Do we still plough the fields and scatter? 

This Sunday like many churches across the UK we celebrated Harvest. 

The thought of Harvest might conjure up images of fresh produce piled high, but there were no corn dollies in sight as we thought about how God provides for us today.

We began by looking at Psalm 104, which made us take a step back in awe at the almighty God we worship! It was a great reminder of the way God sustains the world he created and how we should respond to him.

But how does God provide for each of us every day? Usually at Harvest we remind ourselves with fruit and veg, but because so few of us are farmers sometimes it's hard to make that link that to God’s provision for us on a daily basis. Instead, we all brought items that represented our work - a real mix from hairdryers to lesson plans and from scale models to stab vests! These things reminded us of the varied ways God provides for each of us, and that those of us who work should value our jobs and work hard, in honour of these good gifts from God.

Of course, if we're really thankful to God for what he's given us, we won't waste or ruin it. We thought about how we need to be good stewards of what God has given to us and how we should use these gifts to share with others (1Pet 4:7-10). For example is our home our own private possession or something we use to serve others?

Finally we looked at the way Harvest is used as an image in the New Testament to encourage us to share the message of Christ with the world, to grow in our own righteousness and to make sure we are prepared for the return of Jesus – big challenges for how we live day to day!

Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate Harvest with us, and for all of the food you generously donated to Medway Food Bank.