This week in the Bible study on Romans, we looked at Romans 4, which talks a lot about Abraham, the ‘father of all who believe’ (Rom 4:11). Here, Paul develops his argument that righteousness is credited to us, as it was to Abraham, through faith rather than through works. Abraham heard and believed God before the law, even before circumcision, and it was that faith in God which is credited to him as righteousness (Rom 4:3). Circumcision, that sign which for the Jews had become the defining mark was, in fact, ‘a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.’ (Rom 4:11) David too knew what it was to be forgiven, to have one’s sins covered, something that happens through the grace of God rather than by observance of the law.

We have so much to learn from Abraham, this man of faith who shows us what it is to obey God in trust even when the outcome is still far from clear. He left his homeland to go to a place he did not know… he heard God’s promise that he would be the father of many nations when it was all but impossible that he would ever even have one child… he learned to wait many years for the promise of God and even then, when Isaac was born, had to face the test of sacrificing the son of promise. The Biblical narrative in Genesis makes it clear that Abraham didn’t always get it right (he lied about Sarah; he succumbed to human reasoning when he slept with Hagar), but here in Romans 4 we read the key to his success:
“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” ” (Rom 4:18)

Abraham faced the impossibility of his old age and Sarah’s barrenness, but still held on to the promise of God. “When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn’t do but on what God said he would do,” we read in the Message version of Romans 4:18.

That is the key to living by faith: deciding to live not on the basis of what we see, but on what God has said He would do. Today (12th February 2011) we remember the fulfilment of one of God’s promise to us as a church, when we finally – after a mere two years, compared to Abraham’s wait that was much longer! – obtained the keys to the building that used to belong to the Methodist Church but which would become Goldthorpe Pentecostal Community Church. For months and years before that, people had held on to the promise of God for a new building, living not on the basis of what they saw, but living in the hope of God’s faithfulness and power. We have seen God do so much in the past year. Our hearts overflow with thankfulness and gratitude. Yet, as always, we must consciously remember that this is all because of what God has done, rather than because of our own merit or goodness. God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody… That is what He is so good at doing, and we can only receive that favour with thankfulness and awe. It’s all from Him.

Stephen showed a powerful video about the Father’s love for us, the text of which is reproduced below. May we meditate on His amazing love and understand more of this love as we consider true love throughout this month and beyond.

My Child,

You may not know me, but I know everything about you.
Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up.
Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways.
Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.
Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image.
Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being.
Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring.
Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived.
Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation.
Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book.
Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live.
Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother’s womb.
Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born.
Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented by those who don’t know me.
John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love.
1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.
1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child and I am your Father.
1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.
Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father.
Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.
James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs.
Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope.
Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love.
Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore.
Psalm 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you.
Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession.
Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul.
Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvellous things.
Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart,you will find me.
Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires.
Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine.
Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you
in all your troubles.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you.
Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart.
Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes.
Revelation 21:3-4

And I’ll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth.
Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus.
John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.
John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being.
Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you.
Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you.
1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love.
Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me.
1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again.
Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I’ll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen.
Luke 15:7

I have always been Father, and will always be Father.
Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is…Will you be my child?
John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you.
Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad
Almighty God

(Father’s Love Letter used by permission Father Heart Communications
© 1999-2010 www.FathersLoveLetter.com)

February is the month when Valentine’s Day is celebrated, but Christians have far more to celebrate than romantic love on its own.

Nonetheless, with ‘love’ the theme of the family service last night, we had a lot of fun with games and songs.

Mark organised a Treasure Hunt for love hearts (the sweets that have love messages on them!) which resulted in a variety of prizes:

Moving in to the Community hall to find the ‘Love Hearts’

Looking hard:


There were prizes!



Then we sang a medley of pop songs on the theme of love, which included pretending to play the harmonica in ‘Love Me Do’!


And finally we had a spirited rendition of ‘I Will Always Love You’ in the style of Whitney Houston:


For those of you who worry that we have too much fun at church (!), I’ll post about the sermon later…

There are days when we see how God orchestrates our meetings together, days when different people, without directly conferring or communicating, so obviously hear the same things from God that there is a wonderful sense of continuity. This morning was one of those occasions.

In the time of worship, we focussed on the cross. Songs such as ‘And can it be?’, ‘You came from heaven to earth’, ‘How deep the Father’s love for us’, ‘You chose the cross’ and ‘To be in Your presence’ reflected that focus. Then Dave preached from Galatians 6:14 on the cross of Christ.

The cross of Christ has always been central to Christian teaching. In Matthew 16:21-23, immediately after Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus teaches about the necessity for His death. Peter and the other disciples find it hard to accept this teaching, but Jesus made it abundantly clear that ‘the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.’ (Matt 20:28)

In partaking in Holy Communion each Sunday morning, we reflect the central importance of the Cross. Paul says that he ‘glories’ in the Cross, because it is the means by which we are saved. It is the Cross that sets us free and gives us our salvation. There on the Cross, we see the Lord – fully man, fully God, suffering death and tasting death for everyone (Heb 2:9) so that all may be rescued from the clutches of sin and death. God’s holiness is such that He could not overlook sin (in the same way that Dave’s son, when working on space satellites, has to have a ‘clean room’ in which to work), but Christ gave Himself willingly as that perfect, spotless sacrifice so that we can be reconciled to God.

Our part is to accept that sacrifice. We can’t make ourselves acceptable to God (for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, as our Bible studies in Romans have revealed) but we can accept that Jesus has done all that is necessary. “It is finished!” He cried. We are now new creations in Him; the old has gone and the new has come (2 Cor 5:17) We have been crucified with Christ; we are now free to live in Him.

I love mountains. Below is a picture of the Mer de Glace in Chamonix, part of the Mont Blanc range of mountains.

Mark preached from Hebrews 12 on Sunday night, looking at the differences between Mount Sinai (where Moses received the Ten Commandments) and Mount Zion, a type of the place of communion with God.

Mount Sinai was a place of thunder and lightning, of darkness, fire and terrifying visions of God’s holiness. Mount Zion is a type of the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. Ps 125 talks about those who trust the Lord being like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken. Hebrews 12 talks about God shaking everything which can be shaken. Coming into God’s presence is not something to be taken lightly; we should not refuse Him who calls us, for our God is a consuming fire. Nonetheless, He calls us to come into His presence and to rest there. He wants us to approach Him, not content with being on the edges. Let’s draw near to God and be in awe and reverence at His holiness and majesty.

It was also time for another person to be on the birthday box!

Stephen preached this morning from Lamentations, a book that deals very honestly with a dark period in Israel’s history.

It is easy for us sometimes to think that the God of the Old Testament is different to the God of the New Testament, or perhaps to focus on God’s anger in the Old Testament and on His love in the New Testament. However, we need to acknowledge the immutability of God – He doesn’t change – and the steadfastness of His character – where love, strength, compassion, justice and wrath don’t mean inconstancy.

Jeremiah wrote Lamentations at a time when Israel had sinned greatly and things were not going well for them. Lamentations 1 chronicles the deserted city, the grieving and tearfulness of the people and the lack of comfort. There are times when things don’t go well for us. Not all churches are currently flourishing; the number of church buildings being used for other purposes these days reflect the hard times many congregations have faced.

Difficult times are made worse when we feel deserted or punished by God. (Lam 2:1-5) We are not exempt from life’s difficulties, but those difficulties seem even harder to bear when we don’t see God’s presence with us, when we feel that He has withdrawn His love, compassion and strength from us.

Jeremiah knows what it feels like to feel alone, calling himself a ‘man who has seen affliction by the rod of the LORD’s wrath. He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light; indeed, he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long.’ (Lam 3:1-3). Nonetheless, the lament is not without hope, for in Lam 3:24-26, Jeremiah, reminding himself of God’s purposes, says, ‘I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.’

Talking to ourselves is not a sign of insanity; it can often be the thing we need to do to put things into perspective! God restores us even in the midst of difficult times. God is true and just. Even when we are guided by His rod, even when we face His disciplining hand, He can change our lives around; moreoever, as Hebrews reminds us, He only disciplines us for our good.

Lamentations is honest about the dark times in ways that perhaps we don’t like to admit, but it is also a book with hope, for even in the darkness, God’s light shines and the darkness has not overcome it.