BREAKING OF BREAD

The breaking of bread is a time for remembering the Lord Jesus. It goes back to the night before His crucifixion when He shared bread and a cup of wine with His disciples. These were to be reminders of His death and He asked His disciples to do this in remembrance of Him.

We meet to break bread every Sunday at 11.00 am. The bread and the cup are placed on a table set in the middle of the hall and the chairs are arranged facing towards the table. Following a time of singing hymns, prayerful thanksgiving and scripture reading we give thanks, firstly for the bread, and then for the cup and we share them among the members of the assembly.

Participating in this meeting is for the members of this assembly and for those who are well-known to us.  If you are interested in seeing what we do, you would be very welcome to come and watch what goes on while we ‘remember the Lord Jesus’ in the way that He appointed.  You would be seated in an area that will allow you to do this.  You will not be asked to participate, partake of the emblems, or to give a donation.  No offence is intended by this.  It simply allows visitors to become familiar with our practices and beliefs, and at the same time allows us to fulfil our obligation to protect the assembly from potentially harmful influences (Acts 20: 29). 

Visitors from other assemblies of believers gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ are welcome.  A letter of commendation (introduction) from their home assembly would be appreciated.

YOUNG PEOPLE

We have four activities for young people: Sunday school, Children’s meeting, Truth Seekers and the Bible Class.

Sunday School is held on Sunday at 2.30pm from September to June. It’s for children from the age of three up to mid-teens. The Sunday school is organised into groups based on age and the focus is on teaching children stories from the Bible.

Children’s Bible Time is held every Tuesday evening at 6.45pm from mid-September to mid-March. It’s geared to primary school children. There is singing, quizzes, learning Bible verses and listening to Bible stories.

Truth Seekers is held once a month on the third Friday at 7.00pm from September to June. It’s geared to secondary school ages and is about finding out what the Bible teaches about all kinds of things and learning what it means to be a Christian.

The Bible Class is serious Bible study for young Christians. It’s held every Sunday at 4:00pm. If you come to the Bible Class you’ll even get homework to do!

GOSPEL MEETING

The gospel meeting is arranged to give people who are not believers an opportunity to come and hear the gospel message.

This meeting lasts approximately one hour. We sing a number of hymns and pray at the beginning. Usually two speakers will present the gospel message based on various readings from the Bible. The message will contain a challenge and sometimes we would hear a testimony – the story of how someone was saved. The speakers stand at the front of the hall and the chairs are arranged facing the front.

We don’t take a collection and we aren’t trying to recruit people to join the gospel hall. You are welcome to come and free to go as you wish.

BIBLE READING

The Bible, and particularly the New Testament, is the basis for all we do as Christians. We put a high value on Bible study and teaching and this is what our one hour ‘Bible reading’ is about.

Usually we study a book of the Bible. We start at the beginning and work through it over a number of months. Each study is introduced by one member of the assembly for about 10 – 15 minutes. He will then lead a discussion where questions might be raised and answered or comments and explanations provided by the other men in the assembly.

For this meeting, the chairs are arranged in a rectangle to help the discussion. You might ask whether the ladies in the assembly participate audibly in the study. The answer is that they don’t. We believe that we should continue the practice in the New Testament where the ladies remained silent.

PRAYER MEETING

The weekly prayer meeting is held all year round. At the start of the meeting we sing a hymn and then some specific items for prayer are mentioned.

For this meeting the chairs are arranged like the Bible reading in a rectangle. We also believe that the Bible teaches that the men of the assembly should lead in prayer – everyone else prays silently and then says their ‘amen’!