Today was the day that owners decided Thumper the rabbit would venture outside for the first time. Thumper has been a house rabbit since he moved to Goldthorpe and has enjoyed exploring the house. At first, he was very nervous about this, but has grown in confidence, climbing on furniture, climbing the stairs, venturing into the slippy kitchen (where there is a slippier floor covering than the carpets elsewhere) and generally enjoying his new home.

The great outdoors, however… that is another thing altogether. Thumper would climb onto the window sill and gaze out at the garden, looking longingly at the grass and dandelions outdoors, but actually venturing that far was another story. It took a harness and lead and a good deal of determination on the owners’ part to persuade Thumper that it was worth it.

And worth it it certainly was! All that food! – an all-you-could want buffet!

All of this reminded me, however, how hard it can be for us to actually venture into the unknown. All the humans knew that Thumper would love being on the grass, with a much larger area to explore and food on demand. Thumper was not at all convinced. He spent at least fifteen minutes fighting the unfamiliar harness (not understanding that it was intended to protect him and help him) and just as long sitting by the back door, listening and quivering with fear.

We can be so like that. God beckons us on into pastures new and we sit, quivering with fear, paralysed, unable to imagine life outside our comfort zone. Even if our comfort zone is far from comfortable, we can still be hesitant about new adventures. ‘Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know,‘ the proverb goes, and so often, we are terrified to explore the vast immeasurable freedom that God has provided for us in Christ. (Gal 5:1)

But God has so much more for us to explore! Whether it’s to soar on eagle’s wings or to hop happily like a rabbit in a garden, God wants us to live in the freedom He has purchased for us.

‘You break us out of our cages
Into the wide open spaces.
We are free
Free as a bird on the wind.

No prison wall can contain us;
Your beating heart makes us fearless.
We are free
Free as a bird on the wind.

Love cannot be tamed
You shattered every chain

Let our praises run wild and free;
Your lion heart is alive in me.
Let our freedom and joy begin.
With You we’re dancing upon our chains;
With You we’re soaring on eagle’s wings.

Take us beyond our horizons
Leading us into your wildness
We are free
Free as a bird on the wind

You are the greatest adventure
You are my uncharted waters
We are free
Free as a bird on the wind

You made us for so much more.
You take us to greater shores.
You raise us above the storm.
We rise on eagle’s wings, we rise on eagle’s wings.’ (‘Free As A Bird’, Rend Collective)

Don’t let fear of the unknown stop you from stepping out with God. His plans for us are to prosper us; even when we feel confused and uncertain about the direction in which He leads us, we can trust His goodness, mercy and love. Thumper loved the dandelions and grass. We can lie down in green pastures and walk by still waters (Ps 23:2); we can feast on the abundance of God’s house. (Ps 36:8)

Our family service quiz tested our memories and recognition skills as we had to recognise and remember animals and words in a sequence!

There were, of course, prizes to be won.

Stephen then spoke about networks. When we talk about being online, we think of a computer connected to the Internet by a modem, but computers can be networked so that there can be communication between them (seen in office and school situations, for example.) The kind of connections we need as people, however, are fundamentally personal networks whereby we are connected to God and to other people.

Typical networks include friends, family and church. Friends are incredibly important in life; the mutual affection we have is deepened by shared experiences and personal tastes. We are bound to family through blood ties, and church is God’s idea for networking with people! All these networks demonstrate synergy, whereby the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

All of us can have a direct connection to God through prayer and God is connected to us through the Bible and the Holy Spirit. We need to make the most of our connections! – with friends, with family (being reconciled to estranged members if required), with church and with God. As we meditate on God’s Word, pray and seek to do God’s will in His way, we will be connected with God and with people. Let’s stay connected!

Tonight’s family service looked at the theme of staying connected to God. Mark spoke briefly about how we like to be online these days, connected to the World Wide Web, but www.God stands for different words!

God’s Will

Matt 7:21 reminds us that not everyone who calls Jesus ‘Lord’ will get to heaven; obedience to God is required. Jesus reminds us in Luke 22:41-42 that what counts is God’s will. We have to be prepared to surrender our will to God’s will if we are to stay connected to God.

God’s Way

Ps 27:11 asks God to teach us His ways and lead us in smooth paths. God’s ways can be summarised in the word ‘love’:

1 Cor 12:31-13:1 talks about the ‘better’ or ‘more excellent’ way, this being the way of love. God’s ways are motivated by love; Christians were first known as people of the ‘Way’ and we need to walk in this way every day.

God’s Work

Jesus defined His work as doing the Father’s will. Even as a boy of twelve, He told Mary and Joseph He had to do His Father’s work (Luke 2:49); later, He would say that He had to do the Father’s work while there was still time. (John 9:4) He is our example in fulfilling God’s work.

As we stay connected to the Father, we abide in the vine, in an intimate and organic relationship with God (John 15:1-8).

Garry spoke this morning on revealing God through mercy. Ex 34:6-7 gives us insight into God’s character: ‘the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.’ God’s compassion moves Him to action, compelling Him to step into situations to do something to remedy the problems. Matt 23:23 reminds us that ‘justice, mercy and faithfulness‘ are vitally important in life and we see these attributes perfectly balanced in God.

Ps 34:8 reminds us that we must ‘taste and see that the Lord is good.’ We are to savour, chew, meditate on God’s goodness, and nowhere is this more evident than when we think about mercy. Matt 18:23-27 shows us what mercy means in practical terms: to owe more than we ever have chance of repaying and to have this debt completely cancelled. In Luke 15:11-24, we see how mercy and compassion are combined in the father’s heart as he runs to his returning son and, instead of punishing him, throws the best garments and rings on him and orders a feast of celebration. The mercy of God is lavish (see Jn 3:16), but although it is free to the one receiving mercy, to the one showing mercy, it costs everything.

Mercy is not ‘fair’ or ‘just’, for we do not get what we deserve. We are called to dwell on how much we have tasted God’s mercy (like a wine taster training his palate to discern the different grapes) so that we can then share God’s mercy with those around us.

The servant in Matt 18 was forgiven a great debt, but refused to cancel the much smaller debt owed to him. We need to savour the mercy we have received so we can pass it on to others. Our old debt has been cancelled, but we now have a new debt to God: to reflect His likeness to all. Col 3:12-13 reminds us we have to clothe ourselves with compassion and love and bear with others, carrying their burdens. Mercy triumphs over judgment, James tells us (Js 2:13), being triumphant when we allow mercy to set others free from their burdens and guilt.

Our church is called Goldthorpe Pentecostal Community Church. We’re situated in Goldthorpe; we are a Pentecostal church believing in the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit; we are a church because we ‘are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.’ (1 Pet 2:5) We also care about our community and are committed to working ‘with God in our community, with God for our community.’ We believe God has placed us here in this part of South Yorkshire and that He cares about the Dearne Valley.

This month, we’ll be praying especially for our community. Jesus told His disciples that they – we – are the salt of the earth, the light of the world. (Matt 5:13-14) Our job is be salt and light, doing good deeds which will bring glory to our Father in heaven. (Matt 5:16) Peter went on to say ‘live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.‘ (1 Pet 2:12) The way we live our lives matters enormously as we are called to ‘be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth…bringing out the God-colours in the world.’ (The Message)

This month, pray for:

• the witness of each church in the area to the local community through different outreaches and our Sunday worship
• all those working to improve our community (the local Council, residents, voluntary groups and businesses)
• economic, social and spiritual regeneration in our area
• God to prosper Goldthorpe and the surrounding villages and build up this place (see Ps 51:18, Is 58:12)

Think, too, about how you can personally be involved in helping our community. As well as our church outreaches involving young people (Monday nights), toddlers (Friday mornings) and the coffee morning (Saturday mornings), there are many voluntary groups seeking to improve our area, many of whom need help in ways that perhaps suit you:

• The Salvation Army runs a Job Club on Mondays (10 a.m. – 2 p.m.) and people who can help others write CVs and prepare job applications are always needed.
• The Dearne Area Team works with volunteers on litter-picking and improving how our local area looks
• Dearne hOurbank seeks to bring volunteers together to help each other and are organising local walks to help people get together and improve their health, amongst other things. They meet at Cherry Tree Court every Thursday at 10.30 a.m. if you’d like to find out more.
• Goldthorpe Development Group is working to improve Goldthorpe and is responsible for the Sunday Markets and fantastic Christmas Market last year.
• Big Local is made up of local residents in Goldthorpe, Bolton-on-Dearne and Highgate who are responsible for overseeing and funding projects in the community which can make a real difference to residents’ lives. Meetings are held on the 1st Tuesday in each month at 5.30 p.m. at Dearne ALC and all are welcome.

Christian Vision for Men (CVM) is an organisation seeking to help men be Christians in an increasingly pressurised world where gender identity seems under attack and men in church can be a minority. It seeks to help men understand what it means to be ‘brothers in Christ’ and to help churches to be welcoming to men. (It goes without saying that churches should be welcoming to all, but sometimes the higher ratio of women to men in churches makes it harder for men to feel comfortable in a church setting.)

Paul Gask is the guest speaker at a meeting in Barnsley on Saturday 18th June entitled ‘Winning Men’. It looks at reasons why men can be put off church, the benefits of men’s groups and other topical issues. The event starts with a free BBQ at 5 p.m. and the meeting itself starts at 7 p.m. at Hope House Church on Wellington Street, Barnsley. Places have to be booked by phoning 01226 211011 or emailing admin@hopehousechurch.org.uk. Or see Garry – it would be great to have a group of men going along to this and finding out more.