1 Cor 8 is one of those chapters in the Bible which on first glance appears to have no relevance to modern day life at all. It’s fodder for those who declare that the Bible is outmoded and outdated and therefore can be quite happily discarded in favour of any other trendy literature which deals with modern thinking. The question Paul addresses in this chapter (should Christians eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols?) might have been relevant to 1^st century Christians in Corinth, but hardly seems to feature on the list of most discussed questions in 2015.

As always, however, specific historical situations can have wider contexts than seem apparent from a cursory glance. People don’t change very much, even if the situations they face do, and how to respond to individual questions will always involve core principles which can apply to a whole variety of situations. Paul’s ‘core principles’ in this chapter have to do with love (which should always be our prime motivator), consideration and care for other believers. He is keen that we learn to build each other up, rather than tearing each other down (see 2 Cor 12:19, 2 Cor 13:10, Eph 4:29, Rom 4:19, 1 Thess 5:11) and keen that we learn how to balance freedom with love and respect.

The historical context of the question involved buying meat. There were two sources of meat in the ancient world: the regular market (where the prices were higher) and the local temples (where meat from the sacrifices was always available.) Some members of the church saved money by purchasing the cheaper meat available from the temples, arguing that idols were not able to contaminate food and therefore they could eat that meat with nothing to disturb their consciences. They also attended meals where sacrificial meat was served. Other Christians (saved out of pagan idolatry) were troubled and offended by this, believing that the meat was contaminated as a result of the sacrifices and that they should therefore avoid this.

Paul effectively agreed that meat sacrificed to idols was not actually contaminated, because idols have no real power of their own; there is only one God: ‘for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.’ (1 Cor 8:6) He knew, however, that the real issue was not about food, because ‘food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.’ (1 Cor 8:8) In essence, he echoed Jesus’s teaching in Mark 7 that washing hands before eating was not the thing that defiled people: ‘Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.’ (Mark 7:15) Paul knew that the real problem lay not so much in what people ate but in how they thought and how they treated others.

Knowledge itself, he comments, is not the be-all and end-all of life: ‘We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.’ (1 Cor 8:1) Instead of the inflated arrogance he has warned against in previous chapters (see 1 Cor 4:6, 18), Paul advocates consideration for other people’s opinions, especially if by acting in a certain way we will lead them into sin. ‘If someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.’ (1 Cor 8:10-11) In such circumstances, Paul reckons it’s worth curbing individual freedom in order to help someone else avoid sin (see Gal 6:2).

Kevin Horseman spoke at church last night, informing us about the work of the Christian charity ‘Mission Aviation Fellowship’, founded 70 years ago by ex-RAF pilots and engineers who wanted to see aircraft used to bring ‘help, hope and healing in Christ’s name.’ Stuart King, Jack Hemmings and Murray Kendon were pioneers who had the vision to see that aircraft could bring the gospel into remote areas, thus fulfilling the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) in new ways. That first flight from Croydon to Kenya took 27 days; now the charity has 130 aircraft serving in in 38 countries, travelling to more destinations than any other airline (3000!)

Using aircraft such as the Cessna 182 and the Cessna 208 floatplane, MAF runs both a chartered service and acts as a taxi air service, particularly in emergency evacuations following natural disasters such as earthquakes:

The floatplane is especially useful because it can reach areas which have lots of water such as Bangladesh.

MAF works to support aid agencies such as TearFund, Christian Aid and Oxfam and is involved in getting food supplies to areas of famine (flying in ‘Plumpy Nuts’, a nutritional food bar which can help relieve famine):

It is also involved in medical evacuations, helping to get people to hospitals quickly when the journey by road would take days. It flies to Africa, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, South America and Mongolia, acting like the donkey in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, enabling others to work in different areas, bringing hope and healing to areas that are too remote to be reached in any other way.

How Can We Help?

1. Pray. MAF provide a regular magazine called ‘Flying For Life’ which details the work they are doing and includes a prayer diary to help us pray for the organisation.
2. People. MAF needs people to work for them in a range of jobs (pilots, engineers, administrative support staff.) This is a faith-based mission, a calling, not just a job!
3. Postcards. The sale of postcards can be a tremendous fund-raiser, so send any postcards in to MAF’s Folkestone head office.
4. Pounds. Running aircraft is an expensive business, with people on the ground often only able to pay one-third of the actual cost of a flight. Here in the UK, we can give financially to help the charity and can also be involved in fund-raising.

Mark spoke this morning about fountains of blessing available from God. Fountains generally involve water and are sometimes ornamental:

Sometimes they are coordinated with lights:

Sometimes children play in them:

Sometimes we even enjoy food fountains!

In the Bible, fountains were natural springs of water, essential for drinking and washing, and the positioning of these determined where people lived. Deut 8:5-10 talks of the good land God intended to give His people: ‘a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills‘ (Deut 8:7), representing His desire to bless people with all that is good for us. Nowadays, we have plumbed water into our homes, but we still need God’s blessing and He still has an endless supply of blessing to pour out on us.

Joel 3:18 says ‘In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house  and will water the valley of acacias.‘ Whilst this is clearly figurative language (mountains do not really drip wine or hills flow with milk!), it again demonstrates that God’s presence is the key to blessing. Is 41:17-20 reminds us that God can bring forth blessing even in inauspicious circumstances (when we’re found in the desert, when our lives are barren.) His powerful blessing transforms situations.

Ps 87:7 reminds us that all our springs and fountains are in God. God wants to be the fount of every blessing in our lives. He made us, knows us and is able to bless us abundantly.

The shocking and horrific events in Paris on Friday night and the loss of life caused by terrorists leave us floundering. Every new atrocity we witness strips us of any sense of safety we have, causing fear and confusion to rise up. For many of us, it’s hard to understand all the issues, hard to separate outrage and revulsion from fear, hard to work out how religious belief can lead to such violence, hard to know how we, as individuals, can have any positive effect, hard to know how to pray.

Rom 12:9 says ‘Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.’ Hating what is evil is not the same as hating people, however; Eph 6:12 reminds us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. It is important to keep this distinction in mind as we pray for justice and for God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done, on earth as in heaven.

For many of us, hatred seems overpowering and it’s easy to feel helpless in the face of organised terror. Love as a weapon seems ineffectual; we only have to look at the cross to see evil and violence winning. But we only have to look at the cross to see that God’s ways are not the same as our ways and that victory is not achieved through might and power but by the Spirit of God (Zech 4:6). How this works out in daily living is not easy to discern, but we must hold on to the power of God’s love and God’s way of doing things at all times.

‘We believe Your love is the strongest way
You’re tearing down walls and You break our chains
Even in this darkness hope will rise again
When we lay down our weapons, we will let love win
Lord, we lay down our weapons and we let love win.’ (‘Let Love Win’, Carrollton)

People often say there’s nothing to do in our area, but on Friday 11th December from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. there will be a Christmas market on Market Street in Goldthorpe, and we’re getting involved!

At the market, there will be a variety of craft stalls (including one selling Christmas wreaths) and in the car park at the bottom of Market Street, there will be a variety of rides. So far, the following things have been booked:

• Rodeo reindeer
• Mega Jungle Christmas Trailer
• Coconut Shy
• Tin Can Alley
• Bungie Trampoline
• Six Bed Trampoline
• Mini Waltzer Ride
• Ball in the Bucket
• Santa’s Grotto

Inside the church building, we’ll be selling refreshments (to keep everybody nice and warm!) and we also hope to run some craft activities and sell some Christmas crafts, with money raised from this going to the Salvation Army Christmas Appeal (to buy presents for children of needy local families.) We’ll also be running a Christmas present wrapping service, a bargain at 10p per present, so if you’re one of the many people who hate wrapping Christmas presents, why not come along, buy some presents at the Christmas Market and then bring them along to the building to have them wrapped while you enjoy a cuppa?!

All the local churches will be involved with this, and at 6 p.m. we’ll host the ‘Churches Together’ carol service, singing carols outdoors in the car park so that everyone can enjoy the festive spirit!

How can you be involved?

1. Come along at some point between 4-8 p.m. to support the event!
2. Get involved in running a stall or looking after some of the activities (if you’re a crafty person, please offer ideas and suggestions as well as your expertise!)
3. Provide some craft items to sell
4. Make refreshments or wash up
5. Join us for the carol service at 6 p.m.

We’ll have a variety of Christmas literature available to give out and we hope this will be a great way of serving our community as well as enjoying all the festive activities ourselves.