Obedience is a key topic in the Bible. We see it in the choice Jesus gave Peter when he told him to follow Him: he could choose to follow or to walk away. Jonah is the classic example of one who initially disobeyed God and ended up in the belly of a large fish as a result! The story in 2 Kings 5 tells us of a foreigner whose healing from God depended on his obedience.

Naaman was a commander of the army of the king of Aram who was afflicted by leprosy. His servant girl urged him to seek healing from the prophet Elisha, but he did not like the answer he received. Being told to wash seven times in the River Jordan (that number again!) did not strike him as sufficiently important or grandiose. His frustration can be seen in 2 Ki 5:11-12: ‘Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.  Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.‘

Obedience is often a struggle for us. It can be hard to discern between God-inspired ideas and those which are self-inspired; it can also be hard when God tells us to do something which is unpalatable or unpleasant to us. Naaman’s initial thought was that washing could be done elsewhere; maybe he even thought that once or twice would be sufficient, but in order to be healed, he had to follow Elisha’s instructions exactly.

Challenges come as we walk with God and it is easy for us to want to solve these challenges ourselves. Often we think we know best, but all God requires is our obedience. His remedy may be unexpected and even undesirable to us, but all He requires is our obedience. Naaman, helped by his servants’ intervention, had the joy of being healed and from this learned that ‘there is no God in all the world except in Israel.’ (2 Ki 5:15) As we obey God, we have the joy of doing His will and, in the words of the children’s song written by Garry for the occasion, ‘listen, obey and be blessed.’

Last night’s family service was on the topic of obedience. Based on a tenuous link to 2 Kings 5 (Naaman had to ‘duck’ into the River Jordan seven times), Mark’s game focussed on trying to shoot ducks off a board while blindfolded, following (obeying) the instructions of a friend.

Clearly the shooters were either not very obedient, the instructions not very clear or the arrows not very reliable, since none of the ducks came off by the deliberate actions of others, only when they fell off accidentally!

We also had a birthday to celebrate:

This month we are praying especially for the outreach ministries the church is involved in and also for the special Easter services.

Pray for:

• the ministry to Cherry Tree Court. Not all residents are supportive of our visits and a consultation process with them is currently happening. Pray that God will continue to speak to residents through our visits and that we will know His favour and blessing. Pray also for Christians who live at Cherry Tree Court, that God will help them to be salt and light on their own ‘frontline’
• the youth work & Mums & Toddlers. Pray for all who help with these outreaches and for all who attend. Pray also for God to open up opportunities to share the gospel with parents and children alike.
• good conversations at the coffee mornings, which are well attended by local residents.
• the Easter events we are holding at church (film of Matthew’s Gospel on Good Friday & Easter Saturday) and Easter Sunday services
• the ‘Churches Together’ March of Hope on Easter Saturday
• local residents to be aware of the reasons for the hope we have and for opportunities to share the gospel with them, wherever we are and whatever we are doing.
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Mark continued his series on Joseph by looking at Genesis 45 & 46. The number 7 features on several occasions in these chapters. Joseph begins by telling his brothers to return home and bring Jacob back to Egypt, reminding them that there are still 5 years of famine to go (seven years of famine altogether…)  and they will be provided for in Egypt. God’s provision was relevant then and is still relevant to us today! – and can come even through people who do not know God, such as Pharaoh.

Jacob’s spirits were revived once he was persuaded that Joseph really was alive and he journeys forth with his sons. Gen 46:1-7 shows us Jacob setting off with all that was his – a huge undertaking at any time – and offering sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. The fact that this happened at Beersheba (see Genesis 21) reminds us of the place where a covenant was made between Abimelech and Abraham, when 7 lambs were given as the ‘seal’ for the contract. Abraham re-opened a well there, planted a tree and worshipped God. It was a place of significance spiritually and the whole theme of sacrifice is crucial to our spiritual progress. In a time of famine, when every animal he possessed must have seemed extra precious, Jacob sacrifices to God, understanding that sacrifice shows our obedience to God.

After bringing the sacrifice to God, God speaks again directly to Jacob (Gen 46:2), speaking in a vision of night, continuing the dream cycle! This is the 7th time God has spoken directly to Jacob in his life and once more He calls him by name. Jacob’s response, as ours must be, is to offer himself freely: ‘Here am I.’

God gives fresh revelation of Himself and gives Jacob confirmation that he is to travel to Egypt, promising to make a great nation of his family there. God’s promises to past generations still apply, for He is a God of continuity who works through generations of families. God promised to be with Jacob and to deliver them from Egypt, and although this would take 400 years to fulfil, the seeds of many years of Israel’s history are shown here. Gen 46:7-27 lists the people Jacob took with him, and including Joseph and his two sons, that totalled 70. Of these, his son Levi had sons from whom Aaron and Moses, the famous Exodus deliverers, would be born. The God of dreams works through generations to fulfil His purposes… and continues to do so to this day and beyond.

Children and young people are a vital part of the church today: not ‘tomorrow’s church’, but a key part of the church of today. We are blessed to have a group of young adults who are keen to teach children and young people and who are making changes to the way this is done on Sundays during our evening services.

On Sundays, there will be 3 age groups:

• Spiritual Explorers (for pre-school children)
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• Spiritual Ninjas (for children aged 5-11 years)
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• Spiritual Warriors (for 11-18 year olds)

We also hope to take the older youth to different youth events at other churches and venues so that they can see something of God at work elsewhere! We hope to host some youth events with other churches called IMPACT (Impact means practising all Christ’s teachings.) Watch this space for further details!

As part of the Easter celebrations (3-5 April), we want to focus on the life, ministry, death and resurrection of our Saviour. In order to do that, we will be showing a film based entirely on the sayings of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel (see here for a preview) over 3 sessions. These will be on:

• Good Friday at 7 p.m. (so no badminton on that evening, sadly!)
• Easter Saturday at 1 p.m.
• Easter Saturday at 7 p.m.

The film is a great opportunity to soak ourselves in Scripture and see something of the power of the ministry of Jesus.

Other events that will be happening over the Easter weekend include:

• a ‘Joint Churches’ March of Hope through Goldthorpe on Easter Saturday in the morning  (more details on times to follow)
• a church lunch on Easter Saturday at 12 noon before the film session
• services to celebrate Easter at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Easter Sunday

We hope as many people as possible will want to attend these events to help us to focus on a key date in the Christian year and to reflect afresh on the wonder and cost of our salvation.