Anticipating Ascension
This Thursday (18 May) sees one of the key dates in the Christian calendar: Ascension Day. Partly because of its movable date (coming forty days after Easter, itself a movable festival) and partly because it celebrates absence rather than presence, it does not seem to have the same popularity in our national consciousness as Christmas or Easter.
Ascension Day remembers when Jesus left this earth in bodily form and returned to heaven. It’s a miraculous event witnessed by His disciples which we read about in Luke 24:50-52 and Acts 1:9-11. It marks a definite turning point and whilst it reminds us of the power and majesty of the risen Jesus, it perhaps is a bittersweet reminder that He is no longer present with us in bodily form.
Absence is much harder to celebrate than presence. I recently attended a retirement celebration, and whilst it was wonderful to look back on years of faithful ministry and service, it was also sad to think of this couple no longer serving in their local church. They will be missed.
Jesus knew that His disciples would miss Him. He spoke about going away and leaving them long before this day, and recognised that what He told them brought them grief. (John 16:6) Nonetheless, He affirmed that this departure was actually for their good becaue this would lead to the arrival of ‘the Advocate’, the Holy Spirit. (John 16:7)
Jesus, even when resurrected, could not in bodily form be everywhere at once on earth. His return to heaven would signal the arrival of a global ministry. The arrival of God in the form of the Holy Spirit ten days later on the Day of Pentecost would usher in a new age: the birth and empowerment of the church and a new awareness of God’s presence and power with every believer.
So absence in one form does not necessarily mean abandonment. Change comes inevitably because of the loss we feel, but every celebration in the Christian calendar points to the perfection of God’s plans.
The Ascension also reminds us of a future date, yet to be marked on our calendars, when Jesus comes again in resurrection power. (Acts 1:11) This will be a defining moment in history and something which should mark how we live now and reflect the hope of all mankind. As we prepare to celebrate this Thursday, we understand that the bittersweet is an inevitable part of life and we who believe look ahead with anticipation and hope that Jesus will one day return to our earth in glory to judge the living and the dead.
The Danger of Assumptions
A Place Prepared
Sponsored Toddle
We are blessed with a great Parent & Toddler group at GPCC which meets twice weekly in term-time on Wednesdays and Fridays (9-11 a.m.) Last year, we had our first summer outing to Gulliver’s Valley, and this year we are aiming to go to Flamingo Land on 28th July.
The cost of tickets for children aged 4 or above is very high and so we have been fund-raising for some time (and have currently raised £1,147 towards the cost of the trip through coffee mornings, an Easter raffle and a sponsored walk done by Beverley Wassell to Barnsley!) Yesterday, a number of parents, grandparents and children walked from Goldthorpe Park on Doncaster Road to Barnburgh Park in Barnburgh on a ‘Sponsored Toddle’ to raise money for the trip.
Once at the park, they had a good time playing!
Even the adults joined in the fun!
They all got certificates and medals for taking part.
Some of them had a picnic as a reward for all that walking.
Our thanks to Hayley who organised the Sponsored Toddle and to Bev for buying medals for the children. Thanks to all who took part and to all who have sponsored the toddlers. Please note that all sponsor monies need to be handed in by Friday 26th May at the latest so that we can bank money and pay for the Flamingo Land tickets.
Singing A Song
Revelation is a book with many songs of praise to God for who He is and what He has done. Rev 15:2-4 has another such song (this time accompanied by harps) called ‘the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb.’
The songs associated with Moses (Exodus 15 & Deuteronomy 32) focus on God’s power in delivering His people from Egyptian slavery and His faithfulness to His people. The song of the Lamb focuses on what Jesus has accomplished for us through His sacrificial death (Rev 5:9-10). Both songs acknowledge who God is (the Rock, the Lord) and this song does too, acknowledging God as ‘King of the nations’, ‘Lord God Almighty’ and the One who is holy before pondering how His deeds are great and marvellous, His ways are just and true and His righteous acts have now been revealed.
All our songs of praise should reflect this dual emphasis on who God is and what He has done, because we are so prone to forget these truths. This is the yardstick for what we sing in our services and what we sing in our personal praise times with the Lord. It matters what we sing; it matters that we sing truth. There is a place for our ‘response’ in songs, but we can only respond rightly when we know who God is and what He has done for us.
The Wrath of God
The wrath of God is not an easy topic to tackle, but any study of the book of Revelation must do so, because it is here that the most frequent references to God’s wrath are found. We are uncomfortable with the idea of God’s wrath, often feeling that the New Testament message of love and forgiveness act as a negation of any idea of wrath. Some see the God of the Old Testament as a wrathful deity appeased by Jesus in the New Testament, but the unity and immutability of God remain at the heart of both Testaments. God’s love is evident in the Old Testament; His wrath is found in the New Testament as well as the Old. We cannot divide God and hope to remain true to the Biblical account of who He is.
Another reason we are uncomfortable with the subject of God’s wrath is that we know only too well the fickleness of our own human anger. Wrath is defined as “the emotional response to perceived wrong and injustice,” often translated as “anger,” “indignation,” “vexation,” or “irritation”, and we know only too well how our anger is often unjustified and leads to further problems. We have to differentiate between human anger (which James reminds us does not produce the righteousness God desires (James 1:20)) and God’s anger or wrath, which is always holy and always justified.
The wrath of God is a divine response to human sin and disobedience, which cannot be condoned for justice to be done. There must be consequences to sin and disobedience, and God’s wrath ensures that these consequences are fulfilled. He is patient and has made a way for all people to avoid the consequences of wrath (separation from God and hell) (2 Peter 3:9-10), but Revelation 15-16 make it plain that the wrath of God will come on those who persistently refuse to listen to God. The one who believes in the Son will not suffer God’s wrath for his sin, because the Son took God’s wrath upon Himself when He died in our place on the cross (Romans 5:6–11). Those who do not believe in the Son, who do not receive Him as Saviour, will be judged on the day of wrath (Romans 2:5–6).