Mark spoke from Dan 3:1-30 tonight, looking at how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego coped with the fiery furnace. The story is from Israel’s captivity history, when they had been carried off to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar, whose golden image (90 feet tall by 9 feet wide) was a symbol of all that was anti-God. Other rulers who were jealous of the favour shown to these Israelite men wanted to get rid of them and therefore pointed out to the king that they were refusing to bow down and worship this image. The king apparently gave them a second chance, but clearly thought no god was able to rescue them from his hand. Their response (Dan 3:16-18) demonstrated their faith, assuring the king that their God was able to deliver them from the fire, but even if He chose not, they would still not compromise their faith and worship a false god.

God’s ability to keep His people even through trials is demonstrated by the fact that three bound men were thrown into the fire, but Nebuchadnezzar saw four men walking in the fire, unbound. The fire had no power on their bodies. Despite the fact that Satan wants to cause havoc in the lives of God’s children, his power is not unlimited; God is able to deliver and rescue us from all trials.

This story shows good triumphing over evil and God bringing blessing even through adversity. We can take encouragement from this story, for we know that even if we feel we are going through the fires of trial at the moment:

1. God is there with us

2. He is able to save and deliver

3. He is able to bring blessing even through trials

4. The outcome is secure, for God will always triumph!

We concluded the service with a song specially written for the service by Garry & Stephen.

‘Meshach, Shadrach, Abednego,

Bow down or in the fire you’ll go.

The flames will burn and then we’ll see

Just how toasted you can be…’

Tonight’s family service looked at the subject of faith under fire, wittingly sub-titled by Mark ‘You’re Toast!’ Because of this, we had an activity that involved timed eating of toast…

Explaining the game:

Showing off the prizes…

Toast eaters!

The champion!

Stephen’s sermon this morning looked at the idea of going for a walk. Gen 3:8 talks about Adam and Eve hearing the sound of God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. There is a familiarity and intimacy to this scene which is breathtaking; the thought of man’s regular communion with God in the Garden of Eden reminds us of the close relationship with God for which we were created. There is a sense of constancy and consistency; clearly, this was a regular fellowship enjoyed by Adam and Eve until the arrival of sin.

Sin spoilt that closeness between man and God, and as a result, Adam and Eve hid among the trees, no longer craving that closeness with God, but fearing it. The good news is that God has taken the initiative to restore that relationship, for just as He came down to walk with them in the garden, so He comes down to us through Jesus and restores our relationship: ‘I will walk among you and be your God and you will be my people.’ (Lev 26:12, see also 2 Cor 6:16).

We need to have a daily walk with God, knowing His presence with us every day. We no longer walk alone, for the door has been opened and God has come in. The only thing which can stop us knowing the blessing of His presence is if we run and hide from Him. The difference God can make to us is enormous, but we have to stop hiding from Him and holding back from Him, realising that we belong to Him and have been bought at a price. Enoch walked with God for 300 years (Gen 5:22) and we too can walk with God every step of our lives, knowing the mind-blowing experience of stepping out with God on a daily walk.

The Japanese art of kintsugi is the art of fixing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum, treating breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.

This kind of repair makes the piece unique and quite often the repaired pot is actually more valuable and beautiful than it was before it got broken. I was reminded of Jeremiah 18:1-6 when I learned about this art form. In that passage, Jeremiah is taken to watch a master potter at work, seeing how he moulds marred clay into another pot, forming beautiful objects from apparently flawed clay, and was reminded that God is indeed the Master Potter, shaping and forming our lives as He sees fit.

Aaron Shust sings ‘You assemble all our broken, shattered pieces/ More beautiful than I have ever known.’ (‘Long Live The King’) Life is fraught with trials and difficulties and at times the scars and cracks in our lives are very visible. Nonetheless, God is able to work those tragedies into the pot of our life to make something valuable and unique. He knows all about kuntsugi art forms, choosing to repair and transform our broken lives into something magnificent that reflects His glory. We are mended not with powdered gold, silver, or platinum but with the precious blood of Christ (1 Pet 1:17-19), receiving His healing and strengthening by His wounds (see Is 53:5, 1 Pet 2:24). Our Saviour’s scars are still visible in His glorious resurrected body; they are ‘the marks of death God chose never to erase.’ (‘Known By the Scars’, Michael Card) We cannot expect our transformation to be any different.

As you know, we have been planting things in our house lately and enjoying the fruits of our labours. The chilli plants are abundantly providing chillies; we have been flavouring food with basil too! As a result of this, Paul’s comments in 1 Cor 3:8-9 (‘the one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labour. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building’) have seemed particularly relevant to us!

The image of the people of God as God’s planting has many biblical echoes (see Ex 15:17, Num 24:5-7, Amos 9:15, Is 61:3, for example.) The church in Corinth may well have had problems and needed correction in many areas, but Paul is confident in their growth (see 1 Cor 1:8-9, comparing with Phil 1:6), because He knows God is faithful. There will always be fallow times in fields, times when nothing seems to be growing, but we can be confident that God is always working, even when we cannot see what He is doing. Paul reminds the Galatians ‘let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.’ (Gal 6:9) Patience and perseverance are required to see visible evidence of growth, but don’t give up – God’s not finished with us yet!

The Bible is described as food for our spirits. In 1 Cor 3:2 and 1 Pet 2:2, it is likened to milk, the staple food for the baby. But just as a baby does not remain on milk forever, so too we need to progress in our understanding of the Word. Paul talks about ‘solid food’ (1 Cor 3:2) and this image is also mentioned in Heb 5:11-14. In other places, the Bible is said to be even more indispensable than bread (see Matt 4:4) and is likened to honey (see Ps 119:103).

Having a balanced diet is considered one of the key ingredients of a healthy lifestyle.

We too need to grow in our appetite for the Word of God, meditating on it night and day (Ps 119:97). It provides all the nutrients we need for spiritual growth and gives us guidance, leading us in the way everlasting and helping us to know spiritual success (see Josh 1:8). Without a growing hunger for the Word of God, we will never grow up spiritually. Each of us needs to be thoroughly soaked in the Word of God, drawing from its waters and chewing on its meats on a daily basis.

It is not enough, however, to simply absorb the Bible theoretically, acquiring a sound knowledge of it but failing to apply its teaching to our own lives. Knowledge is valuable, but what God is looking for is obedience; He longs for us to respond to His Word and to do what it says (see James 1:22-25). Just as a baby cannot survive on milk alone forever, so we too must move on to the ‘solid food‘ in the Word, but we also need the balance of prayer, fellowship and witnessing; we need to take in, but we also need to give out.

What’s our diet like? How’s our obedience? The Word of God is living and active (Heb 4:12), able to cut through our self-deception and provide us with the hope and perseverance we need to walk with God (see Rom 15:4). In order to grow, however, we need to eat and drink. Let’s be prepared to dig deep into the Bible and discover its delights for ourselves and then let’s be prepared to put into action all that it says!