Today was the second prayer walk and once again, we walked various streets in Goldthorpe, praying that God would bring life by His Spirit to this place.

So many parts of Goldthorpe are ruined and desolate. The church that used to meet on Frederick Street has closed:

The Barnsley British Cooperative Society used to have a building here, but this is now just a house and the commemorative plaque is damaged:

But the picture is not all doom and gloom. We saw more new houses being built today:

The old secondary school was demolished and a new building (Dearne ALC) is now open:

The Dearne Enterprise Centre on Barnburgh Lane works hard to offer adult education classes, training and benefits advice as well as giving opportunities for volunteering (this is where I first learnt to use a computer twenty-five years ago!)

And JJ’s Chippy on Frederick Street was celebrating 15 years of trading today, offering various raffle prizes to loyal customers:

We live in the physical world, but we also inhabit the spiritual world since we have been seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph 2:6). There are times when all we see with our natural eyes is desolation and death, barrenness and brokenness. Last week we were encouraged by Isaiah 58:12 (“Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”) This week, I have been greatly encouraged by Ezekiel 37, inspired by the song ‘Awake My Soul’ on the new Chris Tomlin album, ‘Burning Lights’. This song looks at how we need God’s Spirit to breathe on us and God’s word to speak to us if we are to have life. In Ezekiel 37, Ezekield sees the miraculous as the valley of dry bones comes to life as he prophesies in obedience to God:

‘Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.”’ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army.’ (Ezek 37:9-10)

“Breathe on me, breath of God, breathe on me
Breathe on me, breath of God, breathe on me
I come alive, I’m alive when You breathe on me
I come alive, I’m alive when You breathe on me

Awake, awake, awake my soul,
God, resurrect these bones
From death to life, through You alone
Awake my soul.” (‘Awake My Soul’, Chris Tomlin)
‘Awake My Soul’, Chris Tomlin, featuring Lecrae

As I walk the streets of Goldthorpe, this is my prayer: ‘God, breathe on these streets. Breathe on these people. God, resurrect these bones. God, where there are broken walls, repair them. Where there are streets with boarded-up houses, restore them. Where there is death, bring life.’ Only God can do this, but our God is able!

Towards the end of 2012, I looked back at key themes and said that I felt surrender was probably the word that best summed up all I had learnt that year. Hard on the heels of that lesson was probably the ever-growing belief (summarised in two songs in particular, ‘Even If’ and ‘Sovereign Over Us’) that God is in control and that takes a lot of the strain out of life! Even though it does not mean our lives will be free from trouble or pain, the knowledge that God is in control and is sovereign over all helps us to endure and to rejoice even in difficult circumstances.

The new album from Chris Tomlin, ‘Burning Lights’, was released this week and I have enjoyed listening to both familiar songs and new ones. Funnily enough, one song on this album also highlights this theme! It’s simply called ‘Sovereign’ and again reminds us that God is with us in every circumstance of life and can be trusted to work everything for good (Rom 8:28).

“Sovereign in the mountain air
Sovereign on the ocean floor
With me in the calm
With me in the storm

All my hopes
All I need
Held in Your hands
All my life
All of me
Held in Your hands.
All my fears
All my dreams
Held in Your hands.” (‘Sovereign’, Chris Tomlin, Martin Chalk, Jason Ingram, Matt Redman & Jonas Myrin)
‘Sovereign’, Chris Tomlin

Last night’s Bible study looked at the challenging words in James 4:11-12, where we are urged to watch our speech and avoid slander of other believers. James has already had a lot to say about the power of words in James 3. This topic is always relevant to us and always challenges us. In Psalm 34:12-13, we read “Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.” Words can be used to encourage, uplift and support people, but they can also be used to discourage, belittle, scorn and destroy. People whose lives are governed by God’s Spirit need to have self-control in what they speak and allow God to speak wisdom through us.

It is very easy to look down on others and to assume that we are always right. James warns against judging others. This is a topic we examined extensively when studying Romans (see Romans 14), but last night we focussed on the reasons why only God is qualified to judge. God knows everything (see Ps 139:1-4). Only He knows people’s hearts, their motivation, their thoughts, words and actions. Only He has perfect wisdom and understanding. His judgments are true and just and beyond our understanding(2 Thess 1:5, Rom 11:33. He is the righteous Judge (2 Tim 4:8). Jesus showed us how to entrust Himself to the One who judges justly by His response to those who crucified Him (1 Peter 2:23). Our tendency is to want to defend ourselves and exonerate ourselves by blaming others, but if we have learnt the value of humility, then we do not need to raise ourselves up at the expense of other people. Instead, we will learn to serve others and will be content to wait for God to judge. Jesus often refused to answer the Pharisees’ disdainful questions which were intended to trap Him, even though He was fully qualified to judge! (John 8) We need to be willing to put the needs of others before our own needs and allow God to have the final word.

First of all, answers to the photos posted from the quiz!

1) Iron Man
2) Michael Jackson
3) Peter Pan
4) Simon Cowell
5) Wallace & Gromit

Christmas and the January sales often bring us the opportunity to buy and receive new clothes. But the clothes God has to offer us are far more important than any bargain we may get in the sales!

In a divine exchange that is truly amazing, our ‘filthy rags’ (Isaiah 64:6) – which is what our own righteousness and goodness look like to God – are exchanged for ‘robes of righteousness and garments of salvation’ (Isaiah 61:10).

We looked at some examples of filthy clothing and talked about how much value our world places on external appearances:

Just as no amount of scrubbing or washing powder will get rid of the stains on those clothes, nothing we do can remove our sins from us, but Jesus has made the way for our sins, though red as crimson, to become as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18) through His death on the cross.

Once we have exchanged sackcloth for garments of praise and joy (see Ps 30:11), we have a whole new set of clothes to put on:
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Col 3:12-14).

The clothes God wants us to wear are characteristics of Christ (elsewhere referred to as ‘fruit of the Spirit’) which are far more important than any fashion parade or jewellery we may wear. God wants us to wear:

1) compassion
2) kindness
3) humility
4) gentleness
5) patience
6) forgiveness
7) love.

The Message version of Colossians 3:14 says “dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you. Wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.”

Our ‘all-purpose garment’ (like the little black dresses below?!) can look very different. We all speak different ‘love languages’ and have to learn to express love in a variety of ways.

Love can be shown in different ways (spending time with people, serving them, speaking encouragingly and kindly to them and so affirming them, through hugs and giving gifts), but most of all, when we wear the clothes Christ gives us, we become ‘clothed with Christ’ (Gal 3:27) and can reflect His character to all around us.

The first family service of 2013 looked at the subject of divine clothes, but we started with a quiz about famous people or characters who can be recognised simply by their outfits!

Or can they?!

Mark had got some exciting clothing prizes for winners!

These T-shirts were quickly donned:

We also had a birthday to celebrate, the first in 2013!

Dave spoke from John 18:33-37 this morning, looking at Jesus as our King.

The world’s idea of what a king is is not at all the kind of king Jesus represents, however. An earthly king was a powerful human being who secured order and peace and was honoured and respected, revered and feared. Nowadays, the monarchy generally is not held in high regard and there is a general lack of respect for any kind of authority. What does it mean, therefore, for us to own Jesus as King?

Pilate served the Roman Caesar, so he knew all about respecting (and fearing) authority. He knew what earthly kings looked like and recognised that Jesus was no earthly king! Jesus Himself confirmed this when He said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world… my Kingdom is from another place.’ (John 18:36) Despite the sign He placed above the cross, Pilate knew there was no legal basis for finding Jesus guilty of being the kind of king whom Rome would fear. There was no reason to crucify Him for the kind of sedition Rome feared. He simply was not that kind of king.

We can reject Jesus’s kingship in our own lives, either by thinking He is authoritarian and a king in the fashion of all worldly things or by thinking His kingdom only applies to the spiritual realm and has no bearing on how we live our lives on earth. In actual fact, we need to understand that Jesus’s kingship is not like the world’s idea of a king. He exercised His power by serving others, by giving, by forgiving and by loving. He demonstrated what truth, faith, hope, love and life really look like. We need to accept, believe and obey Him, secure in the reality that Jesus reigns. He really is the One in charge and in control of our lives and of the universe. He brings healing and peace to the world and has control over darkness. Jesus is King!