Tonight a group of volunteers from church came to clean, tidy and set up for the Big Birthday Bash tomorrow.

Preparing craft activities:

The Sunday School children have prepared favour boxes to give out to people:

The worship room was cleaned and the photo displays set up:

Tomorrow will be an ideal opportunity to give suggestions for future improvements:

So we are all set to celebrate and to focus on all that God has done! Thanks to all who helped with all the preparations both during the week and tonight. We are so grateful for your help and your ongoing love and support. Come along tomorrow and enjoy!

The Bible study on Thursday looked at 1 John 3:1-3, and how we are different because of what God has done. Differences can be startling, bemusing… or annoying. God is seeking to develop His family likeness in us (affecting our hearts and minds – see Jer 17:9, Ezek 11:19 and Rom 12:2, Eph 4:23) and this inevitably leads to a culture clash. Just as the world reacted to Jesus with bewilderment and hostility (see John 1:9-11, 1 Pet 2:4-8), so at times we will offend others simply because we are dancing to a  different tune. Jesus was so contrary to the expectations of the Jews concerning the Messiah that they rejected Him and their obstinacy made a shipwreck of their salvation. We do not go out of our way to offend others, but as we seek to love and befriend people and live according to God’s laws, at times we will face hostility and rejection (see Luke 6:26, Luke 10:37).

John reassures us of our identity as children of God, but also reminds us that ‘what we will be has not yet been made known.’  There are so many things from the Bible that we do know (eg there is only one God and no one comes to the Father except through Jesus), but at the same time, other truths can only be expressed through metaphor or simile (God is a rock, He is our Shepherd, a mighty fortress is our God, for example, using pictures from our known world to explain aspects of God), whilst other things have to be worked out and pieced together from the facts we do have. (The word ‘Trinity’, for example, is not used in the Bible, but the doctrine of the Trinity – God as Father, Son and Spirit – is clearly taught in various places in Scripture.) Other things remain mysteries which we cannot fully understand. John, writing at the end of his life, admits there are things that have not yet been made known. There are many truths about the future which we do not know or understand, but we do know that God promises we shall be transformed (1 Cor 15:44-53), that we will be with God forever (John 14:1-3) and that we shall be like Jesus. This gives us a hope that motivates us to purify ourselves, to live holy lives that are pleasing to Him.

Time flies when you’re having fun, the saying goes. Time certainly does seem to be flying. It only seems a few weeks since Mark casually asked if we realised that 2014 was the 50th anniversary of the church moving into its own premises on Beever Street, and here we are, just hours away from our Big Birthday Bash celebration weekend.

50 years of marriage is celebrated as a ‘Golden Anniversary’ and in the Bible that span of time is known as the ‘Year of Jubilee’ (Lev 25). Moses commanded the people: ‘Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.‘ (Lev 25:10) I’m not sure we could cope with a whole year of celebrations (it’s time-consuming getting craft activities prepared and photo exhibitions ready!), but certainly, we want to set apart this weekend as something holy to God, a time when we celebrate His faithfulness and reflect on all He has done in and through this church over the past fifty years as well as opening wide the doors of our building and inviting in people to ‘come and see what God has done, His awesome deeds for mankind!’ (Ps 66:5) It is a tremendous privilege to have been part of a community for that length of time and to reflect on the number of lives touched by God through the witness and outreach of this church. We are glad to look back and remember the wonders He has done (1 Chron 16:12) and testify to the fact that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Heb 13:8)

So, if you are free on Saturday 21st June, come along to our building on Market Street from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. to join in craft activities, enjoy refreshments and look at our photo exhibition as well as offer suggestions for the refurbishment of the community rooms which we hope will be the next step in our journey together. Or come along for the evening celebration, starting at 7 p.m. to hear more of what God has been and still is doing. Meetings on Sunday will be at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Everyone is welcome!

When we looked at Psalm 51 recently, verse 12 says ‘Restore to me the joy of your salvationand grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.‘ The theme of restoration is taken up in the Kutless song ‘Restore Me’ which echoes the prayer in v10-12 and Psalm 139:23-24:

‘Search my heart, my every thought,
Shine the light of truth on every part,
Let me see myself through who You are,
Where else can I go?
Only You can make me whole.

Restore me, pull me out of darkness, for Your glory,
Let the waves of mercy wash over me.
Holy, holy, holy,  I wanna see the fullness of Your majesty,
The beauty in the scars You’re wearing for me,
Jesus, please restore me…

Broken now, I’m at Your feet,
Cause without Your love I’m incomplete.
You’re my only hope to be set free,
Where else can I go?
Only You can make me whole.

By Your wounds we are healed, in Your death You revealed perfect love,
By Your grace we are saved, freedom’s price has been paid,
Through sacrifice You gave us life,
Now from the grave we can rise.’ (‘Restore Me’, Kutless)

God is a God who restores. Ezra and Nehemiah worked on restoring the temple after the exile. Job’s fortunes were restored by God after the difficulties he faced. Joel prophesied that all the locusts had eaten would be restored by God.  Psalm 14:7 says ‘When the Lord restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!’ Though we may fall, we shall arise (Micah 7:8), restored by the mercy and goodness of God.

The Big Birthday Bash is coming soon! Next weekend, the church will celebrate 50 years of work in our own buildings, first of all in Beever Street (from 1964 until 2010) and more recently in Market Street. We want to celebrate God’s faithfulness and share His love with all around us.

So… Saturday 21st June will see a community open day from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., with our usual Saturday coffee morning extended and craft activities held in the community room. We will be looking at the names of God and decorating rocks, building towers and colouring pictures amongst other activities such as face painting. Come along and look at a range of old photos of Goldthorpe and see how the village (and church members!) have changed over the years!

In the evening, we will be holding a special meeting at 7 p.m. Come along with testimonies of how God has been at work over the years and find out more about the work of the church with toddlers, children and young people and remember some of the songs from yesteryear! Refreshments will be served after the evening service.

Meetings will be at the usual times of 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Sunday 22nd June, but we are looking to see what God is saying and doing now as well as remembering all the wonders He has done over the past fifty years!

Today was Fathers’ Day, when traditionally we celebrate our fathers! Stephen spoke tonight on how every day can be Father’s Day, however, for as Mal 2:10 reminds us ‘Do we not all have one father? Did not one God create us?‘ Every day we can celebrate the fact that God is our Father.

Gen 1:26-28 reminds us that God created mankind in His image and we are special to God because we are made in His likeness. We see our own likeness in our children and God’s likeness is similarly reflected in us. Stephen’s recent sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer reminds us that we pray to ‘our Father in heaven’, that our relationship to God is personal and individual. ‘Inclusion’ is a buzz word in the educational realm at the moment, and God wants to include each one of us in His family, giving to all who believe the right to become children of God. (John 1:12) In God, we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28) As we accept Christ as our Saviour, we are born again into God’s family and become God’s own sons and daughters, given a reason to celebrate that lasts the whole year!