Yesterday was officially ‘Black Friday’, the Friday in the United States after Thanksgiving when shops reduce prices in the pre-Christmas rush to buy. It was also the date chosen by the Goldthorpe Development Group for this year’s Goldthorpe Christmas Market, and so we were pleased to be able to take part in this as ‘Churches Together’ worked at GPCC to serve refreshments, offer home baking, run craft stalls, a tombola stall, and give people opportunity to take part in activities and raise money for the Salvation Army Christmas Appeal at the same time as reaching out to our community with goody bags and lots of love!

Here are some photos from the event. The first batch is of setting up…

The world has a saying, ‘United we stand, divided we fall’, and this is so very true. Part of our struggle towards unity is learning to love and accept others as they are (Rom 15:7) and not being afraid of our differences. We have to learn to value each individual for who they are, not looking down on others or feeling impatient and frustrated by differences. Casting Crowns’ song ‘City On The Hill’ is a timely warning as to what happens when we are scornful of these differences:

‘You see the poets thought the dancers were shallow
And the soldiers thought the poets were weak
And the elders saw the young ones as foolish
And the rich man never heard the poor man speak

But one by one, they ran away
With their made up minds to leave it all behind
And the light began to fade
In the City on the Hill, the City on the Hill

Each one thought that they knew better
But they were different by design
Instead of standing strong together
They let their differences divide.’ (‘City On The Hill’, Casting Crowns)

It’s always sad when Christians let their differences divide instead of letting them inspire and unite. We need diversity. We need the differences God has put in our church. We need each other. We don’t get to pick and choose who is in the church; that is God’s job, and He has placed each one of us where He wants us to be. Iron sharpens iron, Proverbs 27:17 tells us, and as we learn to work together, despite all our differences, we find we are indeed living stones who are being fitted together by God. (1 Pet 2:5)

Tonight’s sermon continued the series ‘The A-Z of Christian Faith’, looking at the vital importance of unity in our Christian walk. John 17:20-23 looks at Jesus’s prayer for all believers and we see from this several crucial points about unity:

1. Unity comes through union with God. Jesus prayed for His disciples to be one as He is one with the Father. The union in the Godhead is the basis for all Christian unity. The church is not just a club for like-minded people; it is the body of Christ, and unity is derived from our abiding in Christ (see Jn 15:1-5, 1 Cor 12:12-27).
2. Unity is not the same as uniformity. We don’t all have to look the same or dress the same or even agree about everything in order to be united! Rom 12:4-5 makes it clear that there can be unity in diversity. The disciples were all vastly different people (in terms of temperament and professions, politics and philosophies) and far from dividing us, our differences can make a positive declaration that our unity of purpose stems from God alone. It’s not necessarily easy to be united (Paul urges us to ‘make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace’, Eph 4:2), but it is possible as we remain in Christ.
3. Unity is essential in our witness to the world. Jesus prays for us to be brought to complete unity because ‘then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.’ (Jn 17:23) Unity is a powerful sign to the world that God is at work. When we are united in Christ, the world will believe that God sent Jesus (Jn 17:21). This is because we will have the same heart and mind that God has and therefore we will reflect His character, His aims and His purposes. Christian unity is one of the most powerful witnesses we can ever have, for when we are united in love, other people will see God in us and through us; it’s a vital part of evangelism and a powerful testimony to the world of God’s love and power which can overcome differences and unite people in Him.
4. Unity is the pathway to blessing. Ps 133:3 talks of God commanding or bestowing His blessing on those who are united. As we love, forgive, care for and build up others, we reflect God’s nature and make room for His blessings!

Christian unity is not simply wishful thinking; it is possible because we have become people who share in God’s divine nature (2 Pet 1:4, Jn 1:12-13) and therefore have access to something of His glory (Jn 17:22). As we dwell in Christ, nothing can divide us (see Col 3:11, Eph 2:14-22) and our unity can be a powerful witness to a world struggling with division, distress and broken relationships.

Garry talked this morning at Cherry Tree Court about the pace at which people walk. Often, if walking with other people, we have to modify our pace to suit other people, either walking faster than usual or slowing our pace down to accommodate them. As we get older, we may walk more slowly than we used to; the very young among us, who are learning to walk, are also usually slow and faltering in their walk.

Jesus promised that He would send the Holy Spirit to walk alongside us – and the amazing truth is He walks at our pace. He doesn’t drag us along, hurrying us up, nor does He walk ahead of us, expecting us to scurry after Him. He is with us forever, staying with us, working with us as we are, a constant companion and friend, better than even the most effective ‘personal trainer.’ John 14:26 reminds us that He is our teacher, enabling us to do more than we could possibly achieve on our own. We may all have different ‘starting points’ in life, but the Holy Spirit works with us to be more than we could ever be in our own strength.

God has also given helpers in the church in the form of ministry gifts (Eph 4:11-13) to build us up to maturity and to bless others. We can be grateful for all the help God gives us and can be secure in the fact that the Holy Spirit walks alongside us, leading us into the good works God has prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph 2:10)

There was lots to see and do at the Winter Wonderland event in Thurnscoe Flower Park this afternoon, including ice-skating, funfair rides, craft and food stalls and Thurnscoe Harmonic Male Voice Choir!

200 goody bags were given out to different families and a variety of craft activities were either done or taken home by families. It was good to see members from different churches helping out with this. Thanks to all who helped – we look forward to a great event next Friday at the Goldthorpe Christmas Market!

It’s very easy for younger generations to view Remembrance Sunday as a historical exercise only. Their only experience of war may have come from history lessons, TV or films; it’s perhaps surprising for us to realise that even the Falklands’ War (1982) comes into the history syllabus nowadays! For many, however, the horrors of war are all too real and it is good to take the time to remember this and help those affected. In many countries, war is a present-day reality and not simply a historical interest.

‘Taking part’ in Remembrance Day may take different forms: attending a memorial service, wearing a poppy, observing a minute’s silence, for example, but it may feel like an ‘academic’ exericse or something only associated with history. We can even have the same attitude to our Christian faith: attending services, taking part in activities, but not really understanding how something which happened so long ago – the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ – can have relevance to our daily lives now.

Jesus told us to remember His sacrifice (Matt 26:26-29) and in the days preceding His crucifixion we read of His anointing at Bethany (Matt 26:6-13). The woman who poured out the alabaster jar of perfume was extravagant in demonstrating her love for Jesus; we are told that the oil cost a year’s wages (Mk 14:5). She gave significantly, not just pulling the stopper off the jar and dabbing perfume on Jesus, but lavishly anointing His whole body with it. She understood somehow that this person had such enormous significance in her life that He was worth everything she had.

God longs for us to pour out our whole lives before Him and to serve Him with everything we have. He longs for the historical significance of His sacrifice to permeate the everyday offerings of our daily living so that all we have is touched by His fragrance and poured out in service to a world that is dying to hear of His love.