We had another lovely Fun Day yesterday as these photos show!

We’ve had a great day today exploring the theme ‘Love Is…’ through a variety of crafts. In total, we had 113 people attend, with 47 adults and 66 children present. A very big THANK YOU to each church who helped today (GPCC, the Salvation Army, St Helen’s in Thurnscoe and Furlong Road Methodist Church in Bolton-on-Dearne) and to all who volunteered and helped with setting up, serving food and tidying away.

Today we held a Family Fun Day on the theme ‘Love Is…’ We had lots of things to remind us of God’s love:

We had a range of crafts for people to do:

Our thanks to the Salvation Army for providing the food for today. We had a wide range of sandwiches and pancakes to sample!

The Bible is divided into two parts, the Old Testament and New Testament. Another word for ‘testament’ is ‘covenant’, and the Bible tells of these two covenants, made by God with people. There are two main words used to describe these, the first meaning an arrangement between equals with either party able to change terms of arrangement (such as is understood by marriage, for example.) The second word is used of the covenant between God and mankind, which is a formal arrangements to administer something, set by one party and not negotiated. This kind of covenant cannot be annulled; it is a simple fact.

In the New Testament, we see that God wants to be in relationship with people. Some people don’t want anything to do with God or even believe He exists (atheists). Others believe God may well exist but are not interested in a relationship with Him; others define their relationship with God on their own terms (we usually call these people ‘religious’!) God, however, is the one who defines this covenant and we see several fundamental points in His assessment of the situation.

1. People’s relationship with God has been broken (by people’s sinfulness, not by God) and therefore needs repairing. Acts 17:29-31 reminds us of the need for acknowledgment of this brokenness and the need for us to repent.

2. God has provided the way for our relationship with Him to be restored, but it must be on His terms, through His Son. (John 14:1-6, 1 Tim 2:1-6) These terms are non-negotiable. There are many religions seeking to find God, but only way to find Him.

3. In order to take hold of this offer of a new relationship, we have to have faith. (Heb 11:1-6, Rom 10:8-13) It’s crucial we believe God exists and that we trust Him to do all He has said He has done and will do.

We then become Christ’s disciples. (Matt 28:18-20) This involves learning, obeying and living out His teachings. Matt 10:32-42 outlines the need for us to acknowledge Christ and put Him first. Our open confession of Christ will cause division and problems, but will also lead to blessing as we set our priorities in alignment with His and surrender our ways, thinking and behaviour to Him.

The new agreement God has made is a way to come into relationship with Him, on His terms. We can believe and be brought into this relationship: we can become a believer. God, however, wants us to go further, to come closer and to know Him in a deeper way. He wants us to become disciples. This is the challenge to every one of us: are we willing to explore this arrangement, this agreement, this covenant and be, not just a believer, but a disciple?

This morning we looked at the questions involved in the conversation between two disciples and Jesus on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). For these two disciples (only one of whom is named, Cleopas), the events of the past week had been tumultuous and they were thoroughly bewildered about the turn of events which had seen Jesus go from being lauded on his entry to Jerusalem to being crucified. The rumours of resurrection were equally baffling; how could a dead man live again? It was as they walked and talked that Jesus came alongside them and asked them what they were discussing.

Conversation is one way of processing our feelings and emotions at turbulent times. Jesus knows this, and elicits not only facts but also feelings from the two people. Talking is a great therapy in itself, even if answers are not always possible. The Psalms encourage us to bring all our feelings to God; He cares about our daily lives, about the ordinary and extraordinary things that happen to us.

Jesus does not mollycoddle the disciples, though, calling them ‘foolish’ and ‘slow to believe.’ (Luke 24:25) He reminds them that all the answers they need could be found in the Old Testament and proceeds to open up the Scriptures to them. We may wonder how the Bible can be relevant to us today, but ultimately it provides the support, enlightenment and hope we need to persevere in faith, to endure opposition and persecution and to overcome. In Rev 2, Jesus brings words of admonition and encouragement to seven churches and promises rewards to the victorious; Paul reminds us that ‘in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.’ (Rom 8:37) Victory is possible not in an idealised world, but in the real world of struggles and strife, and as we walk with Jesus and delve deeper into His word, we can find the direction and help we need to navigate life.

The Lent period is the 40 days before Easter when traditionally Christians look at the Easter story in all its magnificence and complexity and prepare their hearts for the life-changing events which the death and resurrection of Jesus represent. Often, this period is associated with ‘giving up’ something (caffeine or chocolate, for example) in order to concentrate attention and devotion to God. This is not a negative experience; on the contrary, it’s often necessary to give up something in order to make room for something new, as any householder can tell you! (You need to de-clutter before new furniture arrives, for example.)

Lent starts this year on Wednesday 2nd March and we will be starting Lent Bible studies on Friday 4th March, looking at the themes of repentance, forgiveness, hope, trust, sacrifice, love and change and using Bible readings from a book by Sally Welch called ‘Sharing The Easter Story.’ This book encourages us to read the Bible each day, giving us specific readings which encourage us to listen to God’s word, help us to understand it, reflect on it, absorb its truths and then share these truths with other people so that we ‘become the story we reflect upon, live and share.’

Our six Bible study sessions will start at 11.45 a.m. each Friday with a light lunch and will finish about 1.15 p.m. On Good Friday, our service and study will be at 5 p.m. when we will again start with a shared meal. Over these weeks we hope to deepen our appreciation of the Easter story and help each other to live out this story in our everyday lives throughout the year. Please see Julie if you wish to attend; the book will be provided beforehand so that you can begin readings on Ash Wednesday.