He was invited to speak at West Point. Saw that it was a place to train and qualify top people to go anywhere in the world and immediately get the job done, whatever the job is. How do you train people like that? Do we show any interest in developing leaders? Not just the ‘anyone can come’ one. A West Point for church? The number 1 job for a Pastor = training the bext generation of leaders. It’s more important than preaching. Heschel – We don’t need text-books but text-people. Titus 2:1-8 Your job is to speak out on the things that make for solid doctrine. Guide older men into lives of temperance, dignity, and wisdom, into healthy faith, love, and endurance. Guide older women into lives of reverence so they end up as neither gossips nor drunks, but models of goodness. By looking at them, the younger women will know how to love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure, keep a good house, be good wives. We don’t want anyone looking down on God’s […]
Tag: Bible
J. John puts down Darwin the dog (humanely)
I met with my friend @canonjjohn this week and was interviewed by him on my life story for UCB TV. The guy is a force of nature! Always a great encouragement. I subscribe to regular updates in my email from him (available free from the Philo trust) and was amused, informed and challenged by this one that arrived today – New Year, New Atheism, New Challenges 12 Jan 2013 It’s rather a scary thought that we are already over one eighth of the way through the twenty-first century. And even though year seems to follow year at an increasingly rapid rate, our culture changes even more speedily. One feature of the last decade that shows no sign of going away has been the rise of the ‘New Atheism’. It’s easy to dismiss the New Atheism as no more than a warmed-up version of old-fashioned humanism and in terms of substance there is little new. What is truly novel and troubling is the movement’s aggressive and bitter hostility to religious faith in general and Christianity in particular. A fascinating revelation […]
Colossians 1 – Ivy Grow Group notes
I’m going to be kicking off a new evening series based on Paul’s letter to the Colossians tomorrow – and I’m really excited about the chance to dig in to one of my favourite books of the NT. It was written around 63 AD but it’s bang up to date for us Read Col 1:1-8 Discuss: Here Paul lists the characteristics of an authentic, Christ-honouring church. Can you list them? Discuss: Paul writes about fruit that is the evidence of true salvation (compare Mt 13:23). If someone is not bearing this fruit – are they still a Christian? I’ve called our series ‘Inside Out’ because Paul is writing from prison to a church he didn’t found, but was a church plant started by one of his ‘spiritual sons,; Epaphras. Epaphras apparently had heard the Gospel of Christ from Paul at Ephesus and had taken this life-changing message back to Colosse (v. 7) Colosse was in what today would be known as Turkey, in Paul’s day it was known as Asia Minor. Actually these days it doesn’t […]
Your Inheritance for your Identity
For where he wants to take you, there are scriptures you need to live in. Any promise in there is yours. The Bible says ‘God is no respecter of persons’ That means you can become like that person and have that experience they did.
Mike Pilavachi – the Spirit & the desert – New Wine LSE
We look at the NT then at our lives & see something missing! Lk 3:21f Trinitarian event. We all love being affirmed. Jesus was affirmed – and publicly! It wasn’t whispered but a shout from heaven. Then – 4;1 he was driven in the desert. Why? Spiritual equation – Led to the desert Filled with the Spirit Then used by the Spirit. The desert place is not the devil’s place. Joseph had his from 17 to 30 Moses had his from 40 to 80 He thought he was God’s gift. Till the desert, the burning bush. Who am I that I should go? Was he hoping for affirmation? Answer? I will go with you. That’s not the answer Because Moses is asking the wrong question Should be – who are you? Moses has been in Midian 40 years. Hot, dry, big, quiet, sand. That’s all there is to see about the desert. Not a day trip Not a week There’s only so many sand castles you can build. But in the desert – It’s just you and God And that’s […]
The NEW you is the TRUE you!
When you are in Christ you don’t have a right to be wounded, but you have a right to be healed….He uses every situation in life to empower you to become like Jesus.
FRANK GREEN: The Awesome Power of God
As part of the Message 20 year celebrations, Frank did a mega-marathon preach at Ivy recently. I was privileged to hear some of the talks, and will put my notes from some of them on here, but the notes don’t do it justice! Get the full set of teaching on CD here by making a donation to the Message charity Mark 4:35-5:43</strong> There’s a lot of power at work in these stories collected by Mark. Power can be abused with terrible consequences. The whole creation has been hurt by the ABUSE of power but Jesus puts it right and reverses and renews it by the ABBA-use of power. By the end of Chapter 5 it’s 4-0 to Jesus. he beats the storm, the devils, sickness and even death. It’s breathtaking! Power over the Deep (4:35-41) The disciples were beginning to see many signs of who Jesus really was. The messiah? Yet different than what they expected. God was seen in the OT ruling over and subduing that place that was most scary for the Israelites – the sea. The boat […]
@Mike_Breen at @IvyManchester – the Prodigal SONS
These are my notes from the talk, with some questions for Grow Groups to consider and discuss together. PRAY: Thanks to God for IVY KINGSWAY! What a great way to start off our new service there at Cineworld Didsbury. Next Sunday we’ll have the lights in too that we’ve partnered with the cinema in buying, it’ll be even better! Father’s Day Mike said his talk is for those who have felt that your walk with God is drifting or has drifted. Because God wanted us CLOSE. Question – Do you feel close to God right now? How do you know when you are? Read 1 John 3:1 – How great is the love of the Father that he has LAVISHED on us that we should be called the children of God! That’s what we are! Question – Discuss the word Lavish. What images does it bring to mind? The story of the Prodigal son is actually all about the Father and how he relates to 2 different types of people: Read the story together and look at the setting in Luke […]
@AlanHirsch – ReOrganise at #NWNLC12
Don’t create systems that create dependences. If you want to destroy a movement – don’t make it easily reproducible.We believe in the priesthood of all believers, but it’s largely a doctrine not a practice. As long as you’re wearing a collar it speaks louder than your words. You’re representing the institution. It’s very hard to get a person to understand something when their salary depends on not understanding it.
@Alanhirsch – ReMission at #NWNLC12
It’s not that the church has a mission, but that the mission has a church!