De-Sailly Otieno Story and Baptism from Southpoint Church on Vimeo.

Jenny Coleman Story and Baptism from Southpoint Church on Vimeo.

Brandon Williams Baptism & Testimony from Southpoint Church on Vimeo.

Michael Kemsley from Southpoint Church on Vimeo.

On her sixteenth birthday, her father writes these words:

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all. From now on you’ll be traveling the road between who you think you are and who you can be. The key is to allow yourself to make the journey.”

Anne Hathaway’s journey to the Academy Awards notwithstanding, the Prince’s counsel is royally good.

Almost every girl dreams of becoming a princess and nearly every boy hopes to be a superhero. We all want to be part of a bigger story, something that matters. To do that doesn’t mean we need to be royalty or part of the Justice League, but it might require that we find some heroic qualities in our everyday lives.

That’s why I like the advice above. As a parent or a leader, this attitude is something that we need to cultivate in the hearts of our kids. Everything in their future is somewhat unpredictable. There will be moments they are uncertain about their choices, friends, health, and finances. Living can just be scary sometimes. We’re not asking our kids to never be afraid. We need to hand them a belief that fear can be conquered, and that the key to living is pushing through the difficult moments with courage to do the right thing, or in some cases to simply keep moving.

Like I said, we don’t have to be royalty to understand this. On the other hand, it doesn’t hurt either! Consider King David, who wrote this about courage in the face of fear: “When I am afraid, I will trust in You” (Psalm 56:3). He had plenty of reasons to be afraid. He wrote those words on the run, during the in-between time of strumming in Saul’s court and running from Saul’s spear. He wasn’t running to safety. He was running to trouble. To Gath. The Gath of Goliath. Whatever the opposite of a welcoming party is, that’s what awaited David.

In the midst of giants, he prayed this prayer to God: “When I am afraid, I will trust in You.”

David found courage in some unlikely places. In a few small stones. In a few loyal followers. In a faith in God that was stronger than any spear, stone or sword.

That’s why I think David was kind of like Batman. (Stay with me here….) Have you ever noticed that Batman doesn’t have any real superpowers? He’s got creativity, a fancy batsuit and that really cool car. He also has a courageous compassion for others.

David didn’t have the Batmobile, or any superpowers, but he had what mattered. He was just an ordinary person, who had the courage to trust his extraordinary God on the road between who he was and who he knew God wanted him to be.

What experiences have your kids faced where you have been able to clearly communicate the idea of courage in the face of fear?

For some practical ideas on teaching courage, our virtue of the month, watch the video below:

VIRTUE VIDEO: COURAGE (March 2011) from Orange on Vimeo.

by Reggie Joiner from www.orangeparents.org

Since it’s time for resolutions, fresh starts, and/or re-commitments to disciplines that have faded, we wanted give you some tools to help you “resolve” to read the Bible better this year. As a church, this is one of the most vital practices that we can do together in 2011. As Psalm 119:105 reminds us… “[God's] word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Simply said, if we’re not reading our Bibles this year, we’ll be walking in the dark.

As you know, the Bible is a big book, more like a library, which contains 66 different books written by several dozen authors. Readers who approach it like any other book—beginning with page 1 and proceeding toward the end—can find themselves lost in a bewildering maze of ancient history and lists. Not to mention, busy schedules and limited confidence can end up discouraging a person from spending enough time in this amazing word from God.

A good Bible reading plan helps overcome obstacles like these.

We’d love for you to grab one of the reading plans below and use it to help structure some of your reading this year. Each approach offers an effective strategy for pushing beyond a limited understanding of the Bible … including how read the Bible topically (to get a concentrated view of a certain theme or subject), to see a “bird’s-eye-view” of the high points of the biblical story, or with a plan that guides you through the whole book. See the links below for reading plans we find especially helpful.

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Two-Week Topical Study Plans: Use this link to download a reading plan that contains two-week sections that each concentrate on a different topic. Content includes: the life of Jesus, the life and teachings of Paul, the Old Testament, on becoming a Christian …and many more.

* Two-Week Topical Studies (pdf)

30-Day Plans featuring important biblical topics and stories:

* 30 Days with Jesus (pdf): 30 days of readings about the life and ministry of Christ.
* 30 Days for New Christians (pdf): 30 days of passages for those new to the faith.
* 30 Days in the Psalms and Proverbs (pdf): 30 days of Psalms and Proverbs for worship and wisdom.

“Bird’s Eye Overview” Plans: The following plans offer a bird’s-eye-view of the Biblical story in three different levels of detail … 60, 90, and 180 days. The daily readings consist of selected passages that make up a sort of “guided tour” of the Bible’s high points. This arrangement should help convey the Bible’s “plot” without reading the whole book.

* 60-Day Plan: Read an overview of the Bible in 60 Days (pdf)
* 90-Day Plan: Read an overview of the Bible in 90 Days (pdf)
* 180-Day Plan: Read an overview of the Bible in 180 Days (pdf)

New Testament Study Plans: These are reading plans to help you study the New Testament.

* New Testament in a Year: Get the PDF here.
* New Testament (Five minutes a day / Five days a week): Get the PDF here.

Through the Bible In a Year: The link below will get you a PDF that will help you navigate the Bible in a year.

* Straight through the Bible in a year … from Genesis to Revelation. Get the PDF here.
* Old and New Testament together … Read the whole Bible, with something from both Testaments each day. Get the PDF here.
* Read from four places each day … Read the whole Bible, with readings from two books, Psalms, and Proverbs each day. Get the PDF here.

Read Online: Lastly, if you haven’t already discovered www.youversion.com , you need to discover it. There is an online Bible (in many translations) and a ton of online reading plans are found there ( http://www.youversion.com/reading-plans/all ). What’s great about this approach is that you read and check off your reading each day online and it syncs with many different mobile devices (iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Android). So, if you read online or on your phone, it keeps them in sync as to where you are on the plan.

Again, Happy New Year! We are excited about walking together this year using His word as a “lamp to our feet” as it guides us.

See you Sunday!

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(Note that the links above are all presented as downloadable PDFs so you might need to save them different ways based upon your computer. Some of you may be able to download with a simple click of the link and others might need to “right click” and “save as” to save. Also, if you are reading this via an RSS feed or via email, you may need to log into the blog to get the links to work correctly. Be aware.)

Transit starts on 23 January with registration at 09h00 and games beginning at 09h15. Believe me, you don’t want to miss out!

I wish I could come to every single one of you who has volunteered in 2010, and give you a bear hug and a huge sloppy kiss. You make Southpoint happen! Everyone who walks into our environments, whether it be UpStreet, Waumba Land, Main Service or InsideOut is immediately impressed by what you have done. Your hard work in creating the environments sets them up to listen attentively to the message of the gospel of Jesus that is life changing! (I refer you to our previous blog to hear and see again some of the great things God has done in people’s lives).

I spoke to a lady who came for the first time two Sundays back and returned this last week and she said that she and her 20 year old son walked in to our Sunday morning environment for the first time and both began crying… there was just something about the environment that touched their hearts and gave them a sense of God and his love as soon as they walked in.

A long time before the band begins and a long long time before the sermon starts, new people have already had their hearts affected by what you do!! You may think you only do a little job, but it is huge and the end result is eternal! I especially want to commend the ROAD CREW for all the hard work and early Sunday mornings. You rock!!

I love you all. I hope you have great celebrations with your family over Christmas and New Year and I look forward to a rewarding 2011 with you all.

Love John

We spoke about how having empty seats was so important to our vision and how investing in the life of a non-church person and then inviting them to Southpoint when the time was right, is what Jesus called us to do in the Great Commission. We also spoke about how serving in one of the many volunteer opportunities available at Southpoint, gives you the opportunity to play your part in creating environments that play such a vital role in changing people’s perceptions of God, church and life.

On week 3 we spoke about the privilege of investing in what God is doing in the world and we launched our end of year pledge to create ‘a place for everyone’ in 2011. To date we have received pledges for R296,962.00 of the R600,000.00 needed. This pledge is over and above the regular monthly giving many of you have begun doing as you grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ by trusting Him with your finances.

This pledge is an investment in peoples lives who still need to know about the life changing message of Jesus. The funds support the infrastructure and people that create the environments to which we love to bring our friends and family. We did a similar thing last year in the ‘Open Road’ pledge and these are some of the amazing things that resulted from your giving:

• - The Leadership Development Program where we were able to influence three next generation leaders who all play a strategic role in making the environments happen on the weekends;
• - The support we were able to give our Intersect Partners, both financial and through our Community Groups that creates stories like the Delft Family, Metro Kids Christmas and an evening at Rainbow House;
• - Some amazing and incredible stories of life change: Martin and Felicity Mester, Kevin September and Michelle Otieno, and Gavin Taylor, Alice Black and Amy Le Roux;

We sincerely hope that you never lose sight of how your investment is directly affecting the lives of people in Cape Town.

If you have not had a chance to pledge yet, be sure to download the pledge form here. Or if you are not in a position to make a pledge yet but would like to do so sometime in the next year, then send an email to us notifying us of your intention to pledge, once you are in a position to do so.

The staff and leadership at Southpoint wish you all a great Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Metro Kids Christmas: Thank You Video from Southpoint Church on Vimeo.

As a church, together we were able to sponsor over 1000 gifts and helped to pack 3000 gifts. Each child received some personal toiletries items, some school stationary items, some sweets and something to play with. Many also received Metro Kids tee shirts.

This is the heart of what we do. This is why we invest so much time and money to create the environments that we do. Join us in celebrating God’s work in Martin & Felicity Mester’s lives! Take a few minutes to watch their stories.

Martin Mester from Southpoint Church on Vimeo.

Felicity Mester from Southpoint Church on Vimeo.