We had another birthday to celebrate last night:

In our alphabet series ‘The A-Z of Christian Faith’, tonight we looked at S is for Salvation. Salvation is one of the key words of faith, but its meaning is very simple: to be saved or rescued from danger or harm, ruin or loss. That apparently useless antique which is rescued from the skip may turn out to be hugely valuable; the arm stretched out to help someone up the mountain prevents them from falling. To be saved is a wonderful thing!

Acts 16:25-34 gives us a picture of salvation: the Philippian jailer, faced with an earthquake which led to the prison doors being opened, feared for his job and his life and asked Paul and Silas, ‘What must I do to be saved?’ (Acts 16:30) The reply – ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.’ (Acts 16:31) – shows us the importance of personal faith and the assurance of salvation.

Saved From What?

Many of us do not recognise the danger we are in and don’t see any need for salvation, but sin is the real problem we all face. Man’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden has had far-reaching consequences, bringing sin and death into God’s perfect creation. (Rom 5:12) Every single problem we face nowadays can be traced back to that first sin; we see its consequences in a polluted world, in fractured relationships, in broken families, in mental health problems, in sickness and disease, in alienation from God. Paul says, ‘the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time’ (Rom 8:22) and all the misery, heartache, anguish and hurt in our world today can be summed up in that one word: sin. Most of all, sin caused separation from God and if we are to be saved from punishment, death and eternal separation, we need a Saviour!

Jesus’ Mission : To Seek And Save the Lost

The Bible teaches us that not only do we need salvation, we need a Saviour. We need someone who can do the rescuing and delivering, because we can’t do it ourselves. And it teaches us that Jesus is that Saviour: His name means ‘The Lord Saves’ (see Matt 1:21). Jesus did not come simply to bring good teaching to us. He did not come simply to feed the hungry, heal the sick and preach about love and forgiveness, important though all of those things are. He came to save us from our sins. He came to do something about the harm we are in, to rescue us from the danger of living lives that are alienated from God, something He accomplished through His sinless life and His sacrificial death: ‘a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people.’ (Heb 10:12, The Message) His resurrection demonstrates that this sacrifice was acceptable to God (see 1 Cor 15:3-5)

Saved For What?

We are not just saved to sit around waiting for heaven, however. We are saved to live new lives (Rom 6:4), to put off our old way of living and embrace the new self God creates (see Eph 4:22-24). We are saved to do the good works God hs planned for us (Eph 2:10) and we are saved ultimately to be like God and to reflect His glory (Eph 5:1, 2 Cor 3:18, Rom 8:29). Salvation embraces everything God is and does for each one of us.

John spoke this morning from Psalm 91. He reminded us that it is easy to feel pessimistic about the world and our prospects; recent newspaper reports indicate that 1 in 3 teenage girls worry about being stalked by strangers and 1/4 of teenage boys are in dread of being assaulted. The whole world is affected by shadows which cloud our perspective – shadows of guilt and failure, debt and ill-health, family problems or work issues, disappointment or bereavement. Nonetheless, despite all these shadows (which affect Christians as well as non-Christians), if we dwell in the secret place with God, we can abide under the shadow of the Almighty (Ps 91:1) –  a very different kind of shadow!

In hot countries, the shadow provides a place of refuge and protection from the sun’s scorching rays. God Himself is our refuge and fortress, a place of safety and survival. We are protected from snares and pestilence, from visible and invisible threats. Moreover, even in the middle of death and destruction, we are preserved (Ps 91:7-8), just as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were. We are protected in dangerous situations and from dangerous situations (Ps 91:10-11).

Not only does God’s shadow provide protection, it give us the promise of deliverance, honour and salvation. God’s shadow overshadows everything; as Elisha’s servant discovered, God’s armies are far greater than the armies of our enemies! (2 Ki 6:17) If God is for us, then none of our enemies will prevail. We can dwell in the secret place and find both protection and promise.

Don’t forget that this Wednesday (20th September) is the ‘Churches Together’ prayer meeting at the Salvation Army at 10.30 a.m. It has been very encouraging to pray with other Christians over the past few months and we believe that God hears and answers prayer, and that as we share our heart’s desires, He speaks to us and moves us into new areas of intercession and service. Please spread the word and come along if you can! Other ‘Churches Together’ prayer meetings will be on Tuesday 17th November (7.15 p.m. at GPCC) and Wednesday 15th November (10.30 a.m. at Houghton Road Centre in Thurnscoe).

On Saturday 30th September we will be having our Macmillan Coffee morning from 10 a.m. until 12 noon. If you can bring any home baking to this event, that would be much appreciated. Another fundraising coffee morning (for Barnsley Hospice) will be on Saturday 28th October at the same time.

In November, we will be taking part in two community events: the Winter Wonderland at Thurnscoe Flower Park on Saturday 18th November from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. and the Goldthorpe Christmas Market on Friday 24th November from 4-8 p.m. At both events, we will be giving out goody bags containing sweets, leaflets, flyers about Christmas services and other small toys. If you can help with preparing these goody bags, come along to the Salvation Army on Wednesday 11th October at 10.30 a.m. All proceeds from the craft stalls and refreshments served at GPCC will go to the Salvation Army Christmas Appeal.

Last night, we continued looking at psalms of thanksgiving. So often, our expectations stop us from being thankful; we live in a society that thinks it is entitled to so much, and as a consequence we take so much for granted and don’t take the time to be thankful.

The psalmists reintroduce us to a world of awe and wonder. Ps 8:1-3 begins by marvelling at God’s amazing creation; Ps 139:14 marvels at the fact that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Every day, God gives us breath and opportunity to participate in a wonderful world, but we can easily take this for granted. Instead, God wants us to stop and reflect on all He has done. Ps 8 goes on to marvel at how God cares for us and blesses us in so many ways.

A child explores the world with zest and enthusiasm, and we need to lay aside our jaded perceptions of the world in order to cultivate thankfulness. This does us good, for as we meditate on the wonderful works of God (Ps 78:1-4, Ps 126:2), we are encouraged in our own faith, remembering what God has done in the past and being strengthened in the faith that He will continue to work on our part because of His faithfulness. We have an obligation to pass on what He has done to the next generation. How will others know of God’s faithfulness and power unless we tell them?

We have received the following email from Compassion about the situation in Haiti:

‘As you may be aware, Hurricane Irma passed over Haiti at the end of last week. I know you will be anxious for news of Bedline, so I am writing to share what we know.

The hurricane’s impact was felt primarily in the northern part of the country. Bedline does not live in this area, and we believe she is unlikely to be affected. If we do hear that she has been affected, we will be in touch right away.

The highest priority for our field team in Haiti right now is to establish communication with each project in the affected areas and provide assistance in the form of medical care, shelter, clean water, food and counselling.

Project staff are visiting children and their families to pray with and encourage them and provide other assistance as needed. Compassion’s disaster funds will initially be used to ensure they are safe, fed and cared for.

We will be praying for Bedline and for all Compassion-supported children, families and church partners in Haiti in the aftermath of the hurricane. Please join us in praying that they would know God’s peace and comfort.’