In our Bible study tonight looking at the start of Amos 2, we saw that whilst God may have had judgment to pass on the nations surrounding Israel, His own people were not excused from judgment. In some ways, they were even more culpable than other nations, because they had God’s law and knew the standards expected of them, but they chose to live according to the standards of the nations around them. Amos lists the behaviour and practices which God abhorred: ‘they sell the innocent for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girland so profane my holy name. They lie down beside every altaron garments taken in pledge.In the house of their god they drink wine taken as fines.’ (Amos 2:6-8)

Israel’s rejection of God’s law (Amos 2:4) led to other things (see Hos 4:1-2) such as the abuse of power, the denial of justice and sexual immorality (all of which are sadly only too visible in our own society.) Israel had become complacent, relying on their ‘privileged’ status as God’s people, but as Jeremiah warned, complacency and spiritual arrogance would not be sufficient excuse against God’s judgment (see Jer 7:1-8). It’s all too easy to rely on our relationship with God (see Matt 3:9), without realising that this is a two-way relationship. God promises much, but He also expects much from us! Belonging to Him and a knowledge of His ways brings responsibility.

It’s clear from many Old Testament references that God cares about the foreigners, the orphans and the widows: those who can’t help themselves. Deut 14:28-29 and Deut 24:19-20 show us how God made provision for those who could not survive without help. James 1:27 reminds us that religion that God accepts is to look after orphans and widowns in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. This is not the world’s way, which favours the rich and powerful and ignores everyone else, but as Jesus demonstrated, His way was to serve and not to be served. We must care about what God cares about and act in accordance with His commands if we are to escape His judgment.

Talking to yourself is said by some to be the first sign of madness; to others, it is a ‘recognised means to learn.’ (Kilroy J. Oldster) I tend to think that all of us talk to ourselves more than we realise. We may not talk outloud, but there is a dialogue going on within our minds every day.

The Bible acknowledges this self-talk and reminds us that sometimes we need to give ourselves a good talking-to! Often, these conversations are addressed to our inner self: ‘Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?’ (Ps 42:5)

In the Message version of Ps 116, this is taken further: ‘I said to myself, “Relax and rest. God has showered you with blessings. Soul, you’ve been rescued from death. Eye, you’ve been rescued from tears. And you, Foot, were kept from stumbling.”‘ (Ps 116:7-8, The Message)

Talking to ourselves is helpful if we question our motivation and moods and speak truth into our lives. Sometimes we need to dig deeper into our reactions or remind ourselves of the truth of who God is. This kind of conversation keeps us on track, within the parallel lines of truth. It’s only when we stray outside of these tracklines that we find ourselves derailed by our conversations!

People tend to fall into one of two camps over Christmas: those who prefer not to think about it until Christmas Eve (mostly men, I find…) and those who spend the entire year planning for Christmas! I’m probably somewhere in the middle, but certainly have to think about Christmas earlier than many because of church commitments. It feels like a pastor’s life always seems to be spent three months ahead of the calendar…

Looking ahead to Christmas, then, we are pleased to be giving out Advent stars in early December and will also be involved with Dearne Churches Together’s Advent trail.

More of that nearer the time, but just to announce also that we are sponsoring 4FrontTheatre on the big screen in our area. Their Christmas show ‘The Satellite Before Christmas’ will be shown via a pre-recorded performance at Goldthorpe Pentecostal Community Church on Saturday 11th December with performances at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Bookings are now open for these shows, which are free at the point of entry. We are also sponsoring the show in local schools.

Our Carol service will be on Sunday 19th December at 6 p.m. and will feature the Nativity play ‘God Is With Us – Everywhere!’, performed by members of the church. If you want to be involved in this, please see Julie as soon as possible.

At our ‘Little Big Church’ service tonight, we looked at the importance of listening (something not even adults do perfectly – we often have headphones on!)

Jesus spoke about the importance of listening to God’s word (and James reminds us we have to go even further and not only listen, but do what God says!) In Matt 7:24-27, Jesus told a story about two builders, one of whom built on sandy land and one of whom built on rock. It mattered enormously which foundation was used, as when the storms of life came, the house on the sandy land did not stand, but collapsed.

Jesus said that we are wise if we hear His words and put them into practice. We need to understand that our thoughts are like foundations for our lives. If our thoughts are not built on God but are full of worry, anxiety and doubt, our lives will collapse. We need to fix our thoughts on God’s word and allow this to be our solid foundation.

Sometimes God asks the same question more than once! In John 21:1-17, Jesus asks Peter the same question (‘Do you love me?‘) three times. The first time, He asks if he loves Him ‘more than these’, showing us that a love for God must be exclusive and above all other loves. We may be surprised at the importance God places on love, but since He is love (1 John 4:8), we ought not to be surprised. Jesus put love for God and others as the summing up of the law (see Matt 22:37) and told HIs disciples that it was through their love for each other that the world would come to know God and believe Him. (John 13:34-35)

Interestingly, Jesus addresses Peter as ‘Simon son of John’ in each of these questions, despite having named him Peter on earlier occasions (John 1:42, Matt 16:18). This reinstatement of Peter after his threefold denial of Jesus before the crucifixion reminds us that we have to lean on God rather than on our own understanding; perhaps Peter needed to be reminded that he could not hope to serve Jesus in his own strength. This whole chapter echoes earlier miracles (see Luke 5), but Peter must re-affirm his love before being commissioned to feed the lambs, look after the sheep and feed the sheep.

Jesus’s questions to Peter are not hard for us to understand, but sometimes we find it harder to deal with what we do understand than what we don’t! Certainly, we see the pre-eminence of love (see 1 Cor 13) and begin to understand that our service must stem from the overflow of love from God’s heart, rather than from our own abilities and strengths. God’s ways are the ways of love; this revolutionary strategy hasn’t changed and must always be our motivation for service.

Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour party, said yesterday at the Labour party conference that ‘winning the next election is more important than party unity.’ He was trying (I think) to shift attention away from squabbles within his party and focus attention on the bigger picture and more important goal, but I suspect he fails to understand the crucial role unity plays in bringing victory in any realm.

‘United we stand, divided we fall’ was a phrase used by Patrick Henry in a public speech in 1799. It expresses the Biblical emphasis on the critical importance of unity. Psalm 133 outlines the blessings of unity (something described as good and pleasant), and in John 17, we see Jesus praying for His followers to be one, to reflect the unity of the Godhead and thus be a witness to the world of what God is like.

For the Christian, unity and winning are not at opposite ends of the spectrum. They are in some respects identical, overlapping circles which mirror God’s heart. When we are united, we win. I’m not sure a fragmented, disunited political party can ever hope to win the election, but I do know a fragmented, divided church will never succeed. We are urged to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Eph 4:2). Unity is a precious gift from God and a sign that He is One, His love overcomes all divisions and that there is hope for a divided world.