Fire from heaven? 30 June13
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Fire from heaven?
A Samaritan village snubbed Jesus and wouldn’t have anything to do with him. It was a racial and religious issue. His disciples were incensed. “Do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” It was quite an offer. Elijah had done something like that before. But they weren’t yet in Elijah’s class.
And in any case Jesus wasn’t impressed. Not the way for his disciples to behave. Fortunately they gave up such attitudes after Pentecost. But the idea of destroying God’s enemies wasn’t new. Jonah really wanted to see the vicious Assyrian regime centred in Nineveh get what they deserved. He got really annoyed when God showed them compassion instead.
It is still true that Jesus and his people have enemies. What to do with them, that is the question.
Making Disciples Zech 8, Rom 10, Luke 24
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Holy Spirit, Gospel, Evangelism
{podcast id=142}
Making Disciples
Sermon preached at Christ the King Willetton on 16 June 2013
Bible Readings: Zechariah 8.20-23, Romans 10.6-15, Luke 24.44-49
How God brings people to those who know him and what his people should say.
How to grow a Christian 23 June 13
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
How to grow a Christian
When a baby is born people give presents. Often clothes. Size 0 or if the child is a giant maybe a size 1. But others give bigger sized clothes for when the child grows out of size 0. They do this on the assumption that the docile little baby will turn into a bigger version: crawling, climbing, staggering, walking and then running, jumping and leaping.
The parents have a plan based on the expectation that the child will grow. Some book the child onto the school waiting list as soon as it is born (or onto the Football club membership list – or both).
And send them to school in due course. The long term plan is for the child to become self-providing and a contributor not only to the family but to the society.
But is it the same when a person is born as a child of God?
Helping someone become a Disciple of Jesus 16 Jun 13
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Helping someone become a Disciple of Jesus
To start out as a disciple, a person needs to understand what God has said (the gospel), and what they must do. They do not have to know everything, but they should have a clear grasp of the essentials, such as the following:
• Jesus Christ is Lord of all. He loves them and has died for them.
• They are in rebellion to him.
• God calls on them to turn away from their rebellion and submit their lives to Jesus as their Lord.
• God promises that they will be pardoned for all this rebellion and the sins that go with it, because Jesus has died for them. They must ask God for this pardon.
• God promises the Holy Spirit to those who belong to Jesus so that they can know God personally and live in the way he wants. They should ask for the Holy Spirit to be given to them.
It is one thing to understand, it is another to be willing. So the question is, “Are you willing to do this?” “Will you do it now?”
The way to do it, to become a disciple is by prayer.
Read more: Helping someone become a Disciple of Jesus 16 Jun 13
What is God’s Message to his World? 2 June 13
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
What is God’s Message to his World?
Paul the apostle claims that it is the gospel that saves people. He claims that faith results from hearing the message about Christ. If this is the case then we need to be clear what God’s gospel is.
It is ordinary Christians who are the chief speakers of the gospel. This shows how good God is, he uses ordinary people to speak his message. Certainly there are specialists and gifted evangelists who are able to make the message plain and convey it powerfully. But all of us tell the story, and so all of us ought to be clear what we are telling.
It does not seem much use to have been given a message to tell others and not know what it is. Or to be making up our own message because we do not like the original.
Understanding what the message is, is all the more important because of the church culture we operate in. There are many kinds of gospel messages around. Not all of them will make it clear to people what God wants them to know.
God's Great Plan Colossians 1.15-30
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Holy Spirit, Gospel, Evangelism
{podcast id=143}
God's Great Plan Colossians 1.15-30
Sermon preached at Christ the King Willetton on 26 May 2013
The great plan with Christ at the centre and finish, and the great reconciliation we are part of
Next Year 26 May 13
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Next Year
The last year has been quite an adventure. At our Annual Meeting last year we discussed whether we should change our single congregation into two Sunday morning congregations. After quite a lot of consultation and discussion we agreed to have a go, and from the beginning of September we started two congregations in the place of the one. We made the choice that formed part of the challenge of last year.
We decided to make a move that will allow us better to carry out the great disciple-making commission that our Lord Jesus Christ has left us with. It is a move that the Spirit of God has provided us with. And thus it is one in which we must follow the Spirit.
Most of us have survived.
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