It was a joy to have more people out for SS and church this morning than we have had for the past few weeks. We thank God for our church family. It's wonderful when we are able to fellowship with one another.

I preached this morning on, "Comfort for God's People" from Isaiah 40. It was good to focus on the reasons for comfort as well as the Divine Person who comforts us.

Tonight we are looking forward to our evening service and then decorating the church for Christmas. We're also excited about our Ladies' Christmas Tea on Friday at 6pm. Please pray for God to work in the hearts of ladies in our community and that they would want to come. All who come will enjoy it! Please also pray for Katie as she plans and prepares for that evening.

I was able to get out doing evangelism with Pastor Dillman in his area today. We put out a lot of invitations for their Carol Sing service. Please pray for God to bless those flyers and bring out people for that evening of ministry.

Afterwards I put out around 100 flyers near our church location. Please pray for our first event on Friday of next week, the Ladies' Christmas Tea. This will be our first one to be held at our church location.

We finished our study of 1 Peter tonight with around 35 lessons. The final verses were a blessing although we probably have read them without thought many times. We gleaned some good truths from them.

In other news, our exterior lighting is installed and it is fabulous. God gave wisdom and guidance and we praise HIS NAME! Thanks for praying for our church building project. It continues to move forward.

Our electricians are working hard to install exterior lighting on the church this week. It's already looking great! There are 4 more up and down lighters to be installed and then the job will be completed. Here are some pics.

Thank you for your prayers for my travels. I had a wonderful time with my parents and extended family. I can't imagine a better two weeks away. 

Our attendance was down this morning, but I enjoyed teaching and preaching. My  morning message was on, "Wise Character" from Proverbs 2:10-21. I articulated 3 character traits which help us to succeed in life and in eternity.

We have some special events coming up for which we'd appreciate your prayers. On 15 December we have our Ladies Christmas Tea. Then on 24 December we have our annual carol sing service and on New Year's Eve is our family fun night. We've printed several thousan invitations and will begin to put those out this week.

Our weather is cold and there is snow on the ground. The kids are enjoying sledging (sledding) and it looks beautiful. We're excited about this Christmas season and what God is going to do.

I''m thankful for God's grace to our church family. We have seen some be more faithful in the past few weeks and were greatful for the work God is doing in hearts. We had a good solid morning.

I preached this morning on, "Prayers Which God Hears" from Nehemiah 1. It is a great text from whicht to consider how to pray in a way which will be heard by God. "If we know that he hear us, then we know that we have the petitions which we desire of Him."

This past week was mostly a rain event. I did get out and do some evangelism with Pastor Dillman. The rain ended at just the right time and started back up just as we finished. It was good to have a bit slower pace and it was a refreshing week.

I am going on a short trip to the States. My parents 50th anniversary is next month and I'm flying back this month as it works better for both  of our schedules. Katie and the kids are also enjoying some company in my absence as two missionary ladies (Amanda Baker - England, and Rebekah Fruin - Ukraine) are flying in to spend Thanksgiving at our house.

I'd appreciate your prayers for my travels. My father also has advanced alzheimers. Please pray for God's great grace for my mum as it can be very trying just now.

In building news, the GLASS is in! We praise God for how He continues to help us progress in the building works. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Today is Rememberance Sunday in the United Kingdom. Our church had a two minute silence as we began our 11 AM service to remember those who died for our liberties. It's good to give honour to those to whom honour is due. We appreciate our military keeping us safe and thank those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms.

The Lord gave us an encouraging morning. A young man who has come before was back with us. It was a joy to have him there. We also had a couple on holiday who joined us this morning.

I preached on, "Being a Good Soldier" from 2 Timothy 2:1-4. God help us to have a great army of soldiers fighting for the cause of Christ. In our day there are great objectives to accomplish for God, but we need men and woman who will commit themselves to obtaining those objectives for Jesus.

God gave us a great day yesterday as well which was a blessing for our door to door ministry. God gave us one visit which was particularly blessed. Please pray for this young father to come out and visit our church.

Thank you for your prayers for our church and ministry. We enjoyed a good morning at church.

God blessed our pastor's fellowship meeting today. Brother Alan Patterson, his wife Jan, and Gina and Gerry Broerer were a great blessing to each one of us. We enjoyed hearing their testimonies and being challenged from God's Word. The singing, fellowship, and prayer made for a great day.

Yesterday, I was able to get out street preaching. God gave tremendous liberty. The Lord continually give encouragement. Yesterday, two ladies' waited to express their appreciation for my ministry. Thank you for praying for boldness and wisdom to proclaim the Gospel on the street. Your continue prayers are appreciated.

Well, it was a great work week. Praise the Lord. We were very busy and very blessed to have had help this past week. Pastor Michael Talley and his wife, Marsha, assisted us from Tuesday-Friday. Pastor Les Hill, his son and an friend, helped us from Wednesday - Friday. Pastor Don Dillman assisted us on Wednesday. The main work accomplished...

1) A water damaged hallway had the flaking paint removed which was a BIG task. That hallway was nicely repainted.

2) The bathroom for the crèche (nursery) was mudded and taped. Now, we just need to paint that space and then it is mostly finished.

3) The sanctuary ceiling was finished. This included several coats of paint and a lot of caulk. Praise God, it looks awesome.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY for all of the above. He helped us, enabled us, guided us, strengthened us, etc. We hit the finish line on all three projects on Friday Afternoon.

We are enjoying a good Sunday. This morning I preached a message from Daniel 2, on Life and Death Praying. I'm so thankful that we aren't going through life without GOD AND HIS HELP. Praise God as Daniel said, "There is a God in Heaven." 

We appreciate your prayers and thank you for standing with us in the work (spiritual and physical) which God has given us to do. This Tuesday we are hosting a pastor's fellowship. Your prayers for God's blessing on that day are greatly appreciated.

This has been a "normal" week of ministry - praise the Lord. I did street preaching on Monday. Tuesday, I put out our church flyer to about 200 homes in Bilston. Tuesday night Katie and I enjoyed visiting some of our HBC kid's homes. Lord willing some of them will be out for our kid's club this evening. Today I went to Pastor Dillman's and we put out flyers in their church area.

Also, the church work is moving forward. The sanctuary ceiling is progressing with lights and coving installed this week. Lord willing we will paint it next week. We have help arriving from Germany (Michael and Marsha Talley) and Ireland (Les Hill and two boys). We look forward to what God is going to do with their assistance. Please pray for wisdom as we seek the best use for our work that week.

Here is an updated pics of the sanctuary ceiling.

We are thankful that the mission team has made it safely back to their home location. God really blessed their time with us. It's amazing how close our friendship is in Christ with people we have known for a short period of time. We were blessed to get to know them.

God gave us a good morning. The sun was shining after 3 days enduring the weather from a named storm. We also had a great spirit in our services with good attendance and good attention to God's Word. I'm so thankful for our church family.

I preached this morning on, "The Way of Grace." It's sad to think that some people chose not to walk in the way of grace and instead have a very difficult life. Praise God for giving us ALL THAT WE NEED (grace) to do what pleases Him and which also makes our lives blessed by His goodness.