Saturday 28 March 2008 started of with a lovely and lovingly sharing session. Mario gave his thoughts on what he experienced this week. He again experienced how bad the physical, emotional and spiritual situation is for millions of people on earth. He is feeling the urge more and more to do something to bring God's Kingdom to people. This led to the start of arranging a trip to Zimbabwe at the end of April to take supplies and give our support to our 'family' there. If you have any ideas or suggestions please contact Mario or Ansie.
Jaco and his mom Betsie joined us to thank us for the prayer and support for his sister Isonette in her battle with cancer. We prayed and will continue to pray for Isonette's salvation and the family's well-being. Jaco also shared how much he has grown and how God is using it.
After another delicious dinner (thanks for all the puddings!) Malcolm shared the concept of Lecto Davina. This method was often used by monks to study Scripture. We studied the book of Jude. First you read the scripture very slowly and deliberately and note what part of that scripture stands out. Read it again for a second time and ask God what is He saying about the scripture that is standing out. After reading it for a third time ask God how to implement in our lives what He is saying about the Scripture. This is especially useful in groups. What especially stood out to the whole group is that the writer says in verse three that he inteded to write about salvation but he was urged to rather urge/encourage/exhort the reader to contend for the faith that is entrusted to the saints. It urges us to move further than being saved but daily grow in our walk with God.
Tuesday
Wednesday
FEEDBACK FROM 21ST
We had a great evening, fellowshipping, discussing, praying, eating and more. Mario was the facilitator, the man of the moment. The evening kicked off with a discussion on church. Malcolm brought up the issue of simple/organic church (which is basically going back to the model of the 1st church in Acts where they met in their homes). The key scripture for the evening was 1 Cor 14:26. "What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. all of these must be done for the strengthening of the church."
We discussed this and what it means to have a church with every person participating, a living breathing body. This led to a discussion on what the purpose or role of the pastor is. This went onto different worship styles and the five fold ministry. Whew, there were a couple of tense moments with hackles rising and claws out. Pauline brought up the point that she wanted to see the power of God and the gifts in operation. We gathered around to pray for her and we did indeed see God's power and the gifts in operation. We also prayed for Malcolm who has been sick. We shared a very precious time during these two incidents where we saw the love of God in operation, working through each other. It was indeed a good evening!!!!!!!
Please cast your eyes to the red square on the right of the blog for an announcement about a planned outreach.
We discussed this and what it means to have a church with every person participating, a living breathing body. This led to a discussion on what the purpose or role of the pastor is. This went onto different worship styles and the five fold ministry. Whew, there were a couple of tense moments with hackles rising and claws out. Pauline brought up the point that she wanted to see the power of God and the gifts in operation. We gathered around to pray for her and we did indeed see God's power and the gifts in operation. We also prayed for Malcolm who has been sick. We shared a very precious time during these two incidents where we saw the love of God in operation, working through each other. It was indeed a good evening!!!!!!!
Please cast your eyes to the red square on the right of the blog for an announcement about a planned outreach.
Saturday, 14 March 2009
We began with a very uplifting time of sharing testimonies.
The Lord seemed to be encouraging all present to start making changes, however small, where we are right now, instead of waiting for a much bigger picture to present itself.
It’s time to get out of the boat.....
If you don’t start moving, God can’t steer the boat!
Our discussion was based on the book, Pagan Christianity.
In many ways, it seems that rituals and traditions have replaced living relationship with the Lord in the church. Many see these ancient rituals as a form of paganism. However, the challenge is to recognise where these rituals originate, and their relevance in specified cultures, and use them, at the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to turn many back to Christ. We were reminded not to forget that we are the temple of the Lord, and He desires living stones to work with, not dead form and ritual.
Reminder to bring ideas for places where the group could help out locally and be a positive support!
The Lord seemed to be encouraging all present to start making changes, however small, where we are right now, instead of waiting for a much bigger picture to present itself.
It’s time to get out of the boat.....
If you don’t start moving, God can’t steer the boat!
Our discussion was based on the book, Pagan Christianity.
In many ways, it seems that rituals and traditions have replaced living relationship with the Lord in the church. Many see these ancient rituals as a form of paganism. However, the challenge is to recognise where these rituals originate, and their relevance in specified cultures, and use them, at the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to turn many back to Christ. We were reminded not to forget that we are the temple of the Lord, and He desires living stones to work with, not dead form and ritual.
Reminder to bring ideas for places where the group could help out locally and be a positive support!
Tuesday
Fellowship on 7 March 2009
An excellent scripture on which our Saturday sharing was based is found in Hebrews 10:24
“ and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good works, “
This gives us insight on how God wants us to be towards one another; to encourage not ourselves, but one another, on how we can be involved in good works for His kingdom.
We spoke of local involvement in outreaches and care work, which can help to develop relationships with people, a vital foundation for furthering the gospel.
We also looked at missions and opportunities to learn outside of Gauteng, where there are already structures in place to help us experientially find out what fields of service the Lord may be calling us to.
Mario is in the process of organising a trip for us to Hands at Work in White River, and asked folks to prayerfully consider participating. This will be a time of personal growth, team unity building, putting hand to the plow to help others as well as gaining further insight and direction from the lord. Dates for the trip are 4 - 8 May. Please contact Mario on 072 402 8515 for further information.
Folks were also asked to bring more information and ideas on 13 March concerning possible outreaches/trips that we could be involved in.
“ and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good works, “
This gives us insight on how God wants us to be towards one another; to encourage not ourselves, but one another, on how we can be involved in good works for His kingdom.
We spoke of local involvement in outreaches and care work, which can help to develop relationships with people, a vital foundation for furthering the gospel.
We also looked at missions and opportunities to learn outside of Gauteng, where there are already structures in place to help us experientially find out what fields of service the Lord may be calling us to.
Mario is in the process of organising a trip for us to Hands at Work in White River, and asked folks to prayerfully consider participating. This will be a time of personal growth, team unity building, putting hand to the plow to help others as well as gaining further insight and direction from the lord. Dates for the trip are 4 - 8 May. Please contact Mario on 072 402 8515 for further information.
Folks were also asked to bring more information and ideas on 13 March concerning possible outreaches/trips that we could be involved in.
Friday
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF OLIVER QUAMBUSCH
The meeting was a great!!!! Oliver from Hotel Hope was our guest speaker. He is opening up an orphanage and a home for mother's in distress later this year in Melville. He shared his testimony with us. It was such an inspiration to hear about how God has worked in his life, leading, guiding, prodding, providing etc etc. He is a real testimony of God's provision and love. He grew up in Germany, traveled all over the world in the fashion and hotel industries and loved every minute of it. Then he met God and his whole life changed. Well you can imagine what happened next. He gave it all up to follow his call to South Africa to work with HIV/Aids orphans. He spent the first few years working at the "Door of Hope" orphanages and recently felt led by God to open up Hotel Hope. He told us the story of how God provided for this to happen and how God is continuing to show His faithfulness to him daily. Wow! God is faithful. What an awesome God we serve.
Thank you Oliver for joining us.
Thank you Oliver for joining us.
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