The people at Willetton 20 May 12
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
The people at Willetton
I was talking to my friendly hairdresser this week, who as usual asked me what I had been doing today. I said I had been to Mainly Music. Which required a certain amount of explanation. And what was my role in the church? I said I was the minister. Did I like the job?
Most of the time. Well, you know, jobs that involve people ... But this crowd at Willetton are a good bunch. A Number 2 haircut doesn’t take very long, so no time to say more.
What more could be said? Nice people? Certainly. Believers? Yes, believers. Grumpy? Not at the moment. Brave? Interesting question. Why would Christians need to be brave? Because Christians belong to a group faith. You have to get along with, cooperate with, actually, love, the other believers. And even if you try to run away to another church you have to do the same with them (run away to do it alone? - I think that disqualifies you).
17. Living according to the Spirit of the Son Romans 8.12-17
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Romans 2011-13
{podcast id=278}
Living according to the Spirit of the Son Romans 8.12-17
Sermon preached at Christ the King Willetton on Mothers' Day 13 May 2012
The big idea is that what counts in living a holy life, is not the rules you are keeping but the company you are keeping.
Sermon Outline
LIVING BY THE SPIRIT = LIVING ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT OF THE SON
Rom 8.12-17
Intro
What was your mum like when you were growing up?
Read more: 17. Living according to the Spirit of the Son Romans 8.12-17
Not Tom Sawyer’s Fence 13 May 12
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Not Tom Sawyer’s Fence
Parents remember the birth of their first child, especially mum. It was an exciting time. Scary too. What kind of parents will we be? Will we know what to do with this new baby? Will it survive us?
The first child fixed any delusions we had about being super parents. And the second one? Well maybe we could get it right this time. But children are different and the next one just introduced us to more things we didn’t know much about.
But births and beginnings are exciting things. Starting new congregations is exciting – and scary. But there are some things that sound exciting but we doubt will be. Are we just listening to hype? Is the idea of growing a church a kind of con job?
Is it like Tom Sawyer’s fence painting? Are we being offered something that is just boring hard work with no real benefit in the end? Just something that interrupts our peaceful lives? Possibly.
16. Living by the Spirit Romans 8.5-11
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Romans 2011-13
{podcast id=277}
Living by the Spirit Romans 8.5-11
Sermon preached at Christ the King Willetton on 6 May 2012
Sermon Outline
1. Two Groups v5
Those whose lives are determined by the ...
flesh/sinful nature: the Adam nature (chap 5). I can/will work it out. I can/will decide. I can/will ignore God.
Spirit: Holy Spirit of God.
Questions about Multiplying Congregations 6 May 12
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Questions about Multiplying Congregations
What would multiplied morning congregations look like? They might look exactly the same as now. Probably at first they would be smaller. That would feel a bit strange. Some familiar faces will be in the other congregation. Ditto. New people will join. And maybe the two congregations won’t be the same.
One possibility is that one will be much the same as now and the other will adapt differently to a different membership. What we don’t want to see is either of them turn into a “rump” service. Both need to be at times that allow them to grow, that is, at times that people would want to come. To this end we will start to survey everyone next Sunday. Our aim will be to see at what times everyone would be willing to attend one of the congregations and also to see what time they prefer. Also for people to be able to say they don’t want to change the present arrangement.
If we proceeded, both congregations would have Morning Tea! One advantage of having two morning congregations is the shared morning tea after the first service where some mingling and catching up between the two services can happen. Both might use the same liturgy or maybe they will use different liturgies.
Read more: Questions about Multiplying Congregations 6 May 12
15. Set free by the Spirit Romans 8.1-4
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Romans 2011-13
{podcast id=275}
Set free by the Spirit Romans 8.1-4
Bible readings: Ezekiel 34.7-16; Psalm 100; John 10.1-10
No condemnation because God has condemned sin by sending Jesus in the flesh as a sin offering, and the Spirit has set those who are in Christ free from the sin/death operation.
How big can a church get? 29 Apr 12
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
How big can a church get?
How big can a church get? Way back in the ‘70s research began to show that there were limits to the size of congregations. Attendances in a large number of congregations were surveyed in the UK over a number of denominations and over a period of years. One of the surprising results of this research was to show that the size of the congregation was not related to the size of its parish or catchment population.
One of the significant limitations was related to the number of people who could form some kind of relationship with the minister. At the time this was estimated to be around 100 people. Figures in Perth support this. My estimate is that 80 – 100 is our number. It was found that adding another member of staff did not double the number, but only added up to 80% of the original number.
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