A baptismal service is always an occsion for great joy as we celebrate people’s public commitment to Christ, that outward sign of the new life He has brought. We are thrilled to be celebrating the baptism of four people on Saturday 12th November at 6.30 p.m. Please note that this service will be held at the old church building on Beever Street, Goldthorpe (since we do not yet have a baptismal tank at our new building!) Light refreshments will be served afterwards.

Romans 6 has much to say about baptism. It tells us that when we turn to Christ, we have ‘left the country where sin is sovereign’ (Rom 6:1, The Message). “When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land!” Paul goes on to say. It is truly wonderful to contemplate this new country of grace in which we find ourselves, thanks to Christ’s love and grace. Do come along and hear the testimonies of God’s saving power and be part of this great work that God is doing locally.

Mark initiated a ‘swap shop’ in the service last night, where we all brought items costing £1 or less to swap. Here is a range of the items we brought in:


We had a range of items: pencil cases, angel wings, a tiara, shoe polish, a cheese grater, a hat, gloves, torches, not to mention a range of food. Gillian produced 3 Mars Bars to represent the Trinity and to emphasise that God is in our work, rest and play! Garry insisted his grater was greater than any other item on offer!
Some people really liked their swaps!


Mark then preached from Isaiah 61 about some of the exchanges God gives us: beauty for ashes, joy instead of ashes and garments of praise instead of a spirit of despair:

He went on to talk about how God takes away our sins and offers us forgiveness instead and how we find life instead of death through Jesus:

This exchange cost us nothing: it was free to us. But it cost God everything, including His own Son:

We also had a birthday to celebrate:

Continuing in our studies of the Apostles’ Creed, today we looked at the phrase that we believe in Jesus Christ who was ‘conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary’. Heresies have abounded when trying to understand who Jesus is, since it’s so difficult to understand how He can be both fully God and fully Man, but although we may not understand everything about Him (see Romans 11:32-36), God has given us in the Bible everything we need to know to be saved. We need to be careful to stay within those boundaries, which tell us (in Dorothy L. Sayers’ words) “That Jesus Bar-Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth, was in fact and in truth, and in the most exact and literal sense of the words, the ‘God by whom all things were made’… He was also in every respect a genuine and living man.”

The Biblical accounts of the conception of Jesus are found in Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:26-38. Here, we have the angel appearing to Mary to tell her that “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” (Luke 1:31-32) When she queries how this can happen because she is a virgin, she is told “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35) Similarly, an angel appears to Joseph to reassure him of Mary’s purity: “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21)

These words fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy (Is 7:14) and whatever the disputes about the translation of the word ‘virgin’, it is clear from both Mary’s and Joseph’s reaction that they were astounded at the news, the most logical conclusion of which is because she was indeed a virgin at this time and their relationship had not been consummated. The Bible tells us of the miraculous conception of John the Baptist to Mary’s relatives, Elizabeth and Zechariah, but this is not in the same category as the conception of Jesus. There, God’s miraculous power enables a barren woman to conceive (as in the case of Sarah or Hannah in the Old Testament); with Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit comes on Mary to enable her to conceive.

Why does this matter? Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, Paul tells us (1 Tim 1:15). He tells us that “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them” (2 Cor 5:19) and “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8) Romans 5 goes on to tell us, however, that sin came into the world through Adam: “sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.” (Rom 5:12). That passage goes on to compare Adam, the first man, with Jesus, sometimes referred to as ‘the second Adam’. It tells us that ‘just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.’ (Rom 5:18). It tells us that ‘just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man, the many will be made righteous’. (Rom 5:19) But if sin came into the world through Adam, and therefore all men sin, if Jesus was conceived and born in the same way as every other human being, the logical conclusion to that is that he too was a sinner… and if he was a sinner, He would not be able to offer the perfect sacrifice to God for sin. It matters enormously, therefore, that Jesus was NOT conceived in the normal manner and was born to a virgin.

God is the Creator of all life. Colossians 1:15 tells us that Christ Himself was involved in that work of creation. The rescue mission of Christ was not an afterthought (see Rev 13:8, 1 Pet 1:20) but was part of God’s plan all along. God knew that if sinful mankind were to be redeemed, we would need a Saviour who could share our humanity but who was free from any taint of sin. The method that He chose to work that out is celebrated every Christmas as we rejoice in the fact that Immanuel was born – God with us.

Rejoice! O, world
Your Saviour has come
Through the love of a virgin’s womb
Son of God, Son of Man
Born that we may have life (Chris Tomlin, ‘Born That We May Have Life’)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vPlNX9HlVM

The Bible says that now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor 6:2) Today is all we have and we need to be wise with our time (“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Eph 5:15-16) I’ve just discovered this song by Phil Wickham which says it so much better than I can!

“The battle line is drawn, it’s all in black and white.
Hope is pulling forward, can feel it from behind, it’s time.
It’s time to make a move, so what will you decide?
The clock is ticking on, don’t let it pass you by, it’s time.
It’s time.

The time is now for lifting souls.
The time is now, for letting go.
From your skin, to your core.
Let light, and love, come rushing through the door.
Oh, come rushing through the door.

You’ve learned every song, memorised the verse,
Took the bread and wine, and even bought the shirt,
It’s time.
It’s time to hold your shield,
It’s time to draw your sword,
Let’s be the resistance,
Oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, it’s time.
Yeah it’s time.

The time is now, for lifting souls.
The time is now, for letting go.
From your skin, to your core.
Let light, and love, come rushing through the door.

It’s time to make a stand, so put your heart in greater hands,
From your skin, to your core,
Let light, and love, come rushing through the door.

Sisters, Brothers, thieves, and lovers,
Come uncover eternity.
Turn your faces from finite places,
Heaven’s grace will set you free.

The time is now, for lifting souls.
The time is now, for letting go.
From your skin, to your core.
Let light, and love, come rushing through the door.

It’s time to make a stand, to put your heart in greater hands,
From your skin, to your core,
Let light, and love, come rushing through the door.
Oh, come rushing through the door…” (‘The Time Is Now’, Phil Wickham)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb6bT3Xi8XI

At the start of Jesus’s ministry, He took the scroll in the synagogue and read that He was the fulfilment to Isaiah’s prophecy in Isaiah 61, part of which read “He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted” (Is 61:3). Ps 147 says “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds”(Ps 147:3). Matt 12:20 says “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.” All of these verses offer tremendous encouragement and hope to us when we are hurting or suffering.

Life is sometimes more painful than we care to admit. At times we are weary beyond words and hurting more than we can describe. It’s important for us to realise that “the LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Ps 34:18)

Being broken is never pleasant, but it is a place where we most readily meet with God. Matthew tells us “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Matt 23:12) Proverbs has much to say about pride and humility and we know that “God mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed” (Prov 3:34). Sometimes, it’s only in that place of brokenness that we find true humility and draw close to God.

If you’re hurting right now and feel that no one understands your pain, know that Jesus is that great High Priest who knows what it is to be human and who can fully enter into your pain and has the power to bind up the broken-hearted. He is close to all who are in distress. He loves us more than we can imagine. He is there with us in it all, never leaving us, never forsaking us.

The Misfits was a 1960s film featuring Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable, in which a sexy divorcée falls for an over-the-hill cowboy who is struggling to maintain his romantically independent lifestyle in early-sixties Nevada. The film was not a commercial success at the time of its release but garnered critical respect for its script and performances afterwards and is particularly poignant for being the last film both Monroe and Gable made (Clark Gable suffered a heart attack two days after filming ended and died ten days later.)

I was thinking about the film title as I have been meditating on Romans 12:2 in preparation for the next Bible study! “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Rom 12:2) In some ways, I feel that being a misfit is what Paul is talking about here. It’s so easy for us to be desperate to ‘fit in’ to our society and culture, to feel that we belong, to want to be accepted by others by conforming to the world’s standards, expectations, beliefs and patterns of living. We notice the misfits, the people who don’t fit in, the ones who are a ‘bit odd’, the people who perhaps don’t have the same social standards or beliefs of the majority. Being a misfit can be pretty lonely.

And yet Paul is reminding us that we are different. We are called to be different from the world. The Message says “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.” We need to be ready to be different, allowing God to make that difference in us.

There is a line in Rich Mullins’ song ‘Somewhere’ which always resonates with me: the idea that in this world ‘we’re all hanging empty/ Empty and upside-down’. We don’t fit in. We are created for more than this world can offer. Let’s not settle for what this world offers us, however tempting it may be to want to ‘fit in’ and be ‘acceptable’. Let’s realise instead how much God is able to transform us and allow His life to be seen in us.