January 2008 — December 2008

Have you noticed it? I know it happens all the time but so often I seem to miss it. As I worked on the sermons for the next few weeks the mist cleared a little! God seems to be repeating Himself! Two weeks ago Andy shared with us from the life of Manasseh (2 Chron 33). He pointed out the way in which we allow idols (anything that takes the place of God) to litter the temple of our lives. Then as I went over last weeks message in my mind I realized it could be encapsulated in the words: Sin displaces Jesus. (For those of you asking why did I ...

What an amazing weekend ….again! I am still ruminating about it! Here are a few of the highlights for me : Being part of the Kids Fair and seeing so many smiling happy children ! Seeing the New Life Family work so hard so people could hear that Jesus’s love is completely and totally free. Learning that at least one person had discovered that some of their “ I can’t’s” (hear the sermon)could become “With Jesus I can!” Sharing how God was already opening doors at Sunset Ridge to enable ...

I continue to be challenged this quote that I used when I shared with you our vision “The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps - we must step up the stairs”. Vance Havner ……so how do we make a start and “step up the stairs” of the vision God has given us? Well what I believe to be step one may surprise you. I am convinced the first step in any new call from God is to make sure we do what we are already doing with excellence. Growth happens when we build on ...

Yes, I am sorry I have not written for a while. Its not that I don’t have things to share with you I am just trying to get in a routine and balance stuff - so please pray for me! Wow! It was so cool be able to celebrate New Life’s first birthday on Sunday. To remember how God gave us the vision of allowing Vista del Mar and Grace to die so that He could bring New Life to birth ……. How He confirmed it and now He has done it! We have doubled our attendance and many do not even remember the original church families! And ...

Can you picture it?…The scene is the quad at Cal Berkley (but it could be any such institution of higher learning!) The sun is shining and the grass is littered with students working on their tans. Amongst them is group of Christians with guitars seeking to share their love of Jesus with their friends. Their plan, to use a bold act of worship (joyful singing!!) to arouse the curiosity and prompt questions from listening sunbathers ………but nobody had any questions in fact nobody was really interested . This ...

If you have been with us for the last couple of Sundays at New Life you will understand me when I say its all about “the look”! That moment when two sets of eyes lock and the communication is louder and clearer than any words could be. Jesus looked at the rich young ruler ( Mark 10:21) and loved him. Jesus locked eyes with Zaccheus (Luke 19:5) and called him down from the tree. This morning I read about another of these “looks.” Peter so badly wanted to be a hero for Jesus and on a number of occasions this desire ...

On of the nicest things about having Mondays off is that I can enjoy contemplating all the amazing things that God did over the weekend. Yesterday, as I recalled how much I appreciated our worship service I was challenged by another quote from Jeff Lucas in "Creating a Prodigal Friendly Church." “Does our preaching [or service as a whole] stimulate , irritate, confront and occasionally infuriate? Does it just take up time on Sundays or does it drive us back to our Bibles on Mondays eager – even desperate to slake the wholesome ...

As I sit down to one of the most stimulating and challenging tasks of the week, sermon preparation, I try to remember our time together on Sunday mornings needs to be about transformation. It must be about “next steps” in the process by which God transforms us into the likeness of Jesus (2 Cor 3:18). I am reminded of a couple of things I read recently about sermons ….. Ajith Fernando the director of Youth for Christ in Sri Lanka is in great demand as a speaker. When on preaching visits to the West he observes that the most ...

The world of blogging has opened up a whole new range od insights into the lives of tothersand I was thinking recently there a number of people whose blogs I would love to have read! St Augustine I am fascinated by this man who once prayed “Lord make me pure but not yet!” Brothet Lawrence , His little book “The Practicie of the Presence of God” is one of the most challenging things you will ever read. He set out to do the simplest task directly for God. He makes no secret that this was not easy and I would love to ...

During our prayer time at church on Sunday I picked on two people and asked them to share with us what God had called them to do as a job and how we could particularly pray for them as they seek to live out their Christian lives in often challenging circumstances. (Thank you Paula and Harley for sharing with us so willingly!!) Why did I do that and why did I not give them any warning*! It’s all about becoming a family of God that recognizes His hand in each of our lives. It’s about becoming consistent and faithful in prayer for ...

When I sat down for my devotion this morning I have to confess I was frustrated with God! I have been asking Him for some time now what exactly he wanted to teach us when we finished the Messed Up World series. I pointed out to Him that the series finished this week (as if He did not know!). I wondered if He had noticed that I had been fumbling around with a number of ideas but as yet had no clarity. I reassured Him (good of me huh!) that I did know He always came through and I was not expecting this time to be any different. However right ...

If you were in church on Sunday you will know that the trip to collect TYG from camp out did itself this year. We arrived to all the excitement of the final meeting and it is amazing to be packed in the same room as hundreds of young people a large number of whom you can feel have encountered Jesus in new ways during the week and will never be the same. To celebrate with them as they learned that they had given more than $6000 to missions and then the tradition is that they leave the chapel and go down to the side of the lake that is the ...

We often assume that our non-Christian friends don’t want to hear about our faith. Well I was reading Discipleship Journal yesterday when I came upon some interesting statistics that indicate that perhaps we are wrong in that thought! Lifeway have done some research amongst people who do not go to church aged 30 and above and they discovered: 75% would be willing to listen to someone talk about his or her Christian beliefs 78% would enjoy an honest conversation with a friend about religious and spiritual beliefs even if they disagreed ...

For the past five years one Monday of the year has been taken up taking a group of our young people to camp at Jenness Park. This is always one of the funnest days of the year for me and yesterday was no exception. And once again I thought how much I love our church!! Here are just a few of the things that made the day so great…….. Firstly those who “stepped up to the plate” to help . … David and Karen for arriving at 6;30 am to prepare an amazing breakfast for 20+ hungry teenagers and their drivers....

I can’t remember any time in my life when I have been conscious of dreaming I don’t mean I never had dreams but I have no memory of having them consistently ……..that is until very recently . Now I don’t mean genuflecting asteroids , wine cellars or donut shops with aviaries attached ( ok think about it)* Mine have been your average garden variety weird …..but it has got me thinking. When the leadership took a half day to focus on God we heard a message from the One Prayer series entitled Make us ...

There are some words that just should not exist don’t you think? One of those that keeps appearing before me is the word “unlearning” The first time I was conscious of noticing it was when I read The Unlearning Church for a class at seminary. More recently it appeared in Mark Batterson’s book “ In a pit with a lion on a snowy day” and then to cap it all Oswald Chambers devotional this morning…… It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials. Through every cloud He ...

As I was preparing for last Sunday's sermon looking at Joseph's encounter with Potiphar's wife I came across this striking observation from one of the most creative blog writers I have yet to discover. I was unable to use it in the sermon but I did not want you to miss it. He compares the explanation that Joseph gives for his refusal to accompany his boss' wife to bed with the encounter between Adam and Eve and the serpent in the garden. Here is an excerpt of what Joseph said to Potiphar's wife when she came on to him. He essentially ...

Well as I said on Sunday morning as we prepared to make our offering for the One Prayer Church planting project, our children had led us . They set themselves an audacious goal and hit it by giving their very best to God. They lived dangerously and what an example they set us……….. and PRAISE GOD !!!!!! WE FOLLOWED. the offering we received on Sunday for the planting of churches was $2450!!!!!!! When we put that with the tithe of the funds coming from GBF and VDM that means we will be able to plant one and a half close to ...

Making people feel welcome and creating a sense of family…the answer has traditionally been found in the small group and whereas I am sure that small groups make a significant contribution I think there may be another very important element. In his book “Creating a Prodigal Friendly Church” Jeff Lucas calls it “ the creation of a culture of welcome……….Its about becoming people who decide that risky welcome is not someone else’s responsibility ….its mine!” What is the key to ...

” The Attentive Life” by Leighton Ford continues to fuel a number of thought lines that God seems to have been prompting in me. They seem to focus on the importance of intentionality in our lives. How much of my day to day life is “intentional” and how much is “accidental”? How much of that which seems accidental would God have preferred to be intentional and how many things did He have to say to me unexpectedly when He would have preferred to have spoken quietly to an attentive child. Maggie said to me ...