October 1, 2019th Year of our Lord

Dear family, brethren, and friends,

The first Philippine trip this year included side trips to London, England and Paris, France (Jan. 28-Feb. 7).  I left home September 26 to visit those same congregations again and plan to return home October 7. The Thursday afternoon flight out of Louisville took me to Atlanta where I caught an overnight flight which brought me to London Friday morning.

By God’s good providence, Kyle Campbell had introduced me via email to Constant Coulibaly, an evangelist serving the Brighton church of Christ in England. Brighton is on the English Channel, an hour and a half south of London’s Heathrow Airport.  The church has been meeting there since at least 1890 when the building was constructed.  The United Kingdom like Europe has been secularized to the point that churches of Christ struggle to say alive in a spiritual wasteland (and the U.S. is rapidly going down this same road).

On a positive note, some of these churches are blessed by the presence of Christians from former British colonies and other foreign nations.  The Brighton church is truly international – composed of one Brit (recently converted) with souls from Saint Vincent (island nation north of Venezuela), the Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana, and the Philippines!

The Brighton church invited me to preach in their gospel meeting September 28-29 on the theme “What It Means to be a Christian.”  I prepared six lessons in booklet form and presented them with the aid of PowerPoint charts.  About 40 souls attended both days.

Saturday we studied “Evidence God Exists,” “The Moral Glory of Christ,” and “When Peter Confessed Christ.”  This was followed by an extended open forum session with a good mix of questions.  Perhaps the most interesting question came from a native Brit, Constant’s neighbor with whom we shared a home Bible study Friday evening.  I had given an explanation in answering another question from Matthew 7:21-23 about people who will be shocked to learn they are lost when they answer to God at the end.  Our Brit friend asked, “Does this mean a person like me who was sprinkled as an infant, then later was immersed by the Mormons, will be among those who will fall into that category of being surprised to find I am lost?”  I answered yes and explained that even though the Mormons immersed him, they immersed him into the Mormon Church which was established by Joseph Smith, not by Jesus Christ.  This visitor was not the least offended to hear the truth and nodded to indicate that he understood the point.

Constant and Philice invited him to join us for supper, and I continued to study with him for another hour.  His journey has carried him from a Protestant denomination to Buddhism to Chinese Tao to Mormonism and back to denominationalism, but he still finds himself searching.  He reads the Bible every day and noticed that everything we teach comes directly from Scripture.  Will this man obey the gospel?  The seed has been sown and Constant will continue to cultivate, and God will give the increase according to His will.

Another important question raised was whether people in remote places who do not know the true God and the true gospel will be lost.  2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 shows they will be lost.  Psalm 19 and Romans 1:18-20 show that they are without excuse for not seeking the true God when surrounded by undeniable evidence of His existence.  Acts 17:27 affirms God opens doors for those who seek Him to find Him.

This was a long but profitable day after the services, the supper, and the additional study with our Brit visitor.  I slept about 1:00 A.M. filled with praise and thanksgiving to our great and loving God.

The Sunday sermons were entitled “Back to the Bible,” “The Prison of Sin,” and “Lord, To Whom Shall I Go?”  In the afternoon session the sermon ran from about 2:30 to 3:30 and then I fielded a wide range of questions until 6:30.  The open forum overflowed with good  questions ranging from cremation to the resurrection to why the church does not provide social meals to the work of the church in benevolence to how God calls us to salvation to the repercussions, reactions, and remedies when a preacher commits adultery, and more.

Notice the service was not extended by the length of the sermon but by the persistence of the audience in asking questions as happened in Acts 20:7 (the Greek word translated “preached” indicates dialogue not monologue).  After dismissal several people stayed for another hour of fruitful discussion.  The Coulibays then brought me to their apartment for another delicious meal and additional study.  I returned to the hotel at 11:00 P.M., went to the exercise room, called Donna to catch up on all the news at home, and expired in the bed at 1:10 A.M.

When we encounter this kind of hunger for the truth, we are reminded why we must not lose our faith in the power of the gospel or relent in our efforts to preach it far and wide!

The church in Brighton definitely has potential to grow.  They are planning and working to become more visible and more effective in the community.  Their normal attendance is about 12 and the members are widely scattered, but they have no intention of giving up.  Most members are not professionals and have lower paying jobs.  For instance, Constant’s wife is a care giver for a private citizen.  Yet, in the future Constant and Philice want to move closer to Brighton in order to be able to devote more time and effort in the local community.  He desperately needs financial support, but the church can barely maintain the building and give him a little help for gas.  They are currently making repairs on the building.  These brethren need our prayers and encouragement.

Brighton is considered the homosexual capital of Europe.  It is like first century Corinth, but the gospel penetrated even wicked Corinth and can spread in Brighton too!

These past two days left me both tired and thankful, exhausted and exhilarated.  Monday was used for rest, exercise, email, and another delightful evening visit with Constant and Philice.  If I had known what a good cook she is, I would have come to London sooner.  We had more Bible study and discussion of the challengers and trials Satan brings to our lives.  After returning to my room, I talked with Donna and got to bed shortly past midnight.

Tuesday was set aside for something I have wanted to accomplish for many years: to see ancient  Greek manuscripts of the Bible.  Constant was my companion to guide me via the underground rail system from the hotel to the British Library which involved an hour of travel time.  The room displaying Sacred Texts included the Sinaiticus Codex (literal meaning Sinai Book, because the text was found at Mt. Sinai; Greek Bible manuscript dating to about A.D. 350), the Alexandrinus Codex (literally Alexandria Book, because this text was discovered at Alexandria, Egypt; Greek Bible manuscript dating to about A.D. 400), a copy of the Wycliffe Bible (English translation by John Wycliffe about A.D. 1380 – all such copies made by hand predating the printing press invented in 1450), a copy of the Tyndale Bible (English translation by William Tyndale in 1534 – the copy we saw belonged to Anne Bolyne, King Henry VIII’s second wife and mother of Queen Elizabeth I), and ancient translations of the Bible into Ethiopic and Coptic languages.

It is truly awe inspiring to be in the presence of clear evidence of God’s providence in fulfillment of His promises that His Word will never pass away (Isa. 40:7-8; Matt. 24:35; 1 Pet. 1:23-25).  It is humbling to see these artifacts which remind us of the blood, sweat, and tears sacrificed to pass God’s Word down through the centuries so that we can hold that Word in our hands and hearts today!

My heart is filled with thanksgiving for the power of the precious Word of God and for the determination of the saints worshiping at Brighton to proclaim it until our Lord returns.  I must now prepare to preach to Filipino saints living in Paris, France on the next leg of the trip.  I appeal for your prayers so that my teaching will edify and encourage those dear saints.

In Christian love,

Ron Halbrook

To see good Bible study material, go to:
http://www.HebronChurchOfChrist.com
http://www.biblework.com
http://www.truthmagazine.com
http://www.truthbooks.com