British Summer Time ended today and we are into the heart of autumn. God has given us some beautiful weather this past week. We enjoyed the sunshine this morning.

Our attendance was moderate and we have some out with illness. We look forward to getting past illnesses as they have definitely impacted our church attendance the last several weeks. A first time visitor from last week came again this week and we had a visiting family from Wisconsin with us. It's always a blessing to have visitors in our services.

I preached this morning on, "Maintaining Your Course" from the testimony of King Josiah. God's Word clearly gives a timeline of Josiah's obedience which is instructive as you read about a man who did not deviate from following after God.

We have one more big event coming up this week and then we have a more normal ministry schedule. Katie is speaking at a Ladies' retreat in Ireland on this Thursday. Other women will be speaking in the other sessions. Please pray for God's grace for all of those speaking and for Him to do a great work in the hearts of the women. Thank you for your prayers.

First Baptist Church in Gillespie have been a great encouragement to us. We've enjoyed the fellowship and their great work ethic. We have two big projects taking place. The front entry landscaping project was completed this morning. The kitchen remodel is going well and should be completed by the end of the week.

In ministry news; there was an afternoon Tea on Saturday that went really well, the team shared their testimonies in SS. Sunday morning and Evening Pastor DePoppe preached. All of this was a great encouragement to our church family. Monday morning the team did a one day Holiday Bible Club. We didn't have high attendance, but the kids loved it. We had one first timer and we hope he can come to church on Sundays. We also had a first time visitor on Sunday.

Tomorrow morning we hope to do street evangelism and night we are doing a film night. On Friday, we have a youth activity planned. Thank you for praying for our very busy, but good week.

A mission team from Gillespie, IL, (Pastor Jared DePoppe) arrives early tomorrow morning to help us on many fronts. We have a ladies afternoon tea on Saturday. Monday is a one day Holiday Bible Club. Wednesday is a pizza party and film night. Friday is a youth activity. On top of that, we are landscaping the front entrance to the church and removing a wall. We are also doing a kitchen remodel. God has helped us get ready and I'll put some photo's below of our progress before the team's arrival. Thanks for praying with us for God to bless each activity for the next 10 days.

There is much to be done and much on it's way. Thank you for praying for us as we get ready to host a group from Illinois who are going to help us with ministry tasks for 10 days. Pastor DePoppe and a group from his church arrive on Thursday.

We have several fun ministry opportunities planned. Saturday is an afternoon tea for the ladies in our church, sister churches and in our community. Monday is a one day Holiday Bible Club (VBS) from 10:30-12:30. Wednesday is a pizza party and biography film night. (Torchlighters) Friday is a youth activity. Additionally, we have new Gospel leaflets to hand out and we hope to do some street evangelism.

As far as work projects that we hope to tackle, the new kitchen arrives on Wednesday. My boys and I have been hanging plasterboard and plastering. Lord willing, I'll be finished with that task this evening. We then need to begin the painting and lay a click laminate floor.

The other big project we're going to tackle is a landscaping project on the front of our property. This includes demolishing a brick wall and moving some soil. Please pray for grace and safety as we get into these projects.

This morning before working at church, I did street preaching in Edinburgh. I'm reminded that Stephen was martyred and that Philip saw revival and that they both were filled with God's Spirit. I saw a bit of both this morning as I saw anger about sin and conviction about sin (with tears.) I'd much rather see a desire to get right with God than to hear the anger of those who reject the truth of God's Word. Please continue to pray for the power of God in the street preaching. 

Kaite has a lot of responsibility with the team coming, speaking at the afternoon tea, and then she'll also be traveling to Ireland to attend a ladies' retreat where she'll speak in one of the sessions. She is just recovering from illness. Please pray for grace and strength for her for a busy month of ministry.

God is helping us to get ready for our mission team arriving next week. The weather has been poor and it was a good week to write a new Gospel flyer. 10,000 have been ordered. We will begin to put those out next week.

The boys helped me put down floor leveller in the church kitchen today. Also, the electricians got in yesterday to do all the electrical in anticipation of the kitchen rebuild next week. 

We purchased plasterboard and may begin installing that tomorrow. We need to use plaster filler to fix a lot of walls and also mud and tape the new drywall. After that, we'll need to paint the kitchen. The kitchen is supposed to be delivered next Wednesday. Thank you for praying for this project and for God's blessing on the many ministry opportunities scheduled in the week ahead. 

God gave us a great week with the Appel family. Brother Jim, his wife, Cate, and son, Titus, visited us from Monday to Monday. On Tuesday we deconstructed the church kitchen. On Wednesday we did street evangelism in Edinburgh. On Thursday we put out some literature in Roslin. Friday we took up the floor in the kitchen. Saturday we did door to door. On Sunday Pastor Appel preached the AM and PM services. Here is a link to his Sunday AM message on certain things and uncertain things.

We had daily opportunities for fellowship and showing them the area in which we live and minister. Their church has supported our family for around 16 years and we greatly appreciate the opportunity for their pastor's family to get to see what God is doing at SFBC.

We had a great Sunday (Harvest Sunday in the UK) and enjoyed a fellowship meal. A 5 week old was out for his first church service. And, God gave us good attendance. There is a very sweet spirit in our church and it's fun to see the church family spending time speaking with one another after each service.

Please pray for God's grace and guidance as we seek to prep the kitchen in the next 10 days for the installation of the cabinets, etc. The electrician is stopping by the church today to look at what he needs to do. We need to level the concrete floor, lay a click laminate floor, drywall, mud and tape, sand, paint, etc....

Pastor Depoppe and his mission team arrive in a week and a half. They are going to help with the install. We will also be having ministry events about every other day - Ladies' Afternoon Tea, One day Holiday Bible Club, Pizza and film night, youth activity. Please pray for the power of God upon these ministry opportunities. We also hope to get out in street evangelism and putting out Gospel flyer while doing fun activities. So, we are about to hit hyper speed for a little while.

Thank you for your prayers for God's work. His hand is continually evident in our church family, building project and ministry.

In the autumn in Scotland, you begin to feel the anxiety of shorter days, worse weather, etc. God put on my heart to preach a message to encourage our church in the source of our strength. We took Paul's Word's to Timothy, "Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" and considered our connection to Christ. (Empowered Living.) There was a great spirit after the service and we enjoyed some sweet fellowship after church.

It was a blessing to have a young man (Blake) and his sister with us this morning. Blake attended our church as a student at Napier University. He is now a steward with United Airlines and visits us as often as he can. He was with us about 6 weeks ago. :) He's a blessing and we appreciate His love for us, our church and the Lord.

The week went well. As far as evangelism, I did street preaching on Monday and put out leafletts on Wednesday. On Tuesday and Wednesday I was at church as a beautiful carpet was installed at our church. Katie and I also designed a kitchen and placed that order for the church.  A mission team will be with us later in October to help with the installation. We praise God for His provision for our continued building works. Please pray for wisdom as we also had a door/ window installer out this week as well as a heating engineer. We are seeking to make good use of the resources God has given to us as we modernise the property.

On Friday we had a youth activity. All the teens really enjoyed it and it was a blessing to add a teen to our group.

Tomorrow, a supporting church Pastor, Jim Appel, arrives with his wife, Cate, and son, Timothy. Please pray for God's plan for our days as we do evangelism, church work, and introduce them to our area. Thanks for praying.

God gave us another great week of evangelism. Monday was street preaching. I don't have a video from Monday as my camera didn't work properly. Tuesday was evangelism in Roslyn. Wednesday I was with Pastor Dillman over in his area. God gave me a good witnessing opportunity with a young man named Robert.

We were blessed to have visiting missionaries with us this week. Larry and Maria Pierri were missionaries in Italy. They are somewhat retired, but are back in Italy for the next couple of months. They will be doing a two week replacement for a national pastor and his wife which our church here supports. Brother Larry preached Wednesday night despite being legally blind due to a degenerative condition. Please pray for the Pieri's. They are a sweet couple and love the Lord.

God gave us a very encouraging Sunday. I don't often share numbers, but we had 27 out to church this morning with a few still being absent. Our visiting family was back and we're excited that they are coming along. Thank you for praying for church growth, spiritually and numerically.

I preached this morning on learning the lesson which grace is teaching from Titus 2:11-15.

On Tuesday, the carpet in the fellowship hall is being replaced. The church is excited. The old carpet has kept some of the smells of the pub and it is certainly a memorable carpet to those who frequented the pub in the last 2-3 decades. We're putting down a tartan carpet that will have a lovely Scottish feel. Everyone is looking forward to seeing it in place.

Thank you, thank you for your prayers! We are excited about what God is doing and see His hand at work in our church family and ministry in answer to your prayers.

Are you thankful for Sundays? Being able to set aside the cares of life and go focus on God, His Word and His people? We had a great start to the week as God blessed our time in His Word and our fellowship together. We had a family visit for their first time this morning. Please pray for wisdom for them as they seek a church home. 

In Sunday School we are studying the book of Acts in the adult/teen class. I love seeing Peter after Pentecost filled with the Spirit of God. "They marvelled and they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus."

In our AM service the message was, "Do not join those who depart from THE FAITH." 1 Timothy 5 spells out how and why someoned departs from the faith and gives good protection against it. Please pray that God will establish THE FAITH at our church and in our area.

Last week was a great week in evangelism. Monday was perfect for street preaching. Tuesday I put out Gospel flyers in Bilston and had several good opportunities to speak with people. Wednesday, Pastor Dillman came over and we put flyers out in the village of Roslyn. Please pray for God to do a special work in that village as some there have greatly withstood the Gospel. Door to door is going well on Saturdays. We had some wonderful divine appointments. One lady in particular indicated she may visit the church. Please pray for her.

We have special guests arriving this week as missionary, Larry Pieri and his wife, Maria, arrive on Tuesday. Brother Larry is going to preach our midweek service before heading to Italy for a furlough replacement. The missionary who they are replacing is supported by our church here in Scotland. I look forward to our church family getting to  know the Pieri's.

God's hand is continually evident in His work at SFBC. Thank you for your continued prayers.