August 2023 – Alfred Place Baptist Church

Activities This Month

Lord’s Day 6^th	Communion as part of the Evening-Service
Lord’s Day 13^th	Stuart Olyott preaching AM Geoff Thomas preaching PM
Monday 14^th	Keith Underhill speaking at a special-meeting, to launch his book Planted By The Providence Of God (Broken Wharfe, 2023). 11am @ AP.
Tuesday 15^th	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 18^th	Extra Preaching-Service – Stuart Olyott, 7pm @ AP, (free)
Lord’s Day 27^th	Gwyn Davies preaching AM PM preacher Eric Rhodri preaching @ Grace Evangelical Church Carmarthen, AM & PM

Other Notes

All prayer-meetings in August will be Whole-Church Prayer-Meetings (no prayer-meetings on Tuesday 15th, see above).
- Whole-Church Prayer-Meeting dates: 1st, 8th, 22nd, 29th. | Small-Group Prayer-Meeting: None.
  - Speak to Rhodri, Ian, or Eric if you are interested in joining one of the three small-groups, which meet during other months.
The weekly Women’s Fellowship will not meet until September (usually meets on Wednesday mornings, in AP basement at 10:30am)
The monthly Bible-Reading-Groups will not meet until September. The Bible-book is 2 Chronicles for the summer. All church-members are encouraged to read it and consider Christ as you do. Those attending the groups (Women’s Evening / Men’s Breakfast / Bible Club) do keep a note of observations and questions to share with your group. Good questions to ask (these are questions the Bible asks about itself):
1. What did you learn about the Lord Jesus?
2. What did you learn about yourself?
3. How were you corrected and rebuked?
4. How do you feel you need to change?
5. What did you learn from scripture that will help you endure (keep going) and be encouraged?
6. What did you learn that will teach you to do works of service to build up the brothers and sisters in AP?
7. What have you learned that helps you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind?
8. What has helped you love your neighbour as yourself?
When able to, those manning the book-table go out every Saturday (weather & personnel-permitting) 11am-12:30pm, members, speak to Eric if you are interested in joining the work.
Rhodri & the family hope to be away from 31st of July to 5th of August.
Note that the Evangelical Movement of Wales Conference is taking place at the Great Hall in the Arts’ Centre 10:30am & 7pm. Attendance in-person comes at a charge, e.g. a week-pass for a two-parent family is £210. However, all meetings are broadcast on YouTube (click here: https://www.youtube.com/@EMWorgUK). The conference is not running a Friday Meeting this year, however, we are hosting an extra service in Alfred Place at 7pm on the Friday, which will be free.

Book News

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…

20% discount on RRP of all Banner of Truth books, and all cards and stationery

JUSTIFICATION: An Introduction – Thomas R. Schreiner [Short Studies in Systematic Theology Series] (‎Crossway, 2023)

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.

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)

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.

2 CHRONICLES: A House of Prayer – Andrew Stewart (EP, 2017)

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.