Author: nourishwomen

Choose to Praise

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“They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. 24 So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.
25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!”
Acts 16:23-26 23

This Bible passage begins with the unjust arrest and imprisonment of Paul and Silas. I can’t help but imagine that the atmosphere in that prison must have been depressing – more like a stench-ridden dungeon, and as if that wasn’t enough, they were severely battered and bruised.

Can you take a minute to just imagine that; imagine yourself in that situation. What would be your reaction to your circumstances?

In spite of the throbbing pain in their bodies and the disheartening atmosphere, at midnight Paul and Silas were heard praying and singing praises to God! What? What a strange sound this must have been to the other prisoners, who were used to only hearing the groans of those who had been beaten.

Then suddenly, there was an earthquake that shook the prison! The doors were flung open, and amazingly, the bonds of Paul, Silas, and EVERY other prisoner were released! What caused this mighty release of power?

The answer is PRAISE… choosing to praise is a powerful decision that has an incredible impact on our situations and circumstances.

1. Praise Elevates us into God’s Presence and Power
Paul and Silas knew the secret of how to lift their hearts above their troubles and enter into God’s presence, peace and power. Through praise and worship they provided a channel for God’s power to operate in their circumstances.

The Bible says that God inhabits in the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). In other words, God “dwells” in the atmosphere of His praise. This means that praise is not merely a reaction from coming into His presence – Praise is a vehicle of faith, which brings us into the presence and power of God!

Praise and worship is the “gate-pass” or the “key” which allows us to enter the sacredness of His glory. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. (Psalm 100:4)

2. True Praise comes from Within
‘Praise’ means “to commend, to applaud or magnify.” For us believers, praise to God is an expression of worship, lifting-up and glorifying the Lord (giving worth to God). It is an expression of humbling ourselves and centering our attention upon the Lord with heart-felt expressions of love, adoration and thanksgiving.

There are many actions involved with praise to God — verbal expressions of adoration and thanksgiving, singing, playing instruments, shouting, dancing, lifting or clapping our hands. But true praise is not “merely” going through these motions. Genuine praise to God is a matter of humility and sincere devotion to the Lord from within. In John 4:23 we read, But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.

3. Praise to God is a Lifestyle
All too often, praise to God is something that many people leave at church, an event that happens only when they come together with other believers. However, praise should be a part of our lifestyle, inter-mingled as a part of our daily prayer-life.

At work, in the car, at home in bed, or anywhere; praise to the Lord brings the refreshing of the Lord’s presence, along with His power and anointing. Psalm 34:1, I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises.

Praise is an expression of faith, and a declaration of victory! Praise is also a “sacrifice,” something that we offer to God, not just because we feel like it, but because we believe in Him and delight in Him.

4. Praise Sends the Enemy Running
Maybe it’s the inner-mongrel in me, but this one really gets me excited. Since God inhabits the praises of His people, we also realise that praise repels the presence of the enemy. The devil cannot stand to be near an atmosphere, which is filled with sincere worship and praise to God by humble and repentant hearts. He fears the power in the name of Jesus, so when we declare His praises, we are pushing back darkness. That there, just makes me want to get up and shout God’s praises right now!

When God’s people begin to praise His name, it sends the enemy running! I challenge you to become a person of praise, and you will experience the release of the power of God!

Praise & “Worship is the strategy by which we interrupt our preoccupation with ourselves and attend to the presence of God. “ – Eugene Peterson
This year, let’s re-look at how we individually and as a team praise our God. We are focusing on FINDING OUR AUTHENTIC SOUND. As we offer up our authentic praise & worship that He alone deserves, I like to think that He will smile and utter “that’s what I have been waiting for”.

There is a sound that as individuals, we carry, which has never been heard before – let’s believe for it, pray for it, pursue it, and be authentic!

What is the sound people are hearing from our house? Is it genuine? Is it from within? Is it repelling the enemy? Is it bringing others on the journey? Is it breaking chains off people’s lives?

God is waiting for us to be brave and to step out beyond the shore. That is where we will find ourselves totally reliant on Him. That is where we will find our unique God-given sound. Let’s each decide to ‘do praise & worship differently’ in 2015, even if that means going beyond our comfort zones – let’s do it scared and see what God does.

Written by Katie Swift
Creative Team Leader

Easter at Energizer

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In a world that at times feels out of control and so many things that appear to be random or just happen by accident, we can take confidence in the fact that God is intentional.

For example, Jesus died during the Jewish Passover celebration. That wasn’t random or a coincidence; it was intentional.

Because Jesus became our Passover Lamb.

The ancient Hebrews offered a perfect Lamb to God to cover their indiscretions. The lamb had to be perfect and without blemish, because something can’t be used if it needs itself. The “Lamb” is the most used description of Jesus in Scripture. It is mentioned 104 times. Jesus is the Perfect Lamb – He is the only person in history without sin; the only One qualified to pay for sin. That’s why He is the only way.

Our Father intentionally found a way to do what we had no hope of doing ourselves. Easter is all about hope, its about victory, its about opportunity, its about confidence – just a few attributes we celebrate this Easter.

Join us as we explore the question: What’s with the Lamb?

Hobart Service @ 8 Petchey St, Bellerive
6:30AM
SUNRISE PRAYER FOR OUR CITY AT BELLERIVE QUAY (BRING FOLDING CHAIR & BLANKET) FREE BACON AND EGG BREAKFAST

9:40AM
COFFEE & SPECIAL EASTER TREATS

10:00AM
EASTER SERVICE FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY INCLUDING WORSHIP, BAPTISMS, ITEMS, AN EASTER MESSAGE, AND A FUN-FILLED PROGRAM FOR KIDS WITH EPIC EASTER EGG HUNT AND MUCH MORE

11:30AM
FREE FAMILY FESTIVAL WITH LIVE MUSIC, JUMPING CASTLE, FACE PAINTING, BARISTA COFFEE, SAUSAGE SIZZLE AND SNACK SHOP FOR YUMMY CAKES AND TREATS

Derwent Valley Outreach @ 19 Circle St, New Norfolk
4:00PM
EASTER SERVICE FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY & PRAYER FOR OUR COMMUNITY

5:15PM
AFTER PARTY WITH LIVE MUSIC, FREE SAUSAGE SIZZLE, HOT CROSS BUNS & COFFEE AND AN EPIC EASTER EGG HUNT FOR THE KIDS

I encourage you to not miss the opportunity to invite your friends and family along who may not yet attend church. Let’s celebrate together, the true meaning of Easter.

Blessings

Ps Dave

Because we can.

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“A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said “would you give me a drink of water?” (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch). The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked “how come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (Jews in those days wouldn’t be caught dead talking to Samaritans).
Jesus answered, “if you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink and I would give you fresh, living water.” John 4:7-8

Have you ever found yourself, like this Samaritan woman, totally floored by what God seems to be asking of you?
Jesus, you want me to forgive that person?
You want me to not only forgive them, but give them another chance?
You want me to talk to my colleague who is angry at the world, about you?
You want me to step up and lead a team at church?
You want me to give ten per cent of my income to your house?
You want me to raise these kids to be functional, kind, contributing adults, when I can’t even find their shoes?

Seriously, where do the tiny shoes GO?!

Often, when God asks us for something, we see only our limitations. We confront his gentle promptings with a list of reasons why we can’t possible do what he is asking.
I am too poor.
I am too busy.
I am too shy.
I am too angry.
I am afraid.
Basically, we turn around to God and say “sorry, you’ve got the wrong person!”
And you know what, when I have these conversations with God, if the conversation stopped with me, this would be a really discouraging sermon, because essentially, I would be right:
I am not adequate to fulfil what God is asking of me!
None of us are.

The truth is, what he has called each of us to is far greater than our capacity.

Luckily, the conversation does NOT stop with me and my inadequacy.
Just like he turned to the Samaritan woman, Jesus turns to each of us when we are overwhelmed and says:
“It’s not about who you are. It’s all about who I am.”
And, like always, Jesus is right. It is ALL about who he is.
Our limitations are no match for Him.
John 10:10
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
Our limitations are no match for the abundance that he brings. The easiest way that the thief, our enemy can rob you of your capacity, is to convince you that it comes from within yourself.

Have you ever turned up to a dinner party and forgotten to bring something to share?
I don’t know about you, maybe I’m a bit neurotic, but this scenario is a source of major anxiety for me.
Chances are, the host has over-catered and everyone else brought something too and so there will be more than enough.
Am I focused on the fact that I didn’t NEED to show up with something?
Am I focused on the fact that there is already an abundance at that table?
No. I am preoccupied with the way I think I have failed.
This is how we are with God when we tell him we don’t have the capacity to fulfil our calling. We are preoccupied with what we are not, and can’t see who he is.
It’s time for us to stop freaking out about what we can’t bring to the table, and get excited about the more than enough that we get to ask of him!

Written by Jen Grubb

A Note From Dave: Sunday February 7

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Hi everyone,

Have you ever broken a promise? I certainly have, despite my best intentions. We’re not always capable of keeping our word. We’ve all experienced the disappointment of broken promises, so when promises are made we’re often skeptical.

A Promise is: An offer with a guaranteed result.

God has promised us so many good things. The problem is, we have been conditioned to expect promises to be broken.

When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can’t break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable. We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God
(Hebrews 6:17-18 MSG)

God guarantees His promises. We’re told He’s not a man and He can’t lie; He can’t go back on His word. He’s never spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through?

In the family of God we are people of promise. The writer of the Hebrews encourages us to grab hold of the promises with both hands; everything we have. Let’s not allow our conditioning to keep us from stepping into and taking hold of the promise.

As we ‘GO’ into a really exciting year, we can live as the world has conditioned us to live, or we can live as people of promise who know that what God has for us is a rock solid guarantee.

I’m really looking forward to our services this Sunday. Let’s come expectant as we move towards a truly exciting and defining Vision Sunday next week. This week we are really building faith and expectation for Vision Sunday!

Ps. Dave

Hard Choices, Worth Making

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Last night I sat in a meeting of some of the key leaders of our church, being poked, prodded, climbed and kicked by my children: one on the outside and one on the inside. I am sure I spent more time getting up to assist my son with the potty, or help him locate a particular toy car than I did sitting down. While the others took notes or discussed ideas, I tried to convince my little boy to eat sandwiches and tried my hardest to listen to other grown-ups talking about grown-up things over the top of Jasper listing all the colours he could see. My main contribution was “ssshhh!” (directed at my child, not the other leaders!). It was frustrating in the extreme and I just kept thinking to myself “this is so hard!”.

It would have been so much easier to be at home, where instead of a sandwich, I would no doubt be trying to get my son to eat something I had cooked, with vegetables in it. My success rate might not have been any better, but at least I wouldn’t have been worried about whether or not his perfectly natural, two year old noise level was disrupting others. It would’ve been so much easier if all I had to worry about was how much food went into his mouth, not whether he was derailing a meeting while he ate. It would be so much easier to avoid these scenarios, to remove myself from positions of leadership and influence, until my children are older – that’s what I was thinking throughout much of that meeting.

Maybe it would be easier, to leave behind the world of events, meetings and countless volunteer hours that we as a family have devoted to building the church. Maybe I should just get this season out of the way. That sometimes feels very tempting.

However, I am convinced that I would not be able to parent my children as effectively if I sidestepped the calling that God has placed on my life, which above all is to build the church. These little people, one of whom is not even born yet, will grow up not just hearing me talk about the importance of gathering with and supporting other believers, but seeing me pour my heart and soul, often my tears, very often my laughter, into facilitating that gathering. When they are older, they will know the church and they will feel known within it; they will understand that this is their place and these are their people. My son already does.

I hope they will be able to see that the church is a little bit stronger, a little bit better, because mummy and daddy worked their butts off to make it that way, along with an incredible community of like-minded people, even when the seasons of life made it difficult.

I hope that they will see that we have sown our time and finances, not in spite of having children to raise, but because of them. One day it will be their turn to lead, to push through the limitations that my generation faced and extend the boundaries of the kingdom of God. When that day comes, I want to be able to say I have done everything I could do to build the best platform for them to launch from.

Full disclosure: I cried a bit as I wrote this, because I know that the majority of those years of making hard choices to be part of the heart and soul of our church, no matter what, are still in front of me. Perhaps those choices will always be hard and the reasons will just change, but I know that being part of this incredible community and having the opportunity to lead and encourage others and to serve our community – these things are worth making hard choices for.

Being part of the heart and soul of church is sometimes hard, but it is always worth it. Ultimately, I hope this is what my children will learn as we walk this journey together. I also wouldn’t mind if they learned to play quietly during the odd meeting.

“The one thing I ask of the Lord—
the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
delighting in the Lord’s perfections
and meditating in his Temple.”
Psalm 27:4

Written by Jen Grubb

A Note From Ps. Dave: 23rd and 24th of January

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Hi everyone,

What a fantastic start we had with Pop Up Church last Saturday and then two great services on Sunday. Ps Corey was a great encouragement.

Recently I was reading in John 9.
After a blind man was healed by Jesus he came under intense scrutiny from the religious leaders; as to whether he should have been healed on the Sabbath or not? Whether Jesus was good or bad? and so on….

I like his answer:

“I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied.
“But I know this:
I was blind, and now I can see!”
(John 9:25 NLT)

Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up philosophising, debating or even judging. I believe we need to spend more time and energy testifying and perhaps less time philosophising.

The power of a testimony stands strong in the face of opposition. A testimony is drawing, engaging and powerful. As we continue with “The Mission” let’s allow our testimony to speak!

We have another brilliant weekend coming up with Pop Up Church and Cam Bennett speaking Saturday night and Sunday morning. Let’s be prayed up, expectant and ready for souls to be saved and lives to be changed!

See you soon!

Ps Dave

Pop Up Church – Round 2!

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Hi everyone,

Our first Pop Up Church was a great night, with lots of new people and meaningful connections with individuals and families and a handful of people making decisions to follow Christ.

These events are great to bring someone who has never been to a church service too as they are full of ways to attract attention; food vans, live music, a cool decked-out shed + much more! So let me encourage you with a story about the power of the invite!

A young man name Dwayne was invited; he had never been to church, but got involved boots all when he arrived at 4pm. On the night he had a blast and then responded to an invite to ask Jesus to be his Lord and Saviour! Dwayne was then at church at both our services on Sunday and even experienced God heal some pain in his leg at our morning service on Sunday.

My encouragement leads to a question: WHO can YOU INVITE? Last week it was Dwayne and this week, I know if you invite people who are disconnected or distant from God that, like Dwayne, this may be exactly the setting they need to find themselves in a placeto respond to the invitation to ask Jesus to be Lord and Saviour.

God Bless!
Be encouraged and can’t wait to see you Saturday!

Dan Pastoor,
Service Pastor, Pop Up Church

A note from Ps. Dave: A huge weekend in church!

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Hi everyone!
Jesus’ disciples experienced revival in the most unlikely place, (a Samaritan village). Jesus said:
Wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life.What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike!
(John 4:35-36)

Let’s continue to approach “The Mission” in an engaged, alert and Spirit-directed way. The disciples couldn’t see the harvest because they didn’t see the Samaritan village as a place where there would be a harvest.

Let’s be ready for the un-likely, expect the unexpected and have Spirit-directed eyes that are able to see opportunity. Because the fields; our city and our spheres of influence, are ripe for harvest.

It was brilliant to be over at the Macquarie Point venue last night with a great team of people as we swept, cleaned, set up and prayed together! There is amazing unity and excitement building. We’re in for a fantastic weekend with Corey speaking Saturday night and Sunday morning.

See you there!
Pastor Dave

God Moments

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Sometimes we believers get told by those with a different worldview that we are attributing our own “God meaning” to random, inconsequential things and making meaning where there isn’t any. That can make us hesitant to call something a ‘God moment’ and inhibit our ability to testify what God is doing in our lives, yet as my friend Kerry said this week: “if we aren’t seeing God in everything, then we aren’t acknowledging God’s existence”.

“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. 

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools”.
Romans 1:20-22 

These can be hard words to hear, yet they should encourage us. Take note of the little things and be encouraged that God is whispering love to you through His actions. In Ephesians 5:20 Paul says “And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Be watchful and notice God at work in your life. Write your ‘God moments’ down, because if you don’t, you will easily forget them. I’m sure that’s why in Deuteronomy 11:19-21,the Israelites were encouraged to teach God’s words to their children. It says: “Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors.”

God is never idle. He is constantly at work in our lives, who knows, perhaps the moment you noticed God working in your life this week could be the story that encourages someone else to put their faith in Him! Each week we try and share a God story in our Sunday service; if you have a testimony of God working in your life, don’t be shy! Put your name down at the Connect Desk on Sunday, or send a message to the Energizer Church Facebook page; you never know who will be encouraged!

Written by Lorraine Morgan