Jesus tells a story in Matthew 25:14-19, 24-30 about a man going away and entrusting his fortune to servants, some of whom invested the money wisely and made more and one who was afraid and simply hid the money. This parable (often referred to as the Parable of the Talents, referring to the money rather than to what we generally call ‘talents’ nowadays) can often seem to be an incentive to work even harder and to have good business skills, which can leave many of us confused about its relevance to gospel living (and anxious if we feel we don’t have those business skills!) In actual fact, though, we see here how attitudes are so important; fear and an unwillingness to step out in faith and trust can be the real obstacles to living as God wants us to. Sally Welch says, ‘All we are asked to do is use what we have been given in the best way possible, to the glory of God and in the service of our fellow human beings. The third employee buried the money with which he had been entrusted, thus abdicating all responsibility for it. It is for this he was judged, not for his failure to multiply what he was given.’ (‘Sharing The Easter Story’, P 121)

Paul tells us that all of us who have been given a trust must prove faithful. (1 Cor 4:2) Faithfulness is an aspect of trusting which we need to grasp. This is what God is looking for in His people.

Revelation 21:1-6 points to a glorious future, a new heaven and a new earth. God has no intention of getting rid of all that is damaged and broken, but intends to make everything new, including our damaged, broken lives. He is not going to abandon us or throw us away, but instead is going to renew and redeem us. This renewed world will be a place where there is no more mourning, crying and pain; it will be a place of fellowship and hope.

We live in the ‘between times’, between Christ’s life, death and resurrection and His return to make everything new. We catch glimpses of what God is doing, but we are called to live by faith and not by sight. (2 Cor 5:7) That’s where trust comes in. Prov 3:5-6 says, ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct (or make straight) your paths.’ Trusting is what we are called to do as we wait for the renewal God promises.

How we see ourselves will often vary from day to day; how others see us is even less reliable! We often wear many different hats, so to speak, and therefore can be seen in different lights according to our roles (child, partner, parent, work colleague, friend and so on.) It takes a lifetime of trusting God to see ourselves as He sees us, to accept His evaluation of our identity.

In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus tells a story about two men: a Pharisee who thought a lot about himself (and sadly looked down on others who did not match his standards) and a tax collector who thought very little about himself. In relation to God, however, we are jolted with surprise to find it is the tax collector, with his simple, heartfelt prayer (‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’) who is justified rather than the other. Jesus concludes this story by saying, ‘for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’ (Luke 18:14)

Ultimately, we need to put our trust in God’s love for us, rather than in our own righteousness, competence or skills. If we don’t, we might find ourselves shocked that God’s judgment is not the same as our own.

We continued looking at the subject of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ in our Bible study tonight, looking at what the New Testament letters of Paul teach about this. There are references in most of His letters; tonight, we looked at Romans 13:11-14, Philippians 1:6, 10; 3:20-21, 1 Cor 1:7; 4:5; 11:26; 15:51-57, Col 3:4, 1 Thess 1:9-10; 2:19-20; 4:13-18; 5:1-11, 23.

There are common themes in these letters. For Christians, Christ’s coming is something to be eagerly anticipated; it is something which informs how we live now (serving the Lord and waiting expectantly) and it gives us hope for the future, a future that includes resurrection of our mortal, lowly bodies into something immortal and glorious. Christ’s resurrection acts as the guarantee that we too will be resurrected; death is not the end. We have a hope that transforms grief and gives us confidence for the future. Christ rescues us from wrath; when He appears, we too will also appear with Him in glory. We can, therefore, endure all that life can throw at us, confident in His judgment and justice to come.

In these passages, Paul paints a picture of hope and encouragement inextricably connected to the return of Jesus Christ.

• Jesus will rescue us from coming wrath.

• We will be ‘holy and blameless’ in God’s presence when He returns, ‘preserved complete, without blame.’

• We have a hope for all who have died before us – none will be forgotten; all will be raised.

• We don’t know when this will happen, but we know that it will happen.

• We live in the light of this coming; it informs how we live each day.

• Hope fuels our daily journeys (including the painful journeys of persecution or grief).

Phil Wickham’s song ‘Your Arrival‘ captures something of the anticipation and hope we have as we wait for Christ to return:

‘Here in the final hour, hope lifts the tired eyes.
Here now, we are waiting for You to arrive.
Great things are set in motion.
The sky breaks where the trumpets sound
You call all Your children to meet You in the clouds.

We are waiting, anticipating
Your arrival, Your arrival,
Voices raising, celebrating
Your arrival, Your arrival.’ (‘Your Arrival’, Phil Wickham)

This Sunday (27th March) is Mothering Sunday and we will be welcoming Tim Walker from Christians Agains Poverty to our morning service at 10.30 a.m. Our evening service will be at 6.00 p.m. as usual.

There’s a lot happening in April as we approach Easter.

• Our Lent Bible studies will continue on 1st & 8th April at 11.45 a.m., starting with lunch and then studying readings from ‘Sharing The Easter Story’ by Sally Welch.

• The funeral service for Eileen Cowley will be at GPCC on Monday 4th April at 1 p.m. We will be at Ardsley Crematorium after the service (2.10 p.m.) and will then return to GPCC for refreshments. If you can help on that day at all, please see Julie.

• Our ‘Take Back The Streets’ prayer meeting will be on the 2nd Saturday in April (9th April, leaving GPCC at 10 a.m.) Join us to walk around Goldthorpe and pray for our community.

• We will be joining with other local churches and community organisations at the Spring Fair on Saturday 9th April between 12 and 3 p.m. at Goldthorpe Railway Embankment. We will be telling the Easter story at 12.30 p.m. and 2.00 p.m. and will be doing crafts on an Easter theme. There is lots happening at the Spring Fair, so do come along and join us!

• We’ll be back at the Railway Embankment on Wednesday 13th April as part of our Easter Fun Day. We’re planting flowers at Thurnscoe Park at 10 a.m., then planting at the Embankment at 11.30 a.m. and will then go to Furlong Road Methodist Church in Bolton-on-Dearne for lunch and craft activities (12.30-2.00 p.m.) Join us for one or all of those events by booking in with Julie (07729 421405 or email julie@gpcchurch.co.uk)

• 

• Our Good Friday service (15th April) will start at 5 p.m. with a fellowship meal followed by a service remembering the life-changing events of that day when Jesus died for our sins.

• On Easter Sunday (17th April) our services will be at 10.30 a.m. and 6.00 p.m.

Today’s reading calls us to reflect on Psalm 22. This psalm, the beginning of which (‘My God, my God, why have Your forsaken me?’) was quoted by Jesus moments before He died on the cross, completing the work of salvation, speaks of a dark place, a place where God seems absent, a place of anguish and unanswered prayer. Alone and stricken, the psalmist nonetheless remembers all the ways God has intervened on His people’s behalf in the past and ends in hope that God will draw near once again. As he trusts in God, his rock and his deliverer, the psalmist can turn lament into praise. This can be our experience too.

We have a Saviour who knows what it is to suffer, who has shared in the darkness of humanity as well as in our joys. ‘We trust in the God who has already redeemed us, who has shown his care for us in the past and who continues to love us. We trust in the Son, who shares our suffering, bearing his wounds willingly for our sake. We trust in the Spirit, whose life-giving breath infuses every moment with hope, offering the certainty that this suffering will be redeemed and transformed. We are invited to call out to God in the darkness, to trust his eternal and love response and to praise him.’ (‘Sharing the Easter Story’, P 113)