Birstall Independent Baptist Church
Bible text: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
Welcome
Welcome to the website of Birstall Independent Baptist Church.
We hope that you will find this site useful if you are new to the area and are looking for a church home or if you are interested in finding out more about the Lord Jesus Christ and the Christian faith. Whatever your reason, you will be most welcome to come and worship with us.
Please contact us if you would like further information.
Birstall
Birstall is a large village situated to the north of Leicester. It is three miles from the city centre on the A6 towards Loughborough. It is part of the Borough of Charnwood and the wider Leicester Urban Area.
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THOUGHT FOR THIS MONTH
(This is taken from: http://www.thoughtfortheweek.co.uk/welcome/ and written by Peter Milsom.)
THE TRANSFORMING POWER OF FORGIVENESS
Corrie Ten Boom was the daughter of a Dutch watchmaker. Corrie and her sister Betsie opened their home to Jewish refugees and members of the resistance movement and were sought after by the Gestapo. They built a secret hiding place in their home which could hold 6 people. In February 1944 a Dutch informer betrayed the Ten Boom family, and they were all arrested, but the people in the hiding place were not discovered and later escaped. Eventually Corrie and Betsie were sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp where Betsie died.
After the war Corrie spoke at churches in Germany with the message God forgives. It was a message the people desperately needed to hear. One evening in 1947 after she had spoken at a meeting in Munich a man came forward. He had been a guard at Ravensbrück and Corrie remembered him. He said that since the war he had become a Christian and now knew God had forgiven him for the cruel things he had done. He held out his hand and asked Corrie, “Will you forgive me?” Corrie struggled as memories of the concentration camp and the death of Betsie came flooding back.
Corrie said, “It was the most difficult thing I ever had to do. I stood there with coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion – I knew that. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. ‘Help!’ I prayed silently. ‘I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling.’ And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing happened. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. ‘I forgive you, brother!’ I cried. ‘With all my heart!’ For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely, as I did then.”