When Paul speaks about the use of the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Cor 14, he was trying to advise a church whose use of these gifts was somewhat chaotic: everyone bringing songs, prophecies, words of knowledge and so on in a manner which did not allow for people to hear, listen and digest what was being said and done. He reminded the Corinthians that God is a God of order and peace (1 Cor 14:33) and tried to bring some sense of order into services.

Nowadays, it may be more rare to see these gifts used in our church services, but we need to eagerly desire spiritual gifts and seek God for these. The phrase ‘eagerly desire’ (used in 1 Cor 12:31 and 1 Cor 14:1) means to strive after something, to pursue it with fervour. So often, we are like people who are ovewhelmed by gifts and therefore leave some untouched. God wants to give us good gifts to build up and encourage the church. God may give us a gift as a ‘one-off’ or lead us into a ministry which uses one gift in particular, but in all things, we need to seek the Giver more than the gift.

The gifts of the Spirit include:

1. a message of wisdom (not natural wisdom, but given by God specifically for a situation, as Jesus demonstrated when the Pharisees tried to trick Him with a question about paying taxes – Matt 22:15-22)

2. a word of knowledge (again, not natural knowledge achieved through studying or long experience, but supernatural knowledge as demonstrated by Jesus with the woman from Samaria in John 4:16-18)

3. faith (for a specific situation, as when Paul had the faith to raise Eutychus from the dead in Acts 20).

4. healings (e.g. when Peter and John healed the lame man in Acts 3)

5. prophecy (which means God speaking messages to His people, not just foretelling the future, There are many examples of prophecy in the book of Acts – see Acts 21:10-11)

6. messages in tongues (i.e. other languages. These can be declarations of praise or messages from God.)

7. interpretation of these messages (so that the church can be built up, since we do not generally understand the languages used.)

8. distinguishing between spirits (demonstrated by Paul in Acts 16:16-18 towards the female slave whose words may have seemed flattering but whom Paul recognised as being demonically inspired.)

9. miraculous powers (e.g. ‘God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.‘ Acts 19:11-12)

If we were given the opportunity to have whatever gifts we desired, it would be interesting to see what we would choose. God wants to give us these amazing gifts so that the church can be built up and made stronger. Let’s eagerly desire these gifts and seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit on a daily basis. (Eph 5:18)

The gifts of the Spirit (listed in 1 Cor 12:1-11 and further discussed in 1 Cor 14:1-40) are given by God for the building up of the church. We need God’s Holy Spirit to give us these gifts as we receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and move ever further and deeper into the spiritual life God has for us all.

These gifts are not ‘new’; many of them feature also in the Old Testament (where we see many healings, for example, Naaman who was healed after visiting the prophet Elishin 2 Kings 5) and words of knowledge (when Elisha, in this same passage, knows by divine revelation that his servant Gehazi has taken money from Naaman despite being told not to.) The Old Testament gives us examples of miraculous powers (an axe head floating in 2 Kings 6) and faith (a woman’s son being raised from the dead in 2 Kings 4). Solomon demonstrated divine wisdom in 1 Kings 3:16-28 and Saul was included among the prophets as God’s Spirit rested on him (1 Sam 10). In the Old Testament, however, these things happened on occasions only and not to everyone. Joel 2:28-32 makes it clear that the outpouring of God’s Spirit on all people would come, and this passage is referred to by Peter as having been fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost. We are living in times when God wants us all to eagerly desire spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:31, 1 Cor 14:1).

May we seek God for these gifts and be used by Him to build up and encourage the church and see His kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

In magnetic theory, opposite poles attract, but as we looked at Psalm 73 this morning, we discovered that this is a psalm which deals with opposites and it matters very much which side we are attracted to!

1. Confusion and Clarity

The psalm begins with Asaph in confusion, feeling that he is stumbling and falling. Other psalms take the idea of walking and falling as a metaphor for our journey with God (Ps 37:23, Ps 119:105) and the feeling that we are stumbling because the wicked seem to flourish and have no problems is found in other parts of the Bible (see Job 21:7-16, Mal 3:13-15). When we see the unrighteous doing well, we can feel it’s futile to serve God, but clarity comes as we enter God’s sanctuary and come into His presence.

2. Permanent and Temporary

Asaph’s problem was he was focussed on the temporary success of the wicked, failing to see life in the light of eternity. Only when he realised the true destiny of the wicked did he find peace and hope. God’s promises are not temporary; we need to understand the permanent nature of our unchanging God and not be distracted by the temporary troubles we face (see also 2 Cor 4:16-18).

3. Time and Eternity

Asaph found that he needed to adjust his perspective. We dwell in time and therefore tend to view time as the only perspective, but God dwells in eternity and promises us so much when we can take that long view. God has promised to receive us in glory and to be our portion now and evermore. We have to take eternity into account and not view our ‘light and momentary troubles’ as permanent.

4. Judgment and Jewels

The purpose of God for the wicked is judgment, though He takes no delight in this, longing for people to repent and turn to Him. (2 Pet 3:9)  Those who trust in Christ are promised a future with hope and without condemnation. In Mal 3:16-18, we read that God says His people will be His treasured possession, His jewels. We are promised a relationship with God and a reward. God views us as special; we can be spared from judgment and made to be something precious and valuable.

So often, what is required in life is the correct perspective. We need to see the ‘big picture’, not just the ‘little picture.’ When buying a house, we often focus on the house itself and what it looks like, but sometimes we need to draw back and consider the location (e.g. the street as well as the house and perhaps the whole area itself.) The only things which really matter in life are the things which are permanent, things which have eternal value. Asaph’s whole perspective was changed as He spent time in God’s presence. Ours can be too.

The ‘Toy Story’ series of films has been part of my life for the past 24 years and the characters in these films have become like family to me. Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Slinky Dog, Porky, Rex, Mr and Mrs Potatohead and Bo-Peep are all old friends, and just like with any family, new members were added to the family as the sequels appeared: Jessie, the aliens, Ken and Barbie, for example.. All were welcomed with wonder as the films opened our eyes to questions of friendship, loyalty, imagination and devotion.

Yesterday, I watched the latest instalment in the saga. I’m long past watching for my son’s sake – he is now an adult with children of his own and I very much hope they too will come to love the characters for themselves! I watch for my own sake, for these films touch our innermost being. This film takes up where ‘Toy Story 3’ left off, with the box of faithful toys now belonging to Bonnie, not Andy (how I cried my eyes out nine years ago at that scene as the poignancy of growing up and leaving childish things behind resonated with me as my son left home for university.) Bonnie is faced with the challenge of kindergarten (more tears for me as I anticipate my granddaughter’s first day at nursery), even as Andy wrestles with no longer being a favourite toy. He tries to make Bonnie’s first day at kindergarten more palatable by caring for her new creation ‘Forky’ (a decorated plastic spork with mismatched googly eyes and pipe cleaners for arms!) The film could be sub-titled ‘Woody’s Attempts to Save Forky From Danger’, and as usual, there is peril on the road trip as the toys are trapped in an antiques centre where a doll wants to wrest Woody’s voice box from him in order to cure her defects and earn the right to be loved by a child for herself (even the adversaries’ motives are unfolded for us!) There is also deep joy as Woody is reunited with his old friend, Bo Peep.

The film has many laugh-out-loud moments (the scenes where Forky keeps diving for the bin, believing he’s trash not a toy, or the toys takeover of driving the camper van to prevent Bonnie’s parents from driving on and leaving Woody and Forky behind are hilarious), but it also operates on a much deeper level than most children’s films, tugging at the heartstrings as it deals with fear, loss, identity and purpose, loyalty, choices and fresh starts. To be able to touch on mixed motives in such a film (Woody’s desire to help Bonnie is mingled with his own need for her approval and desire to be loved and useful; Gabby’s determination to get what she wants is seen as being the outworking of her desperate need to be loved) is a skill indeed; to tackle these deep questions of love, loyalty, hurt, fear and the pains and joys of relationships through the medium of animation shows a skill few films ever demonstrate.

So hurrah (once again) to the Toy Story geniuses. Thanks for letting me share this journey again.

Last night I had the privilege of attending a concert to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Barnsley Youth Choir. Founded in 2009 by Keith Norton and Mat Wright, the choir has grown to international fame and is a registered charity run by volunteers that seeks to provide outstanding opportunities for young people who live in Barnsley and has developed a reputation for excellence. The choir is ranked 5th in the World Rankings in its category and has won 8 first prizes in some of the biggest international competitions in the world. Barnsley Youth Choir were presented with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (MBE) in January 2018.

This tenth anniversary festival features four concerts over two days and last night’s concert involved choirs from Hungary and Sweden as well as songs from the National Youth Choir of Great Britain’s Fellowship scheme and soloist Paul Phoenix (former King’s Singer). To see the talent of these young people and to know the choir is giving such tremendous opportunities to children from the age of four was utterly mind-blowing. There aren’t enough adjectives to begin to describe the quality and sheer joy of these singers: suberb, stunning, spectacular are just a few. I’ve had the privilege of working alongside their accompanist, Gareth Taylor, for many years and to see some of my former pupils singing their hearts out was nothing short of amazing.

There are many Christians involved in the group, and the choir’s rendition of ‘John the Revelator’ (watch here for a version at a previous concert) made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up! It was so awesome (and I don’t use that word lightly) to be at a concert attended by hundreds of people and hear the name of Jesus sung out with such passion by young people from our borough. Other choirs sang ‘Amazing Grace’ and other church choral work; one choir sang the words of Philippians 4:4, 7 to us, urging us to rejoice in the Lord always and to let the peace of God keep our hearts and minds in Jesus Christ. Song has always been one of the main ways we are urged to praise God, but it is truly humbling to hear His praise sung out in this way in a concert.

Even more exciting to my heart is the fact that last year the choir opened its Dearne section (Barnsley Youth Choir East) which meets every Wednesday at Astrea Academy Dearne, bringing the choir to our area for those aged 7-12. Last week during one of the mosaic workshops, the class at Sacred Heart sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to a pupil. One boy sang with such passion and skill that I asked if he belonged to a choir; sure enough, he sings with the BYC East! It’s wonderful to know another outlet for championing creativity in our area and to see the sense of unity, purpose, discipline, quality teaching and sheer joy that singing is bringing to these young people, who truly are ambassadors for our town. Those who feel there is nothing good in this area and that young people are ruining our town need to look long and hard at Barnsley Youth Choir, for they are champions in so many different areas and show us a wholly different story. If we have ears to hear, let us hear!

I’ve been involved in two more mosaic workshops this week. The first was with a WEA arts and crafts class, working with adults with additional learning needs at the wonderful Snap Tin Cafe in Goldthorpe, a community cafe with a real heart for people. It was especially lovely to work with my former school colleague Angie Wapples at this session. She is now a tutor with WEA and for me, it’s wonderful when God reunites us on projects like this!

Today’s session was at the Salvation Army, where we made a ‘Dearne Churches Together’ mosaic. It will be lovely after the arts’ festival to have this mosaic tour the local churches as a visible sign of our unity and commitment to work together.