Weekly Prayer Letter

Why am I so sad? Why am I so troubled? I will put my hope in God, and once again I will praise him, my saviour and my God. - Psalm 42:11 

We are in the season of Lent which encourages us to prepare for the Easter celebration. It is a time for reflection and self-examination. Because the Easter message is all about hope for the world, our challenge to everyone is not so much “what are you giving up for Lent?” Rather it is “To whom can I bring hope?” Every Sunday morning our service will have the theme “Hope Changes Everything – In Christ there is always hope!”

Readings for this week’s meditation: Luke 12:22-34; Psalm 42; John 14:1-6; 25-27

Missions

• Ben Smith returned yesterday from Rooiwal. He reports that it was a good trip and 2 ladies gave their hearts to the Lord. His next trip is planned for 21st March. Please pray for our application to be part of the Western Province Baptist Association’s mission’s department as this will open the door for greater awareness among the churches for both prayer and financial support.
• Richard Akers still faces difficulty in getting to the Zionist churches in Mozambique because of the ongoing violence. He asks us to pray that there will be peace. Meanwhile there are many other regions that he oversees in South Africa. They ask for prayer as they teach the bible to groups who have brought so much of traditional African religion into their faith.

CBC Family

• Peter and Megan will be getting married next Friday in Limpopo. Do be in prayer for them.
  
• Ruth Palmer had surgery to repair a torn retina and Ernie Palmer was in hospital with pneumonia last week. They are both recovering well.
• Loretta Daniels is grateful for much improvement after her horrible fall. 
• Pray for CBC family who are overseas – Rachael Beukes (N Zealand).

CBC Ministries

• The church AGM is on Tuesday 25th March. Please make every effort to be there. We will have the opportunity of electing new Trustees and Elders. Please be in prayer concerning any nominations – every church member has the right to nominate
• The trustees meet this Tuesday evening.
• There is a new notice board in the foyer titled “Service opportunities.” Please look and see if there are any opportunities that you feel God is calling you into.

Denominational

The Baptist Union Executive held their meetings next week at the Athlone Baptist church this week. Much of the meetings was a discussion over the future of the ministry of the BU. As our society is changing so we need to be always able to adapt to be effective in ministry. Please pray for the leaders of the BU.

Our Community

Pray for the ministry of Loaves and Fishes (the home for the homeless in Salt river) They had their annual celebration this week with those in their ministry who have been alcohol and drug free for a year!

Sunday 16th March

• 9. 30 am. “Hope Changes everything!” This morning the theme is “Hope when worried.” (Matt 11:28,29) Peter Smallbones is the preacher. Straight after the morning service there will be a short dedication service of the new garden of remembrance and a time to remember those whose names are now on the wall.
• 6.00pm. A journey through the Psalms. Ronnie Davis is the preacher.