Mark continued his series on the story of Joseph this morning, looking at the blessings given by God after he was reunited with his family.

In Gen 47:25-28, we see how Jacob and the rest of Joseph’s family settled in Egypt and lived there for 17 years; ‘they were fruitful and increased greatly in number.’ God’s blessings on them were enormous, with the foreigner and visitor (Jacob) blessed abundantly because of his relationship with God. No matter where we work or live or worship, nothing can stop God blessing those who live in right relationship with Him.

Gen 47:29-31 shows us Jacob making Joseph promise to take his body back to Canaan when he had died. Not only was this promise fulfilled, but Jacob’s prophetic word (Gen 48:21) that Joseph’s bones would be taken back to the land of his birth was also later fulfilled by Moses. God is able to look after our long-term futures!

In Gen 48:1-4, we see how Jacob counted it as a double blessing that not only had he been reunited with Joseph, but he had lived to see Joseph’s two sons. He remembers his life-changing dream at Bethel (Luz) (see Gen 28:12-19) and God’s promise of blessing to all peoples on earth through him and his offspring. God chooses and uses the most unlikely people, for Jacob was a runaway who had stolen his brother’s birthright, yet he was part of God’s plan of salvation and blessing for the whole world.

In Gen 48:8-22, Jacob blesses Joseph’s sons, but chooses to bless the younger (Ephraim) with his right hand, reversing the expected order of blessing. This reminds us that God’s blessing is given as He wills (Joseph tried to persuade his father not to do this, but Jacob would not be swayed.) It also shows us that God does not do things in the ‘traditional’, ‘expected’ manner, but does whatever needs to be done to bless. Even if we try and divert God from blessing, God will bless those He wants to bless and will not be thwarted! God often shocks us with who He uses and how He uses them, but His awesome blessings are seen in this story as being for those who have dared to dream. It’s good to dare to dream in God and to live to receive God’s blessings.

Tonight’s ‘Churches Together’ service looked at the theme of love and to celebrate this, a beautiful cake had been made:

We sang songs celebrating God’s amazing, unending love:

Alison spoke about how God’s love cannot be measured. We might try to measure things in different ways, using a measuring cup, for example:

However, Ps 23:5 reminds us that ‘you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows’, so clearly this kind of measuring won’t be able to contain God’s love! We might try to measure the length and height of God’s love using a tape measure, but Ps 108:4 reminds us that God’s love is higher than the heavens. We might try to measure God’s love using a watch, wondering how long it will last, but Ps 103:17 reminds us that God’s love is everlasting. All in all, God’s love is so much greater than anything we ask or can even imagine (see Eph 3:14-21); all He wants is for us to receive and revel in His immeasurable love.

There were craft activities to be involved in (decorating hearts, making heart-shaped cushions and decorating cups with words from Ps 23):

All in all, we had a great night, with Alison able to share about how Asda had donated £300 worth of food to the food bank and people testifying of how God had helped them in different situations this week:

What was particularly encouraging was to see how many local churches were represented: from Goldthorpe, sisters from the convent attended, along with members of the Salvation Army, GPCC and parish church, and members from Furlong Road Methodist Church and St Andrew’s in Bolton-on-Dearne were also present. It’s so good to see God working in all the local churches and drawing us together in unity and love.

The next ‘Churches Together’ will be outdoors: the Palm Sunday procession at Phoenix Park (20th March, 11 a.m.) and the Easter March of Hope (Saturday 26th March at 10.30 a.m.) Following that, we will be celebrating Pentecost with a ‘Churches Together’ meeting on Saturday 14th May at 6 p.m. at Furlong Road Methodist Church.

We have received a letter from Fritzner Prince, leader of the Child Development Centre of the Nazarene Church of Sarranzins in Mirebalais, Haiti, which Bedline attends. The centre pays 75% of the children’s tuition there (supported through Compassion) and help also with health care. Children and their families have received funds from Compassion for houses and goats, thus helping them to become self-supporting. As children at the centre grow older, they learn a trade so that they can be equipped to work when they leave school. Recently, the centre received a water tank that benefits the whole community, not just the centre, and a gift given last year allowed them to finish building the latrines, which reduces health risks to the children by providing better sewage and drainage and keeping water clean.

Thanks to your generosity, we have been able to give an additional gift to the centre as well as a gift to Bedline’s family. We pray all the support will help Fritzner Prince to continue the great work at the centre and will bless Bedline and her family.

We were excited this week to be contacted by Big Local Thurnscoe to ask if local churches would take part in the Spring Event which is being planned. Just as at Christmas we were approached by the Goldthorpe Development Team to help at the Christmas Market, an event which was a great community success, we have been asked to take part in a Palm Sunday procession on Sunday 20th March at Phoenix Park (the former pit site which links Thurnscoe and Goldthorpe which was redeveloped by Groundwork Dearne Valley and local residents in the 1990s and which is now owned and managed by the Forestry Commission.)

Local churches will meet for prayer at Houghton Road Centre in Thurnscoe (where Thurnscoe Pentecostal Church meets, opposite Asda) at 10.15 a.m. and will then move to Phoenix Park car park for 10.50 a.m. to lead a procession with donkeys and palm branches (made of cardboard, in case you were getting excited about that!) We will sing a few songs and Kevin Watts (pastor of Thurnscoe Pentecostal Church) will explain the meaning of Palm Sunday. The event itself will run from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. and will include a variety of stalls, activities (including a treasure hunt and donkey rides) and we will be giving out Easter goody bags containing leaflets and chocolate eggs. It’s a great opportunity for us to meet local residents and see what is happening in our community – there are loads of other community groups working tirelessly in Thurnscoe and Goldthorpe, but so often, we’re not aware of what is happening. Come along and find out more!

Because of this, there will be no morning service at Market Street on 20th March, but the evening service will be at 6 p.m. as usual.

Services over the Easter weekend will also be slightly different:

• There will be a short Good Friday service at our church at 6 p.m. on Friday 25th March when we will celebrate Christ’s death and remember His crucifixion. This will last about an hour.
• There will be a ‘Churches Together’ March of Hope around Goldthorpe on Saturday 26th March, leaving our church at 10.15 a.m. and returning there for a light lunch
• Services on Easter Sunday (27th March) will be at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Don’t forget the ‘Churches Together’ meeting tonight (Saturday 20th February) at 6 p.m. at the Salvation Army. Ps 133 gives us a vivid picture of unity and how God bestows or commands His blessings when brothers and sisters dwell together in unity. Whatever church we belong to, we are part of the universal Church God is building and these meetings are confirmation of the fact that we have more that unites us than separates us! Come along if you can for fellowship, prayer, worship and teaching. Refreshments will be served after the service.

We also had a birthday to celebrate!