Dave spoke tonight from Luke 1:5-25 about the example Elizabeth sets for us. Although Elizabeth only really features in this one chapter, we learn a lot about her from her response to the miraculous news that, though old and barren, she would bear a son who would be a messenger of the Lord.

1. It is evident that Elizabeth, a descendant of Aaron and married to a priest, Zechariah, had a responsible role in life and probably (maybe even because of her childlessness) threw herself into good works. She was upright in the sight of God an continued to do her best for God, even though her barrenness must have been a great disappointment to her. She did not become bitter towards God because of her circumstances but gives us an example of living a godly life at all times.
2. She was obviously a woman of great faith, for she believed Zechariah’s account of the angelic visitation and believed there would be a miracle. She had probably prayed for a child for many years and is an example to us of the need for persevering prayer. Sometimes God says ‘yes’ and sometimes ‘no’, but often there is a period of silence when it appears He is not listening or answering. Elizabeth needed great faith to keep on believing and she encourages us to have faith too.
3. Elizabeth also shows us the example of self-control. She withdrew from society and kept to herself during those early months of pregnancy. That might have been to keep her baby safe from anything which could have potentially led to ritual uncleanliness or could have been from modesty, but in that time, she learnt to pray and praise. We too need to learn how to exercise restraint at times and to wait for the Lord.
4. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:41) and prophesied when she met Mary, ‘the mother of my Lord.‘ We too need to be filled daily with the Holy Spirit and need His power in our lives.
5. Elizabeth’s last example is that of obedience. When it was time to circumcise her son, she was the one who spoke out against the tradition of naming the boy after his father. It must have taken great courage for a woman to interrupt the ceremony with the news that this child was to be called John, but she was adamant that total obedience to the angelic message was required. 1 Sam 15:22 reminds us that to obey is better than sacrifice. We need to obey God fully. So often, we think we know how to work things out but obedience involves acknowledging that God knows best and that we are not required to understand all the details before we obey. Luke 1:45 needs to become our motto: ‘Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished.’

Pat spoke this morning at Cherry Tree Court on the subject of foundations. God has good plans for our lives (Jer 29:11) and can satisfy us fully, but we need to understand that His thoughts and ways are not the same as ours (Is 55:1, 8) and that we need to build on the foundation of Jesus Christ. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7), He gave His disciples foundational teaching which would become essential for His church.

The building work that has been going on at Pat’s new home has been a living parable, reminding us that we need to dig deep with foundations before we can build up. When digging the foundations of the new extension, builders cleared a lot of soil from the garden, but also a lot of clay. God has to remove things in our lives in order to build deeper foundations and has to peel away different layers in our lives so that He can pour in new things. The wise man built his house on the rock, not on sand, and we have to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us about things in our lives which need to change and do the things He tells us to do. The Lord’s Prayer (Matt 6:9-15) becomes foundational to our transformation, as we learn to celebrate God, bring our needs to God, allow His forgiveness to flow into us and out to others and receive His help to overcome temptation.

Sometimes, God says ‘no’ to our plans in order to enable His bigger plan to be built in our lives. Whatever season we are going through, God does not make mistakes and longs for us to be rooted and established in Him.

So often, we feel like nobodies, wondering why on earth God chose us. 1 Cor 1:26-31 explores this theme, reminding us that however ‘foolish’ or ‘useless’ we feel, God has chosen us to display His power, love, grace and mercy. This is the theme of Casting Crowns’ new song ‘Nobody‘:

“Why You ever chose me
Has always been a mystery
All my life, I’ve been told I belong
At the end of a line
With all the other Not-Quites
With all the Never-Get-It-Rights
But it turns out they are the ones You were looking for
All this time,

‘Cause I’m just a nobody trying to tell everybody
All about Somebody who saved my soul
Ever since You rescued me, You gave my heart a song to sing
I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus
I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus.

Moses had stage fright
And David brought a rock to a sword fight
You picked twelve outsiders nobody would’ve chosen
And You changed the world
Well, the moral of the story is
Everybody’s got a purpose
So when I hear that devil start talking to me, saying
“Who do you think you are?”, I say

I’m just a nobody trying to tell everybody
All about Somebody who saved my soul
Ever since You rescued me, You gave my heart a song to sing
I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus
I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus.

So let me go down, down, down in history
As another blood-bought faithful member of the family
And if they all forget my name, well, that’s fine with me,
I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus.
So let me go down, down, down in history
As another blood-bought faithful member of the family
And if they all forget my name, well, that’s fine with me
I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus. (‘Nobody’, Casting Crowns & Matthew West),

Rend Collective’s song ‘Counting Every Blessing‘ reminds us of some of the many things God has done for us, focussing on God’s goodness, grace and mercy towards us. They remind us, ‘We need to be thankful people – for the sake of our own joy and also for the sake of obedience to scripture – so we can’t just leave it up to our changing moods, our feelings and our shifting circumstances to dictate whether or not we will offer our gratitude to God.’ Thankfulness (see 1 Thess 5:16-18) is something God always encourages and commands, and no matter how difficult it can be to be thankful, we can do this as we count our blessings (a good place to start is in the book of Psalms which list for us many reasons for praise.)

Let’s continue to be a thankful people, counting our blessings and reminding ourselves (and others!) of God’s goodness, grace and mercy at every opportunity.

This afternoon, a group of volunteers at the Salvation Army prepared goody bags to give out to primary school children from Goldthorpe Primary School and Sacred Heart Primary School when 4FrontTheatre visit Goldthorpe on 26th November (as well as to those who attend the evening performance at GPCC). Our thanks to all who gave up their time to fill the bags with leaflets and small gifts; Advent calendars will also be given out.

Also going on was the preparation for the Advent Sheep Trail, collecting all the sheep and naming them. These will be given out to local shops in Goldthorpe, Thurnscoe and Bolton-on-Dearne and leaflets will be distributed to shops and all primary school children so that they can find the names of the sheep in the shops (bringing their answer sheets to the Christmas Sheep Celebration on 15th December at the Salvation Army.)

We even had a sheep cake to keep us going!

Our thanks to all who helped today.

We have received a newsletter from Voluntary Action Barnsley detailing some volunteering opportunities which may be of interest to some people.

The Rucksack Project

This project aims to help the homeless and needy and volunteers are needed on the afternoon of Thursday 20th December, when the Barnsley Churches Drop-In Project on Pitt Street in Barnsley will be giving out clothing, food and sleeping bags. Drivers and drivers’ mates are needed to collect items donated by local organisations and businesses. For drivers, your own large vehicle (with MOT and road tax) is required plus a valid driving licence and insurance. Driver’s mates would help with loading and unloading items. Volunteers are also needed to help sort and pack the rucksacks once the items are received. Contact the project via their Facebook page.

Barnsley Hospice

Barnsley Hospice volunteers will be packing bags at Marks and Spencers in Barnsley between 14th and 23rd December (two slots, either 11.00 a.m.- 12.30 p.m. or 12.30 -2.00 p.m.) Help is needed in packing bags and in general fund-raising for Barnsley Hospice. Contact 01226 244244 for further details.

Worsbrough Mill

If you would like to help out at Christmas events at Worsbrough Mill on 15th or 16th December or on 22nd or 23rd December, please contact Barnsley Museums on 01226 774527.

There are lots of volunteering opportunities in the local area, so if you would like further details, please contact VAB on 01226 770610.