Stephen spoke this morning at Cherry Tree Court on the subject of numbers – not the book in the BIble of that name, but how our lives can so easily be controlled by numbers. We count the pennies and pounds in our bank account, hoping there is enough to pay all our bills. We count the days to events like birthdays and Christmas (only 107 sleeps to Christmas 2018, apparently!) as well as to pay day and retirement! Some numbers can be enjoyable (most people enjoy counting off the days on an Advent calendar, especially if there are chocolates involved!), but for many of us, numbers add stress, strain and distraction to our lives and leave us wondering if we are counting the right things.

The old hymn advises us to ‘count your blessings; name them one by one’ and this is sound advice to us. So often, we forget God’s many blessings and the ways He has helped us in the past. Matt 11:28-30 reminds us that Jesus promises us rest. He promises to exchange our heavy yoke for HIs light one, to give us that rest and renewed perspective which are so lacking in our lives so often. As we learn to count our blessings and come to Jesus, we will find rest because we truly can count on God to help us in every situation and to walk with us along life’s road.

The world is full of sorrow: painful situatins which break our hearts and leave us bewildered, confused and in so much emotional pain that we feel we cannot carry on. At times we wrestle with God’s ways: why He allows such pain, why He does not intervene to prevent such tragedies and why, if He loves us so much, we have to ensure such suffering.

Distress and sorrow, trouble and persecution, are inevitable companions to a life ravaged by sin. We cannot avoid them; we cannot understand them. But ‘godly sorrow’ (see 2 Cor 7:9-11) has positive outcomes.

Godly sorrow is when we allow the distress and pain to drive us towards God, rather than away from HIm. We come with our questions, our tears, our rage and our confusion, and we sit in the silence until God’s presence is enough to sustain us. When we allow distresss and sorrow to drive us to God rather than away from him, we find we become ‘more alive, more concerned, more human, more sensitive, more reverent, more passionate, more responsible.’ (2 Cor 7:11, The Message)

If we allow distress to drive us away from God, the questions are still unanswered and we are left only with regret. We become corroded and bitter, restless and discontented. Wordly sorrow ultimately leads to death. (2 Cor 7:10)

Our response to life is the only thing we can control. We can’t control the troubles and sorrows, but we can control and choose our response. Choose to let the sorrow drive you to God. Though we may have to wait for the answer (Hab 2:3), though we may never understand His ways, His presence means we are not left comfortless (2 Cor 1:3-4, Jn 14:16-18)

Our first birthday in September was also celebrated tonight.

Flowers usually play an important part in weddings and tonight we made artificial flowers for the wedding we’ll soon be celebrating! (I doubt these will be used on the day, but the thought was there!)

There are many traditions regarding flowers and weddings (such as the bride tossing her bouquet and the woman who catches it will supposedly be the next bride) and therefore perhaps it’s no surprise that God sees us too as beautiful flowers: ‘I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.’ (Song of Songs 2:1) So often, we don’t see ourselves as beautiful, but God loves us and cherishes us. Just as there is great variety in flowers, so too we are all different and yet are all loved by God and given different gifts to use in the body of Christ (see Rom 12:3-8, 1 Cor 12:12-31). We need each other and we can be secure in our individuality and our purpose, for God clothes the flowers of the field and cares for us even more.

Here at GPCC, we are looking forward to a wedding in just under three weeks. Most people enjoy a wedding. Invitations have gone out and responses been received; preparations are being made, with more to come. People are getting ready and are both nervous and looking forward to the big day. Weddings are opportunities for celebration and joy, but they are also significant, not just for the day itself but for the new start they signify: the first day of two lives committed to each other for life, until death separates.

Nowadays, weddings are seen as something of a luxury: meals can cost £120 per person, which with 100 guests adds up to £12,000 for a meal alone! Weddings can be held in exotic (and expensive) locations. Some feel there’s no point in spending so much money on one day and therefore spurn marriage altogether. Others see weddings as a legality, used ‘for tax purposes’ or to make sure you’re eligible for pension rights. Others see weddings and marriage as an unnecessary tradition or something which restricts and is a duty only. God’s take on marriage is very different. He tells us it gives structure to society and is the training ground for individuals, teaching them to learn to put others first and live a life of sacrifcial love.

In Eph 5:25-32 we see that human marriage mirrors the divine relationship we have with Christ. That relationship is likened to marriage, with Christ as the bridegroom and the church as the bride (Rev 19:5-9, Rev 21:1-3) Human marriage and weddings foreshadow the relationship between God and the church and remind us that Jesus gave Himself for all – the invitiation to the wedding is there for everyone. Jesus will come again for His bride, for all who respond.

2 Pet 3:3-7 reminds us that Jesus will come again and we therefore have a duty and responsibility to share the good news of the gospel now, while we still have opportunity. We need to be serious about this task and pray for people, for conversations and for conversions.

Dave spoke from Acts 2;42-47 this morning, a challenging passage about the life of the early church which needs to be replicated in our churches if we are to see similar life and growth. The believers devoted themselves to four things:

1. the apostles’ teaching
2. the fellowship
3. the breaking of bread
4. prayer

If we do not devote ourselves to these things, then we will become people who are lifeless and lost. The father of lies tells us it doesn’t really matter what we believe and that we don’t need to bother with meeting with other Christians, that prayer and the breaking of bread are peripheral activities which don’t really matter, but he is a liar. The secret of every growing church is hearing the word of God and obeying it. This will involve praying together and meeting together or we lose our sense of direction and faith. It’s all too easy to be sucked into the belief that individual happiness is all that matters or that material things are the answer to all our needs, but we need to be rooted and built up in Christ.

Everyone knows that a coal, when separated from the fire, soon turns dull and grey and loses its fiery glow. Similarly, if we separate ourselves from Christian fellowship, our faith can often soon diminish. Devotion, dedication and commitment are always needed and these four things listed in this passage lead to multiplication and growth.

The phrase ‘cool as a cucumber’ (meaning metaphorically to remain calm and collected, even in difficult times) is actually true of a cucumber connected to the vine: it actually is cooler on the inside than on the outside when it is attached. We can only know calm and peace if we remain attached to the vine (see John 15:1-5). Jesus is the gate for the sheep and we need to listen to the Shepherd and follow HIm, being devoted to God and to each other.

Are we a coal that’s part of the fire, joining with other believers in these practices, or are we a coal that is separate and cooling down? Are we a cucumber that’s cool under pressure because of our attachment to the vine or are we detached and struggling on our own? God wants us to devote ourselves to these vital things and to flourish and be fruitful.