South Featherstone Gospel Hall

  The Sign-Seekers - Mark 8:11-13 Dear Friends, the Pharisees come to Jesus—not to listen, not to learn, but to test Him. They demand a sign from heaven to prove who He is (v.11). After everything they’ve seen—the healings, the feedings of thousands, demons cast out, the dead raised—they still want more proof. Not because they lack evidence, but because they refuse to believe. Jesus sighs deeply in His spirit. That sigh is heavy with grief, frustration, and holy weariness. He answers, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation” (v.12). Then He leaves them, gets into the boat, and crosses to the other side (v.13). This is one of the rare moments when Jesus simply walks away. No miracle. No debate. No compromise. He recognises hardened hearts when He sees them. They aren’t asking because they’re open; they’re demanding because they want control. They want a sign on their terms, in their timing, to fit their agenda. And Jesus w...

  Have you had a safe day? I hope so. Having been rammed by a taxi in my car on Tuesday, safety at present is high on my agenda. I could say that, fortunately, I didn’t sustain a personal injury. But as a Christian, I know there is a higher Power at work, and that Power is at work in every Christian’s life, so events in my life are not governed by ‘fortune’ or ‘luck’. We were reminded at our Family Service yesterday in the song, ‘for I know the plans He has for me’ which gives us the assurance that despite what it might look like in the world, for the Christian, God has a plan for us and that plan always involves being kept by God. That doesn’t mean we will never face adversity or injury, but we have the assurance that God is in control of our lives. In 1 Peter 1 v 5 we have these words which should bring us great comfort, “Kept by the power of God…”. When we came to know Jesus as our Saviour, our lives were changed eternally. Instead of bumbling our way blindly through our brief s...

  Today we will meet again around the Lord’s Table to remember the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of our beloved Saviour. We meet in a relaxed and stress-free atmosphere because we live in a country which (as yet!) permits religious freedom. There are many countries where a meeting like ours has to be conducted in the utmost secrecy because of opposition from the authorities and officers of the state. Yet, they meet, because they believe it is a command of the Lord and the joy of communal worship and the exaltation of the Saviour is what motivates them and gives them strength to stand for their faith. Sadly, because of the tolerance of the authorities in our country, we are tempted to think of this Breaking of Bread meeting as optional but as a local church, we have agreed that this meeting should take place weekly, that is in our case, “as often as you break this bread and drink this cup”. And our presence at that meeting is the best example of worship before service, an...

  The Transfiguration - Matthew 17:1-9 Dear Friends, six days after Peter’s great confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a high mountain by themselves. There, something extraordinary happens: His face shines like the sun, His clothes become dazzling white as light, and suddenly Moses and Elijah appear, talking with Him (vv.1–3). Peter, overwhelmed, blurts out, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah” (v.4). Before he even finishes, a bright cloud overshadows them, and a voice from the cloud says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (v.5). The disciples fall on their faces, terrified. Jesus comes, touches them, and says, “Rise, and have no fear.” When they look up, the vision is gone—only Jesus remains (vv.6–8). As they come down the mountain, He charges them not to tell anyone what they have seen unt...

Today is Valentine’s Day. I’m sure it is named after a Saint, but I have no idea who he was or what he did, and it really isn’t important. When I was young, Valentine’s Day didn’t either exist, or it certainly hadn’t reached Yorkshire. Someone said yesterday that next to Christmas, we spend more on presents than any other day of the year now. There is a trend now for people to send Valentine’s cards and presents to their pet dogs! The whole idea of the day is to celebrate love and to express feelings of love that perhaps don’t get aired too often during the rest of the year and that is, I suppose, a good thing, to tell someone you love them. But just to say the words is hardly sufficient and sometimes doesn’t need to be said at all because the actions of one person to another can display love far more clearly. My mum and dad rarely, if ever, told us they loved us, but our home was filled with love because their actions and care towards us gave us a far greater understanding of what lov...

  The Feeding of the Four Thousand - Mark 8:1-10 Dear Friends, Jesus is again surrounded by a massive crowd—four thousand people this time—who have been with Him for three days, listening to His teaching. They’re in a desolate place, far from any shops or villages, and they have nothing to eat. Jesus looks at them with deep compassion and says to His disciples, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away” (vv.1–3). The disciples, still scarred from the earlier feeding of the five thousand, ask the obvious: “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” (v.4). It’s a fair question—they’ve seen the miracle before, yet doubt creeps in again. How often do we do the same? We’ve seen God provide in the past, but when the need is fresh and the cupboard looks bare, we forget. Jesus asks, “How...

  The very last part of the verse we have been looking at in Joel is a characteristic of go that I personally frequently fail to exhibit. This refers to a characteristic that we would never want to experience. It refers to God’s anger. In the Old Testament, it is recorded that the attitudes and acts of his earthly people in their journey to Israel and their persistent rejection of God in their homeland drove God to anger and punishment many many times. And it is recorded in Hebrews 13 that “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God”.  But the last characteristic that is recorded in the verse in Joel, is that God is “slow to anger”. As sinful and very imperfect human beings, this is a characteristic that we are very grateful to see recorded. Our lives compared to God’s perfection frequently fall far short of His standard, but we are thankful that He has patience with our failings and has already forgiven them through the death of Jesus on the cross. His an...

  The Healing of the Deaf Man - Mark 7:31-37 Dear Friends, Jesus has left the region of Tyre, travelling a roundabout route through Sidon and back to the Sea of Galilee, right into the heart of the Decapolis—a largely Gentile area full of Greek-speaking towns. There, some people bring to Him a man who is deaf and has a severe speech impediment. They beg Jesus to lay His hand on him (vv.31–32). What follows is intimate and tender. Jesus takes the man aside privately, away from the crowd. He puts His fingers into the man’s ears, spits, touches his tongue, looks up to heaven, sighs deeply, and says to him, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened” (vv.33–34). Instantly, the man’s ears are opened, the chain on his tongue is broken, and he speaks plainly (v.35). Jesus charges them not to tell anyone—but the more He insists, the more zealously they proclaim it. The people are astonished beyond measure, declaring, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak” (...

  In Romans 7, the Apostle Paul, very clearly and with a great deal of regret, expresses his heart about sin, but not sin before his conversion but the sin that he finds himself committing after his conversion! I can certainly sympathise with Paul because my life is far from ‘sinless perfection’. Whilst we don’t have the same sinful ambitions that we had before Jesus saved us, sin is still a present threat in our lives. So, what do we do about it? Well, certainly we must never pretend it doesn’t exist. What our new relationship with God does give us is two-fold as far as sin is concerned; firstly, the Holy Spirit gives us a greater sensitivity to sin. We begin to realise and look at sin more like God does; but secondly the Holy Spirit does give us power to fight those sinful ambitions. But we still fail because we are still human. What is God’s attitude towards these many lapses? The Apostle John says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins”. So, co...

  The Faith of the Syrophoenician Woman - Mark 7:24-30 Dear Friends, Jesus slips away to the region of Tyre and Sidon, seeking a quiet house where no one would know He was there. Yet He could not be hidden (v.24). Word spreads, and immediately a desperate mother appears—a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth—whose little daughter is gripped by an unclean spirit. She falls at His feet and begs Him to cast the demon out (vv.25–26). Jesus’ first response seems sharp: “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs” (v.27). In the culture of the day, “dogs” was a common Jewish term for Gentiles—unclean outsiders. The “children” are Israel, the covenant people to whom the Messiah was first sent. Jesus is reminding her (and perhaps His disciples listening nearby) of the priority: the gospel comes to the Jews first (Romans 1:16). But watch what this woman does. She doesn’t argue, retreat, or take offence. Instead, with profound humil...

  I want to follow on the thought we looked at yesterday, “Turn unto the Lord your God…..”. The verse that we looked at yesterday in Joel, goes on to expound some beautiful characteristics of our God, because it says “….. For He is gracious……..”.  Grace is a little used virtue in our modern society; we haven’t the time or the patience to exhibit grace. The theme of society is everyone for himself/herself, working on the basis that everyone else is out to do you wrong, so you have to be hard and get in first. As Christians that should never ever be our attitude, and particularly with our brothers and sisters in Christ. The thought that should be uppermost in our minds is “Let each esteem others better than ourselves”.  But why should we have this as a principle? Quite simply because Paul quite rightly says, “For we know (we have experienced) the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, in that though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor”. If Jesus as the Son of God, could ...

  The Real Source of Defilement - Mark 7:14-23 Dear Friends, Jesus calls the crowd close and says something that must have made jaws drop: “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him” (vv14–15). Later, in private with the disciples, He spells it out even plainer: “Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him…?” (v18). Food goes in, passes through the stomach, comes out the other end—none of it touches the heart. But then He lists what does defile: evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. “All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (v23). The Pharisees were obsessed with external rules—washing hands, pots, cups, the right rituals. Jesus says those things are secondary at best. The real pollution isn’t on you...

  Have we encountered any problems today? Of course we have, every day is laced with problems, most, fortunately, are trivial and are easily solved, so much so that we don’t even realise how good we are at the challenges life throws at us. So let me move the question one step upwards. Have we encountered any problems today that we couldn’t sort? Maybe something new, but maybe something persistent that we have struggled with before. So, what have we done with the problem we haven’t solved? Well, there are various answers to that: the first is to ignore it and hope it goes away; another option is to try and pass it on to some other person we know; but if we are honest, most of us try to move it to the back of our minds, knowing full well that it will give us mental and possibly emotional stress. A verse in the Bible, in Joel, one of the more obscure books, says this: “Turn unto the Lord your God ……”. The same thought is expressed in the New Testament, “Cast your cares upon Him, for H...

When Tradition Becomes a Trap - Mark 7:1-13 Dear Friends, the Pharisees and some scribes have come from Jerusalem, and straight away they spot Jesus’ disciples eating with “defiled” (unwashed) hands (v1–5). They don’t ask about the food; they ask about the ritual. “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with hands defiled?” Jesus doesn’t dodge. He goes straight for the heart: “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites… This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (vv6–7). Then He hits them harder: “You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men… You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!” (vv8–9). He gives the killer example: the practice of “Corban” (v11). A son could declare his money or goods as “Corban” (a gift devoted to God), and then claim he no longer had to support ...

  If I was looking for a word that seems to sum up, in non-abusive terms, the prime attitude within the world today in almost every area of life, it would be pragmatism. Honourable standards of behaviour are rarely to be seen, it is a question of what works for me, what is best for me, which largely determines anyone’s behaviour, and actions. Words spoken and promises made in speeches are considered totally breakable and ‘changes of circumstances’ are cited as reasons for not doing what you promised. The Bible, on the other hand, clearly states what our behaviour should be because it is not based on man’s infinitely changing standards but on God’s character, and His standard is absolute perfection in all aspects of our life. Most people would ridicule that as a life rule, because it doesn’t fit with their aims and behaviour but as Christians, that standard should be our goal because our aim should be to operate as God operates, after all we are His children! The longer I live, the ...

  Just Touch the Fringe Dear Friends, Jesus and the disciples land at Gennesaret. As soon as they step out of the boat, people recognise Him. Word spreads like wildfire through the whole region. The sick are carried on mats to wherever they hear He is. They beg just to touch the fringe of His garment—and everyone who touches it is made well (vv53–56). No long speeches. No dramatic rituals. Just desperate people reaching out in simple faith, and Jesus letting them come close enough to brush the edge of His robe. The power flows from Him, and healing happens—quietly, instantly, completely. The same Jesus who walked on water, who fed thousands, who stilled the storm now stands still while crowds press in, touching Him, and finding wholeness. This is the heart of the gospel in miniature: we don’t have to earn His attention or prove our worth. We just have to come. The sick didn’t wait for perfect timing or perfect words—they simply brought their need and reached out. And Jesus didn’t t...

  Last week, 2 young boys joined us out of the blue at the Breaking of Bread, after the meeting had started, We had no opportunity to give them any understanding of what the meeting was about. You may have been wondering why I didn’t offer them the bread and wine, or at least juice, as that is the main culmination of the remembrance and fellowship gathering. Firstly, it wasn’t an oversight, and it wasn’t because they were just young lads and it wasn’t because I hadn’t seen them before, although that is part of the reason. Normally, if someone we don’t know appears at the door before the meeting, whoever is at the door after welcoming them asks one question only: “Do you know the Lord Jesus as your Saviour?” If the answer is affirmative, then there is no reason why they should not take the bread and wine at that time in the service, because they take them on their own recognition. If the answer is negative, then we welcome them to sit in with us but gently and simply explain that we...

  Do Not Be Anxious - Matthew 6:25-end Dear Friends, Jesus sits on the hillside, looking into faces worn by daily cares, and says something startlingly direct: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (v25). He points to the birds—they neither sow nor reap, yet the Father feeds them. He points to the lilies—they neither toil nor spin, yet even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of them. “If God so clothes the grass of the field… will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (vv28–30). Then comes the heart of it: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (vv33–34). Jesus isn’t promising a trouble-free life—He kn...

  Yesterday we looked at the first part of a verse in Lamentations which basically exhorted us to continue in payer and not to give up but to wait for God’s time. That same verse has another section which is equally important: “The LORD is good …….. to the soul that seeks Him”. We can certainly count prayer as ‘seeking the Lord’, but we can seek the Lord in multiple other ways: we can go out into the countryside (when it’s not raining!) and see God’s wonderful creation; we can gather together with other believers in praise and worship as we do on Sunday mornings, particularly; we can seek the Lord as we read His Word. All of these activities bring joy to our souls which is not just emotional but thrills our spirit when we seek the greatness and yet the love of God in so many ways. We should never enter into any of these activities with a spirit which says, ‘Well I ought to do these activities because God will be good to me’. There is a prayer that is attributed to a Saint Ignatius,...

The One Request That Pleased God Most - 1 Kings 3.4-13 Dear Friends, Solomon goes up to Gibeon to offer sacrifices at the great high place. That night the Lord appears to him in a dream and says, “Ask what I shall give you” (v5). The offer is breathtaking—anything. Solomon could have asked for wealth, victory over enemies, long life, or power to crush every rival. Instead, he answers with humble honesty: “I am but a little child… Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil” (vv7–9). He asks for wisdom to lead well, to discern what is right. And the text tells us something precious: “It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this” (v10). God not only grants the wisdom but adds what Solomon did not ask for—riches and honour—so that “no one like you shall have been before you and none like you shall arise after you” (v12). This is the hinge of Solomon’s reign. He could have grasped for himself; instead he asked for wha...

  At first glance the picture doesn't fit the word given by Brian today... I'd encourage you to read to the end and all will be made clear... All writers of books have a style. I have read many of Charles Dickens books and whilst the story moves on, the language can be a bit wordy. John Le Carre, who wrote superb spy thrillers has a very convoluted plot always. One of the major prophets in the Bible, Jeremiah, had a particularly hard time because God had given him a message to the Jewish nation that they didn’t want to hear and Jeremiah was very faithful in proclaiming that message, which got him into much trouble, even being thrown into a slime pit.  It is hardly surprising that after all his unfortunate and cruel treatment, he wrote another book, Lamentations. He doesn’t bemoan his own experiences in that book, but the attitude of his nation towards God. But as always in the Bible, even in the most difficult and depressing events that are recorded, there are little gems to b...

  The Morning That Changed Everything - Matthew 28:1-15 Dear Friends, very early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake—the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled back the stone, and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, his clothing white as snow. The guards shook with fear and became like dead men (vv1–4). But the angel spoke to the women: “Do not be afraid… He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead” (vv5–7). They ran from the tomb with fear and great joy, and Jesus Himself met them on the way. “Greetings,” He said. They fell at His feet, worshipped Him, and held Him. He repeated the angel’s words: “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me” (vv8–10). Meanwhile, the guards went into the city and reporte...

  The Charge That Echoes - 1 Kings 2.1-4, 10-12 Dear Friends, David knows his time is short. He calls Solomon close and speaks words that are both tender and urgent: “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn” (vv2–3). He doesn’t give Solomon a list of political strategies or military tactics. He gives him the one thing that matters above everything else: faithfulness to God. “That the Lord may establish his word that he spoke concerning me,” David says, quoting the promise God made to him—that there would always be a man on the throne if his sons walked faithfully before Him (v4). The kingdom’s future doesn’t rest on Solomon’s cleverness or strength; it rests on obedience to the Lord. Then comes the quiet line ...

In the recent past, certainly by two television presenters in Yorkshire, they walked a 3-legged series of routes for charity. To walk together, but separately, can sometimes be difficult, but to walk in unison with 2 legs tied together for any distance is a big ask. Back in the book of Amos, he asks a question, that taken purely at face value, relates very much to that type of challenge: “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” But we soon see that the question has much wider interpretation. It relates to any situation in life where two people, two organisations or two parties of any type try to work in unison. Essentially such working together has to be based on trust, each one has to trust the other to fulfil the objective they have agreed to seek to achieve. The same principle is absolutely true in the spiritual realm. How can, we as sinful human beings, achieve any sort of unity with a holy and righteous God? We are opposed to one another. Righteousness can have no fellowship...

  Wilful Sin vs. the Sin We Stumble Into: What the Bible Really Says about the meaning of the word "Practice" We all know sin is serious—Christians aren’t pretending otherwise. But Scripture draws a line between two very different experiences of sin in the believer’s life, and understanding that line can bring both sobering clarity and real comfort. In 1 John 3:4–9, John uses strong language about those who “practice” sin (the Greek poieō in the present continuous tense). He’s describing a settled pattern, a lifestyle of deliberate, ongoing rebellion against God—sin that is not occasional but habitual and unrepentant. John says the one who keeps on practising sin “has neither seen Him nor known Him” (v6). That’s not a casual slip; it’s a life that refuses to bow to Christ’s lordship. It’s pride in its purest form: “I know what God says, but I’m going to live my way anyway.” The heart is hardened, the conscience seared, and repentance is absent. Contrast that with the honest s...

  Led by Shaun Fereday, Leader @ SFGH Churc h The Goodness of the Law and the Grace That Saves -  1 Timothy 1:8-9 We kicked off with Shaun inviting someone to read verses 8–11 (although we only managed to get through v.8 to 9 on the night), preferably in the NIV to avoid any more "janglings" like last week's unusual words from the King James. Barbara stepped up beautifully with her Bible (no fuss, just faithful reading).  "We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practising homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me." Shaun thanked her warmly, noting how ...