There is such a stirring at the moment to see fruitful & effective evangelism! Our series "The Net Effect" has kicked off, our Life Group studies are in full swing (focusing on "Breaking News" by J.John), and a lot of what I hear & read on Twitter//Facebook by other ministers & preachers shows the same desire. One person wrote of how Jesus said HE would build His Church, yet we are to GO & make DISCIPLES! (How often I think I get that the wrong way around!!)
Here's something Ps Malcolm wrote recently: "Often we can become very focused on our needs & in wanting someone to cross the street to us or show us care. We all need & should expect love or care, however please do not lose sight of our main purpose and mandate from Christ. God's command is that we would cross our street or cross the sea as a demonstration of God's love to a lost & dying world. Praise God for the person who offers their help to me in a time of need, but how much greater does God bless the one who offers the hand of help. We are not all called to another country but we are all called to spread the Good News. This can happen by crossing the street, by crossing the lunchroom, or by crossing the class room. It will take effort but that of course is Christianity. There is a cost. Let's carry our cross & let's put our hand to the plough. No turning back in our service for the Master!!"
God bless you South West (& whoever reads this!) We're praying for you, & believing that God will do great things IN & THROUGH you!
Ps Leighton
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
No More Of This
Last Sunday we were blessed to have a good friend of mine, Preston Centuolo, come and preach the Word. Preston was in Australia for 3wks on the Youth Alive tour, and we were the final speaking engagement he had before heading back to New Jersey.
He shared powerfully about friendship & relationship, and how important that is, but also how so often there is separation & breakdown due to conflict or disagreement. Particularly in church life, there can be conflict over the strangest things - the colour of the carpet, the mess the youth might have left on Friday, someone sat in MY seat last Sunday...really weird things like that!!
In Luke 22:49-51 we read a portion of the story where Jesus is being arrested, and one of his disciples strikes with his sword, cutting off the ear of one of the High Priests servants. Jesus speaks & says "No more of this!" and touches the mans ear & heals him.
As Preston suggested, & I write today, I think those words echo today when we consider our friendships & relationships. If Jesus can heal a mans ear that was cut off, do we trust Him to heal the relationship that we've messed up? Can we get off our high horse long enough to realise how silly we often are in arguing things that really aren't that important? Ask forgiveness, humble yourself, trust that God can & will heal.
Colossians 3:12-14 is a great read!
God Bless!
Ps Leighton
He shared powerfully about friendship & relationship, and how important that is, but also how so often there is separation & breakdown due to conflict or disagreement. Particularly in church life, there can be conflict over the strangest things - the colour of the carpet, the mess the youth might have left on Friday, someone sat in MY seat last Sunday...really weird things like that!!
In Luke 22:49-51 we read a portion of the story where Jesus is being arrested, and one of his disciples strikes with his sword, cutting off the ear of one of the High Priests servants. Jesus speaks & says "No more of this!" and touches the mans ear & heals him.
As Preston suggested, & I write today, I think those words echo today when we consider our friendships & relationships. If Jesus can heal a mans ear that was cut off, do we trust Him to heal the relationship that we've messed up? Can we get off our high horse long enough to realise how silly we often are in arguing things that really aren't that important? Ask forgiveness, humble yourself, trust that God can & will heal.
Colossians 3:12-14 is a great read!
God Bless!
Ps Leighton
Monday, September 14, 2009
The Net Effect
The Net Effect
We have spoken a lot this year about the importance of God’s Kingdom. As a church we can focus on lots of good things including our fellowship together, good teaching, powerful worship, in fact it is possible for a church to spend all of its energy and time doing that which is “good” without doing that which is “great”.
We are called to a “great” commission. We have been commanded to make
disciples and win the lost. I have a particular sense of urgency regarding the
season we are in, it is time to reach out and gather in a net load of souls. We are God’s fishermen, called to catch men. I believe it is important to examine our nets. It is possible to preach the gospel and lose the fish. Let’s check how effective our nets are. Holes in our nets can let the fish through or we can be too slow and miss God’s timing as we cast out. Maybe we are using the wrong bait. Jesus is the ultimate fishermen of men’s souls. Let us learn from Him. The next Life Builders series will be designed to equip the saints to do the work of ministry.
God Bless
Pastors Malcolm & Karen
We have spoken a lot this year about the importance of God’s Kingdom. As a church we can focus on lots of good things including our fellowship together, good teaching, powerful worship, in fact it is possible for a church to spend all of its energy and time doing that which is “good” without doing that which is “great”.
We are called to a “great” commission. We have been commanded to make
disciples and win the lost. I have a particular sense of urgency regarding the
season we are in, it is time to reach out and gather in a net load of souls. We are God’s fishermen, called to catch men. I believe it is important to examine our nets. It is possible to preach the gospel and lose the fish. Let’s check how effective our nets are. Holes in our nets can let the fish through or we can be too slow and miss God’s timing as we cast out. Maybe we are using the wrong bait. Jesus is the ultimate fishermen of men’s souls. Let us learn from Him. The next Life Builders series will be designed to equip the saints to do the work of ministry.
God Bless
Pastors Malcolm & Karen
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
South West Celebrates
Last Sunday we held our annual 'South West Celebrates' event, and it was amazing!! HUGE thanks to everyone who helped with the setup & preparation, the packup & cleanup...the whole lot. It was a team effort and definitely a job well done!!
God is doing great things in & through our church. So much that we can celebrate about!!
- the diverse cultures & nations represented
- the generations.. old & young, men & women
- the vision & journey ahead of us. This is not a church content with where we are at, we're believing for soooo much more!
I think also, that is what was so timely about Dr.Stuart Robinsons message that he shared on Sunday morning. Don't think that things can't be done, & don't settle for comfort & the here and now. Believe that with God 'all things are possible!'
Let's keep moving forward church! There's another person to reach out to, another neighbourhood to influence, a city to win!
God is doing great things in & through our church. So much that we can celebrate about!!
- the diverse cultures & nations represented
- the generations.. old & young, men & women
- the vision & journey ahead of us. This is not a church content with where we are at, we're believing for soooo much more!
I think also, that is what was so timely about Dr.Stuart Robinsons message that he shared on Sunday morning. Don't think that things can't be done, & don't settle for comfort & the here and now. Believe that with God 'all things are possible!'
Let's keep moving forward church! There's another person to reach out to, another neighbourhood to influence, a city to win!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Playing to win
No runner when he arrives at the starting line of the race runs to obtain second or third, they always run to win.
No afl coach comes to the game and coaches to lose they all coach to win the game.
Michael Voss, the Brisbane Lions Coach said, "If any coach comes to the game wanting to lose they should not be in the game."
Whenever we want to do something out of the norm, exceptional, something that we haven't done before, fear and doubt is sometimes our closest friend. Often we can lose before we have actually lost. Often we can have the mindset of 'this is impossible' and we validate that by making it impossible. We play to lose instead of playing to win.
To go to the next level in our lives, to grow, to change, to do something that no one has done before we need to play to win, not allow doubt and fear to rob us from the exceptional future God has for us.
We play based on our conviction, the winning faith in our hearts that secures victory.
1 John 5:4: "this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith."
Our winning faith overcomes anything the world can throw at us and secures our victory, makes us winners...
But to be winners, we need to play like winners, play with solid conviction, winning faith that overcomes anything!
Play to win and just wait and see what God can do!
God Bless
Ps Nathan
South West Community Services
No afl coach comes to the game and coaches to lose they all coach to win the game.
Michael Voss, the Brisbane Lions Coach said, "If any coach comes to the game wanting to lose they should not be in the game."
Whenever we want to do something out of the norm, exceptional, something that we haven't done before, fear and doubt is sometimes our closest friend. Often we can lose before we have actually lost. Often we can have the mindset of 'this is impossible' and we validate that by making it impossible. We play to lose instead of playing to win.
To go to the next level in our lives, to grow, to change, to do something that no one has done before we need to play to win, not allow doubt and fear to rob us from the exceptional future God has for us.
We play based on our conviction, the winning faith in our hearts that secures victory.
1 John 5:4: "this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith."
Our winning faith overcomes anything the world can throw at us and secures our victory, makes us winners...
But to be winners, we need to play like winners, play with solid conviction, winning faith that overcomes anything!
Play to win and just wait and see what God can do!
God Bless
Ps Nathan
South West Community Services
an Element Youth update...
Friday night's Uprising was amazing! The worship team lacked a bass player (for some weird unknown reason!!), but in no way lacked the presence of God; the preaching (by the one and only Gethsi "Awesome" Alagendran) was impacting and a life-changing word to those who received; and the generosity in giving by the young guys and girls stepped up a notch.
Bala's offering message was awesome. He basically talked about Jesus. It was great! (We took up almost three times what was taken up the week before)
Gethsi's word was amazing - fun, deep, but incredibly practical. She preached on buidling our lives on Jesus, the only proper and lasting foundation. I think everyone knows that a lot of teens can come along to enjoy programs, play ball games, wrestle and knock teeth out (for the guys). But one common misconception held by many is that they all know the Gospel - they might have head knowledge, but that's useless without heart transformation. What I love about Gethsi's word is that she basically preached the Gospel, the root of all transformation, and the foundation of our faith! But what really needs to happen is heart transformation in many lost guys and girls who just love coming along because their parents make them, or they have nothing better to do on a friday night - or maybe even that they want to see a guy or girl they think is pretty good looking (hey, I'm just being realistic!)
So in all of this greatness, with a generous, kind, God-loving and God-fearing bunch of young teenagers in Uprising, there are still a bunch who aren't gripped by God's grace, and aren't transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I urge you to pray for those who are currently attending, but also to continue to pray for us, that we'll see teens saved for God's kingdom, and see them transformed by the power of God. Let us watch God do an amazing thing in and through our youth!
Daniel Tusjak
Uprising Youth Leader
Bala's offering message was awesome. He basically talked about Jesus. It was great! (We took up almost three times what was taken up the week before)
Gethsi's word was amazing - fun, deep, but incredibly practical. She preached on buidling our lives on Jesus, the only proper and lasting foundation. I think everyone knows that a lot of teens can come along to enjoy programs, play ball games, wrestle and knock teeth out (for the guys). But one common misconception held by many is that they all know the Gospel - they might have head knowledge, but that's useless without heart transformation. What I love about Gethsi's word is that she basically preached the Gospel, the root of all transformation, and the foundation of our faith! But what really needs to happen is heart transformation in many lost guys and girls who just love coming along because their parents make them, or they have nothing better to do on a friday night - or maybe even that they want to see a guy or girl they think is pretty good looking (hey, I'm just being realistic!)
So in all of this greatness, with a generous, kind, God-loving and God-fearing bunch of young teenagers in Uprising, there are still a bunch who aren't gripped by God's grace, and aren't transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I urge you to pray for those who are currently attending, but also to continue to pray for us, that we'll see teens saved for God's kingdom, and see them transformed by the power of God. Let us watch God do an amazing thing in and through our youth!
Daniel Tusjak
Uprising Youth Leader
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Resources & good things
Hello..
Just a quick note to those who happen across reading this - over the years our church has put together a large range of exceptionally good resources. There's booklets & workbooks on leadership, pamphlets on "know what you believe", sermon series on dvd from Ps Malcolm MacLeod, a very large collection of Life Group studies, and heaps more. Please contact us if you'd like to know more about any of it..
'twas just a thought!
Ps Leighton
Just a quick note to those who happen across reading this - over the years our church has put together a large range of exceptionally good resources. There's booklets & workbooks on leadership, pamphlets on "know what you believe", sermon series on dvd from Ps Malcolm MacLeod, a very large collection of Life Group studies, and heaps more. Please contact us if you'd like to know more about any of it..
'twas just a thought!
Ps Leighton
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