Thoughts from the Desk

This is from Da Jesus Book (Hawaii Pidgin Bible) - how good does this sound!!!

Da Boss Above, he take care me,
  Jalike da sheep farma take care his sheeps.
  He goin give me everyting I need.
He let me lie down wea da sweet an soft grass stay.
  He lead me by da water wea I can rest.
He give me new kine life.
  He lead me in da road dat stay right,
  Cuz I his guy.

Amen!!
Thanks to Leonie for this one!

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Or near enough to the western bumper sticker approach to suffering! 
In this view, all suffering is disgusting, repugnant, toxic and to be avoided at all costs. It happens randomly, like a drive by shooting that has no purpose, provocation or reason.
Suffering is never good.

But is that really the case? It is certainly difficult to describe specific good things about suffering, especially when you’re trying to describe it to the person suffering.  But the Bible seems to point to some good in suffering, even glory in 1 Pe 4:12-14.  It makes us partners with Christ, we will see his glory, and the Spirit rests on us.  All of these things are good.

There is no way that one could come to a reasonable conclusion that following Christ will enable us to avoid suffering. In practice, it certainly seems that suffering goes hand in hand with following Jesus.
So Peter says: Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. (1Pe 4:12 NLT)

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Our Bible reading challenge continues with the reading of 1 & 2 Peter in four weeks. It’s half a chapter per day on weekdays with a review on Fridays. More info can be found here

On another note… This got me a little misty when I watched it on the Winter Olympics last week! YouTube
You can call me a softy!

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When you say, “I can’t believe,” what voice are you listening to?
It is a voice of science and reason? You could be saying that God can’t be tested scientifically. No one can prove he exists, therefore I can’t believe. That is true, you can’t. But neither can science rule God out.  In order to disprove God scientifically, you would have to know all the knowledge that there is to know and still find no God.  That’s clearly impossible!
The reality is that you cannot prove or disprove God by science and reason.  Therefore the question of science and reason is irrelevant to the question of God.  And if science and reason are irrelevant to the question of God, why are you listening to that voice?
Or maybe the voice that’s telling you you can’t believe is some Christian memory. Were you treated harshly at a religious school? Rapped over the knuckles with a ruler? Were you hurt at a previous church? Did you get so bored at church that you couldn’t stand the cobwebs in your brain anymore? Or do you just go by the general stereotype that all Christians are crazy?
If you’re listening to that voice, you’re judging God on how well his followers do at following him. And when they fail, they convince you that God isn’t real. Is that a fair call for God? Surely God has to be judged on his own merits.  As it turns out, God is the opposite of every Christian failure!
Maybe the voice we need to listen to is the voice of God, the God who has known us from the beginning of time. When we hear that voice, we’re ignoring the lies and listening to the truth.

Want to hear more? Listen

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On Sunday we looked at this amazing story of forgiveness…
video here
The impact of this story was found in the perpetrator’s video recorded two years later from prison…
video here

I do not blame people who can’t do this for one moment. I wonder if I could after such a senseless injury. But I do know that this family’s reaction is not human nature, it’s divine nature.  Here’s what the mother whispered into the perpetrator’s ear during their courtroom hug: “I whispered in his ear: ‘Here is your chance for a new beginning. Don’t let God down,’” said David, a devoted member of Jubilee Christian Church in Mattapan.”

None of us have what it takes to pluck that from within us.  But through knowing God, even even a waft of that divine nature blows through us, we will be different people, we will change lives for the better and the world will be a better place.

These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature… (2 Pe 1:4 )

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I recall hearing someone say that Australians put on their thongs on Boxing Day and take them off again on the 27th January - the day after Australia Day. While this may not be literally true, there’s a sense in which January is the month when everything just slows down. Maybe it’s a reaction to the craziness of December - but there’s something about January. The kids are on school holidays, the beach is a great place to be, there’s summer reading to be enjoyed and four weeks of long, lazy evenings.
Our senior pastor, David and our youth pastor, Garry have now begun their well earned annual leave and we pray that they’ll have a great holiday and come back refreshed and ready for the year that lies ahead.
And for all of us, whether we’re enjoying some annual leave, or working through the summer, may these weeks be a time of freshly receiving the words of Jesus, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light” (Matthew 12:28-30, NLT).
May the rest of January be the REST of January - a month that takes us into the new year with a fresh experience of Jesus as our true rest.

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Have you ever had an ‘epiphany’? Has the penny dropped? Have the lights gone on? Did you finally get it? Understand something that you’ve never quite got before?
Epiphany is the next season after Christmas. It’s the realisation that the baby wasn’t just a baby. He’s the son of God!
Traditional passages for Epiphany include the Magi from the East and the Wedding at Cana.  These passages reveal that Jesus is a miracle worker worthy of our worship.

As we move on from the busyness of Christmas to the restfulness of holidays, lets be amazed at who Christ is… The miracle worker worthy of worship.
May we each have an epiphany this season.

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We had a great night at the Parkside Primary School last night. There were loads of people from both the church and school community, along with plenty of local neighbours as well.  Nobody went away hungry or thirsty.  Our prayer is that spiritually, our hunger and thirst for truth and meaning this Christmas will be increased.  A special thanks to everyone who made the night possible.  My heart is still racing from the powerful version of Magnificat put on by Boyd, Michael and the band. Thanks go to Andrea for her amazing direction of the music.  Bruce, Mike and Katey did a great job on the BBQ as did Luke and Jenny on the drinks.  Thanks to Riley and Tamara for the games and Kelly for writing and directing the great drama.  Eve did an amazing job at producing the nativity set and organising the kids from both communities to present items to us.  Melissa also did and awesome job on publicity.  Thanks also to the countless people who invested time, energy and their gifts to the event.

More pictures can be found here: Photo Gallery

Thanks to the sponsors Pete Stephens Sound and Lighting, John McRostie of Smallacombe Kingswood.
A grateful thanks to the parents, staff and students of Parkside Primary School for the use of their grounds and facilities.

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In what sense do we really need to prepare for Christmas? Most of us dread the preparation and the lead up. For me, I enjoy the day, but man it’s hard work getting there.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the getting together with friends and the break ups and the saying of what needs to be said at the end of the year, but those January holidays draw me…
But somewhere in the midst is the Christ event. Somewhere we encounter what it means that the Father gave his child, infant. Immanuel means God with us.
So I pause, find some stillness, reflect and carve out some time.
What God has given…  Ahhh!  Thanks be to the Lord of All Time!

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On Sunday afternoon the women’s spiritual formation group grappled with what it means to be a true community, not, as Scott Peck puts its, “pseudocommunity”. Despite what ethereal images come to mind when we think of community, community is in fact a spiritual discipline and is much more than just holding hands around a campfire.
Jan Johnson writes that “community as a discipline is about loving people you prefer to ignore. It’s about including people the church doesn’t (seem to) need, or even the disgrunted people you secretly think the church would be better off without”.
Community is gritty….
“People who have nothing in common talk and work alongside each other until some of their sharp edges are rounded off. Eventually you treasure this person who could not be more different than you.”

If we apply the measuring tape to our church I think we’ve come along way in building community. But there’s always room to be more inclusive, less self-absorbed and less prickly with those who see things differently.
Bring on the measuring tape if it means renovations that will build a community that honours Jesus and the people he loves.

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