In our series on the ‘A-Z of Christian Faith‘, we have reached the letter P: P is for Prayer. Prayer is our ability to communicate with the Almighty God and can involve personal prayer and corporate prayer. It can involve words (Jesus is described as ‘the Word’, so this is no surprise), but can also be silent; it can involve different postures (kneeling, standing, sitting, prostrate) and different traditions (set prayers, spontaneous prayers and so on.) What matters is not so much how we pray as that we pray.

There are many obstacles to prayer, however, including our tendency to prevaricate:

Everything seems to crowd out prayer, but we need to just get on and pray! (see Ps 5:3, Ps 63:6, Ps 119:164) Other obstacles include sin, which means we tend to flee from God’s presence instead of confessing and repenting (see 1 Jn 1:9), and doubt and discouragement, which usually result from God not answering prayer the way we expect Him to, leading us to become unconvinced of His goodness or power. We have to press on, however (see Heb 12:1-2), and learn to pray in all situations (see 1 Thess 5:17).

The acrostic ACTS reminds us that prayer involves:

1. Adoration (focussing our attention on who God is – see Ps 89)
2. Confession (allowing God’s Word to search us – see Ps 139:23-24 – so that we can repent and confess immediately and allow God to restore to us the joy of salvation)
3. Thanksgiving (realising the power of giving thanks in and for everything and learning to give thanks for who God is and for His many blessings – see Ps 136:1, Eph 1:3, Rom 8:37-39)
4. Supplication (learning to seek God earnestly, bringing our petitions and requestions to Him, and learning to intercede for others as well – see Phil 4:4-7, 1 Tim 2:1-4)

Even holidays don’t stop us taking photos after the event!

… And another birthday to celebrate!

Stephen spoke this morning at Cherry Tree Court from Luke 24:13-32. These two disciples, possibly heading home to Emmaus, were downcast: things had been tough and had not turned out the way they had expected. Even when Jesus came alongside them, they did not recognise him at first, and we can be like that too. We can be caught up in our normal, everyday routines and don’t really expect anything to change… but as the Tango advert reminds us, life can become more colourful and exciting than we ever anticipated!

Jesus came alongside the two disciples, and he wants to come alongside us too. When our eyes are opened to his presence in the everyday, then we are no longer stuck in a rut; we are able to experience life in all its fulness and can have our perspectives changed. Jesus can lift us from being downcast, discouraged and discontented; He is able to add colour, zest and life to our experiences!

Igor, the church mascot (who is rather the worse for wear as age hampers him), has been away this past week, enjoying the delights of Shropshire. The scenery has been lovely and he enjoyed staying on a farm, especially chatting with Jimmy, the horse:

Some of the animals in the West Midland Safari Park were a little more intimidating, however!

Incredibly, we’re already in July of this year… I must be getting old, as time seems to go by so quickly these days!

Services tomorrow are at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Tomorrow’s family service is looking at the theme ‘Just What The Doctor Ordered’ and at the fact that Jesus is our Great Physician.

On Sunday 9th July, we will be at Cherry Tree Court in the morning, and on Wednesday 12th July at 1 p.m. we will be hosting a service of celebration for the life of Pat Collins. Please pray for all the arrangements for the funeral and for Pat’s family and friends as they attend. If you can help in any way with the service or with refreshments, please let us know.

On Friday 14th July from 5 p.m., we will be having a work day to clear the stage area as we are having flooring done under the stage in August. All helpers will be given supper as a thank you for their service! Come along any time from 5 p.m. to clear away rubbish and tidy up generally.

On Tuesday 18th July at 7.15 p.m. we will be hosting the next ‘Churches Together’ prayer meeting. It’s so good to get together with other Christians and pray for our communities.

Please continue to pray for the Monday youth club and Friday Parent & Toddler group, meeting until 17th & 21st July respectively, then having a break for the summer holidays.

On Thursday 27th July there will be the first of the Dearne Community Arts’ Festival workshops, featuring a virtual reality film on the history of mining from 10 a.m. – 12 noon and a free aromatherapy session from 1-3 p.m., both events at Goldthorpe Library.

On Monday 31st July, Jeannette Ayton, a local children’s author, will be hosting a creative writing/ storytelling workshop at GPCC from 1-3 p.m. If you know any children aged 6-12 years who would be interested in attending this free workshop, please let Julie know.

Alcoholics Anonymous have developed a ‘twelve step programme’ to helping people struggling with alcohol addiction, beginning with the acknowledgment that in themselves, people were powerless to overcome the addiction and needed the help of a ‘higher Power’. The Psalms give us many reasons for thanksgiving, but we are looking at just twelve of these reasons which give us hope in all situations.

God is Gracious

God’s grace surrounds us and supports us. We cannot earn it or deserve it, but His grace is poured our freely to us (see Ps 103:8; Ps 111:4; Ps 116:5). God’s grace is like the sunshine on our faces (see Ps 67:1), bringing us into freedom and hope. Grace means we can be held up at all times; it like a life buoy keeping us afloat and safe in choppy seas.

God is Compassionate

God literally ‘suffers with’ us (see Ps 86:15, Ps 103:8, Ps 145:8). His compassion for us means we are never alone in our grief and troubles; as a father has compassion on children, so God has compassion on us. (Ps 103:13) God’s compassion means we can bring our sorrows and heartache to Him and so we can even give thanks in our suffering, for God’s compassion is great (Ps 119:156) to all He has made (Ps 145:9).

God is Forgiving

Without God’s forgiveness, we would have no hope at all (see Ps 130:3-4), but God is the One who forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases (Ps 103:3). His forgiveness offers us cleansing (Ps 51:2) and paves the way to blessing (Ps 32:1) and service (Ps 130:4). God’s forgiveness gives us a fresh start, washing the slate clean and giving us a second (and third and fourth…!) chance. The weight of guilt and shame can be lifted by God’s cleansing forgiveness.

God is Love

The Psalms tell us that God’s love ‘endures forever’ (see Ps 118:1, 12; Ps 136:1-3) and talk of God’s unfailing love (see Ps 52:8; Ps 31:16; Ps 26:3; Ps 107:15, 21, 31; see also 1 Cor 13). We can be thankful because God loves us for who we are (dearly loved children made in His image) and not for what we can do. We do not have to earn God’s love; it is a free gift offered to us every day. Just as a plant is nourished by sunlight, so God’s love nourishes and nurtures us. Even if we are forsaken and rejected by people, God’s love remains constant and unchanging.

God is Good

God’s goodness is the basis of all He does because He always acts in consistency (congruence) with His nature. He is good and what He does is good. (Ps 119:68) His goodness is talked about in many psalms (e.g. Ps 73:1; Ps 23:6; Ps 118:1, 12; Ps 136:1; Ps 145:7); He is indeed a ‘good, good Father’, as Chris Tomlin sings. God is able to turn evil into good, to work for the good of those who love Him in every situation (see Rom 8:28). The enemy lies to us about God’s goodness. The world tells us we cannot trust in God’s goodness when we see evil flourishing. Nonetheless, goodness is at the heart of who God is and is our security at all times.

God is Just

Righteousness and justice are often closely linked (see Ps 36:6; Ps 89:14; Ps 11:6; Ps 50:6). We live in a world of injustice and our perspective can be tainted because of this (see Ps 73). When we realise God is just, we can have confidence even when we suffer injustice, and we can trust God ultimately to right all wrongs. Ps 101:1 tells us that justice and love can be the theme of our songs!

God is Merciful

God’s mercies are new every morning and His mercy becomes a great source of hope for us, whether we have sinned, are in great need or in trouble (see Ps 31:9; Ps 25:6; Ps 41:4; Ps 57:1; Ps 79:8; Ps 130:2). God does not treat us as our sins deserve, which is the essence of mercy (see Ps 103:10). Mercy reflects God’s kindness to us. We would be lost without the mercy of God and can therefore be thankful that His mercy has found us and rescued us!

To Be Continued…!