Last week we celebrated Holy Communion at Cherry Tree Court for the first time and, as we usually do on the second Sunday evening of the month, at Market Street. We can become very familiar with this sacrament, but it’s good to look at why we do this and at the purpose this serves.

Dave spoke from Matt 26:17-30 at the evening service. The Passover celebration, during which Jesus ate the Last Supper with His disciples and inaugurated the first Communion service, was very familiar to Jews, commemorating God’s deliverance of His people from Egypt. During this familiar meal, Jesus began to speak. But Matthew does not record the normal words of the Seder, the traditional Jewish ceremony. Jesus changes the Passover into the Lord’s Supper.

First came the accusation: “One of you will betray Me.” Then the identification with the broken bread: “Take and eat, this is My body.”  And finally the third cup, the cup of redemption was identified as His blood: “Drink from it, all of you. This is My blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

Self-examination is an important part of this ceremony. We may not have betrayed Jesus like Judas did, but we sin in thought and deed every day and need, as Bach expressed it in St Matthew’s Passion, to acknowledge this: “Ich bin’s, ich sollte bussen” (I’m the one, I should repent).Charles Hadley Spurgeon said that “our tendency is to decry the particular form of sin that we find in others. We hold up our hands as if we were quite shocked. Better to look in the mirror than look out the window. Looking out of the window, you see one for whom you are not responsible. But looking in the mirror, you see one for whom you must give account to God.” One of the most important responsibilities of the church is self-examination before Communion. For it is not a ceremony for the self-satisfied. The only thing which makes us worthy to come is in knowing our unworthiness.

We must receive Christ’s brokenness. The breaking of the bread is not just to share out the loaf, but shows us most clearly how God comes to us – broken. Christ’s brokenness for us, Christ’s suffering for us, is the means by which we are saved. Our main understanding of God should not be through majesty and glory, but through the Cross. In the broken bread we are confronted with a God who chose to be broken for us, rather than breaking us as we deserve.

During the Passover meal there were four cups of wine that were to be drunk. These four cups were meant to correspond to the fourfold promise of Exodus 6:6-7.

First Cup: I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.

Second Cup: I will free you from being slaves to them.

Third Cup: I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.

The fourth Cup: “’you will be my own people and I will be your God.’”

It is the third cup, the cup of redemption, which explains why the bread is broken. The bread points us to the Cross; the cup points us to the benefits we receive from the Cross: the benefits of the forgiveness of sins, the benefits of God’s ongoing provision for us and the promise of that great marriage feast to come.

The weather in the UK has been somewhat unpredictable lately. An event that was cancelled in March because of the snow did finally take place on 7 April, when Gemma Hunt (a Christian TV presenter) visited Thurnscoe Pentecostal Church to share pirate fun and the good news of Jesus with children there:

Heavy rain over several days means that the Dinosaur Day at Phoenix Park (scheduled for tomorrow, 15 April) will not take place at the moment. We very much hope this will be rescheduled at a later date, as we are eager to dig for fossils and share our amazing dinosaur crafts with everyone.

The ‘Dearne Churches Together’ prayer meeting will be on Tuesday 17th April at 10.30 a.m. at GPCC and all are welcome to attend.

We are very pleased that Fredrick and Reeba will be with us the first weekend in May (Sunday 6th May) and are looking forward to seeing them and hearing all their news,.

Tonight’s Bible study concluded our whistle-stop tour of Psalm 119, the longest of all the psalms. This acrostic poem begins each stanza with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and whilst the skill of the writer can’t be fully appreciated in English, the sentiment of the psalm – extolling God’s word and reflecting how this is the only sure guide to life – certainly can.

There is a contrast throughout the psalm between those who love God’s word and follow it and those who don’t (see Ps 119:81-82, 113-115). Those who meditate on God’s word find in it delight and wonder (Ps 119:129), illumination (Ps 119:105, 130), insight and understanding (Ps 119:98-100) and are upheld and sustained through adversity through it (Ps 119:114-117). No matter what the difficulties (persecution, adversity, affliction and troubles), the psalmist remains confident of God’s help (Ps 119:140).

One of the things which gives confidence is the fact that God’s word is eternal, as is His righteousness (Ps 119:89, 142,160). In Hebrew, this word carries with it the idea of without limits or boundaries (see Ps 119:96). No matter what, we can always find something fresh in God’s word, for it is living and active (Heb 4:12) and will endure (Is 40:8). God’s statutes, commands and laws guide us in the right paths (Ps 119:101, 104) and allow us to wait for God’s salvation. (Ps 119:166) Whilst we wait, we follow His commands, living in the light as He is in the light.

The Dearne Community Arts’ Festival (due to take place at Dearne ALC on Friday 31st August and Saturday 1st September between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.) has been successfulo in receiving funding from the Big Lottery Awards for All scheme and the local Ward Alliance, and customers at local Tesco branches can also vote for the project between 1st May and 30th June 2018 at Bolton-on-Dearne and Wath-upon-Dearne stores to secure additional funding.

The funding will cover the costs of running the festival (including the hire of Dearne ALC, publicity and marketing materials, insurances and payment of workshop costs) and will enable the festival, which champions creativity and celebrates community in the Dearne area, to offer a wider variety of arts, thanks in part to the larger venue.

Exhbitions, performances, workshops and demonstrations will be held over the two-day festival and the range of arts booked so far include painting, photography, sewing, tapestry, hardanger, paper crafts, virtual reality cinema, 3D printing, music, drama and dance. We also hope to host a circus skills workshop and there will be the opportunity to practise creative writing for all ages (with Ian McMillan and Jeannette Ayton leading workshops for adults and children on the Friday). Thurnscoe Harmonic Male Voice Choir will again perform for us on the Saturday.

Photograph courtesy of Ruth Bourne

Before the festival, there is the opportunity to win prizes and have your work exhibited through two competitions – one in creative writing (up to 500 words, poetry or prose) and one in photography, both on the theme ‘Loving Your Local Environment.’ Entries should be emailed to julie@gpcchurch.co.uk or handed in to Goldthorpe or Thurnscoe libraries by 11th July. There are 3 age categories (under 11s, 12-18s and adults) and entries should include the name, category and an email address and contact telephone number.

Please let us also know if you’re interested in exhibiting or performing at the festival.

CLC, the Christian bookshop in Sheffield, is moving!

The shop is currently based on West Street in Sheffield but is moving on 1st May to 2 Church Street, which is close to the cathedral. This is a much more central location (the blue corner building just to the left of the Cathedral as you look from the tramlines) and is therefore a real answer to prayer for the charity.

If you’re in Sheffield, do call in to view their impressive range of Christian literature, CDs, DVDs and gifts.

Here are some more photographs from the Good Friday Church Crawl, when we were at the Salvation Army. Good to tell Stacey took these – they are all about the people!