Laptop Arrival...

Jo's laptop has still not come in but should be coming in next week - it will eventually come in. In the meantime though I have been lent a laptop from a guy on res until Jo's comes in which is really good. I will now be able to finish preparing the sermon for tomorrow...

Closure of Project Kenya Footy Tipping Comp

Unfortunately due to lack of interest by people for this footy tipping comp, I have pulled the pin on it. I had 3 people in total who were going to be part of it so they can all count themselves winners because they won more money than the prize money would have been.

However, some people have said that they would like to donate to the project which can be done as well. If you would like to donate to the project then please email me and I can send you details on how to donate, etc.

Thanks to those who showed support to the idea.

Kenya Mission Session #1

We had our first Kenya mission session last Monday night and had a study about "The God of mission".

There were eight questions (with a sub-question each, so about 16 questions) that really get you evaluating things about yourself. I hope you have a read and reflect on them like I will. You don't have to leave a comment answering these questions about yourself unless you would like to but I will encourage you to make at least one comment on your visit.

1. Who am I?

- What can I learn about myself?


2. Who is God?

- How can my understanding of God grow?


3. Who are we?

- What can I learn about community and the church?


4. What is the impact of culture on the faith?

- How can I see life and the gospel differently because of what I've experienced?


5. What's wrong with the world?

- What can I learn about justice, poverty and the cause of suffering?


6. What does it mean to be a follower of Christ?

- What can I learn about discipleship?


7. What's of value?

- What can I learn about my lifestyle?


8. Where am I going?

- What might God call me to be and to do as a result of this experience? What can I learn about my vocation?

(This was taken out of, "Short-term missions workbook" by another book which I don't have the name of)

The way of the future

I found this site in a tech email that I receive and it is what our future use of computers will be like: http://www.xcerion.com/

This site is about an internet based operating system. They are working on the beta and it is most likely to be released in Q3 of this year. I have signed up to receive news and an account from them once it is up and running, to test it and be at the forefront of new technology.

I believe that most computers will not run an operating system from their machine but from a server (so virtualisation) by 2012-2015. I wonder if Google will be releasing an OS like this as well...

Project Kenya Footy Tipping Comp

This was the post for the footy tipping competition that I was going to release but due to lack of interest it is more than likely going to be cancelled as of tomorrow........

I am pleased to announce that as part of our fund-raising for fish ponds for an orphanage in Kenya, we will be having a footy tipping competition.

The details are as follows:

1st Place will receive 10% of all entrant money.
2nd place will receive 6.5% of all entrant money.
3rd place will receive 3.5% of all entrant money.

If we get 50 entrants, that will make the following prize money:

1st = $25
2nd = $16.25
3rd = $8.75

So of course the more people we have the more prize money, and the more money that goes toward the fish ponds project to feed the children at the orphanage!

If you know me and are in contact with me you can just give me your money and details the next time I see you. Otherwise, you can email me and I can give you bank account information details to pay your $5.

The footy tipping competition will be run through www.footytips.com.au

Commitment Message

I am going to make available all the messages (or sermons) that I have preached. At this stage there are only 2 that I have preached twice each (at different churches of course). I will be preaching next Sunday so I will have another one soon to share. These are only notes so if you want further detail, please leave a comment or email me and I will try and expand for you. Enjoy!

Commitment

Commitment - an engagement or (esp. financial) obligation that restricts freedom of action or the process or an instance of committing oneself; a pledge or undertaking.

Lack of commitment from generation y – typical character trait

Thus:

• High divorce rate because people don’t like the commitment
• Not doing something that they promised would be done
• Turning up when they feel like or doing something when they want to

Societal change is also pervading the church and Christianity itself

The past two years, we've laboured to add hundreds of Christian classic books to the site. During that time, around 100 people indicated they would like to help format the books; however, only 12 people actually ended up doing the work.

~ There's a lack of accountability and respect for authority. There's a lack of loyalty (or commitment) in general. People think that they need no one else, 'Every man is an island; I can survive on my own even as a Christian'.

Illustration, man had stopped attending church, pastor goes around to visit, doesn’t say anything to him but they just sit in the lounge room, pastor picks out a coal from the fire and places it on the tiles in front of the fireplace, they watch it dwindle, once it stops glowing, puts it back in the fire and leaves.

If we are committed to doing what God wants, we will do what he wants even when we don’t feel like it. God can change our attitude to commitments – look at Jonah.

~ The good news about the lack of commitment is the abundance of opportunity to excel in the Kingdom of God. You don't need to be someone with special abilities; you just need to be someone with the right amount of will power.

What are you committed to? - University

Why are you committed to it? – I believe it is where God wants me to be and so I must do my best

Commitment is like a promise – once the commitment has been undertaken or the promise made – you should honour it

Soldiers – committed to fighting for their country

Job – committed to continue serving God

Ruth – committed to being with and looking after Naomi (Ruth 1:16-18)

Jacob – committed to marrying Rachel (Genesis 29) – 14 years of work “seemed like only a few days to him” (Genesis 29:20)

Disciples – committed to following Jesus when he asked them to follow him

We see people’s priorities in the way they live their lives.

~ The person who watches hours of TV every day, but can’t come to Bible study because of studies.

~ The student who takes off every Friday at 2 p.m. to go home for the weekend, and is just too busy during the week to do anything else.

~ The person who is in the play, the local sports club, is a representative on a council and attends another Bible study besides yours. They’d come more often if they just had the time.

~ The person who has other plans on a Sunday and just can’t make it to church

~ The person who is a ‘Sunday Christian’.

Some are overcommitted and thus cannot honour all the commitments while on the other hand there are those who are under committed but cannot commit to something.

Maybe they are not being given the opportunities to take on commitments and responsibilities because it has to be done ‘properly’ and according to tradition.

People want to know that they are valued – they need encouragement in the commitments that they do

Romans 12:11 - As we are ‘Christ-followers’ we should imitate Christ as much as possible, thus we should be committed. Jesus was committed – death on the Cross – more than that; there was the intimidation, scorn, separation from God, etc

All of us know that commitment is sadly lacking in the lives of many Christians. Several years ago, former Annual Conference Moderator, Earle Fike, made this observation during a training seminar in our district. He said, "Why is it that when people's schedules get too full and they become over-committed with their time, that it is the church that gets dropped first? Why not drop that extra work commitment, or that hobby? Why not drop out of the (sport) instead of Bible study? Why the church?"

Time management exercise – see where time is spent

To do list – motivation to get things done.

The people in a church need to be committed because people are the church. If the church wants to be a ‘light on a hill’, they must shine forth with commitment.

More importantly though is a person’s commitment to the Lord. I believe a person’s commitment, or lack of, is a direct reflection of how close they are to God. I think my commitment is higher when I feel closer to God. (Rev 2:4 – Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. (NIV))

1 Kings 8:61 - Are we committed to serving God?

Revelation 3:16 – Are we committed or not? Are we committed to evangelising to the lost? Are we committed with work/school/relationships? Are we committed to using our time wisely? How committed are we?

Job 6:15 – Are we like this? I am glad that God is committed to looking after us. He is faithful, merciful, and dependable.

The next time you are about to commit to something, ask yourself will I be committed enough to take this commitment on?

Commitment does not always come without sacrifice – look at Jacob, Ruth, and Job and of course our best example: Jesus.

Remember:

Proverbs 16:3 – “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed”.

3 weeks without a laptop

Another week rolls by and that now makes it 3 weeks (or 21 days) without a laptop! This would be about the longest I have been without a laptop. I was hoping that Jo's would have come in time for this long weekend but it didn't so it might come in the coming week but it might come the week after - who knows.