2012 February | dave miers dot com

Archive - February, 2012

Persecution in Iran | Youcef Nadarkhani Execution Imminent

February 27, 2012 in culture with 0 Comments

This blog post is written by Brad Konemann from Thirteen Three.

Iranian authorities have made their decision: Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani will be executed for his Christian faith.

Nadarkhani was arrested in October 2009 and sentenced to death for apostasy. Despite widespread international media coverage and concern, it appears the execution will go ahead.

The White House released this statement concerning Pastor Youcef on Thursday 23 February:

The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms reports that Iranian authorities reaffirmed a death sentence for Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani for the sole reason of his refusal to recant his Christian faith…The United States renews its calls for people of conscience and governments around the world to reach out to Iranian authorities and demand Pastor Nadarkhani’s immediate release.

The execution could be carried out at any time without prior notice.

Please pray for our brother in Christ who continues to stand boldly for the Lord.

Prayer Points

Please pray that God will intervene in this case and bring justice.
Ask the Lord to strengthen Youcef and his family.
Thank the Lord for Youcef’s faithfulness to Christ.
Pray that Youcef’s testimony will be an encouragement to other believers in Iran to speak the Word of God boldly and fearlessly.

Brother // Matt Corby // Sin is Serious

February 27, 2012 in culture with 0 Comments

Matt Corby’s song, Brother, has been buzzing around my head for the last couple of weeks. Serious themes; powerful performance. Here is a live version filmed at a recent Secret Garden Show in Rooty Hill (filmed by a young fella I know). Language Warning MA15+

My friend Jeremiah has a good blog post reflecting on how the song helps to demonstrate the nature of sin. Here’s a snippet:

We like to think of sin as minor, technical and inconsequential. In fact the whole notion of sin often as regarded as old fashioned and prudish. But Corby shows us that sin is just the opposite. It’s serious. It’s relational. It has real, painful consequences that we cannot escape. Consider the most painful moments of your life. Have they not involved others wronging you in some way? Or perhaps you were the perpetrator?

Read the rest of the article here.

More Friendship // Video Sermon

February 26, 2012 in Jesus with 0 Comments

I just stumbled upon this video of a sermon I gave from More Mission last year at UTS. I haven’t watched it, so can’t verify the quality of the video or the preaching!

See below for 2 & 3:

Speaking page updated for 2012

February 26, 2012 in life with 0 Comments

I’ve recently updated the speaking page on dmdc, including a new vid and 2012 calendar.

5 Ideas for One Verse Evangelistic Preaching

February 21, 2012 in Jesus with 0 Comments

For the final week of Mission Month at SOULIES we have each year group running a BREAK IT DOWN event (your year group, your friends, doing your thing). Here are some ideas I’m passing on to leaders for preaching short evangelistic talks to their crew.

While it’s not the only approach, preaching from one verse can be a memorable way to give a short talk encouraging people to consider Jesus. It’s worth spending time understanding the verse in its context first and then working hard to explain the ideas that the verse presents.

Here is a useful method for preparing Bible talks

See below for 5 verses packed with gospel punch. I’ve got a few ideas under each passage on possible ways you could package a talk. I don’t have any illustration ideas, or intro/hooks. If you’re preparing a talk, let me know if you need any further ideas or feedback. Preach Jesus.

See below for verses and ideas:
Continue Reading…

Mission Month: It’s All About Jesus

February 21, 2012 in Jesus with 8 Comments

This year in SOULIES Youth Community we are kicking off term 1 and term 3 with a ‘Mission Month’. My hope is that the young punks in our community are happy to invite friends along any week of Soulies, and they do. But the thinking with the Mission Month is to give some explicit opportunities to bring friends to hear about Jesus. Hopefully that will then create some momentum that will continue on. Here’s the promo postcard:

I think it has been well received. Praise God for those who have responded to the gospel over the first 3 weeks!!

Here’s the promo vid for Feb.

Involved in youth ministry? In what ways are you seeking to encourage young punks to share Jesus this year?

1000 bonus points if you can name the beach in the photo…

Click here for other youth ministry posts.

6 Reasons Jesus Came Down to Earth

February 21, 2012 in Jesus with 0 Comments

Below are the sermon MP3s from our Christmas and January Preaching Series at St Faith’s. (Read a little bit about the rational behind the series here.)

[right-click etc to download]

Dec 24 – To Reveal God – Dave Miers
Jan 1 – To Give Life – Ben Molyneux
Jan 8 – To Defeat Satan – Trent McGrath
Jan 15 – To Bring Justice – Dave Miers
Jan 22 – To Reconcile Enemies – Neil Souter
Jan 29 – To Gather People – Kerry Nagel

Mission Night // Worship // Hip Hop // Jesus

February 18, 2012 in Jesus with 1 Comment

Lots of action in Manly at the moment with the Australian Open of Surfing. Soulies had a sweet night at St Matt’s Manly last night with other youth groups from around the Northern Beaches. Dave Hanbury & band with solid worship set. D-Cype breaking it down with some phat beats and Trinitarian rhymes. Mike Doyle preaching Jesus to over 500+ young punks.

More pics and vids below:
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SOULIES Mission Month Bumper Vid

February 16, 2012 in Jesus with 3 Comments

SOULIES Summercamp 2012 Highlights Vid

February 16, 2012 in Jesus with 0 Comments

I Will Always Love You

February 13, 2012 in culture with 0 Comments

Interested in youth ministry?

February 13, 2012 in Jesus with 12 Comments

I’m keen to write more frequently on Youth Ministry related topics. Last year I began writing some papers, but couldn’t sustain them. I think I’m ready to share a bit more in the way of strategy and youth ministry thinking. Are you involved in youth ministry? What type of posts would you find helpful? I’ve got some blog drafts ready, but keen for input.

The above pic is from SOULIES Summercamp.

We Are The Outpost – AWAKEN – EP

February 9, 2012 in culture with 10 Comments

We Are The Outpost have just launched a killer EP, AWAKEN. It’s seriously good, I’ve had it on repeat for the last week! Jesus-centred lyrics, solid tunes, well produced. The band was birthed out of the youth ministry of MBM Rooty Hill (Western Sydney, Australia).

BUY IT NOW ON ITUNES

I dig all 4 tracks, but the stand outs for me are 1 & 2.

(1) Anchored Hope – I was told by one of the younger guys at church that this song had a post-hardcore feel. I’m not sure what that means, but I guess it’s good! This song is jam packed with goodness from the New Testament book of Hebrews. The song begins with “burn your white flags, look up ahead” (this refrain is then repeated at the end). The idea of burning your white flag is all about not surrendering, not giving up, continuing to persevere and trust in Jesus until the end. This song will definitely be put on the playlist at SOULIES. It’s also got a good beat for exercise and running!

(2) Hallowed – Cliff Richard did an okay job back in 1999 with his Millennium Prayer hit in getting the words of The Lord’s Payer stuck in your head. We Are The Outpost do a much better job! I would love it if youth ministries all over the place got the words of The Lord’s Prayer stuck in their head through Hallowed. It’s got a little bit of a The Temper Trap feel to it. Tidy work.

If you’re part of making music happen in your youth ministry/church – get into this gear! If you’re not, get into it anyway – it will be good for your soul.

BUY IT NOW ON ITUNES

Props to Matt Sparks for running a sweet youth ministry. And BIG props to Steve Vassallo for writing & producing this EP and for his ongoing work with the band.

Youth Ministry on the Front Foot

February 8, 2012 in Jesus with 8 Comments

Youthworks have recently launched a brand new youth leadership book, Youth Ministry on the Front Foot. I have a chapter in there… but don’t let that stop you getting a copy!! I haven’t read it in its final form, but am looking forward to gleaning wisdom from the experienced youth pastors who contributed. Intro blurbs etc below.

READ A SAMPLE OR BUY IT NOW

Youth are our future, right?

No! The future of our youth lies in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The truth is, the youth of any generation need to hear and accept this gospel! Youth Ministry on the Front Foot tackles the unique opportunities and challenges of ministry to this age group through the wisdom of experienced youth ministers with a passion for seeing teenagers come to Christ. The biblical principles and practical advice in these pages on key issues such as social media, discipling and leader accountability are ideal for youth ministers, church leaders and anyone interested in youth ministry. Application guides in each chapter also contain helpful questions, checklists and diagrams for your youth ministry context.

Contributors: Mike Everett, Eugene Hor, Cameron Hyslop, Ron Irving, Sarah Macken, Jodie McNeill, Dave Miers, Ken D Noakes, Murray Norman, Scott Petty, Graham Stanton, Zac Veron (series editor) & Kylie Williams

READ A SAMPLE OR BUY IT NOW

Click below for Endorsements…
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Ordination

February 8, 2012 in life with 2 Comments

This past weekend I was Ordained as a Deacon into the Anglican Church. The ordination service, at St Andrew’s Cathedral Sydney, was an encouraging time.

I love being part of the Sydney Anglican group of churches and look forward to continuing to preach Jesus in the Narrabeen branch and beyond.

Rowena told Sam that it would be a little bit like a wedding except that I would be the one wearing the dress! He has had fun laughing at me all week.

Here is an article from SydneyAnglicans.net

Never-ending Volleyball Rally

February 7, 2012 in culture with 2 Comments

Back from a Short Hiatus

February 6, 2012 in life with 0 Comments

More than 2 weeks have passed since the last blog post. I’m back! January had only 6 posts. The smallest month since I started blogging in 2006. February – here we come! Lots been happening. Summercamp. Youth + Kids kick off for 2012. Ordination. Sam’s Undie Day.