Harvest Time

Mar 2, 2025

Garry spoke this morning from Colossians 1:9-14 on the subject ‘Harvest Time.’ Paul prays in these verses that the Colossians would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will and wisdom so that they could please Him by bearing fruit.
Repentance leads to a changed life (see Matt 3:7-9). Jesus spoke about the fruitfulness that comes from abiding in Him (John 15:1-8); our effectiveness comes from our connection to God (see Luke 13:6-9). If we refuse to produce fruit, this means we are rejecting what God is telling us (see Matt 21:42-44). To surrender to God is not easy, but constant dependence on God is the only thing that leads to lasting fruit. We are called to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, growing His fruit (Gal 5:22-3, Eph 5:8-9) which consists of all goodness, righteousness and truth. God affects our character and our behaviour.
One of the ways in which fruit is seen is through our witness to Jesus (see Luke 24:46-48, Acts 1:7-8). We can’t guarantee the results of our witness, but we can influence others as we are open in talking about who God is and what He has done for us. We should pray for opportunities to witness and be prepared to ‘speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy.’ (1 Peter 3:15)
Being filled with the knowledge of God’s will and wisdom helps fruit to grow in us. It puts us in the right condition to produce characters and opportunities to tell what God has done for us and others. As we understand better who He is and what He is like, we are shaped and changed. As we live, we will have opportunities to tell others what God is doing, which will produce fruit in other people’s lives as well as our own.

Update From India

Feb 27, 2025

As a church we support Fredrick and Reeba, pastors in Bangalore, India. Fredrick used to be a student at Mattersey Hall near Doncaster and spent time in Goldthorpe then, and the contact has been maintained since he returned to India.
He has recently sent us photos of the official opening of a church in the North Karnataka village of Hulikunte, Challakere Taluk, Chitradurga District. This church is called Jesus Holy Temple.
Despite opposition from local officials and the police warning the church Pastor (Pastor Marappa) not to proceed with the building, the work has been completed and the building opened on 26 February.
Fredrick writes, “There is a great harvest of souls in these provinces, and this is the season of miracles. We were joined for the dedication event of this church by pastors and leaders from nearby villages. We also invited all of the village leaders and Hindhus to come see what the Lord was doing. Pastor Marappa and all the believers were in tears as we dedicated the church, thanking God for His unmerited favour & love.”
We are so glad to hear this news and also to see photos of Amshika, the disabled child in Bangalore whom we support through regular monthly donations.

Living Life God’s Way

Feb 25, 2025

Garry spoke tonight from Ephesians 4:17-32 – live the Christian faith in spite of opposition. Paul is most emphatic in this section in urging Christians to live in a completely different way to how they used to live before they knew Christ. It is not an ‘optional extra’, as far as he is concerned, not the special concern of a select few, but a necessity for mature living. To even consider living as we used to is ridiculous in his eyes, rather like remaining at the crawling stage of a toddler when you could be running like Usain Bolt!
Non-Christians live a darkened existence, not understanding God’s purposes for their lives. They are cut off from God, having hardened their hearts. Paul reminds us of things associated with this way of life, including anger and rage, lies, stealing and bitterness of speech. He reminds us of how we should live – with new attitudes because we have a new self, speaking truthfully and building others up through our speech. We are called to be kind and compassionate and forgiving. To live otherwise is to give the enemy a foothold, to allow him to breach our defences and find ways to trip us up. Instead, we should put on the armour of God (Eph 6:10-20) so that we are equipped for the battle ahead.
To ‘live the life’ is what we are called to do. God gives us the knowledge, tools and help we need to do this, but we must understand and live by the truth of God’s word (however uncomfortable this makes us feel.) The bottom line is to not live as we did, it’s to live as we can. Let’s commit to this and keep that commitment and not allow that commitment to fade as we leave. There will be problems. There will be difficulties. There will be opposition. There will be times when it is so much easier to not bother. Casting Crowns spoke about being one thing in here and another thing outside. They sang about the change between in church and outside, or as they put it: between the altar and the door. In fact, who we are in church should be the same as who we are outside the building. We need to live the life God has given us.

Friend of God

Feb 25, 2025

Dave spoke this morning from John 15:9-16 on being a friend of God. In today’s modern society, where the extended family often lives scattered and not in the same vicinity, loneliness can be a problem for many. It is easy to have acquaintances but not so easy to form meaningful friendships. Jesus called his followers to not only be disciples but to be friends.
Abraham, Enoch and David were all people known for their close fellowship with God and therefore could be described as His friend. It’s amazing but true that God wants more than followers; He wants friends.
The characteristics of a good friend include someone who listens and cares for you, who accepts you as you are, who inspires affection and trust. Jesus spoke of loving His disciples as the Father loved Him, a confident love that is faithful and not dependent on our contribution! Love motivates His friendship (Rom 5:8-10) and is the source of our relationship with Him. He wants more than one-sided friendship, however, reminding us that we are His friends if we do what He commands.
To be a good friend to God involves listening to Him, talking to Him (prayer) and appreciating all He does (thanksgiving and praise.) We will want to gather with His other friends (fellowship) and to join with them in learning more and growing in obedience. Jesus demonstrated His true friendship in laying down His life for us and longs for us to reflect His friendship through our loyalty and love for others. No matter what, He is a friend who sticks closer than a brother, a friend who loves at all times and who issues a personal invitation of friendship to each one of us.

Responses to Adversity

Feb 25, 2025

Have you ever felt life was just going from bad to worse? David in 2 Samuel 15 is in this position. His half-hearted reconciliation with his son Absalom cannot hope to placate that arrogant young man for long, and in this chapter, we see Absalom using his charm and good looks to deflect people’s loyalty away from the king so that he can usurp his father’s position. Such betrayal was hard to take, especially since it was followed by the defection of one of David’s closest spiritual advisers, Ahithophel (whose advice was treated as being directly from God.) Psalm 55 reflects the pain of betrayal by a friend which David felt at this time. In Michael Card’s words, ‘only a friend comes close enough/ to ever cause so much pain.’ (‘Why?’)

David could easily have given up at this point, well aware as he was that much of this unrest and betrayal stemmed from his own behaviour and was in part God’s judgment on him for his callous treatment of Uriah the Hittite and his wife, Bathsheba. But he shows us that when judgment comes, our repentance and sorrow matter to God. He responds by weeping, putting on sackcloth and covering his head and going barefoot, leaving Jerusalem with the ark, fleeing for his life. The country joins with him in lament and sorrow, with Ittai the Gittite and Zadok the priest showing loyalty which must have blessed David enormously at a time when so many others were abandoning him and he felt so alone.

David decides to let God be the one to decide his fate, and sends the ark back to Jerusalem, hoping he will one day be able to return, but well aware the outcome of this latest coup against him is far from certain. (2 Sam 15:25-26) He urges Zadok and Abiathar to send word to him of what is happening and urges Hushai the Arkite to return too so that Ahithophel’s advice may be neutralised (‘frustrated’). David has by no means lost his strategic awareness, but he has reached the place of surrender to God’s will. He recognises God as being in ultimate control and that man’s plots and schemes cannot thwart God’s plans (see Ps 2). He accepts responsibility for his own sins and waits for God to work things out. In this, his is a model response to adversity.

 

The Call To Follow

Feb 16, 2025

Garry spoke this evening about leaving what we think we need, based on Luke 5:1-11. This is a familiar passage to many of us, when Jesus calls His first disciples, and it is easy to skim read, thinking we know the story so it has nothing new to teach us. God’s word always has something new to teach us, though!
Jesus was led by the Spirit on many occasions (see Luke 4:1) as were other followers (see Acts 8:26-29). Those who are led by the Spirit are children of God (Rom 8:14) and this is an occasion that might appear random initially, but is clearly God moving in the lives of Simon Peter and his brother.
Simon probably thought that Jesus’s command would not lead to a huge haul of fish, but he was wrong. They were astonished at the size of the catch they made; it was a jaw-dropping moment! Simon Peter realises in this moment that Jesus is far more than an ordinary teacher and can provide for him in ways he cannot imagine.
In calling the fishermen to follow Him, Jesus gave them a choice. They could stay with what they knew or they could follow Him and go into the unknown. They were willing to leave the familiar and step out in faith. Are we prepared to leave the safety of what God Himself has given to us and step into the unknown and unfamiliar? The challenge is here for all of us, for God calls us all to follow Him.