On September 11, 2001, wicked men brought down the Twin Towers in the name of God. Nobody had even heard of “Islamic State” (ISIS/ISIL). Now 13 years later, one could be tempted to think that Al Qaeda seems almost tame in comparison.

You prayed as we spent 4 Days on the Beach. You prayed for travel safety and God gave it as we drove the 4-5 hours there and back. You prayed for the families to enjoy getting to know each other. God also answered that prayer as we saw potential barriers of ethnic, cultural and religious differences crumble away. You prayed that we would be safe at the beach and that we would have good weather. We did! We enjoyed extended periods of sunshine especially at the beach, enough to get a sunburn. If you know anything about British weather, you will know that sunshine is a precious and rare jewel, especially in summertime.

You prayed as George was planning to share a message from God’s Word on the final night. That did not happen as planned. Instead, on the first night, a spontaneous gospel conversation broke out as the men sat and relaxed together before going to bed. On the second night, the other men asked George to play guitar and sing whatever songs he would like. He started with ‘Everlasting God’, thinking about the one man there whose mother had passed away 2 weeks before (‘you comfort those in need’). That led to ‘Our God’ (‘out of the ashes we rise’), ‘Your Grace Finds Me’ (‘in the weeping by the graveside’), and a handful of other songs with clear Christian lyrics. In between, George explained God’s grace in Christ as portrayed in the songs. The men kept asking for more songs, saying they were ‘encouraging’, ‘therapeutic’, and ‘good for the soul’.

Pray that God will continue to speak. Pray also for spiritual fruit as we restart regular fall ministries. We thank God continually for your prayers. God is at work!

George and Karen

Please pray this weekend as we spend 4 DAYS ON THE BEACH!

Over 30 of us will cook, eat, play, and otherwise spend time together in a weekend retreat from Friday, Aug 1st to Monday, Aug 4th.

• Pray for safety as we drive the 4-5 hours in 2 mini-buses on Friday and then get settled into our rooms
• Pray that we all have a blast getting to know each other.
• Pray for safety at the beach and good weather to enjoy it!
• On our last evening together (Sunday), George will speak to the whole group. He appreciates your prayers. It would be great if you could remember this while you are at church on Sunday morning.
• Pray for safety again as we drive back on Monday.
• Pray that this will be the beginning of good things to come in many lives!

Portugal just beat Ghana 2-1. This is now the 12th time in the last 2 weeks we have opened our doors for the neighbours to watch World Cup Football games on our church’s 14 foot screen. A couple of nights ago a man walking by the church, stopped in to watch the last 1/2 hour of England v Costa Rica. When he saw there were snacks and soft drinks available he asked if he could indulge, saying he hadn’t eaten for 3 days–no food and no money. After the game was over, he gladly received a voucher from our church’s Foodbank which would give him about 3 weeks of groceries, practical help to get him back on his feet, and opportunity for spiritual counsel and prayer. Pray for C.W. and others like him in our area.

Another night saw a group of 6 young Muslim men come in together to watch a game, perhaps feeling safer in numbers. I suspect that the soon advent of Ramadan will make such appearances less likely. Here in the UK, Muslims will be fasting for about 19 hours each day due to its northern latitude (same as James Bay). The World Cup games show here in the evening, at a time when many people are making final preparations to break the fast, or doing their obligatory prayers, or actually having their first food and drink since before dawn. Which would you choose–football or food?

The Fast of Ramadan is unworkable above the Arctic Circle where the sun never sets in the summer and never rises in the winter. If God really established the Fast, did He somehow forget about the extreme north and south of this planet? No, this is one of the clear evidences of the non-divine origin of Islam. I am impressed at Muslim devotion and effort, but no one should have to endure this burden in the first place. They are trapped in this obligation for a complete month every year as long as they live. May God grant freedom to the captives!

George

p.s. the BBC has an interesting article on this subject here

Amazing!

This spontaneous scribble on a cardboard flower by one of the girls clubbers speaks for itself. If we can leave positive memories like this of Christians and church with the boys and girls in our clubs, fantastic! God will use it for good in the years to come.

Encouraging!

Eighteen months ago, we mentioned our hope of forming a local Christian network to generate focused prayer for the Muslims who comprise 21.8% of Birmingham according to the 2011 census. Well, the network was born with 6 Christian leaders who met to pray as Mahabba East Birmingham (Mahabba is Arabic for “love”). That initial meeting became a monthly event, meeting in a different church or ministry facility each month. Then a second monthly meeting began. Today, seven area churches and five local parachurch ministries are part of Mahabba East Birmingham. Recently, the network sponsored a seminar mainly taught by believers from Muslim background on how churches can help new believers integrate into the church family. Soon it will offer a workshop on using Bible stories to explain the gospel.
This is all encouraging, because we believe that when God’s people begin to feel the need to pray, it is because God is about to do something new. And we want to be part of what He is doing.

Yours for Jesus’ sake,
George and Karen King