The desert and the parched land will be glad;

the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.

(Isaiah 35:1)

You should have seen our runner beans this year! No, it’s a good job you didn’t see our runner beans this year. They have been a disaster. You see, we had this idea of growing them in tubs. That’s all well and good, but unless you give them plenty of water, they soon dry out and do not stand a chance. Just before we went on holiday for two weeks, they were growing well and looking so promising. There was plenty of growth and we were really looking forward to those fresh beans, because I am sure you know you have to pick them and eat them the same day for them to be at their best. When we returned from holiday, they were dead. The leaves were brown and withered. And the little beans were shrivelled and parched. It was a sad sight.

Water is essential for life. Too much, of course, and it becomes lethal. We can drown in it and it can destroy, as the tragic pictures from Pakistan show only too clearly. Nevertheless, mostly we think of water as something that restores, refreshes, renews and brings abundant life.

Every two or three months our local Circuit of Methodist Churches holds quiet afternoons called “Stop and Ponder”. I tend not to be a “stop and ponder” kind of person, to be honest. But when I do, when I allow space for God to speak to me, then I find that he does. A few weeks ago one of these events was held at the Rylands Church and I went along. After all, it’s one of my places! I stopped and pondered as we were led into the theme of water and its rich symbolism. And during the quiet I found myself pondering these words from Isaiah 35:

** Isaiah 35:1 **

In my mind I saw the desert: stony, arid, harsh and dry. And I tried to imagine the desert coming to life. I have heard that there are some parts of the world where the desert receives rainfall just once a year or once every few years. I am no geographer or meteorologist, so don’t quote me, but I understand that seeds that lie dormant in the ground for months or even years suddenly come to life when the water seeps into the thirsty ground. The desert is within a couple of days clothed in green and flowers quickly begin to push through. The desert is transformed. It blossoms. And suddenly insects and birds are all around, as if from nowhere. Water brings life into the desert.

For Isaiah and his readers the words of chapter 35 refer to the time when Israel’s exile in Babylon will be over, and there would be an age of peace and prosperity for the nation. It is a passage shot through with joyful hope and with a sense of faith in the God who will bring about this great miracle of transformation for a nation suffering under persecution and tyranny.

For me, as I read these words and reflected on the life of the churches I serve, not least here at Chilwell Road, I found this passage providing me with a great sense of hope and excitement about the work that God will do among us in this coming year. God wants to bring us the new life of his Spirit. Here are just a few things that speak of hope.

Firstly, it has been a great joy this morning to officially welcome Sally among us as our Church Family Worker. This appointment has been a long time in the planning and the making. But God has been so good to us. We have got there, we praise God and we rejoice in Sally’s ministry among us. And good things will happen through her ministry not because of anything she does, but because of what we do together. There is no “leaving it to Sally”. She is God’s gift to us to enable us all to share in God’s mission together.

Secondly, it will be a great joy in a few minutes time to receive Robert and Heather Pettifer, John Stafford and Jen Seagrave into our membership here. Brian and Alison Rowe were also going to be received into membership but unfortunately have a family commitment that means they cannot be here, so they will be received on another occasion. And if there is anybody else interested in knowing about membership here at Chilwell Road, please have a word with me. Robert, Heather, John and Jennifer are saying today not only do they want to stand up and be counted as followers of Jesus Christ, but they want to live that out here among us at Chilwell Road.

Thirdly, in a month’s time, the evening of 3^rd October, all the Methodist Churches of Beeston and Chilwell are being called together to an event called “Envision”. Through worship, information, discussion and displays we will be looking together at where the Spirit of God may be leading us as his Methodist people locally. In the following weeks, local churches will be invited to consider further what has been placed before them and sign a covenant towards unity together. This will give us a strong foundation on which to build our future together.

Finally, next year, 2011, has been declared in Methodist Churches “The Year of the Bible”, for it marks the 400^th Anniversary of the publication of the King James or Authorised Version of the Bible that has had such a powerful impact on faith and culture. As part of the ecumenical “Biblefresh” initiative, we will be holding special events and activities here at Chilwell Road.

So there are four signs of life, hope, celebration and renewal. There are others I could have chosen.

** Isaiah 35:1 **

As I allowed this passage to seep into me I began to realise that for us at Chilwell Road this vision of a flowering desert is not just about what God is going to do among us. It is about what God wants to do with us. It is a vision for the difference that God can make through us in our surrounding community of Beeston and Chilwell. Now of course in many ways our neighbourhood is not a desert. In fact I think it is a great place to live and work. Nevertheless, life for many people in the community in which we are set is tough. They are desperate for some good news; desperate to know what we know: that there is a God who loves them, who is concerned for their lives, and that they have real worth and value in his sight. They can only know it if we show it.

** Isaiah 35:5-6 **

Roy Godwin in his book “The Grace Outpouring” highlights three key questions for Christians to ask themselves if they want to be a blessing in their local community:

1) What is good and wholesome within this community that I could bless practically by affirmation and support with time or money? In other words, are there community groups or initiatives that make a positive contribution to the life of the local community that you could be part of?

2) Who is God putting in front of me that I should show kindness or mercy to? Is there someone I should bless by becoming the neighbour from heaven instead of the infamous “neighbour from hell”? In other words, is there someone who needs my practical help? I tend not to believe that we get to meet or to know other people by accident.

3) Who is God putting in front of me that I might clearly share the gospel with?

And of course we can share in being such a blessing as we do so in company with our fellow Christians, whether it is helping with the Church Charity, taking out the church flowers, or joining in with the amazing community service programme that comes under the auspices of Hope NG9 Churches Together. Do take and read the Hope NG9 Churches Together newsletters from the distribution points. God is at work. God uses us to bring the water of his love and hope to the weary and the thirsty around us.

Last Monday (doesn’t it always happen on a Bank Holiday Monday?) we had water trouble at our manse. I went to tighten up a slightly dripping tap and the wretched thing came off in my hand. Hot water started to pour into the sink. All I could do was turn off the gas boiler and turn off the water supply. No water! The plumber came the next day. “Oooh!” he said. “I don’t have that fitting on my van. I’ll have to go and get another one.” At least by the end of the day we had water. But not hot water, because the wretched boiler wouldn’t re-light. So ‘twas on the Wednesday morning that the gasman came to call! “Oooh!” he said. “I’ve never seen one like this before. Have you got the instructions anywhere?”

I know what it’s like to be without water – that commodity we take so much for granted. Jesus was thirsty. He went to a well. He met a woman there. It was no chance meeting. He offered her living water. He offered her his new life that would meet and heal the pain and despair of her life.

** John 4:14 **

Jesus makes the same offer to you and me. He makes the same offer through us to those who feel that life is a desert. As we come to share in the Covenant together, as generations before us have done, may God meet us and may we commit ourselves to being his people in the world.

** Isaiah 35:1 **