Let’s Pray For Church Planting  Give thanks for last Saturday’s conference entitled, ‘A time to plant’. Pray that God will continue to lead and guide individuals and congregations in PCI who have a heart to plant new churches and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ in new places.

New Church Plants  The conference heard from leaders of three new church plants Balbriggan, near Donabate, and Central Church and Grace and Hope Community Church, both in Belfast. Give thanks and pray for those who lead and support these church plants and that many more people will come to faith in the Lord.

Free Audio Book
THE WISE WOMAN
FREE audiobook download for May
A favorite author of C.S. Lewis, George MacDonald delivers another lovely tale in the story The Wise Woman. It is a story of two girls, one is a princess and the other a daughter of a shepherd; both are spoiled and self-serving. Their lives are forever changed when they encounter the Wise Woman, who undertakes to teach them virtue with an astounding balance of grace and truth. Firm and loving, the Wise Woman is everything a good parent could hope to be, and a refreshing portrayal of the Heavenly Parent of us all.
DOWNLOAD HERE

Let’s Pray ModeratorGive thanks for the work of church planters – those who begin new churches with new people in new places. Pray that the conference on church planting will have helped expand the vision of PCI for this important work.

Answering God’s invitation to worship Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. Psalm 95:2 Thank God for those who lead us in musical accompaniment in worship today. Ask him to help us to respond to his invitation to praise him in music and song. 

Ukraine  

Continue to pray for peace. Pray for the protection of those living in Ukraine, for safe corridors for civilians to evacuate areas of fighting and for sufficient humanitarian aid to get through to those in need.

Moderator’s Appeal for Ukraine  Give thanks for all who have contributed to the Appeal - over £634,000 raised so far. Pray for our partners Hungarian Reformed Church Aid, Christian Aid and Tearfund who will use these funds for both those fleeing the country and to get aid into Ukraine.

Let’s Pray For ​Social Witness   

Give thanks for the work and witness of Thompson House in its work with male offenders. Pray for safety for David Farrow, Director and the staff team; for wisdom, patience, love and understanding in dealing with residents and often difficult situations. Give thanks that four residents are taking part in and enjoying a Bible study. Pray that God will open their hearts and give them a desire for Jesus as their Saviour and a willingness to change their path in life.

NI Assembly election  

As the election results become known today pray for those who have been elected to serve
in the NI Assembly, and especially those who will be entering Stormont for the first time, that their decision-making would be characterised by wisdom and compassion. Pray that those who have not been elected, or have lost their seats will quickly get over their disappointment and find new ways to serve their local community. 

General Council

Pray for the ongoing work of the Irish Council of Churches whose Executive Committee will be meeting during this incoming week. Remember especially the ICC’s President, Rev Andrew Forster, Bishop of Derry and Raphoe and give thanks for the work of Very Rev Dr Ivan Patterson who recently retired from that role.

Council for Training in Ministry  

The annual conference for ministers who are five years post-ordination takes place next Tuesday-Thursday in Assembly Buildings. Pray for the ministers who will gather – for encouragement, fellowship, and for the equipping and enabling of God, that they would be ever-more effective in what the Lord has called them to do.

Let’s Pray For Tom Dowling (Irish mission worker, Kilkenny)Pray for door-to-door visitation, that the Spirit of God will be at work in the lives of those Tom and others meet. Pray too for outreach Bible studies, taking place both in-person and online, and for the planning of a summer children’s club which will be held in a local community centre. 

PCI Church Planting Conference  This Saturday, 7 May, PCI is holding a conference entitled, ‘A time to plant’. Pray that it will be a time of learning and inspiration to those who attend. Pray that more new churches will be planted in Ireland in the coming years, and that each will grow and flourish, for God’s glory.  
 

In Praise of the Boring, Uncool Church

Old-fashioned, uncool churches and “long obedience” faith won’t go viral on TikTok or get profiled in GQ. But it’s the best recipe for a maturing, sustainable Christian life.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/uncool-church/

The Bible Book We Need Right Now
How Revelation Gives Wisdom and Hope in Difficult Days
READ MORE HERE

Political Scandal
Peter Lynas gives his thoughts on the latest scandal in the Conservative Party
Neil Parish watched porn, Matt Hancock had an affair - both on government property and while supposedly working. One has gone the other remains an MP. This piece explores our culture’s strange relationship with pornography.
READ MORE HERE

Beware Taking Verses Out Of Context
Jen Wilkin writes - 
Beware the Instagram Bible, my daughters—those filtered frames festooned with feathered verses, adorned in all manner of loops and tails, bedecked with blossoms, saturated with sunsets, culled and curated just for you.
Read more here - 
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/beware-instagram-bible/

Let’s Pray For Volker and JinHyeog Glissmann (global mission workers, Southern Africa)Praise God for the way he has led Volker and JinHyeog over the last few years in their service in Malawi and Southern Africa. Pray especially for the continuation of developing grassroots training in Malawi.

LatviaPray for our partners in Latvia, the Evangelical Reformed Church of Latvia and the Baltic Reformed Theological Seminary. Pray for their work and witness, including reaching out to help refugees from Ukraine.

E3 North Coast - Scripture Union

The Latest Prayer Letter From Andrew Neill READ HERE

Click on the video below to hear from Andrew about how you can pray for our local schools. ​