Hi everyone, I'm just now trying to work out how I post something on our Splendid nobodies website. Finally feel the head space to contribute to the conversation. Re the holiness of God. I wonder if God's holiness isn't more to do with his perfection i.e. He is perfect love. I really struggle with the idea that God is so Holy he can't look upon sin or be around sinfulness. Is just doesn't square with the life of Jesus. I read the Shack book which along with the Baxter Krueger perichoresis stuff deals with this issue of God having a major problem with us and 'loving' us even though he can't stand the sight of us because of our sinfulness. I think in this regard their insights about God being for us and willing to go to extraordinary lengths to reconcile us to himself are really helping to bring back into balance a distorted view of God's holiness. Looking forward to the retreat. Rachael

Hi everyone,
I'm just now trying to work out how I post something on our Splendid nobodies website. Finally feel the head space to contribute to the conversation. Re the holiness of God. I wonder if God's holiness isn't more to do with his perfection i.e. He is perfect love. I really struggle with the idea that God is so Holy he can't look upon sin or be around sinfulness. Is just doesn't square with the life of Jesus. I read the Shack book which, along with the Baxter Krueger/ perichoresis stuff, deals with this issue of God having a major problem with us and 'loving' us even though he can't stand the sight of us because of our sinfulness. I think in this regard their insights about God being for us and willing to go to extraordinary lengths to reconcile us to himself are really helping to bring back into balance a distorted view of God's holiness. Looking forward to the retreat. Rachael

Update on retreat imput

Katrina here
I thought I let you know where we are with the imput for the retreat.
We have focused on Our Journey with Jesus over the last year and where and how we are being led into the new year.

As far as time we were thinking that its quite flexible anywhere from 2, 1 hour sessions to 2, 1/2 hour sessions and they could be together or apart. Well thats where we are with that its been interesting to come up with some thing and exciting as it comes together.

I've also posted a comment with an idea for the structure it would be great if others could add their ideas too.

Hope you are all well, especially you Kate(and baby of course).

See ya
Katrina

Holiness?

The other night I was watching a video clip on you tube of Mark Driscoll a big brash aggressive pastor from the US from the reformed movement who was explaining to his church why a Holy God hated evil doers and then went on to explain why we were all evil doers until we were saved. The whole sinners in the hands of an angry god routine. But the Good news in this story to him was that Jesus came to earth and lived a perfect sinless life and incomprehensibly (to Pastor Driscoll) gave himself to be a sacrifice to take on the angry wrath of God, to basically protect us from God. This scenario emphasised the holiness of God and how a holy and just God had to deal with sin before he could relate to us.

This a scenario which doesn,t square with me and what I understand of the Father as revealed in Jesus, Jesus seemed more interested in loving people, healing people, drawing in the lost ones, the stories he told portrayed a father who's heart aches with compassion for his children.

Undeniably however God is holy, I'm just not sure what his holiness looks like. Any insights?

Framework for the retreat

I know everone is really busy at the moment, but we should probably have a short conversation about a rough framework for the retreat so we know where the different bits fit, what did you do for the first retreat where there was a similar timeframe? Also did we reach any concensus about a focus/theme for the retreat. Some feedback on this from everyone would be helpful. Please put your feedback on the blog so everyone can see it.

cheers Nigel

Hi,

I was just talking with Rich tonight and he was sharing with how they'd communion with the kids this week. This is something that I've read a lot about and thought a lot about and I believe in the value of wresting back communion from sacred ritualism and restoring it to a meal and hospitality, friendship and love. There have been times when I've been with friends and I've just wanted to share in communion with them but I've always pulled back. There is something deeply ingrained in me that feels uneasy, awkward about saying the words and telling the story that for centuries only Ministers have told. I know I need to plunge in and just do it but I haven't managed it yet.

Cheers

Nigel

Blessed are the Meek

Thought I would start a conversation about something i'm reading. I'm going through Dave Andrews Book, Plan Be, and got through to

'Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.'(Matt5:5). Dave gave an insight to the meaning of meek that i hadn't heard before.

'But in Jesus' day, the word 'meek' was often used to connote quiet, controlled, internal strength of character, which oponents would interpret as a sign of weakness at thier own peril.' He then goes on to link being meek with learning to 'turn the other cheek', 'go the second mile' and give the people the 'shirt off our back'.

This is really interesting and challenging for me at the moment as I wrestle with people who can be really annoying and difficult and sometimes downright abusive. I am encouraged that in these situations by being meek I am a part of Gods Kindgom a new place where all people are acceptable and loved even if they are annoying.

What do you think, have you anything to add?

Katrina

Summer Retreat

Hello all you nobodies out there, Katrina here.
I was wondering if anybody had some ideas that they would like to explore for the imput of our retreat in January. Maybe there is a theme you are interested in, or a speaker you have heard from or a book you would like to explore. I suppose the way to do it would be to add a comment to this blog thingy. Of course only one thing will be the ultimate direction, but I find it usefull to think about thing that I would like to learn about anyway. Hope you are all well.
Blessings
Katrina

"I'm Abandoned"

Hi guys, I thought I'd put up a post to get things moving on the blog. Cath and I went on our Church family camp on the weekend, a lot of good conversation, food and Port was had. We talked about the Lords Prayer, particularly focusing on 'Your Kingdom come'. For some reason God brought to mind a song we used to sing at youth group 25 years ago

I'm abandoned to the Captain of the mighty host of heaven
and I pledge Him my allegiance till the earth beholds His kingdom.

We've been raised for such a time
History comes to the finish line
and the saints who've gone before
watch to see us and our course
I'm abandoned to the Captain of the mighty host of heaven
and I pledge Him my allegiance till the earth beholds His kingdom.

So lay aside each wring that binds
enter in the harvest time
until the kingdoms of this world
become the kingdoms of our Christ
I'm abandoned to the Captain of the mighty host of heaven
and I pledge Him my allegiance till the earth beholds His kingdom.

Let Your kingdom come
Let Your will be done in me
I'm abandoned
I'm abandoned

Abandoning myself to Jesus each day excites and scares me at the same time, lots of days I fail to see his Kingdom, but some days I get a glimpse and those are exciting days. My Calvinist theological upbringing makes me cringe a bit at pledging my allegience, but the more I've thought about it, the more appropriate the response seems, Jesus calls us to follow him, to abandon ourselves to him and when we meet Him and know him any lesser response would be inadequate, would demean Him. Cheers, Nigel

Prayers

1. Lord Jesus you are one! You are Lord over every part of my life! Fill me with your Spirit today to love you with all of my heart, all of my soul and all of my strength. Let this be upon my heart! Help me impress it upon my children. Let me talk of it in my home, when I go out, when I rest & when I am walking down the road. Let every time I look at my hands or see my own face bear witness that you are Lord over every part of my life. Let the very place I call home and the hospitality I offer through it always be a witness to me, my family, my friends and anyone who enters into it, to your Lordship over every part of our lives. And let every time I leave that place & walk through the gates, be a reminder that you are Lord over all of creation and anywhere I go I can look for you and find you because you have gone before me, your presence mightily at work, inspiring us by your Spirit to do good works you have prepared in advance for us to do. Praise you Lord Jesus, to the glory of the Father.


2. Lord I confess to you that I have not always followed your heart and your way. For this I am sorry. Dear Dad, please forgive me, restore me and redeem me. Lord I pray that this day, by the power of your Spirit you have invested in me, that you help me to turn to live in your blessings.
a. Dear Dad, please help me to turn today to be poor in spirit, so that Lord we may receive your Kingdom.
b. Dear Dad, please help me to turn today to mourn, so that Lord we may be comforted.
c. Dear Dad, please help me to turn today to be meek, so that Lord we may inherit this earth.
d. Dear Dad, please help me to turn today to hunger and thirst for righteousness, so that Lord we may be filled.
e. Dear Dad, please help me to turn today to be merciful, so that Lord we may receive your mercy.
f. Dear Dad, please help me to turn today to be pure in heart, so that Lord we may see you.
g. Dear Dad, please help me to turn today to be a peacemaker, so that Lord we may be called your sons.
h. Dear Dad, please help me to turn today to be persecuted because of righteousness, so that Lord we may receive your Kingdom.
And Dear Dad please help us to turn today to rejoice and be glad when people insult us, persecute us or falsely say all kinds of evil against us because of you, as great is our reward in heaven and great our prophetic voice you have given us to this world through the lives you have freed us to live. Praise you Dear Dad through your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.


3. Lord, you are at work in this world and in the lives of people who do not yet believe in you. Lord your harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Lord Jesus, please send out workers into your harvest especially here in…(name specifically the area/s you have been called to). Especially Lord Jesus, I pray that you reveal yourself to those who do not yet believe in you …(again can name specific people if you know them)… so they can come to know you and work locally in your harvest.


4. Lord Jesus, I pray against the dark forces at work here in…(name your area). I pray that you can break the bonds of evil that are at work in people’s lives and empower us who believe in you to stand firm against that evil, with our armor in place to withstand the attacks and with our light shining to show evil for what it is. Lord, break the bonds of evil that keep people in poverty, imprisoned, in blindness and oppressed. Declare the year of your favor, preach the good news, proclaim freedom, recover sight and give release. Oh Lord, we pray with all of our hearts for your kingdom to come to this place. Anoint us also with your Spirit in your work Lord. In the mighty name of Jesus.


5. Prayer of thanks to God for His goodness to us at the end of each day.

Readings

Deut 6:4-9…
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Matt 19:14…
- “but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs”.

Matthew 28:18-20…
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Luke 4:18-19…
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Ephesians 4:11-13
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Acts 15:15-18…
“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?” When they heard this they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”

Matthew 9:37-38…
Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Matthew 5:3-12…
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

2 Corinthians 5:17-20…Therefore, if anyone in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

Practices

Daily
o Surrendering to Jesus Christ as Lord over every aspect of our lives at the beginning of each day
o Engaging, primarily through prayer, in God’s warfare against the dark spiritual forces inherent in situations of poverty, imprisonment, blindness and oppression praying for particular people as well as for whole communities in which we are engaged
o Living by faith each day, not worrying about tomorrow but trusting God for our needs
o Listening for and acting on the promptings the Spirit gives us each day to serve our fellow human beings
o Having a spirit of celebration rejoicing in the goodness of God in all circumstances, committing to daily reflect upon His goodness and thank Him for it
o Praying the prayer of the harvest and looking for God’s answer
o Praying through the ‘Beatitudes’
o Agreeing within our discipleship groups to a daily common reading of the bible, particularly making sure we regularly read through the 4 Gospels & Acts

Weekly
o By blessing three other people every week
o Engaging weekly in a discipleship groups of 2 or 3 as a primary place of faith accountability and learning
o In our groups sharing and celebrating together the goodness of God in our lives

Lifestyle
o Making our homes the base for our missionary activity, places of worship and of hospitality for fellow believers to gather in and worship together and for not yet believers to have a place of welcome and refuge to come into
o Making our homes & relationships amongst and with people in situations of poverty, blindness, imprisonment & oppression
o Always being in a relationship with not yet believers, living out our lives in Christ as their friends
o Valuing children as members of the collective in their own right, recognizing our role in nurturing and discipling them in the faith, but also acknowledging the unique contribution they can make to the community (Matt 19:14)
o Going through a process as a collective to help discern and recognize each other’s giftings from Eph 4, using the APEST test found at www.theforgottenways.org as a tool for a starting point to discerning our giftings
o Acting non-violently in relationship with each other and in relationship with our wider communities
o Including children in the collective’s activities as appropriate to their age and stage of life

Covenant

We Covenant to:

Proclaim and Witness, “Jesus is Lord” over every aspect of our lives… (Deut 6:4-9)
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
-By the practice of surrendering to Jesus Christ as Lord over every aspect of our lives at the beginning of each day (see example of prayer)
-By making our homes the base for our missionary activity, places of worship and of hospitality for fellow believers to gather in and worship together and for not yet believers to have a place of welcome and refuge to come into
-By valuing children as members of the collective in their own right, recognizing our role in nurturing and discipling them in the faith, but also acknowledging the unique contribution they can make to the collective. (Matt 19:14) - “but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs”.

Follow God’s mission for us from Matthew 28:18-20…
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
-By always being in a relationship with not yet believers living out our lives in Christ as their friends
-By blessing three other people every week
-By engaging weekly in a discipleship group of 2 or 3 as a primary place of faith accountability and learning
-By sharing and celebrating together in those groups the goodness of God in our lives
-By agreeing within our groups to a daily common reading of the bible, particularly making sure we regularly read through the 4 Gospels & Acts.

Engage in Jesus’ own anointed ministry he proclaims in Luke 4:18-19…
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
-By making our homes & relationships amongst and with people in these situations
-By engaging, primarily through prayer, in God’s warfare against the dark spiritual forces inherent in these situations praying for particular people as well as for whole communities in which we are engaged. (see example of prayer)

As a community to help each other discern and then act in our ministry giftings from Ephesians 4:11-13 regardless of gender or professional and/or academic status…
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
-By going through a process as a collective to help discern and recognize each other’s giftings from Eph 4 (see example of a process)

Actively live our daily lives in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit…(Acts 15:15-18)
“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?” When they heard this they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”
-By living by faith each day, not worrying about tomorrow but trusting God for our needs
-By listening for and acting on the promptings the Spirit gives us each day to serve our fellow human beings
-By having a spirit of celebration rejoicing in the goodness of God in all circumstances, committing to daily reflect upon His goodness and thank Him for it. (Prayer of thanks at the end of each day)

Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field…(Matthew 9:37-38)
Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
-By daily praying the prayer of the harvest (see example of prayer) and looking for God’s answer

Daily live our lives out of the ‘Beatitudes’. (Matthew 5:3-12)
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. "
-By daily praying through the ‘Beatitudes’ (see example of prayer)

Particularly act as Peacemakers, seeking reconciliation & inclusivity as a first point of relationship and community. (2 Corinthians 5:17-20)
Therefore, if anyone in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
-By acting non-violently in relationship with each other and in relationship with our wider communities
-By always including children in the collective’s activities as appropriate to their age and stage of life