North Yorkshire

On Thursday and Friday this week I was in unfamiliar territory up in North Yorkshire. I had been asked to preach at a monthly North Yorkshire Bible Rally. On Thursday afternoon I left by coach from Golders Green and went all the way to Thirsk (it was going on to South Shields). We have friends very near Thirsk and they kindly put me up for the night (I deprived their 17 year old of his bed for the night) and got me to the meeting which was in a small church in Northallerton.

I suppose about 50 gathered in the small chapel . The chairman was the pastor at Geneva Road, Darlington, Mark Rowcroft, who we got to know when he was a student at LTS. It was good to be among friends - several I'd met before, others I'd not and one or two in between (!). I preached on Christian Freedom, a fresh sermon I'd felt led to preach that arose out of studies in the Confession. It was sound and helpful stuff but lacked power I guess. (I'd been reading about unction all the way up and so that was on my mind).

So after good fellowship back in Carlton Minniott, a good night's rest and a brief look around Thirsk (picked up two nice old books of anecdotes - on Mark and Acts - in Oxfam) I was soon back on the coach again. A very friendly Nigerian lady I'd sat next to on the way up, a professing Christian, was on board again and we ended up chatting most of the way home which was very pleasant. I passed on a copy of my sermon. I arrived home just as everyone was coming back from school. Good to be home again. It was then off to the clubs for children and young people. Lots to do now before Sunday.