Garry spoke this morning from Gen 40:1-23, continuing his series on the life of Joseph. This focuses on the time when Joseph was in prison and interpreted the dreams of the cupbearer and the royal baker. His interpretations proved correct, but the cupbearer, who was restored to his royal position, did not remember Joseph. We can imagine Joseph continuing to linger in prison and wonder how he reacted to this – with disappointment and even discouragement, perhaps, but what is clear is that there was no room for bitterness in his response.

Bitterness is an understandable and often predictable response to hardship (think of the Israelite slaves under the Egyptians in Ex 1:14 or Naomi on the loss of her husband and two sons in Ruth 1:19-21). The steady drip of misfortune often erodes faith and leaves us with bitterness. Joseph had plenty of reasons to be bitter, having been betrayed by his brothers, falsely accused, wrongly imprisoned and now forgotten, but his lack of bitterness is one of the most remarkable things about his life. Bitterness is often likened to a poisonous plant (see Deut 29:18) and seeps through into every area of life, touching, influencing and contaminating everything. Heb 12:15 reminds us not to allow any bitter root to grow up as this will cause trouble and defile many. God’s grace must be allowed to permeate through into every area of our lives.

It is our choice to be bitter; Eph 4:31 urges us to get rid of all bitterness. If we do this, like Joseph, we leave room for God to work in our lives. We can only do this as we live with an eternal perspective. There is much in life we cannot control or influence, but we need to spend time with God so that He can speak into our lives. God was foremost in Joseph’s thoughts; he could leave his everyday situation (even in prison) with Him. He suffered much, but he let go of his pain and focussed on God, the result being God’s blessing on him and the fulfilment of God’s plan for his life. We are to give no room to bitterness but to give room to God.

As part of National Safeguarding Week, we held a fun day entitled ‘Safe As Houses?’, looking at how to build your life on solid foundations. We told the story of The Three Little Pigs and The Wise & Foolish Builders to show us that where we build and what we build with are both important, and reminded ourselves that if we’re wise, we’ll build on the words of Jesus so as to be able to withstand the storms of life.

We had fun building with biscuits and marshmallows and straws:

We painted our own houses:

We had fun building with dominoes, Jenga blocks, Megablox and Duplo and making cardboard houses:

We also used lollipop sticks to make houses and had fun playing in tents!

This Saturday (20th November) we are hosting a family fun event called ‘Safe As Houses?’ as part of National Safeguarding Week, where between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. we will be looking at the idea of building on strong foundations. Using stories (‘The Wise & Foolish Builders’ and ‘The Three Little Pigs’) to show us how (and how not!) to build, we’ll be exploring what it means to build your life on something solid and enduring. There’ll be lots of building crafts (including making houses out of dominoes, Jenga blocks, Duplo, biscuits, straws and marshmallows!), the chance to decorate pre-made houses and the opportunity to decorate playhouses to explore!

Entry is free, but please do let us know you’re coming by contacting Julie on 07729 421405 or emailing julie@gpcchurch.co.uk.

We have free goody bags to take home with more craft ideas and information about safeguarding and will be serving drinks throughout the day! Come along to get out of the house and keep your children entertained and informed!

In Matt 5, Jesus gives a long sermon (‘The Sermon On The Mount’) teaching His followers about the values of the kingdom of heaven and what it meant to live as children of God. This teaching is revolutionary because it returns to the heart of God’s word rather than following the embellishment of years of tradition. He looked at topics such as murder, adultery, divorce, revenge and justice, and shows us that the additional ideas adopted by the Pharisees and other religious leaders had actually gone beyond what God said to the point where they had nullified God’s word. He gets back to the heart of these matters, to the attitudes and beliefs which lie beneath our actions, pointing out that hatred is what leads to murder, lustful thoughts are what lead to adultery, hard hearts and an unwillingness to love and forgive are what lead to divorce and injustice.

In this chapter, Jesus teaches about our identity as salt and light and maintains that His followers have the capacity to influence the world by how they live. (Matt 5:13-16) One of the most revolutionary ways to do this is by loving not only your neighbour but also your enemies (Matt 5:43-48). Naturally speaking, this is impossible, but as God’s identity is outworked in us, we are given the capacity to love even those who actively persecute us – for whilst we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8)

The questions Jesus asks His disciples show us that loving those who are like you is nothing special – even the tax collectors and pagans were capable of doing this! To love those who actively oppose us, however, requires a participation in the divine nature and a dependence on God’s strength (2 Pet 1:4, Phil 4:13). As we learn to live out our new nature (2 Cor 5:17), we will be able to witness to the world through God’s love – a love that encompasses even enemies!

Dave spoke this morning from Gen 4:1-16, a chapter which describes the relationship between Cain and Abel, Adam and Eve’s sons. Cain, the older, means ‘brought forth’, and it is possible that Adam and Eve expected him to be the one who would break sin’s curse. Abel’s name means ‘vapour’, perhaps indicating a sense of failure or ‘nothingness’, but the fact remained that Cain’s sacrifice was not accepted by God whereas Abel’s was. We don’t entirely know why this was the case, but it does seem that God tests people. He does not always act as we expect and our reactions matter enormously.

Cain did not respond to God’s reproof or analyse his anger. He continued in a path which led to disastrous consequences: the murder of his brother and Cain’s banishment. God gave him the opportunity to repent and turn back to Him, but we see how atttitudes harden and actions mushroom as a result.

How we deal with disappointment, frustration and anger is very important. We need to bring such emotions to God and allow Him to deal with these things so that we do not end up in ever-worsening situations. It’s not easy to face the challenge of motives and emotions, but we have to understand the consequences of unresolved anger and allow God to shape us so that we are not led further into sin.

We’re planning a fun day on Saturday 20th November called ‘Safe As Houses?’, looking at the theme of building our lives on solid foundations. We’ll be exploring the stories of The Three Little Pigs and The Wise and Foolish Builders and having lots of hands-on activities to do with building, including building with Jenga blocks, Duplo, dominoes and colouring cardboard houses and having a go at painting our own little houses to take home! You can build houses out of biscuits to eat, make them out of lollipop sticks, or just have a great time making dens and experimenting with different materials.

The event will run from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.; refreshments will be served and it’s free to come along, but do book in by contacting Julie on 07729 421405 or emailng julie@gpcchurch.co.uk