Last night’s Information & Envisioning evening looked at what the church has been involved in over the past year. For many people, this is not new information, but it is sometimes good to pause and reflect on what is happening locally as we seek to be ‘with God in the community, with God for the community.’

Outreach ministries include the coffee mornings held on Saturdays, the Mums & Toddlers group on Fridays, the youth club on Mondays, and badminton on Fridays. These may not seem overtly ‘Christian’ in that no songs are sung, no preaching is given and there is no official time for prayer. But because of the presence of God’s people at each one of these meetings, God is with us as we talk and engage with people from our local community. The number of different people who help at these groups is amazing and there are opportunities galore to get to know people, share God’s love and pray when asked.

We also meet at Cherry Tree Court once a month, seeking to share God’s love with the older residents there. Please continue to pray for this ministry, especially that the residents who are not in favour of this meeting will not be able to spoil things for those who are and who enjoy the fellowship and teaching!

The support of the Salvation Army food bank reflects God’s heart for the poor and needy. People’s generosity in providing food and other items such as clothing is much appreciated. Those who help with the distribution of the food parcels see how much difference this can make to those in crisis. The Salvation Army works closely with other organisations to try to provide support in other areas (job clubs, help with those suffering from alcohol or drug addictions, help in learning how to budget and cook healthy food and so on.) It’s been good to see some local people get on training courses or find work and so find purpose and hope after difficult times. It’s a privilege to be part of that helping process.

Over the past year, we have seen new people join the church and others decide to get involved in different things that the church is doing, including helping with Sunday School and music as well as youth, coffee morning and Mums and Toddlers. Prayer, worship and preaching remain key aspects of what the church does: aspects which may well seem ridiculous or insignificant to the outsider (see 1 Cor 1:18-31), but which are fundamental to our spiritual life. We are also thrilled to be able to support missionaries in Mozambique and India (watch this space for plans for a missions trip to India!) and to sponsor Bedline, a little girl in Haiti. We are well aware that our neighbour extends far beyond the Dearne Valley and that God’s heart is for the whole world.

The church is far more than the building on Market Street, though we are immensely grateful to God for His provision of this building and for providing the ongoing finances – often through the sacrificial giving of members – to run all that we do. Last year, significant improvement to the building included cavity wall and ceiling insulation, new boilers and heating, sound reduction panels, new chairs and tables and the refurbishment of the children’s room as well as new carpets to some areas and a stage partition to replace the ageing curtains. We are constantly amazed at how God provides income (including income from hiring the building to the community and from the coffee mornings) and grateful for those who Gift Aid their donations, allowing us to receive income from HMRC!

When we stop to look at all the church is doing, we are immensely grateful not only to God but to all the people whose enthusiasm, commitment and sacrifice show us that their faith is outworked in totally practical ways. The Salvation Army shop in Goldthorpe has a new sign on it that says ‘Belief In Action.’ We believe and therefore act! Thank you to all who help in any way and to God for His immense grace and generosity to us.

1 Cor 5:9 strongly implies that Paul had already written a letter to the Corinthians before the one we know as 1 Corinthians, but of this letter, we have no trace. It is interesting to consider just how many letters Paul must have written during his lifetime and look at those we have in our New Testament. Why don’t we have all of them? Surely they were all of historical interest?

Christians believe that the Bible is inspired by God and that He has ensured everything we need for life and for salvation is contained within that word. We do not know why we do not have other letters written by the apostles, but the fact remains that we have all that we need. This letter shows us some of the concerns facing that church, but it also has advice and help applicable to all Christians, as the opening verses make clear.

The church in Corinth may have had problems with arrogance, richness and promiscuity, but Paul’s confidence for them is rooted in God’s character: in His grace and faithfulness (1 Cor 1:1-9). We are all sanctified by the Lord and are in the process of being made holy. Our lives may often look muddled and far from perfect, but we are secure not in our own efforts to keep and save but in God’s ability to complete the work He has started (see also Phil 1:6). We have a powerful, faithful, miracle-working God who is able to keep us strong in the faith.

During a short break in Derbyshire recently, we set out on a walk during which we came across some ruins known as ‘Bateman’s House’, a pump house used as one of the last attempts to keep the mines drained and workable. Garry was keen to explore:

As always, he was keen to explore the countryside, looking at things from what were (to me) rather strange angles:

What these photographs teach me is that there are always more than one way of looking at things and that the angle of observation will inevitably vary from person to person. This reminds me also that our perspective matters a lot. Life is full of strange sights and how we choose to look at things will affect what we see. If we look down, we will see much less than if we look up! Let’s fix our eyes, hearts and minds on things above (Col 3:1-2) and see things from God’s angle!

This Saturday (28th February) we have the church’s Information & Envisioning Evening at 6 p.m. in the community room. This is an opportunity to look back on all God has been doing over the past year (with the opportunity to find out more about the different ministries of the church) and also to look ahead to some of the ways we feel God is leading us on in the future. Do come along if you are able and are interested in the work of God in our area and want to know how we can continue to be with God in the community, allowing Him to shine through us and use us to spread the knowledge of God’s glory to all around us. Paul reminded the Corinthians ‘For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.’ (2 Cor 4:6)

If you can help with home baking for this, please do bring along a cake or buns as we’ll enjoy time together discussing ideas and vision for the future and such things usually go down better with a drink and something to eat! The meeting probably won’t be suitable for very young children, but please do try and attend if at all possible.

The family service is this Sunday (1st March) and we will be looking at ‘Lessons in Obedience’ in a quacking way… The family service starts at 6 p.m.

Friday 6th March sees the Women’s World Day of Prayer meeting at St Peter’s church in Barnburgh, starting at 6 p.m. The service has been written by Christian ladies from the Bahamas, so we are all encouraged to wear bright colours at this meeting (a contrast to the winter drabness and a reminder that spring is on its way!) There will be a collection of tinned food for the Goldthorpe Salvation Army at this meeting, so if you are able to attend, please do bring along some tinned food if possible. Let us know if you need transport to this event.

In March, we are also hosting a Christian bookstall again, so if you would like to buy any Easter cards or books or CDs, there will be a selection from the CLC bookshop in Sheffield available to buy on Sunday 8th March. This is a great opportunity to buy high-quality Christian literature and gifts, so don’t forget to bring your money on that day if you want to buy!

Easter is coming soon in the first weekend in April, so watch this space for further details about Easter services and activities to help us focus on the great work of salvation accomplished by Jesus through His death and resurrection.

Stephen continued his series on spiritual armour by looking at spiritual footwear (Eph 6:12-17). Nike may have the slogan ‘Just Do It’, but we too need to be sure to put on every item of armour mentioned in this passage if we are to stand firm for God.

Nowadays we have a great choice of footwear available to us (formal shoes, casual shoes, boots, trainers, flip-flops, to name but a few.) However, God’s footwear is specific and an essential part of our kit. The traditional Roman sandal gave ankle support and had nails on the base to help with marching long distances:

Our feet need to be equally prepared for speed and endurance. Unusually, however, in any discussion on war, our feet are fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. If we are in a war zone and facing conflict, how can peace stand in this place?

Paul makes it clear that our enemy is not flesh and blood (i.e. people), but the spiritual forces of evil aligned against God. Ps 29:11 reminds us that God gives both strength and peace to His people. Our weapons are not of this world and peace is a vital part of our armour. Matt 5:9 reminds us that we are blessed when we are peacemakers, for we can make a difference through our peacefulness. Eph 2:13-14 reminds us that Jesus is our peace, for He has destroyed the barrier that was between us and God and now  we can know peace with God (Rom 5:1) and with each other. Soldiers are usually urged to move forward aggressively and assertively, but our battle requires a unique spiritual armour, whereby we recognise that the God of peace is the one who will crush Satan under our feet (Rom 16:20) and that love and peace are the way that we will see hearts changed and lives transformed.

God’s footwear makes a difference to our lives. We just have to put it on and stand firm.

After a weekend spent looking at silk flowers for weddings and other preparations for weddings, it was quite ironic to find Dave’s sermon this morning was on the topic of ‘the man without wedding clothes’, looking at Matt 22:1-14! God’s word is given to us to warn, teach, encourage and train us in righteousness, but so often, we find we listen half-heartedly, not really applying His word to our own lives. Jesus told this parable towards the end of his life, once again addressing the Pharisees with their acute sense of self-confidence and self-righteousness and showing how we are entirely dependent on God’s mercy and favour.

Wedding banquets are celebrations, times of rejoicing. In order for us to have this kind of joy in our everyday lives, we need to clothe ourselves with the wedding clothes God provides. The king invited everyone, even those who would not normally expect to receive such an invitation, and provided clothing for all who were invited. God provides robes of righteousness and garments of salvation for us to wear, but the invitation in itself is not enough. We have to actually put these garments on and wear faith if we are to be received into the celebration!

In order to live with the kind of joy which characterises such celebrations, we need to apply Paul’s teaching from Phil 4:4-9. We have to rejoice in the Lord always because we know He is near to us, no matter how we feel. We have to let go of anxiety and fear, asking God for the help we need, being thankful for His presence with us and allowing the peace of God to shine in our lives. Next, we have to set our minds on all that is good, pure and wholesome, concentrating on all that is positive in God. Finally, Paul urged the Philippians to put into practice all they had seen in him. Having good role models is essential; we have to fill our lives with good things and follow good examples in order to experience the fullness of life and joy which God promises.