Church Prayer meeting and Bible study

After decades of gathering once a week in the Pastor's house, the mid-week meeting finally outgrew the venue a couple of years ago. Whilst it was a refreshingly informal environment in which to study God's Word and fellowship around the Throne of Grace, it was time to move on. The Wednesday meeting now takes place at the church hall in the town centre instead.

Previously the Pastor worked through the Epistle to the Hebrews in expository fashion. We wouldy attempt 2-3 verses on each occasion depending on the nature of the text concerned. Prior to Hebrews, we spent some years working through the gospel of St John in a similar way.

Following the death of Rev Else we have had a variety of meetings ranging from video screenings of church history documentaries to bible studies conducted by other men in the church.

Texts for the latter are directed by the eldership and have recently included the Parables of the Old and New Testaments, and the Messianic prophecies in Isaiah 52-53.

Last year there were also held special missionary focus meetings, concentrating on GBM and Leprosy Mission. Click here for more. Unless otherwise advertised, all Wednesday meetings start at 7:45pm in the church hall, Market Street, Peel.

Importance of this type of meeting

In the halcyon days of Spurgeon's Tabernacle in London, the church prayer meeting was once described as the heating apparatus of the fellowship. It is alternatively given the name "the engine room of the church". A group of believers who gather in large numbers on the Lord's Day but in much smaller numbers during the week, is regrettably a sign of the times, but also misses out on a number of benefits:

• The spiritual food of the Word applied in a challenging and relevant manner
• The promise of Christ to presence Himself whenever 2 or more gather in His name
• The example of vocalised prayer received by hearing others grounded in the Faith
• The privilege of praising the Lord corporately in a more open and informal context
• Last but not least the joy of fellowshipping intimately with fellow believers