In the 1990s. John Major ran a Conservative political campaign with the motto ‘Back to Basics‘, emphasising the need to return to basic moral values. The campaign backfired when various Conservative ministers were caught out in a number of moral scandals, including adultery and corruption. As is often the case, our moral aspirations may be laudable, but we lack the power in and of ourselves to live the way God intends us to live…

January is traditionally a time for ‘New Year’s resolutions’, focussing on things we know we need to change and intend to do differently. So often, the resolutions fizzle out long before the month ends. Nonetheless, the need to go back to basics, to evaluate afresh what is truly important in our lives and to make adjustments accordingly, is very sound.

Basics are often scorned because we feel we have outgrown them. One of the things I loved about teaching languages was the fact that the basics are absolutely fundamental to all progress in language. I saw them as building blocks. Every single thing learnt in a language is not wasted, but becomes the launchpad to new discoveries. The bricks at the bottom – our first words and verbs – never become irrelevant or unneeded:

In the same way, there are basic Scriptural truths which we never outgrow. We are saved by grace through faith and we live by faith. (Eph 2:8-9, Gal 3:1) God loves us so much that He sent Jesus, His only Son, to die for us so that we don’t have to perish – and not just us, but the whole world! (John 3:16)  God is maker and ruler of everything. (Col 1:16-17) Every week at our church we celebrate Communion, the sacrament God has given the church to remind us of the basics of His love, grace, mercy and power.

For Christmas, I received the Chris Tomlin CD ‘Love Ran Red.’ As I’ve been listening to this over the past few weeks, I was struck by the very basic nature of some of these songs. Chris Tomlin has been writing songs for over twenty years and yet some of these songs sound so simple and basic. At first, I was a little irritated by that. But as I continued to listen, I realised that just because something contains simplicity does not make it simplistic, nor does it invalidate the truth that is contained therein. We all need to be reminded of basic truth. We all need to build our lives on basic, foundational truth: ‘ By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care.  For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ‘ (1 Cor 3:10-11)

One song I keep returning to because of its very foundational truth is ‘Jesus Loves Me’. Don’t let its simplicity or repetition deceive you. You need the truth it contains. You need to build your life on the simple truth that Jesus loves you and is for you. You need to know that there’s nowhere you can run where He will not find you. You need to know He holds your heart and has died for you. You need this truth more than any of your resolutions, because where your resolutions may fade and fail, His love lasts forever and is unfailing.

Following our family service on ‘Signposts & Directions’, I have had firsthand experience this week of the topic when I’ve had to direct the bus driver on the 226 route! Thrust unexpectedly into the role  on Monday morning when another driver was ill, he arrived at the first stop of the route looking utterly bewildered, unsure how to get the ticket machine working or where to go next and somewhat disorientated by the dark. It was a case of sitting at the front of the bus and patiently guiding him through the route: ‘carry straight on here,’ ‘take the next right’, ‘go straight on at the roundabout’ and so on.

It’s so much easier to find your way when you can see clearly: I met him again this morning in the daylight and he told me he has no trouble with the route in the daytime, but still feels unsure where he’s going when it’s dark. We so need God’s light to shine on our path to help us to see the way forward, for distances and buildings and shapes look completely different in the dark. As Tim Hughes sings in ‘The Way’, ‘You’re the light shining bright in the darkness.’  We need the light of the world to walk with us so that we are not walking in darkness. (John 8:12)

Jesus told us He is the way, the truth and the life. (John 14:6) One of my most eagerly awaited Christmas presents was a new book by Eugene Peterson called ‘The Jesus Way’, part of his series on ‘Spiritual Theology’. As he writes there, ‘the Jesus way wedded to the Jesus truth brings about the Jesus life.’ (P4) As we follow Jesus this year, He will lead us and direct us. Not only does it matter which direction we’re heading, the way that we do things matters as well, for ‘the ways Jesus goes about loving and saving the world are personal’ (P1) and never purely pragmatic, like the world’s ways. I’m not sure the bus driver would have found his way had it not been for the personal guidance of his passengers who were wholly familiar with the route and who could, therefore, guide him through the maze of roads and estates. (For those of you who’ve never taken the 226, this has to be the longest route from Thurnscoe to Barnsley imaginable, travelling through Goldthorpe, Bolton-on-Dearne, Manvers, Wath, Brampton and Wombwell, to name just a few of the places en route!) In the same way, we need the personal guidance of Jesus if we are to navigate life’s pitfalls, potholes, highs and lows.

Thanks to the children who have provided money to support our ‘Compassion’ child, Bedline. Tonight, we emptied some of the money boxes and had £25.73 in one and over £8 in another:

Support from all the congregation and especially the children has been fantastic, so a very big THANK YOU to all who have given so generously.

To follow God’s directions requires perseverance and a consistently upward gaze (see Heb 12:1-3, Col 3:1-3). We may feel confused because we cannot see the ‘finish’ line from where we are and are uncertain as to the path we should take. We need to be confident that God is perfectly capable of closing doors that we shouldn’t go through and opening doors for us that lead to new things. (Rev 3:7) As long as we fix our eyes on Jesus, He will lead us in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. (Ps 23:3) He is able to ‘barricade the road that goes Nowhere’ (Ps 119:29, The Message) and lead us towards our ultimate destination, for Jesus is not only our destination, but is also the way we reach God (John 14:6) Psalm 119 talks a lot about God’s laws and His word and shows us that the best way to find God’s direction and signposts for our lives is by really getting to know His Word.

If we want to live a clean life, a pure life, if we want to walk according to God’s will and have a safe journey, we do this by carefully reading the map of God’s Word and following its instructions. We have to be single-minded in pursuit of God, following Him with all our hearts. Part of knowing how to follow God’s ways is asking God to give us insight and to teach us. We need God’s direction; we need to know what He wants us to do and we find those commands and insights in the Bible. It’s not just about knowing what God tells us to do, however. We have to do what He says. Our lives have to be ‘one long obedient response.’

Journeying at night is always more troublesome than during the day, so we need God to shed light on our paths (Ps 119:105) so we can clearly see the pitfalls the world places before us (temptations to despair or reliance on feelings, wealth, and so on which all act as detours away from God.) Whatever our feelings, let’s be sure that God walks with us on this journey. He will never leave us or forsake us (Heb 13:5) and always guides us and directs us as we trust in Him. (Prov 3:5-6)

God will give us the guidance and protection we need: guidance from His Word and from His Spirit, making truth come alive for us and speaking peace into our hearts. He will walk alongside us, just as Jesus walked alongside those disciples on the road to Emmaus, giving us the joy of His presence and the comfort only He can bring. His directions and signposts will lead us onto right paths and when we need special directions, He will speak to us, as Isaiah reminded the people: ‘Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”’ (Is 30:21) Our part is to immerse ourselves in this guide book, the Bible, and give God our obedience,  not acting as tourists who are only in this journey for the short haul, but learning to be Jesus’s disciples and pilgrims, constantly ‘looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God’, as Abraham did (Heb 11:10) and pressing on always towards God. (Phil 3:12-14)

Life can be considered a journey, and on all journeys it’s useful to have signposts and directions that can help us get from A to B. Maps and SatNavs can be useful guides, but sometimes signs aren’t always that helpful; the French sign pointing to ‘all directions’ and then in the opposite direction pointing to ‘other directions’ being a case in point!

Other confusing signs:

Some signs aren’t confusing, but do seem very bizarre:

For us to drive safely in the UK, we need to understand the Highway Code and obey it, and in the same way, God’s Word provides us with clear directions on how to live well. Psalm 19 is a marvellous psalm talking about the splendour of God’s creation, telling us that ‘the heavens declare the glory of God’ (Ps 19:1) and showing us the magnificence of all God has made. In the middle of the psalm, however, there is a section about God’s laws and His word which I’m going to read in the Message version:

‘The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road.’ (Ps 19:8)

‘The directions of God are plain and easy on the eye.’ (Ps 19:8)

‘The life-maps of God are right, showing the way to joy.’ (Ps 19:9)

‘There’s more: God’s Word warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure. Otherwise how will we find our way? Or know when we play the fool?’ (Ps 19:11-12)

If we want to do well in life and live according to God’s ways, we need to find out what the ‘ancient paths’ mentioned in Jer 6:16 are, those ‘tried-and-true’ paths which provide us with the right routes for our souls. Jesus told His disciples ‘Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.’ (Matt 7:13-14) The best route is not necessarily the one which looks the most direct or easiest, but we need to understand the call to discipleship and to be lifelong pilgrims, people on a journey towards God, like Abraham. (see Heb 11:8).

Tonight’s family service looked at the theme of Signposts & Directions. JP & Herlen produced some excellent games which reflected a keen attention to detail! First of all, we were given a treasure map (X marked the spot of the next clue), which helped us to complete a jigsaw:

Waiting for the clue:

Solving the puzzles:

Later, teams had to negotiate all kinds of obstacles for their cars to reach their destination:

After the heats, the two winners competed against each other and the winning team won a Ferrero Rocher prize (which did not last till the end of the service…!)

Runners-up:

We also had a birthday to celebrate: