Many people think that having faith is something needed simply to get us started on the Christian journey; after that, it’s just a question of plodding on. I think this is one of the most fallacious and dangerous views that we can ever have (see Gal 3:1-6 to see what Paul thought of it!)

Every day, God challenges us to dare to believe Him. Faith is having confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see (Heb 11:1). Every day we put our trust in a God we cannot see, believing not only that He exists but that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. (Heb 11:6) In other words, we believe not only in God’s existence (lots of people believe that, even the demons, James reminds us (Js 2:19)), but in His character as revealed in the Bible – that He is love, just, compassionate, forgiving, merciful, gracious, patient, kind, righteous and both omniscient and omnipotent, and also that He longs to give good gifts to those who ask Him (Matt 7:11).

That means every day we need to dare to believe what God says over and above what other people say, what our feeble hearts may say, what the enemy of our souls may say. We need to dare to ask God for things which are impossible for us to receive without His intervention and help. We need to dare to ask that He will use us to speak words of life to people who don’t know Him, that He will speak His words of life through us, that He will do for us and for our friends, families, neighbours and enemies things which are impossible in the natural and only possible through His divine power.

This kind of faith is exciting, daunting and challenging. We develop it by pouring fuel onto the fire: the fuel of faith, stoked by the Word of God and maintained by the fire of the Holy Spirit. Dying embers have to be prodded into life as we speak the life-giving Word of God over our situations: ‘over fear, over lies, we’re singing the truth that nothing is impossible with You.’ (‘Every Giant Will Fall’, Rend Collective)

The truth is that life is meant to be an adventure with God: a dazzling dance, a journey where the impossible becomes possible. Paul says God is able to ‘do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine’ (Eph 3:20), but adds ‘according to his power that is at work within us’! As we meditate on this verse and others like it (eg Eph 1:19-20), let’s dare to believe that today can be different as we receive God’s power and pass it on to others in need.

Dave spoke tonight from Rom 12:1-8, a passage which reminds us that we are Christ’s body and are urged to offer our bodies to Him as living sacrifices. Nowadays, there’s enormous emphasis on our physical bodies, with whole industries growing up to help us have the ‘perfect’ body, whether this is through cosmetics or fashion, hairstyles, exercise, diet or even cosmetic surgery. That can leave us feeling somewhat discomfited when we read these verses, especially when we consider that in the Old Testament, the animals offered for sacrifice had to be perfect and unblemished. Where does that leave us? Do we have to be perfect before we can offer ourselves to God?

We may all be like the husband who, on visiting a city for the first time, watched an older woman use a lift and a young, curvaceous young woman descend from the same lift and reckoned this was a device fit for his wife! We wish there were some ‘magic elevator’ that could iron out our wrinkles and smooth away our sins.

The truth is that we don’t yet see the final picture; 1 Cor 13:12 reminds us that we only see dimly as in a mirror at the moment, but one day we will know fully even as we are fully known. God will clothe the perishable with the imperishable and the mortal with the immortal (1 Cor 15:53); one day, God will transform our lowly bodies so that they are like Christ’s glorious body. (Phil 3:21)

The transformation that God can bring into our lives means we don’t have to be perfect to approach Him; rather, He creates perfection within us. He accepts us as we are (Rom 5:8) and then works transformation in us. John Newton’s testimony, captured so eloquently in his hymn ‘Amazing Grace’, is that even one who was a slave trader can be changed by the transforming power of the gospel. All God requires of us is our surrender and willingness to offer all that we are to Him.

A sandwich is usually made up of two slices of bread (or at least two halves of bread in the case of rolls) with a filling inside.

Jesus often taught people using stories or parables, which can seem a little like a sandwich in the sense that the ‘filling’ or ‘substance’ of His teaching can be wrapped in other things which mean we have to delve deep to understand. In Mark 11:12-25, we see how the story of a fig tree forms the ‘bread’ of this narrative, with an incident at the temple the ‘filling’. At first, it’s not easy to see how these things connect together, but at the end of this passage, Jesus shows us how these incidents combine to give us a hearty prayer snack!

Jesus, travelling towards Jerusalem, sees a fig tree in the distance and is hungry. The fig tree looked ripe and ready for eating, but on closer inspection, despite having foliage, there was no fruit to be seen and Jesus cursed the tree. The journey continues, and Jesus finds that the temple – that place where people were encouraged to meet with God, which should have been a ‘house of prayer’ – is being used as a common marketplace (‘a den of robbers’). Angry at this outrage, He causes turmoil, overturning the tables of the money changers and driving out the traders.

On leaving Jerusalem, his disciples see the withered fig tree and are surprised that this has happened so quickly; it’s as if the tree has withered from the roots up. Jesus teaches them that it’s important to have that right ‘filling’ in life, having faith in God, and then the impossible can happen. The temple should have been the place where prayer and communion with God were encouraged, but people were distracted from God. If we have faith, however, then mountains can be moved and the impossible can become possible: bad things can be removed from our lives, good things can be restored and we can know the satisfaction that only God brings.

We need to understand that faith in God is the only truly substantial filling we need in life. We need to talk to God, to be cleansed from all distractions and to seek the true purpose of life, which is only found through knowing Him.

1916 saw the opening of the parish church in Goldthorpe and this week has seen a variety of centenary celebrations, including a ‘carpet of flowers’ in the church.

The images include the year of mercy logo, the Greek letters Alpha and Omega, pictures of Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Mary Magdalene (patron saints of the church), Saint Wilfred’s coat of arms, the sacred heart of Jesus, the Yorkshire rose, Goldthorpe School logo, the Scouts and Guides logo and the Halifax coat of arms (since the Second Viscount Halifax built the church for the community.)

A variety of other flower arrangements were also in the church.

A new commemorative stone has also been laid outside the church and a time capsule has been placed under the stone:

The church will be open tomorrow from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and a special service will be held on Sunday at 4 p.m. to celebrate the centenary.

Paul’s description of love clearly highlights the Corinthians’ faults (and ours too…) The Corinthians were impatient, but love is patient. They were envious of others (1 Cor 3:3), whereas love doesn’t envy (‘it doesn’t want what it doesn’t have’, as the Message version puts it.) They were ‘puffed up with pride’ (1 Cor 4:6, 18, 5:1, 8:1), whereas love is not proud. They were boastful about many things (1 Cor 3:18, 8:2, 14:37), but love ‘doesn’t have a swelled head.’ Their behaviour was not always proper, for they acted selfishly in meetings (1 Cor 11) instead of thinking of others more highly than themselves. They were selfish (1 Cor 8:9), not understanding the need to consider each other, putting themselves in someone else’s shoes.

Whilst we can readily identify with the abstract idea of ‘love is…’ and can easily relate Paul’s description of love to God’s character, what is far more challenging for us is to put our own name in front of each sentence. We are, like the Corinthians, often unkind, unloving, impatient, inconsiderate, envious, boastful, judgmental and selfish. The life of Christ, however, grows within us if we are new creations in Christ. The fruit of the Spirit (which greatly resemble this description of love) develops as God works from the inside out. All of us are ‘works in progress’. The ‘complete’, ‘whole’, ‘perfection’ has not yet arrived, but when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2) Instead of tearing our hair out in desperation at our failings, we need to pursue ‘the most excellent way’ of love by remaining in Christ (John 15:1-8), not striving in our own strengths.

Paul shows us in 1 Cor 13 what love looks like and what it does not look like.

Love is patient, showing a steadfastness which does not give up (see 1 Thess 5:14, Heb 6:15, James 5:7-8), reflecting God’s patience in wanting everyone to turn to Him in repentance. (2 Pet 3:9)

Love is kind, reflecting God’s kindness to us which leads us to repentance (Rom 2:4) and which gives us access to the incomparable riches of His grace. (Eph 2:6-7)

It does not envy, putting one’s own desires and needs first, allowing jealousy to corrode peace of mind (Prov 14:30), but looks to put others first, not being self-seeking (see Phil 2:3-4).

It does not boast, being big-hearted, but not big-headed! Any boasting we do should be in God (Jer 9:23-24, 1 Cor 1:28-29), because anything of value we are or have comes from Him anyway.

It is not proud (puffed up, inflated, arrogant.) Pride is a constant pitfall waiting to trip us up. Love does not have a superiority complex, nor is it keen to put others down.

It does not dishonour others. Love seeks to do the right thing in the right way, understanding the value of each person as an individual made in the image of God. It’s not rude or pushy.

Love is not easily angered (touchy, irritable, flying off the handle at the least little thing.) In chemistry, some elements are known as ‘volatile’ because they are unstable, always trying to combine with another element to find the stability they crave. Love is not volatile, leaving us permanently wary around people, wondering how they will react today. Love has a consistency and stability which reflects God’s unchanging nature. (Mal 3:6)

Love keeps no record of wrongs. So often, we keep ledgers of things people do wrong, being unwilling to forgive, holding on to grudges. Again, we have no right to do this when we consider how much God has forgiven us! (see Jer 31:34, Heb 8:12, Heb 10:17)

Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.Schadenfreude (the malicious pleasure we have at someone else’s misfortune) has no place in our lives. Love isn’t censorious (being severely critical of others) or superior (looking down on people.) Instead, its delight and rejoicing is always with the truth, following the One who is Way, the Truth and the Life (Jn 14:6) and who said that only the truth can ever fully liberate.

Love always protects (throwing a covering over sin, as 1 Pet 4:8 says) and always trusts. Giving people the benefit of the doubt is not a popular thing nowadays, but we need to learn to forgive and trust people.

Love always hopes and always perseveres (bringing us full circle, for there is always patience and waiting involved in hoping and persevering!) Rom 8:24-25 reminds us of the need for hope and patient waiting; love looks beyond the present to the hope of what might be in the future.