Dave preached from Phil 1:1-11 this morning, talking about the confidence we can have in God. Ps 19 starts by talking about the wonders of Creation: the universe is like a huge billboard advertising the majesty of God. But for all the wonders of Creation, the work God does in us is even greater.

Phil 1:6 tells us that “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Many things can shake our confidence these days, including doubts about God and unanswered prayer (in our eyes, anyway: we don’t always like the answers God gives!) No matter how inadequate or lacking in confidence we may feel, however, God is still God, and as a result we can have confidence in Him.

We can be confident in the people He has brought together (Phil 1:3-5). We are ‘partners in the Gospel’ and Paul was constantly thankful for the Philippians, who supported him in his ministries when no one else did. There was unity of purpose and singleness of heart in their support. We need to be thankful for each other in just the same way that Paul was thankful for the Philippians, for no one is here by chance.

We can also have confidence in the plans God has for us. Paul reminds the Philippians that God hasn’t finished with them yet. He does not start a work to abandon it or grow tired of it, as we often do: like the question master in ‘Mastermind’, ‘I’ve started, so I’ll finish’! We may not be able to see the finished product yet, but God is at work in our lives.

We can also have confidence in God’s provision. There is nothing too difficult for God (see Jer 32) and we can have confidence in approaching God and asking Him for what we need (1 John 5:14-15). We have to seek God for His plans and once we know them, we have to obey them. We also need to be global in our vision, not simply parochial, understanding that God has good plans for us and is able to fulfil those plans, even when we feel (as we did when moving into Market Street) that these are beyond us.

Let’s press on together, then, being thankful for the past, thankful for each other and confident for the future.

We started the Women’s World Day of Prayer service with reflection on our lives being in God’s hands, led by Christine Lee and a singing group from the Salvation Army:

This year, the service looked at injustices in Malaysian society (including the plight of Irene Fernandez who campagined for the rights of migrant workers and was imprisoned for this) and at some of the issues affecting women over the years, such as the Suffragette movement and the Ford factory strikes in Dagenham in 1968.




Ladies from different churches kindly shared in the readings of Bible passages (from Habbakkuk and the Parable of the Persistent Widow) and prayers:



Tony Brown spoke on the difficult question of reconciling God’s just nature with the injustice we see in the world and reminded us that free will means that people can choose to rebel against the commands that God has given us. He encouraged us to reflect Christ’s nature in how we deal with injustice, showing love to our enemies and blessing those who persecute us, leaving judgment and punishment to God (Romans 12:17-21)

Diane ably led the service:

Thanks to Stephen for providing the music for the 9 songs in the service, most of which he had to learn, since they were not all from his musical repertoire!

Thanks to all who participated and supported the meeting and for their generosity in giving £152.25 to Women’s World Day of Prayer. Offerings are distributed amongst Christian charities such as the Bible Society, RNIB and the Leprosy Mission.

Friday 2nd March was the Women’s World Day of Prayer. The Dearne meeting was this year hosted by Goldthorpe Pentecostal Community Church and 56 people attended from a variety of churches, including the Salvation Army, the Methodist Church, Anglican churches in Goldthorpe, Bolton-on-Dearne, Barnburgh and Adwick-on-Dearne and the Catholic church in Goldthorpe. Thank you to all who attended and who helped out in any way at all to make the evening so successful!

Each year, the service is written by women from different countries, and this year it was the turn of the Malaysian Christians on the theme of ‘Let Justice Prevail’. We had a map to help us know where Malaysia is:

We decorated the church with pictures of butterflies (symbolising freedom) made by children at Sunday School and Mark also worked with children to produce Malaysian flags:




As part of our own efforts to see justice prevail and to help the needy in our own community, all the items donated (tinned food and clothing) will be distributed by members of the Salvation Army church to families in Goldthorpe.
Different churches worked to make paper chains to symbolise the difficulties some people face and these were broken to symbolise the freedom we have in Christ:

Continuing the Malaysian theme, we invited Tony Brown (whose fiancee is Malaysian) to be the speaker at the meeting, and he wore a suitably colourful Chinese shirt for the occasion!

We also, in true Goldthorpe fashion, celebrated with Chinese and Indian food at the end of the service!

When I was a child, The Muppet Show was a weekend highlight. I loved the quirkiness and zaniness of these puppets (and considering so many famous stars queued up to appear on the show, presumably I wasn’t the only one who loved them!) It was with child-like enthusiasm (and a fair amount of adult trepidation) that I went to see the new Muppets film during the half-term holiday.

I needn’t have worried. The film had all the quirkiness and zaniness that I remembered so fondly. Kermit the frog was still there, and Miss Piggy came back from la belle France (where much to my delight, she was known as Mademoiselle Cochonnet, presumably before the recent edict to remove the apparently sexist Mademoiselle from the French language came into effect!) to help save the theatre from destruction by the slimy oil tycoon Tex Richman (love the name!) The stars continued to help out (Jack Black somewhat reluctantly, all trussed up in Gulliver-fashion!) and it was a real feel-good film.

Towards the end of the film, as brothers Gary and Walter have to decide their individual destinies, they sing a song (which has just won an Oscar for ‘Best Original Song’ in a film, much to my delight.) The song asks the question ‘Am I a man or am I a muppet?’ The chorus goes:

“Am I man or am I a muppet?
If I’m a muppet, then I’m a very manly muppet!
Am I a muppet or am I man?
If I’m a man, that makes me a muppet of a man!”

You can watch the video and listen to the song here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WWWTW1P8rQ

You may think that all that has very little to do with a church blog! But as I watched the film and listened to the dialogue as Walter wrestled with his identity and wondered what his talents were, as I listened to this question wondering who we really are, I didn’t think that was so far from the daily questions I ask myself as I wrestle with the flesh and the Spirit and wonder who I really am.

Casting Crowns have released a song called ‘East to West’ which talks about the struggles we have sometimes in finding our God-given identity and in making God’s forgiveness real. These words capture the struggle I sometimes find:

“I start the day, the war begins
Endless reminding of my sin
Time and time again Your truth is drowned out by the storm I’m in.
Today I feel like I’m just one mistake away from You leaving me this way.”

As we live each day, sometimes the ‘old man’, the way of the flesh Paul talks so vividly about in Romans 7, seems to rise up and cause us to stumble:
“I can’t bear to see the man I’ve been come rising up in me again.”

It’s a daily battle at times to remind ourselves of God’s Word and live by the truth of His word rather than by our feelings or by what others think of us (Walter in the film worries about this a lot!):
“I know You’ve washed me white
Turned my darkness into light
I need Your peace to get me through this night
I can’t live by what I feel
But by the truth Your word reveals
I’m not holding onto You,
But You’re holding onto me.” (Casting Crowns, ‘East to West’)

Kermit gives Walter wise advice in the film, telling him that “That’s what growing up is: deciding who you want to be.” Casting Crowns remind us that our identity ultimately is in Christ. There is hope and forgiveness and a new identity in Him:
“I don’t have to see the man I’ve been come rising up in me again.
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
‘Cos You know just how far the east is from the west,
From one scarred hand to the other.“

‘East to West’:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyoVJfADlwo

Let’s be who God made us to be!

Just a reminder that the Women’s World Day of Prayer will be this Friday, 2nd March, starting at 6 p.m. It’s an opportunity to join with other local churches to pray for the church in Malaysia and throughout the world on the theme of ‘Let Justice Prevail’. As we have been considering justice recently and what we can do to see injustice defeated and justice restored, let’s never underestimate the power of prayer.

Please bring tinned food to this event, which the Salvation Army will distribute to needy families in Goldthorpe. We want to do whatever we can to alleviate poverty and help others in need. Please also bring, if you are able to, some Chinese/ Malaysian food to share after the meeting.

Please note also that there will be an offering during the service, distributed by Women’s World Day of Prayer to various Christian charities.

Still on the subject of working to bring justice to the world, the song ’27 Million’ is at Number 3 in the UK iTunes charts. That means an awful lot of people are buying it and are raising awareness of human trafficking! If you’ve not downloaded it yet, it only costs 99p and is available here: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/twenty-seven-million-single/id500399945

Do you have a spare 99p?

If so, you can download the single ’27 Million’ by Matt Redman and LZ7 from today from iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/twenty-seven-million-single/id500399945

Apart from being a great song, buying the song helps the charity A21Campaign in its fight against human trafficking.