Tonight’s message was inspired by Advent calendars..The tradition of Advent calendars dates to the mid-19th century, when German Protestants made chalk marks on doors or lit candles to count the days leading up to Christmas. The first Advent calendars were probably printed in the early 1900s by Gerhard Lang, and although production of these calendars were stopped during the 2^nd World War, they soon resumed after that, with Richard Sellmer emerging as the leading producer of commercial Advent calendars. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the world’s largestadvent calendar was built in 2007 at the St. Pancras train station in London. The massive calendar, which measured 232 feet and 11 inches tall, and 75 feet and 5 inches wide, celebrated the reopening of the station following its renovation.

The doors on Advent calendars usually open to reveal an image, Bible verse or gift (often chocolate!), and God is the God who opens doors. (Rev 3:7-8) There is a time for everything and a season for every activity (see Eccl 3:1-11), but it can be hard for us when doors close (particularly when we do not understand why) and hard sometimes to discern which doors are opening. God is able to use every situation and change in our lives for good (Rom 8:28) and has good plans for all of us (Jer 29:11). We can be confident that the doors He opens for us to go through are the right ones.

God wants us to open the doors of our hearts to Him (Rev 3:20), allowing Him access to every part of our lives. He also wants us to open wide our hearts to each other (2 Cor 6:11-13), not allowing hurts and wounds to fester and cause us to withdraw from each other. He calls us to love each other deeply from the heart, reminding us that love covers over a multitude of sins. (1 Pet 4:8)

As we prepare during Advent to celebrate the birth of our Lord and as we face a new year which will bring change and upheaval to every life, we pray for courage to walk through the doors of opportunity God will surely open for us.

Mark spoke this morning on Eph 1:1-8, reminding us that our job is to find God’s will for our lives and live that out. We are blessed ultimately because we are chosen, adopted and accepted by God – a triple blessing!

Eph 1:4 reminds us that we were chosen by God before the foundation of the world. God’s blessings are already there for us; we simply have to enter into them. His purpose is for us to be holy and blameless in His sight. Not only are we adopted into His family, but He predestined us for adoption, giving us the full rights of children. We are joint heirs with Christ and known by God’s name. We are taught to pray to ‘our Father’, indicating the blessing of being part of God’s family.

We are accepted totally by Jesus, in whom we have redemption through His blood which covers us with His righteousness. Being accepted just as we are by a holy God is an amazing blessing. His grace covers all our sin and allows us to stand before a righteous God as though we had never sinned. Such blessings and many more are ours through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This next week promises to be a busy one, so here’s a reminder of what’s happening at GPCC over the next few days.

Sunday 25th November

Our services are at 10.30 a.m. (Communion service) and 6 p.m. (evening service with Sunday School). After the evening service, we’ll need help clearing the stage, ready for the ‘Job & Jingle’ show tomorrow.

Monday 26th November

‘Churches Together’ will be hosting 4FrontTheatre who are coming to Goldthorpe with their Christmas pantivity, ‘Job & Jingle’. We’ll be in Goldthorpe Primary School in the morning and in the afternoon pupils from Sacred Heart Primary School will be visiting us to see the show. In the evening, there will be another performance at 6.30 p.m. We are sold out for this event, so please only come if you have reserved your free tickets. We are so excited to be invovled with this Christmas show which helps us to prepare for the Christmas reason and consider what it’s all about!

Thursday 29th November

Another opportunity to pray together at 7.30 p.m. There is so much to pray for in our local community and it’s good to draw together to pray. If you can set aside an hour, do come along on Thursday evening to pray with us.

Friday 30th November

We have our Parent & Toddler group in the morning (9.30 -11.00 a.m.) and will be hosting the ‘Little Movers’ session in the afternoon (1.30-2.30 p.m.), run by the local Family Centre. This is a music and movement session for children aged 18 months to 4 years, so please come along to that if you can. 50p for the Parent & Toddler groupl; £1.50 for the ‘Little Movers’ session.

Saturday 1st December

On Saturday 1st December we’ll have our coffee morning as usual in the morning (10 a.m. – 12 p.m.) and in the evening at 6 p.m. we’ll be holding a baptismal service for James. Do come along (with cakes and mince pies!) to celebrate the new life that James has received since becoming a Christian! A baptismal service is a fantastic witness, so invite your friends and family to join us!

There’s so much more happening in December, but that’s another story!

Ps 148:14 answers the age-old question ‘Who are we?’ So often, this question of identity nags at us individually and collectively; we need a sense of identity to find purpose and meaning in life. Eph 1:11 in the Message version says, ‘It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.’ This psalm of praise has similar answers for God’s people.

Firstly, it reminds us that God has done something for ‘His people’. In sending His only Son, Jesus, to be the atoning sacrifice for sin, He has actually made those who were far off and not His people into His people (see 1 Pet 2:9-10, Eph 2:11-22, Hos 1:8-11) Those who call on the name of the Lord are not only saved, they are also born again and adopted into His family as children of God. (John 1:12, Rom 8:15)

Amazingly, God’s people are also described as ‘His faithful servants’ and ‘Israel’, again showing us that God’s sovereignty and choice grant us access to a new relationship with Him. There is a wondrous balance in the descriptions given to God’s people. That relationship is described at times in very intimate terms (as a child, as the bride of Christ, as a friend), but we are also reminded that we are servants who have been bought at a price. (1 Cor 6:19-20). This is not a negative description, for we are described also in this psalm as being ‘close to His heart’ (see also Is 40:11). God has done so much for us in rescuing us from the kingdom of darkness and bringing us into the kingdom of light. The only right response to the new identity given to us by God (see 2 Cor 5:17) is worship and service.

In Psalm 148:14, we find reference to God raising up for His people a horn, an image which to modern eyes probably conveys very little. In the Bible, however, the ‘horn’ features frequently in different guises, all of which point us to Jesus Christ (‘the horn of salvation’ raised up for us, according to Zechariah in Luke 1:69).

Obviously, in its most literal interpretation, a horn is a protrusion on certain animals such as bulls (Deut 33:17). The horn can be used by the animal in attack, defence and to secure dominance (think of the rhino’s ‘bodger on the bonce’, for example, to quote Flanders and Swann), and as such the word became synonymous metaphorically with strength, power and domination. (1 Sam 2:10, Ps 75:10) Kings were often described as having ‘horns’ (see Dan 7:7, 24) and when God’s power is displayed to defeat enemies, this is described as a ‘horn’ being cut off (see Jer 48:25).

Other uses of the word ‘horn’ in the Old Testament include the use of horns as trumpets (most notably in the fall of Jericho – see Josh 6:4-5) and as receptacles for holding the anointing oil (1 Sam 16:1,3; 1 Kings 1:39). Other Old Testament usages of the word refer to the protrusion at each corner of the altar (Exodus 27:2). In worship, the horns of the altar were dabbed with blood to purify them and make atonement for sin (Leviticus 8:15; Lev 4:6) and these were sometimes clung on to by those accused of crimes (see 1 Kings 1:50, 1 Kings 2:28).

Ultimately, Ps 148, Ps 18:2 and Luke 1:69 reminds us that God’s strength and power are total and are seen in the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. “The salvation Jesus offers is strong, triumphant, and powerful. Just like the horns on the altar offered refuge and atonement, Jesus offers clemency and cleansing through His death on the cross. However strong our spiritual foe, the horn of our salvation is stronger still.”[1] We can be confident in God’s ultimate power and dominion; we can rest in the horn of His strength.

[1] https://www.gotquestions.org/horn-of-salvation.html

The second half of Psalm 148 calls for praise ‘from the earth’, listing sea creatures, all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds, mountains, hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds, along with kings, princes, rulers, young men and women, old men and children (Ps 148:7-12) – a selective list that is clearly intended to be all-inclusive!

Again, both animate and inanimate objects are included in the list: there literally is nothing on earth which is not commanded to praise God. Michael Wilcock says, “The picture’s grandeur, its comprehensiveness, is highlighted by the repeated all – all angels, all stars, all depths, all hills, all cattle, all nations. Even all rulers! Everything and everyone, from the angels of God to the most powerful and godless of men, are to recognise the supremacy of Israel’s Lord – the one who has made himself known to those alone, ‘the people close to his heart.’” (Commentary on Psalms 73-150, P 281)

Reasons are again given for this command. First and foremost, we are called to praise God ‘for His name alone is exalted.’ (Ps 148:13) His splendour and majesty deserve praise. We praise God primarily for who He is, for His character and nature which are so utterly holy, loving and merciful. Secondly, however, we are called to praise God for what He has done for His people: ‘He has raised up a horn’ (Ps 148:14). God’s strength and power are shown in so many different ways, not least in providing for us ‘a horn of salvation’ (Luke 1:69) in Jesus Christ. Our God is near to us (see Deut 4:7, Phil 4:5), caring for us each moment of each day. There are so many reasons to praise Him!