The first week was spent in our caravan on a caravan club site near Hayle in Cornwall. It was time for rest, reading, coastal walks and surfing the waves on the body board.

After a relaxing week we set off for our first ever visit to the Carey Family Conference in Cloverly Hall, Shropshire. I was the main speaker at this event giving five talks from Monday to Friday. I decided to give talks taken from the longer ‘Help for Troubled Souls series which I preached at PBC a few years ago. As a preacher I always pray that God will help me as I chose what to speak on. I believe he answers that prayer even though I don’t always see direct evidence to confirm it. We live by faith not by sight. This was one of those unusual occasions when God gave me many encouragements to believe this set of talks was just right for the occasion. On the first evening two days before i was due to give my first talk one of the regulars, also a minister like me, took me aside over a late night cup of tea and asked me if I had been told what to speak on. When I I told him ‘no’ he sat back with a look of amasement and said ‘you will not believe how relevant these talks will be to many who are here’. And so it proved to be as many conversations during the week showed. It is a tremendous and humbling privilege to serve a living God who speaks through his word. The talks were recorded and although they are very similar to those preached at PBC I am in the process of uploading them to the website for those who would like to read them.

After our time at Cloverly we spent a few days in Stratford upon Avon which included seeing Julius Caesar at the RSC Courtyard Theatre. This a great play to watch and provided plenty of material for sara and me to chew over during long walks and sunny afternoons with a drink by the river but perhaps more of that in another entry.

For now I’m back at my desk starting to prepare for the coming Sunday confident that as I pray and prepare God will use his word to impact lives.

john ed

The general election has come and gone. The ‘old politics’ is out and the ‘old politics’ is in! The media have acted with ‘shock and disdain’ to discover that members of the new government appear to have conducted themselves in similar ways to the old government. If you thought the era of witch hunts and public humiliation in the stocks was a thing of the past then think again. A few weeks into the new administration and the press have been digging for dirt, parading their finds and trumpeting their success.
What are we meant to think of all this? How should a Christian view such developments.

The first conclusion I have reached is to remind myself that politicians are not meant to be better than the rest of us. They are fellow sinners, with hearts like ours, deceitful and beyond cure.  They are not elected to be sinless wonders. They are elected to pursue manifesto promises and govern the nation. If you run through British history some great leaders have had dubious moral behaviour barely concealed below the surface.

There has been, I think,  an air of self righteous humbug about the pronouncements of some, especially in the media. As Christians we must never forget that Peter’s instruction to submit “for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men” (1 Peter 2:13) included one of the most corrupt and wicked leaders history has known (Emperor Nero). So I have challenged myself not to expect politicians to be squeaky clean and not to act with shock and horror if they are discovered to have skeletons in their closets.

The reason we have government and law is to curb the worst excesses of the sinful human heart (“to punish those who do wrong and commend those who do right” 1 Peter 2:14). In addition to the laws of the land Parliament is regulated by it’s own rules. Those who are proven to have transgressed should be dealt with fairly according to those laws and rules.  They are accountable to the laws of the land and to God on the day of judgment.

The second conclusion I have reached is to suspect the motives of those who seek to act as judge and jury on those they condemn as “sinners”. Over the last few years intolerable pressure has been brought to bear by the media on politicians who they have accused of ‘breaking the rules’ or being guilt of some moral indiscretion. Careers and lives have been ruined. The story of the woman caught in adultery in John 8 is relevant. When the mob seek to enact judgement apart from due process of law Jesus stands against them. Years ago I had a friend who was a barrister. She defended a number of criminals who were convicted for bad crimes. I asked her how she could defend them. if they were obviously guilty. She explained that as a Christian she believed strongly that no individual or group had the right to act as judge, jury and executioner on an individual. God has given us law and due process of law to protect the innocent and condemn the guilty. She saw it as her Christian duty to give the accused the best defence possible under law. She did so “as to the Lord”.
I have realised that as a Christian I should not join in the baying of the crowd.

Finally I have realised afresh how important it is to pray for our government. Paul wrote to Timothy that “first of all .. prayers be made.. for all in authority” (1 Tim 2:1&2). I really have not been praying as I should for the new government and for each member of the cabinet. As a Christian that is one of the best things I can be doing; praying that God would help them to lead well, to be good at what they were appointed to do, that God would help them to cope with the pressure of being in the limelight in our self righteous media driven age and above all that God would graciously reveal himself to them so that they might come to living faith in our Lord Jesus and find forgiveness and hope for the last day.

Yours in Christ Jesus,

John Edmonds

If all things go to plan you will be reading this just a few days before the general election. Perhaps, like me you have been pouring over manifesto promises, weighing up different christian critiques of the party policies, and even enjoying the new presidential style stage managed TV debates.

Please do take this election seriously and if you are qualified to do so cast your vote. God has established civil government and in his sovereignty we live in a parliamentary democracy. I take it, therefore, that our Christian duty is to do all we can to exercise a godly influence on our knees in prayer and with a cross at the ballot box.

I have tried hard not to speak about the election in a way which could be seen as supporting any particular political party. I think it would be inappropriate for a Pastor to do that. The only exception to this has been with regards the the BNP. I fully agree with a statement issued by the General Secretary of the FIEC in December 2009:
“The FIEC strongly believes that the churches that make up the Fellowship would repudiate any idea that the Scriptures support the published policies of the BNP. There are elements within the policies of all political parties which are contrary to the Scriptures. In the case of the BNP, it appears to us that its policies seek to create an attitude of racial hierarchy which values people of some ethnic origins more than others. The Scriptures do not support any such policies.”

Making up our mind is not easy. The Bible tells us to value matters which the media and the politicians do not highlight. Jesus said the big issues of the law were justice, mercy and faithfulness (Matt 23:23). These three words can help us in our decision making.
Justice. Civil Government is meant to restrain bad behaviour and promote good (Romans 13:1-5, 1 Peter 2:13). How do the parties propose to create a just and fair society?

Mercy. In the Bible we discover instructions to protect immigrants, orphans and widows from exploitation and bad treatment (eg Jer 22:3). There are rules to protect and care for the poor and marginalised (Prov 31:8&9). How will policies impact on those at the margins of our society? Are their policies merciful?

Faithfulness.
This word can be understood in two ways.
It can mean integrity or trustworthiness. In the Bible we find rulers being rebuked for immoral behaviour in their private lives (Matt 14:3&4). This is an important question to ask. Are these politicians people of integrity. Do they say the same thing to your face as they do behind your back?
This word can also describe people who have faith. How will their policies impact on religious faith? Will they promote freedom of conscience and religion or will they further restrict and marginalise people of faith?

So take it seriously, reflect, pray and vote. You will not find one party that ticks all the boxes. With a good conscience before Go you have to prayerfully weight up the options and vote as you think is best. In casting your vote you are not endorsing every item of policy of the party you vote for. Our decision making is further complicated by some new political parties who have tried to hijack the name Christian in their titles as if that in itself validates them. And as if there were not sincere Christians in all the major parties in Wales and England (I don’t know too much about Scotland).
At the end of the day rest content in the fact that God is in control of even the most godless government working out his purposes for the salvation of sinners and the glory of his Son Jesus (see for example Ezra 1:1)

In Christ Jesus

John Edmonds

We had a good time before and during Easter as we made the most of a number of opportunities to spread the good news about Jesus.
Two and a half thousand attractive, professionally produced testimony leaflets were distributed around the neighbourhood and given to friends and contacts.

The GSUS live exhibition went into Llantarnum Comprehensive School and the Pilgrim’s Progress exhibition into both Llanyravon and Croesyceiliog Primary Schools. They were excellent presentations and exposed hundreds of children and many teachers to the Christian message.

Our Senior Citizens started us off on St David’s Day with a meal, songs and a talk about Jesus.
A crowd of men and young lads (and one young lady) gathered at the football factory to hear a clear testimony to the saving grace of God as well as play a well organised football tournament.
Boys and girls enjoyed craft, games and food as well as stories about Jesus from Barbara and her puppets.
Ladies crowded into the primary school hall to hear songs and testimonies about Jesus.
We gathered with Christians from churches up and down the valley to celebrate the Lord’s Death on Good Friday.
We filled the church hall for breakfast and a clear talk about Jesus on Easter Saturday.
On Easter Sunday we met morning and evening for special services where the Bible’s message about Jesus was clearly proclaimed.
And as I write we are looking forward to seeing our friends come with us to test their brain cells against the quiz master and once again hear the Gospel.
All in all it has been a time of hard work and opportunity.
I rejoice in the spirit of fellowship and working together in the Gospel which we have seen. I have been thrilled with the opportunities for evangelism and I am thanking God for the people who heard about Jesus. And yet I am also saddened by the apparent lack of impact we continue to have on our community. The vast majority still seem untouched and uninterested in our Jesus.
Today I read a blog which gave me some encouragement from history.
You may have heard of the glory days of the 18th century when the preaching of people like George Whitfield and Howell Harris gripped the nation and transformed communities. You may have assumed that they preached in a day when everyone went to church and it was easy to be a Christian. Not so! This is what it was like in those days:
(Quotes are from Ryle’s book, Christian Leaders of the Eighteenth Century Banner of Truth edition of 1978).
1. The Christian Faith was not influential
‘Christianity seemed to be dead…There was darkness in high places and darkness in low places…a gross, thick, religious and moral darkness – a darkness that might be felt.’ (p.14)
2. The Church was ineffective
Describing both the Anglican Churches and the Free Churches he writes, ‘They existed, but they could hardly be said to have lived. They did nothing; they were sound asleep.’
‘Cold morality, or barren orthodoxy, formed the staple teaching both in church and chapel. Sermons everywhere were little better than miserable moral essays, utterly devoid of anything likely to awaken, convert or save souls.’ (p.14)
3. Church Leaders were distracted
Speaking of the Anglican clergy, Ryle doesn’t hold back: ‘The vast majority of them were sunk in worldliness, and neither knew nor cared anything about their profession…They hunted, they shot, they farmed, they swore, they drank, they gambled. They seemed determined to know everything except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.’
‘And when they did preach, their sermons were so unspeakable and indescribably bad, that it is comforting to reflect they were generally preached to empty benches.’ (p.17)
4. The People were sceptical of true Christian faith
‘The land was deluged with infidelity and scepticism. The prince of this world made good use of his opportunity.’ (p.15)
‘It may suffice it to say that duelling, adultery, fornication, gambling, swearing, Sabbath-breaking and drunkenness were hardly regarded as vices at all. They were the fashionable practices of people in the highest ranks of society, and no one was thought the worse of for indulging them.’ (p.18)
Against that background faithful men and women witnessed, preached and made the most of every opportunity and as they did so God stepped in. We remember the glory days and forget the darkness. Things were worse then than they are today. So we should take heart and press on.
God hasn’t changed. The Gospel has the same power. Jesus is unchangeably the same.
So don’t be discouraged and don’t give up.
Give yourself afresh to loving, serving, and witnessing for Jesus. Who knows what God might be pleased to do in our lifetime.

In Christ Jesus,

John Edmonds