The Lord gave me one of those really neat divine appointments today. I was up for a day of prayer in Blair Atholl and did some evangelism afterwards in the village. A couple was there on holiday (vacation) from a couple hours away. 

After I handed them the literature and said where I was from, the man said, "I had a relative in Edinburgh who became a famous protestant missionary. You may know him. His name was Eric Liddell." As it turned out, the man's grandma was first cousins with Eric Liddell. It was a joy to meet him and his wife and to speak to them about the Gospel. Please pray for God to do a great work in their lives.

What I love about that opportunity is the knowledge that God honours His servants by bringing their family into contact with his truth. They said that they often get to Edinburgh and that they might visit our church. I hope so.

God gave us good attendance in our Sunday morning service although Sunday School was not as well attended. I'm burdened about revival and the Lord allowed me to preach my heart a bit this morning as we went to Psalm 80, From Reflection to Revival. I remember the days of my youth (1980's) seeing churches full Sunday  morning, Sunday night and if I remember correctly on Wednesday night. Sadly we are seeing churches canceling services right and left.

As a church planter we fight to establish church services and don't give up easily though at times we'd be tempted to quit. I believe the only thing that can stem the lack of desire for God and God's house is God turning His people back to Himself. Please pray with us for the power of God.

God blessed us with good weather for most of this week. On Monday I put out flyers in a heavy mist, but it was good enough to get out. Tuesday Tommy and I went into Edinburgh and did street evangelism. I preached in front of a mall (St. James Quarter) which connects to the main shopping area in downtown Edinburgh (Princess St.) Afterward, we moved to Princess Street beside the National Gallery.  There were a lot of people out and about that morning. The Queen was Lying in State at St. Giles which is quite near that location.

Today Tommy and I put out flyers near his home which is on the East side of Edinburgh. I had one opportunity to witness with a man, Keith. Your prayers for our evangelism are much appreciated. We're trying to do what we can to get the Gospel out.

I realised as I went to add this post that I didn't update on Sunday. God gave us a good day. I preached on, "The Greatest Blindness" from Jesus healing of the blind man. (John 9)

Tommy didn't have a car to meet up with me today and so, "Plan B" was me collecting him and putting out flyers in his area. Tommy lives just outside the Edinburgh City Limits on the East side of the city. The city is growing out in all directions and so there are many new housing schemes. We probably put out about  250 flyers and had two witnessing opportunities. Both of these men had obvious needs which Jesus could meet. One had a health need after suffering a heart attack in his late 20's. The other was smoking a joint. Please pray for God to open their eyes to his truth.

The flyer we were putting out is the, "Open Letter." We've had some negative feedback at times, but we know that God's Word needs to be lifted up. Please pray for the light to shine brightly and that even unbelievers would begin to recognise what they lose when God is silenced.

Meanwhile, one of the street preaching opportunities from Monday is running on Facebook as an advert. Our Facebook is Free Baptist Lothian. If you'd like to view that street preaching video on sermon audio, here is a link.  Please pray that God will use the preaching of the Gospel to touch the hearts of people in our area. We're running this add within a ten mile radius of our church. I know these adds work as I have met people in our area who have seen them. God's good. We appreciate your prayers very much.

God blessed us with a beautiful morning this morning and so we headed back down into Edinburgh to do some street preaching. I preached in two places this morning. Both are in the heart of Edinburgh. Constantine joined us this morning. That was helpful. Tommy was able to hand out literature while Constantine recorded the preaching. Please pray for fruit that will remain and wisdom as we seek to make the most of this new Gospel opportunity. (Here is a link to the last 20 minutes of my first time street preaching as pictured below.)

The Lord gave us a good start to Sunday services in September with solid attendance is both Sunday School and Sunday morning. The weather change and the changing daylight hours is starting to be noticeable as we transition to the autumn. We had a very good summer this year in Scotland. We turned on one heater in the auditorium this morning to take the nip out of the air.

I preached this morning on Jesus cleansing a leper from Mark 1:35-45. My message title was, "You Ought To" and we looked at six "you ought to's" associated with Jesus from that story. There was a good spirit and I'm very thankful for each person who makes up our church. Thank you for praying for Free Baptist Church.

As some of you know, I asked for prayer about street evangelism in the video update I sent this past week. I've prayed for about 12 years that if God wanted me to do street preaching he would call me to do it. Those who know my testimony know that only the grace of God could enable me to step out into that ministry.

A couple weeks ago I saw street preachers in Edinburgh and I really wanted an opportunity to declare God's Word. I began praying again about street preaching sensing God was leading in this way. God gave me two verses. Numbers 21:8-9 "And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived."

And so, we started praying about equipment (Portable PA system and mic) and got ready to go. 

Our speaker arrived yesterday and we enjoyed using it on our youth activity. Today, Tommy and I went into Edinburgh by a monument to the Duke of Wellington on Princess St and I preached. I preached for about an hour and 20 minutes and God gave exceptional liberty. Please pray for fruit that will remain. I know that I can't do this ministry, but I know God can. Please pray for God's continued enablement and wisdom. As always we appreciate your vital ministry of intercession.

Tommy made some new church signs which will hopefully help people to get into our church building. It's a bit confusing as you have to enter up a stairway in the back of the building. We have church greeters, but they are only out before the services. And so, I'm thankful for Tommy's help with this.

God gave us a good morning. We looked at finding God's will in our Sunday School lesson on the life of David. In the morning service I preached a message from Deuteronomy 12:1-7, "Diligently Do." The theme was on how to obtain God's blessing in the land of God's promise. 

Please pray for God to continue to do a great work in the hearts of God's people. We long to see His best for ever member of the body of Christ.

Parker was my door to door partner today. We had three back to back "not interested's" and I said to Parker, "Wow, it's tough today. Sometimes quickly closed doors are just the Lord hurrying you on to a good opportunity." As it turned out, God did have a great opportunity for us. We witnessed to a man in his 20's and had the privilige of sharing the Gospel with an open Bible in hand. Please pray with us that this man will trust Christ. He gave agreement to all vital parts of the Gospel. It would be a joy to see him trust Christ. Thanks for your prayers.

God gave us a productive week. Tommy went with me on Wednesday as we helped Pastor Dillman put flyers out in their area of Livingston. I was also able to complete the update video with the help of my family. I have sent a link to all of those who are connected with us by email. If you don't have access to our email updates and would like to see the video, please use the "contact us" form on our website or send us an email to our email address.