West View Baptist Church, Hartlepool

A family friendly church in the town of Hartlepool

Sermons

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Walking in faith….Run Mark Run.

Mark led our service on 23 April. He brought us the Word from Luke 24 13:35.

Mark shared what had happened to him on his walk to faith and after he was baptised. Prior to coming to church he realised that he wasn’t living in the way that he should and he was not giving any thanks for the life he had.

It was through coming to faith that Mark received the love and family he was looking for. Afterr going through the waters of baptism Mark started his day in a very different way. He asked which way to walk and which way to be led. He admitted though that he didn’t always follow where he was led.

But when Leo was ill as a baby, it was their faith as a family that got them through some very dark times. In the worst of times it feels that you stop walking and start to sprint. But through out that dark journey they were all covered in prayer.

Mark starts his day in prayer now, He knows his walks changes from day to day. Often many people are on the same walk the same difficult journeys but we don’t know it. We often focus on what we need, We pray for the family, for our own problems. But we need to pray for others on the journey. Like many of us Mark doesn’t have the type of memory that allows him to remember Bible quotes and references at the drop of a hat, He’d like to improve that though,

Mark has a very different job now, moving around from care home to care home, filling in where he is needed. One of his colleagues shared that they couldn’t do that, as they are not very good at meeting new people.

Mark realised that one of the things he could do whilst travelling around was to ask people “How are You?” but then repeat the question again. Often a single word answer then turns into a more honest and open conversation.

Mark shared himself that currently his work situation is very difficult. The company he works for is in some difficulties and is likely to be broken up and reorganised.

But he knows God has a sdense of humour though. Mark was prompted to ask for help and his wife gave him the image that in her life journey, faith has always been the foundation . People praying for the family in dark times proved this. Mark was told Imagine Forrest Gump in the scenes where he is running.. All those people running, willing him on, willing him to succeed. You get the idea.

So how do we keep going forward? Ask for help. Identify the things holding us back. Realise that sometimes that can be our own selfishness. Ask Jesus, ask our brothers and sisters in faith. As Matty said, ask for the Holy Spirit to help and lead us.

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Matty’s message: Are you using 3 in 1? (Not the oil or the shampoo.)

Matty’s message on 23 April was about being focussed and not getting distracted. Often in our life we meet people with strong opinions and they can distract us from what we should be listening to. If you watch a flock of sheep they will graduate towards whatever holds their interest or appetite in that moment in time rather than their shepherd. Are we guilty of doing the same?

The Holy Spirit will take us much further if we let it. If we listen and hear His voice, we will be kept safe and given shelter to lie down in., Psalm 23:2 gives us that assurance.

Maybe we ponder on his lead and worry He won’t speak to us. The answer of course is yes He will. He knows all of His sheep, all of us by name. Let God lead you today.

Stacy has decided to follow His lead. She has chosen to go through the waters of baptism. A marvellous act of witness. What happens when you are baptised? Well aside from getting wet, you can choose to accept the Holy Spirit in your life. A gift so great, yet free to anyone who requests it. It rarely happens instantly but it’s the link between God and Jesus.

Listen and obey. You’ll know when the Spirit is prompting you. Think about this church, look around. Many people come here for company, for advice and a social event. Yet they find themselves going further. Listening and learning and being drawn to what God wants them to hear and do.

Ask the Heavenly Father to come into your life. When you leave this building today, talk to your family and friends. Tell them about the 3 in 1 (Matty’s a mechanic but he’s not talking about the oil here!)

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Even if people might not appear to be open and listening, you really don’t know what seed you plant, and what fruit will appear as a result.

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Stinky Lazarus

Ian was a one man band and led the service and brought the word. He spoke on John 11 1-45.

He reminded us that God is never too late, God’s timing is alwayds perfect. He is always on time.

Hopefully we see who we should be in God with the things we do done for God’s glory and not for our glory or personal power,

“Lord, the One you love is sick.” We’re all hopefully aware of and remember the Mary and Martha story. They and their brother Lazarus were friends of Jesus, They were a family that He stayed with, who made Him welcome. They lived in Bethany, about two miles away from Jerusalem in an area known for alms houses, This is the only Gospel where Lazarus makes an appearance. Lazarus means one who God has helped.

The disciples are puzzled that Jesus isn’t rushing to see his good friend, then they are puzzled that Jesus says Lazurus is sleeping, Only when He tells them plainly that Lazarus is dead do they get some idea as to what He refers to, But they still don’t get what Jesus is doing.

“Let us all go along with the Teacher so that we may die with him”. Thomas doesn’t know it but he is being prophetic here. Martha and Mary both come out to meet Jesus. Martha tells Him that if He had been there, Lazarus would not have died, Martha is practical but also more of a theologian that we might have realised. She knows that her brother will rise again in God’s kingdom but didn’t get who Jesus was . Jesus need to remind her that He has power over death, Mary also says something similar…”If You had been here….”

But we already know that Jesus did not have to be there to heal. Remember the story of the centurion. Jesus healed without being in the same place. Do we think about what Jesus can do for us? Do we make the same mistake? I want Jesus to do what I want Jesus to do!!! Rather than “Here I am Lord, I am your servant, What do you want me to do.”

This is the last miracle in John’s gospel before the death and resurrection. The place where we see Jesus both fully human and fully divine, Jewish mourning for the first few days is very emotional, crying, wailing, tearing clothes and pouring ashes over their heads, Talmudic beliefs seemto suggest the spirit would not leave the body for three days.

Jesus was only a day away. Jesus waited deliberately. He wanted people to expect decay, death smells and corruption of Lazarus’s body. He needed his disciples to witness his power over death, Returning to Judea was not safe, the Jews wanted to kill Jesus, The disciples wanted to be safe. They still did not get the power that Jesus had, He had to say plainly he was the resurrection and the life. When Thomas said what he had, he was fully expecting that they were all going to die there and then. He did not know that Jesus knew most of them would die eventually for believing in him.

Jesus time is perfect, Martha warned there would be a bad odour after 72 hours in the tomb.

Do you realise that Jesus was that powerful he had to name Lazarus specifically. “Lazarus come out!” If he’d simply said come out, Lazarus would not have been the only one obeying! .When Mary came will all the Jewish people they had their questions answered, He healed the blind man for the glory of God, the same applied to the raising of Lazarus. Not everyone sees and believes though. Some only saw that if Jesus continued they would all be in danger, Caiaphas utters prophetic words here “You do not realise that it is better for one man to die than the whole nation perish.

So much is going on in this passage it is difficult to do it justice in one Sunday message, We see God glorified, we see the compassion of Jesus , fully human ” Jesus wept” . He knows Lazarus will be coming out of the grave. Jesus not only conquers death, He is in control of it. His Name is Power!

He creates new life for those who trust in Him. We forget sometimes what He has done for us. He is there in the lows and the highs. He is the Cornerstone, life over death, bringing life to the poor. Do you believe? Are you who you should be in Christ this morning?

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Matty’s Message: Raise Children to follow Jesus and they will be like well aimed arrows.

Matty shared his reflections from earlier in the week. Children are like arrows and need to be aimed in the right direction. Wrongly aimed, they are broken arrows engaging in all sorts of harmful behaviours.

Matty stressed the message that Church is not a club for the well heeled, more a hospital for those who need to be healed. Compassion is the mother of miracles, and only when you are moved by someone’s pain can you bring healing to them.

He highlighted that the disciples when they thought they would die in the storm, they didn’t challenge Jesus’s power, they challenged his compassion. “Don’t you care that we might die?” (Mark 4:38) .

Matty shared that we have witnessed today being helped and led by good leaders. He said that we need to ensure that we help and parent and grandparent those young people in our familes. We should not duck or avoid that responsibility or delegate to others, like schools, teachers or even our church.

Matty shared that his mentor had also helped provide perspective on this. Children are a gift from God, they are not an inconvenience or a liability. There’s an opportunity to learn from their questions and teach them to follow the right path and share the Lord’s example.

Take a chance to show compassion, think on the storms we all face in life. Raise children to follow Jesus and they will be well aimed arrows.

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Take the Land He has given you.

Abi, Yvette and Amanda led today’s service and the word today was brought by Viv Neville.

Our songs today were Be Still, How Great is Our God, O Jesus I have promised, If You Climb to the top of a mountain, Take Me To the Holy of Holies, Cornerstone, Blessed Be Your Name, I speak Jesus and Open the eyes of my heart Lord.

Deuteronomy 5 31:33 played a key part in today’s service. Viv had ended up  changing what she was bring to the church today and it is powerful that two people were given exactly the same passage. Viv reflecting on the fact that Pastor Cliff Henderson from New Life had also been reflecting on the fact that over the years we all invite countless people to church for different types of community events. Do we then see those folks come to church? Not always but we continue to hope and pray that these events touch people in some way. Viv reflected that at times she had been very emotional in the hours leading up to this service. The core message today was very much around “ “Take the land he has given you”. Viv drew our attention to Daniel 12 , Go your own way, live life simply, Put distractions aside and work, pray and read your Bible. Viv talked about the fact that this is very important and she often has to turn her phone off to cut out distractions. In terms of going your own way, do you know what it is? If you do write it down, commit to it. Think about the parting of the Red Sea. God had to push the mighty waters aside so his people could continue on their path.

Viv recapped on her previous visit and message to West View Baptist Church. She highlighted the way in which John the Baptist was preparing the way of the Lord. Viv encouraged us to think about taking the Lord outside the walls of the church. Praying into every area of our lives.Viv had been helping someone battling with addiction and that person was now entering rehab. She had walked outside their home praying and covering them. She brought the situation to the Lord in praise and worship.

Viv also reflected on the fact that there are places in the community where we still cannot share the Word. Do we share our evangelistic ideas with others? Remember God often only gives us the first step, not the full map. Big and small ideas are equally important. 

Do we know when God is prompting us? When something is from God the idea will come and keep coming. Every day for 6 weeks an idea that Viv had early in ministry kept coming and coming, like the roaring of a lion. It would not go away. Viv’s idea eventually came to fruition and ran for 11 years. 40 people helped to make it so. Remember though that there is a season for everything. Nehemiah had lots of obstacles to overcome in achieving his goal. He was opposed all the way but fulfilled what was needed. You will find people to help.

Viv shared her new initiative to prayer walk the whole of Hartlepool. Her and her fellow prayer walkers have divided the town into smaller areas. Through Facebook and Whatapp etc they are reaching out to supporters. There is a place for everyone who wants to help prayer walker or prayer warrior. 

Viv also shared the events happening in the revival at Asbury University where students stayed in chapel after a service was supposed to conclude on 8 February 2023. 11 days later the service still continued. Mini revivals are springing up elsewhere. 

Viv and her fellow prayer walkers ended up  covering the Fens in cars. Like the shadow of the cloak of Jesus and the apostles,  praying for the homes they pass and pause outside brings hope and healing. Pray especially for the spiritually sick. Viv then encouraged a small group to leave the church for 10 minutes to pray for the homes around us. Write down the issues and encouragement we want from and for the estate.

Messy Church

We were joined by friends from the other Baptist churches in Hartlepool and the families and children of West View for a Messy church afternoon exploring things we love and doing arts, crafts games and cake and sandwiches.

We have introduced a Prayer and Song request box inspired by James 5:13. Young Church have also produced some heart pictures using stones

James 5-13 Prayer and Praise box and Young Church hearts