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Carry Christmas

8 December, 2024 Pastor Mark Schultz

It’s the latest ‘big thing’. Street Casting! Film-makers are taking people off the street and putting them into lead roles in their films. They are looking for characters, not who are polished and have attended the best acting schools, but those who are real and authentic and ‘perfect’ for the role needed to be played. From the very beginning, God has had an eye for plucking people from obscurity and casting them in integral roles in his salvation drama. People like Abraham, Joseph, Tamar, Rahab, Samuel, David, Esther, or countless others, characters who are raw, real, authentic and pivotal in the story of redemption. So when God sends an angel to announce to an uneducated teenager from a small, remote village that she has been chosen to play a V.I.P. role; to carry the hope of the nations, it should come as no surprise. But what is a surprise is Mary’s immediate response to lay down her own plans and dreams and say “Yes” in faith to a part in God’s continuing story. For little does she know the ridicule and shame it will invite, the danger it will involve, or the heart-wrenching grief she will experience. But as Mary carries the miracle of Christmas and delivers the greatest blessing the world has ever seen, she will discover a grace that carries her through every circumstance…and it’s a grace that we pray, you will discover too.

#2 in series: Christmas V.I.P.

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Prepare for Christmas

1 December, 2024 Pastor Mark Schultz

What do these things have in common - a receipt, a card, a ribbon, a paperclip, a tissue, a “Save the Date” email? All are examples of placeholders - items that people have used to mark their place in a book, to hold the space so that they can go back and continue on from where they left off, or to reserve a place or a position for a purpose. After 400 years of silence, God’s people had lost the bookmark, the placeholder, even though God has promised that he would continue where he had left off. But weariness had given way to hopelessness and so when God’s VIP invitation is personally delivered to Zechariah in the temple and he is told to prepare for the story to continue, he finds it hard to believe it is happening and that the invitation is for him. But God’s message is clear…it’s time to prepare for Christmas and God inserts a placeholder to make sure everyone takes notice! Join us as God invites us to prepare for this VIP event!

#1 In series: "Christmas VIP"

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A Life of Thankfulness

24 November, 2024 Pastor Francis Leung

His greatness no one can fathom! That's the declaration of praise from the psalmist in psalm 145. A fathom is a nautical unit of measurement to measure the depth of the ocean. It was originally based on the length of a grown man's outstetched arms and comes from and old viking word which means 'embracing arms'. So when we say God's greatness, no one can fathom, we mean that no one can measure the depth of it. Alternatively, no one can fully grasp or embrace God's greatness. One of the barriers to a life of thankfulness is when we believe that we have hit the limits of God's goodness or greatness. When we look around and only see disappointments or barriers, we often move on without digging a little deeper and encountering more of what God has for us right where we are.

So let's dig a little deeper into God's unfathomable goodness and greatness today, giving thanks for all of his wonderous deeds and see how doing so can lead to the best life, a life filled with joy and thankfulness.

#5 in series: The Best Life

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A life of Work

17 November, 2024 Pastor Mark Schultz

Work, it never ends! I’m sure we have all experienced times where no matter how well we think we might be keeping up with the housework, there always seems to be more waiting for us. There’s more clothes in the laundry basket, more dishes in the sink, more dust on the floor. At times like this all the work and effort can seem pointless or meaningless. That’s the sentiment of the writer of Ecclesiastes, who recognised that all our work and effort to accumulate wealth or security for ourselves is meaningless. Our work only makes sense when we approach it with a kingdom perspective. When we work as if working for the Lord. That's where we find meaning, purpose and joy in our work. That's where we encounter life in all it's fulness. That’s what we’ll rediscover as we explore how work is an integral part of the best life.

#4 in series: The Best Life

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A life of Integrity

10 November, 2024 Pastor Mark Schultz

"Appearances are not always as they seem", "never judge a book by its cover", "beauty is only skin deep". Most of us have probably fallen foul of the truth behind these kinds of saying at one time or another. We all know what it is like to be disappointed or let down by something or someone that we had trust in. What is even more bizzare is that it is often the integrity of others that really enables us to be our authentic selves and to not be worried about wearing the right persona in various situations. When we are confident in who we are and who we are with, then we can relax and really be ourselves. And there is only one person who is with us all the time; whose integrity and faithfulness to his people has been proven to be unquestionable, and it's our relationship with him that provides us with the strength and conviction to live unapologetically as his children and to show His love and mercy with integrity in every situation. That's what we'll explore today.

#3 in series: The Best Life

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A life of Generosity

3 November, 2024 Pastor Mark Schultz

“Pay it Forward” and “ARK – Acts of Random Kindness” are two movements or catch phrases designed to inspire people to live generously for others. Yet the generosity of God towards us, his people, is anything but random. It is intentional and deliberate, and it is so extravagant that when we begin to really understand the vastness of it, it cannot be contained but it moves us to live generously with all of our life for others.

It can be helpful to think of generosity as the ignition spark that lights a wildfire that quickly spreads through a dry and barren landscape. Sometimes real and authentic generosity is hard and it can hurt – it comes with a cost, just like a bushfire. And yet, once the fire has gone through, space is created for new life to spring up. This new life has potential to thrive in this newly scorched environment, because the long established trees and vines that had previously blocked out the son/sun are no longer there, the landscape has been 'decluttered' and new life, the best life, is ready to begin. It's that kind of life we'll look at today, a life built on a heart of generosity.

#2 in series: The Best Life

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A life of Truth

27 October, 2024 Pastor Mark Schultz

Whether it’s an Ikea flat pack, a Lego set, or a recipe kit for your favourite meal, each of them contain instructions so that you can enjoy the product to the fulness of the creators intent. Of course you can choose to ignore the instructions and make it according to your own design, but you had best be prepared for when it all falls apart.

Sometimes we mistake freedom as an opportunity for creative licence, the chance to build things or live life ‘my way’. But true freedom, the freedom to live in the fullness of life that Jesus offers, has a very different starting point – a voluntary submission to God’s truth and wisdom. Martin Luther put it something like this,

“This life is not godliness, but growth in godliness; not health, but healing; not being, but becoming; not rest, but exercise. We are not now what we shall be, but we are on the way; the process is not yet finished, but it has begun; this is not the goal, but it is road; at present all does not gleam and glitter, but everything is being purified.”

What Luther is talking about here is the process of sanctification, which we heard about last week from Jesus who prayed, "sanctify them by your truth, your word is truth". It's that truth which we'll explore today.

#1 in series The Best Life

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Spiritual

20 October, 2024 Pastor Mark Simpfendorfer

'You're squeezing the life out of me." It's something our kids might say to us when we give them a big bear hug. The pressure constricts the airways and makes them feel like they cannot breathe! That's a perfect example of what happens when we experience spiritual pressure. We feel constricted; we try and wriggle around to move our position so we can get a little air but it often leaves us in a more comprised situation. It's like life is being squeezed out of us.

That's Satan's strategy as the one known as a deadly serpent or snake. He doesn't often strike out like a deadly viper with a lethal dose of venom. But like a boa constrictor, he gently squeezes life out of us one 'secular' limb at a time. It's the kind of pressure that can feel like a warm hug in the beginning, but which soon becomes a crushing weight under which we find ourselves unable to stand, without life and without hope. Today, Jesus breathes life into us, inviting us to stand 'in him'. Not to stand with him, or beside him, but to stand in him. In him, we find relief from the spiritual pressure of our enemy. Christ is able to unravel any and every force or pressure that squeezes the life out us and give us strength to recognise and resist every spiritual pressure that seeks to destroy and enable us to stand and remain full of life in him for eternity.

#5 and final in series: Pressure Points

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Performance

13 October, 2024 Pastor Mark Schultz

It all comes down to this moment. The big interview, the crucial presentation, the final exam, race, kick, recital, answer, play or shot. The pressure is immense. The expectations high. Everyone is watching. Your heart is racing. Your palms are sweaty. Your future is riding on it. Will you perform or choke under the pressure? Sometimes life feels like one big performance review. It's affirming to hear how you excel and do well, but the internal fear of not being good enough can be hard. And it's not just our jobs. Our marriages, parenting and relationships can seem like a constant review of our worthiness.

It's not a huge step then, to transfer those expectations over to our relationship with God. "If I try harder, I will be closer to God. If I get it right, he will love me more". Our perfect performance is never a requirement for a relationship with God. Our "successes" don't earn us kingdom credits and our "chokes" or under performance don't exclude us from a place in his kingdom, for our deeds are never equal to his character. That's the good news we will hear again today as Jesus shows us a way through the "Pressure Point" of performance.

#4 in series: Pressure Points

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