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Mark Millard shared a messaged titled, 'Things That Go Together' WE ARE MADE TO BE WITH GOD! Humans and God Go Together. We are made to navigate life with God, with his wisdom and guidance. God's Word is a lamp to our feet and light to our path With God the impossible becomes possible! From the beginning God made us to be with Him. The Bible needs to shape our image of God. Let's look at whether sin actually separates us from God, or if it's true that God is everywhere all the time, and we are close with Him no matter what we've done. “Sin robbed us of the Truth about God.” Genesis 3:7-11 NIV “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”” We’re not made or meant to live with shame. At all the times that humanity sinned (including the original sin), God was right there being with them. David said even if he makes his bed in hell, God will be there. So who moved? Was it God? Or was it humanity? Sin causes us to pull away from God, but doesn’t cause God to pull away from us. Colossians 1:21 NIV “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.” Our minds tell us God is far away from us because of our sin, yet in Truth he is still with us. 2 Corinthians 5:19 NLT “For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.” Colossians 1:15-17 NIV “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Ephesians 4:4-6 NIV “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” God is near. God does challenge our behaviour because there are things that hurt us, but He’s always near. God has been near all along. There’s no place that He’s not. Sin is destructive, but it doesn’t make God far away. “Notice what you notice.” God can be speaking to me anywhere, any time of the day. Repent means to change our thinking. Know that he’s here, know that he’s near. Some preconceptions don’t line up with the Truth of Scripture so it’s important to challenge those. --- You can watch the full message below:
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Tori Pinfold shared a message titled, 'A New Covering in Christ' John 5:1-11 NIV “Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”” For 38 years this man has been sick, unable to heal himself. Daily he sits and waits, but he can't get into the pool. The culture suggested that it was his sin or his parents sin that made him unwell. Jesus, recognizing his prolonged shame, asked if he wanted to be well. “Shame is the fear of disconnection.” - Brene Brown We all fear being disconnected. This is so prevalent today, especially with social media in the mix. Well known figures get disconnected or 'cancelled' because of things they say wrong or actions our society deem. As humans, we aren't perfect. We wrestle with sin. Paul describes it this way... Romans 7:15-20 NIV “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” We want to do good and we know we’re called to more. Sin is part of our human condition. Sin made Adam and Eve feel exposed and shameful. Sin brought nakedness upon us. Shame leaves us vulnerable. Humanity are on a constant attempt to hide our shame. We live in a cover up world where we are afraid to show our real me. Blaming others is our way of covering ourselves up. "I have no one to help me!" When humanity points the finger, God refuses to follow our gaze. Isaiah 61:10 NIV “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and covered me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” "Sin brought nakedness upon us, and shame is the result; but he who hath Christ hath lost both sin and shame, for the blood of Jesus removes guilt from the soul and terror from the conscience. Man was naked, and is still naked apart from Christ, but in Christ he is covered, and has become comely before the Lord." - Charles Spurgeon Synonyms for comely, 'beautiful, arresting, lovely'. In Christ we have become beautiful before the Lord! Jesus asks us if we want to be free and starts the great re-connection with God, with others and with ourselves. Isaiah 53:5 NIV "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed." 10 in every 16 hermit crabs are living in trash rather than a beautiful shell as designed. Watch on YouTube here! It’s not how it’s meant to be - it’s a cover up. God offers us a shell, a new covering fit for purpose. Jesus has a beautiful covering for us. Sometimes we grow out of our shells and God offers us a new one! "No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in Him, is mine! Alive in Him, my living Head, And clothed in righteousness Divine, Bold I approach the eternal throne, And claim the crown, through Christ my own." - Charles Wesley hymn 'And Can it Be' --- You can watch the full message below: Glen Mattingley shared a message titled, "Whose Hand is on the Tiller?" Isaiah 40:12 MSG “Who has scooped up the ocean in his two hands, or measured the sky between his thumb and little finger, Who has put all the earth’s dirt in one of his baskets, weighed each mountain and hill?” God created the whole universe and holds it all together - certainly he can handle our problems! Psalms 8:4-8 NIV “what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.” There are 7487 promises listed in the Bible that God has made to you and I! We learn who God is and then we learn to trust Him. When you set a goal, don’t focus on the problem, focus on the promise. Nothing surprises God! He wants you to be honest. Release your thoughts and feelings toward Him. God promises us the following...
Hebrews 13:5-6 MSG “Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,” we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I’m fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me?” Nothing is too small or insignificant for us to bring to God. Exodus 14:14 MSG “God will fight the battle for you. And you? You keep your mouths shut!” Exodus 14:14 KJV “The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” There are two groups of people present: Category 1 says, "Of course God is taking care of my needs, I don’t even have to worry about it!" Category 2 tosses and turns at 4am saying, "How are my needs going to be met?" God will generously supply all you need (but not necessarily all you want). The reason you don’t have what you want is because you don’t ask… keep on asking! God is more interested in your character than your comfort. Some points in summary to wrestle with are:
--- You can watch the full message below: Lawrence Kirby shared a message titled, 'The Function of Fathering' Father's Day 2024 Fathering is not about a gender but rather a function. All of us have a role of fathering. 1 Corinthians 4:14-21 NIV “I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church. Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?” We can have a lot of guardians but not many fathers... It’s important for us to have connection with people who function as fathers and mothers in our world. Without both we have an incomplete understanding of God and who we are. What are the differences between being a guardian and being a father? 1. Guardians are employed. They do the work as a job, whereas a father does this as a vocation, a life calling 2. Guardians just do the job/get it done whereas fathers are about building a legacy Paul calls us to follow the way of Christ Jesus. Holy Spirit helps remind us of these ways. You’ve got to think about what you are building because it’s not about you, it’s about the legacy for the generation to come 3. Guardians think short term, whereas fathers think long term Sometimes we try to get our rightness across and lose sight of the long game 4. Guardians think moment whereas fathers think movement 5. Guardians give information, whereas a father builds motivation 6. Guardians are about right and wrong, whereas fathers are about life and death Jesus came to set us free and give us LIFE. There’s no one size fits all rule, but there is wisdom from above for every situation 7. Guardians say 'do what I tell you to do', whereas fathers say 'live how I live' It’s so much easier to be a guardian! Fathering is about being steady, true and being there through it all. Fathering is about the giving of your life to build something that goes beyond you. The invitation is to look to Jesus and to say, “I want to carry the function of the Father for those around me.” --- You can watch the full message below: |
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