Its your turn . . . .

The waiting is nearly over.  It is time.  It is time to do our bit.  It is time for us to step out of our comfort zones and do something, say something that we have never done before.  RISE starts soon and we need everyone to do something different.  It is your turn  . . . . 

Have a look at the little video as well - use it to stimulate your thoughts of faith and action as we move towards Easter  . . . 

Look at the study here . . . . . .  

More than meets the eye . . .

I have to admit that this study IS named after the Transformers.  I am a bit too old for the transformer toys when they came out the first time round - but my wee brother did have a few of these toys and I always remember one toy that was a train, a plane and a transformer robot.  there definitely was more than meets the eye . . . . . 

Icebergs are like that too.  There is a lot more to them than what we see on the surface.  I suppose the big issue for us  - are we the same?  Do we hide a lot of ourself away?  Do we and can we change ourselves to fit into any situation.  When Jesus lived on the earth he actually was in the business of transforming people and situations.  The compassion that He had for people made him them step out of their comfort zone.  Are you ready to do the same? Are you ready to be the miracle that other people need in their life?  Do you need a compassion bypass?  

Thats what we are thinking about this week!  

What's your story?

If you are reading this you are alive.  Weird that.  But how did you get here?  How would you describe the journey that you have been on through your life?  Have you had many ups and downs?  How did you cope with them?  What has inspired you?  Who has had a big impact on you and on your life?   

Big questions.  The stuff of life. What's your story?  This week in the network small groups you will get the chance to tell your story.  How does God break into your story?  What did he do for you?  How has His influence changed you.  

Big questions.  Be ready to share.  Be ready to listen.  Be ready to celebrate the awesome glory of how God reveals Himself in a different way to everyone in a way that meets the needs of that person.  

What's your story?   Take a look at the study guide here and dont forget to check out my site for the final installment in the prayer course.  

And  . . . . RISE is coming  . . . find out more at church on Sunday!  

Tim 

Talking about a revolution!

Talk is cheap . . .  

How do the people that we meet know what we believe?  How do they know what we think about the big questions in life?  

In this week's study for network you will be looking at 3 aspects of talking - first you will be looking at prayer (and talking to God), then we take a look at the way that the apostle Paul talked and shared his testimony story with Agrippa in Acts 26 and finally you will get the opportunity to start to think about how you talk and tell your story to other people, so that they know the difference that a life with Jesus can actually have! 

Talk is not cheap . . . it is essential to building up life changing friendships - I guess we should look at that too - get the study guide here  or visit here to look up the prayer information. 

Enjoy 

Tim 

A Call to Action!

When I was 18, I remember having a peculiar fascination with the old Van Morrison and Cliff Richard song 'When the love of God, shines his light on me . . .' Now, I was NO Cliff fan - though all the pretentious teenagers at that time were big fans of Van the Man. It was a great song, but now that I look back - why do we need to sit and wait for God to shine his light on us . . . if we are believers, the light is already within us and it is our job to start to share our light with everyone else . . . . .

On Sunday, Peter challenged us about how we testify about Jesus. How do we share the light with others? Are we up for the job? Do we even think that this is up to us? These are big questions. The next network bible study takes a look at this. If we are the witnesses for Christ - how are we spreading the word? Are we doing a very good job of it? It is hard to look at ourselves in this way but we need to get ourselves ready to LIVE the Christian faith.

RISE is a series of mission events that we are planning for early April 2009 and we hope that as many people involved in the church will get involved. The plans are still being drawn up at present but you can take a look at our progress to date on the RISE site at http://risempc.blogspot.com . If you want to get involved - send me a message.

Its time for action!

Happy new year and all that . . . .

Welcome to 2009!

What will it bring? I clearly remember the start of the millennium and this decade - it seems like only the other day . . . what have you achieved in the last 8 years? Have things worked out? Are you where you expected to be? Are you doing what you thought you would be doing? Traditionally, the new year has been a time to reflect on what you have been doing up to this point. This year, really make your self-reflection count. What do you want to achieve this year?

Maybe this is the year where you take those risks that you always knew in the back of your mind that you need to take. Maybe this is the time where you speak up and tell people the message that they need to hear. Maybe this is the year that you explain why you follow Jesus. Maybe this is the time you show people what the difference of a life with God actually makes.

Make 2009 the year that you grab every opportunity with both hands. Spread the word, gossip the gospel, model God's love in every way possible

Look at the new Year bible study here . . . . . . .

Happy new year and all that . . . . .


Tim

Get your Christmas Presence here!

Woolworths is closing. I cant quite believe it. The home of my favourite pic'n'mix is to disappear from the high street. Market analysts reckon that this wont be the last big shop to go under in the recession. I was talking to an electrician the other day who was telling me that he fully expected to lose his job the week before Christmas as the firm had no more orders on the books in the new year. Things like this always make us think about money. We think about how we should restrict our spending this Christmas . . . just in case. The credit is well and truly crunched.

Why have we developed such a fixation and stress inducing drive on making sure that we buy the right presents? We run around for weeks looking for perfection. Instead, we burn ourselves out so that for the few days we are off work to celebrate the birth of Jesus we are so tired and exhausted that we sleep, sleep, sleep.

Perhaps, as the financial markets are resetting themselves, people will reset their priorities and what is important to them. Perhaps people will stop concentrating on trading presents but will again focus on the presence that God revealed over 2,000 years ago when he sent his son down into the earth. God opened a channel for communication. It was a personal message to humankind - you are so important to me that the best I can do is to send my son to deliver the message and be sacrificed in the process. That is the cost of God's presence with us.

The study this week takes a look at some of the main characters in the Christmas story and gets you to consider some hard questions about where your heart lies this Christmas time.

Read the study here and then have a go at this little computer game!

Happy Christmas!

Tim