Friday 28 August 2009

Testimony - The Power of your own Story

I teach a grade 8 class R.E on Fridays. It's done in two rotations, with 5 weeks in each class. I have one lovely class and another which is a little harder to control and share with.

I'm currently with this more challenging class and have found that the class outlines we've been given don't really work - the class is just too rowdy to get through that stuff.

We have been talking about "Who is God" and "Who is Jesus" and a heap of different stuff revolving round that, but every time the class has been so out of control that I don't know if anything is actually communicated to them.

Today I decided to ditch the class lesson as we were suppose to talk about "A Christian is someone who knows God through Jesus". Instead I thought I would share a segment of my own testimony. I shared mainly about the time when I was 14 and my mate passed away on a church family camp - it was a defining point in my decision to follow God and be part of his plan (only because I knew and believed that another part of God's plan had been to send his own son to die for us - thus "knowing God through Jesus").

The class was silent for the entire time - they sat and listen, they asked polite and good questions, and responded to any question I asked them. It was an amazing lesson, and the teacher (who sat and listened intently the whole time as well) was quite stunned at how well behaved the class was (he even took the time to congratulate them on their behaviour which I though was great).

I am humbled at how God can use the story of my life to convey his love for others. I know I'm no one special in the grand scheme of things, but because I am SO special to God, he uses my story to share his Word.

It is amazing...

Wednesday 26 August 2009

Bible College Poker Night...

Yep fun times to be had :-)

Thanks to Kaye for posing for some photos - she won, so had all the chips, which made for some classy shots.

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poker-night_07

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Only amongst Bible College students could the young lady who's never played poker before end up walking away with everyone else's chips!

Tuesday 25 August 2009

Jesus coming to the Mountain!

Andrew Fisher from the Jesus all About Life Race team has confirmed that he will be driving in the V8 Supercar endurance races at Phillip Island and Bathurst.

Andrew runs a Falcon Ute in the V8 Ute racing series, sponsored by the Bible Society and their Jesus All About Life campaign. He was expected to run a Falcon V8Supercar in the Fujitsu Development series for a number of rounds this year but due to health issues with a driver in the main race, Andrew has been asked to step up into the main V8Supercar series for the first time.

Luke Sieders, team manager of Sieders Racing says it was difficult for the family and the team, however health and safety are paramount. "Once I knew of Colin's decision, I jumped on the phone to Jesus Racing's Andrew Fisher to invite him and his team to partner us in our Enduro campaign", says Luke. "Jesus Racing is a professional organisation which has developed an extraordinary following over the past 3 years. Having Jesus Racing driver Andrew Fisher join David makes perfect sense for both teams."


Andrew and David have raced together in the MG series and the Lotus Championship, so their team dynamic will be a great advantage.The
Supercar is from 888 engineering. It will receive a Jesus Makeover and carry livery in line with the Jesus Racing Teams other race cars. Sieders is particularly happy Fisher agreed to come on board. With plenty of experience at both tracks, Fisher's times in testing have been well and truly on the pace.


"This opportunity has been a bolt out of the blue", says Fisher. "I had not given any thought to doing the
Enduro's at all so I am humbled to be approached by Sieders Racing Team. The decision to race was not one I took lightly, however it is an opportunity for our sponsors, Jesus. All about life, which is too good to pass up. Jesus. All about life is a prime time, multi-media campaign that is set to launch on the 7th of September and run through to the end of October, smack bang in the middle of the Enduro campaign",he says. "The timing could not have been better."
So we will see a car proclaiming the name of Jesus hurtling around the Bathurst 1000. It's not only the drive, but the exposure Andrew will have for his school and men's ministries that is exciting. Andrew has shown how one can use a passion to glorify God, and even just in his attitude to racing which has gained him the respect of so many.

I am looking forward to seeing the Jesus All About Life Falcon lining up for the greatest car race on earth :-)

Thursday 20 August 2009

Late Wednesdays

Well Thursday morning now but anyway...

...it's probably mostly bad time management, but I'm always up till ridiculous hours finishing Greek homework on Wednesdays before the Thursday lecture.

So much to do, and it's all so tiring!

Tuesday 18 August 2009

Healings...

Acts 19:11-12 "God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them."

So? That is a pretty amaziing work of the Holy Spirit in healing people, even through cloth that Paul had touched.

Why don't we see things like this today? Has the Holy Spirit changed? Have we?

Saturday 15 August 2009

Rule of Faith

Irenaeus was the first to coin the phrase ‘Rule of Faith’, which he used to form a canon to organised his thoughts and lay a foundation for Christian belief.

The core to Irenaeus’ Rule of Faith was there is “one God, the Father Almighty, who made the heaven and the earth… Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who became incarnate for our salvation; and the Holy Spirit” (Against Heresies, I, 10,2).

The importance of the Rule of Faith in proclaiming the tradition of the Apostles is highlighted by Irenaeus declaring;

“…the Church, having received this preaching, and this faith, although scattered throughout the whole world, yet, as if occupying but one house, carefully preserves it” (Against Heresies, I, 10,3).

To Irenaeus this passing down of doctrine “as if she [the Church] possessed only one mouth” (Against Heresies, I, 10,3), was a clear sign of the Holy Spirit keeping that doctrine true.

As I read Irenaeus I was personally challenged to compare my own beliefs and church alongside his Rule of Faith. Could my church (or any contemporary church) be included in Irenaeus’ claim that the Church worldwide was of “one soul and one and the same heart” (Against Heresies, I, 10,3)? It made me wonder how many heretical teachings are coming within the Church today, and how we should be refuting them.

Irenaeus also embraces tradition, which caused me to look at what type of tradition he meant. In many ways ‘tradition’ is seen as an ugly word in the contemporary church, yet the bold importance Irenaeus puts on the apostles tradition of faith encourages me to seek these traditions for my church.

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References
~New Advent website, 2009, accessed 10 August 2009, “Against Heresies”, New Advent, online:

Wednesday 12 August 2009

Second Chance

Well with a team forfeiting in our soccer comp and a draw in last weeks game the Div 5 City North Bandicoots are still in with a chance to make the finals.

We have to win the game this week, and we are tied with the team we are playing.


Winner goes through - doesn't get anymore tense than that!!!

Tuesday 11 August 2009

Irenaeus


Excerpt from my Church History assignment on Irenaeus. I've been encouraged by reading his work, and am stunned by the amount of goodness to be found in the primary writings of early church fathers!

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That Irenaeus is considered a significant Church History figure could be considered remarkable considering the lack of recorded history on the man. As Donovan (1997, 7) states; “keen detective work is required to know a man for whom no bibliography exists, of whom there is no portrait, whose letters have been reduced to scraps [and] whose sermons were neither taped nor – as far as anyone knows – transcribed.” However, it was his “struggle against heresy and his concern to strengthen the faith of Christians” which cemented Irenaeus’ importance in the history of Christian thought (Gonsalez, 1970, 158) and it was from this point that Irenaeus wrote his five books Adversus Haereses (Against Heresies) in c177

Irenaeus is first known to history as the presbyter of the church at Lyon in Gaul (Walker, 1986). From his writings it is seen that Irenaeus was a native of Smyrna in Asia Minor and had known Polycarp during his youth, however Gonzalez (1970, 157) remarks that “he must have been a young man when the aged bishop ended his life in martyrdom” (c155). Theologically Irenaeus was typical of the teaching of Polycarp and the School of Asian Minor, which was “the outcome of [the apostle] John’s ministry, and was distinguished by a firm grasp of Scripture, solid faith, conciliatory treatment of those within, and energetic polemics against heretics” (Neve, 1946, 79).

The churches in Gaul were associated with the church of Smyrna and as the presbyter of the church at Lyon Irenaeus “represented an important link between East and West” (Douglas, 1978, 516). Such distant travels to Smyrna and Gaul would have been obtainable during the period of the second century on account of the Roman Empire. Irenaeus himself stated that “The world is at peace because of the Romans, and we walk the roads without fear…” (Against Heresies, IV, 40,3). This peace benefited the spread of Christianity, as missionaries travelled easily, though Donovan (1997, 8) confirms this also abetted the spread of Gnosticism as well.

It was against this heresy from the Gnostics that Irenaeus aimed his writing Adversus Haereses. Irenaeus warns of his own work not to “expect of him the art of discourse” (Against Heresies, I, preface, 3) but he writes from a pastoral concern for the church as a whole. Irenaeus set out to refute Gnostic teaching specifically by appealing to “prophetic and apostolic Scriptures, which he was convinced would themselves confute the heretical teachings directly…” (Walker, 1996, 78).

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references:
~Donovan, M A, 1997, One Right Reading? A Guide to Irenaeus, Liturgical, Collegeville.
~Neve, J L, 1946, A history of Christian thought, vol. 1: history of Christian doctrine, Muhlenberg, Philadelphia.
~New Advent website, 2009, accessed 10 August 2009, “Against Heresies”, New Advent, online:
~Stevenson, J, 1987, A New Eusebius: Documents Illustrating the History of the Church to AD 337. (2nd Edition), SPCK, London
~Walker, W, 1986, A History of the Christian Church (4th Edition), St Edmundsbury, Suffolk

Saturday 1 August 2009

Flip side of dealing with sin...

Looking at how we can continuously deal with sin in our lives the question then must be asked.

-How can we maintain a disciplined check of sin on a daily basis without becoming legalistic?

Outsiders view of a supposed "Spirit filled church service"

Saw this on Snooky's blog, and checked out this article.

Worth a read to see how an unchurched middle class professional felt at a normal Sunday night Planetshakers service.

The room was buzzing with anticipation. I felt like a kid expecting Santa to arrive. It felt as if Jesus was going to turn up any minute.

Then out came the pastors. Middle-aged blokes peppering talk about Jesus with constant references to the footy, reality shows and McDonald’s. Almost swearing with ‘‘flipping angry" and "What the heck?" and plenty of ‘‘awesomes’’ thrown in to convince everyone they were down with the youth.

This lady had no intention of being fooled by people's emotions, and the only way she would have been moved towards God was if there was a clear interaction with the Holy Spirit.

As people yelled, "Yeah!", "Amen!" and ‘‘Awesome!" I wanted to yell, "I don’t get it". I love the way religion convinces people by making things deliberately incomprehensible and you feel too shy to say ‘‘I don’t understand’’ lest you reveal your stupidity.

I thought this was an interesting perspective, especially considering I am going to begin preaching at City North towards the end of the year.

The crowd left believing they had been moved by God and touched by Jesus. They hadn’t. They had been seduced by slick video packages and had their emotional desire for love, community and certainty met by manipulation. It wasn’t the Holy Spirit; it was just people.

Aren’t we awesome enough?

Shouldn't our services be focused enough on God that someone totally hostile towards him would have to realise we were giving ourselves and not merely trying to feel good about ourselves. Church services are about corporate worship, which is just another facet of the worship we give to God everyday. I think for the church community this article rings out truth in the styles of worship of some of the larger well known churches, meeting a need of human expectation and heightening human emotions, not truly worshipping God.



ref: Catherine Deveny, Shaken but not stirred by stadium-rock spirituality, July 29, 2009, http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/shaken-but-not-stirred-by-stadiumrock-spirituality-20090728-e02k.html?page=-1
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