This morning we looked at the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3), one of the most memorable miracles in the Old Testament. We saw, however, that it was the ‘even if…’ faith of these men which opened the door to the miraculous. Their ordinary stand for God, refusing to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue, took courage and faith. They were secure in their knowledge of who God was and believed that He was not only able to deliver them but that He would do so, yet they also faced the consequences of what would happen if He did not do so and still refused to compromise.

Civil disobedience is sometimes necessary (Acts 5:29), and these three men were unwavering in their commitment to God. They had counted the cost (see Luke 14:28033, Mark 8:34-38) and rightly feared God more than Nebuchadnezzar (see Luke 12:4-5). They had set their minds and affection upon the one true God, and no matter what their natural eyes might tell them or what others said or if the worst thing actually happened, they were prepared to die for their principles rather than compromise their beliefs.

Miracles come when people declare this kind of faith in God. Miracles come when our own wellbeing no longer has priority in our thinking, when we long to honour God in everything we do and say. Miracles come when we are prepared to lay down our lives for a higher cause, when God is so important to us that even if what we long for does not happen, we will still choose to trust Him and believe in His goodness. God literally stepped into the furnace with them and protected them so that their clothes were not scorched and they did not even smell of fire. (Daniel 3:27) We can be confident in the God we serve and can, like these men, honour God by our ‘even if…’ faith and our determination to praise Him, no matter what.

We are busy preparing for activities over the next two months; here are some dates for the diary…

November

• Wednesday 2nd November is the last day to bring in items for the Operation Christmas Child Christmas appeal (sending presents to children abroad.)

• Saturday 5th November (10 a.m. – 12 p.m.) is our ‘Take Back The Streets’ prayer meeting and coffee morning. Join us to pray and walk or stay in the building for a cuppa and a chat!
• Sunday 13th November we hope to have Fredrick and Reeba from India visiting and have guest speaker Joy Gascoigne with us in the evening  (6 p.m.)
• Wednesday 16th November (2 p.m.) is the ‘Churches Together’ prayer meeting at Furlong Road Methodist Church in Bolton-on-Dearne

December

In addition to our usual services, we are involved in some extra Christmas activities:

• ‘Christmas @ The Embankment’ on Sunday 11th December (1-3 p.m.) with Christmas crafts and carol-singing at Goldthorpe Railway Embankment
• 4FrontTheatre will be in Goldthorpe with their new Christmas pantomime ‘Jilly Rogers’ Christmas Adventure’, sponsored by Dearne Churches Together. They will be performing for pupils at Lacewood Primary School in the morning and for pupils of Sacred Heart Primary School in the afternoon, with a community performance at GPCC in the evening at 6 p.m. This performance is already fully booked!
• Our Parent & Toddler group will have 2 Christmas parties on Wednesday 14th & Friday 16th December. Raffle prizes are needed for these to help fund the parties and purchase of Christmas presents for our toddlers.
• Our carol service will be on Sunday 18th December at 6 p.m., featuring traditional carols and more modern songs from the ‘Boogie-Woogie Nativity’ by NIki Davies

• On Christmas Day, we will have a morning service at 10.30 a.m. but no evening service.

We had a wonderful day on Wednesday at the ‘Churches Together’ family fun day, celebrating the theme ‘Amazing Me, Amazing You!’ and looking at how we are fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image.

We had gingerbread men to decorate:

We decorated wooden peg people:

We looked at handprints and fingerprints:

We decorated paper people, using materials to clothe them:

There was also scratch art and bookmarks to make:

All in all, it was a great day, with over 100 people present. Our thanks to Alison’s team from the Salvation Army who fed us so well and to all the church volunteers who made this such a fun day – and to all who came along!

At this time of year, many of us are thinking about what gifts we can give to our family and friends to celebrate Christmas. I usually enjoy buying Christmas presents, but it can be difficult if someone doesn’t seem to particularly want anything or when finances don’t permit many things to be bought or if the gift someone really wants is just beyond us.

This time of year always prompts me to reflect on value. What makes an item of jewellery or clothing ‘worth’ a certain amount? Who decides what the latest ‘must-have’ item is and how much it should cost? Value seems to be in the eye of the beholder even more than beauty; what one person considers reasonable and proportionate seems extortionate to someone else!

I then inevitably move on to consider all the gifts which are (to me, at least) immensely valuable, but which money can never buy. These include health, happiness, peace, acceptance, harmony and contentment.

The older I get, the more I value contentment as the most precious gift. Contentment includes both happiness and satisfaction, and as such seems to me to be valuable beyond money.

So many of our problems in life seem to be bound up with dissatisfaction. We see this manifested in ingratitude on a daily basis; no matter what gift you give to some people, they are dismissive of it. There’s always a better item out there which would lead to that elusive happiness. Even the rich are not necessarily content. Dissatisfaction is a poisoned chalice, often filled with resentment and entitlement that sour our lives unpleasantly.

Contentment, on the other hand, oozes gratitude, thankfulness and peace, and as such seems to me to be a precious gift.

Contentment is seen in the little things in life: the well-fed baby nestled in its mother’s arms, sleeping without a care in the world. Contentment is seen in the child happily taking apart a cardboard box and playing with it for hours. Contentment is seen when we realise we are blessed by God, that His undeserved favour is ours and that He will meet all our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

I wish I could wrap contentment in a shiny box, adorned with a sparkly bow, and give it to all those I care about as my Christmas present to them. But contentment is not mine to give, alas. I can only pray that God will open people’s hearts to receive this gift which He freely gives and enables all to see its value and embrace the satisfaction He provides, which money can’t buy.