Read Psalm 119:81-88.

Have you ever been homesick? I’ve never been away from home long enough to really feel homesick, but I once took a school trip to France and saw firsthand the desolation of homesickness in a teenage girl. Normally confident and outdoing, she became withdrawn and disconsolate, spending most of her time sobbing. We were only away two nights, but she was inconsolable. I doubt she learnt much of the history and culture during the trip as she was entirely focussed on her feelings of longing for home.

We are, Peter tells us, ‘aliens and strangers in the world.’ (1 Pet 2:11) God has set eternity in our hearts (Eccl 3:11) and there is a longing for salvation, for our ultimate home with God, which no amount of earthly joy can fully satisfy. Phil Wickham captures this perfectly in his song ‘Eden’ which yearns for the perfection and intimacy of fellowship we once knew with God and in his ‘Heaven Song’ which yearns for greener pastures, higher hills and the joy of seeing Jesus face to face.

Ps 119:81 says ‘My soul faints with longing for Your salvation’ – in the Message version, ‘I’m homesick – longing for Your salvation.’ The promise of future perfection comes from God’s Word in which we hope (Ps 119:82), but in the meantime, there is a cry of ‘How long?’ (Ps 119:82, 84; see Ps 13:1-2) This present life has pitfalls and snares, enemies who persecute without cause (Ps 119:85-6). We need revival and preservation from God (Ps 119:88), for this journey, this waiting, is not easy.

The Bible ends with a prayer: ‘Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with God’s people. Amen.’ (Rev 22:20-21). Grace is the thing which will see us through, but the waiting will always be tinged with yearning (Rom 8:24-25).

Tonight’s Bible study looked at 1 Cor 9:1-18, where Paul, in continuing his discussion about rights and responsibilities, looks at the role of apostles. His claims to be an apostle rest on his having seen Jesus and on the fruit seen in the Corinthians’ own lives (1 Cor 9:1-2), which some take to mean that there can be no such thing as a modern-day apostle (since we physically cannot have seen Jesus.) Eph 4:11-13 tells us that Christ gave the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, however, and these are required to equip God’s people for works of service, ‘so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.‘ Clearly, this maturity will not be attained until Christ returns, so these special ministries are still required today, with an apostle not only preaching the gospel but establishing churches (laying a foundation on which others can build, as Paul has earlier discussed in 1 Cor 3.)

Paul explains that apostles have many rights (including the right to receive material reward for their spiritual work), citing examples from other fields of work (1 Cor 9:7-12), but declares that, just as he would willingly give up meat so that he did not cause any brother or sister to fall into sin (1 Cor 8:13), he is willing to forego financial remuneration from the Corinthians so as not to hinder the gospel. Acts 18:1-5 gives us the backdrop to Paul’s work in Corinth, showing us his part-time work as a tentmaker and how Silas and Timothy supported him so that he could then preach on a full-time basis. Those who support others in Christian ministry (as many women supported Christ during His earthly ministry) have a vital role to play; there are many different kinds of service! Paul’s role as an apostle was to build up the church (the word ‘edification’ has its roots in the Latin words meaning ‘to build a house‘) and to preach the gospel, a commission he took so seriously that he could say ‘woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!’ (1 Cor 9:16) The overarching principle of these verses can be seen in Phil 2:1-11, how we must follow Christ’s example of laying down His rights to serve others. In the words of Graham Kendrick’s ‘Servant King’:

‘So let us learn how to serve

And in our lives enthrone Him,

Each other’s needs to prefer,

For it is Christ we’re serving.’

Yesterday, leaders from some of the local churches met together to prepare for the Christmas Market on Friday and to collect booklets which will be distributed to all primary school children.

Please pray for the ministers as they take these Christmas booklets (provided by the charity Lifewords) into local primary schools (Gooseacre and the Hill schools in Thurnscoe, Highgate Primary School, Goldthorpe Primary School, Sacred Heart School in Goldthorpe, Barnburgh Primary School and Lacewood in Bolton–on-Dearne) and for all who will receive the ‘Hope for Life’ bags at the Christmas Market (which will contain details of local church services over Christmas, booklets about Christmas and sweets). Pray that many people will come to the Christmas Market on Friday (between 4-8 p.m.) and will enjoy taking part in craft activities and buying different decorations and that we will be able to help the Salvation Army Christmas Appeal through everything we do that day. Don’t forget also to pray for the ‘Churches Together’ carol service which will be outdoors in the church car park at 6 p.m. Prayer is the foundation for all we do and we long for God to draw many people to Himself at this Christmas period and into the New Year.

Read Psalm 119:75-80.

Prayer involves speaking forth the truths we know about God and petitioning Him for the things we need. The Lord’s Prayer (Matt 6:9-15) begins with worship, acknowledging our relationship with God (‘our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name’) before moving on to pray ‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’)

Ps 119 touches us so powerfully because of the truths it proclaims: ‘Your hands made me and formed me’ (Ps 119:73); ‘I know, O Lord, that Your laws are righteous’ (Ps 119:75). It speaks of God’s faithfulness (Ps 119:75) and unfailing love (Ps 119:76), essential attributes of God’s nature. But it also touches us because it lays out petitions for us to pray:

• ‘Give me understanding to learn Your commands’ (Ps 119:73)
• ‘May Your unfailing love be my comfort’ (Ps 119:76)
• ‘Let Your compassion come to me, that I may live’ (Ps 119:77)
• ‘May the arrogant be put to shame for wronging me without cause’ (Ps 119:78)
• ‘May my heart be blameless toward Your decrees, that I may not be put to shame’ (Ps 119:80)

This combination of truth and petition provides a framework for our prayer life. The Psalms are our guide through prayer which is rooted in God. Prayer will always be highly personal and personally specific; it is not vague, rambling or selfish, for it is rooted in God’s Word and anchored in His character, shaped and formed by His Word. When we read the great prayers of Advent (Luke 1:46-55. Luke 1:67-80), we see the same themes of worship, proclamation and petition guiding us in our own prayers.

Read Psalm 119:65-74.

In the days before satellite navigation, travellers used the stars as fixed points to direct them on long journeys. The Christmas story remind us of this in the star that shone from Jacob (Num 24:17) guiding learned men to Jesus (Matt 2:1-12).

We need fixed points to navigate the journey of life. The fixed points that help us through the bumps and twists of life all relate to God’s nature, for God is unchanging (Mal 3:6).

One of the fixed points about God is His goodness: ‘You are good and what You do is good.’ (Ps 119:68) Our experiences have to be measured against this yardstick, for even when the ‘heartache hits like a hurricane/ That could never change who You are.’ (‘Even If’, Kutless) The psalmist prays with confidence because of God’s goodness: ‘Do good to Your servant according to Your word, O Lord.’ (Ps 119:65) We ask for knowledge and good judgment (Ps 119:66) wrapped in God’s goodness.

Goodness does not equate with happiness or ease of circumstances. The psalmist has enemies (Ps 119:69-70) and troubles. Some of them are caused by his own waywardness (Ps 119:67), some by life’s vicissitudes. The psalmist recognises that God can use even these things to shape and mould his life: ‘it was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn Your decrees.’ (Ps 119:71)

Scripture teaches us that God is able to work for the good of those who love Him in every single circumstance of life (Rom 8:28) and that even what others plan to ruin us will be used by Him to prosper us (Gen 50:20). God’s goodness may wear the mask of trials, but even trials can be welcomed as friends when we are directed by God’s goodness (James 1:1-3). Holding on to the goodness of God’s character is an essential lesson learned on the journey, ‘more precious… than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.’ (Ps 119:74)

Read Psalm 119:57-64

Mick Jagger used to sing ‘I can’t get no satisfaction’ and the double negative of that statement was presumably for emphasis rather than to imply everything was going well for him! God is the source of all satisfaction; the psalmist says ‘You are my portion, O Lord’ (Ps 119:57), which the Message paraphrases as ‘because You have satisfied me, God, I promise to do everything You say.’

Literature like ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’ depicts life as a quest. We are straining after something, yearning for more. Augustine called this a restlessness which only finds completeness in God.

God is able to satisfy all our longings and fill the empty places of our hearts. (Listen to Aaron Shust’s ‘Satisfy’ to meditate further on this thought.) ‘The earth is filled with Your love, O Lord.’ (Ps 119:64) As we meditate on God’s ways and align our steps with His (Ps 119:59-60), we find freedom even when we feel hemmed in (Ps 119:61) and can be an example to others (Ps 119:69). Paul reminded Timothy that ‘godliness with contentment is great gain.’ (1 Tim 6:6) Learning contentment and satisfaction in God is a crucial part of life’s journey, something which the waiting of Advent is meant to cultivate in our hearts.