South Featherstone Gospel Hall

  The prime attitude I notice in our society is largely self-satisfaction, even if that means at the expense of others. This is also backed up by the thought that ‘might is right’. We have stopped being a caring society because caring is now seen as weakness. Even in places where care for others should be paramount, there is frequently an attitude that there are self-imposed limits on how far that should extend and it frequently falls short of the level of need. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek”. But meekness also is seen as weakness. Practical caring to the level of need we see, can sometimes be very draining, both mentally and physically and if we are following Jesus, we can even feel spiritually drained at times. But sometimes in stressful situations, instead of relying more on God’s guidance we switch back to trying to solve things in our own strength. But God has a word for us in Isaiah 40, “God gives power to the faint; and to them which have no m...

  Of the Old Testament saints, 2 names stand out as being so faithful to God as to have no negative traits written about them. They are Joseph and Daniel, who lived many years apart, but whom God used mightily to preserve and bless His people. The book of Daniel, towards the end, becomes difficult to fully interpret BUT, one verse in Daniel 10 stands out as a guide for us today. “And when he had spoken to me, I was strengthened” This refers to the archangel Michael who was sent by God to speak to Daniel and give him a message, which blessed Daniel and gave him the strength he needed to continue to serve God. And this is exactly what happens when we read prayerfully God’s Word. God rarely uses angels to speak to us but like the psalmist wrote, “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path”. I specifically mention the word ‘prayerfully’ because we should never approach the Bible as we would any conventional book. God’s Word is packed with spiritual blessings for us, but ...

  Back in the book of Isaiah, in chapter 63, towards the end of the book, Isaiah refers to the Jewish nation, and the work God had done for them and says, “In His love and in His pity He redeemed them”. The act of ‘redemption’ essentially means buying back and buying involves some form of price that needs to be paid by the redeemer. What happened to the Children of Israel in the Old Testament, was a foreshadow of a greater redemption and a greater redemption price that was going to be paid that we have recorded in the New Testament that would redeem not just an earthly nation but would redeem a people from the whole world, over all time. And it needed the sacrifice of God’s one and only Son on the cross. And that sacrifice and the very person who made that sacrifice is the One we remember this morning and every Sunday morning or whenever we meet to break the bread and drink the wine. And we remember that it is God’s love that set this whole act in motion and the obedience of Jesus ...

  A Remnant Left Behind – Jeremiah 40 Dear Friends, Jeremiah 40 opens in the aftermath of Jerusalem’s fall. The city has been burned, the king taken away in chains, and most of the people carried into exile. Yet even in this dark hour the Lord has not forgotten His prophet. Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, finds Jeremiah still in chains at Ramah and releases him. He acknowledges that the Lord has brought this disaster upon the city just as Jeremiah had said, and then offers the prophet a free choice: come to Babylon under his protection, or stay in the land wherever he wishes. Jeremiah chooses to remain. He goes to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon has appointed governor over the poorest of the land who have been left behind. Gedaliah settles at Mizpah and encourages the remnant to serve the Chaldeans, gather the harvest, and live in the land. Slowly, scattered Jews who had fled to neighbouring countries begin to return when they hear that a governor has been a...

  Sacrifices in the Bible: The Strange World of Old Testament Worship Based on the article by Wyatt Graham, published on the Logos Blog, 6 August 2026 Old Testament sacrifices can seem strange and even repulsive to modern readers — the death of animals, blood sprinkled on altars, ritual purity laws, and the language of covenant salt. Yet these offerings form a vital part of the Bible’s story. They reveal how a holy God made a way for His people to draw near to Him, and they ultimately point forward to the finished work of Jesus Christ. What Are Sacrifices? Sacrifice stood near the centre of Israel’s worship. While God always desired obedience and faithfulness more than ritual alone (1 Samuel 15:22; Hosea 6:6), the sacrificial system provided a God-given pathway for His people to know and enjoy Him. Sacrifice itself was not unique to Israel; it was common in the ancient world. What set Israel’s system apart was that it was divinely revealed and directed toward personal and community...

  The Fall of Jerusalem – Jeremiah 39 Dear Friends, Jeremiah 39 records one of the darkest days in the history of Judah. After years of patient warning through the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord finally comes to pass. In the eleventh year of King Zedekiah the city of Jerusalem is breached by the Babylonian army. The king flees by night but is overtaken near Jericho. His sons are killed before his eyes, his own eyes are put out, and he is led away in chains to Babylon. The city is burned, the walls are broken down, and most of the people are taken into exile. It is a scene of total national collapse. Yet even in the midst of judgement the Lord shows Himself faithful. Nebuchadnezzar gives specific orders concerning Jeremiah: he is to be looked after and not harmed. The prophet who had been rejected, imprisoned and thrown into a cistern is now protected by the very nation that is destroying Jerusalem. God keeps His servant safe when everything else is falling apart. There is a...

  We are above all a Bible-believing church and we seek to base our whole lives on what God reveals to us through His Word.  As we go about our daily lives, we don’t really think about what is happening outside of our living area, much less about what is happening in our solar system, and unless we are engaged in astronomy, we give virtually no thought at all as what is happening in the universe as a whole. We sometimes marvel at pictures relayed to us from high resolution cameras of things which have happened thousands of light-years ago in our vast and complicated universe and we cannot scientifically comprehend how it all came into being, But in Genesis 1 and 2 we have the words and commands given by God which brought all these marvels into being and we acknowledge God as the creator of all things. Compared to the vastness and age of the universe, our tiny planet and the time man has spent on it is infinitely small and though so insignificant the amount of time and effort G...

  The Day of Pentecost – Acts 2:1-21 Dear Friends, Acts 2 opens with one of the most significant moments in the history of the church. The disciples are all together in one place when suddenly there comes from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind that fills the whole house. Tongues as of fire appear and rest on each of them, and they are all filled with the Holy Spirit and begin to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enables them. The noise draws a crowd of devout Jews from every nation under heaven who are living in Jerusalem. They are amazed because each one hears the disciples declaring the mighty works of God in his own language. Some are bewildered; others mock and say the men are filled with new wine. Then Peter stands up with the eleven and addresses the crowd. He explains that what they are witnessing is not drunkenness but the fulfilment of the prophecy spoken by the prophet Joel: “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all ...

  A Covenant of Friendship – 1 Samuel 20:1-17 Dear Friends, in 1 Samuel 20 we are given one of the most moving pictures of true friendship in the whole of Scripture. David is in real danger. Saul is determined to kill him, and David turns to the one person he believes he can still trust — Jonathan, Saul’s own son. David pours out his fear and confusion: “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?” Jonathan at first finds it hard to believe that his father would act so secretly against David. Yet David knows the danger is real. Together they form a careful plan so that Jonathan can discover Saul’s true intentions during the coming new moon feast. What follows is extraordinary. Jonathan does not defend his father or protect his own position as the king’s son. Instead he binds himself to David with a solemn covenant. He asks David to show “the steadfast love of the Lord” to him while he lives, and after his death to show the same ...

  I love Paul’s letter to the Colossians, it starts off with the exaltation of our Lord Jesus, which sets the tone for the whole letter. There is teaching galore for us, and we wonder how much effect it had on the local church or churches in that region. One verse particularly sums up what our ambition as Christians should be. We all have earthly ambitions for our personal, work or social life and, provided these ambitions are lawful and not extreme, it is natural for them to motivate us in whatever area we have them. However, all such ambitions must be viewed in the light of Colossians 3 and verse 1, “If you are then risen with Christ, seek those things that are above”.  What this is clearly saying, that for a successful Christian life, bringing honour and glory to God, which is why God saved us in the first place, we must view all our earthly ambitions and desires in the light of what God would want and prioritise His service above all else. This does not mean we must all be...

  I just want to sign off on our brief look at Moses’ blessing to the Children of Israel in Numbers 6. The words must have encouraged those who heard them and they would continue to look for God’s blessing as they went onwards in their lives in the Promised Land. But that blessing was conditional on them following God’s commandments and as we read onwards through the Old Testament, we see them time and time again turning away from God and God having to judge them in righteousness. But as we turn to the New Testament, and particularly our own situation, Paul says to us that we have, (past tense), been blessed with all spiritual blessings, and the key words are “In Christ”!!! If we re-read the words that Moses spoke to those travelling tribes, we can now see that ALL of them have been fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ and our new relationship with Him! We have been blessed and there are more blessings on the shelf waiting to be claimed as we seek to follow our Saviour. The differenc...

  True and False Prophets – Jeremiah 28 Dear Friends, in Jeremiah 28 we are given a vivid and sobering picture of the difference between a true prophet and a false one. The setting is the temple in Jerusalem, early in the reign of Zedekiah. The nation is under the growing pressure of Babylon, and the people are desperate for a word of hope. Into this situation steps Hananiah the prophet. In front of the priests and all the people he boldly declares that the Lord has broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years, he says, the temple vessels taken to Babylon will be returned, and Jeconiah and all the exiles will come home. It is a message of rapid deliverance and national restoration — exactly what the people wanted to hear. Jeremiah is also present. He responds carefully at first, saying that he hopes the word may come true, but then he adds a searching test: the prophet who prophesies peace can only be known as truly sent by the Lord when his word comes to pass. Later th...

  Contend, O Lord – Psalm 35 Dear Friends, there are times when opposition comes not because we have done wrong, but because we have sought to do what is right. Psalm 35 is David’s cry in just such a situation. He is surrounded by those who hate him without cause, who repay him evil for good, and who seek his ruin. In response, he turns to the only One who can truly defend him. The psalm opens with a bold request: “Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me!” (Psalm 35:1 ESV). David does not take vengeance into his own hands. Instead, he asks the Lord to take up his case. He calls on God to be his shield and buckler, to draw the spear and javelin against his pursuers, and to say to his soul, “I am your salvation!” David describes the malice of his enemies in vivid terms. They dig a pit for him, spread a net, and rejoice when he stumbles. Yet he has treated them with kindness. When they were sick, he prayed for them and mourned as thoug...

  Atonement Theories & 4 Aspects of Christ’s Work Based On An Article By Glenn Butner Even the youngest Christians usually know that Jesus was born to save us, lived a holy life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose again from the dead. Yet many struggle to explain why these events save us. The doctrine of the atonement provides that explanation for the purposes of evangelism, apologetics, and instruction in the faith. The English word “atonement” was coined by combining “at” and “one-ment,” an older way of speaking of reconciliation. The theology of atonement explores how “God was reconciling the world to himself through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:19). Traditionally, discussions of the atonement have focused on different “models” or “theories” that explain what Christ’s death accomplishes and how. No ecumenical council ever defined a single official explanation for the whole church. Modern theology therefore often speaks of atonement models as either competing or complement...

  We are continuing our look at Numbers 6 24-26 to see how this blessing from God, through Moses, to the Children of Israel is now fulfilled for us as God’s redeemed people, and we now come to another lovely statement in v 26, “The Lord lift up His countenance on you, (Look upon you with favour!)”. Yesterday we considered God’s grace, unmerited favour and the above statement reminds us that when God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross to pay the punishment for our sins, He was looking on us with favour. He was offering to us, pardon, a relationship with Himself and eternal spiritual life. We almost have a picture of God smiling on us and certainly treating us with love as His children. And all this has come from Jesus being willing to go to the very depths of spiritual degradation to pull us out of our dead-end life and lift us to be sons and daughters of His Father. Seeking to do His will in our everyday life, refreshes that smile and helps us to feel the love He has for us. Ar...

  We are continuing our look at Numbers 6 24-26 to see how this blessing from God, through Moses, to the Children of Israel is now fulfilled for us as God’s redeemed people, and we come to the lovely statement, “(May the Lord) be gracious to you”. God’s grace, unmerited favour, was shown all the way through the Old Testament to His earthly people. Yes, there were sad occasions when God had to mete out justice because of persistent rebellion, but He always returned with mercy and restoration. God is the author of grace, it is part of His character. But all the way through the Old Testament, God knew how that grace was going to be revealed in a once-for-all appearance of His Son, Jesus, on earth and in John 1 v 17 we have the contrast between the Old and New Testaments, ‘For the Law was given through Moses BUT grace and truth came through Jesus Christ’. Jesus was God’s ultimate offering of grace to us as failed human beings and Paul goes on to say, “For (we) know, (have experienced) ...

  Do Guardian Angels Exist? What the Bible and Christian Tradition Say In the fourth century, Basil of Caesarea wrote with confidence: “No one will deny that every believer has an angel that accompanies him, acting like a kind of pedagogue and shepherd and directing his life.” He based this on Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:10: “Do not despise one of these little ones, for their angels continually behold the face of my Father in heaven.” But is this interpretation correct? Do guardian angels exist? What Are Angels? The English word “angel” comes from the Greek angelos , meaning “messenger” (the Hebrew equivalent is mal’ak ). In the Bible the term can describe human messengers, such as John the Baptist, but more often it refers to supernatural beings sent by God. In a broader sense the word covers a range of spiritual beings: cherubim, seraphim, thrones, dominions, rulers, authorities, watchers and archangels. These beings worship God, carry out His purposes, and serve His people. Hebre...

  The Righteous Branch – Jeremiah 33:14-26 Dear Friends, in the middle of one of the darkest periods in Judah’s history, with the city under threat and the people facing exile, God spoke words of extraordinary hope through the prophet Jeremiah. Chapter 33 contains a series of promises that look far beyond the immediate crisis to a future only God could secure. “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 33:14-16 ESV) The “righteous Branch” is a clear Messianic promise — a descendant of David who would rule with perfect justice and righteousness. This points forward to the Lord Jesus Chris...

  I saw this poster recently which is true but then thought - what scripture supports it? And the answer may be longer than you think: Core texts on grace alone (not works): Ephesians 2:8-9 (the one already on the poster) - “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Titus 3:5  “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us…” 2 Timothy 1:9  “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace…” Romans 3:20, 28  “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight… Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” Romans 4:4-5  “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is co...

  Have you noticed, that when someone is pleased and a smile breaks out, it is like a light illuminating their face. In fact there is a saying that ‘someone’s face lit up’. What a difference it makes, even with the most serious of people! Not only that, but if it is as a result of 2 people having a conversation, then the other person knows that they have found common ground and in general it will make the conversation go more smoothly.  The next line in the blessing that we are looking at, v 25 of Numbers 6, says, “The Lord make His face to shine on you”. This is just like a Father who is pleased with His children and wants to show them favour, even the best blessing He can shower upon them. And this truly is God’s attitude towards you and me as His children. But it presupposes that we, as His children, are doing our very best at our end to please Him. That we are seeking to follow Him and be obedient to Him. These are all examples of what a parent looks for in His children. ...

  What Is Messianic Judaism? For nearly two thousand years, the paths of Judaism and Christianity have largely diverged. Yet this separation often obscures a foundational historical reality: the earliest followers of Jesus were Jews. They worshipped the God of Israel, read the Hebrew Scriptures, and proclaimed that the long-awaited Jewish Messiah had come. The idea that faith in this Messiah would eventually produce a religion largely disconnected from the Jewish people would have seemed almost unthinkable to them. Messianic Judaism is the modern re-emergence of that original reality — Jewish people who believe in Jesus (often called Yeshua) while continuing to live as Jews. Ancient Roots The story begins in Scripture itself. God’s covenant with Abraham established a particular people through whom blessing would come to all nations (Genesis 12:1–3). Israel was chosen not to exclude the nations but to serve as the channel of God’s redemptive purposes. Jesus’ own earthly ministry was...