Wow!

Here is a brilliant reading of psalm 25 by a guy called Ryan Ferguson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5t1nZhB8bw&feature=player_embedded

Scripture well read is a very powerful and emotive tool that God uses to bless, encourage and guide his people. Timothy is reminded by Paul to read scripture publically 1 Timothy 4:13 ESV   Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Perhaps we as leaders should read more scripture to ourselves (ESV Audio Bible is a great tool – pick one up on Sunday) perhaps we should make more of reading the scriptures in our ministry and also to our families.

It is God's word – living and active and he uses it to turn us into the kind of people he desires us to be

What to Do With a Stranger

Gordon MacDonald
Monday, July 26, 2010

He came to our church one Sunday morning accompanied by his wife and children. A friend had recommended us, and they'd come for a visit. Since I'd never seen him before, I moved quickly to introduce myself and make sure they met several other people who could make them comfortable.  First impression: late thirties, a bit reserved, comfortable in his own skin, at ease when meeting new people.


Over the next few weeks, our paths crossed several times. He and his wife not only came to worship services, but they lingered in the Commons where people drank coffee and enjoyed extended conversation. It was clear that they were soon making friends.


Where were they in terms of faith? I had no idea, so I decided to find out by inviting him to breakfast at the Egg Shell Restaurant, my usual meeting place.

Leadership comm. 11

Hi Team,

Some food for thought, follow these links to some thought provoking material :

When should you confront someone about their sin?

Why leaders are important for church transformation

An article on Jonathan Edwards famous sermon "Sinners in the hands of angry God"

Leading a church in prayer

As per the congregational meeting that is due to be held on the 1^st August we need to adopt a new constitution, much of this is from our current constitution, denomination model constitutions and government requirements set out for NGO and NPO organizations. If you would like to see the constitution please download it at www.pvfc.org.za/Constitution.pdf please let me have any comments in writing as soon as possible.

Amos

Amos is a tough book, as are many of the Old Testament prophets. But their words are as important for us as they were for the original hearers. So listen carefully to what God would teach us through these words.

 

Click to listen

Pluralism and inclusivism

Lesslie Newbigin was a Scottish missionary and theologian who served in India. In his book The Gospel in a Pluralist Society he writes this and I think it is worth reflecting on:

It has become customary to classify views on the relation of Christianity to the world religions as either pluralist, exclusivist, or inclusivist … [My] position is exclusivist in the sense that it affirms the unique truth of the revelation in Jesus Christ, but it is not exclusivist in the sense of denying the possibility of the salvation of the non-Christian. It is inclusivist in the sense that it refuses to limit the saving grace of God to the members of the Christian church, but it rejects the inclusivism which regards the non-Christian religions as vehicles of salvation. It is pluralist in the sense of acknowledging the gracious work of God in the lives of all human beings, but it rejects a pluralism which denies the uniqueness and decisiveness of what God has done in Jesus Christ.

 

What are your thoughts on the quote- this is all up on my blog and you can make comments there, and you can subscribe to the blog and my sermons with a feed reader or with iTunes by using this  feed.

Leadership comm. 10

Hi Team,

FIFA 2010 is finally done – it was an exciting game last night and the whole show has been a great testimony to capability of South Africans to do well on the world stage. But thankfully it also means that we can get back into the swing of things. Holidays come to an end, people get back to work and the kids go back to school...life gets back to 'normal'!

I pray that you'd start this new term with energy and enthusiasm for Jesus work in the ministry to which he has called you. I hope you spend time in the scriptures and in prayer so that you don't fall into the common trap of being so busy with the things of God you miss out on the god of the things! For me too this is a challenge and so I encourage you to make your relationship with Jesus a priority in your life. You need to be plugged into Jesus if you are going to leaders others to him.

As leaders I'm hoping to see you all at the congregational meeting to worship, talk and make some decisions on the new worship building. I am refraining from calling it a church because you are the church – the people called by God out of darkness into Jesus marvellous light. Please encourage all the other members you have contact with to join us on Thursday night. Homegroup leaders, please bring your groups with you, even those who are not members of PVFC, they are part of the system even if not formally members.

Thanks so much for all the hard work that you do to minister for Jesus. Everyone is part of the body and every part does it's work to make the whole body a testimony to the amazing god whom we serve.

Blessings,

Brent

Sermon: Be doers of God's word

I love slogans - Nike's 'Just do it' is possibly the most memorable of all and in his really practical book James reminds us to be doers of the word or else we continue to live a lie.

click the title or here to download the sermon audio or point your iTunes to this link to subscribe to the podcast.

The beauty of God's creation

We are on holiday near Knysna and its been great. Heading back from a ride this is the view we were treated to...simply awesome!