Today was our first ‘Churches Together’ prayer meeting of 2021 and we looked at Matthew 2:1-12 as we meditated on the visit of the Magi to Jesus and used these thoughts as the basis for our prayers.

The Magi were searching for something. Many today are searching for things – happiness, wealth, health, prosperity, good relationships. Many are also seeking truth, answers and even God. We prayed for all who seek to find (Matt 7:7-8)

The Magi travelled from the East to find Jesus. We prayed for all who have travelled, fleeing persecution and war, and for those who work to help refugees. We prayed also for the travel industry at this difficult time and for all who still have to travel for their work.

The Magi were wealthy and wise. They used their wealth to bring gifts to Jesus. We prayed for all with wealth and power to have spiritual wisdom and to use wealth wisely, for the benefit of others. We also prayed that we may be generous as they were, sharing with others in need. We prayed also for all in authority, especially our Government and local and church leaders at this time and for regeneration in our area: economic, physical and spiritual.

The Magi came to worship a King who was a baby. We prayed for families in our churches and local areas, for parents who may well be struggling at this time of lockdown to juggle work and homeschooling, for teachers and children and young people at nurseries, schools and universities. We long for our playgroups and children’s ministries to be able to re-open safely and prayed for the work of local churches in reaching out to families and children and young people.

The Magi were led by a star, a divine sign. We prayed that we will all know the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit, individually and as churches, throughout 2021.

To conclude, we added our fingerprints to a star as our ‘Amen’ to these prayers.

On Sunday evening, our friend Mickey came to teach the children about change, using his drawings and the story of Zaccheaeus to help us understand that God can change us.

We also learned about the Magi and how they can help us to pray and used our fingerprints to make a creative prayer star:

This coming Sunday (10th January) is ‘Plough Sunday’, when we will be thinking specifically about and praying for people’s work. Work is a time-consuming and often rewarding and sometimes draining, part of our lives and it is good to bring this important aspect of our lives to God and ask for His blessing and help.

In times past, people would bring a plough into the church building as a visual symbol of work, asking for God’s help with farming, the main source of work. Nowadays, there are many other areas of work and so we hope people will bring us symbols of their work (rather like a ‘show and tell’ session at school!) so that we can pray specifically for members of our congregation. We are very happy to pray for specifics, so please let us know what you would like prayer for. Maybe you hate your job and want a new job? Maybe you are looking for a move or promotion? Maybe you are involved in new training and want God’s help in that area? Maybe you need a job and want God’s guidance and help in finding the right one? Maybe your relationship with your boss or colleagues is not good and you want God to help you in those areas. At this present time, with so many people working from home and so much uncertainty about work, you might need prayer for God’s peace and provision. Please let us know how you would like us to pray and we will gladly do so on Sunday.

Work is not all about paid employment. Volunteering, working in the home and serving God in the local church are all aspects of work. (As some have said, there is no such thing as retirement in God’s kingdom!) So even if you don’t have a paid job, you can still share with us about what you do and how you find purpose and fulfilment in life.

Work is our ‘frontline’, the place where we spend a lot of time and where we are called to be witnesses to God. LICC give us some ideas about how to do this through their ‘6Ms’:

May all of us find meaning and fulfilment in our work and be effective witnesses in the workplace, modelling godly character, making good work, ministering grace and love, moulding culture, being a mouthpiece of truth and justice and being messengers of the gospel. Let’s not divide work into ‘sacred’ and ‘secular’, but understand that everything we do can be an offering to God: ‘And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.‘ (Col 3:17)

At this time of national lockdown, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and even despairing, especially when faced with a barrage of constant bad news. God spoke very clearly to me at the start of the year from Psalm 112, and I am holding on to these verses:

‘Surely the righteous will never be shaken;
    they will be remembered forever.
⁷ They will have no fear of bad news;
    their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.’ (Ps 112:6-7)

One major difference to previous lockdowns is that churches can remain open for services, and we praise God for this answer to prayer. Corporate worship is so important to people of faith; as we draw together (even when socially distanced!), we align ourselves with God and are uplifted and upheld by His word and His presence. In addition to our in-person services on Sundays and Thursdays, we will continue to livestream Sunday services and will also be holding various Bible studies online, so please do keep checking the website and GPCC Facebook page for further details. Zoom details will be on the GPCC Facebook Group (a private group) and on the church WhatsApp chat. Our next meeting in the building is the ‘Churches Together’ prayer meeting tomorrow (Wednesday 6th January) at 10.30 a.m.

We are very aware that everyone’s situations are different: some are isolated and vulnerable; some will be working from home, while others will still have to go out to work. Some will be juggling work and homeschooling; others will be on furlough and perhaps feeling adrift without the routines and purpose of work. As we consider work especially this Sunday (‘Plough Sunday’), it’s worth reminding us all that volunteering can also continue during the lockdown and that care of the vulnerable and needy can continue. This may be a time to explore new ‘acts of service’, and certainly we can all encourage each other through our personal contact (writing cards, texting, phoning, video calling and so on can be great ways of keeping in touch with each other and encouraging each other.)

For those who are able to exercise outdoors, walking locally is still allowed, and one person can still meet up with someone else from another household, so if anyone wants to meet up with Julie to walk, talk and pray, please let her know.

Above all, let’s use this time to seek God’s face, to read His word and to build ourselves up in the most holy faith, for God has not changed and will not change. His love, faithfulness and goodness are still the foundations on which we can build our lives and He encourages us not to be afraid but to trust in Him each day.

With every New Year comes talk of change: New Year’s resolutions, how to change our lifestyles and so on. Tonight, we explored the subject of change through Mickey’s drawings…

Mickey, our resident puppet, set us the task of guessing what his drawings were, which proved quite difficult for us!

Ultimately, these were part of his attempt to draw the life cycle of a frog!

These ones were perhaps slightly easier to guess:

Here, he was looking at the life cycle of a butterfly!

Both frogs and butterflies undergo transformation in their lives and Mickey asked if we can change in the same way. The answer is that we can be transformed by Jesus, as Zacchaeus shows us. In Luke 19:1-10, we read how Zacchaeus, a tax collector who was hated by people because of his dishonesty and political allegiances, was changed by his encounter with Jesus. When Jesus met with him, he was so changed that he offered to pay back anyone he had cheated four times over! That is the kind of character transformation which Jesus can bring to us. He changes us not through the metamorphosis experienced by a tadpole or a caterpillar but through His Spirit living within us; we are changed ‘from the inside out.’

Real change is possible, but we need the help of Jesus if we are to change.

Garry continued looking at the life of Joseph this morning, focussing on the changes to his life recorded in Genesis 37. In this chapter, we see Joseph reduced from favourite son of Jacob to being sold into slavery by his brothers. From being the favourite son, he went to being a slave of no importance, to having no freedom or control of his own life. Such change is disorientating and probably left him feeling rejected and betrayed, since this change of events came about because of his brothers’ enmity.

How we deal with unfavourable change is hugely important in our lives. The loss of a job or loss of income, sickness and the breakdown of relationships are just some areas where change may be forced upon us, and learning to handle these situations is difficult for us all. We must learn to rest in our identity in God and take our value and worth from Him, because everything else is transient. Knowing contentment in all circumstances is vital (Phil 4); we need to develop godliness with contentment if we are to navigate the stormy waters of change. (1 Tim 6:6-7)

Harder even than the loss of fortune for Joseph must have been the devastating effects of betrayal and rejection by his own family. These things take time to heal, but we see in Joseph how to deal successfully with change.

1. Forgiveness is needed. There was no doubt that Joseph was wronged by his own family, by those on whom he should have been able to rely. Ultimately, people inevitably let us down; they cannot ever fill the hole in our hearts which only God can satisfy. We will always need to learn to forgive others, as Matt 18:23-30 demonstrates. Forgiveness can take a long time and is a difficult process, but it costs more not to forgive than it does to forgive, for unforgiveness damages us. We learn to forgive as we dwell on how much we have been forgiven.

2. Perspective is needed. Eph 6:11-12 reminds us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood; we are involved in a spiritual battle and need to see life from God’s perspective, not our own. Gen 45:4-5 reminds us that Joseph learned this lesson; when he finally saw his brothers again many years later, he was able to speak out forgiveness and also to tell them that ‘it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.’ Joseph learnt that God is able to bring good from all circumstances, even those which have wounded us greatly.

3. Preparation is needed, for persecution will come. Matt 24:4-14 warns us that rejection and persecution will be the lot of all Christians; Luke 6:22 reminds us that we are blessed when people hate us on account of Christ. Christians in many countries (e.g. Eritrea) face ongoing persecution; many people will face rejection from their families if they convert to Christ from another faith. But even in our country, there are issues which demonstrate how orthodoxy is being attacked from within the church and free speech is under attack in many ways. We need to understand that rejection, persecution and prosecution may occur as we seek to honour Christ in all we do and say.

Like Joseph, we will only successfully deal with negative change in our lives if we keep close to God, learn to pray for those who persecute us and forgive those who have wronged us. Then, with the ’50/20 vision’ of God’s word (Gen 50:20 reminds us that what the enemy means to harm us can be turned to good by God), we will be able to stand firm to the end.