I always find it interesting when God starts speaking on the same topic through a variety of people. My interest and attention are aroused when I hear similar themes coming from different sources.

I wasn’t in Goldthorpe to hear Mark’s sermon on angels yesterday, but I’ve been thinking about them a fair bit lately (you’ll have to wait for my sermon on Sunday night to find out more about that!), so it piqued my interest to hear what he had to say on that topic.

Then today I heard that Chris Tomlin is releasing his new single called ‘Whom Shall I Fear?’ and listened to him describing the origins of the song (based on 2 Kings 6, again a passage we’ll look at in more detail on Sunday, though if you’re interested, you can read it ahead of time!) The subtitle of the song is ‘God of angel armies’.

So, on that basis, let’s remember that the ‘God of angel armies is always by my side’and rejoice that nothing formed against us can stand; no weapon forged against us will prevail (Is 54:17)

You hear me when I call
You are my morning song
Though darkness fills the night
It cannot hide the light
Whom shall I fear?

And nothing formed against me shall stand
You hold the whole world in Your hands
I’m holding on to Your promises
You are faithful
You are faithful (Chris Tomlin, ‘Whom Shall I Fear?’)

You can listen to the song live here:
‘Whom Shall I Fear?’, Chris Tomlin

Continuing his series on what it looks like to be God’s heroes, Garry spoke from Matthew 5:1-12 last night, focussing on verse 4 (“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”)

Mourning signifies loss and is most often associated with death. In our modern society, with technological and medical advances, we have often been lulled into a sense of false security regarding the fragility and frailty of life. In mediaeval times, people lived with a daily awareness of death; nowadays, death often comes as a shocking surprise. We can react to loss and grief in different ways, trying to deaden the pain or become impervious to loss. That kind of British stoicism is not God’s answer, however. He wants us to engage with Him in our grief, which cannot be avoided.

We mourn not only death, but the loss of perfection, the loss of Eden. We crave the new world where there are ‘no more tears or broken dreams’ and ‘everything as it was meant to be’ (Matt Redman, ‘Endless Hallelujah’). We mourn for the lost relationship with God, for the loss of innocence, for the brokenness of our everyday, fallen world (as Phil Wickham writes about in the song ‘Eden’.)

We need to understand that mourning is not something that can be avoided. Jesus Himself wept over Jerusalem and at the grave of Lazarus. Creation itself groans at the pain of sin (see Romans 8). But there is comfort to be found in our mourning, comfort from God which can then enable us to ‘mourn with those who mourn’ and ‘comfort those who mourn’ (Is 61:1-2) God’s comfort is such that it becomes the springboard to our helping others (2 Cor 1:3-4).

We do not live in a permanent state of sorrow. God’s comfort brings joy and hope. There is a time for everything, as Ecclesiastes 3 points out. As we receive God’s comfort, our lament is turned into dancing (Ps 30:10-11) and we are filled with joy. God pours in comfort and our task then is to spread His comfort and joy to all around us.

Igor has been venturing forth again, this time accompanying me to an Oxford reunion:

Here he is, outside Keble College:

Then he went to investigate the chapel steps:

He felt at home in the gardens with the water features:

Then he decided it was time to investigate inside the college rooms:

And he likes being at windows very much:

Sadly, however, he was not allowed in at any of the official functions over the weekend, and therefore missed hearing about real iguanas in Ecuador from Steve Davies (the missionary who visited church in March and who witnessed many iguanas wandering around the compound where he worked, not to mention falling from the ceiling of a school staffroom when the plyboard gave way…)

On the subject of missionaries, Steve and Katuska would appreciate prayer for their situation as they wait for sufficient funding to be allowed to go to Mozambique. Waiting for God’s provision and timing can be difficult and it can be hard to know what to do in these waiting periods. As we experienced first-hand when purchasing St Mark’s, the journey of faith is rarely a smooth, straight road, but we hold on to God’s faithfulness at all times. Your ongoing prayer support is much appreciated.

Inspired by the thought of entertaining angels unawares (see Hebrews 13 and Thursday’s Bible study), Mark looked at the subject of angels this morning.

What perception do we have of angels? Do we think of them as ‘fluffy’ (beautiful, bright, windged, bright, gentle) or do we think of them as ‘fearsome’ (strong, raging, battlers, scary)? Angels have been depicted in art over the ages in all kinds of ways:

An angel is mentioned in Genesis 3:24 as guarding the Garden of Eden and wielding a sword of fire. Other angels (eg in Exodus 23:20-23) are described as a guide or leader into battle, one who destroyed God’s enemies. They are terrifying creatures!

Matthew 18:10 talks about children having their own angels. Angels have a job to protect, to inform (think of the angels announcing the imminent birth of Jesus to Mary and Joseph), and to do God’s will. They are awe-inspiring messengers of God with His authority to do what they are sent to do. They have the authority to lead and guard and defend (see Ps 34:7 ‘The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him and delivers them.’)

Psalm 91 reminds us of the character and names of God (‘The Most High’, ‘Almighty’, ‘the Lord’.) God Almighty is both Elyon and Shaddai; He is powerful and our protector and He has set His love on us, which includes giving angels care over us. Whatever we do, wherever we go, however scared we may feel at times, we must never forget that God and His legions of angels protect us because of His great love for us!

On Tuesday 25th September Michael Card will be in concert at Full Life Church in Maltby, near Rotherham. The concert (part of his ‘The Beginning of the Gospel’ UK tour, with excerpts from his new album based on the Gospel of Mark) starts at 7.30 p.m. and tickets cost £10. They are available from the church (Michael Card tickets or call 01709 818213).

Michael Card’s career spans 30 years, selling over 4 million albums. In addition to receiving awards for his songs, he is also an award winning author, co-author and a Bible teacher. His songs include the well known “El Shaddai”, “Love Crucified Arose” and “Emmanuel”. More information can be found at www.michaelcard.com.

After the summer break, we resumed Bible studies tonight, with Mark choosing to go over James 2:1-13 again.

In the film ‘Batman Begins’, Rachel Dawes tells Bruce Wayne, “It’s not who you are underneath; it’s what you do that defines you.” Such a view is not Biblical. Who you are will always determine what you do and even though James is one of the most practical of the New Testament letters, there is a clear correlation between what you believe and how you act. In these opening verses, James clearly reveals how wrong attitudes will lead to discrimination, partiality or favouritism and condemns such attitudes and actions.

It is dangerous to judge by appearances and to look only on the outward; wealth is deceptive and it is all too easy to fall under its seductive spell. James reminds us that judging others is not our business (see James 4:11-12, also Matthew 7:1-7). There is only one Judge and Law-Giver, and we need to be careful to treat people equally, without partiality or favouritism. If nothing else, Hebrews reminds us that we might be entertaining angels unawares! Tramps, drunks, those who don’t fit our ‘respectable’ moulds are still people for whom Christ died and we need to offer them the same love and respect that we would show to the wealthy. If we don’t, we are hypocrites who are undermining God’s law.

It’s so much easier to see the speck in our brother’s eye than the plank in our own. We sing about this in a Doug Horley children’s song, but these truths are not just for children! We need to let the word of God penetrate our hearts and challenge our behaviour. Jesus reached out to the lepers, the ‘untouchables’ of society. He was welcomed by sinners, but the religious leaders of the day were scandalised by His willingness to keep the company of sinners. Untainted by sin, Jesus showed compassion and gave forgiveness to all. That is the standard we live by.