The ‘birthday hats’ are a long tradition at our church, tolerated by some, loved by others. Last night, however, a more unusual hat was on display…

The reason for the hat was that the previous day had been Stephen’s ‘stag do’, when a group of the men went paintballing (though none were willing for their bruises to appear on the blog today…!) The hat, alas, could not be worn during the actual paintballing (because of health and safety reasons), so Stephen compromised by wearing it to play the children’s songs during the service! Quite why a traffic cone was bought for him no one has yet explained to me, but as a mere woman, I don’t really understand these male rituals. Paintballing seems to be an utterly masochistic way of spending a day, but as I’ve been told, ‘you just don’t get it; it’s a man thing….’

Last night we had three birthdays to celebrate, one belatedly and two in advance. Sadly, the belated birthday girl (who was two earlier in the week), having spent all year climbing on the birthday box at every opportunity, was not happy to be in the limelight, so we have no photo of her.

Garry was not so shy, however!

Our other birthday girl:

Mark’s sermon last night looked at the topic ‘You’re special!’ From special offers (on cars, bikes, clothes, guitars, kebabs and fried rice!) to special editions (cars with ‘go faster’ stripes, for example!), using the word ‘special’ indicates there is something different about the item that is worth noticing or having.

The most special things in our lives are probably the things that can’t be bought (love, family, friendship, health). Mark challenged us to fill in a ‘scale of specialness’ graph where we think about the 7 most important things to us. If God filled in such a graph, it would probably simply say ‘family, family, family’, for that includes Jesus and us and everyone in the universal church of God!

Ps 135:4 says ‘For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own, Israel to be his treasured possession.‘ God chooses people to be part of His family and to Him, we are His special treasure. Rom 8:15-17 reminds us that we are adopted children, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. We are so special that we are considered royalty!

Deut 7:6 expands these thoughts further, telling us that Israel was chosen out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be God’s people, His treasured possession. To be special means that we are different from all the other items or people, that we occupy a place in God’s heart that nothing or no one else could fill. Treasure is precious, valuable, desirable and loved. We need to understand that to God we are not ordinary, cheap, dirty or repulsive; we are children of God, inheritors of God’s kingdom, a beautiful bride and part of His family.

1 Pet 2:9-10 reminds us that we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, hand picked by God for this particular moment in history to serve Him as priests and to be set apart for Him alone. We are not a second choice, an accident, but we are loved and precious to God. That does not mean we’re perfect, but it does mean we can be the recipients of God’s amazing, unconditional love, for He sees us as irreplaceable treasure. We are not worthless or rubbish for He was willing to pay an immeasurable cost for us. We are His special treasure!

Dave started a new series on the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ this morning, speaking from Gal 5:13-23. Recently, we have been looking at the baptism of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit, but to ensure balance, we need to look also at the fruit of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit takes up residence in a person when they are saved, working within to transform us (see 2 Cor 3:18), with the baptism of the Spirit an experience subsequent to conversion which is available to all believers, giving an infilling of power to enable believers to witness to Christ (see Acts 1:8). In 1 Cor 12-14, Paul develops teaching on the gifts of the Spirit but also reminds us that love is the greatest way; we have to maintain a balance between the gifts and the fruit of the Spirit.

In the book of Galatians, Paul writes to people who thought that it was necessary to follow the Jewish law in order to be saved. Paul reminds the Galatians of the freedom Christ has purchased (Gal 5:1), but also reminds them not to use this freedom to indulge the sinful nature (Gal 5:13). Freedom comes from Christ, but the fruit of the Spirit can only grow as we abide in Christ (John 15:5, Phil 1:11). Paul reminds us that the sinful nature has been crucified with Christ (Gal 2:20) and we no longer have any 0bligation to live on the treadmill of obligation. Instead, unobtrusive growth comes from our relationship with Christ, whereas the gifts of the Spirit are often received through the laying on of hands (eg Acts 19:6).

The development of holiness is essential if we are to see the fruit 0f the Spirit develop in our lives. Holiness is a two-way process: God imparts holiness to us, but holiness is also our choice, choosing to live a life that is pleasing to Christ. Spiritual fruit does not necessarily look as visible as the spiritual gifts, but the quiet influence of holiness and godliness is powerful. We should also note that whilst the fruit of the Spirit may be manifested in different ways (through love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, patience and self-control), there is only one fruit, just as there is only one God.

As the summer holidays start, so does the hard work of decorating our church building. Having such a great community facility is a fantastic privilege, but we also have a responsibility to look after this facility and so over the next few weeks, we’ll be aiming to decorate the huge community room (used by so many groups during the week normally, but most groups take a break over summer, giving us the ideal opportunity to do work) and the corridor. The last time we tackled these was when we first moved into the building five years ago (yes, it really has been that long!), so we’re hoping our amazing army of volunteers will come along to help again as we clean, sand down, fill holes and re-paint!

Work starts on Tuesday 21st July at 10 a.m. We’ll be open each week for a few days per week. This week, we’re aiming to work on Tuesday, Wednesday (22nd July) and Friday (24th July), starting at 10 a.m. and continuing till whenever! (People may come after work, for example, if evenings are the only time available.) Come along if you can for as much or as little of that time as you can spare and we’ll soon see transformation again! As the proverb says, ‘many hands make light work‘!

We are truly grateful for people who are so willing to be involved in practical work (especially those of us, like myself, who are not at all gifted in the painting and decorating realms!) There’s always a job to be done, however, so whatever your skills, please come along and help if you can.

Tonight’s Bible study looked at 1 Cor 4:1-13. Paul continues his exposition of the true nature of apostleship, reminding the Corinthians that apostles are primarily servants of Christ and stewards entrusted with the mysteries of God. The word used for servant here is different from in 1 Cor 3:5 and means ‘under-rower’: ‘not the captains of the ship but the galley slaves who are under orders’ (Warren Wiersbe). In echoing Jesus’s words on servanthood (see John 13:1-17), Paul emphasises the true nature of discipleship. Stewards were managers for their masters (like Joseph in Potiphar’s household), often with great responsibility, but their role was to faithfully obey whatever their master commanded. In Peter’s words, we are to ‘use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.’ (1 Pet 4:10)

God is looking for faithfulness (1 Cor 4:2, Luke 16:10, Matt 25:21), ‘extended obedience’, because He Himself is faithful (Lam 3:23, Hos 2:20, Zech 8:8) and we are called to reflect His image. Paul knows ultimately that it is God’s approval which matters, not people’s or even his own opinion. Judgment has to be based on Scripture, as he urges the Corinthians not to ‘go beyond what is written.’ (1 Cor 4:6) Clearly, there are things God expects us to evaluate (character, based on the descriptions given in the Word (eg Matt 7:16-19); sin which is clearly defined in the Scriptures (see 1 Cor 11:17-31, 1 Cor 5); the doctrinal truth of what we are taught (Acts 17:10-11)). However, we must always remember that we cannot judge other people’s motives and must not judge other people’s convictions on issues which the Scriptures have not defined as sin (see Rom 14:4, James 4:11-12). Only the Lord can fully investigate our hearts (see 1 Sam 16:7) and we must be prepared to leave final judgments to Him. It is impossible to judge the motives behind other people’s actions and we must be humble enough to accept there are many things we cannot fully evaluate.

The Corinthians had allowed pride to slant their opinions. They were ‘puffed up’, inflated like balloons, full of hot air, arrogant (1 Cor 4:6, 18, 19). Paul reminds them that grace cuts away pride, for all we are and have are gifts from God. Pride leads to strife and downfall (see Prov 18:12, Prov 13:10). Paul urges the Corinthians to see themselves as Christ sees them and to understand that suffering and adversity are an inevitable part of discipleship (see John 15:18-19, John 16:33, Acts 14:22, Phil 3:10-11, 1 Pet 4:12-13, 2 Tim 3:12). The apostles might be considered ‘scum’ or ‘refuse’, but they were following Christ’s example when they blessed those who cursed them and spoke kindly to all. Following Christ will inevitably mean living in a radically different way to the way the world tells us will prosper.