Today the weather kept fine and GPCC went to Bridlington!

People had a great time on the beach:

Some played in the sand…

Others were more energetic, playing touch rugby!

Then there was a game of rounders:

However, it wasn’t all frenetic activity. There was time for food too!

It was clearly an exhausting day, though!

In nature, we see metamorphosis in some biological processes by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching. Some insects, fishes, amphibians and molluscs undergo metamorphosis, usually accompanied by a change of habitat or behaviour. The most well known is probably the butterfly.

The butterfly looks nothing like the eggs or caterpillar; transformation in this realm means a radically different form. In the same way, the spiritual work God is doing in our lives may not necessarily make us look different to other people (after all, people could not cope with Jesus being both God and man and frequently asked things like ‘“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?’ (Matt 13:55)), but does involve radical change, since we actually carry the treasure of God’s life in ‘jars of clay’ (2 Cor 4:7), and our final spiritual body will look nothing like the earthly body we now inhabit (see 1 Cor 15:51-57). Paul reminds us that ‘our citizenship is in heaven’ (Phil 3:20) and it is  God’s power which ‘will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.’ (Phil 3:21) Our life on earth is simply one stage of this transformation process. We’re not at the butterfly or frog stage yet!

Transformation comes as our minds are renewed (Rom 12:1-2). This involves action on our part (a refusal to conform to the world’s pattern or way of doing things) and action on God’s part. The Message version paraphrases Rom 12:1-2 in this way: ‘Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.’ When talking about Abraham’s grasp of faith, it says ‘Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point. He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own.”’ (Rom 4:3) Embracing what God does for us is definitely the best thing we can do, and part of that is accepting that He is the One working transformation in us… a transformation which is still ongoing, a transformation which God Himself will perfect and complete.

May’s family service looked at the topic of ‘Transformation.’ Often, when we think of this, we think of makeovers or losing weight or changing our appearances:

If we’re mathematically inclined, we might think of rotation or reflection or translation:

However, in spiritual terms, transformation comes from the Greek work ‘metamorphosis’ (‘meta’ means ‘change’ and ‘morphe’ means ‘form’) and involves real change in us. This kind of change is described in 2 Cor 3:12-18, looking back to Ex 34:29-35, when Moses’s face was radiant and dazzling from being in the presence of God. Paul reminds us that any glory Moses knew is as nothing compared to the glory of the new covenant, where all barriers to God have been removed and we can boldly enter His presence (see Heb 10:19-20). Because of this, we realise that as we spend time in God’s presence, He wants to transform us into His image, recreating the image of God in man which was spoilt when sin first entered the world (see Rom 5:17-19, Rom 8:28-29). Such a transformation is an ongoing process which will only be completed when we see Jesus face to face (see 1 John 3:1-2), but we can be sure that God not only starts this work, He is able to complete it! (Phil 1:6)

Last night’s family service looked at the theme of ‘Transformation’, so the games all involved looking at things from different angles…

… or making paper aeroplanes fly or boats float…

Dave spoke this morning from Phil 3:12-14, commenting on how God has a goal for each one of our lives. At this time of year, we are reminded of the dedication, concentration, focus and determination needed to win races: last Sunday saw the London Marathon and this weekend the ‘Tour de Yorkshire’ is going through Barnsley.

Pursuing God requires the same kind of dedication that these athletes and cyclists show. Rom 8:28-29 reminds us that God’s purpose for our lives is for us to be conformed to the likeness of Christ. We have not arrived at our goal yet, but need to press on towards that goal, not looking back but being firmly convinced that spiritual growth will happen as we focus on God.

For us to no longer live in the past does not mean that we forget all that God has done or that we do not learn from our mistakes. Rather, we do not fixate on the past, refusing to let bad experiences or past hurts eat us up and weigh us down, but instead we learn from the pain and moving on by the grace of God. Neither are we content to simply live in the memory of past victories, but continue to press forward, realising that what counts is our present-tense relationship with God. As we stretch forward in earnest pursuit of God (like the athlete stretching forward for the finish line or the cyclist hunched forward), we learn the benefits of perseverance and diligence, not giving up or serving God half-heartedly, but being disciplined in spiritual pursuits (prayer, Bible study, worship, service, turning away from worldly pursuits and reaching out to God, being prepared to go beyond the ‘safe’ or ‘comfortable.’)

Being focussed on God means that we keep our eyes on the prize, knowing that the joy of seeing Jesus face to face and being commended by Him will be worth all the light and momentary troubles we experience now. It means seeking to develop new ministries and refusing to overvalue traditions, not wanting a superficial faith but a faith which is vibrant and living.

Services are at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. today as usual. Tonight’s family service is looking at the theme of ‘Transformation’, so come along ready to be changed!

Tomorrow (Monday 4th May) is the church day out to Bridlington. We will be leaving the church car park at 8.45 a.m., so make sure you set your alarm clocks and don’t be late! Please pray for fine weather so that we can enjoy a great day out and join in fun games on the beach. Don’t forget to bring your own towels, beach stuff and anything else you need. We will be returning from Bridlington at 5.30 p.m.

The Bible study is on Thursday (7th May) at 7.30 p.m., when we’ll be continuing our studies on 1 Corinthians 2.

Sunday 10th May is the 2nd Sunday in the month, so the morning service will be at Cherry Tree Court, starting at 10.30 a.m., with the evening service back at Market Street at 6 p.m.

Don’t forget also the special ‘Churches Together‘ meeting to celebrate Pentecost which will be held at our church on Saturday 16th May, starting at 7 p.m.