Giving Sunday on 24th Sept

September 8th, 2023

Dear church family,

In Scripture, one of the many beautiful names for God is 'Jehovah Jireh' meaning 'The Lord will provide.' I love that it signifies 'the Lord will provide,' not 'the Lord might provide.' We can have absolute assurance that our God will provides for us what we need. He doesn't necessarily provide for our wants; he always provides what we need when we place our faith and trust in him, and God often provides through the people He places around us.

I've shared this story before in church... Once there was a man and there was a major flood that flooded his house, so the man climbed onto his roof. He prayed to God that God would rescue him. A little boat came along and the person rowing it shouted out to this man and asked if he wanted a lift to safety and the man replied, 'No thank you God is going to save me,' so the little boat moved on. The man prayed again and after a short wait another larger boat came along and asked if he wanted a lift to safety. Again the man said 'No thank you God is going to rescue me,' so the larger boat moved on. The man continued to pray for God to rescue him and after a while a helicopter came along and offered to give the man a lift to safety and yet again the man said, 'No thank you, God is going to save me.' The man was trapped on the roof for many days and eventually died of dehydration and starvation. When he got to heaven, he asked God, 'Why didn't you rescue me?' God turns to him and says, a little exasperated, 'Did you not see the little boat, the larger boat and the helicopter I sent to rescue you!?'

When we speak about God providing for us his provision doesn't usually appear out of thin air (although how cool would that be!!). God provides through his servants, and the ones who love him.

Ahead of the giving Sunday, please be praying about how much God wants you to give and be wary of the voice of the enemy that may whisper in your ear, 'You don't need to give that much,' 'You can't afford to give that,' 'What about that lovely holiday you want to go on,' etc. Some giving requires faith, and even if it takes a chunk out of our savings, it is going towards our beautiful, growing family - I couldn't think of a worthier cause!

With love,

Katie x

SUNDAY GATHERING 10:30AM Join us this Sunday as continue our series on being strong in the Lord. For those who are unable to attend in person please join us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/kconXsHXjzg

LOVE WILLESBOROUGH MEETING this Wednesday at 7:30pm in the main worship space. Come along to this meeting if you are interested in serving our community in creative ways and chatting about Christmas!!!

POWER HOUR is back! Join us for whole church prayers on Thursday the 14th September from 8-9pm.

EXPLORING BAPTISM continues this Sunday as we look at the second of four sessions on Exploring Baptism people are still welcome to join - if you plan to attend please let Katie know: katie@willesboroughbaptist.church.

Givaudan 10K Training Run - For those thinking of running in the Givaudan 10K road race on 8th October (or if you would like to run with others), Rachel invites you to join her for some training runs starting from the church car park on Thursdays at 6:30pm. Contact Rachel for more details on 07754 032449.

Givaudan 10K Road Race - Sunday 8th October 2023
The route for this run starts at the Julie Rose stadium and comes directly past church. Last year we set up an extra support 'Hype' station. This was a fantastic opportunity for us to be out there with our community supporting a local event. We provided water, sweets, music and most importantly, supporting the runners as they came up the hill with lots of encouragement! We had so many appreciative comments from runners last year and we will be supporting them again this year. More details to follow....
If you would like to take part as a runner, the run is open to all abilities; details are: https://www.sportingeventsuk.com/enter-an-event/givaudan-ashford-10k

"The 'Real' Meal"
Men getting real with God and one another. Come and quench your thirst, enjoy some food, make new friends and chill out together.
Where? Woolpack Pub, Smeeth & Brabourne Lees.
When? 7pm for 7:30pm the 1st Monday of each month until the end of the year.
Great grub - £10 each
Please let office@willesboroughbaptist.church or Ben Oliver, Mark Giles and Jerry Newson know by the Friday before each event if you are coming.