West View Baptist Church, Hartlepool
A family friendly church in the town of Hartlepool
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We are live streaming a simple informal worship service on Sundays at 4pm. This is available live through Facebook on our Hartlepool Baptists Together Facebook Page. And can also be watched afterwards (see videos on the Facebook page).
Join us at 4pm.
For more information about our online meetings an services during the current crisis visit : wvbc.org.uk/together.
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Join us on Thursday evening at 7:20pm for an informal time of chat, bible study and prayer. Grab yourself a coffee and come and join us.
Visit https://wvbc.org.uk/together/ to find out how to access and join.
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UPDATE: We have set up a page for info about our online gatherings here.
Following the advice from Public Health England and The Baptist Union, we have taken the very difficult decision to suspend meetings at West View Baptist Church until further notice.
This applies to Sunday services and Filling Station, as well as all church midweek activities and small groups.
We will need to find new ways of continuing to function as a church and of supporting one another during this time. We may be able to explore ways of achieving some of this online in order to comply with the need for social distancing, but we recognise this may not be possible for some. Please continue to care and look out for each other at this time.
More information and details of how we might connect online will follow.
We encourage any members of the church family who feel ill, have to self-isolate, need help or are feeling at all worried or anxious, to call one of the leaders or use the contact page, so that we can find ways of offering appropriate support during this time.
with our love and prayers at this difficult time,
Tim
By Office
3 November 2019
We were joined by Mattie Steel who preached on 2 Thessalonians chapter 1
He shared his experience of being at Stockton sixth form college he took chemistry but he struggled about pulling together ingredients to make the final product. Other things in life are not as difficult. Fish and chips, visiting the lakes and good weather, Middlesbrough and a win makes a happy Matty.
The opening of the letter shows Paul in a good mood . Persecution is on the increase but this church in Thessaloniki is increasing.
Matty can see a similar spirit here at West View Baptist Church. But Paul’s letter shifts to those who don’t accept god. It gives Paul no joy to say this. Jesus will return and there will be a judgement. Paul shows that he knows God’s heart is that none should perish.
Our Godmay make you worthy of his calling. Paul expands on this in chapter 8 of Romans. God has chosen called or invited people to come into a relationship with him. He also provides the way for us to be made right with God.
What Paul is not saying is that there is some sort of level that people need to achieve.
In Christ you get a new identity. You are different and this is described right through the New Testament. Different audiences are called to this change, from say a little Corsa to a powerful Ferrari for Christ. Whenever there is a command you will receive the power and grace of the Holy Spirit to live up to the call as a child of god set free from the bondage of sin. You are free. Paul wrestled with this in Romans 10. We live a new life as the old self was crucified with him. Alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Paul prayed that God may make you worthy of his calling. Theologian Don Carson says we are to grow up into Christian maturity.
If there is any struggle you feel in bondage to, Jesus will set you free. Matt offered to pray for any one who needs this freeing from struggle.
Paul prays for fruit from this group of believers in Christ. He recognised the deeds coming from faith, but there is a need for prayer as well. We will only see new kingdom fruit with prayer behind it. Falling to the extremes of either of these camps makes it easy for the external world to dismiss us. Holy huddles, or Christians doing nice things is what we will be dismissed as.
Always offer to pray when out on the streets. Matty gave example of an addict they prayed for who felt sober for the first time in a number of years.
Take the risk and see what happens. Nothing that you can do that can put people off God’s love.
Matty related the story of the time that he was down in Brighton and there was a Zombie festival that weekend. He found himself alone in a railway station at midnight being prompted by God to go and speak to someone. That someone was dressed as a Zombie… at midnight! Matty offered help. Found out the man in the costume had been suicidal previously and following chats then and later he came to Christ and was baptised.
He also shared that our hospitality does not have to be perfect. He once offered a meal to two people down on their luck. He only had beans and bread in to offer. The two young people wanted to cook the meal and sadly they burnt the toast and were that keen on stirring the beans so they wouldn’t stick, they reduced them to mush. It didn’t matter. God still used burnt bread and bean purée to enable someone to be led to Jesus.
By Office
13 October 2019
Tim preached on Luke 17: 11-19
He asked to think about borders . Jesus was walking between the border of Samaria and Galilee. But it could be anywhere today Mexico USA, Scotland England, uk Europe. Only one of the lepers, the foreigner the stranger the outsider came back to thank Jesus. The act of healing was bigger than just healing the leprosy. Tim’s guess is the others went running to the priests to get clearance to go home to their families.
Welcoming the stranger is an important message. Would we welcome those from the other side of the wall. Jesus uses the woman at the well and the Good Samaritan to show a similar message.
No doubt the other nine headed to their family to share their good news. Luke implies that we need a whole new relationship with God.
What are we thankful for? We touched in this on our Alpha course this week. We’re quick to criticise but slow to give thanks . You can see this in Google reviews or TripAdviser. It’s easier to focus on the bad. We’re slow to recognise that the people involved are human like us. We’re slow to thank. Ephesians chapter 5 shows this. God is the source of everything, everything breathe we take (Tim resisted the urge to sing that song!)
WE need to find the things you can be thankful for our in the created world.
To get a good view requires a lot of effort sometimes. But even at sea level here in Hartlepool we can count our blessings. Use spiritual discipline to list what you are thankful for and list them before God. This seems to be a healthy thing to do.
Eucharist means thanksgiving. Let us cultivate a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving. People who are thankful tend to be lovely people.
Cultivate this as we go back into our communities.
But there’s something else here, Jesus would not have met these men if he hadn’t ventured into our borderlands. Do we do this ? Or are we reluctant to embrace people who are different from us. How might we equip people for that task.
Perhaps going to the borderlands means joining a club, a group. We may often find that Jesus is already out there.
Living without judgement. The man who came back would have been a reject in the eyes of the community even without the leprosy. God really loves the stranger, the other , the people over different faith. Today’s media love to highlight difference. Tim showed the video One Day where Israelis of different backgrounds came together to sing together to share a positive message . People from all walks of life celebrating in three languages praying for a day where peace will arrive. It’s a brave thing to do. Jesus had an annoying habit of reaching out into communities that no one loved. Tim shared the experience of a fellow minister from Burnley who on the day of the riots there was challenged to get to meet people he did not know from other faiths in the aftermath of the riots. Living on these edges is where Jesus wants us. Refugees drug users people of other faiths. Where would Jesus be nowadays? Would he be sitting here with us.
Let us live with gratitude and thankfulness.
If you would like to know more about our church or about the Christian faith feel free to get in touch.
Miers Avenue, Hartlepool TS24 9JQ | Health & Safety Policy | Safeguarding Policy