Grace Baptist Assembly 2026 Closing Remarks

Of course, the assembly is a whole lot more than I have written about so far. There were prayer meetings at the start of Day 2 and 3, there was the Assembly business session on the afternoon of Day 2, we ate together and chatted together informally, always good. Having decent coffee available at all hours is a good idea. There are also book stalls and one or two other stands. About 44 churches were represented one way or another and there were at least 12 new people there. We are on the old siide and most of us represent small and uninfluential churches. It is good to come together, however. I was encouraged on the whole. Next one May 18-20, 2027.

Grace Baptist Assembly 2026 Day Three

Our final morning at the conference was taken up with an open forum chaired by DAvid Last where we discussed how to mobilise church members. This led to a discussion of the neglect of the Lord's Day, one reason for some of the problems we have. Finally, Simon Green fro Rattlesden preched an excellent and encouraging sermon from Psalm 126.

Grace Baptist Assembly 2026 Day Two (Evening)

The rest of today was taken up with interesting reports from various UK churches and the second message from Peter Schild, who gave us another seven helpful points, this time from 2 Timothy 2

1. The apostles understood training men as passing on the treasured gospel received

2. The apostles looked for faithful men not necessarily talented men

3. The apostles trained men through fatherly nearness, shared life

4. The apostles entrusted men with real responsibilities, tasks that they were to fulfil

5. The apostles corrected warned and protected the churches through clear criteria

6. The apostles trained men for suffering in the battle

7. The apostles ultimately entrusted men to God and the Word of his grace

Grace Baptist Assembly 2026 Day Two (Morning)

We had two sessions this morning - one from Chola Makunga and one from Robert Strivens. They were both stumulating. Chola looked at the subject of equipping God's people to serve today and Robert took a historical approach looking at the use of catechisms and training for the ministry.

Chola asked a number of questions

1 How do we encourage believers on the fringe to become more involved in church life?

2 How do we motivate and mobilise those who are already members? (Converted Hungry for the Word gospel saturated prayer warrior loving to fellow believers regular sharer of the gospel cares for the holiness of the church accountable to the church)

3 What are the constraints and challenges that we need to overcome?

4 What attitude should we have as we seek to motivate and mobilise? (patience hard work prayer love the gospel)

There were plenty of answers but there will eb more discussion tomorrow.

Robert concluded with these conclusions and challenges

• They took the work of discipling and preparing for ministry very seriously.

• They did not despise traditional methods, while adapting and innovating where appropriate.

• They were fundamentally theological in their approach.

• Preaching was central to the promotion of Christian growth and discipleship.

Grace Baptist Assembly 2026 Day One

It is good to be here once again in the Kings Centre, Northampton, this time for the Grace Assembly 2026. We had three session on this first day today - Matthew Gray preaching on three wells mentioned in Genesis, then a news session on the Reformed Baptist works in Romania from Mircea Aioanei from Arad and then this evening Peter Schild, a pastor in Frankfurt in Germany.

Peter spoke on the way Christ trained his men, a model for us. He had seven points

1. Christ the Master chose ordinary weak men who were teachable
2. Christ the Master prayed earnestly before he chose his disciples
3. Christ the Master chose men that they shoould be with him
4. Christ the Master instructed his disciples in private
5. Christ the Master patiently bore with the faults of his disciples and taught them in love
6. Christ the Master gave his men tasks and allowed them to grow in responsibility
7. Christ the Master left his men and sent them out withe the Holy Spirit

10 people who died at the age of 67

I like to do this around this time of the year.

1. Hugh Latimer
2. Gladys Aylward
3. Ingrid Bergman*
4. Paul Cezanne
5. Leonardo Da Vinci
6. George Washington
7. Woodrow Wilson
8. Chris Squire
9. David Cassidy
10. Demis Roussos

*Bergman (175 cm)incongruously played Aylward (147 cm) in the film The Inn of the Sixth Happiness

(Also Catherine the Great, Henry I)

Lord's Day May 17 2026

A few visitors, many away. Another typical day in Childs Hill Baptist. Here's an irony. We know a lady who likes to give to the church but rarely sits under the ministry. This Sunday she decides to stay and what am I preaching on? Giving! Perhaps the thing she least needs to hear about. But what do I know?

10 Royal Places

Arnoprepa1, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>,
via Wikimedia Commons

1. Royal Leamington Spa

"Royal" prefix Civil parish with town council 1838, 1974, 2002

Spa town established in late 18th century. The town received the title of "Royal Leamington Spa" in 1838 following a visit by Queen Victoria. Royal Leamington Spa was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1875, and on the borough's abolition in 1974 charter trustees were formed. The charter trustees were themselves abolished when a town council was formed in 2002.

2. Royal Sutton Coldfield

Historic town, now a civil parish within the City of Birmingham. Honour bestowed by Henry VIII 1528 3. Royal Tunbridge Wells

Unparished area 1909, 1974

Spa town, incorporated as a municipal borough in 1888. In 1909 Edward VII allowed the prefix "Royal" in recognition of the town's connections with the royal family since the Stuart dynasty. The Borough of Royal Tunbridge Wells was abolished in April 1974, and charter trustees were briefly appointed to preserve the mayoralty of the town. The trustees, who were themselves abolished in December 1974, obtained letters patent reauthorising the prefix "Royal" to the name of the town.

4. Royal Windsor, also known as New Windsor

Municipal borough council From reign of Henry I in early12th century

5. Royal Wootton Bassett

Civil parish with a town council 2011 - Repatriation of military personnel

6. Royal Port of Barrow

"Royal" prefix Port 2025

Construction of warships and nuclear submarines for the Royal Navy

7. Royal Greenwich

Royal borough. London borough council 2012-  To mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. Also birthplace of Henry VIII, Mary I and Elizabeth I.

8. Royal Kensington

Metropolitan borough council 1901 1965. In memory of Queen Victoria, born at Kensington Palace

9. Royal Berkshire, royal county

Location of Windsor Castle

10.Kingston Upon Thames

Municipal borough council in Surrey-Ancient prescriptive right, confirmed in 1927.1965 Coronation place of King Æthelstan in 924–925. Æthelstan described Kingston as royal town in a charter, as did Eadred later in the 10th century. In 1927 the mayor of Kingston upon Thames petitioned George V for the right to use the title of "royal borough". In reply to the petition the king declared that Kingston was entitled to the status, having been described as a royal borough since time immemorial.

Day Off Week 20 2026

There were a few thigs to be done first thing but once they were sorted I could focus on reading. There was time too for a coffee out and a bt of TV but it was mostly reading.

Paul Mallard on Heaven

This is a delightful little book on a delightful subject. Orthodox, practical and full of illustrations it is no doubt the fruit of preached sermons and is easy to read. Relying mainly on Revelation but taking in many other Scriptures, this little bookby a veteran pastor, without being dogmatic where there is no need to be, will answer most of the questions that people have about this vital subject. It can be highy recommended. The closing chapters usefully show how this doctrine should comfort us, encourage us to be holy. and make us steadfast. There are a few books on this subject. Thsi is one of the best.

10 Reasons to be Cheerful

made with adobe express

I was at the Westminster Fellowship yesterday, a monthly ministers fraternal. Paul Levy had been invited to speak on the current scene. He was very helpful and balanced it out by considering positives and negatives. He had 12 positives and I thought they would be worth replicating here in our own style.

1. The unstoppable growth of the global church

2. The open mindedness that some outsiders seem to have to the gospel at the moment
3. The fact that angry atheism seems to have faded away
4. The fact that Islam appears tobe in retreat for the most part

5. Immigration means that the world is coming to us
6. Many churches have been planted in the last 30 years

7. The work of Christian camps for young people is thriving

8. The mulititude of Christian books that are available today

9. The way the Internet is being used for evangelism

10. The existence of many happy traditonal families who share meals together

(His other two were the abundant opportunities for Christians to speak up and be heard and the disputable fact that ministers tend to be better trained today).

Lords' Day May 10 2026

It was a fairly typical day in Childs Hill - lots there in the morning with plenty missing and rather few in the evening. We looked at the end of Luke 20 back to back. How we need revival.

Where the music had to go

I have recently read a new book on my kindle - Where the Music Had to Go: How Bob Dylan and The Beatles Changed Each Other – and the World by Jim WIndolf. I was very drawn to this book because it deals with The Beatles who I love to read about and Bob Dylan, who I know much less about but who draws me for several reasons. I also like the way journalists write books. Like scholars, they make a through search then collate and write. Unlike scholars, of course, they make it interesting. I knew a lot of the stuff in this book, I guess, but by no means all of it and some of it I had forgottenn, including John Lennon's born again phase. I had also not appreciated how conservative Dylan was from the beginning, despite his way of presenting himself. The book is full of fornication and drug tking, inevitably, and also an unsual amount thrwoing up, ususally missing from such books. Anyway, the book gives a fairly complete history of two incredible phennomena of th sixties and beyond and where their paths crossed. Fascinating.

10 Places in the UK with a Regis

Old Direction Sign - Signpost by White Post Cross,
Brompton Regis parish by Alan Rosevear, CC BY-SA 2.0
 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Regis signifies "of the king"

1. Bognor Regis in West Sussex
2. Houghton Regis in Bedfordshire
3. Salcombe Regis in Devon
4. Bere Regis in Dorset
5. Lyme Regis in Dorset
6. Milton Regis in Kent
7. Beeston Regis in Norfolk
8. Grafton Regis in Northamptonshire,
9. Brompton Regis in Somerset,
10. Newton Regis in Warwickshire

(Also Rowley Regis in the West Midlands, Melcombd Regis and Wyke Regis in Dorset, etc)

The World around the Old Testament: The People and Places of the Ancient Near East

As readers of this blog will be aware I have been reading this big book for a while now but have eventually now finished it. It was recommended at one of the recent Tyndale House gatherings. It's the sort of book I should have read when preparing for ministry I guess. Better late than never. Thirteen contributors introduce us to peoples and places either mentioned in the biblical text or from that part of the world. Those covered include the obvious Egyptians, Philistines, Babylonians, Persians and Greeks but also the Assyrians, Phoenicians and Transjordanians (Moab, Ammon and Edom) and further, the Amorites, Ugaritians, Hittites/Hurrians and Arabians. The essays are similar in length but necessarily vary in approach and some contain rather difficult passages that are not easy to negotiate. One huge disappointment is the pretty complete sell out to modern academia that means a very sceptical attitude is taken to Scripture. Not only is this not an evangelical postion but I would guess a lot is lost simply because the academic world is currently so atheistic. Copious footnotes and plenty of pictures add to the value of this very interesting book.