Today we’ll be trying something many churches have been doing regularly for some time… but for us, it’s a first. As with all firsts, there’s a sense of the unknown, but we hope we can maintain some semblance of normality even in our ‘try-something-different’ approach.

We appreciate not everyone has Internet access and we’ll be doing our best to stay in touch with people through telephone conversations and texting as well, but since the vast majority can access the Internet, we’ll also be putting up services online on Sundays and on Thursdays when we would normally have meetings (and maybe some other times as well… we’re investigating options!)

This morning at 11 a.m., Garry and I will be in the church building doing a service that can be accessed by Facebook livestreaming. If you go to the church Facebook page (type in GPCC or the full church name to find it – https://www.facebook.com/GoldthorpePentecostalCommunityChurch/), at 11 a.m. we will hold a live service. You should be able to see us and hear us and we’ll be praying and Garry will be giving a short message.

Tonight at 6 p.m. we’ll be trying a service using a different technology (Zoom), just to see how things go and what people find easiest. I’ll be posting a link to that later today; to access the service, you will need to access the link on a tablet or laptop or computer. If you are using a mobile phone, please download the free app Zoom so you can watch it. That should be relatively easy to do, I’m told!

Please bear with us, as this is all very new to us, but we really do want to give people the opportunity to see each other, listen to God’s word and to pray. We’re working on songs etc., having just purchased a livestreaming licence which should allow us to sing our usual songs without infringing copyright laws. So we are doing our best to provide services to you all and hope you will take the time out of your schedules to pause and join with us, even though it may feel odd worshipping God in this way at first.

If you can, please let us know you’re watching (usually available through ‘comments’ and ‘chat’ facilities on these options) and let us have feedback so that we know you’re there! It’s going to feel very strange talking to a camera rather than to a live audience, but hey… maybe we can reach even more people this way!

Today is Mothers’ Day in the UK, a day when mothers are supposed to be shown additional love and respect from their families. One of the ways many families choose to do this is to give Mum a break from her usual chores, especially cooking, so many Mums will today have breakfast in bed. The usual treat of a Sunday lunch out is not possible in the current climate, but many families will still try to make the day as special as possible for Mums.

The life of a mother is usually an endless round of busyness, especially when children are very young and dependent. A mother will typically have to bath and dress children, sort out food and shopping and cooking, play with children, keep the house clean and often juggle work and other family commitments at the same time. There is very little time to sit down and relax; one of my favourite children’s books (‘Five Minutes’ Peace’ ) captures this sense of chaotic busyness when Mrs Large finally manages to grab three minutes and forty-five seconds of peace after being disturbed by her children everywhere, even in the bath. In our current situation, Mums will have even more to do now schools have closed and there is a sense of ‘how am I going to cope with all this?’ in many homes at this time.

Jesus urged us to come to Him when we are weary and burdened (‘burned out’, as the Message version puts it) and promised that He will give us rest. (Matt 11:28-30) One of the things we all need to do is to embrace stillness, to ‘be still and know’ that God is God. (Ps 46:10) We may feel stillness is as elusive as Mrs Large’s five minutes’ peace, but if we can be like Mrs Wesley who would pull her apron above her head in the kitchen as a sign to her large family that she needed a few minutes’ prayer with her God, we will find strength to go on, no matter what.

It’s been a very surreal week for all of us, but in the midst of it, it was my birthday. Most of my birthday plans had to go out of the window, but one thing that didn’t change was the gift of a new CD, Casting Crowns’ ‘Only Jesus.’ As I’ve been listening to this, I’m struck by how the lyrics of many of these songs are so applicable to us all in this current chaotic situation where ‘my life seems so out of control’. (‘In The Hands Of The Potter’) Many of us feel that the world is spinning and that life is breaking us, but actually, this is yet another opportunity for God to shape us and mould us. He is the Potter; we are the clay. (Jer 18).

It’s hugely important in our ‘social distancing’ that we don’t distance ourselves from God. We need to pray, sing and read His word on a daily basis – something we should be doing every single day, whether we have the opportunity to meet with other Christians or not. In essence, the current situation doesn’t have the power to hinder our walk with God – unless we let it. We live in an age where communication is easier than ever for most of us: we can stay in touch with people through telephone, social media, the Internet and video calls. We can also stay in touch with God through prayer, worship and His word, no matter what.

Many of us may find the singing part hard without other people around us. But there are so many opportunities to find Christian songs online and we can sing along to these! Christian radio (UCB or Premier Praise) can be accessed by many of us, plus You Tube has a whole host of songs for us to listen to, not to mention the live streaming that many Christian artists are offering on Facebook right now. This is one of the songs from the new CD I have; you can listen to it by clicking on the link in the title at the end of the lyrics. Let God’s love shape you and make you into the image of His Son!

‘I still remember when I heard You call me by name
I’d follow You anywhere, knew I could trust You in anything
But now sorrow beats down on me, waiting for You to come through.
I’m all alone with my questions, I’m dry and cracked open
And I thirst for You.

And as I fall apart,
Come flood this desert heart.
Fall like the rain, Living Water,
And I know Your way is best
Lord, help me find my rest
And I’ll be the clay
In the Hands of the Potter.

My world is spinning, my life seems so out of control;
Nailed, scarred hands tell the story of love that will never let go of me.
Through the sunshine or rain, I know where my hope is found
What You started in me, I know You will complete from the inside out..

My world is breaking me, Your love is shaping me
And now the enemy is afraid of what You’re making me
When my world is breaking me, Your love is shaping me
And now the enemy is afraid of what You’re making me
My world is breaking me, Your love is shaping me
And now the enemy is afraid of what You’re making me

And as I fall apart
Come flood this desert heart
Fall like the rain, Living Water
And I know Your way is best
Lord, help me find my rest
And I’ll be the clay
In the Hands of the Potter.’ (‘In the Hands of the Potter’, Casting Crowns)

One of the things psychologists tell us is that it’s not enough to give something up; we have to replace a bad habit with something positive. Jesus said a similar thing in more graphic terms: “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.” (Matthew 12:43-45) It’s not enough simply to eschew despair; we must also embrace hope.

Paul tells us that faith, hope and love are the things which will last. (1 Cor 13:13) We serve a God of hope and because of this, it’s possible for us to overflow with hope. (Rom 15:13) Hope, as the character Red said in the film ‘Shawshank Redemption’, is a dangerous thing. It is dangerous because it can be the fuel that keeps us going in the most desperate of situations. It can help us through the most difficult times because it tells us that what we are presently seeing and experiencing are not the whole story. There is more!

Easter is that time when all hope seemed lost – Good Friday shows us the depths of sorrow, horror and hopelessness from a human point of view. But, as the Negro spiritual songs remind us, ‘Friday’s here, but Sunday’s comin’!’ The resurrection of Jesus shows us that we are never without hope and because of this, we can continue with faith, hope and love. At this time when despair and uncertainty are reigning, it seems, we need, more than ever, to embrace the hope God offers us all.

One of the good things about Lent is the opportunity to pause a little and reflect more. We live in a world of hustle and bustle and hurry is something we all get used to. It can be good to take time to ponder anew all God can do and learn from the One who is gentle and humble in heart. (Matt 11:28-30) Our present situation, with bustle being forcibly removed from many, gives us the opportunity to pause and reflect even more.

Embracing gentleness means leaving behind our cut-throat society, with its dog-eat-dog mentality. It means turning the other cheek when we’d really rather not. (Matt 5:38-40) It means learning to see things from someone else’s point of view and giving people the benefit of the doubt instead of being volatile and hot-tempered. Gentleness is not something most of us find easy, but we can all probably remember what it feels like to be on the receiving end of gentleness. Having someone speak gently instead of harshly, being enfolded in a parent’s embrace when we fell as a child, being encouraged instead of put down are things which don’t take away the hurt and pain in themselves, but which make those things more bearable.

In prophesying about the Messiah to come, Isaiah said, ‘He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.³ A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.’ (Is 42:2-3) We can be the recipients of God’s gentleness to us and therefore can overflow with His gentleness to others as we abide in the vine.

The needs are enormous. Even the needs we support as a local church can seem overwhelming: talking Bibles in India; supporting Amshika, Innocent and Bedline in India, Uganda and Haiti; helping to buy sewing machines for the tailoring programme run by Reeba in India; maintaining our monthly support of the Salvation Army food bank. Then there are many more needs both locally and globally. Sometimes, we can feel as though there is no end and can wonder what more we can do. At times like this, when we are not meeting together, we can wonder what to do (if you want to give electronically, please contact Julie and we can sort that!)

The needs in the early church were often just as daunting. Agabus, a prophet from Jerusalem, came to Antioch and told of impending famine (Acts 11:28). The church in Antioch resolved to do what they could to help: ‘The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea.’ (Acts 11:29) They made practical arrangements to send what they could with Barnabas and Paul to the elders in Jerusalem.

The Bible is full of practical wisdom about money and how this can be used to help those in need. God commanded His people to be open-handed towards those in need (Deut 15:11) and not to exploit the poor or crush the needy (Prov 22:22). The early church demonstrated their understanding of this in their practical support. Paul deals with the subject of giving in his letters, especially 2 Cor 8 & 9, when he talks about the practical implications of giving to help those in need.

It’s easy for us to feel overwhelmed by need, but we can choose to give from what we have, as Paul said: ‘Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.’ (2 Cor 8:13-15) The church in Antioch counted themselves blessed to be able to help. May we give with an equally positive and cheerful disposition!