Not surprisingly since June is a month of celebration, our thoughts in prayer are turned towards growth and outreach and in particular we need to pray for the refurbishment plans. We are looking at writing a funding application for the refurbishment of the community rooms as part of our ongoing desire to serve our local community, reflecting our belief that as a church we are ‘with God in the community, with God for the community.’ Please pray that God will:

• enable us to know what to include in the application which will benefit our community the most
• help us to gain the practical information needed to write the application
• give us unity in considering all the ideas and suggestions made
• give us favour with funders and help us to receive the financial assistance required to carry out these ideas
• help us to rely on Him for all growth and development in the church
• use us to reach out to the whole community so that many will come to know Him
• give us spiritual discernment and wisdom in all we do

We are looking for all church members and all who use our building to give us their suggestions and ideas for refurbishment and during the Big Birthday Bash, we will be seeking to consult with the wider community about what is needed in Goldthorpe and how we can best be an effective and useful community building. Please take time during June to pray about these things, for we seek God’s mind in everything and we know that He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine! (Eph 3:20-21) He is able to plant dreams in people’s hearts and to bring to pass the desires and longings He has already planted. Whatever we do, we long to do with His strength and favour, and so the most important thing we can do by far is to pray.

Headline news – either in the newspaper or on the TV news – tends to be depressing. The main items of news often involve political problems, international disasters (either natural or man-made), national crises, weather crises or some other disaster that is rarely uplifting.

Psalm 145 is a psalm of praise. The Message version translates verse 6 as ‘Your marvellous doings are headline news.’ What a difference it makes if we stop to consider all God does and allow that to shape our understanding not only of the news but of the world. The psalm looks at who God is (‘great is the Lord and most worthy of praise’) and talks of His wonderful works. It reminds us of God’s character (‘gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love,’ a God who is good to all and whose actions are ‘suffused with grace.’) It reminds us of the trustworthiness of God and His righteousness and faithfulness. We belong to an everlasting kingdom which will not be toppled or brought down like so many of the world’s regimes, giving us another reason for confidence even in difficult times. God is near to all who call on Him in truth and fulfils the desires of those who fear Him. When we reflect on psalms like this, we gain a whole new understanding of the world and learn to see it through God’s eyes, rather than being filled with trepidation or fear.

Next month will see our church celebrate fifty years of owning buildings in Goldthorpe, for we moved into our own building on Beever Street in 1964  before moving to our present location on Market Street in 2010. Prior to that, the church met in rented accommodation (an ‘upper room’ on the main road in Goldthorpe.) Fifty years of God’s faithfulness to us to celebrate! Ps 145:4 says ‘Generation after generation stands in awe of your work;each one tells stories of your mighty acts.‘ This is the testimony of each generation of God’s people. We stand in awe of His work and tell others the stories of what He has done for us. Salvation is a personal story which we rejoice in sharing with others.

Next month we will be celebrating the church’s Jubilee through our ‘Big Birthday Bash’, a weekend of special meetings and activities held on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd June. Come along to take part in craft activities focussing on the names of God, have refreshments, look at photos of ‘Goldthorpe Then And Now’ and simply hear what God has been doing in our lives over these past fifty years. The Open Day will run from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on the Saturday and in the evening at 7 p.m. we will hold a special celebration meeting so that we can ‘tell stories of God’s mighty acts.’ On the Sunday, meetings will be at 10.30 a.m. when we celebrate not only our Jubilee, but the fact that God’s plan of salvation was made before the foundation of the world and we are invited to join in His great story and at 6 p.m. we will host a family service of celebration and thanksgiving. Do come along! These meetings may or may not make the local news, but we are convinced that God is working in our local community for His glory and that He still has many mighty acts for us to witness.

Dave spoke from Matt 21:23-32 last night, beginning by reminding us that parables are often misunderstood with too much focus on the form of the story, when what really matters is the underlying meaning the story illustrates. Jesus used everyday scenes – farmers sowing seed, a father with two sons, a lost coin – to gain his listeners’ attention, but the real message of the parable goes further than the action of the story would imply.

The scene here shows us people questioning the authority of Jesus and how Jesus uses this as the launch pad to discuss obedience and repentance. 1 John 1:8-9 makes it abundantly clear that no one is without sin (something the self-righteous Pharisees would have done well to consider) and shows us how to deal with sin – through confession and repentance. The theme of repentance runs throughout the New Testament. John the Baptist came preaching a baptism of repentance (Mk 1:4). Jesus Himself preached about repentance. (Matt 1:15) His disciples were sent out to preach the same message (Mk 6:12) and Peter’s famous sermon in Acts 2 after Pentecost spoke of the need to ‘repent and be baptised.’ Paul urged people everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30). Repentance is the gate by which we must enter the Christian life. All begin this way.

Just as problems with the birth process can have serious repercussions on a baby, so a failure to understand the true nature of repentance can cause problems for us as Christians. Repentance is vital and central to Christian health. Even in parables which focus on God’s love (as with the parable of the Prodigal Son), the son had to repent and return to his father before he could receive that love.

Repentance is more than being sorry or feeling sorry. It is not about carrying anguished guilt for ever. It involves a change of mind, a confession of wrong and a change of actions. The first step is to understand that the path on which we are travelling is the wrong path and will not lead to our desired destination. Then we have to admit that we are wrong and this can be very difficult. Even that is not the final stage, however, for we have to actually change our actions. In the parable, the first son initially refused to do what he was asked to do and the second son willingly agreed to do it. Nonetheless, the first son changed his mind and went on to actually obey, while the second son did not marry actions to words. Jesus reminded us that the work God requires is to the believe in the One He sent. (John 6:29) This is our goal – whether we come from a church background initially or not. After all, the Pharisees are probably the most religious people in hell; being ‘religious’ is not enough to save us. All of us, no matter what our backgrounds, enter the Christian life through repentance and each time we sin, we have to repent and turn away from that sin. Repentance is vital to our ongoing growth.

Dave spoke about a parable last night and reminded us that Jesus used everyday stories to gain the attention of his listeners; nowadays, he remarked, these are called ‘sermon illustrations’!

Funnily enough, I had been thinking of this since the morning sermon, because the previous day I had watched a 2012 Clint Eastwood film called ‘Trouble with the Curve’ which illustrated perfectly the issues concerning intimacy on which I had preached.

Clint Eastwood, doyen of Westerns, has matured into a thought-provoking director. I’ve loved most of his more recent films (‘Gran Turino’, a parable of meekness, and ‘Unforgiven’, for example, both of which illustrate Christian themes in beautifully written stories, the perfect example of tackling difficult issues obliquely in order to provoke contemplation and discussion.) The synopsis of the film (a sports drama about an ageing baseball scout and his daughter) did not sound overly promising, for I know nothing about baseball and care even less. However, on the basis of Clint Eastwood’s reputation and the strength of the rest of the cast (Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake and John Goodman), I was prepared to watch.

The film, ultimately, is not really about baseball. It’s not really about how to spot talent or about the game, though you undoubtedly learn about baseball from it! It’s actually about the difficult and complicated relationship between the main character, Gus, and his daughter, Mickey (named after his favourite baseball player) and about how this grizzly old man has always had difficulty with intimacy. Following the death of his wife when Mickey was just six, Gus has not been able to cope with his own loss, nor with the responsibility of bringing his daughter up; he has never been able to talk about his feelings, and his actions, meant for good, have nonetheless led to her growing alienation and yet also to her desperation to please him. The tensions of this relationship, how this has meant Mickey is reluctant to enter into other relationships because she fears similar rejection from others, and how old age and illness (prostate problems and macular degeneration are issues here) finally bring the two together for long enough to talk form the real focus of the film. Clint Eastwood plays the character of a grumpy old man with such skill you wonder how much is acting and how much is his own personality, always the reflection of a skilled actor! The difficulties of real relationships are interwoven throughout the action of the film in such a way that anyone who has ever struggled to communicate honestly in a relationship can identify with the characters. The film is perhaps predictable, but there is an underlying sense of honesty about the difficulties of intimacy which resonates, and as with all parables, it is the real theme which lingers. I have already forgotten most of the baseball facts in the film; I will not easily forget the astonishment when Gus realises that his daughter has completely misinterpreted his motives and feels rejected as a result.

If intimacy is a God-given longing within our hearts, why, then, do we find it so difficult to be open and vulnerable in our relationships with others and honest and real in our relationship with God? Many of us find it difficult to let go of our inhibitions and dance unashamedly before the Lord as David did (2 Sam 6:14) or to pour out perfume as the woman who anointed Jesus in Luke 7 did.

There are several barriers to intimacy which we must overcome if we are to grow spiritually and choose the ‘one thing needed’ as Mary did.

1. We need to understand the depths of sin and learn to understand our own sinful hearts. Jer 17:9 gives us a clue to the deceitfulness of sin. Paul’s struggles in Rom 7:21-24 also catalogue how we can sometimes end up frustrated and doing the very things we despise. We need God’s help to understand even our own hearts (before ever we can fathom anyone else’s!) and need to pray Ps 139:23-24 frequently so that we are not deceived by sin.

2. All relationships require time and effort and we are often prone to laziness, a lack of spiritual determination to pursue what is good. When we are first courting, we love spending time with our beloved, rearranging our schedules, longing simply to be with them. Often, as relationships progress, our own effort and investment in them declines. We take each other for granted. All relationships, whether friendships or family ties or marriage, depend on time and effort to flourish, and neglect can easily cause those relationships to wither and even die. Song of Songs 5:3 shows us how we can find it too wearying to keep on investing in relationships, but if we are convinced that love is what matters the most, we need to keep on putting relationships as our first priority – above work, above recreation, above everything else which so easily claims our attention. Matt 6:21 reminds us that where our treasure is, there our hearts will also be. End-of-life regrets usually focus on neglect and omission. Let’s understand the importance and primacy of all relationships, and especially our relationship with God.

3. A third barrier to intimacy are the scars we carry as the result of the Fall. Problems arise ‘from deeply embedded neurotic responses that inhibit or prevent open relationships.’ (‘Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work’ P 54) These can be part of our personalities, which all suffer because of Adam’s sin, or can result from being hurt by other people. We find it difficult to trust, to hope, to persist because we feel let down by people and the more we have been hurt, the harder it is to open ourselves again to the possibility of further hurt. We build defence mechanisms that keep people at arm’s length so that we cannot be hurt again. Often, these defence mechanisms are like the walls of a fort or castle. They keep people out effectively, but whilst that prevents us from further hurt, inside, we starve for affection and companionship. In mediaeval times, armies would fortify and garrison the castle to protect it, but quite often, those inside the castle could be starved out in a siege.

That’s what happens to us when we build effective defence mechanisms which leave us protected but starving for meaningful human contact. Loneliness creeps up on us and our souls are starved of the love and companionship which God has made us for, leaving us to wither and die emotionally, however well we may be physically.

The antidotes to loneliness and arm’s-length relationships are openness, vulnerability and love. Instead of running away from intimacy as so many of us do (often using distraction as the means of covering up the hollowness we feel within), we need to draw need to God, sure that He will never reject us or cast us out. (Heb 4:16) It doesn’t matter how bad we have been, what sins we have committed, how much our hearts condemn us (‘God is greater than our hearts’ 1 John 3:20), how much Satan tempts us to despair: not because these things are not true, but because Jesus has died as a ransom to set us free from all these sins.

The truth of the gospel is that all that was destroyed and ravaged by the Fall can be restored by the Cross and we can choose the better thing which will not be taken from us, as Mary did. We can be set free from condemnation; we can be ‘blameless now.’ (‘Boldly I Approach (The Art of Celebration)’, Rend Collective.) We can be welcomed as God’s own, welcomed into the arms of majesty, welcomed into the courts of the King. (‘Facedown’, Matt Redman) We can know that we will never be driven out from God’s presence: Jesus said ‘whoever comes to me I will never drive away.’ (John 6:37) This assurance means that we are free to love and to be loved in exactly the ways our hearts yearn for and we will find the joy and fulfilment we were created for.

This morning’s sermon looked at Luke 10:38-42, the famous passage where Jesus is visiting Martha and Mary. Far from being simply a commentary on two different personality types (Martha, the type A personality driven to activity; Mary, the more contemplative dreamer and visionary), this passage talks about the priorities we must have, with Jesus unequivocally endorsing Mary’s choices: ‘only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’ (Luke 10:42)

Clearly, faith and works need to go hand in hand (James 2:26, 1 John 3:18), but we are wrong if we suppose contemplation and adoration exclude action: ‘a contemplative life is not an alternative to the active life, but its root and foundation.’ (Eugene Peterson, ‘Under the Unpredictable Plant; P 114) Activity needs to be grown from adoration. Mary’s better choice was to spend time with Jesus and to sit at His feet, learning from Him. She craved intimacy with Him more than anything else.

Intimacy (a close fellowship or friendship or familiarity with someone, ‘closeness, togetherness, affinity, rapport, attachment, close friendship, companionship, mutual affection and warmth’) is much misunderstood nowadays, often being taken simply to mean a sexual relationship. Marriage, God’s ideal for sexual relationship, is also, however, a pointer to God’s relationship with His church. (Eph 5:31-32) Intimacy is the yearning in our hearts to know and to be known and this can only be fulfilled by God. In the beginning, everything God created was good and the relationship between man and God knew no barriers, an intimacy symbolised by nakedness. (Gen 2:25) When sin entered the world, that intimacy was lost and nakedness became something to be feared. (Gen 2, 27, 3:10) We long to be known and loved and accepted by other people for who we are, but we are afraid that if people really knew us, if people really knew our innermost thoughts and feelings and saw us in our nakedness, they would no longer want to know us or love us.

Thanks to God’s redeeming love, however, the barriers posed by sin can be removed and we can stand before the throne of God above with no fear or shame, covered in Christ’s perfect, spotless righteousness. Christ ‘died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.’ (Heb 9:15)  Knowing we are set free from condemnation (Rom 8:1-4) transforms the way we live on earth and allows us to open ourselves to intimacy. Lavish, undignified worship and adoration will always offend some (think of Simon the Leper in Luke 7:36-50 or Michal, David’s wife, in 2 Sam 6:16), but will always be commended by God. One of the words commonly used for worship in the New Testament is proskuneo. It literally means ‘to come towards to kiss’ and had a secondary meaning of ‘like a dog licking its master’s hand.’ Kissing is one of the greatest symbols of intimacy we have. Our response to God’s great revelation of divine love surely has to be the same as Mary’s, the same as David’s, the same as John’s when he received that great revelation of the risen, conquering Son. We worship. We adore. We kiss the Son.