The Ashes 2006-07

With just a couple of months to the opening Test, I know it probably seems a little early to be talking about the forthcoming Ashes tour of Australia but I’m sure the Aussies can’t wait to get their chance to put things right following last years demise.

Cricketing authorities in Australia have announced a new zero-tolerance policy towards racism in the stands. They have threatened offenders with lifetime bans from their grounds...but ‘pom bashing’ is ok(???)

Also in a nice little dig PCA chairman Martyn Ball, at the recent Professional Cricketers Association end of season gala, gave thanks for the meal with no reference to the Book of Common Prayer...

God bless the wine and food we eat
To retain the Ashes would be an amazing feat
England’s passion is second to none
So watch out Warnie here we come

Come on England!

Three in a Row

What a great victory! Not as tense as I'd anticipated but quite a comfortable win in the end. This also means for the first time ever three successive wins. Great stuff!

Not sure about those jackets by the way!

Praying for Keeps

Paul Benger spoke in church yesterday on the powerful topic of prayer.

Prayer is an integral part of our lives and the life of our church. Why do we pray?

God wants us to be a friend, to include him in every part of our world everyday. We pray to know his will for our lives, believing that he will guide us. Jesus taught us to pray, ‘Your Kingdom come, Your will be done...’
We pray to make a difference.
We pray to change our attitude.
We pray because there is stuff to pray about!
As a church and as individuals we can have an incredible prayer life. It’s about talking to God - dialogue not monologue. We need to include God in building our lives.

7 steps to successful prayer (it’s not a science but an attitude!)

Desire – realising what we want God to do in our lives. Jesus asked ‘what do you want me to do?’ He was trying to find out what was at the heart of us.
Psalm 37:4 - Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. God plants his desires within us.

Decide – James 1:6-8 - But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. (7) That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; (8) he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
Make your minds up. Turn desire into decision. Sometimes we can fear decision making, because one decision can close all other paths (eg marriage) We sometimes don’t make decisions because we want God to guide us all of the time, when often he wants us to make that decision. We remain motionless – God wants us to get moving!

Ask – A simple thing to do. John 16:24 - Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
Asking is so important - but we often avoid it! Keep on asking...don’t give up.

Receive – Faith is a time rebel. Mark 11:24 - Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Faith lives today in the good of tomorrow. Our circumstances seem like nothing has changed. Faith see things differently. Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Speak – We often have trouble talking about things. Our words are powerful. We frame our world by the words of our mouth. Our faith should match our prayers and our speaking should match our faith. Mark 11:23 - I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

See – Something happens when we pray. We begin to see! As a church when we pray we see things expanding, growth taking place. We see the kind of things we will need. We begin to see things not yet seen! (Hebrews 11:1)

Act – James 2:20 - You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? When we pray the result is ‘action’ that moves us towards our goal.

The Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup kicks off this morning from the K Club in Ireland.

This for me is one of the most nail biting sporting events in the calendar. We will be watching it with eager anticipation this weekend especially the final ‘singles’ day on Sunday, which is always a real rollercoaster.

Europe have dominated in recent years...let's hope that trend continues!

Connecting

Great time in church this morning. Paul Benger brought an encouraging message concerning the new season for our Connect Groups in church and spoke on the purposes of connecting.

Ezekiel 37:1-10

Connect groups are all about...

Connecting people to God
Connecting people to people
Connecting people to church

There is much disconnection in our world. Nation against nation. Breakdown in relationships, marriages etc.

The need to connect is essential in our world. We were created for interaction.
Concerning the ‘valley’ in Ezekiel 37, disconnection causes dryness. Sometimes we go through the valley experience – during these times we need to stay connected.
God’s mandate for us is to be connected. He is bringing us together again at this time. The bones are coming together, becoming strong again. God is shaping us into an army.

Genesis 2:18 – And the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion who will help him."
Hebrews 10:25 – And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.
John 17:20-21 – (20) My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, (21) that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Three Purposes of Connection

FELLOWSHIP
It’s about sharing life together. Fellowship is something that is happening all of the time. Fellowship happens around Christ. Fellowship is also with one another. We become one, we become connected.
Romans 15:7 – So accept each other just as Christ has accepted you; then God will be glorified
Ephesians 4:2-3 - (2) Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. (3) Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace.
1 Thessalonians 4:18 - So comfort and encourage each other with these words.
Choose your words wisely!
1 Thessalonians 5:11 - So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
Inject courage, don’t suck it out of people i.e. discourage.

FRUITFULNESS
The power of synergy, of coming together - this results in fruitfulness.
Hebrews 10:24-25 – (24) And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, (25) not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

It is important that we are ‘assembled’ and not just gathered. The bones in Ezekiel 37 were first gathered but it was when they were assembled that they became fruitful and an army again! This is our destiny as we do life together.

FAITH
The overriding attitude and spirit within our Connect groups should be one of faith and hope. Not to have a false environment, something that is unreal. But a genuine place of recognising the needs of people, where comfort and strength comes in the form of faith and belief.

Our Connect groups will have that culture of faith and hope. A place where faith is injected into people.

Thankful and Praiseful

Spoke yesterday in church about two things to be ‘full’ of – THANKFUL and PRAISEFUL, the keys to a healthy life.

Psalm 100

Be Thankful

1 Thessalonians 5:18 - “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Complaining seems to come naturally to almost everybody, in fact this can be the strongest addiction to break. Therefore God’s command to be thankful could appear to be unreasonably tough. However, if we read the verse as:
“It is God’s will that you be in Christ; therefore you can be thankful that He will work it out for good”, than it is no longer unreasonable and we can be released from trying to thank God for the difficult things that life can bring.

We don’t have to be thankful for the awful things that happen, BUT we can be constantly thankful that our lives are ‘in Christ’.

You can be imprisoned by your own murmuring, but Paul and Silas were broken out of their prison cell by their thankfulness (Acts 16)

How Can I be Thankful?

Make up your mind to live your best life today
Refuse to walk through life dragging the weight of yesterday. Don’t live in a future fantasy,“One day when…”
Psalm 16:5-6 – (5) LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. (6) The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.

Love the ones you’re with
Friends are those who have journeyed with you. Love and honor those who are where God has put you. Disattisfied, grumpy, unthankful people often lose sight of the importance of good/loyal friendships.

Let the grace of gratitude be always on your lips

Be Praiseful

‘If I didn’t praise I would feel like I had a fire shut within me!’ (AW Tozer)

Praise is Powerful

Acts 16:23-26

Paul and Silas knew the secret of how to lift their hearts above their troubles and enter into God’s presence and power.

God loves your praise of him; so much so, that He says He inhabits (dwells in) the praises of His people

Praise is a Lifestyle

It’s a devotion of life

“...I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalms 34:1)

Praise is a Sacrifice

...Something that we offer to God sacrificially, not just because we feel like it, but because we believe in Him and wish to please Him.

Hebrews 13:15 - Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that confess his name.

Praise Sends the Enemy Running

Since praise manifests God’s presence, we also realise that praise pushes back the enemy, Satan.
2 Chron 20:20-24

Praise is about Music and much more

‘Why should the devil have all the good music?’ (Booth, SA)

2 Samuel 6 when the Bible comments on Michal, King David's wife, when she saw David dancing and rejoicing before the Lord - her heart was filled with contempt for him. And David's reply...Yes, I am willing to look even more foolish than this!

David loved God with a passion and zeal – his heart was for God and his house!

Psalm 40:3 - 'He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.’

David’s hearts desire was to worship God. He was effected in his spirit. It motivated him to song and frequently to dance. (He enjoyed God to the full). David was effected by everything around him as he wrote the psalms. In spite of his human frailties his heart’s desire was to praise.