Dave preached from Matt 7:24-29 this morning, the very familiar parable of the wise and foolish builders. Inspired in part by admiring the apparently sound Methodist building last week (built over 200 years ago) but realising that in actual fact this building is in such poor state of repair that it will shortly have to be demolished, he commented that storms are an inevitable part of life and they actually simply reveal what the real you is actually like. The MPs’ expenses’ scandal did not make the MPs dishonest; it simply uncovered what was really going on behind the scenes. Similarly, Jesus noted that the storms of life – which come to everyone at some time – are not what make believers either wise or foolish. The storms simply REVEAL who is wise and who is foolish.

This parable comes at the end of the Sermon of the Mount and is a disconcerting ending, to say the least. What Jesus has just laid out is a blueprint for discipleship. It’s not about flowery words or memorable metaphors, but life or death issues, words which must be heard but which also must be done. The difference between the wise and the foolish is that the wise put into practice what they have heard.

Jesus taught with authority, we read, not as all the other teachers. He taught with the authority of God Himself, so His words are not mere recommendations that we can take or leave with little or no consequences one way or the other. They are life-giving commands to be whole-heartedly obeyed.

It’s a bit like cement. A bag of cement doesn’t look particularly solid: it looks like a sand-like powder which even a child could move. But when mixed with water, it becomes a substance that will set as hard as a rock, that is immovable. Similarly, Jesus’s words, on their own, are a little bit like that bag of cement. They need the water of faith and action to become cement in our lives.

We need to try to fit all of life – the good, the bad and the ordinary – into our discipleship. We need to see ALL of life through the lens of discipleship. God is interested in building our characters – not just ‘image’ or ‘personality’, but character – which emerges from whole strings of good habits cultivated over a lifetime. We have true character when doing, saying or thinking the right thing, even when no one else is watching or listening. We need to learn to look beyond the importance of things, Jesus says, to the overarching glory of having treasure in heaven. We need to understand that thinking the right way about people is as important to God as what we actually do when we are with them. It goes far beyond surface actions, digging deeper into motivation and our whole way of thinking.

The first people to hear the Sermon on the Mount had jaws slack in wonder and eyes wide in amazement as Jesus concluded. We too need to hear His words with the same sense of awe and wonder and need to mix the cement of His words with the faith of obedience if we are to cultivate lives that can withstand all of life’s storms.

Continuing the harvest theme at the Family Service last night, we identified different fruit and vegetables from pictures and anagrams in the quiz and then Mark took things a step further by getting people to taste various foods and identify them from taste alone:

Karen correctly identified this as ‘a spice’; it was root ginger (also described by Ellen as ‘onion wrapped in sugar’!)

Karen identified this as ‘date’ straightaway:

Jimmy had a cola-flavoured sweet to identify:

Other things tasted included kiwi, grape, chocolate, raisins and melon.

Mark preached from Ps 34:1-10.
The psalm starts by worshipping God, no matter what the circumstances. Praising God has to become our modus operandi, the way we function in all situations, our automatic response to life.

God is faithful to deliver those who seek Him. We are to seek Him and will find Him utterly faithful and able to protect us and deliver us. He even gives angels the job of guarding us!

Verse 8 tells us “taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” Just as the people tasting the food found it very difficult to describe the food to the rest of us, so we need to be prepared to actually take the plunge into all that God has for us. We need to be responsive and receptive to God. We also need to serve Him in the way He is calling us, rather than just in the way we might want to. Those who seek the Lord will lack no good thing (vs 10). We need to have the faith to take the risk and actually prove God in our own lives, dwelling in His word, which is sweeter than honey (Ps 119:103, and there was some of that for Dave to taste as well!)

Often children are reluctant to try new foods and have to be urged by parents ‘Try it: you might like it!’ In the same way, we have to be willing to step out in faith to try the things God puts on our hearts. To refuse to do that is disobedience and leads to us missing out on God’s best for our lives.

This morning we held a joint service with Furlong Road Methodist Church at Bolton-on-Dearne.

Along with hymns of thanksgiving and children’s songs, we were challenged to think of which fruit or vegetable we’d like to be and why. Here are some of the suggestions:
* “I’d like to be a cabbage so I could roll around all day!”
* “I’d be a pineapple because I’m exotic, sometimes prickly on the outside but tangy to the taste.”
* “I’d be a cucumber because I like eating cucumbers!”
* “I’d be a banana because it’s good for you.”
* “I’d be a sprout so no one would eat me.”

Mark’s sermon looked at God’s faithfulness (Gen 8:22) and at the fruit we are to grow in our lives as Christians (Gal 5:22-23). Love, joy & peace are the first fruits mentioned in the list – quite the opposite of the hate, misery and discontent in the world. God wants us also to develop long-suffering or patience, kindness (“the ability to act for the welfare of those taxing your patience”) and goodness – fruit that has an effect on other people. Our Christian conduct should also include faithfulness (being loyal, dependable, trustworthy, reliable, not changing your attitudes every day), gentleness (‘having a disposition that is unpretentious, balanced and a strength under control’) and self-control (being in control of our emotions, thoughts, actions and bodies.) These fruit are developed in us as we read God’s Word, pray, worship and fellowship together.

Gifts of food and produce were given during the service; these will be distributed to those in need served by the Lighthouse Project (http://www.lighthousehomes.org/.)

Many thanks to all who attended the Macmillan Coffee morning yesterday. In total, we raised £140, which is a fantastic achievement. Many thanks for all who contributed!

On the Macmillan website there are some great recipes for things that go well with tea or coffee! Here’s one of the recipes for you to try out at home:
Basic Scone Recipes
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Baking Time: 15 minutes
Makes: Enough to serve 9

The key to a light scone is a light touch. To rub in, lift the mixture to get some air into it, and as soon as it is of the right consistency, stop. This basic scone mix is versatile and easy – one bowl, no cutters or rolling, just bake and share!

Ingredients
50 grams Butter unsalted
200 grams Self Raising Flour
1 tbsp Golden Caster Sugar
Salt pinch
125 ml Milk

How to Prepare
1. Preheat the oven to 220ºC, 200ºC fan, Gas Mark 6.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
3. Rub the butter into the flour, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
4. Stir in the sugar and salt.
5. Make a well in the centre of the mix and stir in the milk. Stir until the mixture is even and the dough comes together.
6. Turn out onto a floured surface and shape into a rough square about 3-4 cm thick.
7. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.
8. Brush all over with milk and score into nine rough squares.
9. Bake for 15 minutes until golden and cooked through.
10.Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or cold.

Romans 11 looks at Paul’s continuing discussion about the Israelites and further reiterates his belief that salvation, whether for the Israelite or the Gentile, is by faith and not by works. He cannot say that God has rejected the Israelites, for he himself is proof that God pursues and can turn around even those who have been zealously pursuing their own righteousness rather than the righteousness that comes by faith. He reminds us that God is always working His purposes out, even as He did in the time of Elijah, when the prophet believed he was the only one left following God. God reminded Him that in fact there were 7,000 who had not given way to Baal worship (1 Ki 19:10-18); in fact, Obadiah had been working for the Lord even in the king’s palace! (1 Ki 18). We rarely see the whole picture and it can be easy to become discouraged when we look at only a small part of God’s picture; how important it is for us to see things from God’s perspective!

It’s easy to become confused and fixated upon who exactly Paul means by ‘Israel’ in these chapters. Is he talking about the modern-day nation? Is he talking about the genetic descendants of Abraham? Is he talking figuratively about all those who believe, as Abraham did, and are therefore in some way his descendants? It is true that God has always had people who love Him and serve Him. They are the ‘assembly’, the ‘called out’ ones, the ‘elect’. In the New Testament, they are most frequently referred to as the ‘church’ (Greek ekklesia, literally ‘called out ones’), but it is clear that this particular word is also used in the Septuagint (Greek version of the Old Testament), so that we could say that God’s chosen ones can be found in both ancient times and modern times! The fact remains that the blessings God promised to Abraham were to the whole world, not just to one nation, and the fact that Israel genetically did not all believe does not nullify God’s plans. Paul uses the image of an olive branch and ‘graftings’ to talk about the blessings that God works even in the most difficult situations. The Gentiles – the very Romans to whom Paul is writing – have been grafted in, but that does not mean all hope is lost for the Jews. On the contrary, “if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.” (Rom 11:23)

The key, for them and for us, is faith. We can rely on the kindness of God, but need to continue in that kindness (Rom 11:22), for He is also stern. We need to fear God and understand that the life of faith does not only begin with faith, it continues with faith, something the Galatian church appeared to have difficulty in understanding… and which remains a stumbling-block to us today unless we can really grasp the desperate need we have for mercy and grace.

Just to let you know that things will be a little bit different this weekend.

On Saturday (1st October) it will be the Macmillan Coffee Morning from 10 a.m. until 12 noon – all proceeds will go to the Macmillan charity, which provides nursing care for those with cancer.

On Sunday morning (2nd October), we will be holding a joint service with the Furlong Road Methodist Church (in Bolton-on-Dearne) which will start at 10.30 a.m. This will take the form of a Harvest Festival, so please bring along any fruit, vegetables or tinned food (to be distributed amongst those in need after the service by the Methodist Church.) There will be no service at Market Street in the morning.

In the evening, we will have our usual monthly Family Service, starting at 6 p.m.

Hope to see you at one of these events!