Move Together in Conviction

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26 April, 2020Pastor Mark SchultzMove Together (1 Peter)

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It’s a basic reality that anyone in the emergency response, law enforcement or the defense forces will tell you - in crisis or threat situations almost no one “rises to the occasion,” but almost everyone “reverts to their training.” That’s why schools practice fire drills & lock-down drills That’s why firefighters train under difficult circumstances so that when the real crisis comes, they will “revert to their training”, fires will be extinguished and lives protected. What is most ingrained in our lives, our deep convictions are what is displayed in times of crisis, when the heat’s on, when push comes to shove, and when backs are against the wall. That’s why Peter writes to the church in crisis and under threat. He wants to deepen their conviction, fortify and strengthen their faith, reinforce the truths in which they have been trained, so that in difficult times they can continue to function dynamically – moving together with convictions that hold firm whatever is experienced.

#2 in series: Move Together

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THEME VERSE

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 1 Peter 1:22


REMEMBER THIS WEEK  

Convictions on the inside will always show up on the outside. People convicted by the love of Jesus are a hope filled people. Hope filled people are a loving people because they know they cannot lose. What God has given, his Word and promises are eternal and cannot be taken away

Bible Reading

13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 


24 For,

“All people are like grass,

    and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;

the grass withers and the flowers fall,

25  but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

And this is the word that was preached to you.

More from 'Move Together (1 Peter)'

Move Together in the Spirit

31 May, 2020 Pastor Mark Schultz

Everything we set our hand to gets old. Working from home and home-schooling was a new adventure to begin with but now has become draining. The social isolation measures are no longer fun. The endless Zoom meetings have lost their appeal. The TikTok videos of people fooling around in lockdown or the watching of countless films has started to grow wearisome. Everything new becomes old. Fad after fad, challenge after challenge leaves us thirsty and wanting more, as the epidemic of boredom and routine sets in. To those caught in this cycle, who keep finding themselves back where they started with no meaning, no power, no life, Jesus offers an invitation to come to him and receive his life. It's a life that never gets old - renewing, restoring, revitalising and recreating day after day, satisfying your heart and empowering you to move together in the Spirit to bring his life-transforming grace to the world.

Read this week's bulletin here

Join the Chat group at 10.30am Sunday here

#7 in series: Move Together

THEME VERSE:

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” John 7:37b-38

REMEMBER THIS WEEK

Jesus did not promise just a trickle or a stream, he promised a river. The Holy Spirit is like a mighty rushing river in us…that strengthens, gifts and sends us out into a dangerous world together to be a powerful force; bringing God’s life, God’s grace and forgiveness and God’s empowering Spirit to all who are thirsty.

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Move Together in Boldness

24 May, 2020 Pastor Mark Schultz

It's the buzzword of 2020 - the "new normal". It's a phrase that is repeated countless times as people recognise that COVID-19 has changed life as we know it and a 'new normal' is needed to live by. But have things really changed that much? The same thing that has always paralysed people, discouraged people, robbed them of courage and hope, and caused worldviews to shrink is still present and controlling lives across the globe. It's called fear. But God has already called us to a new normal through the resurrection of his Son Jesus. It's a life of boldness that comes from trusting in the amazing work of his grace that has and will be accomplished in us and through us. Suffering will not stop his transforming work. Circumstances don't limit his ability to redeem and restore. His hand holds you, his love strengthens you, his mercy sustains you, his compassion cares for you and his power is in you enabling us to move together with boldness until we share in the fullness of his victory and eternal glory. We’ll celebrate that today.

#6 in series: Move Together

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Join the Chat group at 10.30am Sunday here

THEME VERSE

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 1 Peter 5:10

REMEMBER THIS WEEK

In times of suffering, you are never alone. God not only cares for your deepest anxieties but he has overcome them all so your ‘new normal’ can be living boldly in his name. Whatever you face, the Lord will restore, empower, strengthen and establish you. That’s his promise.

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Move Together in Grace

17 May, 2020 Pastor Mat von Stanke

“It’s not fair!” Said every child to every parent ever. How many times has that been said over the last six weeks as freedoms have been curtailed? How many people have uttered those words as Centerlink informs them they are not eligible for Job seeker or Job keeper. How many business owners have responded this way as some business are allowed to remain open while their own doors are shut? And every parent everywhere has said in reply: Life’s not fair. We know it…We live in a world that is not fair; where some seem to always draw the short straw…get the worst of a deal…lose out…get tripped up…It’s not fair.

But instead of complaining about life’s unfairness, Peter point to the unfairness of grace. It wasn’t fair that Christ suffered and died. It wasn’t fair that it cost Christ everything. But he willingly drew the short straw so we would get the benefit and blessing from the unfairness dealt to him. In a world that is harsh at the best of times, among people who will often turn their worst against your best, Jesus calls us to MOVE TOGETHER IN GRACE to bring grace to all as he brought grace to us.

#5 in Series; Move Together

Read this week's Bulletin here

Join the Chat group at 10.30am Sunday here

THEME VERSE:

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 1 Peter 3:18

REMEMBER THIS WEEK

Grace is never fair. God gives it to the undeserving. But it’s grace alone that saves. It’s grace alone that equips us to move together as his chosen people, returning kindness for insult, patience for rudeness, love for indifference. It’s grace alone that has the final word; that transforms us…and others.

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Move Together in Love

10 May, 2020 Pastor Mark Schultz

It's said that credibility is the currency of trust. If that is true, then many leaders, governments and organisations are insolvent! Whether it's the World Health Organisation coming under fire for criticising travel bans or disseminating false information that the virus cannot be transmitted between humans or the conjecture surrounding the virus' origins. Whether it’s State or Federal leaders saying one thing only to have a minister in their cabinet say another a few hours later, or experts encouraging school return in one state while in another saying, "keep them home". With the mixed messaging being given, is it any wonder that people are confused and don't know who or what to trust? Is it any wonder that people are asking what is credible and what is not? This credibility deficit has been years in the making. Our political leaders have squandered trust over decades, banks and big business are still under a cloud for their excesses, abuses, and identified illegal behaviour, and the practices of the Church have come under close scrutiny. It’s an issue of credibility and it’s the same issue Peter addresses today. As people being again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus, how credible is our witness? How would people know that we are telling the truth? Peter tells us that Christians are most believable, most credible when our lives look like Jesus, when we move together in love and enter into and share the pain and suffering of those around us. It’s a living that is credible and missional and we’ll explore that today.

#4 in series: Move together.

Click here for this week's bulletin

Join the Chat group at 10.30am Sunday here

THEME VERSE

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:21

REMEMBER THIS WEEK

You are called to suffer. Expect it. It is part of the rhythm of a Christ-centred life. Yet in suffering, God’s grace is at work taking us beyond the boundaries of our own wisdom and strength and transforming us to live credibly so we can move together in love in the world, for Christ’s sake.

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Move Together in Christ

3 May, 2020 Pastor Mark Schultz

Australians love their points. Whether it's airlines, supermarkets, liquor stores, petrol stations, fashion retailers, garden centres, local clubs, coffee shops, or fast-food outlets, it's estimated that 90% of Australians are a member of a loyalty scheme, with the average Australian carrying four or more reward-earning cards. Each card signals that you belong. Most of them are free to join (though you still need to give all your personal details which are then used to tempt, seduce and coerce you into spending more with them) but the only way they work is if you do something first. If you spend, they will give discount. If you are loyal, they will reward you. Sign up and join the club and receive the benefits on offer. There are many who think that God works that way too. Sign up and receive the benefits. If you are loyal, you will be rewarded. There was a time when Peter thought that's the way God worked too. But there was one encounter that changed all that, moving Peter from an observer and reward seeker, into a participant and grace receiver. We'll explore that today as we 'Move together in Christ.

#3 in series: Move Together

Read this week's bulletin here(https://mailchi.mp/2eb8fdfc97ff/bulletin-april-19-4902517?e=UNIQID)

Join the Chat group at 10.30am Sunday here

THEME VERSE

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-5

REMEMBER THIS WEEK

We are the church, the body of Christ, the living temple of God, called, loved, and redeemed by Christ to move together into the world, to participate in his life and reveal his glory and presence wherever we go.

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Move Together in hope

19 April, 2020 Pastor Mark Schultz

Two heads are better than one. Together everyone achieves more. There’s no “I” in “team” We are all in this together. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. Great motivational slogans…but the truth is they point us to what many of us are missing in these days of isolation and distancing. When the church is told it is “non-essential” and we are pushed farther to the margins of society. When it’s tempting to simply withdraw from the public square and leave the world to its own devices, Peter, the bold brash big fisherman speaks with great wisdom calling us to remember we are firmly planted in Christ not as isolated individuals but as a community - a gathered body, even if scattered, that together lives in the assurance of Christ’s resurrection and into the hope that only the living Jesus can give. It's a living hope that we can share with the world, even if we’re forced to stand at a distance from each other for a time.

#1 in series: Move Together

You can read this week's bulletin here

You can join this Sunday's chat at 10.30am here

THEME VERSE

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. Peter 1:3-4

REMEMBER THIS WEEK

You are on the front line of what God is doing in the world. God moves towards you in the Gospel to propel you outwards in the world with a living hope that protects, sustains and enables the real life of Jesus to transform every day.

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