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!

Fresh bread

Mar 31, 2025

In our modern world with fridges and freezers readily available in most homes, the value of daily shopping and fresh food is easily forgotten. There’s no doubt it’s convenient, practical and often cheaper to do a weekly or monthly shop and keep our freezers well stocked through batch cooking.
But this modern tendency cuts at the need for ‘daily bread’ and can leave us spiritually empty if we try to apply the principles of planning and hoarding to our Christian walk, because God has not designed us to live spiritually out of the deep freezer!
In the wilderness, God sent manna on a daily basis, giving double the amount only on the day before the Sabbath to allow the people the required day of rest commanded by Him. (Exodus 16:4-33) They found exactly the right amount required each day.
God provides for us, but the principle of daily manna meant the people had to learn to rely on God every day. There is no room for hoarding blessings or trying to stockpile God’s favours, for we would then forget the source of these blessings. Daily provision requires daily dependence – which is needed (funnily enough!) on a daily basis!
Following God means we can’t afford to miss out on daily communion with Him. We need to receive our daily bread, for we do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from his mouth. (Matt 4:4) That may go against our modern tendencies, but the path to spiritual sustenance requires us to lean on God every single day. Many of our problems come because we try to deal with today’s emergencies by using previous blessings or help; what is needed is God’s grace today, God’s help today, God’s strength today. He has promised to supply all our needs (Phil 4:19), so enjoy the fresh bread that’s freely available, not the stale or frozen bread gathered previously.

Knowing God

Mar 30, 2025

In our study tonight on Christian beliefs we looked at the subject of knowing God (A. W. Tozer said, ‘What comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you.’ It’s important that the Bible shapes our understanding of God, for on our own, we can come to some very faulty conclusions about who God is!
The Bible tells us some basic facts about God:
• God is self-existent (I am who I am, Ex 3:14, John 8:58)
• God is holy (Exodus 3:5-6, Ex 19:23)
• God is good (Luke 18:19, Romans 8:28, Ps 119:68)
• God is omnipotent (Matt 19:26, Ps 115:3)
• God is omniscient (1 John 3:20; Matt 6:8)
• God is omnipresent (Ps 139:7-10)
• God is perfect (Matt 5:48)
• God is immutable (unchanging) (Mal 3:6, James 1:17)
• God is love (John 3:16, 1 John 4:8, Rom 5:8)
• God is forgiving and compassionate (Ps 103:5-6, Ex 3:7-8)
We looked at Isaiah 40:9-11 for further revelation about God’s nature and learned that He is both mighty and compassionate, looking after us like a shepherd who gathers the lambs in his arms, carrying them close to his heart. Often, we feel the ‘tensions’ in God’s character, seeing these as contradictory, but the Bible shows us a God who is both powerful and caring, mighty and tender. Our aim should be to know God more and more.