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!
The questions is not, ‘Do we run systems?’ We all will. Even chaos is a system!
The question is ‘Are the systems healthy?’
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.
As I studied John 1 again, I noticed a pattern — a progression, that mirrors how someone comes to know God, grow in His love, and go out to make a difference. And I’m not saying this is like The Bible Code to start some conspiracy, but…
It matches perfectly with Ivy’s Discipleship Pathway!
DISCOVER → DELIVER → DEVOTE → DEVELOP → DEPLOY
Let’s walk through the passage and see how this unfolds.
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
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.
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.