God does not change (Ps 55:19, Mal 3:6). This is tremendously reassuring to us. James reminds us that He is not like the shifting shadows, but is a reliable, generous, faithful God. (James 1:17) Heb 13:8 reminds us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. We cna be secure even in an insecure, changing, volatile world because God remains the constant in all of life’s changes.

Matt Redman’s song ‘We Shall Not Be Shaken’ reminds us of who God is: ‘You never change, You never fail, You never fade…‘ God’s sovereignty, power and love remain unchanged, no matter how difficult our circumstances may seem to us. When everything is shaking, God remains unshaken (see Heb 12:28-29). It’s much easier to cope with the changes in life if we fix our focus on God, rather than the outside factors which change. Mother Theresa remins us that we are not called to be successful; we are called to be faithful. By fixing our eyes on God, we have an anchor point for life’s journey.

We had a difficult quiz tonight at the family service when we had to identify foods that had decayed over time. It’s surprising how different things look when they have deteriorated through time….

This…

… used to look like this:

Who could guess this…

… was actually a watermelon?

By the end, most of us were surprised we enjoyed eating any of these foods!

We also had a birthday to celebrate – another sign of changing times…

Tonight’s family service looked at the idea of times and seasons. Bob Dylan’s song ‘The Times, They Are A’Changin”, looks at changing circumstances, fortunes, political process, ways of doing things and a change of order; one thing is clear as we progress through life and that is that change is here to stay! Eccl 3:1-10 talks of times and seasons for every activity under the sun, and Rom 13:11 urges us to understand the present time.

In Greek, there are two words for time: chronos (from which we get our idea of chronology, or linear time, counted in seconds, minutes, hours and days etc.) and kairos, which has the idea of seasons and periods of time. We have to understand the seasons generally, not only in terms of weather, but how attitudes change and cultures alter so that we can be aware of what people corporately are thinking. We also need to understand times in relation to our personal lives. We all change and age; we all face different circumstances in life. Some seasons are good; some are difficult to bear. We can often find change daunting, not fitting into how we used to be, but also being afraid of what lies ahead.

Only God is changeless, however. We can be secure that our times are in His hands (Ps 31:15) and because of this, we can rest in Him when all around us is changing, because we know He will never change. His faithfulness, love and support are constant through the trial and the change, and we can be confident that whatever happens, He will walk us through the next season and help us in every way.

This morning, Stephen spoke about Communion, reminding us that when we take the bread and wine during a Holy Communion service, this is not simply a task or ritual we participate in, but a way of remembering Jesus and taking part in the life He provides. Jn 6 describes for us the feeding of the five thousand and how Jesus walked on water, but we see that many people were really only interested in Jesus because He had fed them! – ‘you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.‘ (Jn 6:26) Eating is an essential part of life, and many of us spend a lot of time shopping, preparing food, eating it and clearing up after meals, but the food we buy may not last very long and we have to be aware of ‘use by’ dates and ‘best before’ dates. Like Willy Wonka’s ‘everlasting gobstopper’, however, Jesus offers us food that will last – everlasting bread. (Jn 6:27)

Jesus made it clear that He does not just give bread to feed us; He is the bread of life: ‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live for ever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.’ (Jn 6:51) The work God asks of us is to believe the One He has sent. At times, this may seem easy to do, but we need to be aware that believing in Jesus is not just a one-off event; it is a daily process through the ups and downs of life and we need faith to grow and not subside. Jesus satisfies us eternally and is able to grant us eternal life.

The family service tonight (6 p.m.) will be looking at the theme of changing seasons and times (‘The Times, They Are A’ Changing‘). Come along to find out more and take part in different activities as we look at the fact that times may change, but God remains the same.

Next Sunday (12th March) we will be at Cherry Tree Court in the morning at 10.30 a.m. and will be holding a special service looking ahead to the mission trip to India next month at 6 p.m. Eight of us will be going to help Fredrick and Reeba in Bangalore (leaving on 9th April), so come along to this service to find out more. Food tasting and a quiz about India will feature, as well as finding out more about the itinerary and spending time praying for the trip. We have a Facebook page devoted to the trip (see here); when we’re away, you’ll be able to keep track of what’s happening through this.

On 19th March, we will have meetings at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m., with the evening service being a dedication service for Esther. As usual, we will have refreshments after this service, so please sign the food sheet today if possible!

The men are meeting together on Saturday 25th March at 6 p.m. for food and fellowship. After the food, they will be watching a DVD -everyone is invited to bring a DVD along and a vote will be taken as to which one will be watched! Please let Garry know if you want to come along.

Our last Sunday services in March (26th March) will be at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. as usual.

Greed is another of the seven deadly sins which can trip us up and cause us to fall away from God. Greed is an ‘intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power or food’ and is also linked to avarice (defined as ‘extreme greed for wealth or material gain.’) Jesus made it clear that an addiction to possessions and wealth can be harmful spiritually (see Mark 10:17-31), but it is hard for us sometimes to see how attached we have become to ‘stuff’, how we effectively worship our possessions as the painting below by Evelyn De Morgain shows.

The Veggie Tales episode featuring Madame Blueberry looks at how easily we can become fixated on possessions, as the character yearns for more and more things from ‘Stuff-Mart’ (until eventually her house in a tree collapses under the weight of all these things…)

The Salvation Army has challenged us to remove one item from our houses each day during Lent which we no longer need or wear and donate it to the Salvation Army so that those possessions can help others.

Such practices help us to do more than tidy our houses; they help us to look at our possessions with eyes that seek to bless others rather than always focussing on what we want or think we need. Jesus told us ‘it is more blessed to give than to receive’ (Acts 20:35), and when we adopt this philosophy, we unhook the tentacles of greed from our hearts and allow thankfulness and gratitude to become our defining principles. Madame Blueberry eventually learns that ‘a thankful heart is a happy heart’; as Paul writes to Timothy, ‘Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.’ (1 Tim 6:17-19) We definitely want the ‘life that is truly life’ and need, therefore, to loosen our grip on the things of this world in order to take hold of eternal life, putting away treasure in heaven (see Matt 6:19-21)