Sunday 19.12.10

Songs for this Sunday AM service:

Born that we may have Life- Chris Tomlin
You- Hillsong
Glory in the Highest- Chris Tomlin
Emmanuel- Hillsong

Item:
Go Tell it on the Mountain

Time to write

I'm sitting in the shade of a jacaranda tree and finally had time to stop, think and write.

In view is an amazing Anglican Church and it has me thinking about The Church.

She comes in all shapes and sizes. Some with pews others with chairs, her people are so diverse they cover every nation and demo-graph. She is skilled in trades, gifted in the arts, patient as a mother and innocent like a child. She is long-suffering, hopeful and sees greatness in every human being.

I'm so glad that I am apart of the Church.

Next year my Church plans to move venues and 'set up shop' in a local school. What a great opportunity this will be and what an impact it will have on that school, and the local community. It proves once again that The Church is not confined to it's walls, is not controlled by it's past and will not shrink back, rather she will endure and be the radiant bride God has called her to be.

Thats just my two cents...
Lk

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Gen Y & X are smart!

I really need to blog again, but with one final essay looming over my head it probably should wait...
ahh stuff it I'm procrastinating...

I'm currently researching for this evangelism essay and found myself on the ABS and NCLS websites. On these sites I happened to find information on education and what people are generally doing after school. I found that more than ever before Australia is becoming an educated nation!
And the Crazy part is that the church, on average, has a higher percentage of education than the nation.

This trend in lifestyle, in my opinion, is a rather BIG deal for the Church of tomorrow. It will bring both exciting new opportunities and have with it a host of new challenges.

Compared to previous generations, Gen Y and X will be the most educated. These two age groups consider 'enjoyment' as the most important thing to gain in this life and is obviously linked closely with money.
It has been documented that you tend to earn more if you have a degree or some kind of higher education under your belt.
So education then losely translates into money, and money is enjoyable.

BUT this comes with challenge for leaders of these groups:
1. Aiming high. The longing for information and knowledge is a great desire to have, but leaders of these groups will need to better equip themselves in order to continue to reach the 'intellectual' on their level. To treat this group like young, immature people will only do harm.
2. Filling the Gap. The greatest challenge on the other hand will be in continuing to include those who are not pursuing further studies. By targetting and catering to the 'intellectual' simultaneously Churches could be easily overlooking the needs of those considered 'unintellectual.' This could be in the use of words, social gatherings and service style; where a slick modern type of service may only highlight to the 'tradie' that he or she is less valued.

Hmmm, there is a lot to sit and think over.
But I'm excited because we live in an age where information is easily attainable, the internet has increased our ability to connect with people and the Church has access to an abundance of resources which can be used to better grasp local communities, social trends and the direction of the future.
I hope we equip ourselves with the right tools to be effective in all generations and to all demographics.

Lk

What the future has for You and Me.

I havent done this yet; blog lyrics to a song I just wrote.
But there is a first for everything.
What follows is the chorus to a song I'm currently writing.
It's a love song about a boy (or girl) who has hidden feelings about a girl (or boy). In the chorus he (or she) plans the conversation they will one day have as they tell the 'love of their life' how they feel.
It's hilarious because I'm very inexperienced in the area of relationships so maybe I'm totally wrong about this event/ moment. Time will only tell.
Enjoy.

"One of these days, when I open my mouth
The words on my heart are gonna come out.
I'll look in your eyes and shower you with words
About how you make me feel and what the future has for you and me."


I haven't written a song for ages, so this is exciting.
Next step is to record it and make it go viral. haha.

Lk

Built.

On the Church as a people: Be more concerned with building into people's lives than building a room to contain the Church.

Use it.

Hebrews 5:12-14

"In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food... solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves..."

How convicting is this!

By now we ought to have been teaching and passing on this Glorious knowledge of Christ and salvation to others. BUT we still need to be told over and over again the ABC's of Christianity.

What a waste of time it is to have learnt something but then have to re-learn it from lack of use.

Looking closer we see that this scripture does not imply moving from 'milk to solids' as coming from a correct theology, good personality, large platform or audience. Things which we may associate as being the place or gifts needed for teaching.

It comes simply as the result of 'constant use'

Practice.

The message bible says that they have "practice in telling right from wrong, good from evil."
Practice runs or tests are known for their stuff ups and failures, but that's OK. That's where we gain the most experience.

It's in this stage that we learn the most, grow the most and develop the most.
There is a great deal to be learnt from our mistakes and not our perfection.

So don't worry about getting it right or wrong, focus on training and learning; activating the knowledge we have received and allowing it to move from a practice into a behaviour and lifestyle where God is glorified and we are able to guide others on the journey. To teach them.

Get back into the Word and practice it.

Practice:
Declaring it,
Living it,
Explaining it,
Displaying it,
Preaching and
Memorizing it.

Lk

Sunday 26th Set list

Your Name High- Hillsong
Now I'm Free- Planet Shakers
Jesus Messiah- Chris Tomlin
Forever Reign- One Sonic Society


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Communion.

Having grown up in the Church and in that time experienced hundreds of communion services I have often wondered about the necessity of using the exact symbols of bread and wine to represent Christ’s Body and Blood. I think it has been assumed that those were the emblems used in biblical times which has then shaped communion services around the world for many centuries.

Sadly, I think the constant repetition of these symbols has caused a loss in value and appreciation to the life which they represent. I know from personal experience the distraction I receive when either playing with my piece of bread or placing bets on whether the grape juice will be in or out of date.

Acts 42:2
"they devoted themselves... to the breaking of bread..."

Reflecting on communion in the bible I encountered that in the early church it involved meals and a public remembrance of Christ as the participants began to eat. This involved telling the gospel to those who had not yet heard, accompanying Christ’s message of love with physical actions- feeding the hungry.

If we look at the culture here in Australia it is quite obvious that a strong café culture has taken root, I myself love the idea of meeting up with friends at the local coffee house to eat and chat. And I have seen first hand the community and friendship that a cup of coffee brings about.

This has caught my attention and caused me to look at the similarities of the coffee cup and side of banana bread with that of the traditional bread and wine. Imagine sharing communion around the coffee table! This would have massive implications for us if we endeavored to give it ago, because it takes the Church from its ‘holy huddle’ and gets us out in the streets of the community that we are supposed to be impacting.

. . . .

Imagine for a second: You and a group of friends head to your local coffee house. After ordering and before you devour the food before you, you take the time to reflect on the story of Jesus Christ. You pick up a small piece of banana bread and explain how Jesus went to the Cross, how he was bruised and beaten. Even though he was innocent he allowed the sins of human kind to rest upon Him, he died the death we deserved. Next you all pick up your coffee and in a ‘cheers’ like manner you raise them together to have the story of Jesus’ resurrection told, that His blood purchased our freedom and washes away our sins.

. . . .

Let me tell you that in a coffee house nothing is kept secret and I’m sure that by now you would have attracted the attention of others in the room, if you play your cards right this could very well lead you to being able to explain your actions and ultimately the Gospel to those inquiring.

I still think Communion is relevant within our Church services, but let's not restrict it to the four walls of the building. This kind of application can be made to any kind of meal at any point of the day, so why not even give it ago next time you dig into a bowl of wheatbix?

Have you ever tried something like this?

I definitely look forward to giving this ago.

Lk

Sunday 22/08/10

AM setlist:
You- Hillsong
Happy Day- Tim Hughes
Awakening- Chris Tomlin

NEW SONG as an item
God Is Love- Hillsong

Sunday 15/08/10

AM

There's Freedom- Planet Shakers
More than Me- GoodNews
Yahweh- Hillsong
Forever Reign- Hillsong/ One Sonic Society

Something Quick

I've just had one of those days where I felt like God was speaking to me every second.

It started off in a class called 'Minor Prophets' in which we are studying the 12 minor prophets of the Old Testament. Of course this class has lead to the discussion of prophecy and what that looks like in our modern day context.
We've mentioned that prophecy holds elements which are painful, as it is a reality check to something you may need to correct, but also reassuring and inspiring, letting us know we have the ability to change and see God's power move.

And so just like that I felt God put on my heart these words;

"Take the doors off their hinges, you've made it too hard for people to enter into the Church..."

Shortly after in chapel we sang the old Delirious song 'Did you feel the mountains tremble' which has these words in the chorus;

"Open up the Doors, Let the music play, let the streets resound with singing..."

Church we've got to open our doors and let the sound of forgiveness, grace and love flow into the streets so that every person may have the opportunity to hear and respond.

Access to God is not something you work hard or pay for. Christians should know this best.
We need to stop making it seem so hard for those who haven't received salvation yet, making out that they need to get their life right before God will give them a chance.
We need to open our doors (not just of the church building but also our hearts) and let the powerful sound of forgiveness flow.

This was longer then I anticipated.
Lk

Sunday 01/08/10

AM Set List
YOU- Hillsong
Happy Day- Tim Hughes
Forever Reign- One Sonic Society
Our God- Passion

PM Set List
God One and Only- Hillsong
YOU- Hillsong
Jesus Messiah- Chris Tomlin
Tag -Beautiful Exchange- Hillsong

See You Sunday!

Just one question...

What would a Church look like whose people had never been to a 'church service' before?

Our mission is to get people saved, right?
To Introduce them to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and become His Bride;
The Church.

And if were doing this right then Church growth will predominately be from new salvation's; people who have never heard the gospel before, who have never been apart of the Family of God and possibly never attended a church service.

So I wonder how they, New Christians, would structure a service or time together?
What terminology, translation of the bible and hymns would they use?
I wonder what things they would consider important that we skim over?
or things that we highlight which really have no eternal value or significance?
Would there be a band, seats, hall or structure?

Because I'm still trying to work this out for myself, being apart of the Church since before I was born, I can't offer any definite answers except that...

I know the Church should ALWAYS be Relevant; meeting the needs of her community, speaking the local language, understanding the culture and loving.
Yes, lots of LOVE.

This is Love.

Hillsong Church Australia just released their new Album, and let me just say how much I am enjoying listening to it.
Out of all the melody lines, the cool guitar licks and drum solos my favourite part of the album is the words to the song 'Our God is Love:'

This is Love;
Jesus came and died,
And gave His life for us.
Let our voices rise and sing for all He's done
Our Fear is overcome
Our God is Love.
-Joel Houston & Scott Ligertwood

What an amazing summary and description of the Gospel.

That He came to us in Love,
Rescued us, made us holy in His sigh
And so now we respond with our own lives telling those who haven't heard; OUR GOD IS LOVE.

Finished

I just finished a book, 'Courageous Leadership' by Bill Hybels, and I'm already making plans to read it again soon!
I'm not good at writing book reviews (my assessment results have assured me of this fact!) but I do want to leave you with a few thoughts that have lingered with me from this book.

The Final Chapter talks about Endurance, and staying the course to the end.
With over Thirty years of experience in ministry Bill Hybels humbly suggests that if we are to stay the course and complete our mission here on earth, whether that be; running strong, loving families, building great Churches or being successful in the business world, we must first learn to say 'NO.'
It's often hard to say 'No' to the things which may appear, on face value, to be great opportunities or big open doors but ultimately if these things do not align with your original calling, the calling God gave you then you will find yourself at the end very tired and frustrated.
Give yourself the permission to say no.

Secondly, 'Develop the Courage to Change.'
This includes making time to take time off. If your making plans to be involved in the specific thing your doing now for the long haul; church, family, or business, then you need to learn to enjoy time off. Find a hobby that you can invest your spare time into so you remain productive. And in all this learn to relax.

Thirdly, and my favourite, is to find 'Safe People.'
In doing ministry and family life, we often default to the 'I can do it all and don't need your help' setting, but this is not true at all.
Bill encourages every person to find people in their life which they consider 'safe people' and who they can share their struggles and questions with, knowing they have their full confidentiality.
This may also include seeing a Professional Christian Counselor.

It is also helpful to maintain a perspective of this life in line with Eternity, while we may feel to be in the deepest hole right now, viewed from Eternities perspective this is just a pot hole and well be out in no time.

Hope this encourages you, if you have any spare time and are at all interested in Church ministry then this book is a 'must read.'

Lk

Gen.e.ra.tion 25.06.10

GEN.e. Ra. TIoN
:basically what this means is when our Youth (Youth Ignite) and Young Adults (Frontline) ministries combine for a night of worship and word.

It's always a great night and last night was in true style... GREAT.
The worship team took us to another level in our praise and in my message I challenged the guys and girls that their true purpose in life can only come from an Encounter with the Living God.

Using the five purposes from the "Purpose Driven Life," which we just completed as a Church I reminded the youth and Young adults that without and encounter with God;
Worship is just idolatry,
Fellowship is just hang time,
Ministry is just good Works,
Discipleship is just school, and
Evangelism is just hot air.

Let's not allow our God ordained purposes to lose the power that comes from an Encounter with Him.

Keep moving Forward.
Lk

PTII's

PTII's= People that I Influence.

Allow me to encourage you in this;
You are a force of Influence.

By this I mean, no matter who you are or what you do, there are people around you that look to you and are influenced by you. You may have heard it called before your 'Sphere of influence.'

Ask yourself; Who do I Influence?
Maybe even make a list if your up to it.

In light of this fact, accepting that you have PTII's, you must behave in such a way that you influence people positively. Right?
I've seen many people/leaders, unaware of their sphere of influence, do something dodgy and the effects of their bad decisions ripple out into all areas of life, and effect people that they never knew they had direct influence on.
The same said, there are many great people out their having a positive effect on those they influence simply by maintaining strong convictions, keeping the faith and loving like God.

BE INTENTIONAL.
Now that you are aware that you Influence people, be intentional about building into them.
This may look something like a Connect group, casual coffee catch-up or even just a conversation whilst working alongside of them. What ever the method make time to invest into them.
Let them learn from your mistakes and be inspired by your passions. Let them see your unshakable Faith and trust in the living God through all circumstances- the high's AND the low's.

I've heard it said many times before;
Leadership IS Influence.

So if we have influence then we are able to lead.
Let's help lead people into Greatness.

Lk

Where Will You Be Found?

I recently preached this to the Youth Ministry at my Church, thought it was worth sharing...

In Luke 2:43-52, we find the only story of Christ as a boy, other than his birth.
What amazes me is the lesson we can learn through Jesus' actions.

The story opens with a feast and Jesus' parents have begun their journey home. But we find that Jesus has stayed back in Jerusalem and is in the Temple Courts. Now, this wasn't just the outer Courts or even the place for 'every day' people, this area was the place reserved for the Pharisees and teachers of the Law... Jesus is found here sitting amongst them asking and answering questions. More than that, they are AMAZED at his understanding.

Meanwhile, we know his parents have been looking for him frantically, and it takes them 3 days to finally find Him. Mary and Joseph knew for a fact that their son, Jesus, was the Messiah (the Virgin birth kind of gave that one away) But the Messiah they, and every other Jewish person was expecting, was supposed to bring about 'Political' change through a revolt or uprising. Naturally then, they would have been looking to find Jesus in the Royal Palace, or government court yards etc, because a Messiah with 'political' agendas would have been found here.
Finally, in what may have been a last resort, they go into the Temple and find a gathering of people around their son.
They find Him sharing and partaking in conversations on topic way beyond his age and understanding.

Jesus on seeing his parents asks "why were you searching for me?" as if to say, "why did you waste your time in the palace and streets, of course this is where I would be found!"
-It was clear to him the kind of revolution he was to bring, but his parents were still to learn.
He then goes on to say, "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's House?"
Jesus knew his calling from such a young age, he knew his place was in His Father's house and it was in this place that he would bring the most change.

We are told Jesus returned with his parents to their home town and the Chapter concludes.

To finish I would like to point out a few things:
-Even when people expected certain things from Jesus, like bringing military or political change, He didn't lose sight of his true calling and purpose.
-By placing Himself in the House of God, he actually drew others, such as his parents, into the House.
-Jesus loved the House of God.

So I ask you, Where Will You Be Found?
When people come looking for you, where will they find you?
Will you lead them to the House of God?
When people expect certain things of you, or when your going through tough life situations will you cave into the pressure and leave the House or will you find strength and help in the House of God?

In our New Testament understanding, The Church- God's people, are the answer to the hurt and suffering in this world. So I encourage you to be apart of the Church, because it's there you will find the answers your looking for and be apart of the Solution.

Lk.

Marching On

Just remembered that I haven't posted a thing about the Churches 30Yr Anniversary we had back on the 17th of January.
10am. We began the morning with P&W, of course, with a mix of original songs from Church members over the years and finished with 'How Great is Our God.'
What a Blast that was! So Loud!
10.20am. After a big Welcome from Ps Sam and a great poem from Niki Glover we had a special item from the Worship team, 'This is Home' by Switchfoot, and boy the song seemed to fit the situation so perfectly.
10:45am. Right before the sermon a short recap video of photos from 30 years of church life played and then Ps Pat took to the Pulpit and definitely preached her best message!
11:30am. We sang again and had a few Presentations for Ps Pat and Mum and Dad, which were Lovely.
11:50am. At the conclusion of the service we ate, talked, ate again and talked some more.
Lots of fun was had and now we gear up for an even better 30 more years!

Sunday 31st Jan

Song List Am:
I Will Stand (Pour it out)- GoodNews
God One and Only- Hillsong
You Hold Me Now- Hillsong
Dwell in Me- GoodNews

Song List Pm:
Run- Hillsong
God One and Only- Hillsong
The Stand- Hillsong

See you Sunday!

P.s. It's Vision Sunday next week!

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For the Future

This Blog consists of the 'notes' from my sermon preached Sunday the 10th of Jan. You can get the MP3 @ http://www.goodnewschurch.org.au/record.html

Psalms 102:18

‘Let this be written for a future Generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord’

If I asked you to write something down on paper that brings Glory to God and then I placed it in a time capsule, to be opened in the future... what would you write?

In a time capsule kind of way the Psalmist continues: ‘the Lord looked down from His sanctuary on high, from heaven and he viewed earth.’ Not only did He view earth but He listened ‘to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.’

God Acted.

The context:

*This scripture most likely comes at a time of oppression by the Babylonians, and it is probable that it was written by four different authors who added to the psalm over a period of time.

*We know that Israel had a tough time with neighboring cities and nations spending a fair amount of it's history moving in and out of exile, oppression and war.

To write this statement then is to speak to a situation the writer knows his readers are either currently in or one day will find themselves in and he offers hope, reminding them of Gods favourable actions throughout history.

So we return to the opening sentence: 'Let this be written for a future generation not yet created' and I ask you:

What could you write, or better yet, how can you live in a way that will ultimately bring ‘a people not yet created’ into relationship with God?

What we do today, this week, this year will affect the future. Our actions effect a people not yet born.

NEW THOUGHT: Change happens, duh. But as we begin to understand the things that change in our lives it then becomes our responsibility to effect those changes.

There will be changes to governments, laws, and human rights, even things simple as trading hours, road rules, and train time tables (that's a story for another Blog). And with that knowledge it’s our responsibility to effect those changes so that they remain favourable to the Christian way of life.

Effect change, before change is badly effected.

It’s only been until recently that I’ve come to fully acknowledge my future and that it is heavily looming over me!

I’m sure that we are all at different stages in our future awareness, but today I want to draw out some ideas that will get our minds on the things ahead so that we can help Shape the Future.

1. Be Future Minded

To effectively change the future you need to be aware of it.

Prov 16:9 ‘A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.” The second part of the scripture gives no indication that making our own plans is wrong the thing is that if we are tuning our hearts to the beat of Gods, then our plans are going to be where God guides our steps anyways.

2. Be Future Focused

Ever seen me watching a movie? Try talk to me and I won’t hear a word coming out of your mouth because I will be so focused on the show.

In a similar sense we ought to get our attention on the future so that when present day struggles come to distract us we won't loose our Focus.

If we focus our attention on today, then we will get another day. But if we focus on the future, we will get a life time of influence.

True success is seen over a period of time and with great effort. Don’t be disappointed when the tomato plant doesn’t give you tomatoes after one day of being planted.

3. Be Future Orientated

If future minded is the thinking, and future focused is looking, then future orientation is the positioning.

Dictionary.com says: to direct or position toward a particular object, to adjust with relation to.

We need to adjust our lives with our futures in mind. We need to always be taking re-evaluations of our situation and seeing where we line up in terms of our goals. Position yourself for a Powerful Future.

4. Be Future Purposed

To know the Goal of the future.

Looking back to the scripture we see the ultimate goal is; that one day those who don't know God will come into relationship with Him.Our purpose as a Church is to introduce human kind to a Loving, caring God. A God who did in fact create them out of love and then purposed to be in relation with them.Everything we do we should be purposefully creating a future were people meet Jesus. Well that's it. Good on you if you made it to the end, was quite a big one.

Let's be praying for Salvation's and our Futures.

Lk

Just Grow Up

Hmm, so recently I was in a situation where someone much older than me acted in a very childish manner.
It was a moment where I felt self appointed to tell them to 'Grow Up!'
Of course I didn't out of respect, as I felt it was not my place to say so.
BUT I did however get challenged by the whole thing.

Every time I feel those words wanting to come out my mouth because of the childish or immature nature of someone else, it's actually a moment for me to 'Grow Up!'

The adult in this case was slightly out of line and when they had finished their spiel my mind ran rampant with ways I wished I could 'show them my side of the story' or 'teach them a lesson.'
I took a small moment to look at my response and saw some pretty immature, childish behaviour.
The very behaviour I had just been unimpressed by.
So instead of telling them all these wonderful things I had invented in my mind, I simply told myself to 'Just Grow Up.'
I had the chance to be the grown up in the situation.

It's funny because so many 'older people' in my life often tell me they don't feel old, they still feel like they were when they were a teenager.
I suppose that one day I too will be old, but still feeling like a teenager, and I guess like me, we all will continue to carry around with us those slight teenager/childish ways and will always need the reminder to 'Grow Up.'

I hope that my 'Grow Up' moments reduce with age and maturity, but still, I will use every moment of frustration, aggravation, outrage, anger and hurt inflicted by someone else as a chance for me to 'Just Grow Up.'