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St Faith’s have just begun a series on the book of James. Our small group looked at James 1:19-27 tonight. Verse 22 says, “Do no merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” I showed this 2 minute clip of Francis Chan to illustrate the point:
I don’t think Chan (or James) is saying that it’s not worthwhile studying scripture – the problem is when we study scripture without actually putting it into practise.
YOUTH MINISTRY IDEAS is a series of short videos by Dave Miers. See more here.
Here is an idea on how to follow up visitors to your youth ministry straight away:
Here is the postcard we use at Soulies: PDF (691 KB) or InDesign file (ZIP 681 KB)
Background image is by Joe Cavazos, check CreationSwap for copyright and download.
I use Worldwide Online Printing. I have used them for about 8 years. For the last 2 years the Brookvale office have been super reliable and affordable. Check them out. (This isn’t a paid endorsement or anything like that, I recommend them because I like them!)
Surf breaks. Egg and Bacon rolls. Beach walks. Bush walks. Lake walks. Playgrounds. Sunshine. Sunsets. Coffee. Sporting fields. Shopping centres. Standup paddle boarding. Manly Sea Eagles. Panoramic views. Restaurants. Retirement villages. There is so much to LOVE about the Northern Beaches of Sydney!! During January 2013, St Faith’s Arvo Church we will be considering how to LOVE THE BEACHES. It is good to enjoy the many great things about living in this place. However, the big idea is that the BEST way to love the beaches is to point them to Jesus’ love.
The love of Jesus is news that our whole world needs to hear. That’s why we send missionaries across the world, but we also need to send them across the street. And so the subtitle of this series could be called “LOCAL MISSIONARIES”.
The Northern Beaches is a place where many love the creation without acknowledging the Creator. Romans 1 shows the seriousness of ingratitude and thanklessness.
According to Romans 1:18-20 God has made himself known through what he has made. That is, when you stand on Edgecliffe Boulevarde Collaroy Plateau and enjoy the panoramic views, you are supposed to see the handiwork of the creator.
But according to Romans 1:21-25, people fail to glorify and thank God (v21) they worship the creation rather than the creator (v25).
All people are are guilty of idolatry, i.e. turning good things into god things. But it’s pretty obvious in such a beautiful place like the Northern Beaches where the location is central to our identity. Our community LOVE: the lifestyle; the creation; enjoying God’s good gifts. But so often they fail to to thank God for it.
Our community may not claim to be religious, but the reality is that everyone worships someone or something. If it’s not the Creator it’s created things.
Continue reading “WORSHIP THE CREATOR NOT CREATION”
SOULIES SUMMERCAMP is coming up in less than two weeks!! I will be preaching at the combined night rally each night on “WE THE CHURCH” and Chris Jones and Faf Driscoll will be preaching in the morning to our juniors and seniors respectively on Revelation 1-3. I’m looking forward to having them both preach and also their input into the life of camp.
The structure we will be following for the 4 morning talks/studies is:
Talk 1 – Revelation 1:1-20
Talk 2 – Revelation 2:1-7 and 3:14-22
Talk 3 – Revelation 2:8-11 and 3:7-13
Talk 4 – Revelation 2:12-17 and 2:18-29 and 3:1-6
Below are resources to help our youth leaders prepare to lead Bible studies:
Continue reading “Revelation 1-3 // Bible Resources”
In the 2011 Australian Census 61.1% of our population indicated they are Christian. But as I look around the Northern Beaches, that number seems a lot higher than I observe. It raises the question, “what does it really mean to be part of the Christian MOVEMENT?” Is it as simple as ticking the “Christian box” every 5 years on the census?
Part 1 asked the question, “Who is this man?” The answer? The King that God promised – Messiah. Part 2 asked the question, “What was his mission?” The answer? Jesus is the Messiah who came to suffer & die on the cross, in our place, to deal with our sin. Messiah then rises again. So what does it mean to be part of this Messiah’s MOVEMENT?
Jesus says members of his movement (Christians) need to make 3 massive commitments.
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. (Mark chapter 8 verse 34)
Famous tune. New lyrics. Legit. Check the EP. Check this track too.
See Dustin Kensrue’s brief blogpost on the background to the tune and lyrics.