South Featherstone Gospel Hall

  God Will Make a Way CLICK on the image to watch in YouTube  We had such a wonderful treat in our Family Service today! Donna and Scott took to the front and sang the beautiful worship song “God Will Make a Way.” What a blessing it was to hear those words lifted up to the glory of God. It was especially moving because this was Scott’s very first time standing up front to sing a duet with Donna. And what a debut it was! Their voices blended together so naturally, filling the room with encouragement and hope. You could see how much it meant to everyone gathered — the joy was contagious.  In fact, one of the sweetest moments was watching a little girl run around like she was absolutely on fire with the Spirit — the purest picture of how worship overflows when God’s presence stirs us. It reminded me of how Jesus tells us to come to Him like little children: full of joy, without fear, and with the beautiful innocence that trusts Him completely.  That little glimpse of fr...

This morning, as many Sunday mornings, we will be coming together to have fellowship but specifically to remember our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. This service of remembrance is called by many different names, Communion; Eucharist, Breaking of Bread but the one name I wish to remind us of is the Lord’s Supper. This points us back to the initiation of this service of remembrance, by the use of the word ‘Supper’, because it was in that Upper Room 2000 years ago that our Saviour first celebrated this with His Disciples, after supper. The second reminder of what we will be doing is that it is the ‘Lord’s’. It is not something that we as humans have initiated, It belongs to Him, our Lord and Saviour, we are merely guests, we have no intrinsic right to be there, it is only because Jesus has become our Lord and Saviour that we can be there. Whilst the word ‘supper’ points us back in time, the fact that is it the Lord’s Supper takes us into the present. Before we can ever share the Lord’s S...

As we grow up we learn lots of facts and knowledge. But we also learn to use those facts and statements that we have learned. We are currently being urged to use Artificial Intelligence, AI. It seems the latest phones are packed with it and sometimes we suspect that some phone calls from numbers we don’t recognise are totally spoken by AI. Certainly, advertisements on my computer seem to be motivated by AI as I suspect they are based on queries I have made on the Internet. God has gifted us with human and not artificial intelligence, and we use our knowledge to try to make rational judgements on what we know. The verse we considered yesterday, “Behold God is my salvation”, goes on to make a follow-up judgement based on that statement which has great application to each one of us and on which we can rely and rejoice in, “(therefore) I will trust and not be afraid”. This should encourage us in our Christian walk. In those situations where we seem to be faced with problems that are insolu...

There are some words which when added to a sentence tend to grab your attention. Advertising messages are a classic example. No Company wanting to sell its products would ever just say, “There is a sale on at our store tomorrow”, The message that would be broadcast would be something like, “There is a fantastic sale on at our store tomorrow only!” It is still the same sale, but the message is more urgent. The writers of the Bible, whilst not attempting to sell anything used the same technique, to get our attention to something really important that we need to take special and urgent notice of. In the New Testament, the King James Version uses the words “Verily, verily …” to emphasise the truth of the statement following, particularly when the words were spoken by Jesus. But another word used throughout the Bible to seek to get our attention is the word “Behold ….!” One such verse out of many in the Bible which contains the word ‘behold’ is in Isaiah 12, “Behold, God is my salvation!” I...

More Than a Song... 🙏✝️🙏   Worship is one of those words that can easily become routine in Christian circles. We talk about “going to worship,” “enjoying worship,” or even “leading worship.” But worship is far more than singing hymns or listening to a sermon. At its core, worship is a heart response to the worthiness of God—and it's essential to our relationship with Him. Worship Re-centres Our Focus: Life has a way of pulling us in a hundred directions at once. Between responsibilities, pressures, distractions, and struggles, it's easy for our spiritual compass to drift. Worship is the moment we stop, breathe, and fix our gaze where it truly belongs: on God. Psalm 95:6 calls out: “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” Worship reminds us who we are—and who He is. It reclaims our priorities, shifts our perspective, and recentres us on eternal truth. Worship Is a Response, Not a Performance: True worship isn’t about musical talent, eloquent...

There are some words which when added to a sentence tend to grab your attention. Advertising messages are a classic example. No Company wanting to sell its products would ever just say, “There is a sale on at our store tomorrow”, The message that would be broadcast would be something like, “There is a fantastic sale on at our store tomorrow only!” It is still the same sale, but the message is more urgent. The writers of the Bible, whilst not attempting to sell anything used the same technique, to get our attention to something really important that we need to take special and urgent notice of. In the New Testament, the King James Version uses the words “Verily, verily …” to emphasise the truth of the statement following, particularly when the words were spoken by Jesus. But another word used throughout the Bible to seek to get our attention is the word “Behold ….!” One such verse out of many in the Bible which contains the word ‘behold’ is in Isaiah 12, “Behold, God is my salvation!” I...

Resting in God We live in a restless age. Productivity is worshipped, and busyness is worn like a badge of honour. We fill our schedules to the brim, fuel our stress, and mistake movement for meaning. Somewhere in all the noise, we’ve bought into a lie—that rest is laziness, that stillness is a waste, and that God is more impressed with our performance than with our presence. But the gospel tells us a different story. Rest isn’t weakness. From the very beginning, God wove rest into creation itself. In Genesis we read that on the seventh day, God finished His work and rested. Not because He was exhausted, but to set a pattern—a divine reminder that we are not slaves, that rest is part of what it means to live in holiness. Jesus Himself showed us this. He didn’t heal everyone He met. He didn’t rush to meet every need. Sometimes He withdrew. Sometimes He slept—even in storms. Sometimes He rose early just to pray. The Son of God rested. Not because there was nothing left to do, but because...

 📖 The Synoptic Gospels vs. the Gospel of John: What's the Difference? If you’ve ever read through the four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—you might have noticed something curious. The first three feel like variations on a theme, often telling the same stories, sometimes even using the same wording. Then you hit John, and suddenly the whole tone changes. That’s not a mistake. It’s because Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels, while John stands apart as a Johannine Gospel, offering a different angle on the life and ministry of Jesus. But what exactly makes them different? 🔍 What Does “Synoptic” Mean? The word “Synoptic” comes from the Greek syn (“together”) and opsis (“view”) — meaning they can be “seen together.” The Synoptic Gospels tell many of the same stories, often in the same sequence and with similar wording. They give us a shared perspective on Jesus' life, miracles, teachings, and interactions. Mark is widely considered the earliest Gospel...

King Solomon was probably the wisest man who has ever lived, although by the end of his life he had accumulated very many wives, so perhaps he wasn’t necessarily wise in every sense! The gift of wisdom was given him by God very early in his life and he used it to rule Israel as one of the best kings they ever had in their early history. He wrote most of the book of Proverbs, which is a collection of short and very pertinent chapters and verses and is a distillation of his life’s wisdom and experience. Proverbs is one of the easiest books to read in the Old Testament and it has great practical advice for life in every way. It also shows and explains his close relationship to God and why that was so important to him and indeed in our times also. One of his very typical pithy words of wisdom goes like this, “Every way of a man (or woman) is right in his/her own eyes, but the Lord ponders the heart”. We say and do things many times without thinking too deeply about what reaction others mig...

  Thought for the Day  In the Bible, in the Ten Commandments, one of them is “Thou shalt not covet”. ‘Covet’ is not a word that we use often in everyday speech. Its meaning is to have a strong and unhealthy desire, possibly what we would call an obsession. So it is quite clear that to want something that we don’t possess to the extent that we would do anything to get it, is breaking a Commandment and is therefore what God classes as sin. But at the end of 1 Corinthians 12, Paul uses the word ‘covet’ in a positive way, he actually encourages us to covet!!! But the object of this encouragement is spiritual gifts, “Covet earnestly the best gifts ….”. It would do us good to read the whole of 1 Corinthians 12 and see how Paul ranks spiritual gifts. Some of the gifts which are particularly regarded as quite spectacular and have in the recent past been seen to be strong evidence of the Holy Spirit working, are rated much lower than the less spectacular, solid but perhaps more benefic...

  Fellowship in Action Caring for God’s House Together... Every Tuesday in August, the church comes alive—not with hymns or sermons, but with the sound of brushes, buckets, hammers, and laughter. It’s our work party, a chance for a handful of us to roll up our sleeves and care for the place that so often cares for us. One week it might be scrubbing away a stubborn stain on the carpet, another week it’s giving the kitchen a proper clear-out, tackling the garden, touching up paintwork, or even sorting out a bit of plumbing. The jobs are many, and sometimes messy, but when we do them together, they become something more than chores. Between the sweeping and the scrubbing, there are stories told, tips shared, and encouragement passed around. Someone remembers how their dad taught them to decorate; another tells of a recent trip out; another shares a memory from long ago. It’s practical work, yes—but it’s also fellowship in action. The Bible tells us, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as...

  Thought for the Day We don’t always appreciate the good things in life. In physical terms, sometimes we are so keen to get something which we think is better, a better car, a better job, a better house, that we lose sight of what we have already. This I suppose is natural human ambition, which is always strongest when we are young. As we get older perhaps we temper our ambition as we realise we are chasing a rainbow. In spiritual terms, what is our ambition? We touched on last week that we should ‘grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ’. Is that our chief ambition? Unlike human ambition which wanes as we get older, this ambition can grow stronger and should grow stronger as we get older. Why should this be the case? Why have this ambition at all? Well it all depends upon our appreciation of who God is and what God has done. We are in a much better spiritual position that the patriarchs in the Old Testament but when the Jews had returned from exile, they comp...

  The Power of Music in Worship 🎶 Music has always been a vital part of Christian worship. From the psalms of David to the hymns of the early church, songs have carried the truths of God deep into hearts and lifted voices together in praise. Worship in song isn’t just about melodies and harmonies—it’s about glorifying God, encouraging one another, and reminding ourselves of the hope we share in Christ. At South Featherstone Gospel Hall, we’ve been especially blessed by Donna, our wonderful pianist.  For years she's been the faithful backbone of our musical worship—week after week, often leading on her own, pouring her heart into every note. It’s no exaggeration to say that her music has carried us through countless services and helped focus our worship on the Lord. But something new and exciting happened on Sunday 24th August. For the first time, Donna wasn’t standing alone. Danny and Cameron, a father-and-son duo, brought their guitars and joined her at the front. Together, ...

  The Importance of Spreading God’s Word 📖✨ One of the greatest privileges we have as Christians is the call to share the good news of Jesus Christ. From the Great Commission in Matthew 28, where Jesus told His disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations”, right through to today, the responsibility and joy of spreading God’s Word continues. At the Gospel Hall, we are especially blessed. God has provided us with three main preachers who faithfully teach and encourage us week by week. Alongside them, we’re often joined by many other believers from the local area who come to share the gospel with us. It’s a living reminder that the Word of God isn’t locked away in books or buildings—it’s alive, spoken, and shared by ordinary people who have been transformed by Christ. And here’s the wonderful thing: in our digital age, the reach goes even further. Our Blog Spot here as well as our   YouTube channel  are full of hundreds of gospel messages—sermons, studies, and r...