One of the advantages of working in a Christian school is the freedom we have to explore issues and questions from a Christian perspective. I spent much of last week preparing lessons for PSHE (Personal, Social & Health Education) on the theme of identity, only to find that Dave’s sermon on Sunday evening was on exactly the same theme! God has definitely been speaking to me this week!!

Looking at the passage from 1 Peter2:9-10, Dave tackled the ‘big questions’ of life:
1) Who am I?
2) How did I get that identity?
3) What am I here for?

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10)

In answer to 1), Dave reminded us:
a) that we are chosen by God – not because of our colour, culture or creed, but simply because God chooses us (John 15:16) It’s always an amazing thought to think that the Creator of Heaven and earth chose us!

b) that we have received mercy from God – we have been pitied; we have been the recipients of God’s kindness

c) that we are the people of God; we belong to Him. We are not only chosen and pitied, but possessed by God (2 Cor 6:16)

d) that we are a holy nation, set apart for God’s purposes.

e) that we are a royal priesthood, having immediate access to God.

In answer to 2), our identity fundamentally is given to us by God. Who we are is rooted in who God is. God gave us our identity.

In answer to 3), Dave showed that our identity leads to our destiny and our destiny is that we may declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into this wonderful light. Our identity is to make known God’s identity. Our identity is not an end in itself, but a means to making God’s fame known wherever we go.

Perhaps because I have been meditating on this theme all week, perhaps because of Dave’s gifting as a preacher, I found this sermon truly inspiring. I have been wrestling with the pressures of work for weeks now (you probably guessed that from the ‘Thought for the Day’ post!), and the conclusion I reached after much prayer was simple: ‘our identity must always be rooted in who we are, not in what we do’. That’s not to say that our actions are not important, because they are. But, as so often, first things first. We must know who we are before we work, otherwise all our effort tends to be in vain.

And, again as is typical for me, as Dave was preaching, the words of a song were running through my head: ‘I am chosen, I am free, I am living for eternity’. Tim Hughes’s song ‘Holding Nothing Back’ captures what was preached so effectively that I am reproducing the words here:

I am chosen, I am free,
I am living for eternity
Free now forever

You picked me up, turned me around
You set my feet on solid ground
Yours now forever

And nothing’s gonna hold me back
Nothing’s gonna hold me back
Nothing’s gonna hold me back

My chains fell off
My heart was free
I’m alive to live for you
I’m alive to live for you
Amazing Love, how can it be?
You give everything for me
You give everything for me
Everything

You washed my sin and shame away
The slate is clean: a brand new day,
Free now forever
Now boldly I approach your throne
To claim this crown through Christ my own
Yours now forever

Garry started a series on the Holy Spirit this Sunday morning. Often a neglected person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit could be said to be the creator of the church. Necessary if we are to enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5, Titus 3:5), the Holy Spirit lives within us individually and corporately if we are born again.

The church receives revelation from the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) – each one of us can be taught by Him – and He helps us in prayer (Romans 8:26). The Holy Spirit is our encourager, comforter and guide, the director of the church, the one who sanctifies and justifies us (1 Cor 6:11). We are sealed by the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13) so that no one else has ownership of us. Moreover, the Holy Spirit gives gifts (of revelation, inspiration and empowerment) to the church (1 Cor 12) and makes us beautiful (Gal 5:22-23).

Historically, very little has been said about the Holy Spirit in comparison to the other persons of the Godhead: in the Apostles’ Creed, there is much said about the person of Jesus Christ, but the only time the Holy Spirit is mentioned is in the line ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit’. The Holy Spirit is self-effacing in some ways, pointing us to Jesus, not seeking glory or attention for Himself, which is truly one of the mysteries of the Godhead.

May we, as a Pentecostal church, always seek to learn more about the Holy Spirit and seek to know God in all His fulness more and more.

“One of the tasks of Christian discipleship is to learn how to ‘do the works you did at first’ (Rev 2:5) and absolutely refuse to ‘work like the devil.’ “
(Eugene Peterson, ‘The Journey’, on Psalm 127)

After the hectic activity from February through to the official opening in July, things have been a little quieter at church. The summer months are traditionally a time when the busyness of normal schedules is slowed down, when people take holidays, when the usual activities stop. It’s necessary to recharge batteries at times!

But the summer holidays are drawing to a close, and September will be on us before we know it. With that, various ‘old’ ministries will be re-starting and some new ones will be starting for the first time.

The ‘old’ ministries?
Well, Bible studies on Ephesians will be restarting on Thursdays (from 16th September) at 7.30 p.m.

Prayer meetings will be held on alternate Fridays.

Youth clubs and Mums ‘n’ Toddlers will re-start on Monday evenings and Friday mornings respectively from 6th September and 10th September.

The ‘new’ ministries?
A Saturday coffee morning will start on Saturday 4th September and will run from 10 a.m. until 12 noon every Saturday. We need volunteers to help run this and we hope we have many local people calling in for a drink and a chat. The former Methodist church used to run these coffee mornings very successfully for a number of years and we have already been asked by lots of people if we will be holding them, so we hope people will be pleased to know they’ll be running from September!

We are also hosting a badminton/ fellowship evening for adults on alternate Friday evenings.

And there are more new things being planned.

So let’s look ahead with enthusiasm and see what we can learn in the weeks and months ahead. Our aims are to grow closer to God and to each other and to be able to serve our community.

One of the things that is very encouraging about Goldthorpe Pentecostal Community Church is the willingness of church members to get involved in whatever ways they have talent.

Jeannette spoke for the first time on Sunday evening; her topic was ‘the armour of God’. We were reminded that we are in a real battle with a real enemy, but our God is mighty and has given us weapons and armour to protect us. Because Jesus is triumphant, we can stand.

As we considered each item of armour, we looked at:
1) the need for truth in our lives (the ‘belt of truth’) and how we need to be honest with ourselves, with others and with God
2) the need to have integrity running right through us, with righteousness being a part of us so that we bear the stamp of Jesus
3) how we need faith even to clothe ourselves with the armour and how the shields of old were soaked in water to put out the flaming arrows of the enemy. Similarly, we need faith if we are to withstand the enemy’s insidious attacks, which often come through fear, bitterness, division and persecution.
4) the need for our salvation to be as visible as a helmet – how easy do we find it to share the gospel with others?
5) using the Word of God as our sword (as Jesus did in the wilderness)
6) the importance of prayer and how prayer changes things, especially when we learn to pray for our enemies and for all the saints

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. ” (Eph 6:18) And so we concluded the meeting by doing just that!

It’s always scary to hear God’s voice and it takes a lot of courage to speak out what we feel He is saying to us – especially because there is always that sense of anxiety and doubt: “Is this really God or just my imagination?”

But it is good to simply meditate on what God has said, and these verses from this morning’s meeting deserve our full attention:

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” (Is 43:18-19)

“Look at the nations and watch— and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.” (Hab 1:5)

“God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfil?” (Numbers 23:19)

“The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.” (Prov 19:23)