Ilford High Road Baptist Church

31/03/2024

Happy Easter everyone!

22/01/2024

https://unitedbyfaith1.blogspot.com/2024/01/united-byrallying-for-peace-confronting.html

In a powerful display of solidarity, former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, along with thousands of supporters, gathered at Trafalgar Squar...

24/05/2022

All praise to God

I grew up in a Christian home. My Dad was a Baptist and my mum was a younger sibling to a former Anglican archbishop of Nigeria! I was brought up to trust in the Lord and know that Jesus is always with me.

I wanted to study in the UK and my dad said only after I finished university in Nigeria as I would then be mature enough. On the journey to the airport, Dad asked if I had my Bible. I said ‘Yes’, but he still stopped at a bookshop to buy one!

Going to church was always part of me and my acceptance of Jesus Christ as my Lord is a relationship that has built over time as I 'matured', but when he saved me in a litigation case (see below), I knew I had to commit myself fully to him.

As a student in the 90s, you were permitted to work only 20 hours a week but I worked more. My pastor preached about doing what was right, but I kept procrastinating. One day the police arrested me and wanted to deport me. The Home Office wanted me to receive a warning.


The first time in court the case was adjourned. On the day we were back in court, I saw a church doing early morning prayers so I joined them. In the service, the pastor said, ‘God has a victory for someone,’ and I knew it was me. In court, we now faced a female judge. Within 5 minutes, she gave her ruling - she was happy that I understood why laws should be followed but, as I was guilty, she had to give a sentence and I was given 80 hours of community work.

For years, I wouldn't apply for certain jobs but then God's word says that all his works are perfect. God opened a door for me to work in the financial sector.

03/05/2022

Trust you all had lovely bank holiday weekend. Welcome to another testimony of God's grace.

From Prison to Praise

I was born in Lucknow, India. My parents encouraged me to attend Sunday School and, later, I joined the choir – although meeting girls was the main attraction.

I gained a degree in English and Sociology, and joined the New Delhi YMCA. Before I left home for Delhi my aunt came to read Psalm 121 and pray for me. It made a big impression

In January 1975 I met Ethel. I spent Christmas in Lucknow with my family; she was a missionary in Nepal and was on her way home in the USA. She visited Lucknow and came to my home church. The pastor introduced us and we found that we were on the same train to Delhi. Ethel stayed at the YMCA in Delhi for a week and at the end of it, we decided to get married.

Still I had not made a personal commitment to Christ. In September 1977 the YMCA organised some special meetings with a speaker from the Philippines and at one of them I made a conscious commitment to Christ.

Through 1981-83 I went through a time of depression. I was gripped with fear. I couldn’t sleep. This is where the book From prison to Praise helped. It emphasised the importance of praising God even when things are tough.

We came to London in 1989 on a 3 year posting, uprooting our family with all its uncertainties. When conditions in Delhi changed, we made the difficult decision to remain in UK.

As I look back, the theme of my life is that God has been there all the time. He saved me through Jesus when I accepted Him in 1977. He has been faithful through life’s ups and downs. He has brought me out of prison into a life of praise

26/04/2022

Thoughts for the week.

The God I can know

Everyone calls me Ashkan. I was born into a Muslim family but as a teenager I left Islam, because of all the dos and don'ts and because I could not communicate with the god of Islam who was remote.

In 2015 I left Iran and went to study in Cyprus and later in Italy. It was in Italy, that my roommate, who was Christian, invited me to go to church.

Before that my family had moved to Sweden because my parents had become Christian believers. They invited me often to believe in the Lord Jesus like them, but, because of my mentality and my tiredness with the rules of Islam, I did not accept to be acquainted with Christianity

One day I accepted my friend's invitation and went to a church in Torino. My first time in church was a very interesting experience.

Everyone worshiped God in song and joy, and a spiritual atmosphere was created for me to become acquainted with Christianity. I told my family and they helped me with my introduction to Christianity.

When my studying finished I had to return to Iran. I truly believed in Jesus there in Iran. He is my strength and my healer because he healed me when I was sick. He is my Lord and Saviour because he forgave all my sins. I now know that God is not remote.

Today I am so happy because I have been born again and now on this Easter Sunday, the day of Lord Jesus’ resurrection, I am going to be baptised.

I ask God to make me grow up more and more in my Christian faith.

19/04/2022

We trust you all had a great Easter celebrations of our risen Lord, Jesus Christ. Today we bring you a testimony of God's mercy and goodness from one of our members. Be blessed.

One foot in, one foot out

I was born in Jamaica and raised by my grandmother. Life was hard as she cared for three of us.

She took us to church, even if we didn’t want to go. To be honest, I found it boring. But she always talked about God’s goodness; she praised him daily, and prayed.

I would grow to trust God, because I saw that no matter how rough it gets, we always made it through the day with a warm meal.

Aged 19 I met my husband and we moved to Ilford, England. One day, while shopping, I saw my flag around the doors of Ilford High Road Baptist Church. I’ve been coming ever since – but not regularly, because of busyness and enjoying the world of sin.

Six years ago, I started putting more interest in God. I was trying to conceive. I prayed and said I would serve God if he blessed me with a child. He gave me two daughters and another one on the way.

Looking back … who do I think I was? Thinking God needs me, when I am the one actually needs him!

Early in 2022 I felt pain in one of my breasts. The doctor referred me to the breast clinic. I made another promise to serve God, if it was not cancer. The biopsy said it was not cancerous.

I am about to be baptised and this time I will keep my promise. I am tired of having one foot in, one foot out. In all my troubles, the Lord has always been there for me. The thought of him dying to save me, loving me despite my sinful ways, willing to forgive me and give me a new life – he has to be God.

I am happy to ask God for his forgiveness of all my sins and for the new spiritual life.

Would you do the same today?

05/04/2022

PRAISE GOD FOR HIS MIRACLE! He is a God of wonders.

A miracle turned me to the Lord Jesus

I was born in Iran and grew up in a Muslim family. Friday prayers were the most important time of the week.

When I was 17 my father stopped practising his faith. When I asked him, he said he had become a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I was shocked and became indifferent towards him. A few months later I injured my back. The doctor said I would need an operation. My family were not very keen.

For months I visited a physiotherapist, but did not feel any better. I couldn’t walk on my own. I couldn’t sit down without pain. It was getting worse.

One day my father wanted to pray for me. I said that I did not believe in his god and his new religion. But I respected him because he was my father and let him pray for me.

A few days later I woke up one morning and felt a little better. I did not feel the same pain. I got out of bed without any help. My family were so happy and gave thanks to the Lord.

When I saw my doctor, he said that it was a miracle. Through this miracle God began to show himself to me. I told my father that I wanted to know about Jesus. He gave me a memory card with the Bible on it. I read the Bible and began to believe in the Lord Jesus.

Five years have passed. I have changed completely and found the true God in a real way as I trust the Lord Jesus. It was easy to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but it is very important to stay on this path … and that is not always easy at all. But it is definitely the right way.

29/03/2022

Healed in my garage

Several years ago I turned my garage into an ensuite bedsit for my elderly father. Sadly he never came to live in it.

I had no idea that a couple of years later it would be such a significant place for me.

I was born in India where I grew up with my brothers and sisters. Mum and Dad did their best, but I didn’t feel deeply loved. During my teenage years we came to England.

I grew up in a Sikh family and believed that there is a God and we wanted to please God. We observed many of the rituals and special occasions

I thought I achieved a lot, but my soul felt empty and full of hurt. I didn’t keep God in my thoughts and I didn’t know what God is really like. My marriage didn’t work out and I felt let down. I became bitter and couldn’t trust anyone.

Early in 2020 I had had enough. When Covid-19 started I thought I had it and I was scared. My anxiety levels soared and I had panic attacks. It was at that time I isolated myself in my garage ‘bedsit’.

One day I turned on the tv and flicked through the channels. I heard some people talking about God. I listened. I found it soothing. They spoke about a salvation prayer, which I prayed and asked Jesus into my life.

I started to read the Bible, especially the Psalms - I cried lots and lots … as I read and cried, somehow I began to feel a deep inner peace and healing. I began to feel free. There in my converted garage the Lord forgave me and began to heal me deep within.

14/03/2022

Our God is an awesome God! Please read a testimony from our church member.

How a personal crisis brought me to God

I come from a Hindu background. I spent my childhood in Hong Kong and Okinawa (Japan), due to my father’s business. He was not strictly religious, but my mother was more devotional in her Hindu beliefs.

In Okinawa my father sent me and my siblings to a local English-speaking school, which was a Christian missionary school. Here I first became exposed to Christianity. I generally believed in God, being aware there was Someone Greater looking after me.

I then came to UK as a young adult. Although I had a belief in God, God was far away; I would only pray in times of trouble. I knew there was God but did not really know Him.

During a time of personal crisis, I was introduced to a fellow Sindhi who was a Christian. He and his wife were very kind to me in my struggles. He took me to church and talked about his life since coming to Christ.

I was not looking for God but became curious. In my grief, I started thinking about who God was. This led me to explore more, and God brought me nearer to Himself.

One day I received the Holy Spirit and my life turned around 180 degrees. I thought I was a ‘good man’ but the Holy Spirit revealed the darkness and a radical change of heart came about. I started to see everyone in a new light, and prejudices melted away.

God has sent different people at different times in my journey with Christ; to help me along the way.

Now … I not only know there is a God, Someone Greater who is looking after me, but I know Him personally

07/03/2022

It's another and a message of God's transformative power.

From Religion to Relationship

I was born in Liverpool to parents who believed in God but did not often go to church, although they took to be baptised as a baby in the local Church of England.

We had a turbulent home life – my parents had some marital issues, my Mum was quite vulnerable emotionally, and Dad was a jolly but short-tempered man.

At some point we began to go to church more often – but it was a very traditional church and I did not understand that I needed my own relationship with Christ.

At 17 I moved to London for work and often I felt lonely. One day a Christian lady on a bus invited me to their house meetings, which filled a void in my life in some way. But I didn’t continue with the group, even though they gave me a Bible. I found comfort when I read from it one night alone.

Several years later another lady invited me to her church where I was quite affected by the meetings, and felt I needed more than just an awareness that God existed.

I eventually went to church on my own. In one service the opportunity was given for people to come to the front if they wanted to receive salvation. I went forward. I felt overwhelmed by God. I remember crying. It was a change from religion to relationship.

My interests changed from nightclubs to prayer and Bible studies. I began to experience the Holy Spirit at times when I prayed. God led me into sharing my faith and several mission trips overseas.

Today, I am a thankful person, who knows the reality of Christ to transform lives.

28/02/2022

Good morning, we have a testimony to share about God's goodness. Be blessed as you read today's message.

Delivered from anger

I was born by Christian parents but not brought up by them. I only got to know my biological mother when I was 10. My paternal aunt brought me up. She was a Muslim, but because my mother was a Christian, she never took me to the mosque, she allowed me to attend church with her husband. Later I lived with my brother for a while and started attending church again but did not have the encounter personally.

I was an angry child, the anger usually arose as a strong man inside me. A strange strength would come over me: as a teenage girl, I could beat up a grown man; I could lift him up and throw him to the ground. This spirit of anger dominated my life.

One Easter I was sent to a youth camp, and on Easter Sunday morning I met the Lord Jesus Christ. I invited Jesus into my life, I experienced a great peace. During prayers, I felt something big got out of my heart - I was delivered from that spirit of anger and I was filled with joy. I was singing and dancing. When I returned home my family couldn’t believe the change – I was not that angry teenage girl any more.

My life started to have meaning, and I was filled with the Holy Spirit. This is why the Easter celebrations are very important to me as I always remember the transformation I experienced as a teenager.

That was over 45 years ago and I am still rejoicing in His deliverance and adoption into God’s family.

21/02/2022

We hope you all had a good weekend and great time in church worship yesterday. You may have noticed that recently our weekly 'thought of the week' has been testimonies from our members. Today, we have another one and pray you will be blessed.

Free to forgive

Being born into a one parent family in the 1960s was unusual but wasn’t too bad. But when Mum remarried, I resented and even hated the new man in our family.

I wanted to flee home as soon as possible, until my best friend became a Christian and changed overnight. He stopped doing drugs, took off his dark glasses and suggested I read the Bible.

The story of Jesus fascinated me and I grew to admire someone who could be nailed to die on a cross and say, ‘Father, forgive them.’ One night, aged 18, I knelt (it seemed the right thing) and prayed: ‘God, if you’re out there…’ Immediately I felt a supernatural presence close around me. I realised I had sinned and asked God to forgive me. That moment, I knew I had eternal life.

I had a new purpose in life – and respected the awesome power of my saviour God, a real Father to me. No longer did I see God waiting to punish me with a stick (my stepfather used a bamboo pole to punish us).

That summer on holiday as I looked for gifts for my family, I planned only a rubbish one for my stepfather. In front of a shop window, a voice spoke inside my head, ‘Simon, I’ve forgiven your sins - so much. You must forgive your stepfather’.

That was a battle – but I surrendered to the Lord. I bought my stepfather his favourite sweets, took them home and said, ‘I hope you enjoy them’. Everybody was stunned. Obedience to my heavenly Father was non-negotiable and I brought a smile to God’s face. He is my true father.