At last night’s service, we also took time to remember those affected by the M62 crash on Friday. A group of women from local villages South Elmsall, South Kirkby and Upton were involved in an accident on the motorway on the way to a hen party on Friday night. One of these (Bethany Jones) was killed and a number were badly injured, including the bride-to-be.

As several of our members live in that locality, we joined with the dozens of people who gathered in the centre of South Elmsall to remember Miss Jones and all those who were injured and lit a candle as we prayed for God to work in this desperately sad situation:

We pray God’s comfort, strength and healing on all involved in this accident and were pleased to support the fund-raising for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance which provides a life saving rapid response emergency service to 5 million people across Yorkshire and which were involved in helping those involved in this accident.

Children’s songs are a regular feature of Sunday evening services at our church. Apart from the fact that they usually communicate great truths in a very simple form, they are a way for children to ‘let off steam’ and help them to feel part of our services.

Last night we sang a couple of golden oldies: ‘This Little Light of Mine’ and ‘The Love of Jesus’. And this little girl had great fun joining in with the actions:

‘It’s so high, you can’t get over it!’

‘So wide, you can’t round it!’

Her enthusiasm was infectious and made me ponder again what Jesus said about the greatest in the kingdom of heaven:

‘At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.’ (Matt 18:1-5)

For me, what a little child teaches is how to express emotion with no inhibitions, how to receive each day as a gift, how to immerse oneself in the now with no thought for the past or the future, how to receive with gratitude and how to embrace life with fervour and passion.

Stephen spoke from Matthew 6:19-21 last night, looking at ‘God stuff’ and ‘ordinary stuff’ and how our preoccupation with the latter often crowds out room for the former.

Gillette (famous for making razors) used to run an advertising campaign with the slogan ‘the best a man can get‘:

The razor for women (temptingly named Venus) was said to:

The fact remains that if we want God’s best for our lives, we have to heed Jesus’s warnings about the dangers of worry and becoming too attached to material possessions. We can easily become more attached to the ‘stuff’ of this world than to God. Possessions take over our lives and our thinking and we become anxious lest we lose them. If the material increases significantly, there is limited space for the things of God. Jesus calls us to value spiritual stuff more than material stuff We cannot serve both God and money (Matt 6:24) but need to bring all our worries to God. Worry takes over what should be God-space (see Matt 6:25-26) and the antidote to worry is given in Matt 6:33-34 where we are told ‘seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well’.

God is the best we can ever have. We have a ‘God-shaped hole’ within us that cannot be filled by material possessions and we need to understand that what we own does not define who we are as people. The definition of our lives needs to come from God, who is generous and gives freely to all. The ‘stuff’ He gives us should be more than simply a blessing to us; it should become the means by which we can bless others. Where are our treasures? What are our treasures? Are we worrying about material stuff or is it in God’s hands?

This week’s ‘Doctor Who’ episode was entitled ‘Journey to the centre of the Tardis’. The Tardis, Dr Who’s time machine, is deceptively large. It looks like a police telephone box from the outside, but inside is ‘infinite.’ In the same way, God is so much bigger than anything we can imagine and He does not want to be restricted to some tiny corner of our lives, squeezed out by material things which are only of limited, temporary value and by anxieties and worries which again are time-restricted. He is the infinite One who wants to be the centre of our lives. When we love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, we find the God-space in our lives growing and can use any material blessings He gives us to bless others and to live in freedom from the love of money. God Himself is revealed in us and we experience the best any person can get!

A testimony is a powerful thing. When we face the crossroads and have to move out of our comfort zone, sometimes we are, frankly, scared. That fear often holds us back and causes us to retreat. There are always so many reasons why we should not step out in faith and usually only the gut-wrenching feeling from God that this time we ought to do something differently that prompts us to go ahead.

If you have time, I would encourage you to listen to Mark Hall’s testimony on the videos below (quite long, but if you have ever wrestled with God or doubted yourself, it will do you good.) Mark Hall is the lead singer for the Christian group ‘Casting Crowns’, which has won so many awards you can barely count them. Every journey has to start somewhere, though, and when we’re at the crossroads, it helps us sometimes to realise that the doubts and fears we have have been experienced – and overcome – by others.

Mark Hall, testimony 1
Mark Hall, testimony 2

“Oh, what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I’m in
Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
To the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He’s holding out his hand.

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.” (‘Voice of Truth’, Casting Crowns)
‘Voice of Truth’, Casting Crowns

Here are some notices for the month of May:

On Friday 3rd May at 6.30 p.m. at the Salvation Army church, there will be a concert in aid of HopeHIV, a charity which works with children affected by HIV. There will be an opportunity to hear about the charity’s work as well as singing contributions from the Goldthorpe Gospel Community Choir and the Sacred Heart School Choir. Tickets cost £2.50 or £5.00 for a family ticket. For further details, contact Adrian Lee on 01709 895018.

Throughout May, the prayer topic for our church will be the outreaches the church is involved in. These are:
• Monday night youth club
• Friday Mums & Toddlers Group
• Friday Badminton
• Saturday Coffee Morning
• Sunday night Sunday school
• All our church meetings

In addition, the building is hired by a number of other community groups.

Pray that God will:
• bless all our outreaches
• send His Holy Spirit into each outreach to keep the peace
• give wisdom and understanding to those who run these outreaches and help at them
• put His protection on all the people who run and attend these groups
• give us opportunities to plant seeds in people’s live and show God’s love to them
• let us see people from these outreaches into the church
• let us see people being saved
• lead us in ways that will improve our relationships with the people in the community
• help us to be good ambassadors for God in all that we do

If you would like to know more about any of these outreaches or be involved with helping with them, speak to any of the church leaders for more details. Paul told the Corinthians: “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” (1 Cor 9:19-23)

Mark spoke this morning from Jeremiah 6:16 on the ‘Dream Cross Code.’ Most of us remember the ‘Green Cross Code’ from our childhoods:

This taught us basic road safety:
1) Find a safe place to cross the road.
2) Stop just before you get to the kerb.
3) Look all around for traffic and listen. Look right, look left, look right again.
4) If traffic is coming, let it pass.
5) When it is safe, go straight across the road – looking and listening all the time.

Jeremiah 6:16 tells us, “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” This is the ‘Dream Cross Code’ we are to follow to find God’s plan for our lives when we are at a crossroads:

When we are at a crossroads, there are a number of options facing us. We can carry on regardless, choosing the obvious option first. Or we can take a wild guess and go in whatever direction seems best! We can listen to the Sat-Nav (or Sat-Nag, as Mark termed it!), which does not always result in success.

In life, we can carry on with our lives, or we can try the ‘pot luck’ method of spiritual direction, deciding what to do on whims or fancies. Sometimes we ask for directions from everyone but God. Sometimes we panic when faced with new directions and want to go back the way we have come, because that represents safety to us. What we should do when we are faced with crossroads is:

1) Stop
2) Look
3) Listen
4) Go

2 Chron 20:12-18 shows us what Israel did when facing a great enemy. They did not know what to do, but were told to ‘stand before the Lord’. Then God spoke to them through a prophet, telling them “the battle is not yours but God’s. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow and the Lord will be with you.”

In the same way, when facing the Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptians behind them, Moses was commanded to ‘stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you.’ (see Ex 14:13-14) God is the one who is able to save and deliver us. Sometimes we have to let God do the saving and be aware that He fights for us.

God is able to make a way for us where there is no way. 1 Cor 16:9 says that Paul discovered ‘a great door for effective work has opened to me.’ 2 Cor 2:12 tell us that he found ‘that the Lord had opened a door for me.’ When we are at a crossroads and we actually take the time to stop, look and listen, God speaks and we are then left with the choice to go or to refuse. In Jeremiah, the people did not heed God’s word, but in 2 Chron 20, the people’s obedience resulted in a great victory. When we actually follow the ‘Dream Cross Code’, we will find rest for our souls.