Its all His

Tithing - going public

2009-11-12T05:26:00.003-05:00

I'm convicted! I've tried a few times but didn't see it through. Mark Batterson outlined his preaching on tithing here! 1) God can do more with 90% than I can do with 100%2) U cannot out give God3) 2 be blessed beyond your ability u need to give beyond your ability4) When u start tithing, your financial problems become God's problem5) The tithe keeps money from

Thinking about Laslo's hierarchy!

2009-09-10T15:37:00.004-04:00

Maslo's Hierarchycame up in a discussion I was involved with today. In particular it made me think about the self-actualisation section at the top of the pyramid.There were suggestions that the sort of thing that might be included in this were a payrise, a promotion and such like.I don't know about you, but those are good external rewards, but I would feel more self-actualised if I realised I

Where are you looking ?

2009-08-03T05:17:00.001-04:00

On Saturday evening Clayton my 9 yr old son and I trekked off to the Clacton on Sea Pier. We had a blast. With the writstband ticket He was in heaven. He went on everything numerous times. I went on mostly everything maximum twice !Anyway I used to find the Paratrooper the hardest to stomach! The one at Clacton swings you out over the sea off the edge of the pier

Book Review: God's Little Princess Devotional Bible

2009-07-26T14:21:00.003-04:00

Book review: God's Little Princess Devotional BibleThis Devotional Bible is by a sweet Scottish lass for a North American Little girl audience (market). It relates snippets of Bible characters with things that might well be on little girls minds, thoughts and feelings. It's aim is for little girls (4-7 year olds) to find their destiny as a daughter of God and a

Building together

2009-06-26T05:50:00.000-04:00

Great Post by Gina about perspective. She refers to Dr Tim Elmore's book Habituitudes. About people having different perspectives on what they're building/working towards.It got me thinking about those that say I'm "laying a brick" - if they're laying a brick to build a house, while someone else is laying a brick that they think is part

Accountabilty for me on my computer

2009-06-13T15:39:00.004-04:00

In this day and age - we need to hold ourselves accountable at various levels with people we trust. I have an accountability partner that gets an email like the one below every two weeks from XXXchurch.com, detailing any unsuitable sites that might have been viewed on my computer. I think its a great accountability tool. check it out at www.xxxchurch.comYou are receiving this email from xxxxxx

I have come to give you church and church in abundance!!!

2009-05-18T09:24:00.004-04:00

Reggie McNeal's new book Missional Renaissance lays out the shifts the church needs to make, to be who she's meant to be today.One paragraph that sticks out for me is this one- it comes after he makes the point that people go to the airport to go somewhere else, the airport is not the destination even if it's beautiful:-When the church thinks it's the destination, it also confuses the scorecard("

The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley

2009-05-14T17:57:00.002-04:00

This is my first Andy Stanley book. I've listened to him and his dad on podcasts. He is as easy to follow as his father and is as easy to follow in written form as he is in spoken. He is a communicator par excellence. The thesis of the book is that you can get where you want to get to if you choose to focus on the steps to get you there. It's not brain surgery. In fact a few times I

Men's weekend - David and Giants

2009-05-11T17:10:00.003-04:00

From the men's weekend:- We we're looking briefly at King David and his battle with Goliath.Giants in peoples lives shout loud, try and intimidate and defy God and His people. They appear to be the champion.But before He had arrived at this point. David had won unseen private battles in the isolation as a shepherd boy. Defeating fierce animals.So with the private battles won he was ready for

Missional renaissance arrives :)

2009-04-24T06:07:00.002-04:00

Just got McNeal's new(in the UK anyway) book. He suggests/argues for a different scorecard for church. He highlights the changes that need to be made to join God on His mission.Church focus change from internal to external, developing people not programmes, and church based to Kingdom based.He seems to articulate the obvious fabulously, - he seems to be saying things that a loty of people are

Church on the move!

2009-04-18T08:33:00.001-04:00

Wow, I love to hear stories of God working in lives and in churches. Here's one that's on its way.Kingsland Lexden which is the one I'm a part of is planning a move. Check it out here. It's a God thing upto now and has to be a God thing to complete.

Easter in Halstead

2009-04-12T18:25:00.001-04:00

The Churches got together in Halstead, Essex to re-enact the Easter story for all to see last Saturday. It was very effective and moving.

Who are you listening to ?

2009-04-09T05:02:00.003-04:00

Steven Furtick offers good counsel regularly. A recent blog made me think a bit more than usual. Thanks Steve!We receive so many messages every day and have heard them from birth. We learn and seek to be discerning and sort out the good from the bad. Sometimes, perhaps when we were younger we listened to some from authority figures like parents, teachers etc, perhaps some were not so helpful.

You gotta start off right otherwise you wont get there !

2009-01-10T05:04:00.002-05:00

Love this guy. I find him really challenging in a good way!From Alan Hirsch's blogIn a remark ascribed to Gordon Cosby, the pioneering leader of that remarkable community, Church of the Savior in Washington. DC, he noted that in over 60 years of significant ministry, he had observed that no groups that came together around a non-missional purpose (i.e. prayer, worship, study, etc.) ever ended up

Quote: Reggie McNeal

2008-05-23T13:32:00.001-04:00

"God takes attendance on who is NOT there !"

Love God, Love people nothing else matters !

2008-05-09T12:02:00.002-04:00

"There are some people who think that the world will know we are Christians by how we defend truth." ~ Reggie Joyner.Thanks to Ben Armant for this one.

Good challenge out of Orange Conference

2008-04-29T12:29:00.003-04:00

SOmebody at the conference shared this on their blog... Reggie Joiner shared last night about Prodigal Son story at the Orange Conference! I was there last year and would've liked to go again this year ...Comparing the Loving Father’s response to the returning son to that of the Older Brother.LOVING FATHER: Preoccupied with whoever is missingOLDER SON: Preoccupied with selfLOVING FATHER:

Expectations and excitement

2008-04-25T09:21:00.002-04:00

Carey Niewhof has a great blog about getting what you came for. It got me thinking about what gets us excited. More over what do our kids see us getting excited about. A question I asked my son last year - "What would you bring me if I asked you to bring me what was the most important thing in my life ?" - He told me my computer ! What a challenge ! How would your kids answer that question ?

One (young) person can make a difference

2008-03-07T10:00:00.002-05:00

I've been impressed with the curriculum our Youth Pastor has been using recently from Youth For Christ USA Three Stories. "I was so impressed I bought the company" NOT - but i did subscribe to their youth evotional. Today's highlights a young person who is making a difference in their community and much further afield. Here's a snippet"Nine months later, the No Cussing Club has a Web site,

Seeing and Answering

2008-03-05T19:48:00.002-05:00

I like the challenge that John Johnson heard N.T. Wright make recently:-N.T. Wright reminded us to come to the biblical text with 1st century eyes and21st century questions, rather than 19th century eyes and 16th centuryquestions. Most do not want to do the hard work of exegesis (that pulls us intothe 1st century), while others are too out of touch with present culture to knowthe questions they

What if ...

2008-02-27T11:19:00.003-05:00

At our small group last night we were discussing loving together. And said the challenge was that we don't know each other that well. We asked what it would take to get to know each other better. So ..What if we met with our small group more regularly even every other day. Maybe these times would be prayer times, sharing communion together, annointing of oil, laying hands on each other,

It broke Dad ! Can you fix it ?

2008-02-22T11:23:00.002-05:00

I'm not a poetry kind of guy, but every once in a while a poem will really grab me. Ratna, one of our amazingly hard working and caring office staff here at First Alliance Church shared this poem with me last night.First I was reminded of my son who had just yesterday morning asked me to help him build a Lego project, but then immediately after I start to help him pushes me out of the way so he

Family Ministry

2008-02-21T15:40:00.003-05:00

I didn't realise there were quite a few ways of doing family ministry. Jon Erwin presents us with a great working table of Family ministry models. There are many options. There are several organisations individuals promoting literature and methods for family ministry as well. Two that that we've taken ideas and resources from areMark Holmen's "Faith begins at Home" - great book - we were able to

2008-02-21T13:48:00.001-05:00

Blogged recently on my Family ministry blog about Keeping hope alive!On Sunday our parent group (FEAST) discussion was around chapter 5 of Dr Tim Kimmel's Grace-based Parenting. It's focus is for us to lay a foundation of hope in our kids lives.Childhood is a time we should move our children from dependence on us todependence on God. And knowing there will face challenges they can’t handlebutGod

It just takes a spark to light a fire

2008-02-12T12:47:00.000-05:00

It just takes a spark to light a fire. We do not even know the "fires" we have started. Some good, some not so good I'm sure!Take this guy over here at the Fermi Project (check it out here). He's choosing to serve his community for an hour a week and somebody has copied his efforts.At my church we're going through Forty days of Community and part of the small group actvitiy is to find a way

Cup O' Joe with Bill: For Thinkers Only: Strategy and Execution

2008-01-25T09:42:00.000-05:00

Over on a Cup O' Joe Bill asks the questionWhat's more important:The great execution of a flawed strategy..or a flawed execution of a great strategy?It's like one of those survey questions where you're given two options and you suppossed to choose one over the other. And of course neither are true or both are equally valid.If his purpose is to get you to think Bill certainly does that. My

2008-01-22T14:07:00.000-05:00

As a child I remember being taught that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkey that there was a large crowd that welcomed him. That was Palm Sunday. I was also taught that by the end of the week the whole crowd has turned against him. I've often wondered about that. I've just been listening to a Bruxey Cavey podcast where he talks about the place Pontius Pilate offered to release Jesus, where

Where to find joy ? Me! Me! Me!

2008-01-11T11:21:00.000-05:00

Mark Driscoll - Helps us look for joy in the right way. Along the way he does a critique of the most popular preacher in the US. What a timely reminder for this day and age. Thanks Paul Dazet for finding that.

Spiritual Esteem

2007-11-30T13:27:00.000-05:00

On my other blog I picked on some inspiring thoughts of Craig Groeschel around the issue of self -esteem. He points out that self-esteem is not Spiritual esteem. When working with kids in our north american culture I think it's really important to think in terms of what he call Spiritual-esteem. It's easy to slip into trying to raise a child's false esteem.

Offering video

2007-11-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

These days most organisations let you know where any money they receive will go. In church I think sometimes we just assume everybody knows how the money will be spent or perhaps they check once a year in the annual report. So the concept behind this well made an put together video is refreshing. Offering plate videoWhat do you think ?

Location Location Location!

2007-10-31T23:52:00.000-04:00

Just back from out light the night outreach at Church. We invested in a bounce castle. It was a hit with all the kids that came by. We gave out a bunch of goodies to those that came by. The bounce castle afforded us the opportunity of conversation with the kids parents. They expressed gratitude for a break from their trick or treat trekking. Our location was dictated by the strong prevailing

Discipleship - go with the program - NOT !

2007-10-31T11:51:00.000-04:00

Discipleship programs and curriculums sem to be a good thing - they bring structure to an otherwise messy process. But what happens when you remove them, or the DVD breaks down, or you have to move away from where the program is ?Bill Allison has a good look at this here(http://cupojoewithbill.blogspot.com/2007/10/escalator-or-stairway-part-2.html).How's your walk/escalator with God ?For me -

Change, growth and maybe, even discipleship !

2007-10-25T11:38:00.000-04:00

As you can see our Church's vision prayer focus is asking God to change us."Oh God, make us a body of people so transformed and empowered byYour Spirit that our community, nation, and world will see and knowJesus Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life"I think we need to keep growing otherwise we go stale, stagnate and get bored. so where do we go from here ... John Johnson helps us think

Short cuts and other efforts at being efficient :)

2007-10-24T14:15:00.000-04:00

I don't know about you but I'm always trying to do more with less - trying to be efficiant with everything God has given me. But when I stop and think about it - I don't think that's the way God operates. For instance wouldn't it have been more efficient for Jesus to go and heal Lazarus then raise him from the dead after he had died! Steven Furtick has a great observation on another Biblical

History of Religion

2007-10-23T13:55:00.000-04:00

This is interesting map shopwing spread of different religions.

It's all about who ?

2007-10-23T10:13:00.000-04:00

Joel Osteen has been on News TV a lot this last week. I guess he was promoting his new book. A better You I think it's called. That might be good for You but is it the gospel or the whole gospel. I like what Paul Dazet has been writing. It's not about me. It's about God as the greatest commandment reminds us. The "me" only comes in the second greatest commandment and then only as standard

Grace first !

2007-10-15T16:04:00.000-04:00

Grace is never far from my thoughts - it's something I need more of, I ask God to work into me, to give me a double portion of my grandfather's spirit (like Elijah/Elisha). As I look around there are a few pastors who stand out for me when it comes to grace. My senior pastor is pretty near the top. He exudes grace. In fact the tougher the challenge, the more he exudes it.I had the opportunity

Church stepping out in faith !

2007-10-15T15:59:00.000-04:00

Wow! Would you or your church have enough faith to do this ! Not something every church treasurer would go for ... but in God's economy ...

Being Missional !

2007-09-27T14:41:00.000-04:00

Let's keep looking to join God in His mission:-thanks to Paul Dauzet

Fathers !

2007-07-06T23:53:00.000-04:00

Robin over on Robbieducky as he engages in parent ministry sets out a challenge for fathers. He points out that David was an awful father.My question how could he fall into that way ? Perhaps where he was at with his sins, I wonder if he felt that he didn't have the moral authority that was his to discipline his son ?If such a person who was after God's own heart be in that situation, we need

No more counting attendence ?

2007-07-06T23:30:00.000-04:00

I was meaning to comment on this beforeKenspeaks noted back in December that ... BusinessWeek's feature article in the December 11th issue is receiving quite the press. The article talks about Best Buy's innovative new approach to work hours and productivity. The experiment called, "ROWE" which stands for "Results-only work environments" judge people not on the hours they work but rather on what

Morris Dirks at CMA-Canada Eastern District Conference part 3

2007-06-01T14:53:00.000-04:00

Morris moved even closer to home as he took us to the parable of the two me who prayed (Luke 18:9-14).Our spituality - do we have Pharasaical Spirituality which has something to prove or something to compare ?or do we have Tax collector spirituality ?He posed a to-the-point question for us to ask ourselves as we serve others - What is the primary emotion God has for you ? Is it anywhere near

Morris Dirks at CMA-Canada Eastern District Conference part 2

2007-06-01T14:34:00.000-04:00

Morris knows where it's at. He was encouraging us to look at our motives and emotions as we serve. What are our motives -Are we compromising to please other ? (1 Thes 2:1-6)Are we working to prove ourselves ? (Phil 1:6)Are we staying on a pedestal that people put us on ? (I Cor 3:4-9)Emotions Let God be in touch with your emotions otherwise they'll rule you !Much to chew on !

Morris Dirks at CMA-Canada Eastern District Conference part 1

2007-06-01T14:19:00.000-04:00

Morris Dirks laid it out for us and was a BIG encouragement. In Isaiah 43, 100 years before the babylonian captivity, God was sowing seeds of hope for when they would be exile.In that place of captivity Isaiah points toNOT the CAPTOR but the CREATOR(v 11-14)Not to look at the chains or things that bind us but our creator.NOT the PAST but the FUTURE (v16-19a)forget the great things God has done

I'm the 231,544,348 richest person in the world

2007-04-24T10:20:00.000-04:00

I've checked out the www.globalrichlist.com and I'm in the top 3.8% of world's richest people. What a responsibility!How rich are you compared to the rest of the world !

What are we doing ? let's think about this !

2007-02-13T12:08:00.000-05:00

From http://pathwaypaloalto.blogspot.com/2007/02/church-20-series-incarnational-living.html via http://weallspeak.blogspot.com/2007/02/redesign-what-is-our-focus.htmlThink for a second about what Jesus did for us. He became one of us, lived with us, then died and rose again from the dead for us. That’s the method he used to reach us. He made himself known and showed His love to us. Jesus modeled

to learn or unlearn that is the question :)

2007-02-08T09:38:00.000-05:00

Have you thought about unlearning some things. There come a realization that sometimes what we think or more the way we think is not the best way. So what's the choice - keep on keeping on with the less than best way - I guess some people can do that or to unlearn the less than best way and learn a better way.Bob Roberts shares 9 things he's learning and unlearningBob Roberts on church and

wow What an almost great Opportunity !

2007-02-07T13:43:00.000-05:00

WOW- free Foxfaith movie premieres at church by Satelite for free - BUT NOT in Canada - that's too bad for us but for the US it is a wow - I think - what do you think !

Make a commitment to Jesus ?

2007-01-23T15:33:00.000-05:00

Over this weekend it's struck me directly and indirectly - that we ask people to commit to Jesus - (even sometimes to church) but is that what God wants from us - a commitment to Him ?Some of the old hymns can teach us about thisI Surrender AllWhen I survey the Wonderous CrossJust as I amSomeone commented that when you defeat an enemy you don't ask for his commitment to your cause, you ask for

Not so discouraging divorce rates

2007-01-04T10:00:00.000-05:00

Todd Rhoades picks up on Bradley Wright's analysis of recent stats and shows that Church goers don't have the same rate of divorce as non-church goers. However does point out that the results on not totally conclusive.But this is not so discouraging as saying church goers are no different from non-church goers :)

Jesus to be crowned king ?

2006-12-20T13:11:00.000-05:00

If some people in Poland get their way Jesus is going to be king of their country. I wonder if more people will listen to him if he is their king - perhaps they will - a different kind of evangelism to be sure.http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/12/20/jesus-poland.html?ref=rss

Christian no more - what a thought

2006-12-15T14:14:00.000-05:00

Check out these "sermons" out. A challenge to stop being a Christian and to become a Christ follower. what a thought.

Second Life

2006-12-11T23:34:00.000-05:00

In the Toronto Star and few other respected papers around the western world, there's a growing number of reports about second life - a alternate reality where youmake yourself up and there are no social/ethical boundaries. I understand that Reuters has an offic eis this world and has reports from it. In the star they say that people are making $5,000 (real money) a month from sales.In the

Nativity come out tomorrow and ...

2006-11-30T14:14:00.000-05:00

It's banned already. - Having said that it's still going to be in mainline movie theatres so people will still get to see this awesome movie - that highlights the real meaning behind CHRISTmas. In fact don't they say bad publicity is as good as good publicity. I pray that God will use this to get people on their path either to Him or back to Him. Amen ?

Beyond belief - well more than one anyways

2006-11-21T10:32:00.000-05:00

The TimesSeptember 08, 2006Hinduism no barrier to job as priest in Church of EnglandI came across this incredible news story - what is he thinking ? What is he believing ? - What is his Bishop thinking ? What is his Bishop believing ? I really understand why some Christians are re-naming themselves Christ Followers. This story really helps you understand their thinking.

Insanity

2006-11-10T09:41:00.000-05:00

The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over but expecting different results. Are we insane in the church ?

Ted Haggard situation

2006-11-07T12:14:00.000-05:00

He's done the right thingMore wisdom from Mark Batterson - balance grace and truth as Jesus did (John 1:14). We're challenged to know to which side we sway and move to be more balanced. We might be balanced in our own eyes but we need a diiferent perspsctive to gauge properly where we're at. And for taht we need people that we can trust and conifde in.I want accountability - I pray that I'll

Big God

2006-11-07T11:30:00.000-05:00

How big is our God ? Mark Batterson asks us. And gives us a great quote from A.W.TozerI think A.W. Tozer said it best: "A low view of God is the cause of a hundred lesser evils." But a person with a "high view" of God "is relieved of ten thousand temporal problems."It reminds me of when we were kids - I remember saying my Dad is bigger than yours or some such like - my Dad can lift a cow and

Family Ministry in Canada

2006-10-26T22:55:00.000-04:00

This is something that's really hit me over the last two years. Family Ministry is the way forward for the Canadian Church. Bibby is saying the same thing. Let's do it !http://www.christianweek.org/stories/vol20/no15/story2.html

It's all his except the money !

2006-10-19T12:20:00.000-04:00

It's all His except the money - go figure !http://mondaymorninginsight.com/index.php/site/comments/new_bible_version_takes_out_all_references_to_money_to_make_a_point/

It's all His

2006-09-22T10:35:00.000-04:00

When it comes down to it - It is all His - He created it all and holds it all together. I remember a Tom Skinner video where he asked the pianist to play a b flat- which the pianist did - then he asked him to play a Christian b flat. It belongs to him. Amen