Raising great kids

Deuteronomy 6:1 - 9

In a classic passage on passing on the faith, two things stand out for me this week.  The first is that Moses instructs us to live out our faith in God, as a means of being a model for our children in growing in faith.  "Don't do as I say, do as I do" is such an appropriate way for us to live and witness to our children.  Secondly, raising children in the faith is not just for their parents.  It will also be the  primary responsibility of parents.  But grandparents, youth group leaders, Sunday School teachers and all members of the church have a responsibility to live out their faith and witness to our children. 

In raising children in the faith, there are five things we should teach our children to value:

1. their faith in Jesus Christ as lord and saviour;
2. their family as the source of unconditional love and acceptance;
3. themselves as someone uniquely made in the image and likeness of God;
4. other people, especially those who are needy or vulnerable;
5. the old and the new, finding the creative spot between innovation and tradition.

How do you see yourself contributing to the raising of great kids?

Core Values

Core Values are the values of Jesus Christ that are considered the most worthy and important for our congregation. They define why we do what we do and drive the ministry of the congregation. Being able to name, own and express our Core Values has the power to give our congregation and its members alignment in what we do, to identify what is distinctive about our congregation, to communicate what we think is important, to give us a positive direction through change, to influence our behavior, inspire us to action, shape our ministry character and affect our strategic planning. On the other hand, not being clear about our Core Values does lead to confusion, conflict, poor choices and indecision.


A healthy church discerns and clearly communicates a clear, concise and shared set of Core Values, so that everyone understands and can contribute. This is the process that we are in at the moment.



About five years ago, the following statement of Core Values was drawn up.

• A community of love, acceptance and forgiveness

• Dynamic worship of God in our services

• Reaching lost people in our community, helping them develop a personal relationship with Christ

• Spiritual growth via small group communities

• Ministry involvement, unleashing the gifts in people to help them grow through serving others.



Please read it and please comment on your reaction to it.

Please also consider how well these reflect our congregation at the moment.

The Discipline of worship

John 4:7- 26

One of the great and enduring debates of Australian society revolves around which is the iconic, classic Australian car - Ford or Holden.  A similar debate exists within churches, and that revolves around the style of worship.  Throughout the history of the church we have been conflicted about what is appropriate and what is not appropriate.  When ultimately, like the debate about cars, worship is just a vehicle to get us to a destination.  If we want to get to the destination badly enough, we'll use any vehicle (including an Hyundai).

Our corporate worship services are different, because they reflect the diversity of our people, and we have the choice to choose a preference.  But each service needs to take us to a destination.  That destination is a greater sense of the awe and wonder of the greatness of God, a renewed sense of his unconditional grace and the ongoing transformation by the Holy Spirit so that we may  continue to live as Christ followers, pursuing God's mission in the world.

To reach this destination we need to ensure that we prepare ourselves for worship, before the service starts.  During the service we actively participate in each element of worship, not being observers, there to be entertained, by co-workers in giving God that which is due to him.  Finally, we leave the service transformed to continue our walk with Jesus.

Worship helps shrink our magnificent egos so that there is more room for the Holy Spirit to work in our souls. 

How do you see worship fitting into your spiritual disciplines?

Giving with thanks

Luke 17:11 - 19

Saying thank you is something that we need to learn from a young age, it doens't come naturally, and we need to practice it repeatedly for it to become an ingrained habit.  But all too often, we find that people don't take time to say thank you.  One of the reasons I think this is the case is that they believe they have a right or entitlement to something, and therefore that avoids the need to be grateful.  Is one of the reasons why the nine lepers didn't return, because they believed they had a right to health?  The tenth leper though was different.  He returned to give thanks.  But he just didn't give thanks, his relationship with Jesus changed.  Prior to his healing he stood at a distance, after his healing he lay at Jesus' feet.  The leper who had been an outcast from society and God, is now brought near into intimate, close relationship.

The Samaritan leper turned back from going his own way, from self-justification, from the protection of distance, and lay at Jesus' feet.  And there he proclaimed his ultimate dependence on God.  In the end, gratitude is an expression of our need for others, of our need for God.

When we have an attitude of gratitude we will recognise that we are connected to God and each other.  This is expressed through our willingness to give thanks and through our giving of our offerings.

Giving what is not ours

Deuteronomy 26:1 - 11

In an episode of MASH, Hawkeye allows Radar to borrow a record player that belongs to Charles, without Charles being aware that his property is being lent.  Hawkeye makes the comment "gee it's easy being generous with other people's things."  This is the sentiment that lies behind the first fruits offering that the Israelites were required to give.  In a liturgical action, the ancient Israelites are combining an action that demonstrates their response to God's provision (the handing up of the first fruits) and remembering the provision of God throughout their history (reciting the litany).  Combined, this action and words reinforce for the Israelites the relationship they have with God.  This relationship is characterised by a proper recognition between the creator and the created, the relationship between the provider and the grateful recipient and the relationship of trust on the provision of God.

This reading adds to our understanding of the complexity of what is involved in giving our offering.  In giving generously to the mission of God through Emmanuel Uniting Church, in part we are declaring that who we are and what we have is God's, to be used for his worship and mission.  The idea of tithing (giving a fixed proportion of our income, in the Old Testament between 10% and 23%) provides an objective means of determining the level of returning to God what is ultimately his.

Live to give generously

2 Corinthians 9:6 - 15

One of the key spiritual disciplines is the discpline of giving our money to God.  Paul encourages us to sow generously into the mission and work of God.  In writing this part of his letter, he is seeking to give encouragement to the Corinthians to maintain their giving to the needs of the Christians in Jerusalem, after the impressive start they had had.  However, he writes to encourage them to give from the basis of the grace and blessings given by God, not from the basis of guilt. 

This should be the starting point for our giving too.  The life we live is always a response to the life of Christ - we love because he first loved us, we forgive as we have been forgiven, we serve because Christ first served us.

The offering that we give builds into the ministry of Christ through this congregation.   Our offering provides for ministry staff, building upkeep and funds for mission in our local area and across Australia and overseas.  We give so that God's work may be carried out.

In the coming weeks, please ask yourself how your offering contributes to God's work through Emmanuel Uniting Church.  Consider the ways that you are sowing generously so that there will be a generous reaping in God's kingdom.

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?