Dave spoke this morning from Phil 3:12-14, commenting on how God has a goal for each one of our lives. At this time of year, we are reminded of the dedication, concentration, focus and determination needed to win races: last Sunday saw the London Marathon and this weekend the ‘Tour de Yorkshire’ is going through Barnsley.

Pursuing God requires the same kind of dedication that these athletes and cyclists show. Rom 8:28-29 reminds us that God’s purpose for our lives is for us to be conformed to the likeness of Christ. We have not arrived at our goal yet, but need to press on towards that goal, not looking back but being firmly convinced that spiritual growth will happen as we focus on God.

For us to no longer live in the past does not mean that we forget all that God has done or that we do not learn from our mistakes. Rather, we do not fixate on the past, refusing to let bad experiences or past hurts eat us up and weigh us down, but instead we learn from the pain and moving on by the grace of God. Neither are we content to simply live in the memory of past victories, but continue to press forward, realising that what counts is our present-tense relationship with God. As we stretch forward in earnest pursuit of God (like the athlete stretching forward for the finish line or the cyclist hunched forward), we learn the benefits of perseverance and diligence, not giving up or serving God half-heartedly, but being disciplined in spiritual pursuits (prayer, Bible study, worship, service, turning away from worldly pursuits and reaching out to God, being prepared to go beyond the ‘safe’ or ‘comfortable.’)

Being focussed on God means that we keep our eyes on the prize, knowing that the joy of seeing Jesus face to face and being commended by Him will be worth all the light and momentary troubles we experience now. It means seeking to develop new ministries and refusing to overvalue traditions, not wanting a superficial faith but a faith which is vibrant and living.

Services are at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. today as usual. Tonight’s family service is looking at the theme of ‘Transformation’, so come along ready to be changed!

Tomorrow (Monday 4th May) is the church day out to Bridlington. We will be leaving the church car park at 8.45 a.m., so make sure you set your alarm clocks and don’t be late! Please pray for fine weather so that we can enjoy a great day out and join in fun games on the beach. Don’t forget to bring your own towels, beach stuff and anything else you need. We will be returning from Bridlington at 5.30 p.m.

The Bible study is on Thursday (7th May) at 7.30 p.m., when we’ll be continuing our studies on 1 Corinthians 2.

Sunday 10th May is the 2nd Sunday in the month, so the morning service will be at Cherry Tree Court, starting at 10.30 a.m., with the evening service back at Market Street at 6 p.m.

Don’t forget also the special ‘Churches Together‘ meeting to celebrate Pentecost which will be held at our church on Saturday 16th May, starting at 7 p.m.

The Leprosy Mission is an international Christian development organisation that diagnoses, treats and offers specialist care, including reconstructive surgery, to leprosy patients. We may think that leprosy, so often featured in Biblical accounts, is no longer a concern nowadays, but the truth is that this mildly-infectious disease caused by a bacillus called Mycobacterium leprae – a relative of the TB bacillus – occurs where there is dirty water, bad nutrition and poor standards of living, meaning people’s immune systems are not strong and they are unable to fight the disease, withWorld Health Organisation figures revealing that there are around a quarter of a million new cases of leprosy diagnosed globally each year and there are more than three million people living with irreversible disabilities, including blindness, as a result of the late treatment of leprosy.

One way of raising money for the Leprosy Mission is through collecting stamps from letters received. Our church is happy to receive your stamps and we will post them on to the missionary society. Stamps on paper (eg still on the envelope) should have no more than 5mm of single thickness border around each edge. Self-adhesive stamps should be left on paper, as soaking them off damages the stamps.

Last year, the Leprosy Mission raised £127,341 from stamps! Further information can be found here.

Jesus said, ‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’ (John 13:35) He also said, ‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ (Acts 1:8) We need both love and power to show God to the world.

The prayer topic for May, the month when we celebrate Pentecost, is for God’s love and power to be seen in and through us. Let’s pray:

• for each of us to be filled with the Holy Spirit
• that we will use the gifts of the Holy Spirit to build up the church
• that there will be signs and wonders (Rom 15:19, 1 Cor 2:4)
• that we will be powerful witnesses to all God has done and is doing in and through us, understanding that the same power which raised Christ from the grave lives in us. (Eph 1:19-20)

This last verse seems to be featuring everywhere I look! A number of songs recently released focus our attention on this and it is important that we grasp something of the fact that this is God’s power, not ours. It is awesome and mighty, but even more amazing in some ways is the fact that He chooses to allow His power to rest on us, working through our mortal bodies, these ‘jars of clay.’ God’s grace and power are beyond understanding, but we are so grateful for all God does.

As we pray, let’s listen to these songs and understand afresh that ‘The same power that rolled the stone away’ is ‘alive in us today.’ (‘Shout Hosanna’, Kristian Stanfill). Jeremy Camp’s song ‘Same Power‘ says:

‘The same power that rose Jesus from the grave
The same power that commands the dead to wake
Lives in us, lives in us
The same power that moves mountains when He speaks
The same power that can calm a raging sea
Lives in us, lives in us
He lives in us, lives in us.’

Ben Cantelon’s song ‘The Same Power’ says ‘Mighty Saviour, lifted high, King forever, Jesus Christ, crowned in glory, raised to life: the same power lives in us.’ We need not fear, for it is Christ who lives through us!

Yesterday was the funeral of a member of our church, a lady who had known considerable suffering through both physical and mental illness in her life. At such times, it is easy to ask questions about suffering and to feel both helpless and powerless. Ever since Adam and Eve first disobeyed God’s command and ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, there has been toil and suffering and pain and sorrow mingled with the hope and joy which God brings. We look ahead to a time when there is no more suffering, pain, shame or trouble, but while we are on earth, it seems that suffering and glory are almost two sides of the same coin.

Paul reminded the Philippians that knowing the power of Christ’s resurrection went hand in hand with participating in His sufferings (see Phil 3:8-11.) We are keen to know the power and glory of God, but draw back from suffering. Nonetheless, God has chosen to reveal the treasure of His light and life in ‘jars of clay’ (see 2 Cor 4:6-7), and suffering is not to be seen as punishment from God or something that can always be avoided. In that same passage, Paul goes on to say that all we suffer now are as ‘light and momentary troubles’ compared to the ‘eternal glory that far outweighs them all.’ (2 Cor 4:16-18) We need this perspective when we suffer what can seem to us to be interminable problems, for God is shaping for us a glory that makes everything else pale into insignificance. Paul wrote ‘ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.‘ (Rom 8:18-19) Our hearts can’t quite fathom what this means, but we know what it is to wait in eager expectation!

One of my favourite places in the world is Evian-les-Bains on the banks of Lake Geneva. Home to the famous water, the views over the lake to nearby Switzerland are spectacular:

As befits a spa town, Evian is full of fountains, including those children regularly run through:

Ps 87:7 says ‘As they make music they will sing,“All my fountains are in you.”’ This forms the basis of the song ‘All My Fountains’ and is a vivid reminder that everything we need is found in Christ. The Evian fountains are enticing because they operate at different heights. Children enter in tentatively when the jets are small, only to be captured by them as they rise up. Watching them run through, dodging the water, embracing the water, is a parable of how life can be in Christ. Are we tentatively tip-toeing through the waters of life He provides, or are we gleefully being soaked by them, enjoying the warmth and the vibrancy that He brings?

Recently, both Sheffield and Barnsley introduced fountains into their town centres. Sheffield’s fountain by the railway station honours the city’s stainless steel heritage:

Barnsley’s fountain by the former Town Hall is very reminiscent of Evian, with changing colours lighting up the fountain at night:

Let’s embrace the living water that Jesus promised us (John 7:38) and find all we need in Him.