Our prayer is that we'd always remain committed to Jesus as our Lord and Saviour and that we'd always be growing the church and extending His kingdom.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Happy Birthday Protea Valley Church!
Our prayer is that we'd always remain committed to Jesus as our Lord and Saviour and that we'd always be growing the church and extending His kingdom.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Malawi 2014
I leave on Friday for Malawi and I thought it would be good to write a bit about our plans for this trip. For some years Gibson Banda from Malawi worshipped with us and as I got to know him I discerned a deep love for Jesus and a desire to serve him. Gibson returned to Malawi and as we have continued to keep contact God has been pushing an idea into my mind about planting a church through Gibson.
On Friday I head up to Malawi to go and spend time with Gibson as well as hooking up with a number of other missionaries in the area to see what God may be doing with us in Malawi.There is always a call on the local church to take the gospel to the nations as we're reminded by Jesus in Acts:
Friday, November 8, 2013
Free access to Wikipedia
As people with money we often take much for granted but for many, access to information is not always easy. There is a move to get kids access to Wikipedia for free. I think it's awesome and worth our support!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nTVAmstteM&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Facebook.com/freeaccesstowikipedia
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Three questions...
Andy Stanley is one of the best leaders in the church in the US. I've heard him speak and he is outstanding at helping leaders step their game up.
If you are a leader, whether you lead hundreds or just a few this is worth reading.
http://davekraft.squarespace.com/posts/2013/10/22/three-critical-questions-that-need-answers.html
Can you answer the three questions?
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Social justice and our domestic workers
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Advance
Of particular interest were the sessions by Dr Ed Stetzer whose insight is really are worth listening to. He has been instrumental in developing the Gospel Project which is material that is currently being used by our KidsChurch teams. He also is president of LifeWay Research an organization that helps churches understand the culture and community in which they minister by providing research and statistics for them.
Monday, August 12, 2013
How to identify potential leaders
As always Dave Kraft with some insightful ideas about building new leaders.
http://davekraft.squarespace.com/posts/2013/8/11/how-to-identify-a-potential-leader.html
Monday, July 8, 2013
Politics and Christianity
A great thought provoking post by Tim Keller
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2013/07/08/should-we-expect-politicians-to-act-like-christians/
Monday, June 10, 2013
Do not judge...
A TEXT ABUSED
WHAT JESUS DOES NOT MEAN
All criticism must be preceded by confession.
WHAT JESUS DOES MEAN
BUT WAIT—THERE’S MORE
WHAT’S IN YOUR EYE?
Saints are not to be simpletons!
THE GOSPEL ABOVE ALL AND IN CONTEXT
This instruction is set in the context of loving our enemies.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Thanks NG Kenridge!
Each Sunday for the last few weeks the Dutch reformed church in Kenridge has graciously opened their doors to us, we are grateful for your care for a homeless sister!
But not for long :-)
Friday, May 31, 2013
Parents, Kids and church
I watch you bounce and sway trying to keep the baby quiet, juggling the infant carseat and the diaper bag as you find a seat. I see you wince as your child cries. I see you anxiously pull things out of your bag of tricks to try to quiet them.
And I see you with your toddler and your preschooler. I watch you cringe when your little girl asks an innocent question in a voice that might not be an inside voice let alone a church whisper. I hear the exasperation in your voice as you beg your child to just sit, to be quiet as you feel everyone’s eyes on you. Not everyone is looking, but I know it feels that way.
I know you’re wondering, is this worth it? Why do I bother? I know you often leave church more exhausted than fulfilled. But what you are doing is so important.
I see them learning. In the midst of the cries, whines, and giggles, in the midst of the crinkling of pretzel bags and the growing pile of crumbs I see a little girl who insists on going two pews up to share peace with someone she’s never met. I hear a little boy slurping (quite loudly) every last drop of his communion wine out of the cup determined not to miss a drop of Jesus. I watch a child excitedly color a cross and point to the one in the front of the sanctuary. I hear the echos of Amens just a few seconds after the rest of the community says it together. I watch a boy just learning to read try to sound out the words in the worship book or count his way to Hymn 672. Even on weeks when I can’t see my own children learning because, well, it’s one of those mornings, I can see your children learning.
I know how hard it is to do what you’re doing, but I want you to know, it matters. It matters to me. It matters to my children to not be alone in the pew. It matters to the congregation to know that families care about faith, to see young people… and even on those weeks when you can’t see the little moments, it matters to your children.
It matters that they learn that worship is what we do as a community of faith, that everyone is welcome, that their worship matters. When we teach children that their worship matters, we teach them that they are enough right here and right now as members of the church community. They don’t need to wait until they can believe, pray or worship a certain way to be welcome here, and I know adults who are still looking to be shown that. It matters that children learn that they are an integral part of this church, that their prayers, their songs, and even their badly (or perfectly timed depending on who you ask) cries and whines are a joyful noise because it means they are present.
I know it’s hard, but thank you for what you do when you bring your children to church. Please know that your family - with all of its noise, struggle, commotion, and joy – are not simply tolerated, you are a vital part of the community gathered in worship.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Amazing
2 hours and we're out. Every chair, plate, file, cable and piece of tech equipment. Well done team you did an amazing job! Proud of our church today!
In a few weeks we do it in reverse into the new building. Exciting times!
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Dallas Willard
Dallas Willard died today aged 77.
Many of you will not know the name but Dallas was a philosopher, theologian and author who was happy to wrestle and face the great unanswered questions about God. His books are deep slow reads that have a huge amount of profound thought about the Christian life.
I spoke to him at a conference a few years back after he had made a statement that the church has made confession the means to salvation instead of calling people to actually follow Jesus. It was one of the most formative conversations I've ever had and I was deeply grateful for a challenging chat delivered in a slow and gentle American drawl.
Thanks Jesus for Dallas, for his life work and ministry and for how he lead people to you.