Any book-orders or enquiries related to the bookshop should be emailed to info@apbookshop.co.uk Visit the Bookshop Facebook Page for all the latest information, including opening hours (note: a Facebook account is not required to access that page).
The seventy-ninth anniversary of the death Dietrich Bonhoeffer is on the 9th of this month, and in our small-group, we recently had some helpful testimonies from some who benefited from his writings. As is the case for every theologian, we will not agree with everything he says, but there is much good for us to glean from the writings of this great pastor-theologian and anti-Nazi dissident, who was executed by hanging under the rule of Hitler. This book is a short biography designed to be exciting to read and encouraging for those who are new to Bonhoeffer’s story. It’s full of sections of thrilling narrative as well as helpful historical information. But more importantly, we have some thoughts on Bonhoeffer’s theology, which points us to Christ, who we all need to look at afresh through the lenses of those brilliant glasses that are on the cover of the book. I know one or two, at least, in our congregation who have known great help from Alec Motyer, some having read a similar edition of Motyer’s commentary on the Psalms, which takes the same approach, being a day-by-day devotional book. This one is Isaiah, which is the book we’re going to be reading for the next few months as a church. Isaiah is sixty-six chapters of some of the most gospel-filled content in the Old Testament, and Alec Motyer is my favourite commentator on the book. Motyer is not from our tribe (he was an Anglican), but what’s refreshing about his writing and preaching is that he shows the wonder of seeing the Lord Jesus Christ in the Old Testament (though we may wish he was less bogged down in the academic rigour expected of a writer of his standing). He is now with the Lord, but before his death, he contributed so much of worth to our thinking on this wonderful book of the Bible (and others). If nothing else, what reading this devotional commentary will do for you is give you a sense of awe and quietness in the face of the wonder that the Lord Jesus Christ has come to save us from our sins and that he’s done that through being the suffering servant. Magnificent!
Activities This Month
Friday 5th
7pm, Youth & Families Chill @ AP (downstairs)
Lords Day 7th
Communion as part of Evening Service
Saturday 13th
8:30am, Men’s Breakfast @ AP (downstairs)
Lord’s Day 14th
9:30am, Craft Club @ AP (downstairs)
Thursday 18th
8pm, Women’s Evening @ The Manse
Friday 19th
7pm, Youth Club @ AP (downstairs)
Thursday 25th
7:30pm, Officers’ Meeting
Friday 26th
6pm, Bible Club @ Chris & Kate Iliff’s House, Capel Seion
Other Notes
Book News
Book of the Month
HALL OF FAITH: Dietrich Bonhoeffer – Dayspring Macleod (Christian Focus, 2023)
Bible-Reading Groups Commentary Tie-In
ISAIAH BY THE DAY: A New Devotional Translation – Alec Motyer (Christian Focus, 2011)
Newsletter
‘Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up….’ – Ephesians 4:11-12
Weekly Meetings
Lord’s Day, 11am & 5pm
Tuesday Whole-Church Prayer-Meetings, 7:30pm (every other week)
These are in-person, downstairs in the church-building. Facility to log-in via Google Meet also available.
Small-Group Prayer-Meetings, 7:30pm (every other week)
Eric Taylor – meet.google.com/jti-hgwi-uth
Ian Jones – meet.google.com/waf-jtah-dbz
Rhodri Brady – in-person & online meet.google.com/zoo-geko-utn
Advance Dates
May
- 11th (Saturday): AECW Conference, open to all @ Newtown Evangelical Church. Coffee @ 10:30am, conference begins @ 11am. Lifts available: Rhodri planning to drive there in his car.
- 23rd: Members’ Meeting.
March 2024
12pm, Walk up Constitution Hill with Eglwys Efengylaidd Aberystwyth (info below) Any book-orders or enquiries related to the bookshop should be emailed to info@apbookshop.co.uk Visit the Bookshop Facebook Page for all the latest information, including opening hours (note: a Facebook account is not required to access that page).
The wife of a Christian, who is a friend of ours on Facebook, died last month. As the death announcement was made on Facebook, it was interesting to read the different responses of Christians to this husband who had just lost his wife. On the one hand, there were some very helpful comments, telling this brother that they were grieving with him, and expressions of sadness and sympathy. However, there was another strain of comments which came from a very well-meaning and semi-biblical place, but they were comments that were short-sighted and did not give the whole picture of what the Bible teaches about how we should respond to death. The comments went along the lines of, “Your wife has died, but this is ultimately cause for rejoicing, because she is now in heaven and is no longer suffering and is with the Lord Jesus.” Now, all of those things are true. The sister who died was a Christian, and she is indeed no longer suffering and is with her Saviour. But the sense that I got with those more upbeat comments was that they had failed to see what Paul Mallard has seen and writes about in this very helpful little book, namely the need for lament and the fact that it is biblical and right to express sadness and to grieve, and even, in the right context, to wallow in that sadness for a time. Paul here is speaking from experience out of a life filled with suffering and bereavement. And yet, what he has learned is the need to ditch the mask that we tend to put on in our Christian circles, in favour of an acknowledgment that it is right for us, from time to time, to join in with the whole of creation, which is groaning as in the pains of childbirth. Honesty is what is needed, and grief, sorrow, regret, and disappointment have their place in the Christian life. This is something that the Lord Jesus was involved with, expressing sadness, crying out to God in pain, and acknowledging weakness. Paul shows us in this book that the Bible gives us language to use when we go through loss. He also shows us that we have someone who we can trust in the midst of grief. He uses the word “brokenness,” which has sometimes been used unhelpfully (if it is used as a substitute for sinful) but in the right context brokenness is the right word to use in reference to the fall. Best of all, Paul points us to the Lord Jesus who went through the darkest lament of all time and gives us reason to hope. I would not normally recommend a book aimed at preachers and teachers for our monthly commentary recommendation, however, this book has recently been released, we have it in the shop, and it is worth looking at, even if you have no intention of preaching or teaching from Paul’s letter to the Romans. What’s helpful about this book is that the author has gone through every verse of the letter and gives not only in-depth analysis of the language but also helpful application for what this should mean for us. The book is full of helpful observations and summaries of the different sections of the letter, and even though some may be put off by the footnotes and references to Greek-grammar, the book is actually quite simple in most of what it says. It is full of helpful comments; it quotes lots of other thinkers from the history of the church who have also read this letter of Paul to the Romans. So, if one of you does want to take a bit more of a deep dive into the book of Romans, this would be a good book to look at.
Activities This Month
Lord’s Day 3rd
11am, Lord’s Supper as part of Morning Service
Monday 4th
7:30pm, 3, 2, 1 Course, Final Session @ AP (downstairs)
Thursday 7th
7:30pm, Members’ Meeting @ AP (downstairs, online available)
Saturday 9th
8:30am, Men’s Breakfast @ AP (downstairs)
Lord’s Day 10th
9:30am, Craft Club @ AP (downstairs)
Wednesday 13th
7:30pm, The Christian Institute speaking @ AP (upstairs)
Friday 15th
7pm, Youth Club @ AP (downstairs)
Thursday 21st
8pm, Women’s Evening @ The Manse
Friday 22nd
6pm, Bible Club @ The Manse
Lord’s Day 24th
Ian preaching AM, Eric preaching PM
Friday 29th (Good Friday)
10:30am, Joint bilingual service with Eglwys Efengylaidd Aberystwyth (Derrick preaching, Rhodri leading)
Other Notes
Book News
Book of the Month
LEARNING TO LAMENT: Our Heavenly Father’s Embrace When We Grieve – Paul Mallard (Union, 2023)
Bible-Reading Groups Commentary Tie-In
EXPOSITORY OUTLINES AND OBSERVATIONS ON ROMANS: Hints and Helps for Preachers and Teachers – Rob Ventura (Christian Focus, 2023)
February 2024
Any book-orders or enquiries related to the bookshop should be emailed to info@apbookshop.co.uk Visit the Bookshop Facebook Page for all the latest information, including opening hours (note: a Facebook account is not required to access that page).
You will have noticed if you’ve been to any of our services that we do place an emphasis on the creeds—and especially the Apostles Creed—in our church-life and what this book seeks to do is to answer a question that you may have asked, which is “why so we do that?” Well, it comes from the Bible according to the author of this very helpful book. What I like about this book is the author says that knowing the creeds is actually a very biblical thing to do so that anyone who says “I don’t have any creed but Christ” actually doesn’t get it. Despite that statement “no creed but Christ” in itself being a creed, Nate also shows us that the Bible itself is full of creeds, and it encourages us to learn creeds. Nate takes us through The Apostles’ Creed; The Nicene Creed; The Definition of Chalcedon; The Athanasian Creed; the Protestant Confessions, and finishes off with a chapter on the Creeds for today. My dad once jokingly introduced me to Phil Eveson, saying that “this was the man who taught me everything I know”. Despite the jesting, there is a great deal truth in those words, not just for my Dad, but for so many people all over Wales and the world. This is especially true in relation to his work as an Old Testament thinker, where he has been used greatly by the Lord (as well as in his interest in church history and his wonderful sense of humour). All of this comes across in his very helpful commentary on the first book of the Bible. I’d like him to place more emphasis on the Lord Jesus presence in Genesis (although there is plenty here), but either way, there is a lot for us to glean and benefit from in this book. The Book of Origins is such an apt title, because Genesis isn’t just the book about the origin of the universe, but it is the book which tells us about the origin of humanity, the origin of sin, and the origin of the church.
Activities This Month
Thursday 1st
7:30pm, Officers’ Meeting
Friday 2nd
7pm, Youth Club @ AP (downstairs)
Lord’s Day 4th
5pm, Lord’s Supper as part of Evening Service
Saturday 10th
8:30am, Men’s Breakfast @ AP (downstairs)
Lord’s Day 11th
9:30am, Craft Club @ AP (downstairs)
Friday 16th
No Youth Club (Half-Term)
Lord’s Day 18th
Rhodri preaching in Penuel Baptist Church, Roch
Preaching & Leading in AP – TBA
Monday 19th
7:30pm, 3, 2, 1 Course, Third Session @ AP (downstairs)
Tuesday 20th
Rhodri @ AECW Coordinating Committee Meeting (AM)
Thursday 22nd
7:30pm, Members’ Meeting @ AP (downstairs & online)
Members’ Meeting rescheduled to Thursday 7th March.
Friday 23rd
6pm, Bible Club @ The Manse
Thursday 29th
8pm, Women’s Evening @ The Manse
Other Notes
Book News
Book of the Month
CHRIST & CREED: The Early Church Creeds & their Value for Today – Nate Pickowicz (Christian Focus, 2023)
Bible-Reading Groups Commentary Tie-In
THE BOOK OF ORIGINS: Genesis Simply Explained – Phillip Eveson (Evangelical Press, 2006)
January 2024
Any book-orders or enquiries related to the bookshop should be emailed to info@apbookshop.co.uk Visit the Bookshop Facebook Page for all the latest information, including opening hours (note: a Facebook account is not required to access that page). The bookshop is now closed until Tuesday 30th January. Thank you for your support during 2023.
Amazingly, it is now not unusual to come into contact with Christians who are connected to China, and in this book, Simonetta Carr introduces us to one of the fathers of the church in China, a pastor called Wang Mingdao. He was a wonderful man because he loved the Lord Jesus and the good news about the Lord Jesus. However, as a result of his love for the Lord Jesus, he was persecuted awfully, which is a reality that so many Christians all over the world go through. Yet, even in his weakness, Mingdao found his hope in the Lord Jesus and kept on trusting in Christ, even in prison (by the way, he was in prison for twenty-three years!). We need heroes like this especially as we face suffering. Heroes like this show us what it looks like to trust the Lord Jesus even when things are hard, and especially through times of persecution. My family has found other biographies in this series helpful, and I’m sure you will find this one helpful, whether you are young or old. As mentioned last month, sometime around the early twenty-tens, there was a very special event where our own Derek Thomas contacted Dale Ralph Davis and asked him to help out with the preaching at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina. The Davises ended up moving to the area, and Ralph preached every Sunday evening there for quite some years. That season is now over, and yet I (and several others) look back with fondness on the many wonderful addresses we heard from that pulpit (most of us listening online). Those sermons were tidied up and put into a few books, one of which was recommended last month, the collection of Ralph’s sermons from Genesis chapters 12 to 25. The recommendation this month is the next book in the series, and covers the next section. Sometimes, I would like Ralph to be more explicitly Christ-focused, and yet, nevertheless, his sermons always eventually point us to our Saviour with originality, humour, and excellent application.
Activities This Month
Monday 1st (New Year’s Day)
4-6pm, New Year’s Day Social @ Capel Seion Village Hall (SY23 4ED)
Wednesday 3rd
11:30am, Funeral of Christine Reynolds @ AP
Lord’s Day 7th
11am, Lord’s Supper as part of Morning Service
Saturday 13th
8:30am, Men’s Breakfast @ AP (downstairs)
Lord’s Day 14th
9:30am, Craft Club @ AP (downstairs)
5pm, Derrick Adams preaching @ AP (Rhodri preaching at Eglwys Efengylaidd Aberystwyth
Monday 15th
7:30pm, 3, 2, 1 Course, First Session @ AP (downstairs)
Tuesday 16th
10am, Rhodri in Mid-Wales & Borders Fraternal, @ Newtown Evangelical Church
Thursday 18th
8pm, Women’s Evening @ The Manse
Friday 19th
7pm, Youth Club @ AP (downstairs)
Monday 22nd
7:30pm, Vision-Week Meeting (1) @ AP (downstairs)
Tuesday 23rd
7:30pm, Vision-Week Meeting (2) @ AP (downstairs)
Thursday 25th
7:30pm, Vision-Week Meeting (3) @ AP (downstairs)
Friday 26th
6pm, Bible Club @ The Manse
Monday 29th
7:30pm, 3, 2, 1 Course, Second Session @ AP (downstairs)
Tuesday 30th
7:30pm, International Mission to Jewish People speaking in Prayer Meeting @ AP (downstairs)
Wednesday 31st7:30pm, AGM (TBC) @ AP (downstairs)Other Notes
Book News
If there are any queries whilst we are shut please feel free to contact us on 07810108001 or 07761356282 or use the shop email.Book of the Month
WANG MINGDAO: Christian Biographies for Young Readers – Simonetta Carr (Reformation Heritage Books, 2023)
Bible-Reading Groups Commentary Tie-In
GOD’S RASCAL: The Jacob Narrative in Genesis 25-35 – Dale Ralph Davis (Christian Focus, 2022)
December 2023
Any book-orders or enquiries related to the bookshop should be emailed to info@apbookshop.co.uk Visit the Bookshop Facebook Page for all the latest information, including opening hours (note: a Facebook account is not required to access that page).
We’re more likely to hear the word and “advent” in reference to a chocolate-calendar nowadays (we are all for chocolate calendars in our house by the way!), however the word “advent” actually means “arrival” and in the church calendar it is most related to the second arrival of Christ (which is coming soon). And yet, advent season also leads up to the time where we remember the first arrival of Christ, Christmas. Advent season begins on the 28th of November, as does this book’s worship-guide. This would be an excellent book for you to purchase to accompany your private or family worship during these autumnal-days leading up to Christmastime. Jonathan Gibson has already released a companion for worship in the home which follows a similar format to this volume, we have found it very helpful in our house. This edition promises to be another helpful aid to worship, focusing our thoughts on what should be occupying our minds at this time of year—Christ come in the flesh, to save his people from their sins, and soon to return to bring resurrection-glory to his church! Sometime around the early twenty-tens, there was a very special event where our own Derek Thomas contacted Dale Ralph Davis and asked him to help out with the preaching at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina. The Davises ended up moving to the area, and Ralph preached every Sunday evening there for quite some years. That season is now over, and yet I (and several others) look back with fondness on the many wonderful addresses we heard from that pulpit (listening online). Those sermons were tidied up and put into a few books, one of which is this collection of sermons from Genesis chapters 12 to 25. Sometimes, I would like Ralph to be more explicitly Christ-focused, and yet, nevertheless, his sermons always eventually point us to our Saviour with originality, humour, and excellent application.
Activities This Month
Friday 1st
7pm, Youth-Club @ AP (downstairs)
7pm, CU Carol-Service (all welcome) @ Holy Trinity Church
Lord’s Day 3rd
Wednesday 6th
7pm, Christmas-Card-Signing Session @ The Manse
Saturday 9th
Lord’s Day 10th
5pm, Special Christmas Evening-Service (1)
Thursday 14th
7:30pm, Members’ Meeting @ AP
Friday 15th
7pm, Youth Club @ AP
Lord’s Day 17th
9:30am, Craft Club @ AP (downstairs)
11am, Lord’s Supper as part of Morning Service
5pm, Special Christmas Evening-Service (2)
Thursday 21st
8pm, Women’s Evening @ The Manse
Friday 23rd
6pm, Bible Club @ The Manse
Lord’s Day 24th (Christmas Eve)
5pm, Special Christmas Evening-Service (3)
Monday 25th (Christmas Day)
10:30am, Special Bilingual Service with Eglwys Efengylaidd Aberystwyth (Derrick Adams leading, Rhodri preaching)
Other Notes
Book News
Reminder of Christmas Book Recommendation
O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL: A Liturgy for Daily Worship from Advent to Epiphany – Jonathan Gibson (Crossway, 2023)
Bible-Reading Groups Commentary Tie-In
FAITH OF OUR FATHER: Expositions of Genesis 12-25 – Dale Ralph Davis (Christian Focus, 2015)
November 2023
Any book-orders or enquiries related to the bookshop should be emailed to info@apbookshop.co.uk Visit the Bookshop Facebook Page for all the latest information, including opening hours (note: a Facebook account is not required to access that page).
We’re more likely to hear the word and “advent” in reference to a chocolate-calendar nowadays (we are all for chocolate calendars in our house by the way!), however the word “advent” actually means “arrival” and in the church calendar it is most related to the second arrival of Christ (which is coming soon). And yet, advent season also leads up to the time where we remember the first arrival of Christ, Christmas. Advent season begins on the 28th of November, as does this book’s worship-guide. This would be an excellent book for you to purchase to accompany your private or family worship during these autumnal-days leading up to Christmastime. Jonathan Gibson has already released a companion for worship in the home which follows a similar format to this volume, we have found it very helpful in our house. This edition promises to be another helpful aid to worship, focusing our thoughts on what should be occupying our minds at this time of year—Christ come in the flesh, to save his people from their sins, and soon to return to bring resurrection-glory to his church! The very funny title of this book explains where many people are at in terms of their attitude towards the book of Hebrews. They perhaps begin to read it (or worse read what others have said about it) and then they fear that they will never understand what’s going on in the book of Hebrews. Now, we know that the Bible is understandable for anyone who has the Holy Spirit, even a child. And yet, somehow we do manage to make it more complicated. Stuart, our good friend, addresses these issues head-on and shows us how much of an important book of the Bible this is. As Stuart explains, it’s an essential book of the Bible to help us understand more about the Old Testament. And it’s an essential book of the Bible to help us appreciate what the Lord Jesus Christ has done, what he is still doing, and what he will go on to do. There are plenty of books you can go to in order to get a more technical academic response to the book of Hebrews, but this is the best of the popular options for the everyday Christian. One helpful thing that Stuart does is to paraphrase the letter to really get to the purpose of what the writer to the Hebrews is saying. You will, Lord willing, leave the book of Hebrews more excited by the Lord Jesus Christ if you read this book.
Activities This Month
Friday 3rd
No Youth-Club (Half-Term Break)
Lord’s Day 5th
Saturday 11th
8:30am, Men’s Breakfast @ AP
Lord’s Day 12th
9:30am, Bible-Craft-Club @ AP
Thursday 16th
8pm, Women’s Evening @ The Manse
Friday 17th
7pm, Youth Club @ AP
Lord’s Day 19th
Lord’s Supper as part of Evening Service (5pm)
Friday 24th
6pm, Bible Club @ The Manse
Lord’s Day 26th
Heather Nicholas’ Baptism at Evening Service (5pm)
Wednesday 29th
7pm, Christmas Card Signing Session @ The Manse
Thursday 30th
Officers’ Meeting
Other Notes
Book News
Book of the Month
O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL: A Liturgy for Daily Worship from Advent to Epiphany – Jonathan Gibson (Crossway, 2023)
Bible-Reading Groups Commentary Tie-In
I WISH SOMEONE WOULD EXPLAIN HEBREWS TO ME! – Stuart Olyott (Banner of Truth, 2010)
October 2023
Any book-orders or enquiries related to the bookshop should be emailed to info@apbookshop.co.uk Visit the Bookshop Facebook Page for all the latest information, including opening hours (note: a Facebook account is not required to access that page).
As I said last month, I am really appreciating the material that Union are putting out at the moment. Clive tells us that this book is all about ‘me-in-you-and-you-in-me life with Jesus in the vine.’ The idea is that heaven is not just something we are waiting for, but that it is not an exaggeration to say that heaven breaks in now. Because every Christian is united to the Lord Jesus. Which leads Clive to say stuff like ‘I dare you to believe that God loves you so much that he actually wants to spend time with you.’ I like how much Clive has thought about this subject, and I like the implications that he draws from those thoughts. He asks us to think how we might feel if, for some bizarre or unimaginable reason, we could no longer pray. What’s the thing we’d miss most? Well, if union with Christ really is real, then ‘The thing I couldn’t get by without is communing with God in prayer. The thing I want to ask for more than anything else is more of him.’ It’s conclusions like that which make this a book well worth reading. Once you’ve read Lamentations and drawn your own Spirit-led conclusions from it, then you may well want to know how the church at other times have read this book. One place you can go to do do that is this book. Lamentations is about the church, now, the church is meant to be glorious, and yet Lamentations is all about weeping over losing that glory, the author aims to bring that out very clearly. Richard has noticed how confused so much of our Christianity is nowadays. Which is why he believes that Lamentations is such an important book for us to read today. We need to examine ourselves, yes, but also we need to take encouragement from the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ’s great love means that we are not consumed; his faithfulness is great; his compassions never fail; his mercies are new every morning. Chew over these realities as you read this helpful commentary.
Activities This Month
Lord’s Day 1st
AM: Communion
PM: Student Welcome Tea (After Evening Service) @ AP
Thursday 5th
Officers’ Meeting
Friday 6th
[NEW] 7pm: Youth Club @ AP
Lord’s Day 8th
9.30am: Bible-Craft-Club @ AP
Thursday 12th
7.30pm: Members’ Meeting @ AP
Saturday 14th
8.30am: Men’s Breakfast @ AP
Lord’s Day 15th
PM: Communion
Thursday 19th
Women’s Evening @ The Manse
Friday 20th
[NEW] 7pm: Youth Club @ AP
Friday 27th
6pm: Bible Club @ The Manse
Other Notes
Book News
Book of the Month
ONE: Being United to Jesus Changes Everything – Clive Bowsher (Union, 2023)
Bible-Reading Groups Commentary Tie-In
LAMENTATIONS: Great Is Your Faithfulness – Richard Brooks (EP, 1989)
September 2023
PM: Reuben Saywell preaching & giving report on the church-plant in Santa Maria, Bulacan, Philippines. Any book-orders or enquiries related to the bookshop should be emailed to info@apbookshop.co.uk Visit the Bookshop Facebook Page for all the latest information, including opening hours (note: a Facebook account is not required to access that page.)
I am really appreciating the material that Union are putting out at the moment. What this book sets out to do is extremely helpful and biblical. The book’s central premise is that weakness is the way, and that there is good news for those who are weak. The book’s author tells us that he would have been happy to call the book A Weakling’s Guide to Weakness because he is not seeking to write a book as someone strong in order to help those who are weak, but rather he is writing the book from the perspective of someone who has come to see his own weakness and feels his own weakness, who wants to help those who are also weak. But more than that the book is one that revels in the mystery that our God became weak in the Lord Jesus Christ and specifically in his death on the cross. This is the first of three lovely little books written for 5 to 8 year olds, written by the church-historian Michael Haykin, and illustrated beautifully by our very own Chris Iliff! This particular story opens on a windy day in March and tells us of Mr Quinn who lives in an old country house near Dublin. He brings these three kittens into his house, and we’re told of their adventures. This will be a helpful book for children in the early years of primary-school to have read to them, or for them to read for themselves and enjoy. My understanding is that the vision for these stories is that they teach children important biblical-lessons through the eyes of these little kittens; this first story—as far as I can see—teaches children the importance of trusting the Lord Jesus Christ especially when things do not go according to plan. [Released on the 4th of September alongside two other books in the series.] With some authors it’s safe to have a policy in which you say “I will read everything that they write”, Dale Ralph Davis is one of those writers. He takes us to the world of Micah, which was a very dark world (similar to our own); and he takes us to the church that Micah ministered to (which—again—is a wider-church very similar to our own) a small and discouraged wider-church, seeking to live in a godless, corrupt and violent society, where we are vulnerable to being exploited. Dale Ralph Davis shows us that we and Micah, both live in a culture where we don’t have to look far to find church-leaders who fail to speak out against sin, where we have leaders who give the people the message that their itching-ears want to hear. And yet Micah is not like those church-leaders, and neither is Davis; they faithfully proclaim the word of the Lord as they warn of judgement, and yet they also preach the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ. A very helpful accompaniment to the book of Micah.
Activities This Month
Lord’s Day 3rd
AM: Communion.
Saturday 9th
8:30am: Men’s Breakfast @ AP
Lord’s Day 10th
9:30am: [New] Bible-Craft-Club @ AP (see below for info)
Monday 11th
7:30pm: [Week of Prayer] Evening Hour of Prayer
Tuesday 12th
7:30pm: [Week of Prayer] Evening Hour of Prayer
Wednesday 13th
10:30am: [Week of Prayer] Mid-Morning Prayer-Meeting
Thursday 14th
7:30pm: [Week of Prayer] Evening Hour of Prayer
Lord’s Day 17th
PM: Communion
Thursday 21st
8pm: Women’s Evening @ The Manse
Friday 22nd
6pm: Bible Club @ The Manse
Lord’s Day 24th
Freshers’ Sunday (This is the Sunday when we expect to have a new batch of first-year students arriving.)
Thursday 28th
7:30pm: Church-Forum @ AP (Subject: Church Rules)
Friday 29th
“Christian Union Grub-Crawl” (a way of introducing new students to the churches). AP & Eglwys Efengylaidd are serving dessert @ AP from 6:40pm – 7:20pm (members, speak to the deacons if you’d like to contribute)
Other Notes
Monday 11th
Evening Hour of Prayer (7:30pm)
Tuesday 12th
Evening Hour of Prayer (7:30pm)
Wednesday 13th
Mid-Morning Prayer-Meeting (10:30am)
Thursday 14th
Evening Hour of Prayer (7:30pm)
Book News
WEAKNESS OUR STRENGTH: Learning from Christ Crucified – John Hindley(Union, 2023)
THE SIAMESE KITTENS AND THE BREADCRUMBS – Michael A. G. Haykin (Reformation Lightning, 2023)
MICAH: EP Study Commentary – Dale Ralph Davis (EP, 2015)
August 2023
Any book-orders or enquiries related to the bookshop should be emailed to info@apbookshop.co.uk Visit the Bookshop Facebook Page for all the latest information, including opening hours (note: a Facebook account is not required to access that page.)
And conference weeks (English and Welsh) special offer… We’ve been reminding one another this year of the importance of doctrine, and there is perhaps no more central doctrine to the Christian than that of Justification. Tom Schreiner has a helpful approach, he is able to be concise, and yet is also thorough. He gives us an explanation of the doctrine as well as providing historical background on how the church has dealt with the doctrine over the centuries. This book is quite simple, and yet its simple retelling of the Bible’s teaching on mission is revolutionary. Mission begins and ends with God and who he is—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God has always been “outgoing”, even before creation he shared his love and his glory with himself—the three persons of the Trinity. Now that the world has been created, that love overflows into all creation. And so, God’s mission is to bring ever man, woman, boy and girl into that wonderful and ancient fellowship. Scrivener and Schell take it from there and it’s a thrilling read. Andrew Stewart reminds us that ‘Much of this book was written as an encouragement to ordinary Israelites who were struggling to be faithful in daily and mundane matters.’ He explains, ‘That is why God has given us the book of Chronicles. It is good for us to learn about their struggles to be faithful to God.’ This could be a helpful book to pick up to read alongside our Bible-book for the summer.
Activities This Month
Lord’s Day 6th
Communion as part of the Evening-Service
Lord’s Day 13th
Stuart Olyott preaching AM
Geoff Thomas preaching PM
Monday 14th
Keith Underhill speaking at a special-meeting, to launch his book Planted By The Providence Of God (Broken Wharfe, 2023). 11am @ AP.
Tuesday 15th
No Prayer-Meeting, Evangelical Movement of Wales Conference meeting at the Great Hall @ 7pm. Christopher Ash preaching. (£10 per-seat, in-person; or online, free click here: https://www.youtube.com/@EMWorgUK)
Friday 18th
Extra Preaching-Service – Stuart Olyott, 7pm @ AP, (free)
Lord’s Day 27th
Gwyn Davies preaching AM
PM preacher Eric
Rhodri preaching @ Grace Evangelical Church Carmarthen, AM & PMOther Notes
Book News
20% discount on RRP of all Banner of Truth books, and all cards and stationery
JUSTIFICATION: An Introduction – Thomas R. Schreiner (Crossway, 2023)
THE UPSIDE DOWN KINGDOM: Wisdom for Life from the Beatitudes – Chris Castaldo (Crossway, 2023)
Those of us who have been Christians for some time will be very familiar with the Beatitudes, and yet, we are all probably guilty of not looking at them enough. This book is keen to show us that they contain within them the key to understanding the whole of the Christian life. I especially appreciated Castaldo’s focus on the basics of Christianity, namely that we are—if we are believers—married to Christ, the one who has everything who gives himself and all he has to us poor nobodies who have nothing!
COME AND SEE: A History and Theology of Mission – Glen Scrivener & Justin Schell (Union, 2023)
2 CHRONICLES: A House of Prayer – Andrew Stewart (EP, 2017)
July 2023
2nd Communion as part of the Morning-Service 4th Fiona Earnest of Albanian Evangelical Mission speaking @ Whole-Church Prayer-Meeting, 7:30pm 8th Men’s Breakfast, 8:30am @ AP 13th Women’s Evening, 8pm @ The Manse 21st Bible Club, 6-7pm @ The Manse 30th Robert Strivens (Bradford-On-Avon) preaching @ AP, AM & PM Any book-orders or enquiries related to the bookshop should be emailed to info@apbookshop.co.uk Visit the Bookshop Facebook Page for all the latest information, including opening hours (note: a Facebook account is not required to access that page.) Jim Newheiser says that “When People are Big and God is Small” is the best book title ever, presumably because it summarises exactly what our most significant problem as fallen-humans is… we have a big view of people, and a small view of God, (of course it should be the other way round!). This book that has been a big influence on lots Christians over the years, addressing the struggles many of us face on a day to day basis. This is a revised edition and it covers some of the more modern temptations we face today too. The best thing about the book is how scriptural it is, how we all need to see the greatness and sufficiency of the living God! The idea with this book is that dementia needs to be interpreted in a Christian context, showing us that just because someone has lost their mind or their memories, it doesn’t mean they are worthless, on the contrary those with dementia show us marvellous things about the Lord’s work. ‘Perhaps the greatest encouragement, for residents and carers alike, is seeing the Holy Spirit at work in His people,’ say Louise and Roger, ‘in a worship meeting, someone [with dementia] who normally does not speak will unexpectedly pray the most cogent, appropriate prayer. In countless other ways the Holy Spirit is seen to be present with God’s precious ‘aged pilgrims’’. Very helpful stuff. [Mike has also ordered two other helpful books about dementia Dementia from the Inside by Jennifer Bute and Finding Grace in the Face of Dementia by John Dunlop.] A few of us in AP are fans of Alec Motyer. He has the rare gift of being totally biblical whilst at the same time being very accessible. Here’s a quote from the blurb: Alec Motyer has clearly got the spirit of Amos in his blood. He loves the prophet from Tekoa, and takes endless pains to give full weight to every syllable of the prophecy. He is, of course, a distinguished scholar, and we are given full value on that front; but you will find here none of the dreary academic deadness which all too often comes through in commentary work.
Activities This Month
27th Church Forum, subject: Church Rules, 7:30pm Next scheduled Church Forum: September 28th.
Rhodri preaching @ Ebenezer Baptist Church, Swansea, AM & PMOther Notes
Book News
WHEN PEOPLE ARE BIG AND GOD IS SMALL: Overcoming Peer Pressure, Codependency, and the Fear of Man -Edward T. Welch (P&R, [Reprint] 2023)
PLANTED BY THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD – Keith Underhill (Broken Wharfe, 2023)
[Note: the order of these books has not arrived yet.] This book is a missionary-autobiography spanning the life and efforts of Keith Underhill in church-planting, according to the providence of God, in Kenya. Keith was a church planter in Kenya from 1975 to 2015 having been sent out by the members here at Alfred Place. This book is Keith and Priscilla’s story, however it also doubles-up as a manual for church-planting and missionary-work which will be helpful to equip us all to better fulfil our service to the Lord, whether that be at home or abroad. The books are available in the shop for the discounted price of £18.99, (the price is due to the fact that the book is a high-quality hardback, and is 528 pages). [See above for details of Book Launch in AP on August the 14th.]
COULD IT BE DEMENTIA?: Losing Your Mind Doesn’t Mean Losing Your Soul – Louise Morse & Roger Hitchings (Monarch Books, 2008)
THE MESSAGE OF AMOS: The Day Of The Lion – Alec Motyer (IVP, 1974)