Worship

At North Rand we have decided to spend some time this year on each of our core values.

On Sunday we shared around Worship.

Worship means:
- Adoring God
- Showing our Devotion to God
- Saturating God with our respect

The foundations for us doing this are:

- By Giving thanks & Calling on His name
- Singing His praises & Glorying Him
- Looking & Remembering His goodness and faithfulness

Awesome!!!!

'Chilling'

Sunday was a 'chilling' day for us as a church community.

We shared a nativity play with our Children's Church in the morning and our annual Carol's by Candlelight in the evening.

It was an awesome time and gave me the sense, as families came together, of:

A. The importance of family time

B. The extent of Jesus' grace - without gathering in His name, we wouldn't have had families together in this way.

God is good!

Christain Values

On Sunday we shared from Jesus' parable on good fruit in Matthew 7:15-20.

There are many things which determine our behaviour and thus the outcomes in our lives.

One of the most important is VALUES.

Values are gained from personal conviction, upbringing and life experience.

Values need to have positive outcomes for us and the people around us.

Scripture determines Christian values.

Bottom line:

1. If we allow Scripture to determine our values we will experience positive
outcomes for our lives.

2. When our lives are changed, the world changes around us.

THIS HAPPENS BECAUSE IN CHRIST WE BEAR GOOD FRUIT.

Falling Away

On Sunday we shared from Hebrews 5:11-14 & 6:1-12.

The writer warns us about falling away (apostasy) - once believing then denying the existence of God.

It's a scary thought because there is no salvation for those who fall away (6:4-6).

Let's be clear now: falling away is not the same as failing to attend church.

So, how can we ensure we do not fall away:

We need to:
- Grow toward Christan maturity - to learn to discern between good and evil (5:14).
- Be diligent in our lives and doctrine (1 Timothy 4:16).
- To imitate God in love (Ephesians 5:1-2)

My prayer is that we will continue to do so.

The Word

On Sunday we shared from Hebrews 4:12-13.



The writer says that the Word of God:



- Is living and active
- Penetrates between soul and spirit
- Judges our thoughts and attitudes

In short this means:

- The Word is about our relationship with God
- Always allows us to become the people God wants us to be
- Aligns our thoughts with God's will

Awesome

You Are The Kingdom Of God

On Sunday we shared from Luke 17:20-24 - Jesus telling His disciples that the kingdom in is them.

Two weeks ago I sat facing the wake of a motor boat I was travelling in - it made me think of our passage through life.

We have two choices:

- We can be like the boat that leaves behind a beautiful wake near the boat
- Or we can be like the wake that disappears fairly quickly as if it was never there

Jesus encourages us to make a difference in the world.

When we do the Kingdom is advanced.

So what does this mean?

Simple - Live according to God's will in very area of your life!

Dedication Sunday

On Sunday, 31st October 2010, we dedicated our new church building to God's work.

It was awesome!

It was simply a fulfilment of God's promise.