#1 in series: A Time of No Regrets
READINGS
Ecclesiastes 3:1-14
Luke 3:2b-6
THEME
Do you feel the same way as you launch into 2019? With the turning of the clock over to a New Year, everybody looks for a reset of their lives; to leave behind the old and move forward; that's why we make New Year's resolutions. To reset something is to set it back to its original purpose and original design. When an electronic device is functioning in a less-than-optimal way, it can be reset so that whatever was stuck gets unstuck and all the connections can run smoothly again. Similarly, when life is functioning in a less-than-optimal way, it can be reset too. The Bible has a particular word for this - it's called repentance and it's God's gift to us as we begin 2019 year, so that it can be a time of no regrets. Today we press the reset button of repentance in our lives so that they are in sync with God and his good and gracious will for our lives.
THEME VERSE:
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak. Ecclesiastes 3:1. 6b-7
REMEMBER THIS WEEK
A year of no regrets begins in repentance at the feet of Jesus. It humbles the mountain of pride that obscures our view and makes the road ahead difficult and impassable. It fills in the valleys of sin and despair that unbalance our lives. Repentance clears the path and resets your life so that you can live fully in his grace and step forward in every season with confidence in his unchanging Word.
FAITH TALK:
1. What would you like to press reset on in your life as you begin this New Year?
2. What needs a reset in your life when it comes to your apiritual walk with Jesus in 2019?
Routines - we all have them. Routines in relationships, in daily quiet times, in weekly scheduling. Routines bring order to chaos. It makes life predictable and less scary. It brings comfort and stability. But routines can also be dangerous; weakening us with fatigue, blurring our vision, limiting our ability to grow, and blinding us to new opportunities. Today Jesus issues an invitation that wakes us from our complacency, gives us a new situational awareness and calls us to a deeper trust as he gives us a kingdom refocus.
THEME VERSE:
Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” Luke 5:5
REMEMBER THIS WEEK
Jesus calls us to leave the shallows of our faith and life and venture into the deeper water of trust. The water may be deep, the vision murky, and the work difficult and uncertain, but the moment you respond to Jesus' call and say, "but because you say so", you will discover an abundance of blessing like you have never imagined.
READINGS
Isaiah 6:1-8
Luke 5:1-11
FAITH TALK:
1. What is your normal morning routine?
2. Where in your life does it feel like you are working hard but coming up empty and how does it make you feel?
3. What would it take for you to go deeper in trust in your relationship with Jesus?
The statistics and research cannot be clearer. The Church in Australia is becoming increasingly irrelevant in the eyes of the majority. It has been marginalised. It has lost its social location at the centre of culture and no longer occupies an influential place in the community. But maybe that's a good thing. For it's precisely on the edges and in the margins of life that Jesus says we belong as his people. It's among those that the world does not want to see or chooses to ignore, among all whose experience of life is impoverished, that we rediscover God's good and holy purpose for our lives - to restore people to the fullness of his life. So come, hear, receive, and experience the good news as Jesus pushes us out of the comfortable places to live a powerful life that restores.
#3 in series: A Time of No Regrets.
THEME VERSE:
“Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:21
REMEMBER THIS WEEK
You have but one mission and purpose in life. Filled and anointed with the power of the Spirit, God is calling you to go wherever there is hurt, pain, isolation, fear or need and announce, in word and deed, that God sees them and is present with his life-transforming grace to heal, release, and restore.
FAITH TALK:
1. Where are the marginal places of life in our communities today?
2. Complete the sentence: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to_________”
Who am I?
It seems the identity question grows more and more complex by the year. So what is it that determines your identity? Is it your sex, your ethnicity, your religious affiliation, your age, your abilities, your family of origin, your political beliefs? Is it the food you eat, the way you dress; the hair, piercings, markings or tattoos that reflect a certain identity you want to project? Who we think we are plays a key role in how we think, how we feel, and how we go about our everyday lives. Today God reminds us that we best understand "who" we are when we remember "whose" we are. So let him renew you today, that secure in his love and affirmation, you may step into this new year with confidence and boldness whatever 2019 may bring.
THEME VERSE:
And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased. Luke 3:22b
REMEMBER THIS WEEK:
Your relationship with God, is the one relationship in life that you cannot screw up, for you did not establish it. It's not dependant on your success, or lack of it, your abilities or lack of them, what you do or don't do. You are God's beloved....he loves you deeply and completely, now and for eternity. Full stop.
FAITH TALK:
1. Finish the question: I belong when ________.
2. What has been influential in shaping your identity?
3. Renew means to 'make new again.' What do you need God to make new again in 2019?