigning atheists with no specialist expertise in the field, several of whom have written books denying that Jesus ever existed. (These trusted scholars include a certain Hilton Hotema who according to Wikipedia itself “was a 20th-century American alternative health writer, esoteric author and mystic, who also adopted the names Kenyon Klamonti and Dr. Karl Kridler” and who “authored numerous books on dietetics, fasting, fruitarianism, breathariansim, vitality, cellular regeneration, longevity, higher consciousness, spirituality, alternative medicine and ancient wisdom”).

To anyone who knows about the subject, it’s pretty obvious that the article’s been doctored by someone who doesn’t believe that Jesus ever lived and is prepared to use any argument to bolster his belief. It’s biased to the point of absurdity. But to my friend who knows little about Tacitus, and has never studied ancient history, the article looked impressive. He had no way of assessing its reliability.

Quality Control Of course, it’s not just Wikipedia that’s the problem.Anyone who uses the internet as a source of information is up against the same difficulty. Whatever subject you’re researching, you will find vast amounts of information. But how do you judge what’s reliable and what’s not? How do you choose between hundreds of websites all claiming to be objective and unbiased? You go to an impressivelooking website, laden with “facts”, arguments, pictures, footnotes. But unless you are already an expert in the subject, you have no way of knowing whether to trust any of it.Anyone can create a website and use it to push any point of view, however absurd.

Alright, it’s always been possible for people to spread false information.

But in the past there were some safeguards built into the system.

People who wanted to find facts turned to books. And books cost a lot to produce. Publishers couldn’t afford to publish books that were full of mistakes or that argued silly views. Books were reviewed in newspapers, magazines and journals by people who knew what they were talking about. A bad book would be ridiculed by the reviewers, librarians would refuse to stock it, teachers would ignore it, copies would gather dust unsold in the publisher’s warehouse. A publisher who got a reputation for publishing unreliable books would go bust.

So before a publisher published any book that claimed to offer information, he made sure that the author was someone who could be trusted; he submitted the manuscript to someone expert in the field to check it through; he made sure that the book was proof-read to weed out any mistakes that had slipped through the editing process.And if the book reached a second edition, any errors that the reviewers had pointed out would be corrected.

Yes, there were people who published their own books – books that no sane publisher would touch. But it was a very

expensive process. And canny readers were wary of such self-published books.

They knew that they hadn’t been through the same quality control process as a book from a mainstream publisher.

No librarian would dream of buying those books for the library. No teacher would dream of recommending them to his pupils.

A schoolboy wanting information about Henry VIII, or the periodic table or the Dead Sea Scrolls – or Tacitus’s Annals – might only find one relevant book in his local library. But he could be pretty confident that that one book would be from a mainstream publisher, it would be written by a competent scholar, it would have been through a rigorous quality control process.

Information published on the internet has no quality control.And there is so much of it. Yes, there are plenty of good websites, offering high quality information. But there are millions (yes, literally) of others offering nonsense. And most people who use the internet have no way of sifting out the grain from the chaff. Even websites with ac or edu domain names (ie websites run by academic institutions) may be completely unreliable. In many countries anyone, qualified or not, can set up a “college” or “university”, issue their own “degrees” and push their views, however bizarre, on a naive public.

You might imagine that websites run by governments or “official” organisations would be trustworthy. Sadly, it’s not true. On almost any subject, official organisations have an official line from which they must never deviate. Islam is a religion of peace. Homesexuality is entirely normal and carries no risks in terms of physical or psychological health. Christian missionaries enslaved and exploited native populations and destroyed wonderful cultures. Martin Luther King was a modern saint. So was Nelson Mandela. These are “truths” that must not be questioned. Any facts which might challenge such official dogmata must be suppressed.And all sorts of myths will be quoted to support the official line. If you want a true picture of

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the role missionaries played in bringing education, health, law, justice, peace, hope, comfort to countries across the world, don’t look at governmentsponsored websites. Read the diaries and letters of these heroic men and women, and the testimonies of those they brought to Christ.Yes, you’ll find many of those original records on the web, but it won’t be chiefly on the “official” websites.And you’ll have to wade through seas of nonsense before you locate them.

Needles of Truth, Haystacks of Confusion

That’s the problem! It’s not that too little information is available to us today. It’s easier to find information on any subject than it’s ever been. But it’s hidden in huge piles of dis-information.

In the past, we warned people, “Don’t believe everything you read in the papers”.

And yet many people did. They assumed that everything that was presented as fact on the radio or TV was true. Some looked to historical novels and movies to give them a view of the past. Well now all those media have been merged into the one huge ocean of the internet.

We can access TV channels, radio stations, newspapers, films, books, along with millions of other sources of information via the internet, anywhere, any time. And lots of people never question that whatever they find on the internet is true. Or at least that they are entitled to believe whatever they want, providing that they find something on the internet that supports their view.

The blurring of the lines That is the real shift that’s happening in our lifetime. There has always been disinformation available.And people have always been confused by it.

But most people still believed that some things are true and that other things are false. They knew that it’s bad to believe false things, and good to believe true things.And they took it for granted that it’s possible to find out what’s true and what’s false if you used your mind and checked the facts. They thought it was

important to do that. So we could debate with people. If somebody told me that Shakespeare was a woman or that Jesus was a married man with children, I could ask what evidence they had. And we would debate the facts. We both accepted that the claim was true or false, and that we would find out by checking the historical records.

It’s not like that now. People tell me confidently what they believe. “The ancient Britons who lived in Britain before the Romans came celebrated Easter”.

“There were lots of alternative gospels which the Emperor Constantine cut out of the New Testament”. “Hitler was a Christian”. “Jesus never lived”. If I challenge their beliefs and point out reasons to doubt their claims, they’re not interested. They don’t feel they need to argue with me. They know that there are lots of different views to be found on the internet. And for them, any view you find on the internet is somehow valid.

Providing that there’s some website out there that agrees with them, they’re entitled to believe what they want. And I’m entitled to believe what I want.

The line between truth and falsehood becomes more and more blurred. It’s impossible to check out all the information you find on the internet.

So you don’t need to.You can accept any view you like. That is the mindset I meet more and more often.

For some people, it stretches as far as works that are openly fictional.

Antony Beevor is a highly regarded historian and visiting professor at the University of London. He spoke recently of his dismay at the “terrible historical ignorance” of our society, and the way in which people believe the falsehoods pumped out by Hollywood.“Beevor singled out The Imitation Game and Saving Private Ryan as examples of an inaccurate narratives that will now become accepted.‘What we have seen is the way, particularly in the last 15 or 20 years, Hollywood has latched onto the idea of trying to sell fiction as fact simply by saying based on a true story… Most people’s idea of history comes basically

through television and film’.” (Daily Telegraph 11 March 2016). Do viewers know that the films Beevor lists, or the historical dramas the BBC loves to screen are fiction? Yes they do, but they’re still happy to accept them as reliable sources of information. And they’re equally happy to take their view of Christ and the New Testament from the Da Vinci Code. In this democratic age, every website, every book, every film, is equally to be believed. And every opinion is equally valid.

It makes no difference how skilled a preacher may be. He may have all the facts at his finger-tips. He may be able to quote the most impressive authorities.

His reasoning may be crystal clear. He may use the most persuasive illustrations to drive home his arguments. But still he will persuade no-one. His voice will still be drowned out by the clamour of the market-place.

Preaching in the Market-place

What a challenge for preachers!

When I became a preacher, I could assume that when I spoke in our Sunday services, mine would be the only voice that the congregation would hear. I could present facts, trace through a line of argument, reason, apply, plead, and people would listen and consider. But now, visitors come armed with their mobile phones and tablets.

They’ve been trained to shop around for ideas and facts that suit them. So even while I’m speaking, they may compare what I’m saying with what they find on a thousand websites. Or they may do so when they get home. Mine will be just one voice among many. And why should they believe what my voice says when countless other voices are saying something different?

No doubt schoolteachers, college lecturers, even GPs face the same challenge.Why should a cocky sixthformer believe his teacher when Wikipedia says he’s wrong? Why should a patient believe the GP when her favourite alternative therapists are shouting their superior wisdom online?

These are hard times for anyone who knows his subject and tries to teach it.

But the preacher’s task is uniquely difficult.Why? Because the facts we are aiming to teach are facts that are utterly obnoxious to the natural human mind. Unbelievers would rather believe anything than believe what the Bible says about God. “The mind of the natural man is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law; indeed it cannot” (Romans 8 vs 7).

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Unless..? Unless the Spirit of God comes upon him and upon his hearers. When Jesus, anointed with the Spirit, preached in the synagogue of Capernaum, “they were astonished at His teaching for He taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes” (Mark 1:22). His voice rang out with an authority that set Him apart from every rival teacher. Paul testified that when he preached in Thessalonica, the Gospel came to the hearers, “not only in word but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and with full conviction” (1 Thessalonians 1 vs 5). They knew with infallible certainty that what they were hearing was the truth.

Will you pray for that? Will you pray that as preachers preach – whether in our Sunday meetings or in any other gathering – the Gospel will come in the power of the Holy Spirit?

People will put away their phones, distractions will melt away, every competing voice will be silenced – and God will speak to the minds, the hearts and the consciences of his elect.

How can we preach unless you pray? May we know God’s presence in our midst.

Rev Stephen Rees

This article first appeared in the church magazine of Grace Baptist Church, Stockport and on the church website, www.gbcstockport.org.uk. http://www.gbcstockport.org.uk/manse/g ods-word-in-a-wikipedia-world. It then also appeared in Evangelical Times, June 2018.

Mike Mellor on “Sharing our faith” Here is a summary of his talk at Heath on Monday, 1 October.

He exhorted us to “be yourselves, but filled with the Spirit”.

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Prayerful: Pray specifically for that person. Ask the Lord to give you opportunities. Carry tracts.

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Polite:Avoid a superior attitude, being argumentative or talking too much. Listen!

Pray that we might demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and selfcontrol. (Galatians 5:22).

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Pleasant: Don’t take offence or be severe. Smile!

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Practical: Is there something you can do to help them?

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Pointed:At some stage you need to get to the crucial issues: sin, the holiness of God, our helplessness, the person of Christ, his death and resurrection and repentance and faith.

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Patient: Remember how you used to be. (Titus 3: 3).

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Persevering: Be prepared to be a link in the chain.

When seeking to approach someone with the intention of befriending them and ultimately sharing the Gospel, be:

Kerry Orchard

Book Reviews The Mark of a Christian

By Francis Schaeffer, IVP I want to encourage you to read this book. It is an easy read and brief, but with a vital, relevant, message for all Christians today. From the Lord's words in John 13:33-35, Schaeffer emphasizes that the mark of a genuine Christian is love.That is the one badge – the only one – which the unbelieving world recognizes as the mark of an authentic Christian.

Schaeffer also reminds us of our responsibility to “love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 19:18-19; 22:36-40). Because all people are created in God's image, we must love everyone, even at great cost to ourselves (Luke 10: 27-37). But the Lord in John 13 is addressing Christians and commanding them to love other Christians. It is not a matter of liking or tolerating Christians, or loving a small group of believers. No, the command is to “love one another”

and the standard is Christ Himself:“as I have loved you...” (John 13:34). Schaeffer adds:“We dare have no lesser standard”. In fact,“the church is to be a loving church in a dying culture”.

What may this mean in practice? Schaeffer reminds us that loving means apologizing when necessary, guarding our speech and attitudes, forgiving others openly, but also practically expressing kindness and support.

Schaeffer has a lot more to say about expressing love towards other Christians before reminding us again from John 13:35: “Only with this mark of love may the world know that Christians are indeed Christians, and that Jesus was sent by the Father”. Here is a huge challenge for all Christians.

Eryl Davies

Under the Thorn Tree

By Richard Bewes In our hymnbook supplement is Oh how the grace of God amazes me by Emmanuel T Sibomana, translated by Rosemary Guillebaud.The Guillebauds have had much to do with the church in East Africa and with the revivals out of which this hymn sprang.

I was eager to read this book when it came out last year, because years ago I loved Breath of Life by Patricia St John, a book on the same subject in the countries of East Africa: Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya. Both books are recommended and you too will come to love people like Blasio Kigozi, Simeoni Nsibambi, William Nagenda,Yosiya Kinuka.

Bishop Festo Kivengere wrote, “It needed the Spirit of God to breathe over the efforts of the Mission,

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and Jesus and His love became the only power able to draw us from our own deep despair into the glorious hope of the Gospel. Real revival is Jesus Christ Himself”.

Reading this book (142 pages) and the other one (240 pages) will teach us more about the period out of which Sibomana wrote that hymn, and will also encourage us that God can do this work here. Notably, Kivengere wrote of the men mentioned above,“Jesus Christ became the complete focus of their lives and they would say,‘Let’s not always be talking about revival; let’s talk about Jesus’ ”.

Kate Batstone

Craft Afternoon 2018 You may think,‘Craft Afternoon again already?!’

The year has flown by since the last one. But in my experience, it never fails to impress. There was plenty of choice of crafts to have a go at again this year – some of us not very successfully, but it’s good fun anyway. Among the crafts on offer were Christmas cards and gift tags, lavender bags, pictures made out of string and nails, ceramic painting, glittery pine cones, Christmas decorations, etc. Each year the choice is different.

Making things is not all; available through the whole afternoon were tea, coffee and delicious home-made cakes.There’s opportunity to meet up with old friends and make some new ones.

But that’s not the whole story either.The craft afternoon is an excellent opportunity to invite friends and relatives to a relaxing afternoon and to hear the Good News of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ presented in a clear and simple way.This year Carol Dutkowski did just that. She showed us her attempts at embroidery, which looked good on the front side, but flawed on the reverse.

She used this as a picture of how we are: outwardly presentable to those around us, but in reality far from God’s standard of perfection. Perfection is what God requires for us to reach heaven. But because God loves us the Lord Jesus Christ came to earth to live a perfect life on our behalf and has borne the punishment for our flawed hearts and lives when He died on the cross in our place to satisfy the holy justice of God. The buzz of activity stopped for those 10-15 minutes as Carol shared these wonderful, vital truths with us.

Why not consider inviting someone to come with you next year? It’s an ideal setting to naturally and gently open up spiritual conversations in a relaxed atmosphere. Becky Cross also winsomely offered Gideon New Testaments to those who expressed that they like one.

Chris Connor

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He came for a purpose The custom of feasting and merry making at Christmas time has extended over many centuries, and by today the process of commercialization has caused the majority of people to give little thought to the reason why the birth of a child 2,000 years ago should still be celebrated.

However, the Old Testament contains over 40 prophecies relating to that event, and although some were made many centuries earlier, in the course of time they were all fulfilled. From examining the messages they contain, it is clear that the child’s birth was unlike any other, in that it was fore-ordained by God and brought about in a miraculous manner.

It is natural to wonder why God should do all this and to ask what the purpose of it was. But when the life of Jesus is considered, then there is no doubt why He came into this world of ours. It wasn’t to spend His life in luxury and idleness, or to gain great wealth and social status, it was to carry out a mission which He alone could accomplish.

The whole of mankind has failed to keep God’s holy law and therefore cannot be allowed to have fellowship with Him, until that failure has been dealt with.

Furthermore, there is nothing anyone can do to correct that condition which separates them from God.The answer must come by another way, and this is the glorious fact, that because God has great love and compassion for His created human beings, He sent His Son, that little Child born in Bethlehem, to live a holy, sinless life and to suffer a cruel death as punishment for their sins.

There was a divine purpose for the birth of Jesus and it is well for us to remember it, not just at Christmas time, but to give thanks to God for it every day of the year. If He had not come and fulfilled that purpose, we should have no hope either in this life or after it.As the poet John Milton wrote in his hymn for Christmas Day,

This is the month, and this the happy morn, Wherein the Son of heaven's eternal King, Of wedded maid, and virgin mother born, Our great redemption from above did bring.

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