Ministers Desk 1 April 2012

Starting this afternoon (Sunday 1 April) a regular Sudanese language worship service will be conducted in our church auditorium.  The Sudanese Gospel church of Queensland will be conducting this service.  It is not part of our congregation, nor part of the Uniting Church. 

I see this as an exciting forward movement in our life as a congregation, as it provides us another opportunity to express the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the first place it points us toward the unity that we have in Jesus Christ.  Sometimes we can become too insular when we think only of the worship and ministry that takes place through our congregation.  Growing Disciples have a growing awareness of other disciples who share in the Body of Christ.  The church of Jesus Christ is more than Emmanuel Uniting Church and it is more than the Uniting Church.  The church consists of those who worship exactly like us and those who worship in with very different styles.  It is the dispersed gathering of all those who claim Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.  Having a different language group meeting on our property helps us identify the diverse nature of the unified church. 

Secondly, it allows us to serve our brothers and sisters by sharing our resources with them.  When we serve others we put ourselves at their disposal, seeking the best for them in the love of Christ.  We have the opportunity to serve by placing this building at their disposal.  Being a group of recent immigrants they do not have the opportunity to develop the infrastructure that we have. 

Thirdly, we recognise that in the Body of Christ we share all property in common.  Whilst we may have primary use of this building at the moment, we have it because we are the inheritors of the ministry of people in this area for the past 110 years.  At the same time we hold and use this property in trust for future generations of Christ’s disciples.  Good stewardship means that we use the building in the best way that builds Christ’s church and advances the kingdom.

These gospel values have practical implications for both us and the Sudanese church.  For us it leads us to offer hospitality to a homeless church.  For the Sudanese church it means that they will make a financial contribution for the use of the building and that they will participate in the cleaning roster.  

MInisters Desk 25th March 2012

At present we are asked to do three things in the life of the congregation.  Each of these three are directly related to our purpose of Growing Disciples who Exalt, Explore, Embody, Engage.

The first is to give something up for Lent and then give the money saved to support our Community Helping Hand.  We grow as disciples through the discipline of fasting as we rely ever more on the power of the Holy Spirit and enter more fully into the suffering and denial of Christ on the way to the cross.  Through our donation to CHH, we share with the members of the congregation in embodying our faith in serving people in our community who struggle financially.  Jesus calls his disciples to participate with him in the work of the kingdom. 

The second is to seek God’s leading as we discern the names of those whom God is calling to serve as Elders and Church Councillors in this congregation.  Through God’s involvement with his people he has raised up individuals to offer leadership to his people.  In our reading last week in Numbers 11:16, 17 God instructed Moses to identify 70 men to share the leadership task of the Israelites in the land between.  In Acts 1 the disciples needed to find a replacement for Judas Iscariot.  After nominating two people who met particular criteria, they prayed “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs” (Acts 1:24, 25).  We grow as disciples of Christ as we lean into God’s leading to discern and nominate those whom he is calling to leadership.  We embody our faith as we act in response to God’s call and accept nomination.  Today is the last day to make nominations.  If you are reading this at home and haven’t yet made your nomination please email or ring either the church office or myself by Monday 2pm.

The third is to sign up to be part of an Explore Group that will meet for six weeks after Easter to share in a study called The Prodigal God.  This study helps us look as the extravagant nature of God as found in the well known story of the Prodigal son.  It is my hope that through this study that we will find a renewed understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.  An Explore Group helps us to integrate our lives with the bible.  I thoroughly believe that regular bible reading and discussion of its implications is an essential part in our ongoing growth in Christ.  Please sign up to be part of an Explore Group and order a copy of the discussion guide in the foyer of the church.

I am very aware that life for many of us is very busy and that we have many commitments on our time and energy.  However, I believe that at this time each of these three activities should be high on our priorities so that we may experience more of the transformation that Christ brings to us and this world.

Ministers Desk 18th March 2012

We are currently praying to seek God's will regarding the people he has called to serve as Church Councillors and Elders.  Nomination forms are available from the information desk.  They contain instructions on how to make a nomination.  Completed forms can be returned to the marked box on the information desk.

Through this nomination process we are asked to undertake a journey of spiritual discernment.  Spiritual discernment involves calling on the Holy Spirit to lead or give direction on a matter.  It is how the Spirit shows the church and his people what he wants them to do and be.  Discernment is not a practice that we turn off and on.  It is something that we should live with continually, as we surrender our lives to God and align ourselves to his will.  "The steps of a man are established by the Lord; and he delights in his way" (Psalm 37:23).

As we intentionally take time to discern God's way in relation to people called to leadership positions within the congregtaion, we need to remember that discernment is:

1. governed by love, for if it is not, it's worthless (1 Corinthians 13:1-3);
2. centres us on Jesus (1 Cor 12:3), and his good news;
3. directs us to Scripture, not away from it (Isaiah 8:19, 20);
4. builds up the church and its members ( Ephesians 4:11-12), giving it power, wisdom, character, boldness, and unity.

Discernment is both a personal and communal.  In the Uniting Church we believe that God speaks through the Councils of the church and that as we listen to others, we are able to hear the leading of the Spirit.  For this reason each one of us play an important part in making nominations, praying over the nominations and voting at the congregational meeting.  Choosing our leaders in this way is one of the most important tasks that we undertake as a congregation.  Therefore it is a task entrusted to the congregation through the congretional meeting.  

In the coming week please take time to prayer over the nomination process.  Allow the Spirit to surprise and challenge you with names to nominate or not nominate.  Be inspired to put someone forward for a significant role in God's church. 

The Land Between Fertile ground for meltdown

The Land Between

Fertile ground for meltdown

Numbers 11:11 - 15; Psalm 13

Sunday 12 March 2012

When people are put under pressure, stresses can start to appear.

In the Land Between Moses is under pressure and has his own meltdown.

Difference is that the people complained about God (Exodus 16:8), Moses complained to God.

Growing as a disciple involves increasing intimacy, openness and truthfulness to God and ourselves.  Lament allows us to do this.

Jeremiah lamented - see Jeremiah 19 and 20

Psalm 13 - a model for a prayer of lament

verses 1 and 2              pouring out our feelings to God

verses 3 and 4              offering up our petitions to God

verses 5 and 6              a declaration of praise and thanks to God

Other psalms of lament:

12; 44; 60; 74; 79; 80; 83; 85; 90; 94; 123; 126; 129

                              

Ministers Desk March 11 2012

Last week we commenced a series of sermons called the Land Between.  Using the journey of the Israelites across the Sinai peninsula, we're asked to think of our own journey through a time of transition.  We are in the Land Between when the old and familiar has passed away and the new has not yet been established.  The land between can be a time of great uncertainty and anxiety.  It is often in the Land Between that we feel most isolated.  It is also when others are in the Land Between that we often are unsure of how to relate to them.  We might feel inadequate, we might be unsure of what to say or we may be anxious about upsetting someone else and making them feel worse.

Yet it is the nature of God's church that we be a community of care and concern.  We grow stronger and deeper in our faith as we are able to connect with others in the troubles that they are going through.  Paul in Romans tells us to "mourn with those who mourn."

In the book of Job we read of Job's journey through his own Land Between.  Right at the beginning of the book we read "when Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was" (Job 2:11-13).  Considering the words that were uttered when they did begin to speak, this act of solidarity for those seven days was probably the best thing they did for Job.

We too can give a similar gift to our friends as we sit with them during their time in the Land Between.  Often we can't make things better, but we can alieviate the isolation.  We can pray with them and for them.  We can provide a shoulder to cry on.  I am very grateful to the many people in this congregation who are active in caring for each other.  Many of this care is unseen and unacknowledged.  Yet it is all the ministry of Christ and his church.