What’s Happening

The Fixed Gaze of Faith

Oct 31, 2022

Lions are known to stalk their prey, quietly pursuing an animal until they are ready to pounce. Stealth and quietness are the tactics they use to creep up unannounced on their unsuspecting prey.

Many animals stalk others, relying on their senses (eyesight, hearing, smell) to guide them. Stalking involves a quiet determination and a studied attentiveness.

Hebrews 3:1 urges us to fix our thoughts on Jesus. The word used means ‘to consider attentively, to fix one’s minds or eyes upon.’ It’s found in Luke 12:24 when Jesus urges us to ‘consider the ravens‘ and in Heb 10;24 when we are told to ‘consider how we may spur one another to love and good deeds.’ The idea is that we think about something and focus our attention on Jesus.

The lion stalking its prey has one thought on its mind: the satisfaction of food. We need the same single-minded devotion to and attention on Jesus. One of the enemy’s chief tactics is distraction. If he can divert us from thinking about Jesus, focussing our attention instead on other things (on world issues, politics, poverty, people, illness, finances, celebrations), then he will weaken us and defeat us more easily. Jesus is the spiritual substance we need to sustain and satisfy us; we cannot afford to be distracted from Him.

Hebrews 12:2 tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus, using a different word that means ‘to look away from all else at…’ Looking solely at Jesus is the key to running this race marked out for us with perseverance. We need the single-minded vision of the athlete and the determined focus of the lion if we are to avoid distraction and diversion and ultimately triumph in life.

Unwanted Miracles

Oct 30, 2022

Tonight we looked at what may well seem an unwanted miracle initially to us: God’s discipline and judgment. Often, we associate miracles with the spectacular and dramatic, but sometimes the way God works is painful and difficult to understand. Prov 3:11-12 reminds us, however, that God’s discipline comes from love and Hebrews 12:7-11 expands this, reminding us that parental discipline is necessary and that this training from God actually helps us to share in His holiness, ultimately producing ‘a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.’ (Heb 12:11)

The book of Habbakuk shows us how the prophet comes to God in confusion and frustration as he sees violence succeeding and injustice flourishing. He demonstrates the reality of a relationship with God: we can come even with our complaints! But God’s answer stuns him even more than His silence, for God chose to use the godless Babylonians to discipline His chosen people. Habakkuk had to learn that whilst he knew much of God’s nature, he still could not wholly fathom God or control Him in any way. There is always mystery and transcendence in God; Habakkuk cannot understand why God will allow judgment and punishment to come upon His people through the Babylonians who are without mercy. This miracle of discipline is not something he wants to even contemplate. Yet he is wise enough to remain in God’s presence and to wait for His answer. (Hab 2:1)

God’s answer to this second complaint or lament is that the answer may be delayed, but ultimately, His discipline and judgment exist to teach us to live by faith (Hab 2:4). Habakkuk has to learn to wait: ‘the Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth be silent before Him.’ (Hab 2:20) Habakkuk’s prayer in chapter 3 demonstrates that he has moved from frustration, anguish and lament to praise and strength, hope and confidence running through his words, even though the actual fulfilment of God’s words still lie in the future. The book ends with words of confident praise:

Habakkuk teaches us much about God’s miraculous intervention in our world, but also about how living by faith will always involve trust and praise, even when we do not necessarily see the answers we want. God often disciplines and trains us, stripping us of our comforts and security so that we learn to rely on Him alone (2 Cor 1:8-9). He teaches us to ejoice in the Lord and be joyful in our God and Saviour, no matter what is happening around us, whether we see the miracles now – or whether, like Habakkuk, we are still waiting.

‘Even If…’ Faith (2)

Oct 30, 2022

The faith of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego rings out in their powerful words to the king: ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us[c] from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18)

It’s easy to praise God ‘when days are gold and life is good/ When the plans we make go as they should’, but we are called to worship ‘when the sky turns dark and heartache falls/ And when a lonely painful season calls.’ (‘We Will Worship’, Kutless) We are called to worship ‘all that You are’ ‘through the best, through the worst.’ (‘We Will Worship’, Kutless) The decision to praise God no matter what and to trust Him even when things do not seem to be going our way ultimataly comes down to faith; ‘confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.’ (Heb 11:1)

Rend Collective’s song ‘Hallelujah Anyway’ talks of this ‘even if…’ faith:

“Even if my daylight never dawns,

Even if my breakthrough never comes,

Even if I’ll fight to bring You praise,

Even if my dreams fall to the ground,

Even if I’m lost, I know I’m found,

Even if my heart will somehow say,

‘Hallelujah anyway.’” (‘Hallelujah Anyway’, Rend Collective)

Kutless also show us how we can do this in their song ‘Even If’, which focuses on who God is:

‘Even if the healing doesn’t come

And life falls apart

And dreams are still undone,

You are God, You are good,

Forever faithful One,

Even if the healing,

Even if the healing doesn’t come.’ (‘Even If’, Kutless)

It is because of our knowledge of God’s character that we can praise in the darkest of times. ‘Sometimes all we have to hold onto is what we know is true of who You are.’ (‘Even If’, Kutless) Because God is unchanging, we have hope that He will sustain us and step into our fiery furnaces and deliver us from evil.

‘Even If…’ Faith

Oct 30, 2022

This morning we looked at the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3), one of the most memorable miracles in the Old Testament. We saw, however, that it was the ‘even if…’ faith of these men which opened the door to the miraculous. Their ordinary stand for God, refusing to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue, took courage and faith. They were secure in their knowledge of who God was and believed that He was not only able to deliver them but that He would do so, yet they also faced the consequences of what would happen if He did not do so and still refused to compromise.

Civil disobedience is sometimes necessary (Acts 5:29), and these three men were unwavering in their commitment to God. They had counted the cost (see Luke 14:28033, Mark 8:34-38) and rightly feared God more than Nebuchadnezzar (see Luke 12:4-5). They had set their minds and affection upon the one true God, and no matter what their natural eyes might tell them or what others said or if the worst thing actually happened, they were prepared to die for their principles rather than compromise their beliefs.

Miracles come when people declare this kind of faith in God. Miracles come when our own wellbeing no longer has priority in our thinking, when we long to honour God in everything we do and say. Miracles come when we are prepared to lay down our lives for a higher cause, when God is so important to us that even if what we long for does not happen, we will still choose to trust Him and believe in His goodness. God literally stepped into the furnace with them and protected them so that their clothes were not scorched and they did not even smell of fire. (Daniel 3:27) We can be confident in the God we serve and can, like these men, honour God by our ‘even if…’ faith and our determination to praise Him, no matter what.

Coming Soon…

Oct 30, 2022

We are busy preparing for activities over the next two months; here are some dates for the diary…

November

Wednesday 2nd November is the last day to bring in items for the Operation Christmas Child Christmas appeal (sending presents to children abroad.)

Saturday 5th November (10 a.m. – 12 p.m.) is our ‘Take Back The Streets’ prayer meeting and coffee morning. Join us to pray and walk or stay in the building for a cuppa and a chat!
Sunday 13th November we hope to have Fredrick and Reeba from India visiting and have guest speaker Joy Gascoigne with us in the evening (6 p.m.)
Wednesday 16th November (2 p.m.) is the ‘Churches Together’ prayer meeting at Furlong Road Methodist Church in Bolton-on-Dearne

December

In addition to our usual services, we are involved in some extra Christmas activities:

‘Christmas @ The Embankment’ on Sunday 11th December (1-3 p.m.) with Christmas crafts and carol-singing at Goldthorpe Railway Embankment
4FrontTheatre will be in Goldthorpe with their new Christmas pantomime ‘Jilly Rogers’ Christmas Adventure’, sponsored by Dearne Churches Together. They will be performing for pupils at Lacewood Primary School in the morning and for pupils of Sacred Heart Primary School in the afternoon, with a community performance at GPCC in the evening at 6 p.m. This performance is already fully booked!
Our Parent & Toddler group will have 2 Christmas parties on Wednesday 14th & Friday 16th December. Raffle prizes are needed for these to help fund the parties and purchase of Christmas presents for our toddlers.
Our carol service will be on Sunday 18th December at 6 p.m., featuring traditional carols and more modern songs from the ‘Boogie-Woogie Nativity’ by NIki Davies

On Christmas Day, we will have a morning service at 10.30 a.m. but no evening service.

Our Angel Scarecrow

Oct 30, 2022

For four years, Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel while working on a hanging scaffold. The work was demanding, but as a superb artist, he always maintained a standard of excellence and expanded the project from a simple depiction of the twelve apostles to include more than four hundred figures and nine scenes from the book of Geneis. When asked why he was working so hard on a dark corner of the chapel that no one would ever see, Michelangelo replied, “God will see.” Ultimately, he worked for God, not simply for humans.

We are definitely not Michelangelo, but we hope that the same spirit of “God will see” has inspired our angel scarecrow which is now in place for the Snap Tin Community Hub Scarecrow Trail, which will take place over this weekend. Our angel scarecrow is a reminder to all that God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5) His white robe sparkles with silvery spots and his head is enrobed in gold. White lights adorn his body and he has a gold belt from which hang different Bible verses about light, including the verse that says, ‘The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.’ (John 1:5) You may well not be able to see these things from a distance, but they are there, a visual reminder that God is light and that because of this, light shines in the darkness and His word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.

Have a look at all the scarecrows on the trail and vote for our angel scarecrow if you want to (number 5 on the trail). But even if you don’t, know that light will prevail over darkness and you can trust in God’s light, life and love always.

How to vote is in the picture below.