There were 19 exhibitors at this year’s Dearne Community Arts’ Festival, with a wide range of creativity on show from art to photography, knitted items to wax melts, creative writing to items for the home and much more. We are grateful to all these local residents whose talent is simply amazing.

As always, the Dearne Community Arts’ Festival, an annual event championing creativity and celebrating community, was a fantastic family day out on Saturday 24 September. Since its inception in 2017, the festival has gone from strength to strength, wtih exhibitions, workshops, demonstrations and performances on stage providing a place for local residents to showcase their creative talents and for people of all ages to come together and have a go at different art forms.

Vincent the Sun Bear (the mascot for the festival) and a balloon arch were the first signs of creativity at the festival;

Inside on the High Street, there were lots of different activities to watch or have a go at, including 3D printing, glass painting, face painting, mosaic postcards, paper engineering and hot wax painting. It’s great to be able to try something new and be creative.

We often think that life would be easier if we had no problems to face. The church in Laodicea bluntly contradicts this view. Of the seven churches to whom John wrote in Revelation 2 and 3, Laodicea is the only church not facing persecution or problems. The city was wealthy and there was much prosperity there at this time, but the fact remains that Jesus’s harshest words were reserved for this congregation, because they had succumbed to the lie that life consisted of an abundance of possessions and that spiritual zeal was just too much trouble.

Troubles and persecution can drive us into the arms of God; we wrestle, we plead, we seek His face for answers and help and find, as the psalmist did, that He is an ‘ever-present help in trouble.’ (Ps 46:1) Prosperity tends to keep us away from God. We become anaesthetised by our affluence (as Eugene Peterson put it) and lose any sense of God (or need of Him.) In his book ‘This Hallelujah Banquet’, he goes on to say, ‘Lukewarmness is the special fault of the successful. Those who have achieved or inherited are particularly prone to it. It is a basic threat to our church and our Christian faith in these times.’

Paul warned the Corinthians against complacency: ‘So if you think you’re standing firm, be careful you don’t fall!’ (1 Cor 10:12) The Laodiceans were oblivious to their true spiritual state. (Rev 3:15-16) May we understand the temptations associated with prosperity and live on earth so as to be laying up treasures in heaven. Paul said to Timothy, ‘Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. ¹⁸ Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. ¹⁹ In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.’ (1 Tim 6:17-19) Such advice guards us against the dangers of prosperity and keeps us tethered to God.

Some problems are instantly obvious. A smashed-up car, a vandalised park item, a wall that has been knocked down… it’s easy to see these problems. Similarly, some health issues are instantly obvious; the pot on the arm is a clue to the injury that has been done! But other problems are not as obvious or visible, and therefore can go undetected for a long time.

Laodicea was a church with a great big problem, but the fact is, this was not visible to many people. They lived in a prosperous city famous for banking, fashion and medicine and thought of themselves as rich and not needing anything. They were self-sufficient and proud of it, a paragon of virtue in the eyes of the world and in their own eyes. Their complacency led to huge spiritual problems, however, for it meant they were neither hot nor cold; Jesus described them as lukewarm and said he would spit them out of his mouth unless they changed. (Rev 3:15-16)

Sometimes, our biggest problems are unseen by us and other people. If we try to live life on our own, forgetting what God has done for us, we are in big trouble. The answer to such problems is to face up to the assessment of the ‘Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.’ (Rev 3:14) It is to repent and open the door of our hearts to let Jesus in again. We have to understand that there is so much more to life than material things and that the biggest problems occur when we sever ourselves from the spiritual lifeline we have to God. Thankfully, those whom Jesus loves, He disciplines. (Heb 12:5-11) If we have ears to hear what He has to say, we will get the big problems sorted!