Yesterday

Sunday was a restful day , despite leading worship in the morning and preaching in the evening .

I preached on the subject of "The Last Day" ( see Friday's post) . ...All of us need to be ready

Dave and Deb our good friends from Winterley came over for the day along with two of their children Abi and John . We enjoyed a traditional British Sunday roast together ...roast beef and Yorkshire pud ...fantastic

Dave is becoming more and more involved in street preaching ( you will find him out and about on the streets of Crewe once a month on a Sat morn) . I asked him to speak on the work he was doing at our time of worship last night . He told us about his experience of open air preaching at Speakers Corner earlier this year with an organisation called Christian Answers ....its a very tough ministry ...and I admire those who have the courage to do it ..

Today is all about study , study and more study ......degrees in theology don't come easy :-)

Time to relax a bit

Had some time to relax a bit today and mow the lawn :-( ...was up early to finish Sunday nights sermon and then the rest of the day was dedicated to the aforementioned lawn , a walk around one of the local beauty spots ( Colemere ...where Chester decided to swim after the geese!!) a BBQ ( probably the last this year) and then finally a game of Halma in which I managed to annihilate the rest of the family .....but then again they are only girls :-))

The last Trumpet

I have been spending the last couple of days studying, reflecting and writing on the Subject of my Sunday night sermon ......The Last Day

The bible speaks about the future , it tells us what will happen on that great and awful day . The challenge for you and I is whether or not we believe what its telling us .

The very last book of the bible , the book of Revelation written by the Apostle John whilst exiled on the Isle of Patmos gives us some very clear insights into what will happen ....

Rev 20 11-20

11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

The apostle Paul in writing to the church in Thessalonica wanted to encourage those who believed in Christ as their Lord and Saviour to look forward to that day ..he said this
( 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)

16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words.

The challenge for you and I is whether you believe all this will happen ..... I do , as do the millions of Christians who have gone before me and who I will see on that great day as we gather together.

The question is do you believe it ? ....if you want to know more ...if you are challenged or concerned about these texts ... if you once believed and are now struggling... then drop me a line(whiteway@supanet.com) or come along to Wem on Sunday night ( 6:30pm ) and hear a little more ....I would love to have the opportunity to give you a hope in Christ that would assure you of an eternal peace in Him ..both for this life and what lies beyond

Busy

Its been a busy couple of days ....many meetings mixed in with a couple of preaching engagements . One of which was at a residential home this afternoon . We all celebrated harvest together ....Wem being a farming community .... I chatted to some of the residents , one old chap Doug is 92 and still has all his mental faculties ...which is more than you can say for me :-)

Anyway I must dash ...I need to prepare for a Mission 2006 meeting ...which is tonights gathering ...I might get around to looking at Sundays Sermons tomorrow .....Oh by the way the cold is still horrendous and still there is no sympathy :-(((

Anniversary Celebration

Instead of going for a bag of chips we decided to go out for an anniversary celebratory meal at the Dragon King in Shewsbury . It was great and the owners gave us an ice cream with a candle in it whilst playing the wedding march .....nice touch

Its been a while since we have been out for a meal together, something we used to do all the time in our more affluent days and I guess it was made more special because of that fact .

Anyway update on my cold ......its even more horrendous today ....I need sympathy ..

4 meetings planned today ....One for Senior Youth Club , one for " Riding with Giants" ( a schools event we are holding in November with over 200 primary school children) , an Elders meeting and then the church prayer meeting .......plenty of lemsips in between :-(

Return to Wheelock

Yesterday we all went over to Wheelock Heath Baptist Church to witness the baptism of six people who wanted to make a public declaration of their faith . Three of the six where part of the youth group that I used to be involved in ,which made it even more special .

It was a great time of fellowship. It was good to see friends who we had not seen for over a year ..

Today the Christian Union at The Thomas Adams High school starts back and I'm kicking it off with a brief talk on the "Armour of God" ..I also need to prepare for a Harvest service being held in a local residential home on Wednesday ..as wel as putting a few hours of study in for my theology degree ....sometimes I wish the clock would tick a little slower :-)

Oh I forgot to mention its our wedding anniversary today .... 18 years to the day ..and we are both still smiling :-) we are going to buy a bag of chips between us in celebration later on ....

One other bit of news is that I have a horrendous cold and because I am a bloke everybody gets to know how bad I feel ...so now you know as well

Recommended Website

www.searchgodsword.org Is an excellent web site for those who are serious about studying the Word of God. You will find every resource necessary for detailed research ...check it out for yourself .

I survived

My first venture into Radio broadcasting went reasonably well last night . I was a guest on the Radio Shropshire evening news and current affairs programme . We talked about many things ranging from football and cricket to lie detectors and plane spotting !! I did however manage to introduce the bible thanks to Melvyn Braggs new TV series which hit the papers yesterday . He will be reviewing the 12 most influential publications of all time in a TV series due out next April . One of which was the New King James Bible of 1611 ..I was able to talk a little about its history...If you want to learn more about its history and the development of the bible in the English language then click here .

Today I will be visiting a couple of folk in town , both of which have suffered from major illnesses recently and then I will be preparing for tonights youth meeting , The first after the summer hols ..

Radio Star :-))

I have been asked to a guest on a Radio Shropshire current affairs programme tonight . I must admit to being a wee bit nervous as this is my first time ....I'll let you know how it went .

Duff mobile Phone

Katie had her mobile phone stolen a couple of months ago ...we eventually got round to replacing it with a VK phone from the Vodafone shop ...the trouble is that we have been back to the shop to replace it three times now ....every exchange phone that we have been given in return has turned out to be faulty ...

Now in a past life ...when I worked for a mobile phone repair centre ...this would have meant good news as it would generate more income ...but not any more ....I am fast becoming "Mr not so laid back" when I deal with those nice people at the Vodafone store ...anyway the latest is I have to go back next week to pick up yet another replacement phone ..

Come back John Pullen ( ex Quality manager of the aforementioned company now happily relaxed in the heart of France :-) ..all is forgiven ..

Paper Rounds

Katie ( one of my teenage daughters) started a paper round today .....and I finished it off !!!...the poor girl became flustered when she couldn't find the addresses ...so out dad went with his trusty steed at his side ( Chester the dog ) and saved the day ......it takes me back 25 years to when I used to cycle round the streets of Liverpool for £1.50 a week ....Katie is getting a mammoth £12 a week for delivering 15 papers a day .....the youth of today don't know their born :-))

Carnival Capers

Busy weekend , Saturday was all about the carnival ......as you can see from the pics .

Yesterday I preached at Wem in the morning and then in the evening I preached at Bradley Road Baptist Church in Wrexham , where the organist turned out to be an old school teacher of mine ...I think it came as a bit of a shock to him to see me preaching :-)

Onwards and Upwords

Last night we had a lovely BBQ as guests of the Atkins family along with Norman and Edi Jones . Norm and Edi brought along a game called Upwords .....if you like scrabble you will like this . My team were pipped at the post by Normans team who had obviously swallowed a dictionary before playing .

I managed to finish my sermon prep yesterday ...speaking from Luke 18:9-14 . The parable of the Pharisee and the Tax collector . I was really struck by the Tax-collectors prayer ...He couldn't even lift his head because he knew he was in the presence of almighty God ...he cried " Have mercy on me , a sinner" ....a prayer we can all learn from

Today is all about the Wem Carnival ....I'll be back in the clown gear later being paraded around town on a float ....hopefully pics to follow ..

Chimenea & Friends ...a recipe for a good time

If you haven't got a chimenea , then can I recommend that you get one . You cannot beat the glow of a good fire in the open air , with a glass of liquid refreshment and the company of good friends ...

As you can see from the photo ...Danny , Julie ....with some of their tribe .. a la Jacob , Chloe and Naomi came for tea and chimenea last night ....along with the little fella Danny ( on the right of your picture )

It was a lovely evening ...Thanks for your company guys ...now the clear up begins :-)

One other bit of news ....Mike my eldest daughters boyfriend passed his driving test yesterday ...another boy racer hits the road ...Well done Mike .

Prayer meeting , stars and Llandudno !!

Tuesday night was a lovely night ....firstly we, as a combined congregations of Wem and Prees had a time of prayer and study in God's word that was truly blessed . We looked together at a passage from the Book of Romans ...and Reminded ourselves of the Priveledge of being "called sons of God" , supported and guided by the Presence of the Holy Spirit and then also the Pain and suffering that are part and parcel of living in a world that is fallen and decaying ....3p's ..for all of you who like alliteration..

Upon arriving home we all ( my family that is ) sat outside on a clear , warm summers night and looked up at the stars . It was brilliant ...I saw four shooting stars and two satellites ...never seen a satellite before ....I got quite exited about it all , maybe I start watching " The sky at night " with Sir Patrick Moore

Yesterday we spent the day in Llandudno with the youth from the church, approx 20 of us trekking up the "Great Orme" in the rain ...yes it was wet ...very wet at times , but we had a laugh . The only problem is when you go on these days out with the younger generation you always end up eating too many Macdonalds :-)

What is truth ??

Society now a days likes to think that there is no absolute truth .....you believe what you like as long as you are sincere..because really there is no absolute standard of truth.

I came across a brilliant put down to this in todays "Independent" ....an article reviewing Simon blackburns book "Truth:A Guide For The Perplexed"..he says this

A person who believes that there is no absolute truth ( a relativist) " is like an archer who shoots an arrow at a barn door; paints a target around it and claims a bulls eye ; There is no success or failure in this game ..."

Rob Whiteway says that if you want absolute truth then look no further than the Bible.. its target has been fixed to the barn door since the beginning of time ...in fact it made the barn door :-)

Recognise these two ??

Rumour has it they will be in Wem on Thursday ...its a bit like waiting for Hurricane Katrina to hit ...who knows what they will leave behind :-)

A clue to the mans identity ...he stands at the front of "this Church" every Sunday

Abide with me

For years, on my annual trek to Wembley as a kid ..when Liverpool football club during the height of their success had wembley stadium as their second home ground .. I along with 100,000 people during the FA cup final would attempt to sing the words of "Abide with Me."

The words meant nothing to me then .....but now it is different

Abide with me , fast falls the eventide
the darkness deepens ; Lord with me abide .
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
help of the helpless Lord abide with me

and the last verse

Hold, Lord , your cross before my closing eyes ;
shine through the gloom and point me to the skies:
heaven's morning breaks and earth's vain shadows flee
In life in death , O Lord abide with me

It was written by Henry Flyte , a Christian minister who was dying of tuberculosis in 1847 ..you can read more about it by clicking here ( you will also hear the tune if you have your speakers on )

They are somber words but very true ....we are all dying ...with every beat of our own hearts we too approach that dying breath .......and like Henry Lyte was, we need to be ready .

If you are coming along to the Prayer meeting a Wem tonight ...no prizes for guessing one of the hymns we will be singing .....

Church of Fools? see what you think

Whilst on holiday I picked up a copy of the "Readers Digest"and was interested to read about the Methodist approach to the cyber age in " The Church of Fools Website" ....The websites objective was to bring church( or technically chapel) to us rather than we as individuals meeting together as a church .

They experimented with the site for 4 months last year . On entering the church you choose a character and then proceeded to one of the pews , apparently at one of their services which were held at 9pm every Sunday they attracted 30,000 pew sitters .......mmm interesting

Personally I applaud them for their igenuity and contemporary efforts at making chapel accessible but how are we meant to encourage ,support and love one another if we are nothing but faceless individuals ( Hebrews 10:25)

Your opinion may differ , check it out for yourself and read about the experiment . I would be interested in your comments

Great Friends...Best Friends

On Saturday we spent the day at Chateau Howard , the home of our dear friends Paul and Ally ...as well as Matthew and Samantha .....oh and not forgetting the four dogs , 2 cats , 1 rabbit , 6 chickens , 2 horses ..tons of trout and one heron who wont leave them alone :-) ...As you can see they have a very big family .

We have known Paul and Al for nearly 18 years and in those years they have definately been our soul mates , we love them dearly and it was nice just to chill out with them for a day at their Derbyshire retreat ....In fact Laura loves them so much she stayed there , hopefully they will return her to us some time this week , after all school starts next week :-(

Yesterday was a good day , I preached at Wem in the morning and it was nice to have all of my family there , mum , dad as well as Gills mum and dad. Jane my sister and her family joined us for lunch ,so we had a full house .

Today ..I'll be spending some time in the study and then we will probably go for a walk ( cheapest option after an expensive holiday !!)

Back to Business

Business as usual today ....spent most of it in the study preparing for Sundays sermon ...I did however spent a couple of hours at the Church coffee morning , a great forum for catching up with many of the church and towns folk .

Gills out shopping with the girls this afternoon ....clothes for the new school term ....I daren't ask how much it cost :-(

Holiday reflections

Holidays I find , give you time to reflect on your life , in terms of what has gone before and what lies ahead . For both Gill and I it was useful in that we were able to spend some time doing this , particulary in relation to our calling as Christians and how we are to live out our lives amongst our friends , family and community .

I was helped in this by having the time to read a number of books from the bible ....the one that impacted me the most ( as it usually does ) is the book of James ..... in it James gives much guidance on how our lives should be lived out under God,with much emphasis on the doing rather than just talking about it ....

So now that I ( and Gill ) have been suitably challenged we will see how it all pans out over the coming months ....and you will be able to read all about it here ..


I also managed to read " The Pilgrims Progress" again ...a timeless classic by "John Bunyan" ..telling a tale of one mans journey to heaven with all of its joys and difficulties . Its a wonderful book ...If you havn't read it then please pick up a copy and seriously think about its message .

I'm Back

Yes I survived just over two weeks on Holiday in a beautiful part of France ...life is so difficult sometimes ....anyway I'll be posting later on ...this is just a quick note to say that I am still alive and kicking ....

In Disguise

Do you recognise these two dodgy characters !!!

Last post ....for a while

Well HBC is almost over .....just one more meeting tonight with the parents and then its Holiday time :-)

HBC has been brilliant ...well over 200 children have come along and had lost of fun and at the same time heard a serious message ...The truth of Christ .

I wont be posting now until our return from Holiday on the 23rd August ....just over two weeks in France ...Fantastic ...

Take care until then

Rob

Shattered

This morning as I write this post , Ihave to admit I am absoluteley shattered.... I must be getting old ....HBC whilst being a wonderful event does take its toll on the old bones .

Anyway enough of my whining ...Last night we held a special event for the young teens and nearly 70 of them turned up . It was great ,with Sumo wrestling , assault courses and boxing on offer ...as well as a short Gospel talk from yours truly . The evening went really well and will be repeated tonight with a different set of games and hopefully a different gospel talk if I can think of one today ...

I have still got my silly hat and shoes on this morning ....as you can see in the photos :-)

Quick HBC update

Holiday Bible Club smashed its record this morning for the number of Children ...a grand total of 213 kids ......between Prees and Wem .

The downside is that I copped for the "shoes of shame"...which basically means that for the rest of today I have to walk around in some daft shoes and a daft hat ....Photo to follow later ...If I take them off then I have to wear them again tomorrow ....Oh the joys of pastoral work :-)

We are holding a Sumo wrestling evening for the teenagers tonight ...so more chaos to follow ..

Records Broken

This is a picture of Connie with her New found friends at HBC

Holiday Bible club broke its record for numbers this morning ...between the two Fellowships at Prees and Wem we had a grand total of 199 kids ...fantastic . It really is a joy to see the kids having a great time and hearing an even greater message.

Sadly we said goodbye to Connie( Anna's German Friend) tonight at Manchester airport . It was really good to have her with us for a week and hopefully she will be back next year for HBC. So if you are reading this Connie get your mum to book a ticket for next year :-)..

Life is a wee bit hectic at the mo ..I'm speaking four times over the next couple of days ...Dont know when I will have time to pack for our Holiday which begins on Saturday !!!

Madness & Mayhem

Holiday bible Club was brilliant yesterday ...150 youngsters turned up for " God's Big Top" ..yes you guessed it we have a circus theme this year . Our Church plant at Press also held their inaugural HBC and had nearly 40 kids ....wonderful . ( photos will follow later on this week )

Also yesterday we had a visit from Anne and her new baby Dillon . Anne was also a former member of a youth group that I used to run ....and now she is all grown up with a baby ....Now I know that I am really ancient . It was great to see Anne again .

Also last night Phil Wright ( the Pastor of Wem Baptist ) celebrated his 40th birthday at the local Greek restaurant ....we had a few suprises up our sleeves that kept him on his toes all night ...it was good to see him squirm :-) ....no doubt I will pay for it at HBC this week ..

Busy day

Great day yesterday , Bob & Beth Baxter came over with their Daughter Laura ..( Who used to be in my youth group .....that makes me feel really old !) . It was great to see them and catch up with their news . Also Jane & Nick and Ben & Naomi made an appearance in the afternoon .

We all went to a Baptismal service in the evening . A good time of worship, as we witnessed an 82 year old ( Marion ) and Jacob and Martha ( 14 year olds ) being baptised .

Its Holiday Bible Club this week ......so its going to be mad :-))))