God’s love, Garry reminded us, goes much further than our love. We may not fully understand why He created us with free will; we certainly do not understand how He can use even evil, pain and suffering for good (as John Dickson remarks, ‘But here we arrive at the heart of the issue… God’s reasons for permitting evil are indeed loving and, what’s more… he is able to achieve his aims and, (even) more… it shouldn’t surprise us that limited beings (like us) might not be able to imagine the divine reasons (for it all).’ See ‘Religion And Ethics’) We see in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins, however, the extent of God’s love: how He came to our world, took on human flesh, lived a perfect life and offered Himself as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world.

The gospel never ends at that point, however. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrate to us the extent and depth of God’s love, but He calls us then to be imitators and love in the same way! Matt 5:43-48 shows us how we too are called to love our enemies. In the Old Testament, the book of Hosea acts as a parable, showing us God’s love for the wayward and unfaithful (see Hos 1, Hos 3:1). In the New Testament, we are constantly urged to use our free will to love as God loves (see also Rom 12:19-21). God gave Himself for those who hated Him and rejected Him; He calls us to do the same, to overcome evil with good. God demonstrates His love for us in that while we were still sinners, with no thought for God, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8); Jesus reminds us that if we love Him, we will obey His commandments (Jn 14:15). He does not compel us or coerce us to do this, but again gives us free choice.

If we are to live wisely, we will choose wisely and will love as He loves. The choice, however, is ours.

Many people struggle with the idea of God and His love, simply imagining God to be a ‘bigger version’ of humans and His love to be a little bit bigger than ours. The truth is that we are made in God’s image (not the other way round!) and His love is vastly different to ours in scope, depth and continuity.

The Bible tells us that God is love (1 Jn 4:8) and that He is motivated by love in everything He does; it affirms His love as everlasting, never-ending and persevering. Yet so often, we harbour nagging doubts about God’s love and goodness and must wrestle with the question ‘If God is loving, why does He allow…?’ Stephen Fry believes God is cruel and mean because bone cancer in children exists; many people feel uncomfortable with the idea that if God is all-powerful, why does He not intervene to stop terrorists or prevent murders or natural disasters? They affirm that God is either all-powerful and ‘capricious, mean-minded’ or downright cruel, or loving and weak, unable to prevent disasters in the same way we often feel powerless to intervene.

These difficult questions are not without answers. The Bible affirms that God made a wonderful creation, perfect in every way, and made man in His image, which included the capacity for choice. Free will means that we can choose to obey or disobey, and so often, we choose to go our own way. This capacity for choice has huge impact not only on our own lives, but on the lives of other people as well, and included in love is this freedom which so often leads to trouble (see this clip from ‘Bruce Almighty’). It is also at the heart of what is wrong with the world (and why natural disasters, disease, injustice and death abound in our world), since all problems can be traced back to the choice of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to go their own way, rather than God’s.

Stephen Fry asked the question of God, ‘How dare you create a world in which there is such misery that is not our fault?’ We may never know why God chose to give us free will (though a creature without free will would simply be a robot), but we have to come to terms with the effects of our choices, and then we also discover that God Himself loves us so much He gave Himself to provide a way back to Him. Our choices are crucial. Will we choose God’s way over our own?

It’s very easy in life to get distracted. We are seeing this all the time at the moment with our first grandchild who has just learned to crawl and who is desperate to learn to walk. She is, as a consequence, having to cope with falling down on a regular basis, and distraction is a major weapon in our armoury when that happens and the tears flow. Most of the time, it’s her pride which hurt and she is thus easily distracted by something else that is interesting, shiny and which will soon become her new goal. The tears of frustration cease and the journey to a new destination begins all over again – hundreds of times within an hour!

Distraction is not quite so useful as we get older, however, though it is just as prevalent. We are easily distracted from our pursuit of God. Trials come, and we focus on them, being knocked off course by hardship and suffering. Shiny, new pastimes pull at us, often not wrong in themselves, but how easily they distract us from prayer, worship and service. All around us, distractions tug at us, luring us from single-minded devotion to God. As I watch my granddaughter flit from one object to another, purposefully pursuing a goal only to stop en route because something else has grabbed her attention, I am reminded that I am not so very different.

Isaiah 26 contains many of the most wonderful verses in the whole Bible. It reminds us God provides salvation for us, likening this to a strong city, fortified by walls and ramparts. (Is 26:1) It promises God ‘will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You.’ (Is 26:3) The key to this peace, however, established by God for us (Is 26:12), is steadfastness of mind. Trusting in God is not easy when there are so many distractions around, but God’s name and renown must be the desire of our hearts. (Is 26:8)

We cannot afford to be immature, allowing ourselves to be distracted by either trial or triumph, not to mention the trivial. We have to walk in the ways of God’s laws and wait for Him, yearning for Him in the night and longing for Him in the morning. (Is 26:8-9) The world holds many distractions and much allure, but we are urged to keep ourselves from idols. (1 Jn 5:21) As I get older, I often walk into a room and wonder why I have gone there, forgetting the reason for my trip! We must not be like this in our walk with God, but need to press on with perseverance, fixing our eyes on Jesus and defeating weariness and lack of confidence as we persist through all distractions. (Heb 12:1-3)

At Cherry Tree Court, we looked at the subject of wise words. As Christians, our rule of thumb for speech is found in Eph 4:29: ‘Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.’ Our speech is one area which is hugely important in living well; we need to learn to listen more and speak less (James 1:19), think before we speak (Prov 12:18) and learn to avoid gossip, slander, name calling, ridicule and mockery. Bad language is unnecessary and we should also avoid grumbling and complaining (1 Cor 10:10).

Eccl 12:11 says, ‘The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd.’ A goad was a long spiked stick used to drive cattle and other animals. It was used to prod it and move it forward, even when it didn’t want to! The Message version of this verse translates it, ‘The words of the wise prod us to live well. They’re like nails hammered home, holding life together. They are given by God, the one Shepherd.’  We often don’t like being prodded, but we have a responsiblity to spur each other and encourage each other through our words (Heb 10:24-25, Eph 4:13-16).

James reminds us that our tongue is only a small part of our body, but is hugely influential. (James 3:9-10). We need to learn to think before we speak:

If we do this, the words of the psalmist will be true of us also: ‘May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.’ (Ps 19:14) 

We think every coffee morning (Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 12 noon) is special, but we do have some even-more-special coffee mornings coming up!

On Saturday 30th September (10 a.m. -12 noon), we are hosting a Macmillan Coffee morning, when all proceeds will go to the Macmillan charity which provides support for families coping with cancer. Home baking available.

14th October is during Volunteer Week, so there may well be extra information about volunteering available at that coffee morning.

On 28th October, the coffee morning will raise funds for Barnsley Hospice. This amazing organisation provides specialist compassionate care for those who are terminally ill and offers great support to patients and families alike. Please come along to support this fund-raiser.

Tonight, after a summer break, our mid-week meetings resume with the prayer meeting starting at 7.30 p.m. It is crucial to the health of a church that we join together regularly in prayer and that we make the most of this opportunity to come together and pray. We are urged to put on our spiritual armour and learn to pray in the Spirit on all occasions (see Eph 6:10-16); Jesus warned His disciples to ‘watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ (Matt 26:41) We need to learn to persist in prayer, not giving up when we do not see answers instantaneously, but pressing on: ‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.‘ (Matt 7:7-8)

It’s always good to begin a new season of prayer with thanksgiving, remembering the many kindnesses of God (see Ps 106:7). Yesterday, I was given a vivid reminder of God’s faithfulness and kindness to us. My son started work at Sheffield University a few years ago and we rejoiced at God’s provision of a job he found interesting and fulfilling. Within months, however, he began having difficulties, with his line manager constantly criticising his work and telling him he was not, effectively, ‘cutting the mustard.’ There followed a long series of ‘tests’ to see if his work would improve and a period of deep unhappiness at work. We prayed for a peaceful resolution of this situation, trusting God to work, though it seemed nothing happened for a very long time. About a year ago, his line manager was changed out of the blue (a very unusual situation at the university) and things began to improve. Yesterday, he received the written report from his annual review, and it was amazing to see the difference! His new line manager affirmed his valuable contribution to the department, recognised his hard work and said that on completion of his current training, he should receive the promotion he has been asking for. We are so grateful to God for His faithfulness and kindness. It is sometimes hard to wait for God to move, not to retaliate when we are criticised unfairly, and to believe that God is working behind the scenes, but we are more than grateful to God for His answers to prayer.

Come along and pray! There is so much we long to see God do in our communities and churches, but He is waiting for us to seek His face. See you tonight at 7.30 p.m.