The (in his eyes, dubious) honour of being the first person on the birthday box for 2011 goes to Tony!

Dave looked at the Old Testament prophets Elijah and Elisha on Sunday evening, as he sought (as always) to encourage and commission us in his first sermon of the New Year.

Our first introduction to Elijah is in 1 Kings 17. We know little of his background, other than the meaning of his name (Yahweh is my God) and his home town (Tishbe in Gilead). Elisha is introduced to us in 1 Kings 19, the son of Shaphat, and he was called to his training as a prophet and successor to Elijah straight from his father’s home, probably at quite a young age.

The chapter that Dave preached from (2 Kings 2) shows us the end of Elijah’s earthly ministry and how Elisha coped with that. Elisha was already acknowledged as the chosen successor of Elijah, but this chapter looks at how he demonstrates that he was spiritually equipped to pick up the mantle.

Elijah goes on a tour of the company of the prophets: Elisha goes with him (even as Ruth decided to stick with Naomi, no matter what.) Elisha knows that faithfulness and tenacity are needed to receive the mantle of leadership and service.

Elijah and Elisha continue on their strange walking tour until they come to the River Jordan. Elijah rolls up his mantle (cloak), slaps the water, and it parts for them. This reminds us of another succession, when Joshua succeeded Moses. Elijah asks Elisha bluntly what he still wants from him and without hesitation, Elisha answers with a request that is both humble and bold: “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” Elisha recognises that he cannot do all that is required of him on his own – he needs the gift of God’s Spirit and power.

Elijah can’t guarantee that: it’s not his to give. But he knows that Elisha needs insight into the spiritual world. More than anything, we need eyes to see the unseen, eyes that can see the invisible, eyes enlightened from above (Eph 1:18). It’s only when we ‘see’ the reality of God’s Kingdom, God’s power, God’s victory in Jesus Christ and that new heaven and new earth coming our way that we are equipped for God’s work here in the world.

Elijah and Elisha continue to work and talk, until that awesome moment when the whirlwind blows and the chariot of fire separates Elijah from Elisha. Elisha’s first reaction is abject grief. But as the tempest subsides and the fiery chariot disappears, Elisha sees the mantle of Elijah and with courage he faces the final test: does he have the faith and power to part the waters like his spiritual father?

God’s work continues from generation to generation. We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. The mantle is now on our shoulders: we have work to do. We need the same strength, courage, faithfulness, love, spiritual insight and power with which our forefathers dedicated themselves to their task. But we also need to be willing to pass on that mantle to the next generation, to train, to nurture and to develop those people within our church who will be the spiritual leaders of the future.

Just as Elisha called out, “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?”, we too need to remind ourselves that we need the God of Elijah for all we do. Without God, anything we do will not last. We need more than our programmes and plans; we need the Spirit of God with us. But we can be encouraged, because, by God’s grace, we can answer the question. Where is the God of Elijah? He is here – among His people.

Stephen preached from one of the most well-known psalms on Sunday morning, Psalm 23. In Bible days, a shepherd truly was ‘hands-on’, constantly with his flock of sheep. Nowadays, sheep seem to be left on their own, wandering on hillsides, but this psalm clearly paints a very different picture of the shepherd: we see one who cares for the sheep’s needs and looks after them in every way.

The following is a paraphrase of the psalm:
‘The Lord is my shepherd’ – my guide, my guard, my minder, my mentor. He sits us down and fills us with all we need; He puts us back together. Even when I struggle, sometimes in very hard times, You are there, covering, leading, guiding me. You make it good when all around seems bad; You fill me to the limit. You hold me above it all. What greater thing can I want than to be with You? To live fully with You forever is my aim.

This psalm, often quoted or sung at funerals, should also be part of our daily lives now – it’s a psalm for living. We have no need to live aimlessly, for we have a living, awesome God to guide us as we walk through life.

The first coffee morning of 2011 was held on Saturday 8th January.

For those of you who knew Vernon, a service of thanksgiving for his life – all one hundred years of it! – will be held at Goldthorpe Pentecostal Community Church on Tuesday 11th January at 12 noon, followed by interment at Great Houghton cemetery at 1 p.m.

If you are able to attend the funeral, you would be most welcome. It is always good to rejoice at what God has done in the lives of His people and to support those who are mourning.

You could view this post in one of two ways. I was ill on Sunday, laid out by a sickness bug that seems to have been fairly prevalent in the area, so the fact that I am reporting on meetings I did not attend could be said to be pretty remarkable. Or you could view the reports I’m about to give from the safe vantage point of having heard the sermons first hand and think ‘that’s not a very good report!’ I hope you will be generous and accept the limitations of second-hand reporting…

In the morning, Mark preached about hope, the Biblical definition of which is much more substantial than our casual ‘I hope this will be a good year’. The psalmist, in Psalms 42 and 43, repeatedly says “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God.” (Ps 42:5, 11; Ps 43:5) In both psalms, the psalmist faces difficulties and struggles; in Psalm 42 he faces personal sorrow, taunts from other people and knows what it is to feel downcast and troubled – yet hope in God sustains him. In Psalm 43, the psalmist feels rejected by God, in mourning, oppressed by the enemy – and yet his hope in God sustains him. That hope has to be our sustenance too; after all, we don’t live on bread alone (as I proved on Sunday, surviving quite adequately on water!)

In the evening, at the family service, Stephen spoke on communication, looking at the Lord’s prayer as the model for our prayers. In telephone communication, there is a need for a transmitter, a wire and a receiver, not to mention good signal strength. Perhaps the hardest part for us in prayer is learning to listen for God’s voice. God is always listening to us – we too need to be quick to listen, as James says (James 1:19)