Ministers Desk 4 March 2012

God has placed before us a message of hope for the future.  The message is Christ crucified.  Yet too often we fail to hear this message over our self made noise of decline and defeat.  We have allowed ourselves to talk about declining numbers, increasing irrelevance, dwindling finances and aging membership.  Yet the message of Jesus is life where there was death and victory in the face of defeat.  As followers of Christ it is our calling to stand and grow into his victory.

Over the past four weeks as I’ve preached about our congregation’s purpose of Growing Disciples who Exalt, Explore, Embody, Engage I have placed a challenge before each one of us.  It’s a challenge that leads us into a deeper and fuller surrender to God.  The point of the purpose and the nature of this challenge is not that we will ever reach the destination of full surrender to God. We won’t - at least not this side of the return of Christ.  Our purpose statement is about the process of surrendering ourselves to God.  The emphasis is therefore on the action of continual, ongoing growth. 

Spiritual growth occurs along a continuum, like any form of growth.  Imagine, if you will, a seed that is planted in the ground.  Until it germinates it remains simply a hard, lifeless kernel.  Life is contained within it, but that potential hasn’t been released.  When the seed germinates, a seedling starts to grow.  Provided that the seeding continues to receive the right amount of nutrients from water, soil and sun it will grow and keep on growing.  It will continue to become bigger and bigger.  It will produce more fruit/flowers/leaves whatever. 

We have had planted within us a seed of faith.  Given the right conditions to nurture it, our faith will continue to grow and transform the way we think, speak, act and show Jesus Christ to this world.  In 2 Timothy 1:6 Paul encourages us to continue nurturing our faith.  “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”

It is immaterial what our stage of faith development is at any point in time.  What is essential is that we have become more fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.  Through the grace of Jesus Christ we each have the potential to grow further in our relationship with God.  We can each love him more deeply and be amazed more fully by his grace.  We each have the capacity to love our neighbours more diligently and serve them more humbly.  We all need the transforming of our character and values to closer align with those of God’s kingdom.  This growth in faith is always toward something better.  Better for ourselves to experience more of God and better for our world so that the kingdom of God may shine through.  

As we experience constant growth in our faith we will become more sure and certain that the message of Jesus is good news and will always overcome the message of defeat and despair that our world pushes our way.

Ministers Desk 26th February 2012

Each week over 200 members of Emmanuel Uniting Church gather together as the Body of Christ in one place to worship God.  We do this at three different times, in three services that vary in style.  As we gather we are reminded that we are part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic church.  This church is universal, it is world wide, it is all encompassing of God’s people past, present and future.  It is the beauty of what God has done for us that he gathers all his people together before him, although we can’t see, touch, hear or be with each other physically.  “For we were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.  Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many” (1 Corinthians 12:13, 14).

Being an open and inclusive community in worship is therefore an expression of the unity and wholeness of the Body of Christ.  Each of our worship services are therefore available and open to all people, of all ages.  In his first letter to the Corinthians in chapter 11 Paul confronted the people of Corinth about the divisions that they maintained and sometimes exacerbated as they gathered together for worship. 

Recently, I had a visit from someone who has irregularly worshipped with us over the last couple of years.  He informed me that he and his family would not be returning because of some words that were spoken to his wife about the behaviour of their young child.  This is not the first time that I have heard people make similar remarks, either to parents or about parents. 

When we gather for worship in each of our three distinct services, we are offered a chance to demonstrate the counter cultural nature of the church.  Whilst society has a growing tendency to reject others who are different from us, or whose behaviour rubs against us, in church, as an expression of the Body of Christ we are called to accept each other.  “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (Romans 15:7). 

The cry room is for the benefits of parents who wish to use it.  It is not for the benefit of the rest of the congregation who wish parents to use it.  In all of our services children of all ages are welcome to remain and be part of the larger gathering in the church auditorium.  There is no place in this world where we can go that is without distractions.  Noise, people, movement and our own thoughts distract us, no matter how much we want to concentrate.

We have the opportunity to thank God that we have babies, young children, teenagers and young families as part of our congregation.  The life and ministry of Emmanuel is strong and will continue to be strong.  A key question for our ongoing ministry is how we grow these young people in their faith.

We can also enlarge our capacity to envisage the kingdom of God and recognise all who are part of it, including ourselves.  It is by grace that God has invited us into his kingdom and it is through the discipleship of others that we have been nurtured in our own faith practices.  From your past who can you give thanks for, that you are now part of God’s kingdom? 

Ministers Desk 19th February 2012

This coming Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent.  For many centuries Christ followers have participated in the discipline of Lent as an opportunity to sharpen their vision of the kingdom of God, closer align themselves to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and to further grow in their discipleship.  Again this year our congregation will participate in the discipline of Lent.  Please see Lent as an opportunity to experience transformation and growth as we turn away from the “things” that crowd our lives and turn more fully and intentionally to the call of discipleship that Jesus makes to us.

During Lent we give something up that is ordinarily a pleasure for us.  In past years I have given up coffee, my family don’t allow me to do this anymore.  This year I have chosen to give up sweet food – chocolate, cakes, desserts.  Many of you know that I have an incredibly sweet tooth, I could very happily live without ever eating something savoury.  Yet, for the sake of relying more fully on God, I’m going to make this my commitment for the period of Lent.  What is it that you’re going to give up?

 Any money that we save can then be donated to our Community Helping Hand.  In this way we enter more fully into Jesus’ sacrificial giving of himself for others.  “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).  Lent helps remind us that life and discipleship is not about us, it is about our willingness to give ourselves for the sake of others.  As we voluntarily go without something we stand in solidarity with the people of our community who have to go without involuntarily.  Standing in solidarity with our poor and needy neighbours identifies ourselves with Christ and his ministry in this world.  In Matthew 26:31 – 46 Jesus tells the parable of the sheep and the goats.  The sheep who are rewarded are the ones who stood in solidarity with the hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, homeless and prisoners and in doing so stood in solidarity with Christ himself. 

Our participation in Lent is a spiritual discipline.  Each day during Lent there will be bible readings and suggestions for prayer.  I encourage you to use these with your current daily readings, or instead of them.  There is provided each day a reading and a short suggestion for prayer.  As you read the passage you may want to ask yourself two questions.  The first is to ask what you hear God saying to you.  The second is to ask yourself how this applies to your life right now.  Is it instruction, encouragement, revelation of a new promise, or corrections for a particular area of your life?  As you ask yourself these questions you might find it helpful to write the answers in a journal.  You can then keep them together and reflect on your spiritual journey.  After you have read and thought, use the prayer suggestion to talk further with God.

Please participate in Lent this year as a means of furthering your surrender to God and his kingdom in this world. 

Ministers Desk 12 February 2012

The season of Lent commences on Wednesday 22 February and continues until sundown on Easter Saturday 7 April.  Lent is a time of preparation for Easter and a deepening of discipleship to Jesus.  As we discipline ourselves during the season we enter more fully into Jesus’ sacrificial journey to the cross.  Essentially then Lent is about growing as disciples of Jesus.

Lent is a good time for us to address our difficulty in separating “wants” from “needs.”  We may think that we can live without certain things, or we may think that we can’t live without certain things.  Entering into the discipline of Lent causes us to focus on what is most fully important in our lives, our living relationship with Jesus.  Many Christians are suffering under a overabundance of stuff in their lives.  Participating in Lent shows how much simpler our lives can be.  In the remaining time leading up to 22 February, please prayerfully consider what you could give up for the period of Lent.  What you give up should be in the category of a “want” and should be something that for you would be a struggle to do, without the sustaining power of the Holy Spirit.  In other words, you can’t do it on your own.  You are then asked to take any money that you do not spend on this “want” and donate it to our Lent Appeal.  This year the money will support our Community Helping Hand ministry.

Alternatively, others may find that the discipline of Lent may be to address a blind spot in how they follow Jesus.  This may mean that they need to add on to their life and extra discipline.  This could be a discipline of daily prayer and bible reading.  It could be to find an avenue of service that responds to the call of Jesus.  During Lent information will be provided on how you may respond to Christ’s call to serve through Community Helping Hand.

Community Helping Hand has been identified as the project that will be supported this year.  Community Helping Hand serves the immediate needs of people in our local community by providing assistance with food.  It is also a point of referral to other service providers in our local area.  Throughout Lent we will provide further information about the work of CHH and how you can be involved.

Since Lent is a spiritual discipline, daily readings and a guide to prayer will be offered.  Please build into your schedule time to meet with God using this resource.  This may be in addition to your usual pattern of readings and prayer, or instead of it.  Reflecting on scripture and connecting with God in prayer reminds us that whatever we do that Lent is not a competition to see who can "give up" or "add on" the most.  It's a moment of honesty about the obstacles we could be placing in our path to follow Jesus.  Regardless of where we are at in our spiritual journey, Lent prepares us to be increasingly more honest and devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

Ministers Desk February 5

The psalmist says “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Ps 119:11).  Later in Psalm 119:105 he says “your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”  Scripture points towards its own effectiveness in leading us deeper into the way of Christ.  I am aware that many members of our congregation have a significant, daily encounter with God, through the scriptures.  As they read and reflect on scripture they allow God’s Spirit to use scripture to teach, rebuke, correct and train them (2 Tim 3:16) for their life of discipleship.  A daily practice of reading scripture should not be about completing a task, but allowing scripture to form the people that we are and the way that we live in this world.  A clear sign of a growing disciple of Jesus Christ is someone who sees scripture clearly as a gauge and mirror for everything they say and do.  Our engagement with scripture should come in many encounters.

Each day we should be reading and reflecting on scripture through our daily devotions.  Many people in our congregation make use of notes such as “With love to the World” or publications provided by Scripture Union.  There are many different series’ of daily reading notes available on the information desk, please help yourself.  My preferred daily reading practice is to simply read a passage and then think, write and pray about what it says to me.  I have used this method of journaling for many years and find that I continually receive fresh challenges from scripture that speak into my life at the present moment.  I encourage you to find your own rhythm of daily reading.

Weekly and fortnightly we should be reading and reflecting on scripture as we meet in our explore groups.  In an explore group we have the time and space to look at a passage of scripture and discuss what it means and what its implications are for our lives.  We do this with respect and vulnerability, acknowledging that we don’t all have the answers and that we can learn from each other.

Weekly we learn from scripture during our worship services.  This happens primarily through the sermon, but at other times scripture is used, and will be used more often in the future.  Bringing and using our own bibles in worship allows us to become familiar with the language of our preferred version and the layout of the books and passages. 

At many other times people and groups in our congregation share in reading scripture.  Many families will have family devotions.  Many engage groups and meetings start their gatherings with a short devotion.  At Church Council and Elders meetings we reflect on scripture as we come to decisions on the issues before us.   

I encourage you to continue your practice of scripture reading.  As you do develop a second habit of asking yourself, “what does scripture say about this” in every situation.  This way we live life not in our own wisdom, but from the wisdom and leading of Jesus Christ who is the Word of God, revealed to us in scripture.

Ministers Desk January 29 2012

I’ve just returned from holidays, and whilst I had a great time away, it’s good to be back for another year.  I hope that you had a relaxing and refreshing time over the Christmas break and that you are energised for the year to come.

At the end of last year we adopted a new purpose, Growing Disciples who Exalt, Explore, Embody, Engage.  This purpose defines what we do as a congregation, but equally so, it places a personal imperative on each one of us to be more intentional in our following of Jesus.  A disciple is a person who has heard and responded to Jesus’ call to “follow me”.  In following Jesus they have committed themselves to walk in Christ’s way, to live Christ’s life and to share his love with others.

It is Christ who calls us to follow, but it requires our response, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to be disciples.  Yet the forces of evil can be very persistent in leaving us spiritually immature or content with where we have come in our spiritual lives.  Merely attending church, reading the bible, being part of a group or calling yourself a Christian is not enough to ensure that we are more fully becoming part of God’s kingdom.  Jesus said, “how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:23).  And to remind us of the effort that we need to apply he said, “whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matt 16:24).  To be a growing disciple of Christ, without opening ourselves to the disciplines that will grow us is impossible.  As we grow we see more of the work of God around us in the world and deep within us; we develop a deeper heart love, commit and trust in God; we are more faithful, obedient and excited in responding to his call; and we have a deeper love and willingness to serve God’s people.

As I have said before, this purpose therefore becomes more than just something that applies to the church, it is something that is personal to each one of us.  The church is the sum of its individual members.  A question that I’d like to pose to each one of us at the beginning of the year is: What is your plan to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ this year?

In the coming week I encourage you to take some time and consider the answer to this question.  Consider changes in your attitudes, values and commitment.  This is more than just starting or stopping an activity.  It is about looking at what you do with fresh eyes and seeing where in your life you’re being challenged, confronted and invigorated in your relationship with Jesus.