We had a lot of messy creativity going on at the Pentecost Fun Day today – it’s amazing how much of my granddaughter’s body can get painted as well as the thing she is actually trying to paint!

It was lovely to see so many people enjoying the opportunity to be creative. Those of you who know me know I love creativity but hate mess. Paint, glue, glitter and sticky icing are not really my idea of fun – especially when it comes to cleaning up and tidying up! Yet as we took part in the different activities today, they became for me a parable of life.

Life is messy but intensely creative. Things aren’t always neat and orderly. If we want to see masterpieces created, we have to be prepared to get our hands dirty. If we want to serve God in our communities, we have to get our hands dirty. We have to be involved; we have to be there – in people’s mess, in the ruins of their lives, in their heartaches and sorrows as well as in their joys.

Jesus came to earth and got messy. He knew heartache and sorrow, pain and suffering… but still He found joy in life and spread love and laughter wherever He went. I love this idea of ‘messy play’ and ‘messy creativity’, even though I squirm inwardly at messiness. God is a creative God and we’re made in His image. If He doesn’t mind mess, neither should we.

It was lovely to be able to enjoy the outdoor facilities at Houghton Road Centre:

We were also kept fit by a game of ‘Pass the Parcel’ with forfeits which included star jumps, press-ups and running on the spot:

We learned about the fruit of the Spirit through a Pentecost trail and also heard the story of the first Pentecost:

Thanks to everyone who attended and who helped to make this such an enjoyable day.

Although the Day of Pentecost is not actually until 9th June this year, we held our Pentecost Fun Day early because of the school holidays. All our craft activities were based on this theme, looking at how the Holy Spirit is described as wind, fire and a dove.

Setting up beforehand:

We had the opportunity to paint and decorate kites (representing the wind of the Spirit) and make prayer plates with tongues of fire:

We decorated buns and enjoyed cutting and sticking:

Ian and Adrian from Dearne Kids helped us cook food outdoors:

Volunteers from the Salvation Army worked tirelessly to feed us food on the theme ‘fire and ice’ – chilli, rice, ratatouille, noodles, with strawberries and cream too!

Many thanks to all the church volunteers who helped, to the HRC committee and to Ian and Adrian from Dearne Kids for their help. Thanks to all who came!

Don’t forget the ‘Churches Together’ Family Fun Day happening today (Wednesday 29th May) between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Houghton Road Centre, Thurnscoe. We have lots of fun activities on offer, including kite making, kite decorating, craft activities on the theme of wind, fire and doves, biscuit decorating, crazy golf and much more. There’s a Pentecost trail to find out more about what happened on that day (with prizes to be won) and we’ll be having a story and party games too. Free entry & free refreshments served.

Then we have our community mosaic day on Saturday 1st June where you can take part in making a tile mosaic which will be displayed at the Dearne Community Arts’ Festival later in the year. Join us between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday to have a go at this fun craft session, led by Ruth Waterworth. No previous experience necessary!

Looking ahead, Love Your Park is a brill community day at Thurnscoe Flower Park on Saturday 27th July between 12 noon and 4 p.m. Stalls, rides and more crafts to do at that event!

Garry spoke tonight on the Lord’s Prayer (see Matt 6:5-14). The disciples wanted to know how to pray, but Jesus spoke about what to pray. In this prayer, He gave us a framework or template for prayer. It’s not enough simply to recite the prayer, but to understand the context of the framework, which can be summarised in 4 simple words.

Wow!

‘Wow’ is an exclamation of admiration or awe. The prayer is rooted in our relationship with God as ‘our Father’. For some, our experience of earthly fathers is good; for others, this can be a real barrier to understanding God’s heart. But as we ponder the amazing truth that God is our Father and that He is the Almighty God, the maker of heaven and earth who is to be praised (‘hallowed‘), we can’t help but adore Him. As our understanding of creation grows, we find so many reasons to be in awe of God and this helps us to recognise and understand both His magnificence and our relationship with Him.

Thanks!

Thanksgiving is the overflow of a heart that sees God as He really is. In this prayer, we give thanks for God’s provision for us (‘our daily bread’) and also for the fact that God is King (‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.‘) There is so much to be thankful for (the origin of ‘saying grace’ before a meal to give thanks to God for His kindness in providing for us is one example of this.)

Sorry!

A key part of the prayer is asking for forgiveness for ourselves, but this is connected to our willingness to forgive others. We perhaps don’t mind saying sorry to God, but often we are resentful about forgiving others. Jesus consistently taught that forgiveness is essential (see Matt 18:21-35). Forgiveness is not pretending everything is good or that what has been done to us doesn’t matter; forgiveness can be very painful, but it is the only way to know peace with God and others. We need to be quick to say sorry.

Please!

‘Please’ is the word we use when we are asking someone to do something. The prayer is full of supplications and requests, ranging from our daily bread to the arrival of God’s kingdom on earth. It includes praying for help in keeping away from what is wrong (‘lead us not into temptation’) and for deliverance from the evil one. We need not be afraid of asking God to meet our needs (see Phil 4:6-7, James 4:2). He is a good God who delights to bless His children.

Dave spoke this morning from Mark 5:22-43, a story of two miracles for two desperate people.

So often in lfie, reality hits us flat in the face. This can be in the form of an emergency or crisis which can leave us questioning where God is, but it can also be in the form of ongoing suffering and pain. We like to be in control of life and find it difficult to bear such times, even though God’s word assures us that God will never test us beyond our limits. (1 Cor 10:13)

In this narrative, two people were facing challenging situations: Jairus’ situation was sudden, precipitated by his 12 year old daughter’s sudden illness, and the unnamed woman’s was lingering, caused by twelve years of haemorrhaging which had left her financially impoverished and a social outcast. These two people were at opposite ends of the social spectrum: Jairus was a synagogue leader, a well-respected man who was used to being in charge of things; the woman was one whose illness left her ‘unclean’ and on the outskirts of society. For her to even approach Jesus amongst a crowd of people meant taking her courage and faith in both hands.

Jesus responded to both of them with compassion and mercy, though to Jairus, this unexpected delay as Jesus questioned who had touched Him must have seemed a devastating blow, for during this time, he was contacted with the news that his daughter had died. He must have felt resentful about the delays and as though there was no point bothering Jesus any further, but Jesus urged him to keep on believing. In both cases, Jesus spoke about faith and the need to trust Him and believe in Him – and both these people ended up seeing miracles as a result.

The choice to believe is there before us each day. Do we listen to the faithless crowd who urge us not to bother Jesus anymore or do we focus our faith on Christ? When we reach out to Him in holy desperation and true faith, He is there to meet us and to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.