Hi everyone,

It’s easy to feel like there are so many obstacles and restrictions in our way. In fact, sometimes we feel like we’re caught in a system that we have no control over and we’re just being dragged along – “so we might as well just go with it”?

Paul in writing to the Romans is convinced that this is not the case.

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.
Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[p] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.
No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 8:38-39NLT)

We need revelation to see our state and liberation to be freed from it. It is that revelation that we are part of a state or a system that we are powerless to free ourselves from, that allows us to call on a higher power that actually transcends all other powers and gives us the liberation to live above and beyond a system.

No power in the act of freeing us from another power can deliver you from its self. But Jesus, who is not just “another power“ but “the higher power”, who is above and outside the system, gives us true liberation to really live.

To live free, to live big and engage in that wide open spacious life.

Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life.
(Romans 8:5-6 MSG)

See you Sunday. I’m expecting great things!

Ps Dave

Hi everyone,

Recently we looked at Peter’s declaration of the true identity of Jesus:

After Jesus asked them;
“Who am I ?”
And received general and generic answers he asked again!
“But who do you say I am?

Peter speaks up. We don’t know whether he spoke first or whether he was the only one prepared to put himself on the line.

It’s never been easy to put your own beliefs and convictions on the line. There is a certain amount of vulnerability when we do. It’s easier to play it safe and hope someone else answers. I suspect that most of the other disciples were relieved when Peter spoke up. It took the pressure of them.

Matthew 16:16-19 (NLT)
“But who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered,
“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you.
You did not learn this from any human being.
18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”

Following Peter’s bold and personal declaration, Jesus releases the “Keys to the Kingdom”.

What do you need unlocked in your world?
What do we need unlocked in our city and our Church?

Peter spoke out of revelation he received from the Father. He spoke prophetically and he made a declaration in the presence of his peers.

When we prepared to, out of revelation, speak prophetically and declare truth in the presence of others, things begin to shift and we find ourselves with the keys we need to unlock the will of God over our world. You will discover that you have the keys to the Kingdom!

As we engage with our “One Mission”, as we’re prepared to speak truth and revelation in the presence of our peers, we will see a new season of people finding the Kingdom has been unlocked for them.

I know we’re in for some great services this weekend.

See you there,

Pastor Dave

Hi everyone,

Have you ever been prevented from doing something? I’m sure you have; we have plans, ideas, dreams, visions that don’t always happen straight away.

We can be prevented by finances, people, circumstances or health.

Paul arrived at Derbe, where he had seen great success on his first missionary journey. He was keen to see what was happening in the Churches he’d previously planted in the regions of Asia (modern day Turkey). The Churches were in the most part strong, healthy and growing. Why wouldn’t you want to go and be encouraged by the fruits of your hard work?

However, the Holy Spirit prevented him from traveling there. Whichever way he turned, he was prevented. He must have felt rather frustrated.

In this time of frustration Paul had a vision:
That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.
Acts 16:9-10 (NLT)

Paul and his team respond to the vision immediately and go! Immediately things started to happen that Paul hadn’t yet fully considered. Firstly, in Troas he picked up a young Doctor by the name of Luke, who joined the team and who went on to write the Gospel of Luke and Acts. Secondly, there was an enlargement of vision and purpose. Paul wanted to reach more cities, but God wanted him to reach a new continent. Now they had moved from Asia to Europe.

Frustration is not all bad.
As individuals and certainly as a church, we have been through and experienced seasons of frustration and prevention. If we’re ready through these seasons, God will open new doors and new opportunities through fresh and exciting vision.

God is showing us new vision and giving us new opportunities.

Our challenge is to continue to see what He’s showing us and respond. Now is the time to act! Let’s engage with our One Mission!

This Sunday is another brand new opportunity. Let’s pray, expect, engage and go!

Ps Dave

Hi everyone,

The Bible is full of dichotomies, like Jesus was at peace in the middle of a storm.
Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. Matthew 8:24 (NLT)

Abraham was the Father of a great Nation yet when the promise was made he had no children. Jesus was calm but always on the move; at peace but lived with purpose and urgency. He was heading towards His destination (Jerusalem), but ministered to people along the way. He addressed the crowd, yet spoke to the one.

As we embrace our one mission, as we take hold of the exciting opportunities that lay ahead of us, we go with excitement, expectation, faith and peace. We’re called to a city and we’re called to the one!

The storm that the disciples endured while Jesus slept in the boat was on the way to the Gadarenes, where Jesus set “Legion”, the man possessed by a legion of demons, free. That one man proclaimed Jesus to his whole region.

There will be miracles, storms and unexpected moments and people along the way. We will be stretched, sometimes scared but we can have and be at peace because Jesus is in our boat and He is leading us and He has the power to heal, set people free and calm the storm.

Our services will be fantastic this week.

Let’s engage with “Our One Mission”.

Ps. Dave

Hi everyone,

We have two very special services planned for Father’s Day this Sunday.

Our theme for the day is “The Man Cave”.

Retreating isn’t generally celebrated in our world. Mostly we would associate it with weakness, failure, distress, disconnection or disappointment. But life will have those components; most of us wouldn’t go through a week or even a day without some level of those feelings.

The Australian diggers finally succeeded on the Kokoda Track through a series of carefully planned retreats followed by a time of regrouping. This enabled them to hold off and eventually overcome a much more heavily armed, resourced and manned force that was advancing against them.

I don’t think the question we need to consider is whether we should ever have to retreat or not, but rather what we retreat to. King David built an extremely loyal, skilled and effective army on men who needed to retreat.
(1 Samuel 22:1-2 NIV)

David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. Yes that’s right, there is a “Man Cave” in the bible. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him. These men were in distress, in debt, disgruntled, fraud rated, broken and disconnected. But their success and restoration was in what and who they retreated to.

A retreat is fine, in fact it’s a necessary part of life. We do have to retreat to a safe place from time to time. Let’s make sure that place is safe and with Jesus. Then we will regroup, find ourselves restored, retired and ready for what lies ahead.

We have a special Father’s Day Service coming up this Sunday. This is a great opportunity to honour all the men in the house and recognize the important role they have within the life of our church, society and in God’s kingdom. We want every man to feel honoured and appreciated this Sunday. There will be fun activities, competitions, power tool giveaways, gourmet breakfast burgers (for the AM service) and a hearty meal (for the PM service), so make sure you invite your fathers, brothers, sons and friends to join us for Father’s Day. This is a great day to bring a friend to Church!

Of course, this service is not just for the blokes. There will be inspiring worship and a message for us all, not to mention fantastic fellowship with our church family!

10am at 8 Petchey St, Bellerive (breakfast burgers from 9:40am)
4pm at 19 Circle St, New Norfolk

See you in the Man Cave.

Ps Dave

Hi Everyone,

Jesus commenced His season of public ministry with “One” clear objective.
At the pointy end of His mission he answers Pilot with:
For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. (John 18:37)

The cause was to establish His thrown and rule so that all who choose to live by and in His truth have authority and freedom to truly live. The biggest vision and most audacious plan ever launched. Yet it was outworked through individuals; mainly hardworking local business people who were getting on with their lives.

Jesus walked past a Lake in the busiest and most populated part of Palestine.
In the middle of the buzz and the action:
“He spoke to the one!”
He called individuals,
One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 20 And they left their nets at once and followed him.(Matthew 4:18-20)

It was these called individuals who responded to the call and left what they had to follow. Following means leaving some things behind. It was these called ones who Jesus used to change the world. Let’s be “One who changes our world”.

Pre-service prayer is really important! Let’s make it happen.
Side room Hobart 9:30am, all in on the stage at 9:40am.
The valley at 3:45pm.

See you in Church!

Ps Dave

Hi everyone,

This week I’ve continued to ponder the value of the one or the individual.
In Luke 15 Jesus tells three stories; one about a man who looses one of his hundred sheep, the second about a woman with ten coins who misplaces one, and the third was about a man with two sons and one goes missing.

In each case there is great joy and celebration when that which was lost was found.

7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

10 In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.
(Luke 15: 7,10, 24 NLT)

These verses illustrate the amazing value our Father places on the individual and the great joy and celebration that takes place as the lost are found. In looking at the big picture it’s easy to loose sight of the one.

Let’s remember the big picture is all about the one!
How do we change a city? One life at a time!
It’s restored individuals who are connected to God’s purpose for their lives that become the many!

This Sunday we will rejoice and celebrate in the grace and goodness of God. Let’s also celebrate what He’s doing in the lives of individuals and expect to celebrate as the lost are found!

Continue to pray for the One and really believe to see salvations in our services.

See you in Church!

Ps. Dave

Hi everyone,

This week I’ve continued to ponder the value of the one or the individual.
In Luke 15 Jesus tells three stories; one about a man who looses one of his hundred sheep, the second about a woman with ten coins who misplaces one, and the third was about a man with two sons and one goes missing.
 
In each case there is great joy and celebration when that which was lost was found.
 
7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!
 
10 In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”
 
24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began. 
(Luke 15: 7,10, 24 NLT)
 
These verses illustrate the amazing value our Father places on the individual and the great joy and celebration that takes place as the lost are found. In looking at the big picture it’s easy to loose sight of the one.
 
Let’s remember the big picture is all about the one!
How do we change a city? One life at a time!
It’s restored individuals who are connected to God’s purpose for their lives that become the many!
 
This Sunday we will rejoice and celebrate in the grace and goodness of God. Let’s also celebrate what He’s doing in the lives of individuals and expect to celebrate as the lost are found!
 
Continue to pray for the One and really believe to see salvations in our services.
 
See you in Church!
 
Ps Dave.