Dave spoke tonight from Hebrews 11 about saints – God’s people listed there as heroes of the faith. Most people have a very different understanding of the word, associating saints with God’s people, but generally thinking they must be particularly holy or close to God and generally must have been dead for a great many years! Eph 1:15-18 names these people as ‘God’s people’, His ‘holy people’, but the term ‘saint’ has now become a formalised religious term, instead of describing God’s chosen ones.

We sometimes associate particular attributes to saints, such as dedication. Saul was dedicated to God in pursuit of Christians originally, but it was not until his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus that he was converted and thus became a saint. All those saved by God are saints; they are made holy by God. He is the one who determines our status. We are made holy by Him, set apart for His work, and our role is now to live in such a way as to glorify Him. Saints are not perfect, pious people; they are simply those who seek God and seek to follow Him, acknowledging their sinfulness and the work of God in them. Being a ‘saint’ is not about being perfect or even necessarily doing miraculous deeds. It is the term God uses for all He has called out of darkness, and as such, God’s children are also saints!

One of the clearest explanations of mercy I have ever come across is in Phil Wickham’s song ‘Mercy’, where he looks at Adam, at Jesus and at what God’s mercy means for us today. Beautifully poetic and poignant, the song gives us clear insight into God’s mercy.

“Made from the dust and breathed into life
He stood unashamed with a fire in His eyes
The image of God walking upon the world
All of the Earth was under His feet
Except for the fruit from a forbidden tree
He took a taste and that’s how He breaks the world

He cried, “Mercy, mercy”
He broke the whole world with the fruit from a tree, have mercy

Heaven to Earth came down from on high
With hope in His name and a fire in His eyes
The fullness of God walking upon the world
He said He was love, then proved it with blood,
Rose from the dead to prove He was God
And that’s what it takes for one man to save the world.

Oh, such mercy, mercy
He saved the whole world, when He hung on a tree, such mercy

Now here inside of our skin and bones
Heaven above is making its home,
The kingdom of God living upon the world.
To love like He loves and give like He gives,
To tell the story that makes dead men live,
And that’s what it takes if we’re gonna change the world.

Mercy, mercy
Your love is a song, and You sing over me.” (Mercy,’ Phil Wickham)

Outreach to our community is a vital part of who we are at Goldthorpe Pentecostal Community Church (there’s a clue in the name, after all!) We believe that Jesus brings us good news of forgiveness, hope, restoration and relationship with God and this news is so fantastic, we don’t want to keep it to ourselves!

You can join us once a month for coffee mornings on the 1st Saturday of each month between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. – the next coffee morning is on Saturday 5 August.

We’re also working with other local churches to put on family fun days in school holidays where we explore a Biblical theme through crafts and activtiies and enjoy eating together as well – which is what Jesus and His disciples often did, sharing meals. We will be at Furlong Road Methodist Church on Wednesday 26 July between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., looking at the theme of ‘Lost Things’ (and how God finds them!)

On Wednesday 2 August we are hosting the family fun day at GPCC fbetween 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., looking at the theme of ‘God’s Great Party’. Did you know that God throws a party every time someone comes to faith? (Luke 15) Or that God is planning a wedding feast for His bride, the church? (Matt 22) Find out more at this fun day.

In addition, we are going to do things a little differently on Sunday 6 August and hold a party church service at 4 p.m., to carry on the teaching in the family fun day. Come along for party food and games, a buoncy castle and singing and dancing as we remember just how much God likes to celebrate and rejoice. Being a Christian doesn’t mean leaving fun behind; Jesus came to give us life to the full! (John 10:10) Find out more.

Because food is involved in many of our events, we need to know numbers for catering purposes. You can book in to any of the above (which are all free to attend) by contacting Julie on 07729 421405 or emailing julie@gpcchurch.co.uk

We’re also supporting St Helen’s with their fun days on Monday 7 and 14 August (11.00 a..m. -12.30 p;.m.) at St Helen’s Church Hall in Thurnscoe and will be doing free crafts at the ‘Bounce Into Summer Event‘ at Goldthorpe Cricket Grounds on Wednesday 23 August between 12 and 4 p.m.

This morning in our series ‘The Miraculous & The Mundane’, we looked at how Jesus healed a blind man in two stages (Mark 8:22-26). Instead of instaneously healing someone, it seemed that Jesus healed this man gradually, perhaps to remind us that spiritual vision needs to be renewed constantly.

We see again how important friends are in bringing this man to Jesus and are reminded that this is a vital part of our lives: personal testimony is by far the most common way people come to faith in Jesus. We see how Jesus treats the man with compassion and as an individual, taking him somewhere private away from the crowds before healing him. How we too need to treat people as individuals, not expecting one size to fit all, but understanding that we walk by faith not sight and will always need to depend on God rather than expecting Him to work in certain ways.

Above all, we see how Mark uses this miracle to teach us about spiritual vision, just as John did (John 9). All of us are spiritually blind without Christ (see 2 Cor 4:4). Without God’s help, none of us can even see the kingdom of heaven. (John 3:3) But when our eyes are opened by God’s Holy Spirit, this is the start of our spiritual adventure. Paul reminds us that ‘now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.’ (1 Cor 13:12) There are many stages of enlightenment in our Christian journey when God needs to open our eyes (as He did with Elisha’s servant, 2 Kings 6:16-17). Paul prays for enlightenment in 3 areas in Eph 1:18-23:

1. The hope to which God has called them
2. The riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people
3. His incomparably great power for us who believe

Hope is very necessary to fulfilled living. The God who had plans to give Israel a hope and a future at a time of exile (Jer 29:11), who gives strength to those who hope in the Lord, no matter how weary they are (Is 40:28-31) and who can make us overflow with hope (Rom 15:13) is able to transform despair into hope and give us eternal hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now we belong to God’s family and are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17), reminding us that all the riches of God are available to us (see Ps 50:12). We are His treasured possession and chosen people (1 Pet 2:9-10) and therefore can live securely because of whose we are.

Paul prays also that they may know ‘his incomparably great power for us who believe.’ (Eph 1:19) The same power which raised Christ from the dead is available to all who believe, and therefore the miraculous is not out of reach. God does not change and we can have free access to His miraculous power as we trust in Him.