Sunday 23rd June 2019: "Picnic in the Park"
/This coming Sunday, 23rd June, we are not at the school.
Instead, we will be taking church to Cassiobury Park.
Location: The tree near the path by the river between the car park and the children’s play area.
Date: 23 June 2019
Time: 10:30 AM
What to bring: rug/chair; friends; picnic
We’ll have a short church service including singing, prayer, a lesson from Joe and communion. Following that, we’ll have a picnic lunch and fun!
Text for Sunday's sermon, 9th June 2019, "Missions Sunday"
/This Sunday we're in Lystra (not literally - actually we're at Laurance Haines School as usual):
“In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.
Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.” (Acts 14:8–20 NIV11-GK)
https://accordance.bible/link/read/NIV11-GK#Acts_14:8
Watford church status update
/As members of the church will know, we have been considering our status as a congregation.
We were set up as a region of the London International Church of Christ in January 2016, with the intention of becoming a stand-alone congregation within three years or so.
Our current choices are to remain a region of the London congregation, to become a stand-alone congregation within the fellowship of “ICCM”, or a congregation with the status of a separate charity.
This Sunday, 26 May 2019, I will be bringing us up to date with the fruits of our prayers, fasting and conversations over the last two months. We will take some more time for prayer and fasting, then make a decision in the near future.
In the meantime, if you have any questions or comments please let me know.
God bless, Malcolm
Church Events 2018
/WATFORD WORD
All dates are, to some degree, provisional. So don’t be surprised if they get changed!
October
14th - Laurance Haines school - Malcolm speaking on Acts 8.9-25
21st - Laurance Haines school: parenting workshop with Tim, Shevvy & Ben Dannatt
26th - NW teen girl sleepover
27th - NW teen devotional
28th - Stefan Wolmerans visiting speaker. Lunch after church.
November
4th - Laurance Haines school. Tunde speaking.
10th - NW teen devotional
11th - Remembrance Sunday at Laurance Haines school: Malcolm speaking. Special communion presentation by Martin Doe visiting from Harrow.
17th - NW teen boys activity: go-karting, £15 per person
18th - Laurance Haines school: Ben Dannatt our visiting speaker
24th - NW teen filmfest
25th - Laurance Haines school. Lunch after church. Malcolm speaking.
December
2nd - Laurance Haines school. Special collection for HOPE. Leon preaching.
9th - London service at Logan Hall & church-wide teen devotional
16th - Laurance Haines school. Nativity service. Malcolm speaking.
22nd - NW teen secret Santa party
23rd - Laurance Haines school. Carol service.
30th - House church followed by church party and games.
North West church teen devotionals:
Most meetings at Kerry & Ama’s home: 13 Lime Close, Harrow, HA3 7JG
Teen Disciple girls will meet first Sunday of every month
Church Aspirations
/Watch the video to hear about our church aspirations. What could you contribute to their development?
1. God-Focused
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Matthew 5:8)
2. Relationship-Based
““A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”” (John 13:34–35)
3. Enabling Our Children to Become Christians
“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4)
4. Always Free Yet Spiritual
“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” (Galatians 5:13)
5. Toiling to Build the Church Well
“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)
December Dates
/Meetings, Gatherings, Services
We’ll be meeting up for the following events between now and the end of the year.
Sunday 10th December - Church service, 10.30am, Laurance Haines School. Sermon on Luke 24.
Wednesday 13th December - final women’s meeting of the year
Sunday 17th December - Church service, 10.30am, Laurance Haines School. “Pop-Up” Nativity.
Wednesday 20th December - “Carolling” Evening, 7.30pm, West Watford Free Church, 60 Tolpits Ln, Watford WD18 6NU
Sunday 24th December - Carol Service, 10.30am, Laurance Haines School.
Sunday 31st December - Church Service, 10.30am, the Olivers’ home, 8 Ludlow Way, Croxley Green, WD3 3SH. Followed by Church party: Games, Slides show and Lunch!
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42 NIV11)
First events of 2018
- Wednesday 3 Jan - Men meet
- Sunday 7 Jan - ‘London’ service
- Wednesday 10 Jan - Women meet
- Sunday 14 Jan - Church Service, Laurance Haines School, Malcolm introducing the ‘Church Aspirations’ series
Church Aspirations
/Our aspirations as a church are to be people who are:
1. God-Focused
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Matthew 5:8)
2. Relationship-Based
““A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”” (John 13:34–35)
3. Enabling Our Children to Become Christians
“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4)
4. Always Free Yet Spiritual
“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” (Galatians 5:13)
5. Toiling to Build the Church Well
“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)
We may never quite 'get there', but we know the direction of travel.
Bank Holiday Plans
/This Sunday we are at our usual venue at the school. As it's the last Sunday in the month, we will be having lunch together. If the weather is good, we'll leave the building as soon as the service finishes, and cross the road to the playground. There we will have a picnic while the children play. If the weather is bad, we will have lunch in the school building as we usually do.
We're launching our special Autumn series this Sunday. Invitation flyers will be given out. An electronic version of the flyers will go online at the weekend.
The following Sunday, 3 September, we will be joining other groups from across London for a joint church service at the Institute of Education, off Russell Square.
God bless,
Malcolm
Bandstand Sunday!
/It's here! Bandstand Sunday is upon us. Don't go to the school, but instead come to the bandstand at 11 AM for a short church service and picnic.
If we have light drizzle, the service will go ahead. If it is pouring with rain we will meet at the school. The grass is a bit damp, so bring a blanket if you plan to sit on the ground. Feel free to bring chairs or even a gazebo.
The Northwest region of the London Church will be joining us. Let's welcome our Harrow friends.
See you on Sunday in Cassiobury Park.!
Malcolm
London Calling
/This Sunday 16th July, we are not at the school. We're joining all our sister congregations in London at Logan Hall, Institute of Education, off Russell Square, 10:30 AM.
The following Sunday 23 July, we will be at the bandstand in Cassiobury Park, 11 AM for a special outdoor service and picnic. The Northwest region of the London Church will be joining us.
See you soon,
Malcolm
Dunstable Done & Dusted
/Thank you to everyone who came out to Dunstable and made it a special occasion. We had a refreshing and breezy worship time on the Downs, and a good picnic afterwards.
This coming Sunday we are back at the school, and Tunde will be preaching his first sermon. Give him your support on the day, and pray for him in advance!
If you haven't already done so, please download the Watford church podcast, and tell any of your friends about it who might be interested in regularly receiving our sermons.
The next Wednesday meeting is for the men.
God bless,
Malcolm
Delightful Dunstable
/This coming Sunday (25 June) we'll not be at the school, but instead having church at Dunstable Downs. Please arrive by 11 am in the main car park near the visitor centre. We will then walk to the end point, pray, sing, take communion and have a picnic lunch.
Details of the venue can be found by clicking here.
In other news, if you would like to contribute to HOPE worldwide's response to the Grenfell Tower fire, you can do so by clicking here.
The men are meeting on Wednesday night at the bandstand in Cassiobury Park to pray.
See you at Dunstable.
God bless,
Malcolm
Dunstable Draws Nearer
/We all say, "thank you", to Leon for his first ever sermon last Sunday. And what a cracker it was! Check it out on our YouTube channel if you haven't already heard it. Don't forget you can also hear it on our new podcast. Just search for Watford Church of Christ in iTunes or similar.
This Sunday we are at the school as usual. But the following week we are on an adventure to Dunstable Downs! More details next week, but pray for good weather in the meantime.
This Sunday the passage for the sermon is Luke 20.27-40:
Luke 20:27 Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. 28 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. 30 The second 31 and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. 32 Finally, the woman died too. 33 Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?” Luke 20:34 Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. 37 But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” Luke 20:39 Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!” 40 And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
June Watford Word is out
/Watford Word
The latest "Watford Word" is out. You can find it by clicking here.
Sunday 11th June
This Sunday Leon Watkins is preaching his first sermon here in sunny Watford. I'm so looking forward to hearing from this wise and mature man of faith. He's been a Christian since his teen years and is building a wonderful family together with Sarah. Please pray for their vision of an evangelised Chesham. Leon contributes so much to our church life. He sings with his rich for bass voice, champions of the work of HOPE Worldwide and other local projects of need, such as the Watford Foodbank, records the sermons on video, takes superb photos and much more. His text for Sunday is:
“Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” He saw through their duplicity and said to them, “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.” (Luke 20:20–26 NIV11)
What's coming up?
- The women meet next Wednesday
- Malcolm preaches next Sunday, 18 June
- The church goes to Dunstable Downs for church and a picnic lunch on 25 June.
God bless,
Malcolm
Super Science Sunday
/‘Science’ service
“Thank-you” to Dawn for her hard work and creativity in designing and executing the ‘science’ service this last Sunday.
The video is here: on the Watford YouTube channel.
June
Sundays will be at Laurence Haines School, 10.30am as usual.
The teaching and preaching focus for this month will take us into Luke chapter 20. As well as Malcolm speaking today, Leon will be preaching his first Watford sermon next week!
Other Events
25 June - Church service & picnic on Dunstable Downs: Whipsnade Road, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, LU6 2GY (Sat Nav: use LU6 2GY, or LU6 2TA for older equipment)
We’re taking the church to a special place called the Dunstable Downs.
At a scenic spot we’ll sing, pray and take communion. Afterwards we will have a picnic lunch together. Please bring appropriate food. If you wish, you can buy lunch at the venue. Click here for details: or look up “Dunstable Downs” and the National Trust. It’s a brilliant place for flying kites, so bring one if you can.
Last time I was there the car park machine was out of order, but there may be a charge.
If you’re going to have difficulty in getting to the venue, or need advice about routes, please speak to me as I know the place well and have been there many times.
23 July - Bandstand service in Cassiobury Park (with the North West region of the London church)
The next ‘London’ service is on 16 July
Watford church podcast
At long last we have our sermon podcast feed up and running! Special thanks to Leon for the artwork. This means you can subscribe to the sermons and automatically download them to your smartphone, computer or other device. You can also tell your friends so they can listen too. If you are serving in children’s ministry, on holiday or ill, you never need miss a sermon again!
How do you get these gems? Go to iTunes, search for “Watford church of Christ” and you should see the picture illustrated here. Click “subscribe” and you’ll have access to the already 47 episodes. Forthcoming sermons, communion talks, testimonies and the like should be automatically updated.
This also works with Google Play. Let me know if you have any difficulties with the feed. Technology, eh?!
Malcolm
Special Contribution
It’s our privilege and tradition to take a special collection annually to support the mission work in the Indian subcontinent as well as within these islands. This year there is a slight change to some of the allocation of the funds, which is explained below in the announcement from the leadership team of the London church. The collection will be taken in June this year.
“In June 2017 the London Church will be taking a Special Contribution to further the work of expanding God’s Kingdom.
This will primarily be for the UK & Ireland Missions Fund to continue supporting the employment of staff in the Belfast, Leicester and Glasgow Churches, and since last year’s collection, in the Edinburgh and Dublin Churches too.
£46,000 will go to the South Asian Missions Society to support our sister churches in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
£32,000 will be set aside for the future hiring of young ministry interns in the London Church.”
Here are the details as to how to contribute:
- Cash - using the provided pre-printed envelopes that Bronwen has
- Cheques - payable to “ICC Missions”
- Online - via www.iccmissions.org/donate and selecting the “Missions” option
If you have any questions about this collection, please speak to me.
God bless, Malcolm
Science Sunday comes to Watford
/
Psa. 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."
This Sunday we're experimenting! Dawn, our resident chemistry teacher, will be helping us all to discover some of the glories of our God through experiments for young and old. We might not be taking off into space (!), but we'll experience a greater wonder of God through these creative experiments.
The service will be followed by lunch - please bring a food contribution if you can.
There is no Wednesday meeting on 31st May - it's a five-week month. The men meet the following Wednesday at my place for a follow-up on our vision discussion from two weeks ago.
Have a wonderful week!
Malcolm
London Bound
/This Sunday, 21 May, we're not in Watford. Instead we'll be joining our sister-congregations from around London for our bi-monthly service in Logan Hall off Russel Square at the Institute of Education (10.30 AM).
The following week we're back at the school for a very special event - "science" Sunday coordinated by our very own science teacher, Dawn Burke! Be ready to muck in with the experiments. It's also a lunch Sunday, so bring along your contribution to our fellowship meal together and hang around afterwards to eat and chat.
The women meet next Wednesday for discussion about our "Church Aspirations". The draft version is here:
1. God-Focused
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Matthew 5:8)
2. Relationship-Based
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34–35)
3. Enabling Our Children to Become Christians
“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4)
4. Always Free Yet Spiritual
“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” (Galatians 5:13)
5. Toiling to Build the Church Well
“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)
I hope you have a wonderful week. God bless,
Malcolm
The Dannatts are Descending
/This Sunday we're lucky to have Tim & Shevvy Dannatt with us. They minister to the Thames Valley churches of Christ and are old friends of mine. Indeed, Tim was in Christ before me and attended my baptism in 1984. His lesson at his previous visit last year was well received, so we are very grateful to him for coming all the way to Watford to speak again this Sunday. Please make him and Shevvy very welcome in my absence.
I request prayers as I attend the UK/Ireland/Scandinavian/Nordics staff retreat in Helsinki this weekend. Please petition God that I will come back with ideas that can help us as a congregation to be the best we can be for God.
The following Sunday (21 May) is a London-wide service. The following week (28 May) we are back in the school for "Science Sunday". Experiments and fun for all! That will be a 'lunch' Sunday too, so please bring food along too.
God bless,
Malcolm
