Please continue to pray for our usual outreach ministries:

1. the youth club on Monday nights

2. the Parent & Toddler group on Friday mornings

3. our monthly meeting at Cherry Tree Court (on 8th March)

Pray that God will use us to show His love to many people and will give us opportunities to speak boldly and fearlessly about what He has done for us.

The ‘Churches Together’ Day of Prayer (an annual event hosted by Furlong Road Methodist Church) will be on Friday 3rd April between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. If you can come along for any period of time on that day, there will be the opportunity to explore different prayer spaces and different aspects of prayer.

We will again be praying on the streets of Goldthorpe and in church on Saturday 4th April between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. and will have Easter services on Good Friday (10th April) at 5.30 p.m. (starting with light refreshments and Holy Communion) and on Easter Sunday (12th April) at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m.

In April, we will be having our ‘Churches Together’ Family Fun Day on Wednesday 15th April between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. This year, we’ll be having the day at the Salvation Army and also exploring the newly created green space at the Goldthorpe Railway Cuttings (opposite Texaco). We’ll have craft activities and stories inside and will be looking at a prayer labyrinth and Easter egg hunt outdoors. As always, we’re offering this fun day entirely free and refreshments will be served.

It’s hard to believe we’re already in March, but there are some exciting things happening this week.

4FrontTheatre will again be in Goldthorpe on Tuesday 3rd March. They’ll be performing their show ‘Fisherman’s Tail’ at both Goldthorpe primary schools and we’re so pleased to be able to offer the schools this chance to reflect on the life of Jesus and how friendship with Him revolutionised ordinary men and women (as it still does today!) Please pray for the team as they travel around the country, especially for safety in some of the nasty weather we’ve been experiencing.

On Friday 6th March there will be the World Day of Prayer at 11.15 a.m. at Goldthorpe Parish Church on Lockwood Road. Join with Christians from local churches to pray for peace, love and reconciliation in a service written by Christians from Zimbabwe. After the service, there will be the opportunity to join with members of the parish church in a Lent lunch (soup & a roll) if desired.

On Saturday 7th March we will be launching our ‘Take Back The Streets‘ initiative as we gather together to pray for revival. You can either pray in the church building or be part of the groups going out on the streets to pray. The session will run from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. and is an opportunity for us to pray for our local community and to ask God to revive us and bring salvation to many people. Join us to pray, knowing that God hears and answers prayer.

Yesterday, five of us went to Maltby Full Life Church to attend the ‘Christian Life & Witness Course’ organised by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association as part of the preparations for the Franklin Graham tour later this year. This was another opportunity to think about what it means to live as a Christian and how best to share the good news of Jesus Christ with other people.

Jesus gave His disciples the command to make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Matt 28:19) The course was divided into three parts: the effective Christian life, our Christian witness and follow-up.

The Effective Christian Life

Our lives as Christian rely on God’s presence with us always (Matt 28:20), God’s Spirit working in us  (to fill us, to cleanse us, to bring us into step with God), God’s Word (which we need to hear, read, study, memorise and meditate upon) and God’s power. There are many stumbling-blocks along the way (for we are in a spiritual battle), often connected with our misunderstanding adversities and the battle with our sinful, selfish nature, but our lives need to be the ‘living letters’ which others can read. (2 Cor 3:1-3)

Our Christian Witness

We were encouraged to think of witness as being about 3 stories: the story of the person we are talking to, which deserves careful listening; our story (giving testimony to what God has done in our lives) and God’s story (what He has done through Jesus Christ to save us and bring peace and life to all people.) Witness cannot be something that is forced on people, but is the natural outworking of our relationships and conversations.

The tract ‘Steps To Peace With God’ is also a useful tool in sharing the gospel, for it focuses on God’s purpose, our problem (sin), God’s remedy (the cross) and our response. We all need to realise that a response is required, though we must also understand it can take a long time for people to fully understand the gospel and decide to follow Jesus.

One of the things we can all do at all times is to pray for people who are not yet Christians. We can pray for open doors (so that we have opportunities to speak with them about spiritual truths), for open hearts (that will be responsive to God’s word) and for open mouths (so that we speak God’s word! (Ps 51:15)

Follow Up

One of the objections to evangelistic meeetings is ‘what happens to people who make a commitment to Christ after the evangelist has gone?’ Franklin Graham is working closely with local churches and local Christians will be involved in counselling those who do make commitments to Christ and trying to connect them with local churches. The best follow-up, of course, comes when people are personally invited to the meetings by Christians who will be willing to continue their everyday relationship with these people. 1 Thessalonians shows us Paul’s commitment not simply to founding a church but to caring for the people who had become Christians. He describes himself as a mother (1 Thess 2:6-8) and prayed constantly for these people (1 Thess 1:2-3). He sent Timothy to check on their well-being (1 Thess 3:2) and wrote letters (most of our New Testament is a result of those letters!) and visited them. We need to be prepared to spend time with new Christians, helping them to read and understand the Bible and welcoming them into God’s family. In effect, this means sharing our whole lives with them, which is a challenge!

We would encourage everyone to think about these things and to ask God for opportunities to share the good news of Jesus with those around us – our family, friends, neighbours, work colleagues and everyone with whom we come into contact! We need to realise the urgency of our task and be whole-heartedly committed to fulfilling the Great Commission!

Anger is not always hot and explosive; there are those whose anger is manifested in coldness. I know someone whose reaction when angry is to cease talking to the one who has angered him; he becomes resentful and his anger is manifested in what is known as the ‘cold shoulder’. Resentment is a festering sore, anger in the deep freeze, so to speak. The Bible tells us that bitter roots cause trouble and defile many people (Heb 12:15). Job commented that ‘resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.’ (Job 5:2)

Resentment is defined as ‘a bitter indignation at having been treated unfairly.’ We can’t necessarily stop unfair treatment. What we can do, however, is control our response to it. We can choose to let go of resentment because ultimately we trust God to right wrongs and sort things out on our behalf. Joseph is a classic example of someone who could have lived in resentment at the way he had been treated: his brothers envied him and sold him into slavery; he was imprisoned unjustly and forgotten about by those he had helped. Yet instead of holding on to resentment, he chose to trust God to bring about restoration, which God did in His own time.

When we let go of resentment, we allow God to mould our hearts into trustful obedience.

Most of our anger is connected to ourselves. James warns us that ‘human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.’ (James 1:19) It is right to be angry on behalf of the oppressed, to fight for justice and fairness and to oppose injustice and corruption, but more often than not, our anger is fuelled by a sense of personal hurt and damage. We lash out at others because we feel threatened or humiliated and we blow up because we are personally wounded.

This kind of anger damages us (often causing physical illnesses) and others (who may feel they cannot be honest with us because they fear our explosive reactions.) It wrecks relationships and leaves people at odds with each other. Paul warns us not to sin when we are angry and gives us good advice: ‘Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.’ (Eph 4:26) Letting go of anger is important; seeking reconciliation with those we have hurt is also important.

Many people feel their anger is justified and therefore want to hold on to it. It gives them a sense of importance and a feeling of righteousness. There is, however, greater freedom in letting go of anger and learning the better way of love.

Silhouette of bird flying and broken chains at beautiful mountain sunset background

One of the most important lessons we can learn is that we are valuable and important to God (we are made in His image and He sent His only Son to save us), but we are not the centre of the universe. That place belongs to God alone. We need to eschew a false sense of self-importance which puts us at the centre of life in order to allow God to have first place.

The ability to laugh at oneself and not take oneself too seriously is hugely important in learning to eschew a wrong sense of self. So much of our lives is spent worrying about things and fretting about how others see us, how we will get on in life and how we will manage. When we realise how much God loves us, we are freed from the need to be in control, the need to manipulate and the need to be number one.