Remembering those gone before

You may be somewhat surprised that someone who spent years helping people to translate the Bible into their own language would choose to write about Halloween this week. But it did actually begin as a Christian celebration – All Hallows’ (holy ones) Eve, the day before All Saints’ Day in the church calendar. It was a time to remember the saints, martyrs, church leaders – those who kept the church alive through the ages and those who took the message of God’s word to all parts of the world; those who are now no longer with us but are with their Lord. It was only later that it became mixed with old pagan festivities.

In the Old Testament there are several long lists of names, obviously included so that the readers could remember those mentioned and their place in history, and both Matthew and Luke have included genealogies in their gospels, naming the ancestors of Mary and Joseph, Jesus’s earthly parents. The writer to the Hebrews, in ch. 11, draws his readers’ attention to a long list of the faithful departed, those who ‘by faith’ accomplished great things. Then in the first verse of the next chapter, ch. 12, he reminds us that we, his readers, ‘are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses’ to encourage us in our walk with the Lord. The cloud will be even greater now with all those added in the years since Hebrews was written!

What can we gain from thinking about those who have gone before? Firstly, we can praise God for what He accomplished through them and for what we can learn from their examples. Learning about how they lived their lives in service to the Lord, trusting Him in often challenging circumstances, can inspire us to trust the Lord as they did.

We can also see how God has been working through the generations, with people in each generation taking the gospel message into different areas and each generation passing it on to the next one. We remember those no longer with us who led us to faith in Christ and encouraged us in our Christian walk. We give thanks for them and seek to follow their example of serving others. We also give thanks for those who have played a part in the history of our church.

As we study the Scripture we learn from the experiences of those we read about there and I think we can also gain a lot by reading biographies or autobiographies of those whom God used in different ways to grow and strengthen the church. Several examples can now be found in our church library (See message below). May God help us this week to remember in a positive way those who have inspired us and may He help us to follow their example.

Mary Breeze

Click on the links below to see previous messages

Psalm 3: Jesus Foreshadowed Read more	All shall be well Read more	Do we need to plead? Read more	Holidays Read more	Trusting when Troubled Read more	A Book To Die For Read more
Written Warnings Read more	Will your anchor hold? Read more	Dolphins Read more	Facing the Future Read more	Water in the Bible Read more	Peter Persecuted Read more

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
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Planning your Visit

New to Church?

Here at Brighton Road Baptist Church, you will always be welcome. So it doesn’t matter whether you’ve never been to church before or have been going all your life and want to try something different.

No-one cares how you're dressed, what you believe (or don’t believe), whether you’re over 60 or under 6, or something in between - you're welcome to join us if you're searching or just browsing.

Whatever your circumstances BRBC is a safe place to discover God's love.

We are an extended family made of all ages and a variety of backgrounds. We are single, married, divorced, widowed, happy, sad, confused, motivated, those with time on their hands and those with no time at all. The one thing we have in common is that we want to know more about the God who welcomes us all into his family. We look forward to welcoming you.

What to expect on a Sunday morning:

Where and When

We meet at the Church Building (details here) for our Sunday Service starting at 10.30am. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team who will offer you a copy of our weekly newsletter.

We serve tea, coffee and biscuits after the service. All refreshments are free.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There are disabled toilets in the main foyer.

Our Service

The main service begins at 10.30am with a warm welcome from one of our team members. We share news and notices, usually about what’s going on in the life of the church. Following this we have a time of sung and spoken worship. We typically have 2 or 3 songs lasting approximately 20 minutes. Often a person will pray out loud or read a small passage from the bible. Sometimes people share things that they believe God is saying to the whole church family. One of our leaders will then give a sermon that is bible based and that we can apply to our everyday life. We then finish with a final worship song. There is an opportunity to receive prayer at the end of the service.

What about my kids?

For children under three, we have a Creche. Children under 6 months are welcome but must be accompanied by their parent/grown-up at all times.
For kids from 4-11, we have our Kid's Club, BRBK. Activities vary but usually there is a friendly welcome, bible stories, testimonies, praying, music, craft, drama, fun games and free play.

Children stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service for the welcome, songs and notices. We really value worshipping God all together as a family. Part way through the service, the leader will announce that it’s time for the younger members to go to their various groups.

Please pick your children up as soon as the service finishes.

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Getting Connected

Housegroups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our housegroups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some afternoons and some evenings. Check out Housegroups and see if there’s one that you could join, or we can put you in touch with a small group leader who will be more than happy to invite you along to their group.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team.

If you want to get in touch, or have any further questions, please contact us!