When the Apostle Paul was in Athens he noticed the inscription ‘To the unknown God’. In many ways that sums up our society today – people do not know who God is. At best he is seen as some abstract force without any relevance to our personal lives or the whole idea of an eternal God and an eternity to be inhabited is seen as a myth or fairy tale. In Darlington the other day, we saw a man with a t-shirt with the message ‘If there is no football in heaven, I don’t want to be there’. We can tut and say how ignorant and terrible, but it reminds us that we have a job to do. The Lord calls us to go into all the world and make disciples and teaching them all that the Lord commanded.

Paul set out to teach those in Athens that the God they call unknown is ‘the God who made the world and everything in it and is the Lord of heaven and earth. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead’. (Acts 17:24, 31)  There is tremendous ignorance in our day and age as to the reality of the living God and we are called to take the message of God and the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to our generation.

Whilst this is an ongoing challenge to every one of us, we do have a particular opportunity to invite friends, neighbours, relatives to come and learn more at the Harvest Mission. The Saturday evening Harvest Supper is a great opportunity to invite folks to come and have a meal and then hear David Magowan speaking on the gospel. This is an ideal setting for those not used to going to church.

The Sunday morning Harvest Service will also be an opportunity to come and give thanks to God for all is goodness. Despite all the economic problems that surround us, the threats of global warming, and so on, the shelves of our supermarkets are stacked high with every conceivable type of food. Surely it is good to thanks God for another year of his provision. We look forward to Ron Swales taking the services that day.

May the Lord use David Magowan and Ron Swales as they come and speak at the Mission meetings and may we each be encouraged to reach out with gospel invitations.