Ecclesiastes 3:1-14 is probably the most well known Biblical passage about time, reminding us that there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven. Time is something created by God (who dwells in eternity… a timeless existence we find difficult to comprehend!) and tonight Stephen explored the theme of time, informing us that in a common year there are 31,536,000 seconds and asking how we order or control our lives, how we use these seconds wisely for God.

Nowadays we have many ways of keeping time, from wind-up watches to digital ones needing batteries to smartwatches which need to be charged on a daily basis. All of these need a power source, however, to keep time, but God, the creator of time, does not need any external power source. All power and life are found in Him and thus it makes sense for us to allow Him to be in control of our time. Sadly, so often we try to take charge of time ourselves and don’t make the most of every opportunity as God wants us to (see Eph 5:16); we waste time and think we’re in control of time.

Christians need to understand that our times are in God’s hands (Ps 31:15) and He is in charge of all time, including ours. In every situation of our lives, He can make a difference. We live in time, but He has set eternity in our hearts (Eccl 3:11) and we live best when we live in the present but live for eternity (see Matt 6:19-21).

In the second of our series ‘Connections‘, we looked at drawing near to God and how to maintain our connection to God – and found that in doing this, we’ll also maintain our connections with other people too! Often, we may feel this task is too difficult for us, but as Moses reminded the people of Israel, ‘what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.’ (Deut 30:11) God has promised that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us (James 4:8) and we are urged to work out our salvation with fear and trembling whilst acknowledging that it’s God who’s working in us! (Phil 2:12-13)

To maintain that clean, sin-free connection with God, we need to devote ourselves, as the early church did, to fellowship, prayer, the apostles’ teaching and the breaking of bread. (Acts 2:42-47)

Fellowship

Our connection to God is both personal and corporate. We can’t do without each other (see Heb 10:24-25) and need to love each as evidence of our love for God (see Matt 22:27-30, 1 Pet 4:8) Other people sharpen us (Prov 27:17) and we need the variety and diversity of others to help us understand God correctly. Often, we want to run away from God and run away from each other (especially when we hurt and wound each other), but God wants us to stick at it!

Prayer

Prayer too has a personal and corporate element, with private prayer encouraged (Matt 6:6) and corporate prayer a necessary part of the Christian life (Col 4:2). Prayer is the most effective way of keeping those communication channels with God open, and the more we pray, the less likely are we to feel disconnected from God. There is great power in praying together – join with us to pray this Thursday at 7.30 p.m. if you can.

The Apostles’ Teaching

We need to be rooted in God’s word if we are to remain connected to Him – and to know how to relate to Him and to people. The ‘Holy Scriptures… are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.’ (2 Tim 3:15) Reading the Bible needs to be regular and personal, but it is not always easy; there is much in it we will struggle to understand. That’s partly why we also need corporate reading and Bible study, so that those with the gift of teaching and preaching can open up God’s word to us. The psalmist tells us that ‘the unfolding of Your words gives light.’ (Ps 119:130) The Message version translates this verse this way: ‘Break open your words, let the light shine out, let ordinary people see the meaning.’ The Bible is a bit like a concertina book: it keeps expanding to give us daily insight into how to live; it’s a living word. (Heb 4:12)

The Breaking of Bread

The simple act of receiving the bread and wine in remembrance of Christ’s death for us anchors us to the centrality of the gospel in a way nothing else can. (1 Cor 11:23-26) To maintain that clean, uncorroded connection to God, we have to align ourselves with life as God sees it. This means a constant re-alignment for each one of us. We start life believing we’re the centre of the universe. When we are saved, we realise that God is the centre of the universe. Col 1:17 says Jesus ‘is before all things, and in him all things hold together.’ Yet day by day, there is the creeping tendency to push Jesus off His throne and put ourselves back on it. The breaking of bread prevents this from happening. It keeps us tethered to the truth; it keeps us mindful of what is really important in life, how ‘the cross stands above it all.’ (‘The Cross Stands’, Ben Cantelon & Tim Hughes)

If we keep these four elements central to our lives, we will draw near to God and maintain a healthy connection to Him and to others.

The Dearne Community Arts’ Festival exists to champion creativity in all its wonderful guises and to celebrate community. Our thanks to all the wonderful people who volunteer at the festival and make it happen. Thanks also this year to XPO Logistics for sending some great staff to help us out and to Astrea Academy Dearne for letting us use the school and helping to make the festival such a great success.

One of the highlights of the arts’ festival is the chance to have a go at different arts and crafts, thanks to people who are willing to share their talents with us.

After Tim finished on stage, he led circus skills’ workshops for people to learn how to juggle, walk on stilts and spin plates.

Asmaa Chaudhry led workshops on henna designs and making flowers:

Karen Dunn from Furlong Road Methodist Church had her hands full with clay modelling workshops.

Alison Taylor-Fellows was also kept busy with sand art pictures.

Needle felting also proved popular.

We also learned about upholstery, 3D printing, virtual reality cinema and pyrography.

Our thanks to all who led different workshops and demonstrated their skills!

We also had some great performances on stage, celebrating circus skills, music, writing and reading and dance.

The amazing TIm Byrom from Greentop Circus

Pat and Andy Moore

Author John Irving Clarke with members of his writing group

Chris McShane and the ukulele group he teaches in Goldthorpe

The Deborah Clayton School of Dance from Thurnscoe

Our very own Grace Martin performing on stage

The Dearne Community Arts’ Festival 2019 took place yesterday at Astrea Academy Dearne. It was another fantastic day of championing creativity and celebrating community and I’m so privileged to know so many amazing creatives! Thanks to all who participated, volunteered and attended.

The Mayor of Barnsley, Cllr Pauline Markham, came to open the event and chat with everyone:

The community mosaic project was also unveiled at the arts’ festival. With 252 people involved in the creation of this mosaic designed by Ruth Waterworth, this was a fantastic project for bringing people together and we hope the mosaic will be displayed locally on a permanent basis.

Another community arts’ project was the ‘Go Wild In Thurnscoe!’ sculpture trail, and Vincent the Sun Bear and Hilda the Hippo (from Station House) were both on display at the festival.

We had loads of exhibitions with paintings, crafts, jewellery, clothing and cards for sale.