Between 24th January and2nd February 2015 the global Worship Central team will be holding 100 gatherings of worship leaders and worshippers in 100 different locations held in anywhere from living rooms to cafes to churches. These gatherings will be hosted by coordinators and friends of Worship Central from all over the world.

Our nearest venue is Sheffield on Monday 2nd February at St Thomas Crookes church, Nairn Street, Sheffield, S10 1UL, starting at 8 p.m. and a group of us from church will be going along to this event. See Julie or Garry for further details. There is no need to register beforehand, just turn up at the venue in good time!

This is an opportunity to join with other Christians to worship and pray and to see the worship of Jesus Christ made central in society again. It’s an opportunity to broaden our horizons and realise that God is far bigger than one area or one local church. Come along and connect with others passionate about worship in your local area. For further details, see the Worship Central website.

Dave’s sermon on Sunday evening alluded to the wilderness wanderings of the Israelites and how they were led by God during those 40 years before they actually reached the River Jordan. Following God for them meant following the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, God’s presence made visible for them to follow. Chris Tomlin takes this theme in his song ‘I Will Follow’:

‘Where you go, I’ll go
Where you stay, I’ll stay
When you move, I’ll move
I will follow…

All your ways are good
All your ways are sure
I will trust in you alone
Higher than my sight
High above my life
I will trust in you alone (trust in you alone)

Light unto the world
Light unto my life
I will live for You alone
You’re the one I seek
Knowing I will find
All I need in You alone, in You alone

In You there’s life everlasting
In You there’s freedom for my soul
In You there’s joy, unending joy
And I will follow.’ (Chris Tomlin, ‘I Will Follow’)

Jeremy Camp’s new album (released next month) has the same title: ‘I Will Follow’

”Though the desert be before me
And there’s no relief in sight,
Though the enemy is breathing
All the lies into my mind,
You will always carry me
Until my dying day.
What you have for me is worth it
‘Cause I’ll see you face to face

I will follow,
Follow you wherever you go
And I will listen
To the very promises I know.
You are with me
Always with me
Keeper of my soul
I will follow
Follow you wherever you go.

And the day is coming quickly when
You break open the sky
And the armies all around you
Will be conquering the night
You gather all the children
That are calling out your name
When the troubles are the here and now
I know it’s not in vain.’ (Jeremy Camp, ‘I Will Follow’)

Steve and Katuska Davies, missionaries we support in Mozambique, have sent an update for us:

‘Katuska and the boys are doing well.  Home school occupies the mornings, then the boys tend to read, play, fight, bake cookies, ride bikes… we get them out of the house somehow, except on the hottest of days when everyone is too exhausted to move.  We’ve even made iced tea, I’m ashamed to say.

January, for me, is the quiet hour before the dawn landings.  The seminary will get under way in the second week of February.  But this time I’ve had some enforced rest, as I’m part way through a bout of malaria and pneumonia, and not sure yet if it’s over.

In your prayers please remember:  our health; new students for the seminary; variety and interest in the boys’ lives; the need for social life and friends outside our compound!’

Please continue to pray for this family and for the Bible college where they work. You can view photos here.

Dave spoke from Josh 3:1-4 last night, looking especially at verse 4: ‘you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before.’ The people of God had been travelling for 40 years in the wilderness, journeying to the Promised Land, and essentially (because of rebellion and unbelief), they had wandered around the same area for a very long time. Now it was time for them to cross the River Jordan, and this was very unfamiliar territory indeed.

For us, a new year represents new territory to be explored, and for most of us, the unfamiliar evokes apprehension and even fear. Few of us actively welcome change! Yet God knows the path ahead of each one of us and will direct and lead us in the way we should go. The Israelites had spent many years not trusting God, and distrust dishonours the God of all faithfulness. ‘The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith,’ George Mueller said. In order for us to overcome our fear of the unknown, we have to:

1. Seek the Word of God

Josh 1:8 reminds us of the key to Joshua’s success. If we want to be blessed by God even through whatever trials 2015 may bring, we have to get into the word of God every day, for His wisdom and guidance are found in His book. God comes into our situations as we read His word and leads the way for us to follow.

2. Look to the ark of God (God’s presence)

The Israelites moved at God’s command, when the ark of the covenant (symbol of God’s presence) moved. The ark was situated in the middle of all the tribes and was the signal for the Israelites to follow. The presence of God is vital for our ongoing journey. We need to keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus. We are His followers; He needs to lead the way.

The generation of Israelites about to enter the Promised Land had not (with the exception of Caleb and Joshua) seen the miracles which had led to their deliverance from Egypt. They trembled as they saw this unpassable river. Faith was required to cross the river, and faith and trust will be required for every trial and difficulty we face this year. God’s providence has brought us far over the years, but we cannot rely on our past experience for new trials. This year’s unknown path is not unknown to God, however, for He exists where there is no yesterday or tomorrow, simply an ever-present now.

1 Cor 10:13 reminds us that our experiences may be new to us, but they are not new to God’s people. Caleb and Joshua had seen the Red Sea part; they would see the River Jordan part as well. Others have gone through experiences similar to ours and we find encouragement in Scripture to deal with situations and also to know that God will not give us more than we can bear. God’s faithfulness remains constant, even when we face unfamiliar paths. He is with us throughout every test and trial and will lead us into the future, therefore we can have confidence – not in ourselves, but in Him!

Mark’s continuing saga of Joseph’s life and dreams looked at Gen 43:15-44:17 this morning. At this point in the story, Joseph’s dreams seem to be coming true as his brothers do bow down to him, as ruler of Egypt. The true fulfilment is not yet complete, however, as they are still unaware of his identity.

For the brothers, this scenario of returning to Egypt after Simeon has been taken hostage is fraught with danger. They are worried that the unexpectedly returned silver will cause problems when they return, but the severity of the famine at home has left them no further options. Their relief at not being punished for this soon turned to bewilderment, however, as they are invited to dine with Joseph and then seated in age order. They must have wondered how he could have known this and what it meant. For our part, we see that Joseph is greatly moved by the sight of his youngest brother (and gives him extra food!), but still did not reveal his identity to him. Was this due to stubbornness or some sense of wanting payback on his brothers? It is not clear, but at this point, Benjamin has gone from famine to feast and is revelling in the unexpected blessing. God’s grace is such that at times we receive His blessing and are simply commanded to ‘enjoy’!

All does not go well, however, for Joseph lays an elaborate plan to incriminate Benjamin for the theft of a silver cup. This cup was clearly valuable, being made of silver, but its significance seems also connected with divination (something which was forbidden ultimately to God’s people, as Deut 18:9-14 makes clear.) It is not clear if Joseph, whose ability to interpret dreams is clearly ascribed to God in other parts of this story, was actually involved in divination (the process of foretelling the future from the patterns made in liquids in a goblet, rather like ‘reading tea leaves’ today), but certainly after having lived in Egypt for thirty years or so, there was a danger that he had absorbed Egyptian practices and assimilated them into his own behaviour. We have to be very careful what we get involved with on our journey through life. There are things that are acceptable in our culture nowadays which are plainly not acceptable to God, and we need to constantly keep His word before us so that we can remain set apart and holy, a distinct people living for His glory and not by the world’s standards. (1 Pet 1:13-14) Practices which involve the occult, such as horoscopes, seances, visiting mediums to have our futures foretold or contacting the dead are all common nowadays but are part of the culture we should shun as Christians.

Joseph is never presented to us as perfect, however. Whatever mistakes he may have made – and we cannot be sure of his motivation for the delay in revealing his identity to his family – God was able to bring the dream to reality. He is the One who finishes what He starts and who is not daunted or surprised (or ultimately hindered) by our mistakes and failures.

The brothers responded to the accusation of theft with whole-hearted protests of innocence. Imagine their shock and fear when the silver cup is found in Benjamin’s sack! Their promises to have the guilty person killed and the rest of them committed to slavery must have sickened their stomachs as they considered the future. If nothing else, their response reminds us that where words are frequent, sin is often not absent! (Prov 10:19) It is clear from their response that they felt the guilt of their previous actions keenly, even if they were not actually responsible for this current predicament. (see Gen 44:15-16) Admission of guilt is actually the first step towards forgiveness, and maybe Joseph was attempting to see if they would acknowledge their guilt. Confession of sins brings forgiveness and fulfilment (see Ps 32:1-5), and the stage is set for the final reconciliation planned by God…

The ‘Churches Together’ meeting at Furlong Road Methodist Church tonight looked at the topic of Christian unity. We had the fun of making a fruit salad, full of different fruits:

Everyone then added orange segments:

The point of the activity (apart from providing us with a lovely dessert to eat at the end of the meeting!) was to remind us how each church is different (just as the fruits were different), but the combination of churches is vital to unity and that diversity and unity can go hand in hand:

After readings from John 17, Karen (from the Methodist Church) spoke about unity, showing us how there is strength in numbers (Brenda could tear up the individual paper or newspaper, but couldn’t manage to tear the phone book!)

Being united is important, since it shows the power of God’s love. Karen looked at the word ‘unity’, splitting it into the words below and spoke about how unity nourishes us and allows each individual  and each church to contribute our giftings and abilities, how being together enables us to be stronger than we would be on our own and how God uses us all. We have to come just as we are, with our strengths and weaknesses, knowing that we are all accepted and useful in His kingdom.

Many thanks to all who attended (especially given the sleet and cold!) and to the ladies at Furlong Road for providing lovely refreshments after the meeting.

Further details of ‘Churches Together’ meetings will be forthcoming soon, but don’t forget the Women’s World Day of Prayer which will be on Friday 6th March at St Peter’s Church in Barnburgh.