Steve and Katuska (missionaries in Mozambique) are preparing to return to the UK this month after their first term of service in the Bible seminary in Maputo. For anyone who has ever moved house, you can imagine the chaos they are currently facing as they pack up their home and prepare to return to Glasgow.

Please pray for the family at this time of transition and for all who will stay behind in Mozambique. Steve has handed over responsibilities at the seminary to Alberto Guambe (who has taken on the role of Academic Director) and Andre Malombe and Sandro Silva, a Brazilian missionary. Steve still needs to sort out about the financial management and maintenance of the building in their absence and asks for prayer for their Mozambican colleagues and friends, especially as they face sharp increases in the price of almost everything, and for the other OMS missionaries who will continue to work there. The good news is that new missionaries are in the pipeline and preparing to go out to Mozambique.

Please pray for the whole family as they return to the UK, especially for the education of the three boys, Sam, Ben and Joe.

Big Local Thurnscoe, organisers of the ‘Spring Show’, have just released a poster for this event on Palm Sunday:

We’ll be leaving church at 10 a.m. on Sunday 20th March and then going through to Houghton Road Centre in Thurnscoe (home to Emmanuel Pentecostal Church, opposite the Asda car park on the main road through Thurnscoe) for a time of prayer before we move up to Phoenix Park. Local churches will gather at the car park at 10:50 a.m. and the donkey procession/ singing will start at 11 a.m. Kevin Watts, pastor of the Pentecostal church at Thurnscoe, will give a brief explanation of Palm Sunday and then we’ll be involved in chatting with people and handing out goody bags containing Easter leaflets and Easter eggs.

It’s hoped this will be a great community event. Other things which will be going on include a dog show (£1 entry) and craft and sporting activities. There will be stalls from local groups and the chance to ‘meet a creature’ (not sure what creatures will be there, other than the donkeys!) and refreshments and toilets will be available.

Phoenix Park used to be the slagheap for Hickleton main colliery many years ago, but was transformed into a lovely community park in the 1990s with the help of the charity Groundwork Dearne Valley and local residents. (Poems by local resident Desiree Chipp are carved into 3 of the entrances to the site, for example, and Stephen’s footprints as a young child are cast into one of the paths!) Now maintained by the Forestry Commission, the park links Goldthorpe and Thurnscoe. Pray for fine, dry weather, as it can get very muddy otherwise!

March is shaping up to be a busy month! Here are some key dates:

• Friday 4th March at 2 p.m. is the Women’s World Day of Prayer at Sacred Heart Church on Lockwood Road in Goldthorpe. Come along to pray in particular for Cuba, a land under Communist rule for many years. Join with women from other local churches and around the world in praying on the theme ‘Receive Children, Receive Me’
• Sunday 6th March at 6 p.m. will be our family service, but we’ll also be celebrating Mothers’ Day.
• Sunday 13th March will be the service at Cherry Tree Court in the morning and a dedication service in the evening at 6 p.m. at Market Street. Please bring refreshments to the evening service as we’ll have a fellowship meal after the dedication of baby Tatijana.
• Sunday 20th March (Palm Sunday) will be the procession at Phoenix Park in the morning, followed by a service at Market Street in the evening. We will leave church at 10 a.m. in the morning, go on to pray at Houghton Road Centre in Thurnscoe and then start the community spring event with the procession at 10.50 a.m.
• Friday 25th March is Good Friday and we’ll be holding a service at 6 p.m.
• Saturday 26th March is the ‘Churches Together’ March of Hope around Goldthorpe, leaving our church at 10.15 a.m. After the march, we’ll be returning to church for a light lunch.
• Sunday 27th March is Easter Sunday, with services to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m.

In the second of the alphabet series ‘The A-Z of Christian Faith’, we looked at ‘B is for Believe’. To believe, the dictionary says, is ‘to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so.’  Heb 11:1 reminds us that ‘faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see,’ ‘the fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.’

Believing is a personal response to what God says to us. Abraham, our father in faith, trusted God even when God’s promises to Him seemed incredible, even when he had no idea where God was sending him (see Rom 4:1-18). We need to grow in faith and keep on believing God, otherwise we are warned that we may end our days in futility, as those who failed to believe during the wilderness wanderings discovered (see Ps 78:32-33, Heb 3:19). Believing will always involve fear and risk, for God chooses not to give us the total assurance we often desire in order to stretch our faith, but victory comes to those who believe. It takes courage to believe. ‘Only the brave will go where You go/ Into the fire, but never alone.’ (Tim Hughes, ‘Only The Brave’)

We need to believe for many things, including:

1. salvation (see Acts 16:25-34, where God’s intervention opened the door – literally! – for Paul and Silas to witness to the Philippian jailer, giving him the message of salvation: ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.’ We need to believe that God is working in the lives of individuals to bring them to the place of response and that He will use us to witness to them. We also need to believe for those family members who are not yet saved.
2. healing (see Matt 8:5-15, where the centurion’s faith is praised by Jesus: he did not need Jesus to go to his house to believe that his servant would be healed! Healing is not only for us, but for all, a witness to God’s power, a testimony which brings people to faith. Jesus often asked people ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ (Matt 9:28) when they came for healing; faith is clearly an important ingredient in healing.)
3. deliverance (see Mark 9:14-29, where a boy’s father comes to Jesus for the deliverance of his son, saying,  ‘if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.’ (Mark 9:21) Jesus says, “‘If you can’? Everything is possible for one who believes.” (Mark 9:23) This challenge to faith causes the response: ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’ (Mark 9:24) We need to be firmly convinced that nothing is too hard for God (Jer 32:17), that ‘with God all things are possible’ (Matt 19:26) and ‘what is impossible with man is possible with God.’ (Luke 18:27) So often, we limit God because we cannot really imagine or believe that He is able to do the impossible, but here, Jesus shows us a key to the miraculous: our faith.)
4. the infilling of the Holy Spirit (see Eph 5:18, Luke 11:13, where we not only see God’s ability to give us the gift of His Spirit but His willingness. So often, we don’t have things because we don’t actually ask God for them! (see James 4:2) We need to see the gifts of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit and the power of the Spirit in our lives, for we are leaky vessels and need that spring of living water to refresh us and fill us anew. God’s Spirit gives us power to witness, power to live the life Christ wants us to live, power to be the people God wants us to be. We can’t live the Christian life in our own strength, but need God’s Holy Spirit daily.)
5. guidance (see Neh 9:19, Is 58:11, Is 35:21. God has good plans for us, but we need His guidance into right paths and all truth – see Ps 23:3, Jn 16:13. We need His guidance if we are to enter the abundant life He has for us rather than being content simply to ‘get by’!)
6. answers to prayer (see Matt 21:22, Mark 11:24. The disciples were surprised when they saw that the fig tree Jesus had cursed withered so quickly. Jesus reminded them ‘Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matt 21:21-22) We need to understand that believing will often mean acting in faith before we see the fulfilment in order to see the fulfilment! Faith involves us believing that God exists AND that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (Heb 11:6) – in other words, that He answers prayer, that He is not a fickle, malicious, capricious God, but a loving heavenly Father who delights to give us the desires of our hearts. (Ps 37:4) Heb 11:6 also reminds us that without faith it is impossible to please God. If we want to please God, we have to believe. Believing is the number one way we please God. As we learn to bring all our petitions, supplications, requests and desires to God in prayer, we have to believe He is both willing and able to answer those prayers.)

Dave continued his series on the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) today, looking at the subject of kindness. Kindness is ‘the quality of being warm-hearted, sympathetic, humane’ and although it can be quite difficult to define the word, acts of kindness are always remembered and are a powerful tool in convincing others of the truth of God’s love.

Many acts of kindness are found in the Bible. In the Old Testament, David’s kindness to the crippled Mephibosheth (2 Sam 9:1-13) was in stark contrast to the usual practice of kings who would eliminate all possible rival claims to the throne on their ascension. David wanted to show kindness to Jonathan’s family because of his great love for Jonathan and so he treated Mephibosheth as a son. Jesus showed many acts of kindness: turning water into wine at a wedding, welcoming tax collectors and showing mercy to the woman taken in adultery. When he began writing in the dust, it may have been to take the attention off this woman and give her time to collect herself; His mercy to her is an example of how He did not crush bruised reeds (see John 8:1-11, Matt 12:20). Kindness touches people’s hearts and there are so many creative and powerful ways in which we can be kind. Dorcas, for example, demonstrated kindness in helping the poor (Acts 9:36); as the 2007 film Evan Almighty points out, we can change the world by doing one act of random kindness at a time.

God’s kindness to us means we are brought into a relationship with God Himself through the sacrifice of Jesus (Eph 2:7) and we are urged to get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander and malice and to be kind and compassionate and forgiving (Eph 4:31-32, see also Col 3:12). Kindness is important because it draws people to God’s heart; it reflects what God is like. (William Faber said, ‘Kindness has converted more sinners than zeal, eloquence, or learning.’)

Kindness reminds us of the grace and mercy shown to us by God. Our willingness to be kind has to be cultivated (it’s not an instinctive trait!), but as we determine to let go of grudges and seek to bless others, we will find that kindness is contagious and God is able to grow this fruit in our lives.

Gender issues remain a talking point within today’s society, and the blurring of gender roles can be of great concern to Christians today. As we reflect on the Creation account, we may want to ponder what it means to be made in God’s image, ‘male and female’ (see Gen 1:27-28, Gen 2:20-25, 1 Cor 11:8-12). How is this reflected nowadays? Lis Goddard says of 1 Cor 11:2-16, ‘The key thing to take from this passage is the importance of gender differences and how we honour one another within the kingdom of God.’ (Lis Goddard, ‘The Gender Agenda’) We cannot deny the differences between male and female. We need to acknowledge that whilst both male and female are made in the image of God and are equal in terms of worth and value, ‘equal’ does not necessarily mean ‘the same’: ‘We can see that in the different ways in which they are created: Adam from the dust and Eve from Adam, and they are given different names and roles.’ (Clare Hendry, ‘The Gender Agenda’) Gender equality is ‘the view that all genders should receive equal treatment and not be discriminated against based on their gender,’ but it is necessary also to understand the different functions God has given to both male and female; ‘While women and men are clearly created equal in worth, they are created to be distinct in function.’ (Clare Hendry, ‘The Gender Agenda’)

Paul, in this passage from 1 Cor 11:2-16, echoes the Creation account: ‘man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man’ (1 Cor 11:8), going on to stress the interdependence of the genders:  ^‘Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.’ (1 Cor 11:11-12) So often, women have been seen as subservient to (less important than) men and it has to be admitted that Biblical texts have been used to propagate male domination. Nonetheless, in today’s society, some feel that the pendulum has swung the other way and, with a blurring of roles, that we forget sometimes to celebrate the unique differences of the sexes. We do well to reflect on the wonder of being created in God’s image, male and female, and to seek to serve each other in love, for just as the Son is co-equal with the Father but chose to submit Himself to the Father’s will (Heb 10:6-10, John 6:38, Luke 22:42), so we are called to understand that submission does not imply superiority or inferiority or greater or lesser worth, but is part of a divine order which shows us we must seek to love God and others with all our heart, to serve and not be served. (Mark 10:42-45)