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Lawrence Kirby shared a message titled, 'What does Christ in Us Actually Mean?' Colossians 1:25 NLT 25 God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you. 26 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. 27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. 28 So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. 29 That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me. The secret of the Good News is Christ in You! But what does that actually mean? Consider the question: What does 'Christ in You' mean to you? While this is a simple phrase, it's a profound idea. Sometimes if we become too familiar with these types of phrases, we can forget the depth of it. It can be easy to say but difficult to put into action in a way that transforms our lives. Christ living in us means something has to die. In Romans, Paul talks about a war that happens if we have two things living inside of us. Christ living in us means our selves have to die and surrender to Christ's will. Galatians 2:20-21 NLT 20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die. Competing ideas remove our peace and incite confusion. The choice to follow Jesus means letting Him live in you and through you. This will show in the way we interact with the world and the people around us. With Christ in us, we can be alone but do not have to partner with loneliness. The nature of God Himself is in us! This means that our struggles do not have to overcome us! We have His strength, courage, and access to the divine nature. We have ability to face what life brings us today, tomorrow, and into eternity. There is a constant invitation into increased maturity and depth in our relationship with God. Christ's mighty power is available to us - He is in us! If you believe that Christ is in you, consider the question of how does that change how we interact with people, with God and the world around us? Christ in us leaves us with responsibilities of what we're going to do with that. --- You can watch the full message below:
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Lawrence Kirby shared a message titled, 'Courage: Cultivate and Share' At KIC we are all about encouraging, equipping and empowering people for LiFE [Living in Freedom Everyday] If you are being encouraged, what is that for you? Being given courage to have another go even after failing again and again? Despite failure, people believing you can do it? You can impart courage to others Bravery is not just an absence of fear - Sometimes fear and cautious awareness is what keeps us safe, so to try and be rid of it completely is not entirely helpful and healthy. Acknowledge the fear and do the next right thing anyway. Courage is an internal resilience that helps you to still do what you know is right, despite the fear. To have courage is to strengthen your internal world Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” 1 Chronicles 28:20 "David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished." Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Isaiah 41:10 "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Encourage yourself in Lord by knowing He is with you wherever you are and whatever you're doing If you don't have the awareness that God is with you, you will lack courage When we lean into God being with us, we can find the strength in him to keep moving If He's called you, He goes with you Our personal feelings can discourage us from doing the right thing God's responsible for what happens when we take the next right step We don't want to lean into our insecurities, but instead into what Yahweh says about us. God says to us: 'In the mission I'm giving you, I will never leave you nor forsake you.' Courage comes from knowing God's presence It's a heart strength that we can cultivate Encouraging others: What you have, you can pass on to others, to strengthen them! Isaiah 35:3-4 "Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” Sometimes we need others around us because we don't have the capacity in ourselves yet Deuteronomy 15:7-8 "If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. 8 Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need." If we come across people in need, we need to be soft hearted toward them and offer what we have to encourage them. You can do it! We are with you, we believe in you! There is an invitation to be an encourager You have Holy Spirit inside of you, so do not let "I don't have that Spiritual gift" be an excuse for not encouraging. Let us be a community that encourages each other into all God's called us to be! --- You can watch the full message below: Lawrence Kirby shared a message titled, 'The Sacrament of Communion' Jesus didn't just give us the ritual of communion to remember Him by - there is something supernaturally powerful that's available to us in the eating of these elements. There is mystery involved with this ritual. We are unified and celebrating togetherness through this. Communion is a way that we can access the fullness of Heaven. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 NLT 23 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again. Luke 22:19-20 19 He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you. Mark 14:22-25 22 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it, for this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many. 25 I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.” Matthew 26:26-29 26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many. 29 Mark my words—I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.” John 6:53-58 53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” The early Church connected the passages on the Last Supper with the above passage in John 6 and came up with an idea called transubstantiation, a belief that as you eat the bread and drink the wine of communion that they transform into the actual body and blood of Jesus. Martin Luther had an issue with that belief which is part of what led to the Reformation. As Protestant Pentecostals, we do not believe in transubstantiation - we believe in accessing God through faith in Jesus. However we do not let differences in belief on this divide us! Martin Luther did not believe the elements became Jesus, but that He was still present in them. Others believe that this ritual is a memorial - something done only in remembrance of Jesus. This makes the elements symbolic. There is a spectrum of belief here! 1 Corinthians 10:15-17 15 I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. When we take communion we participate, we fellowship, we are sharing in the Person of Christ. There is also a unity because we share with one another. There is something supernatural taking place. If you have faith for something to happen - then lean into that. There is healing, wholeness, and everything that is true of Jesus' body, which has been made available for you. --- You can watch the full message below: Lawrence Kirby shares a message titled, 'Repent or Change Your Mind' Jesus is real & Jesus is near. Matthew 4:12-17 NIV '12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: 15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles-- 16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” 17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."' The word 'repent' in Christian tradition is often related to sin - showing sorrow for actions you have done and changing your behaviour. The word for repent in Greek is metanoia which really translates to 'change your mind' or to go above or beyond what you currently think. That's what Jesus was talking about - not turning from sin - but changing your thinking to align with the near Kingdom. The Kingdom is near to us right now - even within us! The idea of change is transformation through discipleship. Change can be uncomfortable, but it's something that Jesus invites us into so that we can experience all that He has for us to experience! To the majority of us, change is a challenge. God never forces us to change - it's a beckoning and an invitation. "To love is to change and to love perfectly is to change many times." John Henry Newman To love God and love people we must be willing to change. Luke 19:1-10 'Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” 6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled. 8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!” 9 Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”' To change your mind you need to: Notice Engage Act Reinforce --- You can watch the full message below: |
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