What do you associate with the word "radical?" The word "radical" often implies being way out on the edge and is used today to dismiss a group that makes us feel uncomfortable. So if this series "Radical Church" makes you feel a little bit uneasy, then that is understandable. But the word "radical" comes from a Latin term radix which means "root" and today Jesus is calling the Church back to its roots to re-discover her calling to be a world-changing, spirit-infused, culture-shaping, paradigm-shifting and radical movement of God in the world today. It begins with a radical faith.
302/351 253/308 To most people it just looks like random numbers. But to a car enthusiast, it's enough to get some animated discussions going. Which engine is more powerful, faster, sounds better! As a claimed and called disciple of Jesus, infused with his Spirit, you have more power at your disposal than you can ever imagine. Power to love, to heal, to teach, to bear the image and presence of God in whatever places, circumstances or institutions you find yourself. So today we look at being infused with power; a power that is life-creating and leads to a life that is flourishing.
It's experienced a great resurgence over recent years - the art of tea infusion. Infusion is designed to bring out the best of the flavours of the herb or tea that is being infused; flavours which can change depending on the solution and temperature that the tea is infused in. There have even been tea societies formed (just check out the T2 website) designed to create the ultimate tea communities! In this new year, God wants to give you a Life Infusion, one that will draw out the very best flavours in your life. It begins with being infused with the Spirit.
Talk seems to be so cheap these days. How many times have you wished that people would just say what they mean and mean what they say? It's what makes the angel's visit to Mary and her response to God's call to bear a miracle that would change the world, even more remarkable. It's a simple call - a call of faith, a call to trust, a call which takes God at his Word. It's a call that also dares us to take God at his Word and believe that the impossible is always possible with God.
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#1 in series: A Simple Christmas
Week Beginning: 27th November 2016
They are storylines that work – from rags to riches, the underdog triumphs, the oppressed receive justice, But real life doesn’t offer such tightly sewn plots, such happily ever after stories. Sometimes the chaos never clears, the larger perspective never appears, the honourable are never vindicated, and the light never shines through. Today we look at how a simple promise, a word out of place, changes the landscape forever.
Week 3 of the series: Futures Investing
Beginning week: 20th November 2016
In the real world, money equals success. Everyone wants to be a millionaire. Everyone wants to win the lottery.
In our more cynical moments we’ll say “You can’t take it with you,” but most of us live most of our lives trying to prove Jesus wrong when he says, “Life is not measured by how much you own.” Today Jesus shows us a more joyful way to live as we invest our resources generously to bless the world, in kingdom growing and kingdom expanding ways.