Dodd Road Community Church

Kids Alive

Robin — Thu, 26 Mar 2015 03:56:57 +0000

Kids Alive UK is part of a global charity focusing on the support of children at risk. The work of Kids Alive International takes them to Latin America , Africa, Asia , Eastern Europe, Middle East and the Pacific islands. The UK arm works in Ethiopia, Kenya, India, Romania and Moldova, Nepal and Burma. The work involves creating safe family environments for the children, involving their parents where possible, focusing on their health, education, and spiritual needs, in ways appropriate to the society in which they are living.

www.kidsalive.org

Overseas Mission Support

Robin — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 17:45:01 +0000

Doddinghurst Road Community Church supports various overseas missionary charities. We believe it is important that the “local” church has an interest in the global church. God has blessed us with resources to share with others, not only finance but more importantly the ability to pray, and discover God’s heart of compassion and love for others. Jesus commanded his disciples to take the message of the gospel to all nations. The command is the same for us. (Matthew Ch.28 v 16-20). The missions supported by Dodd Road Church are briefly explained in the following links. If you would like to know more about who we support click on the links and take a trip around our mission world………..

Growing Pains

Robin — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 00:26:38 +0000

AN OPERATION to remove a sword from the head of a 15-year-old boy in China has been successful.

A group of teenage boys in the Hunan province were left stunned when a 20-inch speciality sword was accidentally plunged between the eyes of Zhang Bin earlier this month.
The group of friends were playing with the weapon before it slipped out of someone’s hand to become lodged two inches into Zhang’s skull.

Speaking to national media he said: “Three classmates came to visit me at home. My friend with the sword stood around ten feet away. I don’t know how it managed to slip and fly towards me. I felt a sharp pain and lots of blood started flowing down my face.”

Doctors at his local hospital immediately declared that they did not have the expertise to operate on his head and subsequently sent him on a four-hour journey to a hospital in Changsha.

Zhang is now making a full recovery thanks to surgeons who spent hours removing the blade. One of the doctors said: “Luckily, the sword did not touch the arteries in the skull or any key nerves, otherwise it would have been a different story.”

Removing unwanted items from our heads is something we very rarely have to endure. However, Jesus did say some very unique things about this. We find this in The Matthews Gospel Chapter 7

Matthew 7

Judging Others

¹ “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

⁶ “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Ask, Seek, Knock

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you

Women in Need (WIN)

Robin — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 01:22:19 +0000

Women in Need meet every Tuesday at Dodd Road Church at 11.30am. Their main activity has been to support the work of Women in Need Kenya (WINK) in raising money for the projects there as well as praying for them in their vital work.

In addition to this WIN alo help women in the local community who need support or just want somewhere to go for a couple of hours once a week and enjoy fellowship.

Courage against all odds

Robin — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 01:17:40 +0000

The Fight in the Dog
Two armed robbers were forced to abandon an attempted robbery of a shop in California after a resident Chihuahua dog chased them away.

Carrying a rifle and wearing black hooded jackets, the two criminals burst into the tobacco store near Los Angeles demanding money from the shop owner.
As soon as the owner began handing over cash from the till however, his tiny pet started barking repeatedly and jumping at the robbers.

The fearless dog named Paco refused to back down from the pair despite having a rifle barrel pointed at him during the event. After 15 seconds of barking and jumping at their legs, the dog finally claimed his victory as he chased the men out of the shop and down the street nipping at their ankles.

Startling footage of the incident has been released by Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials and can be viewed here.

A similar event of courage against all odds can be found in the Bible in the following story

1 Samuel 17:20-50

New International Version – UK (NIVUK)

²⁰Early in the morning David left the flock with a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry.

²¹Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other.

²²David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and greeted his brothers.

²³As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it.

²⁴When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear.

²⁵Now the Israelites had been saying, Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his father’s family from taxes in Israel.

²⁶David asked the men standing near him, What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?

²⁷They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, This is what will be done for the man who kills him.

²⁸When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.

²⁹Now what have I done? said David. Can’t I even speak?

³⁰He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before.

³¹What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.

³²David said to Saul, Let no-one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.

³³Saul replied, You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.

³⁴But David said to Saul, Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock,

³⁵I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.

³⁶Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.

³⁷The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. Saul said to David, Go, and the LORD be with you.

³⁸Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armour on him and a bronze helmet on his head.

³⁹David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. I cannot go in these, he said to Saul, because I am not used to them. So he took them off.

⁴⁰Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

⁴¹Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield-bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David.

⁴²He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him.

⁴³He said to David, Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

⁴⁴Come here, he said, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!

⁴⁵David said to the Philistine, You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

⁴⁶This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.

⁴⁷All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.

⁴⁸As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly towards the battle line to meet him.

⁴⁹Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.

⁵⁰ So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.