Lean on the Lord

July 5th, 2024

Dear church family

One of my favourite things about the Bible is that you can read the same thing a thousand times but on the thousand and first time you read it, it stands out to you in a wholly different way. I was reminded of that well quoted passage from Proverbs 3:5-6 that says, 'Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.' This has been a verse that has been spoken over me many times throughout my life but when I heard it yesterday, I heard it as though I had new ears.

The part that stuck out to me is when it says, 'Lean not on your own understanding.' To not lean on our own understanding means to lean on God's. Leaning is only something you can do when you are sure you will be held up. You lean on a wall trusting it won't fall over and it is hard to lean comfortably if you don't trust something or someone to hold you up and nothing is more embarrassing than leaning on something unsteady and falling (we've all done it!). We are told in this proverb to not only trust in God but lean on his understanding rather than our own.

Leaning on God is something that may not come easily to you. Trusting in something you cannot touch or see can be hard and it can often be much easier to place our trust in ourselves or others. I keep being reminded of how trustworthy God is. Throughout Scripture He is always faithful to His promises. Of course, we can lean on Him and trust in Him but saying that is often easier than putting it into practice. To trust God is to sacrifice what we think is right in favour of seeking out what God's thoughts are on the matter and placing that above our own views/opinions. God invites us to lean on Him so that we don't need to rely on our understanding and comprehension of situations. He knows all, He is sovereign, and He definitely knows better than us!

Let us learn to wholeheartedly trust in Him and lean on His understanding not our own. No matter what happens with this country's government, God has a plan and will make a way and His way is one of love, grace, mercy, kindness, life and restoration. Will you accept His invitation to trust Him?

Lots of love
Katie ðŸ’š

SUNDAY GATHERING - 10:30AM Join us this Sunday as we welcome our guest speaker Danny Ispas from Community Action Romania. For those who are unable to attend in person please join us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/sWzpZWGUeJA

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Life-changing encounters 2024 - Youtube and Socials - Danny-02 SOCIALS.png

AN EVENING WITH DANNY & SARAH ISPAS Join us this Sunday 7th July at 7pm as Danny & Sarah share about their work in Romania

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Community Action Romania - 2024 V2-01.png

DEAF AWARENESS TRAINING THIS WEEK Join us for the next session on Thursday 11th July at 7pm. We had over 40 people come to the first session of our Deaf Spiritual Awareness Training which was just amazing - David and Denise were so brilliant in providing us with this training and we have several more sessions over the coming months. If you missed the first session but wanted to come along - we did make a recording which is available on this link: https://youtu.be/bhxTuGzLcV4 ... This will be useful for anyone who wasn't able to come but also for those of us who may have forgotten some bits over the past few months as a bit of a refresher ahead of the next sessions.

If you are new to the church and are unaware of why we are doing this - as a church, we want our services to be accessible to all. Denise and David Flynn are missionaries and have worked with churches across South America and in other parts of the world including the UK where they now live - particularly helping them in discipleship and mission among the deaf community.

We would like as many of our church family to attend as possible, especially if you volunteer in any area of WBC life, including the Well Cafe and Welcome teams.

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Deaf Awareness Training - Socials_94 JULY SEPT OCT.png

PARTNERSHIP FAMILY MEETING Thursday 18th July at 7:30pm. We're joining together with Brabourne Baptist Church as we continue to listen to God and discern what the future holds for our partnership. Whether you're brand new to faith or to the church, or you have been part of the family for a long time, please make this meeting a priority.

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Family Meeting - Church Meeting AGM July 2024-01.png

SUMMER BBQ If you're a young adult (18-30) in the WBC family, you're invited for a BBQ at Matt & Tash Woodhill's house this summer! Join us on Saturday 13th July from 4pm til late! Find out more here: https://willesboroughbaptistchurch.churchsuite.com/events/viaj0wuf

STREET SERENADES Invicta Singers are holding a concert to raise funds for Ashford Street Pastors. Join us on Saturday, July 20th 2024, 7:30pm. There's a raffle with some fantastic prizes, too!
More information: https://www.facebook.com/share/eT99SwvUueWyA2pE/

CHILDREN & FAMILIES WORKER We intend to recruit for a full-time children and families worker and we plan to get the advert out next month for the role which will be shared internally and advertised extensively externally too. The key ways we need all church family to be involved at this point are praying for the right person for the role, praying for the finances to make this possible and each one of us deciding how we can be part of this increase. Thank you

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