Coming Soon…
We have a busy weekend ahead, starting with the Parent & Toddler Christmas party this morning. We’re grateful to Bev for her buns, to all who have contributed in donating raffle prizes and buying raffle tickets and to the church for their support of this group. Come along between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Tomorrow (Saturday 11th December), we have our community shows from 4FrontTheatre, “The Satellite Before Christmas.” There will be showings at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. for those who have pre-booked seats. We’re looking forward to this fun pantivity which we know will have a clear Christian message – and to the ice-creams that Alison Sykes is providing for us all!
On Sunday (12th December), in addition to our usual services at 10.30 a.m. and 6.00 p.m., we will also be joining with the Dearne Area Team and Dearne Churches Together in a community Christmas event at Goldthorpe Railway Embankment between 2.00 p.m. and 3.30 p.m. We will be joining in decorating Christmas baubles and singing carols as well as in a Nativity trail on site. Please remember this is an outdoor event and wrap up warmly!
Following the announcements from the Government this week, face coverings will once again be mandatory in places of worship from this Friday and will therefore apply to the indoor events mentioned above. However, exemptions still apply, and face coverings do not need to be worn when singing or eating and drinking.
Exemptions include (but are not limited to):
- children under the age of 12 (The UK Health and Security Agency does not recommend face coverings for children under the age of 3 for health and safety reasons)
- people who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment, or disability
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people for whom putting on, wearing or removing a face covering will cause severe distress
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people speaking to or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expressions to communicate
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to avoid the risk of harm or injury to yourself or others
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olice officers and other emergency workers, given that this may interfere with their ability to serve the public
Advent – Day 13
Jesus said, ‘Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’ (Matt 6:21) He warned us about placing value on possessions, saying, ‘Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’ (Luke 12:15) In our Western society, it’s definitely easy to equate value with possessions or ‘things’, to view life from a materialistic point of view, and Christmas can easily become a time of celebrating and valuing possessions. If we do this, we will fail to see the treasure of the kingdom of heaven and fail to understand the real meaning of Christmas.
Life can’t simply be defined by material things. We are made in God’s image and therefore are spiritual beings as well as physical ones. We were made for relationships – relationship with God and relationship with other people. Any value in life has to take this into account for it to be meaningful and true. Jesus repeatedly taught his followers to look beyond the material to see the spiritual. Will we let this Advent-time re-focus our eyes on what really matters?
Advent – Day 12
The shepherds were called by the angels to come and worship Jesus. The Magi travelled a great distance, bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the One they recognised as king. These two groups perhaps represent two extremes in society. The shepherds were poor people who had little to offer. The Magi were learned men whose gifts represented great wealth.
Christmas is notoriously a time for presents, and for some people, this has become a measure of worth and value. What you give matters; people feel they will be judged by the size or expense of their presents. But Paul reminds us that Christmas – and giving in general – is not really about monetary value. When talking to Christians about giving, he said, ‘if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.’ (2 Cor 8:12) Christmas shouldn’t be a time of getting into debt to fund presents or judging people by the gifts they give. It’s about so much more than gifts; it’s about Jesus, the greatest gift of all, God’s gift to us which cannot be bought but only received with gratitude.
Advent – Day 11
The value that we place on something will vary from person to person. One person places great value on books; another person hates reading. One person places great value on a tidy house; another person doesn’t much care about things like that. There are many times when value is decided by personality or choice, and Christmas celebrations certainly fit into that category. Some people love trimmings and decorations; others hate them. Some people send cards to everyone they know; others consider that a waste of money and donate to charity instead. Value is a strangely movable thing!
But the value God places on people does not change. Each year we remember that He loved people so much He was not prepared to live without their fellowship. Each year we remember that His love for us is so great that He gave His Son not only to live for us but to die for us so that the gulf between God and humanity could be bridged. Every year, we are reminded that we are not useless, insignificant, unimportant or without value because of Christmas. If God loves us so much that Jesus came to be our Saviour, then we have value regardless of anything we do or achieve. We have intrinsic value from God.
If that doesn’t make you stand a little bit taller, I don’t know what will!
What’s On This Week
There’s a lot happening this week, so I thought it would be good to have a list for your to check in to so that you don’t miss out on anything! Even if you’re not attending these events, you can pray for each one of them, that God will speak to people through these outreaches and that we will have the joy of spiritual birth to celebrate this Christmas.
1. ‘Churches Together’ prayer meeting on Wednesday 8th December between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Furlong Road Methodist Church in Bolton-on-Dearne. Online prayer meeting will be at 12.30 p.m. on the Dearne Churches Together Facebook page.
2. Our first Christmas party of 2021 for the Parent & Toddler group at GPCC on Friday 10th December. We’re looking forward to party food and games and receiving presents. This will run from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m., so come along for festive fun if you usually attend the group!
3. “The Satellite Before Christmas” show by 4front theatre at GPCC on Saturday 11th December (2 p.m. & 6 p.m.) Please only attend if you’ve pre-booked!
4. Community Christmas Event at the Railway Embankment on Sunday 12th December (2.00-3.30 p.m.) Wrap up warmly for carol singing, bauble decoration and a Nativity trail at this lovely site.
