“After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.” (Mark 1:14)

If my relative had been imprisoned, I don’t think I would have been very happy about it and it’s likely I would have found it difficult to focus on things. Yet in this verse we are told that Jesus went into Galilee and began to proclaim the good news of God after John was put in prison. I don’t think Jesus was heartless or disregarding of John. We know from other places in Scripture that he had a high regard for him. Yet He was not deflected or distracted by this apparent setback. He was not daunted by bad news in the way that we so often are.

Rend Collective’s song ‘True North’ says, ‘I will not let the darkness steal the joy within my soul; I will not let my circumstance become my compass, no.’ We so easily let darkness steal our joy; we so easily let circumstances dictate our actions and paths. But Jesus did not do that. Instead, He went into Galilee and proclaimed the good news of God. He followed His calling, not HIs feelings. He didn’t allow the ‘bad news’ of John’s imprisonmnet to overshadow the good news of the kingdom of God.

‘True North’ goes on to say, ‘I will not let the fears of life and sorrows of this world dictate to me how I should feel, for You are my true north.‘ God is the anchor of our life. He provides the stability and direction we need and therefore circumstances, fears, sorrows and failures do not have to define us. God is our identity.

Later, when Jesus heard of John’s execution, we see Him withdrawing privately to a solitary place. (Matt 14:13) I imagine He wanted to be alone in His grief. Yet when He landed on the other shore and saw the crowd waiting for Him, He had compassion on them and healed their sick (Matt 14:14), going on to feed them (Matt 14:15-21). Once again, He kept the bigger picture in view and did not allow Himself to be deflected from serving God.

To serve God in this single-minded fashion requires devotion and an ongoing practice of establishing spiritual priorities. It’s much easier to panic, sulk, doubt or retreat when life does not turn out the way we expected it to. If God is our ‘true north’, however, then we can stay on course, even if life appears to be throwing us off course!

Despite the rain which came at 1 p.m., the ‘Picnic In The Park’ event was great fun. Organised by the Dearne Area Team and supported by Big Local Thurnscoe, Berneslai Homes, Barnsley Community Champions and many other local organisations, the event was held in Hanover Street Park and was attended by almost 100 people.

Setting up for the event

Not only did the children have the opportunity to play in the newly refurbished park, there were games and other activities and a climbing wall to explore!

The picnic provided by Millie’s Cafe was enjoyed by all:

Our thanks to all involved in the event and to all who came.

The Bible has many examples of ordinary people who became friends with God:

• Abraham (James tells us ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God’s friend.’ James 2:23, with other references being in 2 Chron 20:7 and Is 41:8)

• Enoch (who walked with God, implying a close friendship)

• David (a man after God’s heart whose psalms indicate a close friendship and intimacy with God.)

Jesus offered us all the opportunity to be His friends, telling HIs disciples ‘you are my friends if you do what I command.’ (John 15:4) So often, we can feel excluded from some friendship groups and that is extremely painful, but the only condition for friendship with God is obedience. We don’t have to earn God’s love (see Deut 7:6-8); Jesus died for us because of that great love. He cares for us so much, and loves us to such an extent that He died for you and me. Jesus gave His life so that we might have life, now and forever.

Though other friends may wound us, hurt us, reject us and leave us feeling forsaken, Jesus will never leave us or treat us in that way. We are all welcome – He died for each one of us. He waits to welcome us with open arms and those arms are there to carry us and support us throughout every stage of our lives. He offers us His friendship – are we willing to accept that offer and walk with Him too?

Friendship is a vital ingredient in life and we all need friends. The importance of friendship is often spoken about (there was even a TV programme called ‘Friends’ which traced the lives of a group of friends), but in today’s society, we can be very lonely. Life can be very busy and we can go long periods without necessarily meeting anybody who feels like a friend. Dave spoke tonight from John 15:9-16, reminding us that God supplies the friendship we need and wants us to be people who love others and demonstrate friendship to them in the same way that He demonstrates it to us.

God demonstrates His love for us by laying down His life for us. He is the ultimate friend, never letting us down, never forsaking us. With good friends, we feel we can be honest and real; we can let our guard down and relax. God wants us to have that same relationship with Him, so that we bring all our fears, questions, problems, joys and sorrows to Him in prayer. We need never fear that He will get fed up with us or tell us to shut up; He is always willing to listen and be a friend forever.

No friend on earth is perfect; it can be very painful when friends let us down or disappoint us. Jesus is a friend who sticks closer than a brother and will be the ultimate friend to us through thick and thin.

This morning, we started a new series called ‘Connections’. ‘Connection’ is defined as ‘a relationship between two things, people, or groups’, but for many of us, the word implies other things, such as a youth careers’ service (Connexions), or the need to sort timetables to ensure we don’t miss a bus or train or two pipes or wires being joined together! Often, we feel life is full of connections, rather like fitting the pieces of a jigsaw together when you’re not sure what the picture is supposed to look like!

Connections are necessary on both a vertical and horzontal level if we are to develop spiritually; the vertical relationship with God is paramount, but we also need to be connected to people (see Gen 2:18) God often uses human relationships to act as metaphors for the relationship He wants to have with us: thus, He is our Father and we are His children and the church is described as the bride of Christ. It’s no surprise that these intimate human relationships become the pathway to our understanding of our connection with God.

Our physical life starts when the sperm connects to the egg and life is conceived. For forty weeks, that life is nurtured in the seclusion of the mother’s uterus by means of the placenta. Without this strong, healthy connection between mother and child, the child will die, but for the most part, there’s little that mother or child do in this mysterious process known as pregnancy. In the same way, we need to connect to God in utter dependence and trust (see John 15:5). The connection we need to restore our vertical relationship with God is available to all of us through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, but this organic union is not one we earn or can maintain through striving.

When a child is born and the umbilical cord is cut, a new way of connection has to be formed between mother and child (through breast-feeding.) We have to learn to crave pure spiritual milk in the same way that the newborn baby has to learn to feed. (1 Pet 2:1-3) We have to learn to put to death the old nature, severing that connection to our old way of living (Rom 6:1-11) so that this new connection with God can be maintained. The unity and harmony of the Godhead, where Three Persons (Father, Son and Spirit) co-exist in perfect connection, shows us something of the perfect connection we crave and Jesus Himself prayed that we might be one as He and the Father are one. (John 17:11) It’s possible if we remain in Jesus and recognise God has done all that is needful for us to be re-connected to Him.

It’s said that if you want to speak a language fluently like a native, you have to learn it before the age of seven. Languages learnt after this age can be mastered, but there will never be the same accent that enables us to pass as a native. Just recently I was listening to a video of nursery rhymes with my granddaughter and the singer, although fluent in English, was distinctively not a native speaker. I still can’t pinpoint what it was in her pronunciation that makes me say that, but I know that English is not her native language.

All of us need to learn the language of praise, and the sooner we do this in our Christian lives, the more chance there is that we will speak this language fluently, with no accent. The language of praise allows us to praise God in all circumstances because we see life from His perspective, not ours. Ps 150 is an exuberant call to prise; in the psalms alone there are 182 references to praise.

The language of praise often involves singing and gladness (Ps 9:11, Ps 13:5, Ps 21:13), which is why our gathered worship always involves song. Praise is the rightful response of the heart and will to the character and actions of God. The more we meditate, the more occasion we will have to decalre His praise aloud.

God wants us to be continually learning this language of praise and bringing Him the sacrifice of praise. (Heb 13:15) When we first start learning a language, its sounds are unfamiliar to us and we can feel very self-conscious about our utterances, but as we grow in confidence, we learn to declare the praises of our God and Saviour enthusiastically and energetically, for He alone is worthy of all praise.