Singing A New Song

In the first part of Revelation 14, we see a vision of God’s people (the 144,000 we met earlier in Revelation 7:4) in heaven and hear a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder or like harpists playing their harp. We are told they sang a new song, a phrase that is used frequently to speak of the joy which God’s salvation brings to His people. The psalms frequently use this phrase:

  • Sing to him a new song;play skilfully, and shout for joy. (Ps 33:3)
  • He put a new song in my mouth,a hymn of praise to our God (Ps 40:3)
  • Sing to the Lord a new song;sing to the Lord, all the earth (Ps 96:1)
  • I will sing a new song to you, my God;on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you (Ps 144:9)
  • Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song;his praise in the assembly of his faithful people. (Ps 149:1)
  • Sing to the Lord a new song; his praise from the ends of the earth ( 42:10).

In what sense is this song new? J. Hampton Keathley III says, ‘A new song is a consequence of a deeper or clearer grasp of the person and works of God so that it results in a fresh and meaningful impulse of gratitude and joy in the soul as it is expressed in songs of praise and adoration. A new song is not necessarily a song new in time, but one fresh with a new response and understanding so that it is sung as though it were new.’

Singing remains a vital element of praising God, one which lifts the spirit of the one singing as much as it does those who listen!

Morning Prayer

When I was a young, sleep-deprived mother, rudely awakened to the early hours of the morning by a baby, I learned that the key to survival was preparation at a time when I was not sleep-deprived. I developed the habit of laying out my son’s clothes and nappy the night before so that I was ready to start the day with some semblance of organisation. It meant I wasn’t looking for items with bleary eyes and foggy brain, and became a routine that really helped me.
I love the Message version of the opening verses of Psalm 5:
“Listen, God! Please pay attention! Can You make sense of these ramblings, my groans and cries? King God, I need Your help. Every morning, You’ll hear me at it again! Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on Your altar and watch for the fire to descend.” (Ps 5:1-3, The Message)
For me, morning prayer is the only way to start the day. To be sure, there are days when it seems more like ramblings than coherent prayer, but God hears and understands the cries of our hearts. Each morning I lay out the pieces of my life, like clothes on the chair at the foot of my son’s bed, and ask for God’s holy fire to descend, so that everything I do may be surrendered to Him and in receipt of His blessing and help.
It’s a practice I heartily recommend.

The Two Realms

Garry spoke tonight from Romans 8:1-3. 5-17 where Paul talks about two realms (or worlds): the natural world we all know and inhabit and the spiritual world. All of us are familiar with the first world, but when we become Christians, we gain access to a spiritual realm. Christ opens up for us a new dimension. We can either ignore the spiritual world altogether or believe that the material world has little value. In truth, both are necessary; to live life to the full, we must engage fully with both worlds.

Those who belong to the spiritual world must move away from the seflishness with which we are all born and learn to live with an awareness of God and of other people’s needs.God rules His world, but still gives us freedom to choose and always wants what is best for us. Even as Christians, we can live as though God does not exist; we can be concerned only with what we can see and touch. But this is not what God wants for us, for He wants us to live in the spiritual realm, where we are filled with love, hope and joy. He wants us to live with the eternal view in mind and to know that there is purpose in life. The choice is ours: will we swap the mediocre for the majestic?

Prayer, Faith & Miracles

This morning in our series ‘The Miraculous & The Mundane’, we looked at Mark 9:14-29 (see also Matthew 17:14-20), the account of Jesus healing a demon-possessed boy when his disciples could not. We may feel that it was unreasonable to expect his disciples to do miracles: surely only Jesus could do that? But as John 14:9-13 and Luke 9:1-2 make plain, Jesus did not perform miracles because He was the Son of God; He had authority from His Father to do these things and gave that authority to His disciples as well. He was clearly frustrated by His disciples’ lack of faith and we see from this account not only Jesus’s power over everything, but the revolutionary truth that ‘everything is possible for the one who believes.’ (Mark 9:23)

This scene is set just after the Transfiguration, when God has declared ‘This is my Son, whom I love.’ (Mark 9:7) There, Peter, James and John were left dazzled by the brightness of God’s glory, but ultimately saw only Jesus. Our eyes need to be firmly fixed on Jesus rather than on the needs surrounding us. As Matt Redman puts it, ‘The first step for a worshipper is to confidently get to grips with just how magnificent and mighty God is. The next step is to let that confidence in God seep into the very depths of our hearts and minds, forming a holy confidence on the inside of us.’

Jesus was secure in His identity as God’s Son and in who God was: ‘Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God.’ (John 13:3) Knowing who we are in God and who God is are the keys to the miraculous; they are also the keys to a contented, happy life.

The boy’s father reflects the tension many of us feel as he says, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”’ (Mark 9:24) All of us struggle with the battle between the old nature and the new nature (Rom 7:15-19) We must learn to move from unbelief to belief, from doubt to faith, from insecurity to security, and this can only be done through prayer and the word. Jesus reminds us that apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5); if He Himself could only do what He saw His Father doing (John 5:19-20), then we too must learn to make our relationship with God our priority. Only by prayer and faith (which comes through hearing the message of Christ) can we access the miraculous in our everyday lives. We must see God as Almighty, realise everything is possible for those who believe and ask for His help to overcome any area of our lives where unbelief reigns.

‘Mindful Moments’ – April 2023

We had a lovely evening painting and colouring at the ‘Churches Together’ ‘Mindful Moments’ evening in April.The next session is on Monday 15 May between 6 and 8 p.m. at GPCC.

We continued to make covers for the wooden story books which will be used at the Phoenix Park Fun Day on 31st May, and thank Sharon Seaborne, Karen Dunn, Julie Unwin, Claire Croot, Julie Beaver, Kathy Tasker, Stan Bryan and Julie Turner for their help in creating these.

We also painted ceramic coasters and did Easter colouring.

Coming In May…

Here’s an overview of special meetings in May.

Saturday 6 May @ 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Apart from our usual monthly prayer walk, we will be holding a Coronation Coffee Morning between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.

Sunday 7 May @ 4 p.m.

Instead of our usual evening service, we will be holding a Coronation Afternoon Tea and Celebration Service, starting at 4 p.m. It’s free to attend, but please book in by contacting Julie Turner on 07729 421405 or by emailing julie@gpcchurch.co.uk We’ll be having a yummy afternoon tea and then holding a messy church service suitable for children with crafts based on the Coronation and the theme of Jesus as King of Kings.

Monday 15 May between 6 and 8 p.m.

Our ‘Mindful Moments’ evening of creativity for adults will be on 15 May between 6 and 8 p.m. Come and make cards, colour, learn about creative writing and much more.

Wednesday 17 May @ 1.45 p.m.

The monthly ‘Churches Together’ prayer meeting will be at Furlong Road Methodist Church in Bolton-on-Dearne

Tuesday 23 May between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. @ GPCC

Join us for a community consultation and design day as part of the Dearne Community Arts’ Festival community art project to make selfie boards to celebrate our local community. Bring your photos of Goldthorpe throughout the ages and help us design a selfie board for the new Town Square, for Dearne Churches Together and for the arts’ festival itself. Storyteller Rebecca Dye will be present to record our reminiscences and to find out what local groups mean to us and we will also be packing story bags to raise funds for the arts’ festival at the Phoenix Park Fun Day later in May.

Wednesday 31 May between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. @ Phoenix Park, Thurnscoe

Come along to this family fun day at Phoenix Park, where a range of organisations will be doing different activities for families including sports, cycling, crafts, trails and looking at different stories and storytelling. A great free fun day for all the family, with portable toilets and refreshments available. Or you can bring your own picnic. Children are encouraged to come dressed as book characters and to bring a Teddy Bear!

If you can help at any of these events, please contact Julie on 07729 421405 or email julie@gpcchurch.co.uk