People talk about ‘lightbulb moments’, those times when it’s as if the light goes on and understanding dawns, maybe for the first time, maybe in a new way. As a teacher, it’s one of my greatest privileges when I see those moments in a pupil’s life, when I see them ‘get’ what I’m trying to teach, when they move from just hearing the words I say to actually understanding them.

It’s often the same for us: there are moments when God’s word really comes alive in our lives and we finally ‘see’ what God is saying or we understand what something means in a fresh way. We might not be able to explain why we didn’t see this before; we might not be able to articulate what has happened, but something deep within us opens up and we finally ‘get’ it!

Those moments are precious and can happen anywhere, anyplace, often at the most unlikely times. We don’t have to be in a church service or even reading the Bible, though these are obviously times when understanding can dawn simply because we are in a place where we are listening and are receptive to God. But we might hear His still, small voice while we’re walking the dog or washing the dishes. God is able to communicate with us at any time and in any place.

I can remember one such moment, achingly simple as I re-tell the story and yet life-changing for me in ways I still can’t fully articulate. It happened in 2006, at the start of a new school year, while I was worshipping with my colleagues. It happened through a song, the Chris Tomlin song ‘Enough’, as the words reached deep into me and opened my eyes to the fact that no matter what happened in my life, God was sufficient for me:
“And all of You is more than enough for all of me,
For every thirst and every need:
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHEm-b4IRYk

I had known the verse in 2 Corinthians 12:9 (“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”) for years, but suddenly it was as if that verse had been ‘switched on’ (rather like the Christmas lights get switched on at a specific time in towns and cities throughout the country). Within the next two months, all kinds of things happened – colleagues’ illnesses, a teenage pregnancy at school, my own diagnosis with diabetes – which really rocked the security of my world. But still this song and this verse kept shining in the darkness and the darkness could not overcome it.

We can’t ‘make’ such moments happen. But we can stop, pause, listen for God’s voice (as Dave recently preached on the benefits of silence) and be aware that He is the Light of the world, able to turn on the lightbulbs whenever we need them!

Christmas this year falls on a Sunday, so there are some slight alterations to times of services.

Services will be held on 4th, 11th and 18th December at the usual times of 10.30 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. There will be no family service this month because there will be quite a few special services.

The carol service will be held on Sunday 18th December at 6.00 p.m. and will involve the children taking part.

Prior to that, on Saturday 17th December at 7.30 p.m. we have a special Christmas concert featuring the singer Paul Poulton and the Celtic singer Viv Neville. That will be great entertainment and entry is free, so do come along to that if you are able!

There will be no services at all on Christmas Day.

Midweek services will be held on Thursday 1st, 8th and 15th December, but there will be no midweek services on Thursday 22nd or 29th December.

Prayer meetings will be held on Friday 2nd and 16th December only.

Advance notice for January: we will have a Communion service on Sunday 1st January 2012 at 10.30 a.m. and will hold our usual New Year’s Day party that afternoon at 5 p.m.

Hope you’ve all got that in your diaries!

Stephen continued his journey through Genesis last night. After the flood, God established a covenant with Noah and his descendants and we then go on to read the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, his sons, who themselves had sons (Gen 10:1). The account of Japheth’s sons is in Genesis 10:2-5, Ham’s sons in Genesis 10:6-20 and Shem’s sons in Genesis 10:21-31 – 70 in all. God was involved in all this work, but it was not long before men continued to sin.

Genesis 11:1-9 tells us the story of the origin of different languages. Men continued to rebel against God; his pride and his own glorification led to the construction of the Tower of Babel. Essentially, man continued to want to be like God, building a tower to the heavens. God still wanted to be involved in man’s life, but would not share His supremacy with mankind and came down to disrupt their language. This caused confusion and separation since there was now a lack of understanding among the people, who could not communicate properly with each other.

Language is a powerful, unifying tool. When we are able to communicate, to share our thoughts and our feelings as well as basic, ordinary words (‘pass me the brick’), things get done. The confusion of language led to the end of the building project and has led to disunity and division ever since.

We live in a world that has forgotten God and wants to live according to its own rules and plans. Man continues to try to usurp God’s place. Nonetheless, God continues to want to be involved in every aspect of our lives. In Christ, He has made a way for us to be reconciled to Himself and to regain that unity once known in Eden. May we allow Him to be Lord over every aspect of our lives.

We also had a birthday to celebrate:

Mark continued his series looking at different parts of Jesus’s body this morning. Having looked at the face of Jesus and the hands of Jesus, today it was the turn of His feet!

Feet are not usually thought of as particularly glamorous. In our cool British climate, we don’t show off our feet all that much!

With Christmas coming up, though, some of you might be thinking of treating your feet to a foot spa:

On a more prosaic note, Jesus walked a lot while He was on earth. That was by far the easiest method of transport – no buses, trains or trams available then! Jesus walked miles to get from A to B, often with the sole intent of preaching the gospel. His feet were, as Isaiah had prophesied, ‘beautiful feet’ because they brought good news (see Romans 10:15).

Mary sat at the feet of Jesus listening to what He said (Luke 10:39). That kind of sitting indicated submission and a desire to learn. We still need to be in a place where we can hear what Jesus has to say to us and can be in submission to Him.

Jesus’s feet did miraculous things, such as walking on water (John 6:19). We too have miraculous feet, for Jesus gave His disciples authority to trample on snakes and scorpions without coming to harm (Luke 10:19). We have God’s authority in the spiritual realm too.

Jesus, after His crucifixion, showed His disciples His hands and feet (Luke 24:39-40). His feet bore the marks of the cross and showed the depth of His suffering and His love for us. Jesus walked with His disciples through their griefs and confusion (Luke 24:15) and continues to walk with us on our pilgrimage on earth.

Mark then looked at various psalms which talk about what our feet should be like. God preserves us: Ps 66:8-9 tells us that ‘He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping’ (Jude v 24 reminds us that God keeps us from falling.) God ‘makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights’ and enables us to ‘scale a wall’ (Ps 18:28-33). God’s Word provides light for our paths and is a lamp to our feet (Ps 119:105). He give us spiritual and practical direction to walk in and we too can have beautiful feet as we bring the good news to other people, learning to have our ‘feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace’ (Eph 6:15).

When we buy shoes, we need to know the purpose for which we need them: no point buying wellies for playing badminton, for example! We need appropriate footwear for our spiritual walk, learning to ‘go the extra mile’ (Matt 5:41) for those around us so that we can bring help and comfort to those in need.

God is in control. 1 Cor 15:24-25 reminds us that Christ ‘must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.’ Even death will one day be destroyed. Until then, let’s be those with ‘beautiful feet’, with or without that foot spa!

Last night’s Bible study looked at Romans 12:9-13. This section reads like a bullet point list of imperatives: short, pithy commands that are easy enough to understand but take a lifetime to learn how to put into practice! Garry likened this section to a Terry’s orange, forming a solid whole to look at, but it can be broken into individual segments, all of which have much to teach us.

Paul starts with ‘Love must be sincere’ – the word coming from two Latin words ‘sine’ (without) and ‘cera’ (wax). Apparently during the times of the Roman empire, craftsmen would work with marble and often if the marble got broken, repairs were made using wax. In order to guarantee the quality and authenticity of their work, craftsmen would sign the sculpture ‘sine cera’, indicating no wax had been used and this was the genuine article! Similarly, builders used to mix cement with wax, only to find in the heat of the country the wax would melt, leaving the foundations crumbling, so reputable builders would also sign their work ‘sine cera’ as a guarantee. Our love must be genuine, sincere, pure, unadulterated.

We are to ‘hate what is evil and cling to what is good’. The word ‘hate’ here is ‘abhor’, a forceful word indicating that we need to be repelled, repulsed and revulsed by evil in every form (however attractive it may appear!) God hates evil and we are called to be imitators of God (Eph 5:1). On the other hand, we must cling to or cleave to what is good. ‘Cleave’ is an interesting word, since it can have opposite meanings. Our most common understanding of it is when thinking of a butcher’s knife, cutting (a cleaver is a broad bladed knife like a hatchet which separates… hence our word ‘cleavage’!) But the word can also mean ‘to glue together, cement, fasten together, to join or fasten firmly together’ (rather like a ship’s plates on the hull are stuck together by rivets so that the plates contract and are firmly joined together.) This meaning of the word is the one in the old marriage service, when a husband is said to ‘cleave to’ his wife. We have to be firmly fixed to all that is good – again, just as God is.

We also need to be devoted to one another in brotherly love, honouring or respecting each other above ourselves, following the example of Jesus who served others no matter how tired, grief-stricken or drained He was. Paul gives us practical ways of serving each other, including helping those in need or being hospitable. We are also commanded in this section ‘never be lacking in zeal, but always keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord.’ In order to keep enduring, we have to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, being aware of all He has done for us and therefore motivated to serve out of grateful hearts. We have be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer.

Time to put our worship into action in practical and life-changing ways!

We also celebrated a birthday last night!