Mary knew what it was like when life goes nothing like YOUR plan.
Mary’s Plan A?
A quiet life.
A good marriage.
Honour in her community.
Mary had her plan. Until the day an angel appeared:
“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you shall call Him Jesus.”
Luke 1:31 God’s Plan A!
Delegation and empowering others is a vital aspect of effective leadership that can prevent burnout and promote a thriving ministry.
Leadership development is a journey that requires intention, planning, and a willingness to invest in others.
Fear tells you tomorrow is something to panic about.
Fear whispers that God won’t come through.
But Jesus says: “Do not be afraid, little flock.”
“It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
That means:
Nothing you face tomorrow surprises Him
Nothing comes without grace attached
No trial lacks the provision to overcome it
No need will find Him unprepared
Thought I’d throw out my recent sermon about why Advent is about more than waiting for Christmas – it’s about watching for Christ. Are you ready for Christmas?Probably not. Join the club. Are you ready for CHRIST?I hope so. From Bethlehem to the Beginning We all know the first Christmas happened at Bethlehem, but the truth is it was promised from the very beginning. Before the foundation of the world, God – who has good plans and purposes for us – knew we would need a Saviour. All of the Old Testament is the story of how He prepared the world for Jesus’ first coming. But Advent doesn’t begin at a manger.It begins with a message: He will come again. Every year at Ivy we like to do things a little differently, so we will talk about the second coming of Jesus before we rush to the Nativity, because we need to remember where the story is going: forward, not back. Knowing who Christmas is about helps us avoid going mad at Christmas. No need to plunge into the December debt spiral. Rein it in […]
When I first got started I learned a lot from reading other’s sermons, so now I’m going to start putting some notes from my own sermons on here. Subscribe is you don’t want to miss them. Go to ivychurch.org and look around a bit if you want to listen or watch on Youtube. This is from our recent INCREDIBLE Ivy weekend away, first night – so it won’t be on the site.
The Bible says there are TWO kinds of wisdom. One comes from below and trips us up. The other comes from above and brings life.
That’s the Christian life in one page:
At the start, peace and love.
At the end, great joy.
In the middle… well, things can get gnarly.
Whenever I heard that Gordon MacDonald was visiting the UK, I’d go to hear him, take Zoe, and take notes. I have workbooks galore filled with his wisdom. Much of it was instantly applicable, but as the decades roll on now rather than just years when and if I find some of those notes I review them and want to underline them again, and look to whether I applied them. Do you ever do that? I look forward to the two of us talking about them again (we will soon), and when I get chance I’ll share some too whether to those I coach or on here. Some of these you will resonate immediately, others need to marinade – but this LIST I found today just makes more and more sense in my sixties than ever before (I think he’d just turned 80 when he shared this with us, and I was in my forties). THE LIST – GORDON MACDONALD Good hey? There’s more… but now, SELAH… pause and calmly reflect… Digging deeper (this from the Question Time) Which comes […]
MISSION DETAILS: Should You Decide To Accept It…
Communitas isn’t just about great input. It’s about coaching and conversation too. When leaders walk this journey together, we go further faster, and the fruit multiplies.