Towards the end of 2012, I looked back at key themes and said that I felt surrender was probably the word that best summed up all I had learnt that year. Hard on the heels of that lesson was probably the ever-growing belief (summarised in two songs in particular, ‘Even If’ and ‘Sovereign Over Us’) that God is in control and that takes a lot of the strain out of life! Even though it does not mean our lives will be free from trouble or pain, the knowledge that God is in control and is sovereign over all helps us to endure and to rejoice even in difficult circumstances.

The new album from Chris Tomlin, ‘Burning Lights’, was released this week and I have enjoyed listening to both familiar songs and new ones. Funnily enough, one song on this album also highlights this theme! It’s simply called ‘Sovereign’ and again reminds us that God is with us in every circumstance of life and can be trusted to work everything for good (Rom 8:28).

“Sovereign in the mountain air
Sovereign on the ocean floor
With me in the calm
With me in the storm

All my hopes
All I need
Held in Your hands
All my life
All of me
Held in Your hands.
All my fears
All my dreams
Held in Your hands.” (‘Sovereign’, Chris Tomlin, Martin Chalk, Jason Ingram, Matt Redman & Jonas Myrin)
‘Sovereign’, Chris Tomlin

Last night’s Bible study looked at the challenging words in James 4:11-12, where we are urged to watch our speech and avoid slander of other believers. James has already had a lot to say about the power of words in James 3. This topic is always relevant to us and always challenges us. In Psalm 34:12-13, we read “Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.” Words can be used to encourage, uplift and support people, but they can also be used to discourage, belittle, scorn and destroy. People whose lives are governed by God’s Spirit need to have self-control in what they speak and allow God to speak wisdom through us.

It is very easy to look down on others and to assume that we are always right. James warns against judging others. This is a topic we examined extensively when studying Romans (see Romans 14), but last night we focussed on the reasons why only God is qualified to judge. God knows everything (see Ps 139:1-4). Only He knows people’s hearts, their motivation, their thoughts, words and actions. Only He has perfect wisdom and understanding. His judgments are true and just and beyond our understanding(2 Thess 1:5, Rom 11:33. He is the righteous Judge (2 Tim 4:8). Jesus showed us how to entrust Himself to the One who judges justly by His response to those who crucified Him (1 Peter 2:23). Our tendency is to want to defend ourselves and exonerate ourselves by blaming others, but if we have learnt the value of humility, then we do not need to raise ourselves up at the expense of other people. Instead, we will learn to serve others and will be content to wait for God to judge. Jesus often refused to answer the Pharisees’ disdainful questions which were intended to trap Him, even though He was fully qualified to judge! (John 8) We need to be willing to put the needs of others before our own needs and allow God to have the final word.

First of all, answers to the photos posted from the quiz!

1) Iron Man
2) Michael Jackson
3) Peter Pan
4) Simon Cowell
5) Wallace & Gromit

Christmas and the January sales often bring us the opportunity to buy and receive new clothes. But the clothes God has to offer us are far more important than any bargain we may get in the sales!

In a divine exchange that is truly amazing, our ‘filthy rags’ (Isaiah 64:6) – which is what our own righteousness and goodness look like to God – are exchanged for ‘robes of righteousness and garments of salvation’ (Isaiah 61:10).

We looked at some examples of filthy clothing and talked about how much value our world places on external appearances:

Just as no amount of scrubbing or washing powder will get rid of the stains on those clothes, nothing we do can remove our sins from us, but Jesus has made the way for our sins, though red as crimson, to become as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18) through His death on the cross.

Once we have exchanged sackcloth for garments of praise and joy (see Ps 30:11), we have a whole new set of clothes to put on:
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Col 3:12-14).

The clothes God wants us to wear are characteristics of Christ (elsewhere referred to as ‘fruit of the Spirit’) which are far more important than any fashion parade or jewellery we may wear. God wants us to wear:

1) compassion
2) kindness
3) humility
4) gentleness
5) patience
6) forgiveness
7) love.

The Message version of Colossians 3:14 says “dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you. Wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.”

Our ‘all-purpose garment’ (like the little black dresses below?!) can look very different. We all speak different ‘love languages’ and have to learn to express love in a variety of ways.

Love can be shown in different ways (spending time with people, serving them, speaking encouragingly and kindly to them and so affirming them, through hugs and giving gifts), but most of all, when we wear the clothes Christ gives us, we become ‘clothed with Christ’ (Gal 3:27) and can reflect His character to all around us.

The first family service of 2013 looked at the subject of divine clothes, but we started with a quiz about famous people or characters who can be recognised simply by their outfits!

Or can they?!

Mark had got some exciting clothing prizes for winners!

These T-shirts were quickly donned:

We also had a birthday to celebrate, the first in 2013!

Dave spoke from John 18:33-37 this morning, looking at Jesus as our King.

The world’s idea of what a king is is not at all the kind of king Jesus represents, however. An earthly king was a powerful human being who secured order and peace and was honoured and respected, revered and feared. Nowadays, the monarchy generally is not held in high regard and there is a general lack of respect for any kind of authority. What does it mean, therefore, for us to own Jesus as King?

Pilate served the Roman Caesar, so he knew all about respecting (and fearing) authority. He knew what earthly kings looked like and recognised that Jesus was no earthly king! Jesus Himself confirmed this when He said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world… my Kingdom is from another place.’ (John 18:36) Despite the sign He placed above the cross, Pilate knew there was no legal basis for finding Jesus guilty of being the kind of king whom Rome would fear. There was no reason to crucify Him for the kind of sedition Rome feared. He simply was not that kind of king.

We can reject Jesus’s kingship in our own lives, either by thinking He is authoritarian and a king in the fashion of all worldly things or by thinking His kingdom only applies to the spiritual realm and has no bearing on how we live our lives on earth. In actual fact, we need to understand that Jesus’s kingship is not like the world’s idea of a king. He exercised His power by serving others, by giving, by forgiving and by loving. He demonstrated what truth, faith, hope, love and life really look like. We need to accept, believe and obey Him, secure in the reality that Jesus reigns. He really is the One in charge and in control of our lives and of the universe. He brings healing and peace to the world and has control over darkness. Jesus is King!

Throughout the Bible, names are incredibly significant. In the Garden of Eden, Adam named all the living creatures God had made: “So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.” (Gen 2:20) Many languages now have animals named with every letter of the alphabet – from aardvark to zebra! Name changes often represented something significant that God had done: Abram (exalted father) being renamed Abraham (father of many) in Genesis 17:5, for example, or Jacob (the deceiver) being renamed Israel (he struggles with God) in Genesis 32:28 after probably the most significant wrestling match ever! Even the names of God are incredibly significant, telling us something of His character and purposes – He is our provider (Jehovah Jireh, Genesis 22:24), our banner (Jehovah Nissei, Exodus 17:15); our peace (Jehovah Shalom, Judges 6:24); the One who is there for us (Jehovah Shamma, Ezekiel 48:35).

Every village, town and city is divided up into streets. These provide an easy way to locate particular places or houses. These days, our streets are numbered and also have postcodes to distinguish them from streets in other areas with the same names. As we walk around, we have been taking photographs of the street names to help us to pray for these when we are not out and about as well. Here are some of the street names we saw yesterday:
Foxmires Grove

Pearwood Close

Kents Grove

St Mary’s Road

Pickhills Avenue

Main Street:

Elizabeth Street:

King Street:

Lockwood Road:

Market Street:

Co-operative Street:

Victoria Street:

Beever Street:

Garden Street:

Hamilton Road:

Nora Street:

Each of these streets – and all the others walked yesterday – represent a vast number of people and households loved by God. Let’s pray for each household to come to know the Lord and to be strengthened and helped by Him, for any evil powers to be broken and for God’s glory to shine in these streets and in the lives of the people who live there.