The Donkey And The Horse

Apr 13, 2025

This morning we looked at the Triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (Matt 22:1-11), noticing that the form of transport chosen by Jesus (a colt, the foal of a donkey) demonstrated not only His organisational prowess or the fulfilment of prophecy (Zech 9:9) but His method of ruling – through lowliness and humility, service and self-denial (see also Mark 10:45). Jesus was indeed God’s king, chosen to bring peace to mankind, but the way He would do this would be through His death on a cross, not through military might.
As we look back during Advent to the first coming of Jesus but also look ahead to His second coming, so the triumphal entry of Palm Sunday points us to the time when Jesus will come again, this time riding on a white horse, bringing with Him an army of believers. Then He will be known as ‘Faithful and True’, the ‘Word of God’, ‘King of Kings and Lord of lords.’ (Rev 19:11-16) Then He will come not only to bring salvation to those who have believed in Him but to judge the world. (Heb 9:28) We will then see Jesus not as the One bearing our punishment and shame (see Isaiah 53) but as the One who will ‘mete out God’s judgment on those who rejected His offer of peace.’ (Joe Beard)
God’s story encompasses all of history. We look back at that first Easter with hearts of gratitude because it shows us the way of salvation. It shows us that there is hope for the hopeless, that God Himself has made a way for us to be reconciled to Him. But we also look ahead to the completion of God’s plans and the fulfilment of all prophecy. We share in Holy Communion only ‘until He comes’ (see 1 Cor 11:23-26) God’s story is in several acts: Jesus came to earth from glory. He lived and served in humility, becoming obedient to death on a cross. He died on the cross for our sins, but there is now an empty tomb, for He rose again. He ascended to heaven, and we are now in that final stage of history, waiting for His triumphant return. Come, Lord Jesus.

Chickens and Easter

Apr 6, 2025

Easter is a time when we often think about eggs (usually of the chocolate variety!) Tonight at our Little Big Church service, Stephen talked about eggs a lot… but how they hatch into chickens… and how the chickens grow to become hens that lay eggs…
Eggs often symbolise new life, and the miracle of watching chicks hatch from an incubator reminds us of the glory of God’s creation (since hens do this naturally!) If the eggs don’t hatch properly (giving rise to the idiom ‘don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched’), there is sadness because of death. In the same way, God is sad because of the sin that separates us from Him which leads to death. Easter is the time when we remember what God has done for us in sending us His Son to die for our sins.
Often, we don’t want to see God’s mercy extended to others (as Jonah demonstrates), but the truth is that God longs for us to repent and accept His offer of eternal life. The good news of Easter is that death doesn’t have the last word. The resurrection of Jesus means new life, and just as spring and chicks hatching remind us of new life in the natural world, so the resurrection reminds us of spiritual new life available to all.
The children went on a wooden egg hunt and decorated these eggs for us.

Harbingers of Glory

Apr 6, 2025

This morning we looked at John the Baptist, who was the forerunner for Jesus prophesied about in the Old Testament, sent to prepare the way for the Messiah (see Isaiah 40:3, Luke 3:4-5). We said that he was a harbinger (someone who announces or signals the approach of another), and that he did not seek glory for himself, but only wanted to glorify Jesus, ‘the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’ (John 1:17) In this, he foreshadows our identity as the people of God: we are called to glorify Jesus and are ‘harbingers of glory,’ intended to reflect God’s image and identity to the world.

Glory is the word used to describe the sum of who God is. It’s a word we find frequently in the Bible, and yet it’s not an easy word to describe or explain. The dictionary defines glory as ‘high renown or honour won by notable achievements’ (see Ps 139:14, Ps 19:1). Often in the Old Testament, the manifestation of God’s glory was accompanied by supernatural fire, thick clouds, and a great quaking of the earth. (Ex 19:8, Deut 5:24-25, Isaiah 6:1-4) We see God’s glory descending on the temple in 2 Chron 7:1-3, so that the priests were not able to perform their duties because of the thickness of the clouds. In the New Testament, the transfiguration of Jesus and the revelation of Jesus received by John show us the awesome power and presence of God (see Matt 7, Rev 1).

Exodus 34 explores this theme of how we are called to reflect God’s glory, how Moses’s face shone after He had been in God’s presence on Mount Sinai, how he had to wear a veil because his face shone so brightly. Paul develops this in 2 Corinthians 3, telling us that we are being transformed into God’s image as we contemplate God’s glory. As God works in our hearts, He shapes us so that we are changed. The fruit of the Spirit is grown in our hearts as we yield our will to God’s. Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are developed in us. (Gal 5:22-23) We don’t physically look like Jesus, but His character is being grown within us so that we can shine for Him. After all, Jesus, the Light of the world, said that ‘you are the light of the world.’ (Matt 5:14) Our purpose in reflecting His character, light and glory is to point others to Him, just as John the Baptist did: ‘Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’ (Matt 5:16) Our purpose as God’s people is to be harbingers of His glory.

April events

Apr 6, 2025

Yesterday our coffee morning incorporated Easter crafts and we raised £202.50 towards the Dearne Community Arts’ Festival (happening on 27 September at Astrea Academy Dearne.)

 

April is a busy month with other Easter activities. Our last Lent lunch is on Friday 11 April at 11.45 a.m. and we have a Good Friday service on 18 April, starting with a meal at 5 p.m. Our services on Easter Sunday are at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m.

On Wednesday 9 April we have Clover the Easter bunny visitng our Parent & Toddler grpuo. Our last session before Easter is on 11 April. Raffles will be drawn this weke. We re-open on Wednesday 30 April.

Our ‘Churches Together’ prayer meeting is on Wednesday 9 April at 2 p.m. at Sacred Heart RC Church on Lockwood Road and we will be having a family fun day at Furlong Road Methodist Church in Bolton upon Dearne on Wednesday 16 April between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The Transforming Power of Overcoming Faith

Apr 3, 2025

Guest speaker Yan Hadley spoke at GPCC tonight on the subject of ‘the transforming power of overcoming faith.’ All of us have things we need to overcome; many of the situations faced by Jesus were very difficult (a man whose son was demon-possessed or a friend who had died), but through faith, healing, restoration and resurrection occurred. Moses only had a stick, but God was with him to accomplish amazing things; what matters is not the vessel, but what is inside it (see 2 Cor 4:7, 1 John 4:4). Jesus can change our lives, coming to live within us and transform us.
There are different kinds of faith:
1. Dormant faith, where people are risk-averse and avoid moving with God, perhaps because of previous disappointment
2. Divided faith, where doubt is mixed in with faith, perhaps where there are particular areas which stretch us (see Mark 9:17-24)
3. Diverted faith, where our faith is distracted or we believe fears and circumstances more than we believe God
4. Dynamic faith, the type of faith which overcomes as we realise what God can do and focus single-mindedly on God
When faith is in action, we see the invisible become visible (see 2 Kings 6:17). Overcoming faith is like a muscle; it needs to be used or it will waste away. When God speaks, are we listening? Bartimaeus shouted out to Jesus in faith and Jesus responded to His call. He saw his faith and responded. We will see Jesus respond when we call to Him in faith – but what kind of faith will we have?

Wardrobes

Apr 3, 2025

We continue to look at Matthew 6 today, reading verses 28-33 and thinking about the wardrobe.

 

A wardrobe in modern times is a place where we store clothes, with many of us having far too many clothes, even if we often feel we have nothing suitable to wear! Jesus reminds us in this passage that worrying about clothes is not necessary, for we have a heavenly Father who knows our needs and will provide for us. It’s worth thinking about our attitude to wealth, as Jesus frequently spoke about this topic and reminded us that a love of money can be a barrier to faith in God.

On a practical level, Lent can be a time when we clear out our wardrobes, giving away what we do not need and perhaps giving to those who do. Caring for the poor and needy is often a good way of loosening our grip on worldly possessions, which ultimately we do not need. It is more blessed to give than to receive, so we need to move away from accumulation to distribution!