I read this today…
A popular definition of faith might be something like ‘an irrational belief with no supporting evidence.’ That’s like asking a skydiver to jump without a parachute and still ‘have faith’ that he won’t die.
The Bible has a better definition: 'Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see' (Hebrews 11:1, NLT).
Notice the words ‘confidence’ and ‘assurance’. God wants you to trust him with your life, but he also wants you to know that he is trustworthy.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Lessons from Geese
Mark Wilkins spoke a great message in church on Sunday night, taken from Ephesians 4:1-16.
He shared four vital truths regarding the church and her purposes in Christ by comparing us with geese (yes, geese!).
Geese know they are geese!
(Vs1-8) Know who we are in Christ. Jesus dealt with everything at the cross – full and total forgiveness. God has chosen us (for His ‘dream team’) not because of what we’ve done but because of what He can do with us!
Geese know where they are going
A church united in Christ – sharing the vision. (Not playing for ourselves). We’re called to local church. Our vision unites us.
Geese share the workload
The lead goose changes places with the other geese – they share the load. We share the burden of the vision of the church. We are all carriers - not just the leaders.
(Vs 7) - However, he has given each one of us a special gift according to the generosity of Christ.
We all contribute. What can I give? Our contribution is not insignificant but vital to the success of the church. E.g. the recent Ashes series – Gary Pratt ‘ran-out’ the Australian cricket captain. A great and vital contribution, although seemingly small and insignificant!
Honk! Honk!
Geese encourage each other. We need an 'encouragement culture' in the church.
Great stuff Mark!
He shared four vital truths regarding the church and her purposes in Christ by comparing us with geese (yes, geese!).
Geese know they are geese!
(Vs1-8) Know who we are in Christ. Jesus dealt with everything at the cross – full and total forgiveness. God has chosen us (for His ‘dream team’) not because of what we’ve done but because of what He can do with us!
Geese know where they are going
A church united in Christ – sharing the vision. (Not playing for ourselves). We’re called to local church. Our vision unites us.
Geese share the workload
The lead goose changes places with the other geese – they share the load. We share the burden of the vision of the church. We are all carriers - not just the leaders.
(Vs 7) - However, he has given each one of us a special gift according to the generosity of Christ.
We all contribute. What can I give? Our contribution is not insignificant but vital to the success of the church. E.g. the recent Ashes series – Gary Pratt ‘ran-out’ the Australian cricket captain. A great and vital contribution, although seemingly small and insignificant!
Honk! Honk!
Geese encourage each other. We need an 'encouragement culture' in the church.
Great stuff Mark!
Saturday, September 24, 2005
20 Miles
I reached another milestone in my running this morning by completing, for the first time, 20 miles.
I did it with my running mate (Rob) who is running in the Cardiff Marathon in a couple of weeks time.
We ran it in 2 hrs 53 mins, which isn’t too bad – around the 3 hrs 45 min pace for a full marathon (26.2 miles).
Friday, September 23, 2005
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Katrina and now Rita
As I read this it’s hard to believe that within the space of just a few weeks the Gulf coast is about to receive a second category 5 hurricane.
They are now saying Rita could be the third strongest ever recorded 'Atlantic' hurricane.
I trust everyone has evacuated in time or better still that Rita will quickly begin to dissipate before any serious damage is done.
What’s in a name?
You wonder how these names, Katrina and Rita, will be remembered in time...
They are now saying Rita could be the third strongest ever recorded 'Atlantic' hurricane.
I trust everyone has evacuated in time or better still that Rita will quickly begin to dissipate before any serious damage is done.
What’s in a name?
You wonder how these names, Katrina and Rita, will be remembered in time...
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Uplift 2
Taken from part 2 of Paul Benger’s ‘up-lifting’ message in church on Sunday night (to be discussed in our Connect group tonight).
Being a Christian is not all about me…it’s all about lifting the lives of others!
Vision statement on CLC website: Our vision is to be a large local church that is: faith filled, upbeat, committed to Word and Spirit, relational, growing, connected to people, influential, loyal, positive, fun to be in, fully devoted to Christ, contemporary, influential & effective in our community
We have to be what God has called us to be! Uplift is the currency of God’s Kingdom. 3 things about uplift:
You can only uplift that which you value
With regards to the people from the town where Jesus came from - they could not honour him because they did not value him.
Uplift must be from the heart and not just the lips
What comes from us is important because it reveals our heart. Always remember – God looks at the heart.
Mark 4:24-25 – "Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."
Value God’s word: 1 Thess 2:13 – And we will never stop thanking God that when we preached his message to you, you didn't think of the words we spoke as being just our own. You accepted what we said as the very word of God-which, of course, it was. And this word continues to work in you who believe.
Uplift is not achieved by the putting down of self
Jesus said ‘love your neighbour as yourself’. Being able to love yourself is so important in the lifting up of others. Letting go of the things in our past – forgiving ourselves and moving on.
With regards to Honour...
True honour is not taken it is given
We cannot demand honour
We cannot be passive
Uplift must be expressed…visibly/vocally honour people.
The focus of honour is not the putting down of self
Get away from the ‘put-downs’ (of others, of yourself) - focus on the ‘up-lifts’!
Being a Christian is not all about me…it’s all about lifting the lives of others!
Vision statement on CLC website: Our vision is to be a large local church that is: faith filled, upbeat, committed to Word and Spirit, relational, growing, connected to people, influential, loyal, positive, fun to be in, fully devoted to Christ, contemporary, influential & effective in our community
We have to be what God has called us to be! Uplift is the currency of God’s Kingdom. 3 things about uplift:
You can only uplift that which you value
With regards to the people from the town where Jesus came from - they could not honour him because they did not value him.
Uplift must be from the heart and not just the lips
What comes from us is important because it reveals our heart. Always remember – God looks at the heart.
Mark 4:24-25 – "Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."
Value God’s word: 1 Thess 2:13 – And we will never stop thanking God that when we preached his message to you, you didn't think of the words we spoke as being just our own. You accepted what we said as the very word of God-which, of course, it was. And this word continues to work in you who believe.
Uplift is not achieved by the putting down of self
Jesus said ‘love your neighbour as yourself’. Being able to love yourself is so important in the lifting up of others. Letting go of the things in our past – forgiving ourselves and moving on.
With regards to Honour...
True honour is not taken it is given
We cannot demand honour
We cannot be passive
Uplift must be expressed…visibly/vocally honour people.
The focus of honour is not the putting down of self
Get away from the ‘put-downs’ (of others, of yourself) - focus on the ‘up-lifts’!
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Welcome Back
Helen and Steve, our sister and brother in law from Perth, Western Australia are in England for several months.
We greeted them at Gatwick yesterday morning and then spent the day with them.
They had unfortunately missed the recent Ashes series as they were travelling in Canada and USA at the time. We quickly got them up to speed with the events of the summer as we watched a 2 hour 'Ashes Fever' programme broadcast by Channel 4 going over the agonies of each Test match.
I reminded Steve that Australia are still good at 'Swimming'. He's got a good sense of humour (I think!)
Friday, September 16, 2005
Who's a Bonny Lad?
Daniel starts his new school!
It's a bit scary when your eldest starts secondary school...he'll soon be a teenager. Aghhhh!
It's a bit scary when your eldest starts secondary school...he'll soon be a teenager. Aghhhh!
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Church Marketing
A recent BBC article on church marketing.
What a lot of fuss about nothing. Whether we like it or not the church is in the media spotlight a lot of the time...and much of it is bad press.
We need a marketing strategy to communicate how much church means to us and how relevant church is in the 21st Century.
Our current local ad campaign...
‘Think church is outdated and boring...so did WE’
What a lot of fuss about nothing. Whether we like it or not the church is in the media spotlight a lot of the time...and much of it is bad press.
We need a marketing strategy to communicate how much church means to us and how relevant church is in the 21st Century.
Our current local ad campaign...
‘Think church is outdated and boring...so did WE’
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Monday, September 12, 2005
Day of Reckoning
Who would have thought it would come down to the last day of the last test? It may even come down to the last session. Hopefully not, I don’t think my nerves will hold out!
Come on England...one final push for glory! Bring em home.
Uplift
Paul Benger brought a great message in church last night...
Mark 6:1-6
Uplift - What you do for others God will do for you.
We often look for uplift in our lives. An important key to this is uplifting the lives of others. Honouring is an essential ingredient in our lives and in the life of the church.
6 enemies of uplift:
Ignorance
Never been taught properly with regards to ‘uplift’
Humility = knowing your place
Honour = giving others theirs
History
Honouring people now (not when they’re dead!)
Our history can hinder us, stops us honouring people. To lift someone up can sometimes be viewed as pride. When someone does well we should celebrate with them.
Culture
No honour please we’re British!
‘it’s my culture’ – a poor excuse. Honouring is a ‘Kingdom culture’.
Equality
We are all equal…but are we all the same? In God we are equal but we have different purposes. Teachers and pupils etc.
Mark 6:1-6
Uplift - What you do for others God will do for you.
We often look for uplift in our lives. An important key to this is uplifting the lives of others. Honouring is an essential ingredient in our lives and in the life of the church.
6 enemies of uplift:
Ignorance
Never been taught properly with regards to ‘uplift’
Humility = knowing your place
Honour = giving others theirs
History
Honouring people now (not when they’re dead!)
Our history can hinder us, stops us honouring people. To lift someone up can sometimes be viewed as pride. When someone does well we should celebrate with them.
Culture
No honour please we’re British!
‘it’s my culture’ – a poor excuse. Honouring is a ‘Kingdom culture’.
Equality
We are all equal…but are we all the same? In God we are equal but we have different purposes. Teachers and pupils etc.
Pride
(Proverbs 19:23) – ‘A mans pride brings him low but a man of lowly spirit gains honour’. Pride is mean, selfish and stingy.
Familiarity
‘It’s only Mary’s son…we know him’ – (Mark 6:3)
Never let familiarity get in the way of honouring people.
Friday, September 09, 2005
So Long Richie
Best wishes go to Richie Benaud the voice of cricket. He leaves the English game this weekend.
Who’ll ever forget that dulcet tone, "Morning everyone", which has been a comforting greeting for any fan of the game.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Barmy Army
England’s 12th man will be in fine song today!
Barmy Army Latest CD...
Barmy Army Latest T-Shirt ...
The Usual Suspects - "Eleven criminals, one line-up, no coincidence"
I’ve been trying to find a pictue of the full line-up...without success. Still a nice shot of Ponting, Dizzy, Gilchrist and Warney!
Barmy Army Latest CD...
Barmy Army Latest T-Shirt ...
The Usual Suspects - "Eleven criminals, one line-up, no coincidence"
I’ve been trying to find a pictue of the full line-up...without success. Still a nice shot of Ponting, Dizzy, Gilchrist and Warney!
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Comparing Scars
I will be speaking in church tonight...
Remember the scene from Jaws? The one on the boat when they’re comparing their scars.
Most of us know nothing about physical abuse as a result of our faith and our witness for Jesus. That was not true in the life of many Christians through the centuries.
If the Apostle Paul were here tonight and if he were take his shirt off we would gasp in horror.
He was stoned in Listra
He was beaten in Phillipi
While it is true that none of us has had to suffer the abuse that the Apostle Paul suffered physically - I believe that we need to bear in our bodies the marks of Jesus.
Galatians 6
Let me suggest 5 Marks (from Galatians 6) that should be on our body (and in this Body, the church) – so that we can say ‘I bear in my body the marks of Jesus’. (Galatians 6:17)
The Mark of Love (vs 2)
The Mark of Compassion (vs 1)
The Mark of Humility (vs 3-4,14)
The Mark of Generosity (vs 6-10)
The Mark of Loyalty (vs 10)
Remember the scene from Jaws? The one on the boat when they’re comparing their scars.
Most of us know nothing about physical abuse as a result of our faith and our witness for Jesus. That was not true in the life of many Christians through the centuries.
If the Apostle Paul were here tonight and if he were take his shirt off we would gasp in horror.
He was stoned in Listra
He was beaten in Phillipi
While it is true that none of us has had to suffer the abuse that the Apostle Paul suffered physically - I believe that we need to bear in our bodies the marks of Jesus.
Galatians 6
Let me suggest 5 Marks (from Galatians 6) that should be on our body (and in this Body, the church) – so that we can say ‘I bear in my body the marks of Jesus’. (Galatians 6:17)
The Mark of Love (vs 2)
The Mark of Compassion (vs 1)
The Mark of Humility (vs 3-4,14)
The Mark of Generosity (vs 6-10)
The Mark of Loyalty (vs 10)
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