South Featherstone Gospel Hall

  God Looks at the Heart Dear Friends, have you ever felt overlooked? Passed over for someone taller, louder, more impressive on the outside? Or perhaps you’ve been the one doing the overlooking, judging by appearances rather than character? In 1 Samuel 16:1–13, we find Samuel caught in that very human trap—and God gently, firmly, correcting him. The Lord sends Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint the next king from among Jesse’s sons. One by one, the young men are paraded before the prophet. Eliab, the eldest, is striking—tall, strong, kingly in every outward way. Samuel thinks, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed.” But God says, “No. Do not consider his appearance or his height… The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) Seven sons pass by. Seven times God says, “Not this one.” Finally, Jesse mentions the youngest, David, out tending the sheep—almost an afterthought. And when David arriv...

Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice Dear Friends, have you ever tried to bargain with God? “Lord, I’ll do this… but only if You understand why I had to do it my way.” We all have. And in 1 Samuel 15, King Saul gives us the heartbreaking textbook example. God had given Saul a clear, specific command: completely destroy the Amalekites and everything they owned—no exceptions. But when Samuel arrived, he found Saul had spared the best sheep and cattle, claiming it was “to sacrifice to the Lord.” Samuel’s response cuts straight through the excuse:  “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.” (1 Samuel 15:22–23) Saul’s sin wasn’t the sacrifice itself—it was the partial obedience. He obeyed enough to look spiritual, but not enough to actually surrender. He kept what h...

Going back to the fruit of the Spirit, there are just 2 characteristics left which are probably the hardest for any human being to achieve without the guidance and help of the Holy Spirit. The first is titled ‘gentleness’. It is essential that we live according to the principles of Christian life that Jesus has laid down and that we seek to encourage others to live according to those same principles. But the chief and guiding principle and indeed first characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit is love. Only if we first concentrate on receiving as much of the love of our Saviour into our hearts and lives as we can hold, can we demonstrate gentleness. This becomes even more important if we have some seniority within the church. Jesus reproved His Disciples when some children appeared to be pestering Him and the Disciples shooed them away. Their motive might have had some justification, but the exercise of that concern did not demonstrate gentleness. Yet after Pentecost, when the Holy Spi...

The Song of the Patient Heart Dear Friends, waiting is one of the hardest things we ever do. We wait for answers, for healing, for direction, for breakthrough… and sometimes the silence feels endless. Yet in Psalm 40:1-8, David gives us a window into what real waiting looks like when it’s done with trust in God. “I waited patiently for the Lord,” he begins. Not impatiently. Not anxiously. Patiently. The Hebrew word here carries the sense of twisting and turning in expectation—like someone bending forward, eyes fixed on the horizon, refusing to give up hope. David wasn’t passive; he was actively trusting while the answer tarried. And God heard. “He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.” Notice the progression: first the cry, then the waiting, then the dramatic rescue. God didn’t just pull David out—He planted him firmly, gave him a new song, and turned his story into a testi...

When my children were very young, I am sad to say that I was largely absent from the church. However, the one meeting that I attended regularly was the breaking of bread, which was impressed on me as an early Christian was the most important meeting of the week, an opinion I still hold. I was eventually, quite rightly, reproved by an elder after I objected to a decision that the church had made at a meeting I didn’t attend. The episode left a lasting impression on me, and I realised that while I was ostensibly part of the fellowship, I was contributing virtually nothing to it. In fact because I wasn’t attending as fully as I could, I wasn’t really in fellowship. One of the verses that that I keep in mind almost all the time, which relates to what should be good Christian practice is Acts 2 v 42 which refers to the early church and the way it grew and what the essential contribution that each of us should make to be a successful and life-changing witness for our Saviour, “And they (the ...

God Is Already Working in Your Story Dear Friends, have you ever felt like your life was just wandering—searching for something you couldn’t quite find, while God was quietly arranging everything behind the scenes? That’s exactly what we see in the opening of Saul’s story in 1 Samuel 9. Saul was a tall, handsome young man from the tribe of Benjamin, son of Kish, a man of wealth and standing. One day his father’s donkeys strayed, and Kish sent Saul and a servant to find them. They searched through hill country, through Shalisha, Shaalim, and the land of Benjamin—but the donkeys were nowhere to be found. After days of fruitless searching, Saul was ready to give up and go home, worried his father would stop caring about the donkeys and start worrying about them instead. But God had other plans. The servant suggested they ask the man of God—the seer—in the nearby city. And who was that seer? Samuel. The same Samuel God had called as a boy in the temple. God had already spoken to Samuel the...

Jesus told a parable about talents. Three servants were given some talents (coins). To one five were given, to the other three, and to the third just one talent. When they were all called to account for what they had done with the coins, two of them were found to have used their talents profitably for their master. Apart from their visible rewards these two servants were commended by their master with the words, “Well done, you good and faithful servant.” The next characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit that Paul names in Galatians 5 is “faithfulness”. Whilst all the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit have an application towards God as well as an application to ourselves or other people, and by that I mean to the benefit of other people, this characteristic has most application towards God and particularly our service for our Saviour. We have been saved by God in order to serve Him. And continuity of service and diligent application to service is what Jesus commends. There is...

  When We Want a King Instead of the King Dear Friends, have you ever looked around at everyone else’s life and thought, “I want what they have”? Maybe it’s their success, their security, their status—or simply the way things seem to “work” for them. In those moments, it’s tempting to say, “God, give me something more like what they’ve got.” That’s exactly where Israel found themselves in 1 Samuel 8. The elders of Israel came to Samuel and said, “Behold, you are old… now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” Samuel was heartbroken. He knew they weren’t just asking for a change in leadership; they were rejecting God Himself as their King. The Lord told Samuel plainly, “They have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.” Then God, in His mercy, let Samuel warn them exactly what having an earthly king would cost: heavy taxes, conscription of their sons and daughters, seizure of their fields and vineyards, and a life of servitude to a hu...

  The next characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit that Paul names in Galatians 5 is “goodness”. Looking at the references to goodness in the whole of the Bible, the greatest number by far reference ‘the goodness of God” There are very few which refer to the goodness of man. Goodness itself is very hard to define, in practical terms. We can all give a fuzzy meaning to ‘goodness’ and we all perhaps know goodness when we see it, but I am very hard-pressed to list all the different demonstrations of goodness. Because it is largely defined as a characteristic of God in the Bible, it would therefore be realistic to say it is NOT a natural human characteristic, so it has to be generated in us by God Himself in us. Yesterday we looked at ‘kindness’ and certainly goodness encompasses kindness but goes way beyond, it is more of an attitude than an action. It means always living a life that is pleasing to God, because we must emulate God in order to demonstrate goodness. And it is not just...

  Don’t Treat God Like a Good-Luck Charm Dear Friends, h ave you ever found yourself in a tough spot and thought, “If I just do this one religious thing, God will fix it”? Maybe you skipped church for months, but suddenly you’re praying extra hard or promising God something big if He’ll bail you out. It’s easy to fall into that trap—treating God like a good-luck charm instead of the holy, sovereign Lord He is. In 1 Samuel 4:1-11, that’s exactly what happened to Israel. The Philistines had defeated them in battle, killing about four thousand men. Instead of repenting and seeking God’s face, the elders said, “Why has the Lord brought defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let’s bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh, so that he may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.” They cheered when the ark arrived, as if God’s presence was guaranteed by a holy object. The Philistines were terrified at first, but they rallied and fought harder. The result? Israel suf...

What is kindness? How would you define kindness? One of the best examples of kindness is shown in the parable of the Good Samaritan. It is seeing a need in someone and responding in a practical way to that need. It flows not from a sense of responsibility but from a sense of love. Were the roles reversed, what would you want the other person to do Kindness is an outgoing, positive quality without any negative influences and we look at the life of our Saviour to see kindness demonstrated. And kindness shouldn’t confine itself to acts, it should also be shown in what we say. Just today I was informed about an unkind comment said by someone who should very much know better, being involved in charitable work, to a man who only wanted to spend an hour or so with people who loved and respected him, but whose life conditions put him outside the scope of the charity. That is the very opposite of kindness. So like we find in the book of James, the tongue, which responds to the brain which shoul...

When God Calls Your Name in the Night Dear Friends, have you ever felt like God was silent? Like the heavens were quiet and the spiritual air was dry? You’re not alone. In 1 Samuel 3, we meet a young boy named Samuel serving in the temple under Eli the priest. The Bible tells us, “In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.” The spiritual climate was barren. People were going through religious motions, but few were truly hearing from God. Then, one night, everything changed. Samuel was lying down in the temple when the Lord called his name: “Samuel!” He ran to Eli, thinking the old priest had summoned him. Three times this happened—three times Samuel hurried to Eli’s side, only to be told, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” On the fourth call, Eli finally understood. He instructed the boy, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back, heart pounding, and when the voice came again—“Samue...

  Looking at the rest of the characteristics of the fruit of the spirit, they are essentially outward-looking characteristics which also flow from a spirit-filled life. We shall consider them individually, and the next three relate to our behaviour towards others – “forbearance, kindness, goodness”.   I have heard it said that there are 2 ‘bears’ in a successful personal relationship, particularly marriage, the first is to ‘bear’ difficulties silently and the second is to ‘forbear’, in other words to hold back from retaliation. Within the church even we all are still human beings, fallible and sometimes not receiving loving treatment from others because we and they are human. Our response to these situations is to essentially suffer silently and not to bear a grudge. That is forbearance as described in the fruit of the spirit. My mother always used to say, if you can’t say anything good to another person or about another person, don’t say anything at all!!!! Is that a nor...

Led by Brian Preston, Elder @SFGH Church Discovering Purpose in the Pastoral Letters: An Introduction to 1 Timothy Brian began by asking us to imagine gathering around a table with fellow believers centuries ago, Bibles open, hearts ready to explore God's Word. That's the vibe we're capturing today as we kick off a fresh look at 1 Timothy. Just like in everyday life, where we seek purpose and direction amidst the chaos, Paul's letter to Timothy offers timeless guidance for living out our faith in community. It's not about rigid rules; it's about building a vibrant, God-honouring church that stands as a beacon of truth. Let's dive in, shall we? We'll start with the basics, drawing from a lively discussion among believers who unpacked this epistle with passion and insight. Brian, leading the charge, sets the stage by explaining we're focusing on the introduction—specifically the first two verses of 1 Timothy, with a nod to a key summary verse later on....

  When You Pour Out Your Heart, God Hears and Remembers Dear Friends, have you ever been so overwhelmed by sorrow that words just wouldn’t come? You’re not alone. In 1 Samuel 1:9-20, we find Hannah at the end of herself, standing in the tabernacle at Shiloh after another painful family meal. Her heart is crushed, her tears flow freely, and she pours out her deepest longing to God in silent, anguished prayer. Hannah doesn’t put on a show. She doesn’t shout or make a spectacle. She simply opens her soul before the Lord, weeping bitterly, vowing that if God would give her a son, she would dedicate him fully to His service all the days of his life. Her prayer is raw, specific, and surrendered. Eli the priest watches from his seat by the doorpost and mistakes her moving lips for drunkenness. But Hannah responds with quiet honesty: “I am a woman who is deeply troubled… I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my g...

  Have you ever looked at a blackberry or a raspberry? It is one fruit yet each of the seeds is individually wrapped in a succulent fruit balloon making it look like multiple fruits together. Within Galatians 5, we , I believe, are seeing a spiritual equivalent of one of the above fruits. The words there are “fruit of the Spirit” not “fruitS”. These are multiple characteristics of the same fruit, and we should look at all those characteristics in our own individual lives as a whole and complete a checklist of where our lives show a weakness. The first 3 characteristics Paul identifies are “love, joy and peace”. These essentially are characteristics which are internal within ourselves. In Romans 5, Paul writes that ‘the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts’. The first evidence of that love being shed abroad is our love towards God. Do we really know and experience our love for God, daily? Does that love flow out indiscriminately towards others? The Apostle John has written...

When Life Feels Unfair, God Is Still Faithful Dear Friends, life doesn’t always feel fair, does it? Sometimes the very things we long for most seem withheld, while others around us appear to have it all. In the opening verses of 1 Samuel, we meet a godly man named Elkanah who faithfully worships the Lord year after year. Yet in his own home, there is deep sorrow. Elkanah has two wives: Peninnah, who has many children, and Hannah, whom he loves deeply—but Hannah is barren. The Lord has closed her womb, and Peninnah uses that pain to provoke and irritate her relentlessly. Year after year, during their family trips to Shiloh to sacrifice to the Lord, the taunting continues until Hannah weeps and cannot even eat. Even Elkanah’s loving words—“Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”—don’t fully ease her hurt. His affection is real, his double portion of the sacrifice is a sign of his devotion, but it cannot fill the em...

  Having put a new spirit within us, even the Holy Spirit, is that the the end of our blessing? What should be the result of God’s Spirit living within us? Well, I think it is time and appropriate at the beginning of the New Year that we set ourselves some targets that having God’s Spirit living within us should be accomplished within our lives. To help us to do that, we will be re-visiting Galatians 5 vs 22-23, which detail “the fruit of the Spirit” and how we can produce that fruit in our lives. I think the first thing to note is the ‘agricultural’ simile that Paul uses. He is in the orchard or vinery and looking at the plants growing and producing. So the first thought that came to me was the what the Lord said in John 15, “I am the vine, you are the branches”. He then goes on to tell us something that should be obvious to us but in practice that we have a great tendency to forget, the branch cannot produce fruit on its own, it has to be securely and completely attached to the v...

  The Moment Everything Changed in Matthew 3:13-17 Friends, there’s a quiet, holy scene in Matthew 3 that still takes my breath away every time I read it. Jesus, the sinless Son of God, steps into the Jordan River to be baptised by John. John protests—“I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?”—but Jesus gently insists: “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.” And then heaven itself breaks open. As Jesus comes up from the water, the skies part, the Spirit of God descends like a dove and rests on Him, and a voice from heaven declares: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” This is the Father’s public affirmation of the Son. It’s the moment the Trinity is revealed in perfect harmony: the Son submitting in obedience, the Spirit descending in anointing, the Father speaking in delight. Jesus didn’t need cleansing—He was already perfect—but He stepped into the water anyway, identifying completely with us, taking His pl...

  The Promise of Freedom - Luke 4:16-21 Friends, there’s a moment in Luke 4 that feels like the heartbeat of the entire Gospel. Jesus returns to His hometown of Nazareth, steps into the synagogue on the Sabbath, and unrolls the scroll of Isaiah. He reads these words: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,   because he has anointed me   to proclaim good news to the poor.   He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners   and recovery of sight for the blind,   to set the oppressed free,   to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” Then He rolls up the scroll, sits down, and says the most astonishing thing anyone had ever heard: “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” This is Jesus’ mission statement—His personal declaration of why He came. It’s not vague or abstract. It’s specific, powerful, and deeply compassionate. He didn’t come to condemn the world but to rescue it. The poor would hear good news. The capti...

Just continuing our thoughts on what is new when we come to know Jesus as our Saviour, Denise reminded us last night about the importance of trusting God, because without a strong trust IN Him, our lives cannot be lived FOR Him. The Bible tells us not to put our trust ‘in princes’, reminding us that the best of men is just man at his best. So trust is the key characteristic that will determine our strength of relationship with God. But what is new about our relationship with other people, particularly our brothers and sisters in Christ? Well in John 13, Jesus says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another”. We may have read that many times in the past and perhaps felt a warm feeling in our hearts about the goodness of love. But what does it mean to really love our brothers and sisters? Well, Jesus here is not talking specifically about romantic love, that has its place. But we need to look at 1 Corinthians 13 for the practical application of love as Jesus intended in...

  Finding Comfort in Psalm 6:1-4 Friends, Psalm 6:1-4 gives us permission to be completely honest with God when life feels overwhelming. David pleads, "Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long? Turn, Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love." This is the prayer of a soul in distress—physically weak, emotionally drained, spiritually exhausted. David doesn't hide his pain or pretend everything is fine. He brings it all to God, begging for mercy not because he deserves it, but because of God's unfailing love. In seasons of suffering—illness, grief, depression, or spiritual dryness—these verses remind us that God welcomes our honest cries. He is not angry when we ask "How long?"; He is a compassionate Father who bends low to hear us. Jesus Himself echoed this anguish in Gethsemane, ...

  “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.” - Proverbs 16:3 The beginning of a new year often carries a mix of emotions - fresh hopes, new goals, and maybe even a few quiet uncertainties. As 2026 unfolds, many of us are stepping forward with plans in our hearts, wondering what this year will hold. What comforts me is this simple truth: we don’t walk into this year alone. Scripture reminds us that when we commit our plans to the Lord, He gently guides our steps. That doesn’t mean every path will be easy or every answer immediate but it does mean God is actively involved in every detail of our lives. The invitation at the start of this year isn’t to have everything figured out. It’s to trust. To place our hopes, worries, dreams, and even our unanswered questions into God’s hands, believing that He is faithful to lead us in the way we should go. As we move through these early days of 2026, may we find peace in surrendering each day to Him. Let our prayers...

  Hope and Holiness from Isaiah 42:2-3 Friends, Isaiah 42:2-3 is a short but stunning promise tucked in the middle of judgment passages—a bright light of hope for God's people. The prophet declares: "In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel. Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy—all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem." This "Branch of the Lord" is a messianic title pointing directly to Jesus Christ—the beautiful, glorious One who springs from the stump of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1) and brings life where there seemed only death. In a day of purification and judgment, He becomes the pride and glory of His remnant people. And those who survive, who remain faithful, are declared holy—not by their own merit, but because they are cleansed and recorded as belonging to Him. As we begin this new year, let's turn these prom...