We also had two birthdays to celebrate.

The numbers on the photos (38 and 27) are clearly fantasy, but everyone’s entitled to dream…

Yan Hadley spoke tonight from Ps 34, focussing on God’s ability to deliver us.

The Reality of Affliction

Ps 34 was written by David at a time of great affliction as he faced many problems. The troubles that can afflict us can be varied, but tribulation and persecution will certainly come (see 1 Pet 4:12). The enemy causes problems (as Job testifies) and at times people can cause problems (including family problems). When we face affliction, we have to hold on to God’s truth and reject the devil’s lies (and half-truths…)

The Release from Affliction

God promises to deliver us from troubles. Ps 34:19 acknowledges the troubles David has, but he is keen to focus on the Lord’s ability to deliver. We need to look for God’s ‘buts’ in the Bible (see Ps 30:5, Jn 10:10, 2 Cor 4:8). All things are possible to those who believe (Mk 9:23), but the key is for us to look to God in expectant faith, knowing that He is willing and able to release us from snares, traps and pitfalls.

The Response of the Righteous

We can respond to troubles either by adopting wrong attitudes (usually involving doubt) or by focussing on God’s ability to hear and deliver us. It’s easy to believe God when everything is going well, but He longs for us to trust Him in the dark times as well. David’s response is to bless and praise God at all times (Ps 34:1, see also the disciples’ response to opposition in Acts 5:41). David shows us that we need to respond to trials by seeking God (Ps 34:4), reminding us that those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. (Ps 34:10) The experience of those who have seen God at work in deliverance is to pass this message on so others can believe for and experience this themselves. ‘My God is able to deliver!’

It’s exciting to know that our support of the Salvation Army food bank continues to help needy families. Recently, Alison has been involved with the ‘Love Where You Live’ team, working on community clean-ups (and feeding all the volunteers who were involved in this!)

In addition to the support given by individuals and local churches, the Salvation Army will now be receiving food via collaboration between FareShare and Tesco’s. Once a week, chilled and fresh food and bakery items nearing their sell-by dates will be given to the food bank, which will be a great help!

The Salvation Army is involved with a range of activities to help the community, including a job club on Mondays, a Choose to Lose weight management class on Fridays (similar to the one held at GPCC on Tuesdays at 11 a.m.) and a crochet class. Volunteers are always welcome, so if you have spare time during the week, do drop in on Mondays or Fridays.

Stephen spoke this morning on the subject ‘Where is God?’ In today’s society, people may wonder where God is in all the turmoil, killings, war, unrest and brokenness we see in the world. The answers to this question are found in the Bible.

In Genesis, we are introduced to God. God is seen in the Garden of Eden, having fellowship with Adam and Eve (Gen 3:8-9). God’s very presence was with mankind, walking with Adam and Eve in the Garden, indicating a close relationship which meant people lived with an awareness of God’s presence. However, sin caused man to hide from God’s presence, and since the innocence and bliss of Eden, there has been both a longing for God and a desire to escape from Him in men’s hearts.

Ex 40:34 shows us that God’s presence with His people in the Old Testament was fixed in a specific place, with mankind unable to approach God directly because of sin. God was still there, but at a distance: only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies once a year; there was a thick curtain separating man from God. This curtain was torn from top to bottom when Jesus died (Matt 27:51), indicating that the barrier between God and man was removed and we are now free to enter God’s presence through the blood of Jesus.

God is no longer dwelling in a temple or building alone, however. Now, He lives within His children. 1 Cor 3:6-17 makes it explicit that we are God’s house; we are God’s field; we are His building and we are God’s temple. God’s Spirit now resides within us; we are God’s dwelling-place. The answer to the question ‘Where is God?’ is not just the theological fact that God is everywhere, but the revolutionary truth that He is there with us, Immanuel, walking with us, helping us, dwelling within us.

On Sunday 12th June we’re at Cherry Tree Court for our morning service (10.30 a.m.) and at Market Street in the evening (6 p.m.) Yan Hadley is our guest speaker on Sunday evening.

We’ll be having a cleaning and preparation day on Saturday 18th June after the coffee morning, so if you have a couple of hours to spare (12-2 p.m.), do come along to church! The ‘preparation’ part involves checking out the roof and guttering prior to summer holiday work and we hope to clean the community room and other areas prior to the Open Day on 9th July.

Later that afternoon, some of the men will be going to Hope House Church in Barnsley for the CVM Men’s Meeting (starting with a barbecue at 5 p.m. and an evening meeting.) See Garry for more details.

The community open day at GPCC will be on Saturday 9th July from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. We’ll be open for people to look round the church building (and consider what ‘the church’ really is, with photographs and exhibitions of what the Bible teaches about the church) and will be serving refreshments and doing craft activities in the community room. If you could help with face painting or other fun activities for children, please let us know as soon as possible as we try to organise activities which will be interesting and will draw people in. In the evening (6 p.m.), we’re hoping to run a family film night so that we can continue reaching out to our local community, demonstrating the light and love of Christ to all.

It sometimes seems that we bounce from one crisis to another like children on a trampoline. The highs provide us with great joys, but the lows are devastating.

It’s hard for us to remember in these days of instant communication, but over thirty years ago when I was at university, my main form of communication with Garry was by post. He would read letters I’d written which captured a particular mood and would seek to respond to that mood when he replied. Of course, by the time he read the letter, the mood had probably changed and certainly by the time I received his letter, it was usually all but forgotten, making communication a little awkward at times!

Moods are notoriously unreliable. We yo-yo from ecstasy to despair as quickly as we can bounce high in the air and then land on the trampoline. Moods depend on a whole host of circumstances – sunshine, rain, feelings of health and happiness, broken relationships, holidays, workloads, to name but a few – and on a whole gamut of feelings. External and internal factors all affect our moods.

We praise God, however, not simply depending on our mood, but because we choose by an act of the will to do so: ‘I will bless the Lord forever.’ (Ps 34:1) In English, the future tense is expressed through the form ‘I will’, and it is also by a deliberate choice that we determine how we respond to life’s ups and downs. No one lives ‘accidentally’ as a Christian; it involves a deliberate decision, a choice to follow God and His ways, regardless of how we feel.

Don’t expect to live life permanently on a trampoline but know that Jesus gives stability. As the song says about yo-yos, they’re ‘fun to see, but not to be/ Being a yo-yo’s not for me.’ (Garry Turner) Live life instead with the steadfastness of a consecrated will that’s fixed on God.