No letters after my name. Free to be me.

My First Ever Sermon

Sunday 27th January was a pretty awesome day for me. I preached my first ever sermon!

During the month of January, my Pastor invited 4 different people to share from the pulpit a message they believed would help build up our church. I was the last to preach and shared a sermon based on John 3:16 - possibly the most well known verse in the Bible.

Being my first ever sermon and trying to convey the topic of faith in the Gospel was a very challenging task for me. And I want to post it on my blog as a lasting reminder for me.

I welcome your feedback, your advice, your criticism, your anything really. I want to learn the art of delivering a sermon as I’ve been asked to do more in the future and so I’m asking you guys for advice. So go nuts and tell me what you think. Slides can be found here. And below is the video I made to share at the end

Snail Pace

Things are a little slow and quiet on my blog these days.  But for good reason.  I’ve been working on a new website for my church.  Check it out here if you’re interested.

I’m using Joomla to build the site.  Like WordPress, Joomla is Open Source software - which basically means it’s free!  Unlike WordPress which is blog based, Joomla is Content Management System (CMS) which makes it a wee bit more complicated.

We decided on a theme (which we paid for) which was basic and clean and I’ve been slowly building it up.  In time, I’m hoping for big things with this website and then I’ll get back to blogging (I do have major withdrawal symptoms)

Driscoll Allows You To Ask Anything

Either he’s a sucker for punishment or he’s simply a talented guy willing to bear his soul on a variety of questions.

Mark Driscoll’s latest sermon series is “Religion Saves: + Nine Other Misconceptions.” Basically he opened up the floor by allowing thousands of people to post questions on what they want Driscoll to talk about.  These questions are then voted on and he will preach a series on the most popular questions.

To spice things up a little more, he allows a live Q&A session for his later services where he invites attendees to send in an SMS message related to the message where he answers it live, and unprepared, on stage.

Seeing as the first sermon in this series is on birth control, here are some of the questions fired at Mark, live on stage…

(Brave man indeed to answer these!)

Is looking for ways to pleasure your spouse sinful?

Am I still a virgin if I give or receive oral sex?

Is aborting a pregnancy resulting from rape wrong?

Is masturbation a legitimate form of birth control?

What is a biblical view of in vitro fertilization?

Good on him for having the guts to do this type of thing.  In a world of political correctness and wimped out Christianity scared of offending anyone in it’s pursuit to speak the truth, Driscoll is willing to stand by his convictions formed by his understanding of the Word.

I can almost guarantee you that he’ll cop a bagging from the blogosphere over much of what he has to say - he has shared far less sensitive stuff and has copped a beating. But as these things often turn out, this is also good timing to raise publicity with the release of his new book, “Vintage Jesus.”

Book Tagged…

Stuart has tagged me on a book list so here goes…

1. One book that changed your life.

Apart from the Bible, Lucado’s book, "In The Grip Of Grace" was liberating for me.  Raised in an extremely legalistic denomination left me with major scars.  Lucado’s book helped me move on from seeing God as a tyrant to a loving Father. Highly recommend it for anyone trying too hard to please God instead of resting in Him.

2.  One book you’ve read more than once.

Like movies, I rarely read a book twice.  This one however captivated me.  George Otis spent 30 years travelling the world to get a deeper understanding of why "why does spiritual darkness linger were it does?" Exit our Western mindset of rationality and enter the bizarre world  of the occult and how it is submissive to Jesus.  You will read amazing stories in this book.

3. One book you’d want on a desert island.

Not trying to be "holier than thou" but seriously, a desert island doesn’t sound like a place where I’d survive for long.  So why not spend the rest of my life getting ready for the next one?   Makes sense to me!

4. Two books that made you laugh.

You all know that Driscoll is my favourite Preacher. One of the reasons is that the guy is an absolute crack up.  His sermons make me look like an idiot as I burst into laughter listening to my iPod while waiting at traffic lights.  And his book is no different.  Here he outlines his story of Mars Hill Church.

Victor Schlatter was a Nuclear Scientist and left everything to plant over 100 churches in Papua New Guinea.  An old Jewish looking kind of guy, this American now resides in Australia and heads up SPIM - South Pacific Island Ministries.  He lobby’s the governments of the Islands to stand up for Israel in the UN amongst other things.  A life long friend, his humour, wit and sarcasm shine in this book.

5. One book that made you cry.

Anderson’s books are all about freedom in Christ.  Freedom from all the crap piled up in your life and the power to move forward despite your circumstances.  As I read this book, there were many times where I just broke down in tears at my circumstances. Good tears though because it was a Godly sorrow.  This book just might make it into the "read more than once" section.

6. One book that you wish had been written.

"LayGuy’s Transformation: From Sinner To Saint."  Yeah that would do it for me.  Not that I would be famous or anything.  But that my sanctification would be a lot more done then it is right now.

7. One book that you wish had never been written.

The Koran.  Yeah I know a little controversial but nevertheless it’s how I feel.  I know there are many things done in the "name of Christianity" that are down right dumb, but at least Christianity teaches a salvation that comes from faith.  The Koran teaches works and in a fallen and fanatical world, the works many of these people do are more down right "dumber."  A honest look at the worlds trouble spots and you will find Islam there.

8. One book that you’re currently reading.

Actually I have two.  I’m just about to finish Groeschel’s pre-marital book he was kind enough to send me if I blogged about it.  My next post will review this book as requested.  In a nut shell, it’s easy to see why Groeschel pastors one on the most amazing churches in the world, he is a talented and disciplined guy and his book is ful
l of wisdom and guidelines on how to mak
e your relationship solid.

I’ve just started to read my second McManus book and find him profound.  He is a talented story teller and reading his books makes you search deep within.  McManus has the gift of helping you forget your circumstances and invites you to journey with him.  Every time I read his material, as I look up from my book, I am staggered as to how immersed I get into his writing and the thoughts he generates.  Highly recommended.

9.  One book you’ve been meaning to read.

I’m fascinated by the state of the Church in the US - and note for all the right reasons.  Emerging Churches.  There is a lot of good and a lot of not so good things happening.  From the reviews of others, I know I will be in the Driscoll, Burke and Kimball side of this debate.  Padgitt and Ward are a little too bizarre for my liking.  Looking forward to dusting the cover to my copy and getting into the minds of these 5 authors.

10. Now tag 5 people.

Ok now it’s your turn.

Zabs, Poop,  Elmo, Heather, and lets see if I can get some big wigs…. TSK and Kimball. Well it’s worth a try anyway…

Over This Season. Period.

I’ve just about had it with Christmas and all the stress and pressures that come along with it. I’ve had it with the senseless arguments to keep “Christ” in “Christmas” and the “reason for the season” when, in fact, what Christmas means to the world these days is so removed from the original story anyway.

I so wished I had come across Advent Conspiracy leading up to Christmas cause then I would have tackled things so differently.

To get the gist of what goes on with the Advent Conspiracy world view, watch the following video:

[AC] Advent Conspiracy from Jon Collins on Vimeo.

Basically Advent Conspiracy is an ” international movement restoring the scandal of Christmas by worshipping Jesus through compassion, not consumption.” It does this by encouraging you to Worship More, Spend Less, Give More and Love All. Be sure to check the Resource section for heaps more.

It’s all a bit late this year but hopefully 2008 will be a different year all together. My 2007 was a tough one. Health issues, relationship issues and simply ugly sin battered me in 2007 and has left a bitter taste in my mouth - one that I have serious doubts I can deal with.

Jesus I need you in 2008 more than any other time in my life. The number “8″ biblically means resurrection so it’s quite fitting to ask You Lord to resurrect me out of the pit I have put myself in.

In the mean time, this video is, for some unknown reason, extremely uplifting for me. Maybe because it makes me take the thoughts off myself and I focus on God instead.

It reminds me to set my thoughts onto Jesus and for Him to be the sole source of joy. I too often set my joy on my circumstances. As my circumstances change, so does my joy - and I become bipolar in my hapiness and anxiety creeps in. Instead I need to fix my joy in the work and person of Jesus. Unchangable. Maybe that’s why I like that video so much - it makes me think of God’s qualities.

Anyway, for those of you resonating with what I am saying here, check out Mark Driscoll’s message, “The Rebel’s Guide To Joy In Anxiety.”