Yesterday, willing volunteers came to clear under the stage, ready for joinery work to be done next month.

They also tidied what was on the stage (which hopefully will be transferred under the stage when the new flooring is completed) and threw lots of things away!

They were rewarded with supper!

Things look much tidier now!

Many thanks to all who helped.

Tonight, we concluded our Bible study on ’12 Steps To Thankfulness’, making booklets with memory verses in them on the themes we have been studying about God’s character. The last 5 attributes were discussed tonight.

God is Faithful

God’s goodness, love and faithfulness are often interlinked in the Psalms (see Ps 25:10; Ps 36:5; Ps 86:15; Ps 145:13). God is loyal to us. He does not leave us in the lurch, but works constantly on our behalf and for our good. God’s faithfulness means no matter how deep the hole in which we find ourselves, He is there with us. (Ps 139:7-12) God does not leave us or forsake us, but remains faithful even when we are faithless. (2 Tim 2:13)

 God is Righteous

The Psalms frequently talk of God’s righteousness (see Ps 9:8; Ps 11:7; Ps 36:6; Ps 89:14). God always does what is right and so His laws are also righteous (Ps 119:75a). He can’t be swayed by evil or corruption or tempted to do wrong (see James 1:13). We can be thankful that God is incorruptible and grateful that He clothes us with His righteousness, allowing us access to a holy God.

God is Holy

The purity of God is part of His essential nature. He is holy – set apart from all that is unclean and therefore His name is holy and His dwelling is also holy (see Ps 11:4; Ps 99:3, 5; Ps 68:5; Ps 33:21; Ps 77:13). Far from being put off by God’s holiness, the psalmists see this as a reason for worship (Ps 99:5, 9). We can be thankful that God is not like humans and that He has made a way for us to be holy, even as He is holy (see 1 Pet 1:15-16).

 God is Glorious

God’s glory is mentioned in many psalms (see Ps 29:1-3, Ps 63:2, Ps 96:6-8; Ps 97:8; Ps 145:11). ‘Glory’ can be a hard thing to define, but is described in terms of light – dazzling us in its brilliance – and weight – coming down upon the people like a heavy cloud. Ps 57:5, 11 talks of God being exalted and His glory being over all the earth; the psalmists also see creation as being a testimony to God’s glory (see Ps 19:1, Ps 8:1). God’s glory shows us His ultimate sovereignty and authority over evil; Ps 66:2 urges us to ‘sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious.’

God is Strong & Powerful

We have a God who is both strong and powerful (Ps 18:2; Ps 61:3; Ps 68:34-35; Ps 89:13; Ps 140:7; Ps 147:5). Many psalms use imagery from creation to emphasise God’s power; His voice, for example, is described as powerful and majestic, thundering over the waters and breaking the cedars of Lebanon (see Ps 29:3-5) and Ps 104:3 talks of the clouds being God’s chariot. We often feel helpless, weak and inadequate, but we can be thankful because God is all-powerful and is our stronghold in times of trouble. (Ps 9:9; Ps 37:39)

One of my favourite cartoon strips is Calvin and Hobbes, the story of a little boy called Calvin and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes. Calvin has a very healthy self-image (sometimes he is rather too egocentric, but that is all part of childhood!)

Hobbes in this particular image does not quite share Calvin’s appreciation of being made in the image of God, commenting that God must have a ‘goofy sense of humour’ if that is the case! So often, we feel more like Hobbes than Calvin. When people talk about being made in the image of God, we look at our mortal bodies, with their flab, frailty, imperfections and (to us) ugliness, and think, ‘Really? God can’t be much good, then!’

But as Dave reminded us recently, God proclaimed that the creation of mankind was very good (Gen 1:31), and even though sin has marred that perfection, we are still loved and valued by God, made a little lower than God, to be sure, but precious and valuable to Him. It’s not good to be narcissistic about ourselves, arrogantly presuming ourselves to be higher than God Himself (the desire to be like God led to sin and all the problems in the world, after all), but neither is it good to hate ourselves, for God loves us all dearly. We need to see ourselves as God sees us and humbly walk in simple trust with Him.

Dave spoke recently from Gen 1:26-27 about being made in the image of God. Many scientists and educators deny the Biblical account of creation.They claim that man has evolved over millions of years, that modern man is the result of mutation, that modern man is the result of some random, genetic transformation, that man is the product of the survival of the fittest, but the Genesis account makes it clear that God created the heavens and the earth, including all that is in the earth (see Gen 1 & 2, Is 45:12, Job 33:4, Deut 4:32), a fact which gives immense significance to humanity. As Martin Lloyd Jones states in his book ‘God the Father’, “the theory of evolution is an utter insult to man from the standpoint of the Biblical account — man is great and glorious and wonderful in the mind and conception of God.”

Being made in the image of God does not mean that God has a body like we do, but that we possess characteristics that are also found in God. There is a huge difference between a photograph of a person and the whole essence of that person, but there are several aspects of being made in God’s likeness which must be explored:

1. There is a spiritual dimension. We were created as people with a soul and spirit. It is the part of us that nobody sees. In that sense we are like God who is Spirit.
2. There is an intellectual dimension. Only human beings can reason and think, analyse and meditate. We are able to weigh options. We wrestle with our conscience and make reasoned choices. These traits reflect God’s unmatched wisdom.
3. There is a moral dimension that was originally given to us by God which reflects His integrity, righteousness and upright character.

Being made in God’s image meant God gave mankind the ability to evaluate, reason and think, and ultimately this free will led to sin and to rebellion against God. God’s image in us may seem tarnished nowadays, but because we are made in God’s image, there is a God-shaped hole in all of us which can only be filled by the relationship with God for which we were created. The gospel message reminds us all that God is waiting for us to return to Him, to dependence and trust, and that God is waiting patiently for our return. We were made to belong to God and only in Him can we find our true purpose and full contentment.

I’m no gardener. It’s safe to say every plant given to me as a present has ended up dead at my hands: never deliberately, but I just never seem to get the hang of when to water and how much to water. I’ve killed plants by over-watering them; I’ve killed plants by forgetting to water them. Even so-called ‘indestructible’ plants have perished at my hands. I’m not proud of this fact, but I cannot deny that when I read about God as gardener and the many references to trees, fruit and plants in the Bible, I feel I have little practical experience of the concepts involved in fruitful growth.

A watering can is a portable container, usually with a handle and a spout, used to water plants by hand. The advantage of the spout is that the water flow is regulated and therefore the amount of water used can be determined by the gardener, according to the needs of the individual plants.

A fire extinguisher, on the other hand, wouldn’t be much use as a tool for watering plants. Its function is in its name: it’s used to extinguish fires. Water fire extinguishers release plenty of water, but they would probably drench any plant! – and as I’ve discovered, too much water can be as bad as too little!

People can be rather like fire extinguishers, sadly, putting out the fire of the Spirit and dampening people’s enthusiasm and zeal and ultimately crushing others through their discouragement. We need to see other people as delicate plants and listen for the Gardener’s advice on how to encourage fruitful growth. The gentle watering can, bringing encouragement and upbuilding (see Job 15:11, Prov 25:11), bring forth growth. Our words, when used to build up and lift up the discouraged and weary, can be like ‘custom-made jewellery’, something refreshing to the thirsty (Prov 11:25).

Some people really want to go on the birthday box!