John spoke this morning from John 5:1-15 about being at the back of the queue.

Queuing is seen as being quintessentially British – so much so that the Royal Mint, in their A-Z of what is British, put ‘queue’ for the letter Q! Sometimes we are quite happy to queue, but most of the time we find it tiresome, whether it is waiting in a queue on the telephone, waiting in shops or being stuck in traffic queues for hours on end… Apparently, we spend about 5 years of an average life in a queue!

A queue is in some ways a hierarchy of entitlement. Those at the front of the queue are seen as privileged, advantage, often rich. Those at the back of the queue are disadvantaged, poor or, as in the case of this man, disabled. We talk of ‘Postcode lotteries’ regarding healthcare and schools, so if we are at the back of a queue, we feel we are less important, less deserving or insignificant.

The man in this story had no way to get to the front of the queue, but the presence of Jesus rendered this unimportant. He didn’t need to get into the pool to be healed, because Jesus healed him there and then. Clearly, he had tried in his own strength to get to the pool of healing and so often we try to rely on our own strength, instead of letting God sort things out. We need to learn to trust God.

In Mark 5:21-24, we see the story of the woman with the issue of blood and Jairus’ daughter. Jairus, a leader, had no trouble getting to the front of the queue to speak to Jesus, but the woman had to push through the queue to reach Jesus. Her determination and persistence were what is needed, and we too must seek God and desire God with all our hearts if we are to receive from Him.

In Mark 2:1-12, four friends are not put off by the crowds, but find a way through the roof to bring their friend in need to Jesus. Their support and help were needed for the paralysed man to come to Jesus and be healed. We are called to support one another in faith and prayer.

In Acts 3:1-10, we read of a man for whom there were no queues. He was left at the Temple gates, forgotten and apparently forsaken. He probably felt that his opportunity for healing had gone, for Jesus was no longer present. He may have felt there was no future for him, but Peter and John prayed for him and his life was transformed. We too need to be confident in God. We so often feel we have missed our opportunities in God and write ourselves off. God never writes us off, however. We are never at the back of the queue as far as He is concerned, for He has given us all free access to His presence (Heb 4:15-16)

The Dinosaur Day is finally here! We will be joining with many other community groups at Phoenix Park (Thurnscoe) between 12 and 4 p.m. to take part in Big Local Thurnscoe’s Dinosaur Day. This is a community event featuring animatronic dinosaurs, live animals and lots of family friendly activities including baby dinosaurs, bush craft, a dog show, kite making and a dinosaur trail!

Dearne Churches Together will have a table at the event with lots of dinosaur-related crafts and a sand pit where we can dig for fossils! We have leaflets about dinosaurs and some 3D printed dinosaurs to give away! It’s a great opportunity to chat to people and to be involved with our local community, so please do come along if you can.

Holding an annual general meeting is a requirement of the Charity Commission, but it’s also an opportunity to look at what the church is involved in and to pray for our ministries. Last night, we looked at the different outreaches we are involved in (the Parent & Toddler group, the youth club, the coffee morning, meetings at Cherry Tree Court, our support of the Salvation Army food bank and our support of missionary work in India and support of Bedline in Haiti and Amshika in India.) All of these ministries are hugely important and we are very grateful for the volunteers who help to make these things happen (serving faithfully week-in, week-out) and for those who give so generously to support these things. Thanks were also given to church members for their generosity in giving financially to support the church and through Gift Aid.

Alison from the Salvation Army sent a report sharing what is happening there. Apart from feeding over 600 people each month through food parcels and meals at the Army, other services are offered, including a job club, help with welfare rights, a clothes bank and 1-to-1 cooking support. Food is now donated from supermarkets (Tesco, Morrisons, Co-op, Lidl, One Stop, Marks and Spencer’s and Fareshare), enabling food parcels to contain fresh fruit and vegetables as well as tinned food. Each session begins with the volunteers (about 15 regular helpers) meeting for prayer, a thought for the day and a song. ‘Conversations happen, friendships are made and lives are changed‘, Alison says. As a church, we are privileged to be able to buy food and provisions to the value of £60 per month to support this local ministry and we are grateful for the food and clothes donated regularly by our members to help.

Another aspect of outreach is our ‘Dearne Churches Together’ events, which in the past year have included monthly prayer meetings, family fun days at Thurnscoe Pentecostal Church in school holidays, the Christmas Market (which raised over £735 for the Salvation Army Christmas Appeal) and the Good Friday Church Crawl. Again, we are grateful for the good relationships between the local churches and the way we can work together to serve our local communities.

Looking ahead, there are always maintenance issues (we will be looking at some pointing and general building maintenance work over the summer) and we will be holding a cleaning day on Saturday 8th September (between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. approximately). We are looking forward to James and Jade’s wedding on 22 September and to holding a baptismal service in the autumn. If anyone is interested in getting baptised, please let us know.

Most of all, we pray for God’s continued blessing on the church and for us all to grow in faith and boldness as we seek to serve Him.

Don’t forget the different events that are happening this weekend. (I’m not referring to the royal wedding here!)

On Saturday 19th May we have our coffee morning as usual from 10 a.m. until 12 noon and in the evening at 6 p.m. we have our Annual General Meeting. Do come along as we look back over the past year and look ahead to the future. We are grateful for all God has done and continues to do; please do come along to share with us for an hour or so on that date.

Sunday 20th May is the Day of Pentecost, so we are praying God will meet with us in a special way as we celebrate the birthday of the church and the coming of the Holy Spirit 50 days after the resurrection. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to be upon us, enabling us to be witnesses to all God has done through Jesus Christ. Our services are at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m., but we will also be taking part in Big Local Thurnscoe’s ‘Dinosaur Day’ at Phoenix Park, Thurnscoe, between 12 noon and 4 p.m. If you’re able to join the ‘Dearne Churches Together’ table, we’ll be involved in craft activities, digging for fossils and giving out leaflets, pens and dinosaurs (albeit of the plastic variety…) Come along to this family fun day if you can and help us be involved in our local community. The event will feature animatronic dinosaurs, live animals and lots of family friendly activities including baby dinosaurs, bush craft, dog show, kite making and a dinosaur trail, so there will be lots to do. Portaloos and refreshment stalls will be available; parking is not available on site, but on-road parking is available nearby.

Reading the condensed versions of history in the historical psalms helps us to see an overview of history which is both shocking and sobering. Ps 106 tells us of incidents of rebellion against leadership (Ps 106:16-18, referring back to Numbers 16), idolatry (when Moses’ absence to receive the Ten Commandments led to the people making a golden calf in Exodus 32) and depravity (after the deaths of Moses and Joshua, Israel married foreigners and even sacrificed sons and daughters to idols, resorting to prostitution as part of their ‘worship’.) These sins were directly responsible for Israel’s exile (see 2 Kings 17:7-12, 2 Kings 24:2-4) and it is hard for us to comprehend how this slide into pagan worship could have happened.

But if we are honest, we can see that we too live in a society which has largely forgotten God. In our country, 1 in 6 pregnancies ends in abortion and we barely register that fact. The elderly are often forgotten in care homes which do not all meet the standards of care we would hope for, but we are too busy to notice. The news is full of scandals which ought to drive us to prayer, but so often, we are indifferent and uncaring, more concerned with our own lives than with national sin – which in effect becomes our own sin, for sin can be not doing right things as well as doing wrong things. The Book of Common Prayer says, ‘Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep, we have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts, we have offended against thy holy laws, we have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done; and there is no health in us.’ That is a fair summary of the historical psalms.

But these psalms were not written simply to depress us and leave us feeling hopeless and helpless. They show us big sins indeed (one commentator remarks that all the seven deadly sins – pride, envy, gluttony, greed, lust, anger and sloth – are mentioned in the potted history these psalms contain), but they show us also an almighty God whose plans and purposes may take a long time to unfold but these plans and purposes will not be thwarted. God remembers His covenant (Ps 105:8—11, 42; Ps 106:45). As Lam 3:22-23 puts it, ‘Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,  for his compassions never fail.They are new every morning;   great is your faithfulness.’

Forgetfulness is seen as a blight of older age, but many of us know what this is like from a younger age! We go into a room for something and on arrival there, forgot what we went for! One quote says, ‘I’ve reached an age when my train of thought often leaves the station without me.’ It’s often so hard to remember important things because our minds are full of so many other thoughts.

Psalm 106, like Psalm 105, reviews the exodus years. It begins later, not with Abraham but with the exodus itself and Israel’s departure from Egypt, and ends later, looking ahead into the period of the judges and perhaps even further. It too acknowledges God’s faithfulness, mercy and help, acknowledging His salvation and miraculous intervention (Ps 106:20-22), but its main focus seems to be to remind Israel of the stubbornness and rebellion which were so often their response to God. Forgetting what God has done is a major stumbling-block now as much as then (see Ps 106:13, 21). When we forget God and do not wait for His plans to unfold, we risk an independent lifestyle that ends in misery. The wilderness generation, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, did not enter the Promised Land. Israel was later exiled from this land because of her sinfulness and disobedience. There are serious consequences when we forget God.

The sins listed in Ps 106 include craving (Ps 106:13-15 – we need to be careful not to allow our physical needs to overtake our spiritual needs), envy (Ps 106:16-18 – reflecting Dathan and Abiram’s rebellion against Moses and Aaron, but envy of others does not just refer to coveting authority), idolatry (Ps 106:19-23, referring back to Exodus 32), grumbling (Ps 106:24-27) and rebellion (Ps 106:32-33). We need to remember these examples in order to learn from them. (1 Cor 10:1-13)