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Our church text for 2010 is Matthew 7:12
'In everything, do to others what
you want them to do to you'
| Sunday 31st January 2010 |
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Chelsea Cramp
I feel that from an early age I needed to thank God because at the age of 4 I got Septicaemia which is also known as blood poisoning which I could of died from , but by a miracle I was saved from this and now I’m of good health with no problems now which I am so thankful for.
When I first started coming to PHBC at the age of 7 I had no idea of what faith in God meant. As the years have gone past my faith has begun to grow slowly and the words of the bible are starting to make more sense to me.
I went to Soul Survivor in 2008, lots of things happened there and I had a real meeting with God and it really touched me. When I heard the people from the Christian group The 29th Chapter giving their testimonies, they made me think, I remember sitting in my tent that night and thinking, I know what I need to do, I need to become a Christian. In Order To become a Christian I knew that I would have to give my life fully to God. So at the main meeting the next evening, when they gave the altar call I went forward and I made my pledge to God to become a Christian and follow him. I felt so much better than I did before like a big weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
Since Soul Survivor my relationship with God is getting stronger but I know I still have a long way to go. I thank God for Jesus, that because of his death and resurrection I can have a close relationship with God. As I go through the tough teenage years of my life I know that God is with me, and Jesus is Lord of my life and whatever happens I will follow him.
Now I have become a Christian I feel like I have a purpose in life and no matter what I do wrong I’m forgiven which is a great feeling. Becoming a Christian has made me a better person and has changed me, and will keep on changing me for the better. My favourite Verse that shows to me that God really loves me and everyone is : “For God so loved the world he gave his only son, so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John Ch 3 V 16). I feel very thankful that I have a great church family around me to help guide me on my journey to follow God. :)
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| Sunday 7th June 2009 |
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Kelly Attfield
I don’t have a dramatic story to tell you about becoming a Christian but I can tell you how it’s changed my life.
I always went to church as a child. At age 11 I asked my mum to stop as I was embarrassed by it in front of my friends who didn’t go. We then moved to another town and I started senior school and started to believe that we didn’t come from God.
I found PHBC through my mum and dad who were going regularly. I was going through a breakdown in my marriage so I went along for some support. I found it lifted my spirits and started to believe again.
I got involved in Bible Study groups and First Steps and met a great circle of friends. I haven’t got rid of my old friends because I love them very much. They have accepted my faith and noticed I am a lot happier.
Being baptised means that I am making a fresh start, to thank Jesus for dying on the cross for me and accepting him into my life. |
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Zoe Bush
Several years ago I met a lady called Netty Packham. I didn’t know much about her and we lost contact when I moved house and Jack moved to another play school. Later I became friends with someone called Ruth Pate who invited me to church, though at first I was not interested.
About a year on Netty turned up at Jack’s play school and we became friends. It was strange because something or someone was telling me that Netty walked into my life for a reason.
I started going to church and felt good about myself. Netty asked me to go to Alpha. I was really pleased and agreed to go. By the end of the course I became a Christian.
After that I had a few ups and downs and things got in the way but I still went to church, even though it felt like something big or false was pulling me back. I made it to the other side and with the help of my church family I started to begin my life as a Christian. I became more involved in church and really knew that I belong here. The bad times were always in my mind, but if it wasn’t for my church family getting me through I don’t know what would have happened.
But that’s in the past and I’m in a place which for the first time feels happy and safe. I belong to a lovely church family.
I’m now ready to get baptised and leave my bad life behind and start a new life with God as my leader and father. I know I have made the right choice for me and I am happy. I have the support of my friends and family and God which is great. My faith is strong and can only get stronger in time. |
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Leanne Hollington
I was baptised as a baby and my relationship with God has always been important. As a child I would at times be quite spirited and perhaps challenging but I always felt a peacefulness whenever I was in the presence of the Lord, such as when I was at church with the Brownies or singing in various choirs.
I have throughout my life, in good times and bad, been aware of God’s hand in many things. I have most definitely felt protected and loved but my knowledge was limited until I came to Pilgrims Hatch Baptist Church. I initially came because I wanted my children to be blessed with God’s presence as I was a child. To be honest I was surprised at the way God lifted me to him.
First of all the church family have made me feel so welcome that even on days when it was hard to get out of the door it is always worth the effort to be joined with such a genuine fellowship of people. Thank you all for that. And the way in which my many questions were answered thoughtfully and honestly with no views ever forced, but always we have been gently encouraged as a family to find out a bit more of how powerful God’s love is.
So that is what I set out to do and I found Alpha so interesting that I followed it up with a second Alpha course and I have revelled in my new found knowledge.
I also found new confidence in God’s will for me and became more comfortable and relaxed. Anxieties I once had simply melted away and I could get on with enjoying my children and life in general.
Then I met my husband Basil and I thank God for him because an existence that was good became great. I feel honoured to have such a fantastic family and to be blessed with Basil and Christian has made me, Ryder, Felicity and William secure, happy and complete.
I was at onetime secure in my childhood baptism but then came to realise that adult baptism is just as important. It is my outward sign to you all to acknowledge my faith and to thank God and be open to his work in me.
I thank you all, family and friends, for taking the time to join me for something so special and I hope that you feel God's love in your life too. |
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Wayne Ferreira
I became a Christian when I was 16 at a youth camp that is similar to Soul Survivor. It was a beginning of a journey for me that started with a overwhelming sense that God’s spirit was with me. It wasn’t easy as I didn’t come from a Christian home but had to learn through making mistakes and getting to appoint where I was prepared to submit all that I am to God and accept God’s love and help in becoming what it is that I have become through my relationship with Jesus.
I know that God is with me as I have grown up know that I can’t do it alone. One experience that I think demonstrates how I feel is when my mother died in 2002. It was only 9 days between her being diagnosed with cancer and dying. During that time I prayed for healing for my mother but knew that it wouldn’t be a physical healing that she needed. The moment that I heard that she had died I had an overwhelming sense that God had answered my prayers that He had taken her from the pain and that she had made her piece with her saviour. In her death we had finally been able to be joined as Christians.
I’m getting baptised today not to become a member but as a means of consolidating many ideas that have been going through my mind over the past few years. I was Christened as a baby and confirmed as a teenager and as such was not ever offered the opportunity to be baptised. In fact it was often implied that it would be wrong of me to get baptised. When I started to be part of a Baptist church I felt that I would like to make the commitment of full immersion baptism. When I was confirmed I wasn’t a believer and feel that I’ve never was able to ask, as a believer, to take part in a baptism. When I decided that I wanted to be a member I took the opportunity to bring this situation to the church and now I’m here. I getting baptised to outwardly show that I believe in the resurrection of Christ and that I can be washed clean by the blood of Christ and emerge out of the water touched by the Holy Spirit. |
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