Don’t forget the ‘Churches Together’ Family Fun Day happening today (Wednesday 29th May) between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Houghton Road Centre, Thurnscoe. We have lots of fun activities on offer, including kite making, kite decorating, craft activities on the theme of wind, fire and doves, biscuit decorating, crazy golf and much more. There’s a Pentecost trail to find out more about what happened on that day (with prizes to be won) and we’ll be having a story and party games too. Free entry & free refreshments served.

Then we have our community mosaic day on Saturday 1st June where you can take part in making a tile mosaic which will be displayed at the Dearne Community Arts’ Festival later in the year. Join us between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday to have a go at this fun craft session, led by Ruth Waterworth. No previous experience necessary!

Looking ahead, Love Your Park is a brill community day at Thurnscoe Flower Park on Saturday 27th July between 12 noon and 4 p.m. Stalls, rides and more crafts to do at that event!

Garry spoke tonight on the Lord’s Prayer (see Matt 6:5-14). The disciples wanted to know how to pray, but Jesus spoke about what to pray. In this prayer, He gave us a framework or template for prayer. It’s not enough simply to recite the prayer, but to understand the context of the framework, which can be summarised in 4 simple words.

Wow!

‘Wow’ is an exclamation of admiration or awe. The prayer is rooted in our relationship with God as ‘our Father’. For some, our experience of earthly fathers is good; for others, this can be a real barrier to understanding God’s heart. But as we ponder the amazing truth that God is our Father and that He is the Almighty God, the maker of heaven and earth who is to be praised (‘hallowed‘), we can’t help but adore Him. As our understanding of creation grows, we find so many reasons to be in awe of God and this helps us to recognise and understand both His magnificence and our relationship with Him.

Thanks!

Thanksgiving is the overflow of a heart that sees God as He really is. In this prayer, we give thanks for God’s provision for us (‘our daily bread’) and also for the fact that God is King (‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.‘) There is so much to be thankful for (the origin of ‘saying grace’ before a meal to give thanks to God for His kindness in providing for us is one example of this.)

Sorry!

A key part of the prayer is asking for forgiveness for ourselves, but this is connected to our willingness to forgive others. We perhaps don’t mind saying sorry to God, but often we are resentful about forgiving others. Jesus consistently taught that forgiveness is essential (see Matt 18:21-35). Forgiveness is not pretending everything is good or that what has been done to us doesn’t matter; forgiveness can be very painful, but it is the only way to know peace with God and others. We need to be quick to say sorry.

Please!

‘Please’ is the word we use when we are asking someone to do something. The prayer is full of supplications and requests, ranging from our daily bread to the arrival of God’s kingdom on earth. It includes praying for help in keeping away from what is wrong (‘lead us not into temptation’) and for deliverance from the evil one. We need not be afraid of asking God to meet our needs (see Phil 4:6-7, James 4:2). He is a good God who delights to bless His children.

Dave spoke this morning from Mark 5:22-43, a story of two miracles for two desperate people.

So often in lfie, reality hits us flat in the face. This can be in the form of an emergency or crisis which can leave us questioning where God is, but it can also be in the form of ongoing suffering and pain. We like to be in control of life and find it difficult to bear such times, even though God’s word assures us that God will never test us beyond our limits. (1 Cor 10:13)

In this narrative, two people were facing challenging situations: Jairus’ situation was sudden, precipitated by his 12 year old daughter’s sudden illness, and the unnamed woman’s was lingering, caused by twelve years of haemorrhaging which had left her financially impoverished and a social outcast. These two people were at opposite ends of the social spectrum: Jairus was a synagogue leader, a well-respected man who was used to being in charge of things; the woman was one whose illness left her ‘unclean’ and on the outskirts of society. For her to even approach Jesus amongst a crowd of people meant taking her courage and faith in both hands.

Jesus responded to both of them with compassion and mercy, though to Jairus, this unexpected delay as Jesus questioned who had touched Him must have seemed a devastating blow, for during this time, he was contacted with the news that his daughter had died. He must have felt resentful about the delays and as though there was no point bothering Jesus any further, but Jesus urged him to keep on believing. In both cases, Jesus spoke about faith and the need to trust Him and believe in Him – and both these people ended up seeing miracles as a result.

The choice to believe is there before us each day. Do we listen to the faithless crowd who urge us not to bother Jesus anymore or do we focus our faith on Christ? When we reach out to Him in holy desperation and true faith, He is there to meet us and to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.

Our church is called Goldthorpe Pentecostal Community Church and we want to be ‘with God in the community, with God for the community.’ We’re really pleased, therefore, to be involved in two community events this coming week and hope you’ll join us at these if you’re available.

‘Churches Together Family Fun Day’

Although our usual youth club and Parent & Toddler group won’t be running this week because of the school holidays, we are involved in the ‘Churches Together’ Family Fun Day on Wednesday 29th May at Houghton Road Centre, Thurnscoe. Starting at 10 a.m., this fun day will be looking at Pentecost and exploring through craft activities the way the Holy Spirit is described as wind, fire and a dove. We’ll be making display kites and a real kite, making prayer pictures, decorating buns and biscuits and also looking at the fruit of the Spirit (and eating real fruit!) There will be outdoor activities (a Pentecost trail with prizes for all who complete it and crazy golf, plus a toddlers’ play area for our younger friends), plus we will be telling the story of the Day of Pentecost and playing ‘Pass the Parcel’ to celebrate the church’s birthday.

It’s free to come along (until 1 p.m.) and there will be free food – hot dogs and chilli (representing the fire of the Spirit) plus vegetarian options and ice-cream (representing the purity of the dove) and other desserts.

Community Mosaic Event

On Saturday 1st June we will be hosting the launch of the Dearne Community Arts’ Festival mosaic project between 10 a.m. and 1 p,.m. So if you come along to our coffee morning, not only can you enjoy a cuppa and a chat, but you can also have a go at the centre piece of a tile mosaic which will be displayed at the arts’ festival later in the year. The session will be led by artist Ruth Waterworth and no previous experience is necessary.

Taking part in community art is a great way of championing creativity and celebrating community. The arts have great benefit to our physical, emotional and mental health and this is a great opportunity to get to know other people in our community. After the launch, festival volunteers will be encouraging other local groups to be involved in making their own mosaic squares which will be added to the centre piece. We’re thrilled that local primary schools, children’s groups (Station House, Dearne Kids, Rainbows, Brownies and Guides) as well as the WEA (which runs arts & crafts classes in the area), Snap Tin Cafe (a community cafe) and local libraries in Thurnscoe and Goldthorpe are getting involved. So if you want to be part of a Dearne community project which will reflect the huge range of groups working in our local community, do join us next Saturday!

Thanks to those who helped with the cleaning and maintenance day. Both the worship room and community room were cleaned and mopped, and the windows were cleaned inside and outside:

Toilets, the corridor and kitchen were also cleaned and we even had some sweeping help from youngsters…

Outside, James did a fantastic job of weeding by the side of the church and clearing the car park:

Meanwhile, Garry was busy rubbing down the gates and railings and started to re-paint them (though only the gold got finished today!)

Our next cleaning and maintenance day will be on Saturday 29th June from 10 a.m. when we’ll be finishing outdoor work (painting the gates and railings and staining the notice board) as well as tidying and cleaning inside. Please join us if you can!

It’s our cleaning and maintenance day on Saturday from 10 a.m. and I’ve been thinking about the appropriate materials needed for the different jobs that need doing. Some jobs need soft, dry cloths like dusters. Other jobs need soft, wet cloths for wiping away dirt. Others require scourers and scrubbers, more abrasive clothes, to scrub away hardened stains. Then there are all the different cleaning fluids needed, the different varnishes, paints and stains required to paint railings and treat wood, and it all becomes a little bit of a minefield for somene as inexpert in this field as I am.

Having the right tool for the job is a major part of success in most jobs. This is true in life too. It’s much harder to find the right tool for our relationships, however! Prov 15:23 reminds us that a timely word is a good thing; Prov 16:24 says that ‘gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the sould and healing to our bones.’ We have to use words with insight and restraint (Prov 17:27) and remember that a gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (Prov 15:1).

As we deal with other people, some need encouragement and persistence; others need challenge and perhaps a ‘nudge’ in the right direction; others need tenderness and comfort. Some just need a listenig ear; others need advice and counsel. I am always tempted to by the all-purpose cloths and all-purpose cleaning fluids because I am fundamentally lazy and dislike cleaning and maintenance, so I want a quick-fix solution. Just as we need specific items for specific jobs, however, we need to understand each person is an individual, investing in them time, attention and love that is shaped to their unique personality. This is how God loves us and this is how He calls us to love others.

Please do join us on Saturday from 10 a.m. if you’re able to help with our cleaning and maintenace, but even if you can’t be with us, think about how your words and actions can help to build others up – or tear them down. Let’s be people who encourage each other and find ways to spur each other on toward love and good deeds. (Heb 10:24-25)