This morning, Julie started a new series entitled ‘Everyday Church’, looking today at the fundamental fact that ‘God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.‘ (1 Cor 12:18) Many of the New Testament letters were written to churches in named locations (Ephesus, Thessalonica, Corinth, Philippi and Rome, with John also writing to churches in Epehsus, Sardia, Laodicea, Pergamum, Smyrna, Sardis and Philadelphia.) Whilst we need to avoid being parochial or insular in our attitudes, understanding that God is immeasurably more than we can imagine and His church is worldwide, we also need to appreciate that ‘church is an appointed gathering of named people in particular places who practise a life of resurrection.’ (Eugene Peterson, ‘Practise Resurrection’, P 12) We cannot avoid the fact that we are based in Goldthorpe: this is our ‘named location’ and the place where God has put us.

Some of us were born locally and are content with where we are; others have moved here for a variety of reasons; others still may feel restless and resentful of where they are. We can be like Jonah, who was called by God to go to Nineveh but who preferred to flee to Tarshish! The grass can always look greener on the other side and we feel where we are is boring, unexciting or even missing out on God. Part of being everyday church is a conviction that this is the place to which God has called us – even if we don’t understand why or even particularly like that fact! – and that He, through us, can make a difference to the place. Everyday church means having ‘a particularizing love for local things, rising out of local knowledge and local allegiance.’ (Wendell Berry, ‘Home Economics’, P 144). It means being convinced not only that this is the place to which God called us but this is the place in which God is also still at work. He goes before us, preparing the way, preparing hearts, working in situations to bring people to a knowledge of Him.

Barnsley M.B.C is currently running a project called ‘Love Where You Live’, seeking to promote volunteering in our local communities.

We need to embrace that philosophy, loving where we live and where we worship, because God is here. We must develop ‘a reverence for what is actually there instead of a contempt for what is not.’ (Eugene Peterson, ‘Under the Unpredictable Plant’, P 133) Ps 145 helps us to do this by reflecting on who God is and what He has done. Everyday church will involve everyday worship (Ps 145:1-2) and everyday witness (Ps 145:4) We are eager to invite others to ‘come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for all mankind!’ (Ps 66:5) We are convinced that God has made us Goldthorpe Pentecostal Community Church – because we are located in Goldthorpe, because God’s Spirit is working in and through us, because we are reaching out to our community and because we are a called-out people.  We believe God has good plans for us and for our community (Jer 29:11) and that He wants us to be a ‘Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings’, so that this place where we live, this community where we worship, can be transformed into a ‘well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.’  (Is 58:11-12)

As we meditate on all God does for us and on all that He is, as we witness to all He is and all He has done, as we celebrate God’s mighty works on our behalf in time and in this location, then we can be everyday church in our community, in the location where God has placed us, and others can and will come and see what God has done, for ‘there is no ideal place for us to serve God except the place He set us down.’ (Charles Spurgeon)

At yesterday’s Parent & Toddler group, we had a visit from former members of the church who have moved away from the area:

It’s always good to catch up on news, see how children have grown and to realise that members of God’s family belong to each other even when separated by distance.

Most of us have heard of the children’s TV character Bob the Builder:

Garry spoke last night, however, on God the builder:

As we celebrate 50 years of this church having its own building and have looked at how the church has grown, developed and changed over the years, we are reminded of Hebrews 11:8-10, and the fact that there is a constant need for growth in building. Abraham lived in tents and was always journeying on in faith, looking forward to the city with foundations whose architect and builder was God.

God builds with individuals, for Jesus said He would build His church (Matt 16:18) and He does this with people: His legacy was the disciples He left behind, not a marvellous architectural construction! We are the living stones who are being built into a spiritual house (1 Pet 2:4-5) and we are all broken stones initially. Sin has marred us all in some way, but God does not simply patch us up; He transforms us into reconstructed stones. However. we also have a corporate responsibility for each other. Rom 15:1-7 reminds us of the need to bear with each other, to accept each other and to endure with each other. We are urged to be eager for spiritual gifts which will build up the church (1 Cor 14:12) and 1 Cor 12:7-11 reminds us that these gifts are for the common good of the church collective, not for personal glorification.

Eph 4:16 (a key verse in our studies this year) reminds us that the whole body grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work. All are needed and vital, placed in this church by God to serve His purposes in our generation. God’s desire is for growth and for fruitfulness; there is always more to possess. God uses other people to promote growth, for people are God’s building. (1 Cor 3:9) God has done much with our church already and is still at work with us. As long as Jesus remains the cornerstone (Matt 21:42), we can be sure that the building which is grown by Him will be sound, for in Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple to the Lord. (Eph 2:21) Just as we have seen how God has worked in and through the church over the past fifty years, we can be sure that He will be faithful to help us to continue to grow, with God the Builder at the centre.

We also had two birthdays to celebrate:

Frank from Ward Green Baptist Church, visiting us for the birthday celebrations, got his own birthday celebration!

At last night’s evening celebration, we had a quiz about the names of God which we had to guess from pictures.

The answers?

1. Yahweh (Genesis 2:4)
2. Bread of Life (John 6:35)
3. King of Kings (1 Timothy 6:15)
4. El Shaddai     (God Almighty) (Genesis 17:1)
5. Immanuel (God with us) (Matthew 1:23)
6. Spring of Living Water (Jeremiah 2:13)
7. God our Provider  (Genesis 22:13-14)
8. The Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25)
9. Alpha & Omega (Revelation 22:13)
10. Healer (Exodus 15:16)
11. Everlasting/ Eternal Father (Isaiah 9:6)
12. Son of Man (Matt 8:20)
13. Root of David (Rev 22:16)
14. Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)
15. Holy One (Acts 2:27)

The photo competition winner was drawn during the evening celebration, but Mick was not present at that meeting. He comes regularly to the coffee mornings and kindly gave us two photos for the display, so he was keen to take part in the competition. All throughout the day, he kept telling us that he would be the winner, but since the winner would be drawn at random from all who had got all the answers right, we did not really believe him! This morning, he was so confident that he would win that he came in to church to collect his prize!