New Testament prophecy has both similarities and differences to prophecy in the Old Testament. It’s clear from the Gospels that Jesus is the fulfilment of much Old Testament prophecy (something Matthew, in particular, is keen to stress to the Jewish Christians to whom he wrote – see Matt 2:15, 17; Matt 13:14, Matt 35:54, Matt 27:9, for example, along with Luke 4:21, Luke 18:31, Luke 22:37, John 19:24), a fact which the apostles also stressed when first teaching people (see Acts 2-3, Acts 8.) The apostles’ authority in teaching the revelation of God was similar to the Old Testament prophets’ (see Luke 11:49, 2 Pet 3:2). Prophets are mentioned in the New Testament (see Acts 11:27-28, Acts 13:1, Acts 15:32, Acts 21:9), but it is clear from the fulfilment of Joel 2:28-29 at Pentecost that the gift of prophecy is more widespread in the New Testament, affecting many believers (hence Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians that all should eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially prophecy.)

The content of New Testament prophecy was similar to that in the Old Testament, including prediction, guidance, personal words (see 1 Tim 1:18) and incisive knowledge which revealed secret sins (see Acts 5) or which caused unbelievers to marvel at God’s knowledge (see 1 Cor 14:24-25, John 4). Prophetic words can be a valuable tool in evangelism (see Acts 8:26-40, Acts 10, Acts 16:8-10) and are for the encouragement, strengthening and comfort of the church. (1 Cor 14:3)

As with the Old Testament, the means of New Testament prophecy varied, including visions, dreams, pictures and symbolism as well as words. The prophecies we find in the New Testament did not necessarily have the same ‘weight’ as in the Old Testament (Agabus, for example, was not wholly accurate in his predictions about Paul’s fate in Jerusalem (Acts 21:11), but this does not appear to have been a problem for Paul or the other leaders.) All prophecy nowadays has to be weighed and tested (see 1 Cor 14:29, 1 Thess 5:19-22); it must be subject to the revelation God has given us in the Bible. The subjectivity of prophecy and the fact that it is open to misuse often lead us to be wary of this gift, but we must not throw the baby out with the bathwater. God is good and delights to give good gifts to His children. (Luke 11:13, Matt 7:11)

We also had two birthdays to celebrate.

The numbers on the photos (38 and 27) are clearly fantasy, but everyone’s entitled to dream…

Yan Hadley spoke tonight from Ps 34, focussing on God’s ability to deliver us.

The Reality of Affliction

Ps 34 was written by David at a time of great affliction as he faced many problems. The troubles that can afflict us can be varied, but tribulation and persecution will certainly come (see 1 Pet 4:12). The enemy causes problems (as Job testifies) and at times people can cause problems (including family problems). When we face affliction, we have to hold on to God’s truth and reject the devil’s lies (and half-truths…)

The Release from Affliction

God promises to deliver us from troubles. Ps 34:19 acknowledges the troubles David has, but he is keen to focus on the Lord’s ability to deliver. We need to look for God’s ‘buts’ in the Bible (see Ps 30:5, Jn 10:10, 2 Cor 4:8). All things are possible to those who believe (Mk 9:23), but the key is for us to look to God in expectant faith, knowing that He is willing and able to release us from snares, traps and pitfalls.

The Response of the Righteous

We can respond to troubles either by adopting wrong attitudes (usually involving doubt) or by focussing on God’s ability to hear and deliver us. It’s easy to believe God when everything is going well, but He longs for us to trust Him in the dark times as well. David’s response is to bless and praise God at all times (Ps 34:1, see also the disciples’ response to opposition in Acts 5:41). David shows us that we need to respond to trials by seeking God (Ps 34:4), reminding us that those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. (Ps 34:10) The experience of those who have seen God at work in deliverance is to pass this message on so others can believe for and experience this themselves. ‘My God is able to deliver!’

It’s exciting to know that our support of the Salvation Army food bank continues to help needy families. Recently, Alison has been involved with the ‘Love Where You Live’ team, working on community clean-ups (and feeding all the volunteers who were involved in this!)

In addition to the support given by individuals and local churches, the Salvation Army will now be receiving food via collaboration between FareShare and Tesco’s. Once a week, chilled and fresh food and bakery items nearing their sell-by dates will be given to the food bank, which will be a great help!

The Salvation Army is involved with a range of activities to help the community, including a job club on Mondays, a Choose to Lose weight management class on Fridays (similar to the one held at GPCC on Tuesdays at 11 a.m.) and a crochet class. Volunteers are always welcome, so if you have spare time during the week, do drop in on Mondays or Fridays.

Stephen spoke this morning on the subject ‘Where is God?’ In today’s society, people may wonder where God is in all the turmoil, killings, war, unrest and brokenness we see in the world. The answers to this question are found in the Bible.

In Genesis, we are introduced to God. God is seen in the Garden of Eden, having fellowship with Adam and Eve (Gen 3:8-9). God’s very presence was with mankind, walking with Adam and Eve in the Garden, indicating a close relationship which meant people lived with an awareness of God’s presence. However, sin caused man to hide from God’s presence, and since the innocence and bliss of Eden, there has been both a longing for God and a desire to escape from Him in men’s hearts.

Ex 40:34 shows us that God’s presence with His people in the Old Testament was fixed in a specific place, with mankind unable to approach God directly because of sin. God was still there, but at a distance: only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies once a year; there was a thick curtain separating man from God. This curtain was torn from top to bottom when Jesus died (Matt 27:51), indicating that the barrier between God and man was removed and we are now free to enter God’s presence through the blood of Jesus.

God is no longer dwelling in a temple or building alone, however. Now, He lives within His children. 1 Cor 3:6-17 makes it explicit that we are God’s house; we are God’s field; we are His building and we are God’s temple. God’s Spirit now resides within us; we are God’s dwelling-place. The answer to the question ‘Where is God?’ is not just the theological fact that God is everywhere, but the revolutionary truth that He is there with us, Immanuel, walking with us, helping us, dwelling within us.

On Sunday 12th June we’re at Cherry Tree Court for our morning service (10.30 a.m.) and at Market Street in the evening (6 p.m.) Yan Hadley is our guest speaker on Sunday evening.

We’ll be having a cleaning and preparation day on Saturday 18th June after the coffee morning, so if you have a couple of hours to spare (12-2 p.m.), do come along to church! The ‘preparation’ part involves checking out the roof and guttering prior to summer holiday work and we hope to clean the community room and other areas prior to the Open Day on 9th July.

Later that afternoon, some of the men will be going to Hope House Church in Barnsley for the CVM Men’s Meeting (starting with a barbecue at 5 p.m. and an evening meeting.) See Garry for more details.

The community open day at GPCC will be on Saturday 9th July from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. We’ll be open for people to look round the church building (and consider what ‘the church’ really is, with photographs and exhibitions of what the Bible teaches about the church) and will be serving refreshments and doing craft activities in the community room. If you could help with face painting or other fun activities for children, please let us know as soon as possible as we try to organise activities which will be interesting and will draw people in. In the evening (6 p.m.), we’re hoping to run a family film night so that we can continue reaching out to our local community, demonstrating the light and love of Christ to all.