Tired……looking forward to Eliot and Colin being back!

Great great day today. Great crowd of people in, and in Colin Battersby’s word, “a great spirit in this place”

I agree. There is something special about being together and worshipping together. Colin does a great ministry, sensitive, passionate and humble. He lifts the people around him, and works great with anyone.

We continued our series and I spoke on the beattitudes. A number of people commented on how passionate I was this morning…thats true. I finished the sermon with the thought, “who is the light of the world?”

I read the appropriate verse from Matthew five, and even then people gave the wrong answer!
Which hopefully made my point.

We are the light of the world, the Church is salt and light….we reflect His glory and his values and attributes through becoming a truly “blessed’ people…a people who are poor in spirit etc etc.

Headed out to the Swan Valley for ‘spring in the valley’ today.
In years gone by we have sampled some good wine, cheese and meats…enjoyed the time touring a beautiful part of our city.

no more…..Spring in the Valley has been transformed into a massive attempt to get as many 20 year old lads and laddetts plastered as quickly as possible, with a wide varieties of wine and beer…….

Various bus companies are cashing in on the phenomenon transporting thousands of barely dressed young people to the mulitude of accepting places. I dont know if your daughter was one of the girls there….but I hope not!

Dont get me wrong, I am no wowser….but it really is not great if your looking for a nice day out with your family.

None the less, we had a great day, and sharing it with some new friends from another country made it even better. The Margaret River Chocolate Factory was great, we had a nice picnic near the river, and Edgecombe Brothers was a good change from the overflowing lines of people and crowded wineries. .
We actually had a great day, and ended up finishing up at the Rose and Crown for a bite and a drink. Suprisingly the R & C was not letting bus loads of yobs in, so we got a good table in the beautiful weather.

This is one of the best and concise encouragements to contemporary preaching I have read for a while.

To all you preachers out there, please read this.
It will either confirm you are on the right track, encourage you to do better…or annoy the heck out of you. If it annoys you, good…you need to change! 🙂

Here is the first and best point for all you slack bums.

If your message is infectious, you won‟t be just talking to the people sitting in front of you, you will be talking to their friends, family and contacts. Think beyond the room. How can you communicate your message in a way that will „live on‟ beyond that moment? Shape your message so that they will tell their friends, who will tell their friends, who will tell their friends etc. Are you preparing this weeks sermon, or are you crafting a message that has potential for exponential growth?

The rest

Brian Brand was a strong Christian man, married to Jennie Bickmore Brand.
I do not know much of his history, but I knew from meeting with him often, that he was a great and strong leader, quick with a joke and a smile, but intense and purposeful as well.

He lived life to the full. There was nothing he was afraid of. He was incredibly relational.

So very sad to hear of his shock passing.

I know he is now with Jesus, but he leaves behind a beautiful wife and strong leader in Jennie.

this fresh off the Mark Edwards message line…….

ready for this Sunday’s message….

“Going by worldly standards, who would you say the lucky people are? People with money and possessions? People who have extraordinary abilities? People who are famous? People who are powerful? People with a high education? It’s these kinds of people who the world calls lucky. But Jesus comes along and turns this way of thinking upside down. Jesus says no! It’s actually the lowly people, the down-and-outers, those who are doing it tough that are lucky. And it’s not just that they are lucky, they are blessed by God. They have God’s approval. They have God’s thumbs up.”