EAST HILL BAPTIST CHURCH - NEWSLETTER JULY 1998

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honour one another above yourselves. Romans 12:9-10

HATE WHAT IS EVIL CLING TO WHAT IS GOOD.

Hatred is a human response that we generally think of as being negative. Some people hate the truth, some even hate God. These are bad attitudes to have. But is hatred ever legitimate, are we really supposed to hate anything? Well, the bible says that there are things which it is appropriate to hate, and it sums those things up in a word: evil.

Although it is not very easy to define, there is such a thing as evil. We see it in cold, callous crimes of violence. We see it in deceit and betrayal. We see it in racism. There are spiritual powers of evil at work in our universe, the Devil and his angels, and when human beings give in to the tempations of the Devil, or even to their own selfish desires they are capable of evil. And it is not just the criminal minority who are capable of evil, evil can be much closer to home than that. Destructive attitudes and action lurk in the human heart, attitudes and actions that are evil.

Part of the good news of the gospel, is that Christ triumphed over the powers of evil. In the crucifixion of Jesus we see the reality of evil at work. We see respectable religious leaders, intent on putting to death the innocent son of God. We see the justice system of the Roman Empire complying with the greatest injustice ever perpetrated. That shows us just how subtle evil can be, it is not confined to 'bad' people.

Jesus was not defeated by evil however, instead, by rising from the dead he defeated it. Up until the time of Jesus, evil held the world in it's grasp, leading ultimately to death and destruction. Since the coming of Jesus a new way has been opened to us, a way that leads to eternal life, and that way can be found in following Jesus. As followers of Jesus, then we are told to hate what is evil. This means being opposed to all evil, whether in the form of dishonesty, injustice, cruelty or any other form that we see in our world.

And not just in others, but also where evil has influence in our own lives. I said evil is subtle, how then can we tell when a thought, an attitude or an action is evil? One way is to think back to the incident in the garden of Eden when evil first entered into human experience; when Adam and Eve ate the fruit that God had forbidden. First, there was a mistrust of God, Adam and Eve mistrusted God's instructions to them. Secondly, there was an attitude of pride, our ancestors thought they knew better than God, and acted accordingly, and by doing so unleashed the power of evil into human experience.

The evil that affects people's lives today, is rooted in those factors of mistrust of God and human pride. The best way, however to discern good from evil in our lives, is by looking at the example of Jesus. In his life, he challenged evil. He also broke the mould that held men and women captive to evil by living in a different way. He chose the path of humility, submission and sacrifice. That was the most unexpected of ways to go about the task of defeating evil, but it was God's way.

If we seriously want to see evil defeated, then the way for us is to walk the way of Jesus too. Love, truth and humility are the most potent weapon, by them evil has and can be defeated. Just as important as hating evil, is clinging to that which is good, holding fast to our relationship with Christ. So hating evil and clinging to that which is good amount to one and the same thing, with the help of the Holy Spirit, living close to Jesus.

Yours in Christ, Peter

JULY 1998 - PROGRAMME

All services and meetings will be held on our new church premises unless another venue is indicated in the programme below. Rev Peter Neale will be preaching at all services unless an alternative speaker is indicated in the programme.

Sun 	5th 	10.30 am 	God's Masterplans - Romans 11
  		6.30 pm 	Given to God - Romans 12
    				Lord's Supper
Mon 	6th 	5.45 pm 	Girls  Brigade
Tues 	7th 	2.00 pm 	Tuesday Fellowship -
    				speaker - Mrs Grant
Wed 	8th 	10.00 am 	Minis and Minders Toddler Group
Thur 	9th 	10.00 am 	Minis and Minders Toddler Group
  		8.00 pm 	Prayer and Fellowship Group
Sat 	11th 	10.00 am 	Outing to Alresford and Frimley
Sun 	12th 	10.30 am 	Cham Kaur Mann - United Service
    				with East Hill URC as guests
  		6.30 pm 	Do What Leads to Peace - Romans 14
Mon 	13th 	5.45 pm 	Girls' Brigade
Tues 	14th 	2.00 pm 	Tuesday Fellowship -
    				speaker - Mr Brownnutt
Wed 	15th 	10.00 am 	Minis and Minders Toddler Group
Thur 	16th 	10.00 am 	Minis and Minders Toddler Group
  		8.00 pm 	Prayer and Fellowship Group
Fri 	17th 	7.15 pm 	Youth for Christ Celebration
Sat 	18th 	10.00 am 	Church Cleaning
Sun 	19th 	10.30 am 	Not Pleasing Ourselves - Romans 15
    				Lord's Supper
		6.30 pm 	Making Jesus Known - Focus on the Baptist  
				Missionary Society
Tues 	21st 	2.00 pm 	Tuesday Fellowship -
    				speaker - Mrs Skelton
Wed 	22nd 	7.30 am 	Deacon's Meeting
Thur 	23rd 	8.00 pm 	Prayer and Fellowship Group
Sat 	25th 	10.00 am 	Prayer Meeting at Margaret's
Sun   	26th  	10.30 am  	God's One Family - Romans 15 v17-33
 		6.30 pm 	Saints of God - Romans 16
Mon - Fri   			Summer Club
Tues  	28th   	2.00 pm  	Tuesday Fellowship - 
				speaker Heather King

AUGUST
Sat 	1st 	10.00 am  	Prayer Meeting at Church
Sun  	2nd	10.30 am  	Family Service
   		6.30 pm 	Guest Service with Singers
    				from Streatham Baptist Church
    				Lord's Supper

GIVING TO THE CHURCH

Offerings and donations during the month of June amounted to £868.80. Our target for the month was £800 Thanks to all who have given.

CHURCH OUTING - SATURDAY JULY 11TH - lOAM

There are still a few spare places for our outing to the Watercress preserved railway on July 11th. Those who are doing the train journey are reminded to bring a packed lunch, we will be travelling on the 12.30 train from Alresford to Alton, the picnic area in Alton is about 10 minutes walk from the station, or for those who would find that too long a walk, there is the alternative possibility of using the picnic area at Ropley station.

The coach will leave Alresford promptly at 4.OOpm to take us on to tea at Frimley Baptist Church.

CHURCH BREAK TO ASHBURNHAM PLACE SEPT 11TH-13TH

Twenty nine people have booked for our weekend away to Ashburnham Place on September 11th - 13th including some of our friends from the URC. If you have booked but not paid your £10 deposit yet, please let Peter have it as soon as possible.

HARVEST ARRANGEMENTS

At a recent church meeting church meeting it was decided that our Harvest Festival this year will be held on Sunday October 4th.

We also agreed to hold a harvest supper on Saturday October 3rd, and are planning to invite a party from Frimley Baptist Church to join us on that occasion.

DOROTHY STARK

TO DOROTHY

We come to celebrate this day,
And show that in a very special way,
How much you mean to all you know;
And we are here to tell you so.

We always get a cheerful smile
As we come in to share a while,
And listen to your tales of old,
Your memories that shine like gold,
The wondrous days that you've been through
And loved ones who have all passed by;
But most of all your dearest Guy,
Who from afar was straight and true
And in the end he married you.

Though now at peace his love lives on,
Within your heart just like a song;
And so all here have come to say,
A SPECIAL HAPPY HUNDRETH BIRTHDAY.

FROM DOROTHY

Is it a fact, can it be true,
That as I share this day with you;
That I have lived a hundred years,
Some filled with laughter, some with tears,
So many loved ones have passed by,
As I recall them with a sigh,
They leave such golden memories
That take me back over the years,
The childhood days and war time too,
The problem days that I've been through
And yet I count each blessing shared;
By all the loved ones who have cared
Enough to help me on my way,
And come to celebrate this day,
Old friends and new ones, loved ones too,
My heart goes out in thanks to you.

W J Connington, 3.6.98

SUMMER CLUB - AROUND THE WORLD - 27TH TO 31ST JULY

Six members of an Oasis Urban Exposure Team will be coming to help us at the church during the last week in July. This has enabled us to plan a children's summer club for 0-6 year-olds and their parents in the mornings from 10.30 to 12.30 and for 7-11 year-olds from 2.30 to 4.30 in the afternoons.

In addition to that we are taking the opportunity to open up our church building for prayer or for people to look around or just to come in for a drink of coffee from 11-12.30 and 2.30 to 4.30 from Monday to Friday.

On Wednesday and Friday evening of that week, we will also be opening up for 12-18 year olds, as well as possibly being involed with the team in door to door visiting. We hope the week will give the opportunity for as many people as are able to give time to be involved in these events.

WE NEED PEOPLE TO:

Make drinks for the children's clubs
Make drinks in the upstairs kitchen for visitors
Help with the children's clubs
Be on hand for people who come into the church.
Help  with young  people  on  Wednesday or  Friday evening.
Help with door to door visits.
Cook an evening meal for a team of 14 on Wednesday or Friday.
Pray for all that is going on.

There are charts up in the church foyer with spaces for volunteers to put their names down for these activities.

WE ALSO NEED:

kitchen roll inners empty tissue boxes
cardboard egg boxes empty jam jars
uncooked pulses scraps of wallpaper
uncooked pasta empty match boxes
newspapers coloured tissue paper
coloured and plain cotton wool round ballons
large carboard sheets scraps of wool

Please bring any of these along to church for us.

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