Raising great families

Genesis 2:18 - 25

Amongst many things the creation story reminds us that God's plan for humanity includes relationships with other people, most particularly within the confines of a family relationship.  When families are acting the way God intends for them, they can offer the very best of relationships.  Families can offer their members deep love, unconditional acceptance, unswerving allegiance and absolute support.  But for this to be requires that each family member, at each stage of the family's life, needs to be intentionally acting to make the family great.  Three ways in which this can happen is through:

1. Spending quality time together and lots of it - families need to be around each other often, having fun times, sharing experiences, creating memories for the future.
2. Expressing love - where feelings and words are placed in action.  In Ephesian 5:21 Paul starts his household code by telling each family member to submit to each other.  Deep love in a family is found when each person humbles themselves before the other in love, service and honour.
3. Honouring God - great families are united in their allegiance to Jesus Christ, find their values shaped by scripture and share a common purpose and destiny.  In Ephesians 6:4 Paul reminds fathers that it is their responsibility to raise their children in the faith of Jesus Christ.

Whilst focusing attention on these three areas can help families be great, we also need to remember that not all families will be like this.  Sometimes families can be the source of our greatest hurts and sorrows.  Focusing on making our families great during the good times, can help in the hard times.  But we also need to remember that God is a God of reconciliation, and that through prayer, the ministry of Jesus and the hope for the future, that restoration will comes.

In our congregation there are already many families that do things that help make their families great.  What are some of the things that you do?

Grander Vision Living

Luke 5:1 - 11


Any fisher person, amateur or professional, would have to be ecstatic about the catch of fish that Peter and his mates caught after they listened to Jesus and lowered their nets.  But the great irony of this story, is that Jesus calls them to fish for something even greater and more important and that has a longer lasting impact.  This is to fish for people.  The call that Jesus makes to the disciples and us, is a call to a larger vision of what life can be like. 


In our relationship with Jesus we experience love, peace, joy and hope, we have a promise of the hungry being fed, the homeless finding shelter and justice being offered for all.  But for people to experience this life, and for this life to be seen by all, they need to be invited into a life transforming relationship with Jesus Christ. 


This requires a commitment and passion on behalf of Christ followers, to live with a priority for other people.  The call to fish for people is the call to place as our top priority being people who walk across rooms, develop friendships, discover stories, discern next steps and dare to believe that people will come to faith in Jesus Christ.


But it all starts with us having the passion and commitment to place loving people into the kingdom as our top priority.

The Power of story

John 5:31 - 47

As we continue with our Just Walk Across the Room story we think this week about the power of story.  We each have a story to tell about our relationship with God and his invovlment in this world and our lives.  Becasue our friends are interested in us, they are interested in our stories.  For this reason we need to be able to tell our stories with passion, clarity, and honesty.  Our stories can be used to shine light onto Jesus in a way that discussion about doctrine will never be able to.  Stories have the capactiy to draw people in and see themselves in the picture and the application for their lives.

This is why it is important for us to be able to share the story of how we came to faith.  Based on Paul's testimony in Acts 26, we see a three fold structure for telling our faith story.  What we were like before we knew Christ (verses 4 - 11), how we came to know and acknowledge him as lord and saviour (verses 12 - 18) and then how you are different after you committed to Jesus (verses 19 - 23).  In our groups this week we will spend time working on this story.  I encourage you to make the effort and be able to tell the story of your encounter with Jesus.

Living in 4D

Luke 15:1 - 10

In the second week of our Just Walk Across the Room series, we look at the need to live in 4 D.

Dare to believe - to overcome some of our cynicism and hopelessness because we haven't seen the power of God at work in people that we've been praying for and hoping that they will come to faith, we need to continue to have faith, trusting only in God.  This means daring to believe that God will act in people's lives to bring them into relationship with him.  Daring to believe that lost people matter to God.  Daring to believe that small steps are important.  Daring to believe that God wants to use us, regardless of how insecure or inadequate we think we are.

Develop friendships - Jesus spent time with people who were not yet his followers.  It was the only way he could increase the number of people who heard his message and committed to him.  As his followers we need to break out of our church circles and connect with people who are not yet Christians.

Discover stories - everyone has a story, by listening to other people we find out more about them, what is important to them, and we find things that we have in common.  Listening to others respects them and deepens friendships.

Discern next steps - listening to the Spirit is crucial in any evangelism.  Jesus promises to be with us always to tell us when to speak, act and walk, and when not to.

In John 21 Jesus questions Peter about his love for him.  In this interplay, we learn that our love for Jesus is expressed in our love for others.  The challenge that lies before us is to take care of Jesus' sheep who are lost.

When you think of living your life in 4D, which of these dimensions do you find the hardest?

Just walk across the room - The greatest gift

Luke 5:27 - 32

As we start our series called Just Walk Across the Room, we're reminded that God himself was the first room crosser.  Throughout history, in the stories of Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Moses and the Israelites God has come close to his people and acted so that they may live in a close and loving relationship with him.  Whilst we continued to rejected him, he made the ultimate crossing of a room and entered our time and space as a human.  The birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus is the greatest news that we can ever receive.  Knowing that Christ has saved us and brings us new life, changes us now and forever and gives us the motivation to cross rooms and share our faiht withe others.

The metaphor to Just Walk Across the Room helps reminds us of how we can move from a circle of comfort where we're with our friends, to a place where we can contact others, connect with them in a deeper way and communicate the good news of Jesus with them.  All the time praying that the inspiration of the Spirit will lead them to make a commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

Creating your legacy

Acts 20:17 - 24

As Paul leaves Asia on his way to Jerusalem and into the unknown, he takes time to say a final farewell to the Elders of the church in Ephesus.  During his speech he reminds them of the life that he has lived among them.  We are reminded that as we live our lives that we are creating our legacy.  As inevitable as death and taxes, so too is our legacy, the question though is what type of legacy do we want to leave.

Paul's legacy is one of an alive and growing faith in Jesus Christ.  One in which he served God where he was called, and one in which he proclaimed Jesus Christ and brought others into a living relationship with Jesus.

How are you creating a legacy for yourself?  We can live our lives now in a way that frames the legacy that we will leave and have an impact on people for years to come, even into eternity.

Resuced

Acts 12:1 - 19

The harsh reality of life is that many of us carry around within us things that trap and imprison us - addictions, emotional scars, behaviours, attitudes, temptations that we give into too often.  We try and often/always succeed in hiding this undesirable part of our lives, but they keep us being less than God wants for us, and keep us imprisoned in guilt, shame and unsociable behaviour.  But this is not the way life should be.  Jesus came to “proclaim freedom to the prisoners” (Lk.4:18).  This is more than the physical freedom that Peter experiences in Acts 12.

To achieve this freedom from the internal things that trap us, we first need to admit that we can't do it on our own.  Peter's freedom came through the miraculous power of the Spirit, but was partnered by the church that "was earnestly praying to God for him" (v 5).  Two things to reflect on, to find your own freedom, is there someone you can share with, a person who is trustworthy and mature, and can they and you commit to praying earnestly?

When Peter's release came, he went to the gathered believers who furthered his escape (v 17).  Living in a broken world, means that the temptation and possibility of becoming re-imprisoned is always present.  We need friends around us to help keep us free.  Friends who will hold us accountable, point out blind spots, encourage and distract us. Who are these people for you?

Finally, we need to believe through action that God can release.  The early church didn't do this, they argued with Rhoda that Peter couldn't be at the door.  Too often we miss out on the power of God to rescue us because we think that it can't be done.  Believe and see what he will do.