Bob Ekbald. At @wtctheology Residential Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that […]
Tag: Bible
In Case You Missed It – The Real Meaning Of Christmas.
If you are reflecting back on Christmas, feeling like another one came and went – and ‘What was it all about?’ Well it wasn’t about presents, grub and booze – and if that’s all it was to you, you missed out big time and no wonder you feel empty right about now.
Wigs, Pigs and Frogs in 2015 – a #LessThan2MinMsg on video to encourage you
A #LessThan2minMsg to help you have an #EXCELLENT 2015
What Wise People Do At New Year
The story can tell us a lot about the company we keep and how that can make or break us, it can warn us about who we should listen to as we head into our future, too.
But as the year closes out and a new one gets ready to start, I’m thinking about various wise people I know and those I have read about and how they finish an old year really well, to start a New Year better – and what they do and say lines up well with what these wise guys did too.
THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE HISTORY OF IVY CHURCH
I spent a little time this evening looking through a little piece of the history of our church, as I read extracts from the Minute Book of “Ivy Cottage” Mission Hall. It started as a record of the ‘Womens’ Bible Class,’ then was unused from 1913 to the 50s. There are some fascinating insights into how Ivy saw itself as a MISSION from its inception, church planting, evangelism, and then that movement became a church as it formalized and hired Pastors to lead it (I’m in danger of doing myself out of a job here) and then started looking at various rules and regulations; and when that happened the pioneering and evangelistic work of women was also truncated. The record speaks for itself and there are some funny things to note along the way. Many of you will know Ivy started as a men’s Bible study group meeting in a house in 1893. I’ll have to look at their records some time too! Oct 5th 1908 – Women’s Bible Class held monthly business meetings and had 218 registered members who […]
STAND IN THE GAP
Notes from talk by @PastorChoco Wilfredo De Jesus Prayer is necessary, but it’s not a crutch not to do anything. You cannot let your budget dictate your faith. You have to trust God that he will meet your needs. We must MOVE to action Ezek 22:30 God’s looking for someone to stand in the gap. Found NOBODY! Who would stand there. A gap = place of danger, vulnerability and danger. These days the gaps are wider. God’s still looking for those who will engage the gap. You must engage your community. See your city as your church. Jesus sat with the lost. People who didn’t look like him. Demon possessed men, Samaritan women. He went to them. He wasn’t afraid. What is sacred is the MESSAGE, not the METHOD. We can use all kinds of methods to reach people. Fear is the absence of faith. Nehemiah is living large, then he asks a question that changes the course of his life: ‘How’s Jerusalem?’ If you are not going to do anything, don’t ask! Nehemiah had to do something. With revelation comes […]
When Jesus Got Mad @glynbarrett at Ivy Church
Glyn is a great friend doing an amazing work at !Audacious Church in our city and it was an honour to host him at Ivy Church (Kingsway) this morning. Here are my notes on a fabulous talk. Mark 11:15ff ‘My house will be called a house of prayer – but you have made it a den of thieves.’ This is that moment – when Jesus gets mad. When my wife gets mad I get nervous When my mum gets mad I get nervous But here’s where Jesus got mad – because he’s come to the house of God, expecting one thing – gets another. Like when you turn up to a holiday hotel, expecting something fantastic – and get a B & B. When the expectation is high, but it’s terrible when you get it. You buy the car and it breaks down in the first week. May our church, our house, never be a disappointment to Jesus! Church is a house, not a ceremony Royalty expects a ceremony. But Jesus calls this a house – it’s a place you […]
How old are you really?
Next year I’m 50. I’m a grandad to three boys. If you’d described someone like that to me when I was a kid I would have thought you didn’t have your own teeth and were on the way to the boneyard. I genuinely don’t feel ‘nearly 50.’ I’ve tried to eat well (thanks Zoe), go to bed every night forgiving everyone and wake up every day knowing I’m forgiven. I have very little stress in my life even though I’m busy because Jesus told me I don’t need to worry about anything. I try to keep fit by exercising hard 5 days a week, I have a day off. None of that necessarily means I’m going to live forever, and quite honestly I don’t want to because to be with Christ is as Paul says ‘Better by far.’ One day I’ll get a whole new body that’s not subject to decay. But right now this one is, and I’m going to look after it as well as I can – so I am going to go next door now and […]
GROWING – How different people change us into different people. Brad Jersak at Ivy Church Didsbury @bradjersak #Bgbg2
What if you don’t make particular people your target group for your church- but make the Trinity your target group, then God will come, and bring His friends.
TIME TO KICK THE ROOF IN!
In Luke 5 Jesus is in a house teaching, the crowd checking him out was so large inside and out that some friends bringing a paralysed man couldn’t get into the house. No disabled access! No way in, nobody moving to make a way through. It says there was NO WAY TO DO IT. So what did they do? ‘Sorry pal, we’ll have to take you home again?’ No! There was no way so they made a way. They got creative. Dangerous even. They climbed up on the roof and kicked the roof in so they could lower their friend down on a bed in front of Jesus! This appeals to me from ex police days, where one of my favourite jobs was to be ‘Donger man’ on raids. The Donger was what we called that battering ram which provided a useful key for the majority of locked doors with 14 stone behind it. I’m terrible at DIY, but if you want something smashing, I’m your guy. What those guys did to the roof and how Mark’s account says when Jesus saw […]