New Grace Baptist Church

06/24/2026

Don't miss our weekly Wednesday night Bible study through the book of Romans.

06/24/2026

Bible reading for Jun 24:
2 Chr 10-12

06/24/2026

Pass on the Baton
When I left university at the age of twenty-one, I moved to London and was looking for a church to join. I visited HTB and heard Sandy Millar speak. Afterwards, I asked if I could meet with him. Soon after, I joined the church and began to learn from this extraordinary leader, friend and role model.

After several years as a member of the congregation, I went to train for ordination in the Church of England and ten years after our first meeting I returned to HTB as Sandy Millar’s assistant minister. I continued in that role for nineteen years until 2005 when he passed on the baton to me, and I succeeded him as vicar of HTB. To this day, Sandy continues to be my role model, friend and inspiration.

There have always been people in my life from whom I am learning and others to whom I am trying to pass it on. Like runners in a relay race, we all have a responsibility to pass on the baton.

Psalm 78:1–8
Tell
You have a story to tell. Every family has stories. Every church has its own stories of what God has done. Every Christian has a story – a testimony. All of us have access to the great story of what God has done in Christ. We have to ‘tell the stories’ (v.6, MSG).

This psalm gives us a sketch of Hebrew history leading up to King David and stresses the importance of passing it on to the next generation. We see a contrast between the sins of Israel and the goodness of God. Jesus himself quoted this psalm (Matthew 13:35).

The psalmist says, ‘We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done… to teach their children, so that the next generation would know them… and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God’ (Psalm 78:4–7).

Juan Carlos Ortiz tells the story of meeting an old lady in his native Argentina who introduced him to a young girl, who was one of her great-grandchildren. She went on to tell that she had six children and thirty-six grandchildren. Her family was impressive in number and among her grandchildren were many well-educated and professional people. Carlos asked her, ‘How did you manage to produce such a large, well-fed, well-dressed, well-educated extended family?’ She replied, ‘I didn’t. I just took care of the six. And each of them took care of their six.’

Each generation has a responsibility to tell the next one about the goodness of God and to warn them of the mess that we make of our lives when we turn away from God’s goodness.

Lord, thank you for those who told us about ‘the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done’ (v.4). Help us to pass it on to the next generation so that they would put their trust in you.
Acts 16:1–15
Train
Paul recognised he had a responsibility to train up others. He found Timothy – ‘a fine young man’ (vv.1–2, MSG). Timothy was discipled, trained and taught by Paul. Paul was a mentor to Timothy. They are a great example of what we all should be doing. Find a Paul from whom you can learn and find a Timothy to whom you can pass it on.

As with so many, I would say that every major strategic step or decision I have made has been inspired and encouraged not from a pulpit in a crowd of thousands but rather by someone within arm’s reach. There is no doubt that preaching can make a big impact, but we often overestimate the amount of truth that is assimilated between the pulpit and the pew. In my life, truth shared in proximity has been a key to my own personal growth. This seems to have been the key for Timothy.

It was through Paul that Timothy had become a Christian and they became very close friends. Paul was older than Timothy and he described their friendship as being like that of a father and son (Philippians 2:22). Paul described Timothy as ‘my son whom I love’ (1 Corinthians 4:17).

They went through a great deal together. ‘They travelled from town to town’ (Acts 16:4). They even spent time in prison together. During all this Timothy would have been watching Paul, and being trained up as his successor.

It is not enough to hope that the ‘Timothys’ are watching us. We must strategically position younger disciples to have significant opportunities to lead. Paul bestowed on Timothy real responsibility. He could trust him because he knew him so well.

Paul involved Timothy in the work right from the start. They took decisions together (v.4). Through their ministry together, ‘Day after day the congregations became stronger in faith and larger in size’ (v.5, MSG).

Timothy learnt about the guidance of the Holy Spirit. When they tried to enter Bithynia, the Holy Spirit ‘blocked that route. So they went to Mysia and tried to go north to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t let them go there either’ (vv.6–7, MSG). This is an important lesson in life. I can think of at least five occasions in my life where I have felt that I should go in a particular direction ‘but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow’ (v.7) the plan to succeed. As I look back now, I am so thankful that the Spirit stopped plans which, in hindsight, were clearly not the right ones.

God then led Timothy and Paul in a new direction: ‘During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us”’ (v.9). Not surprisingly Paul took this as clear guidance that they were to go to Macedonia: ‘All the pieces had come together. We knew now for sure that God had called us to preach the good news to the Europeans’ (v.10, MSG).

In Philippi, Timothy would have watched Paul on the first Saturday that he was there, going down to the river where there were a group of women praying (v.13).

As Paul spoke about Jesus, Lydia, a rich merchant woman, was converted. She invited Paul and those with him to come and stay in her home. It must have been an extraordinary and wonderful experience for them both to see how the ‘Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message’ (v.14).

The final letter attributed to Paul is 2 Timothy. To the very end of his life, Paul’s priority was encouraging and releasing the next generation. Let’s make it ours too!

Lord, help every ‘Paul’ to find ‘Timothys’ who they can train up. Help every ‘Timothy’ to find a mentor like Paul who will pass on their experience to them.
1 Kings 12:25–14:20
Teach
Unless we learn the lessons of history and ‘teach… the next generation’ (Psalm 78:5–6) they will repeat the mistakes of the past. The book of Kings records the history of the people of God so that the following generations may learn from them.

Sadly, the lessons we can learn from this passage are mainly negative – the account of Jeroboam is a terrifying one. He passed on a terrible legacy to the next generation.

‘After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves’ (1 Kings 12:28). It is not enough to ‘seek advice’ if we consult the wrong people! These chapters contain the account of the sin of the house of Jeroboam that ‘led to its downfall and to its destruction from the face of the earth’ (13:34).

Jeroboam’s key sin was that he made up a form of religion and worship to suit himself. He encouraged idol worship rather than the worship of God (12:28). Jeroboam’s religion is a made-up religion, created to suit his own desires and needs.

We may not worship golden calves, but the same danger is just as evident today. As Pope Francis has said, ‘The most dangerous idol is our own selves when we want to occupy the place of God.’

This was Jeroboam’s sin, and it affected the next generation. His son Abijah became ill and died (chapter 14). He ignored the good example of the earlier generation of David who had lived with an undivided heart, pleasing God. Instead he had ‘set a new record in works of evil’ (14:9, MSG).

Jeroboam may have had many military, commercial and political achievements (see v.19), and yet it seems these successes are fairly irrelevant. As Jesus said, ‘What good is it for you to gain the whole world, yet forfeit your soul?’ (Mark 8:36). What matters most is a close relationship with the living God.

Lord, I pray that you will raise up leaders in industry, politics, creative arts, media and every sector of society, who will honour you and pass on your message and your standards to the next generation.
Pippa adds
In Psalm 78:4–6 it says,

‘We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done… so that the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born.’

It is a challenge to pass on our faith to the next generation. I am so grateful to the children and youth workers that we had at HTB, who poured their love into our children and the children of thousands of others. Every year at Focus (our church holiday away), we have seen our children’s lives and the lives of others transformed during the week. I am so excited by what God is doing with the next generation. And the potential for ‘the children yet to be born’ is vast – keep praying for them all.

06/23/2026

Bible reading for Jun 23:
1 Kgs 12-14

06/23/2026

Three Keys to Great Friendships
A leading UK retail chain commissioned a survey by a team of psychologists into their key customer demographic: Millennials (those born between 1981 and the early 2000s, and also known as Generation Y). They interviewed 800 people. The results were so startling that they did not believe them. They interviewed another 800 and got the same results.

The results portrayed an alarming picture of an increasingly lonely and lost generation. More people live alone than at any other point in our recorded social history. On average, Millennials spend six-and-a-half hours a day on social media. Many who were interviewed considered work to be something they fitted in between social media and lunch! They found people had a very large number of ‘friends’ but an increasing sense of loneliness.

A more recent study revealed 73 per cent of Generation Z feel alone, now making them the loneliest generation. It's been said that we’ve become a culture more focused on strengthening our Wi-Fi connections than strengthening our personal connections.

There is nothing wrong with social media, but it is no substitute for real, face-to-face friendships. We were created for friendship with God (Genesis 3:8) and with one another (2:18).

Marriage is part of the solution to aloneness. Friendship, vital also in marriage, is a crucial part of the solution too. Jesus set an example of close friendship with men and women. He demonstrated that marriage is not the only solution to aloneness. In one respect, friendship is even more important than marriage. Marriage is for this life only; friendship is eternal. ‘Friendship’, as C.S. Lewis writes, is the ‘crown of life and school of virtue’. Friendship multiplies joy and divides sorrow.

The Bible is very realistic. We see examples of relationships at their very best, but we also see examples of their frailty and failure. Through these examples and the teaching of the Bible we see three keys.

Psalm 77:10–20
Value partnerships
Mother Teresa said, ‘What I can do, you cannot. What you can do, I cannot. But together we can do something beautiful for God.’

We saw yesterday how the psalmist, in his distress, cried out to God. In the second half of the psalm, he recalls some of the amazing and mighty ways in which God has acted in the past (vv.11–12).

In particular, he looks back to God’s great deliverance of his people in the Exodus. He prays, ‘You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples’ (v.14). He meditates on the parting of the Red Sea (vv.16–19) and concludes, ‘You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron’ (v.20).

‘Moses and Aaron’ were the human partnership involved in this great work of God. It is one of the greatest success stories in the history of the people of God.

It came about because they were involved in a cause greater than themselves. They were looking outward in the same direction. Despite being brothers, they had very different skills and roles. While Moses was the leader, Aaron was responsible for the communications (Exodus 7:1–2) and for leading the people in worship (28:1).

We need good partnerships today. There are good reasons why Jesus sent his disciples out two by two. Ministry can be very lonely. Going out in pairs can make all the difference. This is how some of the greatest friendships are formed.

Lord, I pray today that you will raise up good partnerships in our local church and the church worldwide. May there be many who, like Moses and Aaron, complement one another and see you achieve great things through them.
Acts 15:22–41
Guard friendships
From the very beginning of the Christian church we see examples of friends working together in partnership. Paul and Barnabas were partners in the gospel (v.22). They were sent out together to take the message of the council of Jerusalem to the Gentiles (v.23).

They are described as ‘our dear friends Barnabas and Paul – men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (v.26).

They were accompanied by another partnership – two other leaders, Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas (v.22). Judas and Silas were prophets who ‘said much to encourage and strengthen the believers’ (v.32). Again, it is a good thing for prophets not to operate in isolation, but to work together in partnership with others.

All this is good. But as we read on, we see that division, even in the early church, was not only over doctrine (v.2), but also over personal relationships (v.39). As Sandy Millar often says, ‘The calling is divine; but the relationships are human!’ Paul and Barnabas fell out (vv.36–38). They had a ‘sharp disagreement’ and as a result they ‘parted company’ (v.39). They ended up going their separate ways.

In the providence of God, it all worked out well in the end. Barnabas found a new partner in Mark, who was his cousin. (See Colossians 4:10.) Paul found a new partner in Silas and ‘went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches’ (Acts 15:41). It may be that Paul and Barnabas were later reconciled (see 1 Corinthians 9:6).

The reality is that sometimes even Christian partnerships struggle and fail. God can bring hope into these situations: it is not the end of the world if Christians fall out and go their separate ways. This passage shows that their disagreement did not lead to the removal of God’s blessing from them.

However, as John Stott points out, ‘this example of God’s providence should not be used as an excuse for Christian quarrelling’. We should always do our best to resolve our differences and avoid such painful parting of company.

Guard your friendships. When there is a fallout, always seek reconciliation and remember that, as Martin Luther King said, ‘Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude.’

Father, thank you for the inspiring example of Paul and Barnabas who risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Help us to resolve our differences and avoid, whenever possible, painful partings of company.
1 Kings 11:14–12:24
Prioritise loyalty
In this passage, we see human relationships at their worst. Solomon began to reap what he had sown. He had sown disloyalty to God and now he began to reap disloyalty all over the place. The first adversary was Hadad (11:14). The second was Rezon (v.23), ‘the leader of a band of rebels’ (v.24).

Next, Jeroboam rebelled against the king (v.26). He was one of Solomon’s officials, ‘a man of standing’, whom Solomon had put ‘in charge of the whole labour force of the house of Joseph’ (v.28). Solomon ends his life surrounded by adversaries and trying to kill Jeroboam (v.40).

Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, inherited a mess. He did not deal wisely with his opponents. He failed to listen. He ‘turned a deaf ear to the people’ (12:15, MSG). They realised that he ‘hadn’t listened to a word they’d said’ (v.16, MSG).

He rejected the advice that the elders gave him. As a result, most of Israel rallied around Jeroboam. ‘Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David’ (v.20). Yet again, war broke out (v.21). The result is a divided kingdom – but even that is not the end of the problems. God promised Jeroboam amazing blessings: ‘if you walk in obedience to me’ (11:38). Tragically (as we will see over the next few days) Jeroboam did not – and the results were disastrous.

This episode in the history of the people of God is a story of disloyalty to God, disloyalty to the king, rebellion and infighting. It is not how things are meant to be. You are called to love, unity and loyalty. Your loyalty should be a reflection of God’s loyalty to you.

If you sow disloyalty, you will reap disloyalty. If you sow loyalty, you will reap loyalty. You show loyalty by your actions and your words. Be loyal to those who are not present. In doing so, you will build the trust of those who are present.

However disloyal we are, God remains faithful to his promises. He remembers his covenant with David (see 2 Samuel 7), and does not completely reject the people (1 Kings 11:32,34,36). Although he disciplines us – ‘I will humble David’s descendants because of this, but not for ever’ (v.39) – his discipline is temporary, his loyalty is eternal. ‘God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness’ (Hebrews 12:10).

God’s commitment and loyalty to you is such that nothing will be able to separate you ‘from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 8:39).

This is not a reason to be complacent, but it is a motive to delight again at God’s grace, and to give yourself to wholehearted worship. You can choose again to respond to God’s call on your life – ‘walk in my ways and do what is right in my eyes’ (1 Kings 11:38).

Lord, please pour out your Spirit of love, unity and loyalty on the church. Help us to work together in partnership with one another. Guard our friendships, protect our partnerships and give us wisdom in dealing with our adversaries.
Pippa adds
Acts 15:37–39
It is very nice when people stand up for you. Barnabas stood up for Mark and gave him a second chance. Is there someone for whom you could put in a good word today?

06/22/2026

Bible reading for Jun 22:
Prov 30-31

06/22/2026

When Life is Difficult
He was arrested for preaching the gospel. His wife died leaving him with four children, one of whom was blind. Yet he refused to give up telling people the good news about Jesus.

John Bunyan wrote his greatest work in a prison cell. It has been a source of spiritual inspiration and help to countless readers. Translated into over 200 languages, it has never been out of print since the day it was first published in 1678.

Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegory which tells the story of a person called ‘Christian’ on a journey from his hometown to the Celestial City. On the way he faces many difficulties, challenges and obstacles, yet he perseveres faithfully to the end.

A Christian life is not easy. You will face many difficulties along the way. But these need not derail you. In fact, as you go through difficult times staying close to Jesus, you will emerge stronger, wiser and more Christ-like.

Psalm 77:1–9
Distress: How should you respond?
I have a friend who is now a priest. He told me that he often begins his prayers with ‘a time of complaining’! This psalm also begins with the psalmist pouring out his complaints to God.

Having a relationship with God does not protect us from ‘distress’ (v.2). The psalmist was ‘awake all night – not a wink of sleep’ (v.4a, MSG). He feels as if God has rejected him and that he will never experience God’s favour again (vv.7–9).

In this, the first half of Psalm 77, we see how to respond to distress. You can be assured that:

1. God listens to your cry

Tell God exactly what you’re feeling: ‘I yell out to my God, I yell with all my might, I yell at the top of my lungs. He listens. I found myself in trouble and went looking for my LORD’ (vv.1–2a, MSG).

2. God likes your honesty

There is a therapeutic effect in asking honest questions. God’s people bring their doubts, difficulties and distress to God and question him. Even Jesus, on the cross, asked a question, quoting Psalm 22:1: ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Matthew 27:46).

God wants you to be real with him. He does not want you to pretend that all is well. He wants to hear the cry of your heart. This draws you close to him, even in times of great distress.

Thank you, Lord, that you hear the cry of my heart. Thank you that you do not reject me, that your promises do not fail.
Acts 15:1–21
Disputes: How should you resolve them?
There is nothing surprising about ‘arguments’, ‘disputes’ and ‘debates’ in the church today. We read here of a ‘sharp dispute and debate’ (v.2) about what was required in order to be fully accepted as a Christian – a member of the church – and to be ‘saved’ (v.1). Was circumcision a requirement? (v.1).

We see here a four-step process for decision-making. This is a great model for dealing with disputes in the local, national and even global church today.

Call a meeting
Some were insisting that everyone be circumcised. Paul and Barnabas fiercely protested. They called a special meeting to bring the two sides of the debate together. Do not be afraid of conflict. When people come together to talk about issues that matter, it is both natural and productive for disagreement to occur. In fact, that is what makes meetings interesting!
Consider and discuss
‘The arguments went on and on, back and forth, getting more and more heated’ (v.7, MSG). In the end, two factors swayed the debate. First, their reasoning was based on the experience of the Spirit. Peter’s first argument was based on what he had seen the Holy Spirit doing at Cornelius’ house: ‘God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them [the Gentiles] by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them’ (vv.8–9). To make a distinction would have been to oppose God. This led him to the conclusion: ‘We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are’ (v.11). Second, their reasoning was based on the evidence of the Scriptures. James points out that the word of God and the Spirit of God are in alignment: ‘The words of the prophets are in agreement with this’ (v.15). He shows that the Scriptures foretold the inclusion of ‘all the Gentiles’ (v.17) and suggests a way forward consistent with following the experience of the Holy Spirit and the evidence of Scripture (vv.19–21). We can be sure that the word of God and the Spirit of God will always be in agreement. What we cannot be sure of is that our understanding of either is correct. Those arguing that everyone should be circumcised did so on the basis of Scripture. Peter and James did not set aside the Scriptures, but they did argue that they had been misunderstood.
Come to a decision
In the end, they decided (v.22). This was an extraordinary moment in the life of the early church. ‘The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them’ (v.12). It was a spine-tingling moment, which reduced them to silence. At the end of the day decisions require judgment. The apostle James says, ‘It is my judgment’ (v.19). The deciding factor was that they did not want to ‘make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God’ (v.19). All people were to be invited into the church, regardless of their background, although not all practices were allowed (v.20).The lesson here is that we need to be very careful about putting unnecessary obstacles in front of people who are exploring faith in Jesus and we need to be careful about defining the church too narrowly.
Communicate the decision
They wrote it down (v.20). Minutes of a meeting are not just a formality. It is important to record decisions. Then, as we will see tomorrow, they need to be communicated (vv.23–29).
Lord, give us wisdom as we deal with disputes within the church. Thank you that you are pouring out your Holy Spirit again on all parts of the church today. Help us to have the same attitude as you, who ‘made no distinction between us and them’ (v.9).
1 Kings 9:10–11:13
Decoys: How should you resist them?
Solomon’s life presents us with a challenge and a warning: success can be more dangerous for us than failure.

Solomon did much that was right. He was highly successful – the richest and wisest king of his day (10:23). Everyone wanted to meet him and ‘hear the wisdom God had put in his heart’ (v.24).

Solomon had everything. In twenty years, he had built two great buildings: the temple and his palace (9:10). The Queen of Sheba was astonished by what she saw (v.7). She recognises it could only be God: ‘making you king to keep a just order and nurture a God-pleasing people’ (v.9, MSG).

Yet, the tragedy is that Solomon did not finish well. He was led astray. His ‘heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been… his heart had turned away from the LORD’ (11:4,9).

What went wrong? It started with promiscuity. King Solomon was obsessed with s*x: ‘He had seven hundred royal wives and three hundred concubines – a thousand women in all!’ (v.3, MSG).

It ended with following detestable gods: ‘As Solomon grew older, his wives beguiled him with their alien gods’ (4a, MSG). He ‘did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done’ (v.6). He acted contrary to the Lord’s explicit command that the king ‘must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold’ (Deuteronomy 17:17). These decoys led Solomon astray.

David messed up from time to time. When he did, he repented and turned back to the Lord and followed him wholeheartedly. Solomon shows us something different. Seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines do not happen overnight. There must have been compromise in Solomon’s heart. In spite of all God’s blessings, Solomon allowed sin to breed and, in the end, it ruined him.

To avoid ending up like Solomon you need to stay close to Jesus and listen to him. For as Jesus said, the Queen of Sheba ‘came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here’ (Matthew 12:42).

Lord, thank you for this warning. Guard my heart. Help me to be fully devoted to the Lord, to follow you completely to the end of my life.
Pippa adds
1 Kings 11:1
How could Solomon who was such a wise man be so foolish over women? He was also disobedient. God had said don’t marry women from those places. But Solomon did. God said that they would lead him astray. And they did.

06/21/2026

06/21/2026

This morning, we begin a new series going through the book of Nehemiah.

06/21/2026

Bible reading for Jun 21:
1 Kgs 10-11, 2 Chr 9