Headline news – either in the newspaper or on the TV news – tends to be depressing. The main items of news often involve political problems, international disasters (either natural or man-made), national crises, weather crises or some other disaster that is rarely uplifting.
Psalm 145 is a psalm of praise. The Message version translates verse 6 as ‘Your marvellous doings are headline news.’ What a difference it makes if we stop to consider all God does and allow that to shape our understanding not only of the news but of the world. The psalm looks at who God is (‘great is the Lord and most worthy of praise’) and talks of His wonderful works. It reminds us of God’s character (‘gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love,’ a God who is good to all and whose actions are ‘suffused with grace.’) It reminds us of the trustworthiness of God and His righteousness and faithfulness. We belong to an everlasting kingdom which will not be toppled or brought down like so many of the world’s regimes, giving us another reason for confidence even in difficult times. God is near to all who call on Him in truth and fulfils the desires of those who fear Him. When we reflect on psalms like this, we gain a whole new understanding of the world and learn to see it through God’s eyes, rather than being filled with trepidation or fear.
Next month will see our church celebrate fifty years of owning buildings in Goldthorpe, for we moved into our own building on Beever Street in 1964 before moving to our present location on Market Street in 2010. Prior to that, the church met in rented accommodation (an ‘upper room’ on the main road in Goldthorpe.) Fifty years of God’s faithfulness to us to celebrate! Ps 145:4 says ‘Generation after generation stands in awe of your work;each one tells stories of your mighty acts.‘ This is the testimony of each generation of God’s people. We stand in awe of His work and tell others the stories of what He has done for us. Salvation is a personal story which we rejoice in sharing with others.
Next month we will be celebrating the church’s Jubilee through our ‘Big Birthday Bash’, a weekend of special meetings and activities held on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd June. Come along to take part in craft activities focussing on the names of God, have refreshments, look at photos of ‘Goldthorpe Then And Now’ and simply hear what God has been doing in our lives over these past fifty years. The Open Day will run from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on the Saturday and in the evening at 7 p.m. we will hold a special celebration meeting so that we can ‘tell stories of God’s mighty acts.’ On the Sunday, meetings will be at 10.30 a.m. when we celebrate not only our Jubilee, but the fact that God’s plan of salvation was made before the foundation of the world and we are invited to join in His great story and at 6 p.m. we will host a family service of celebration and thanksgiving. Do come along! These meetings may or may not make the local news, but we are convinced that God is working in our local community for His glory and that He still has many mighty acts for us to witness.