On Saturday the 23rd April in Chester, a band of believers from our church met with folks from some other churches to conduct an outreach event in commemoration of the martyr, George Marsh.
Marsh was a sixteenth-century believer who was burned alive by the Roman Catholic Church for refusing to deny his Biblical beliefs.
It's good to remember the sacrifices believers have made in the past. Their steadfastness encourages us, even today. The Apostle Paul said his suffering—he was writing from jail and faced possible execution—resulted in greater courage in the believers (Php 1:14).
The Christians on Saturday likewise drew strength from the remembrance of Marsh's refusal to cave in to Satan's agents. For two hours solid, the gospel was preached to hundreds in the city centre. Gospel literature was distributed and conversations were had.
Following this, the party gathered just outside the centre at a memorial erected in Marsh's memory. Charles Scott-Pearson of the Protestant Alliance delivered a short biography of the martyr then gave an address from Proverbs about the Christian's duty.
We then headed to Zion Tabernacle, a place of worship pastored by David Carson, where we enjoyed pizza and chips, sandwiches and the obligatory cake! The evening ended with a further address by Charles about some other, less well-known, martyrs.
What a blessed day!