Gavin Taylor – Story and Baptism

Is it not encouraging to see the evidence of Invest and Invite working in people’s lives?

Alice Black – Story and Baptism

After visiting South Africa, Kendra from our partner church, posted a great blog re the amazing work that Sonshine Kids Africa is doing labelling Allison and Liz as real heroes, and who would disagree? Check it out at <http://insidenorthpoint.org/kids/2010/03/03/real-life-heroes/> So I thought I would share a little video I made of our heroes, not the best but I don’t think it is bad for a first try! You see, Jesus had to give up His life for us, and there are Christians in the world today who are losing their lives for their faith, but this is not so for us as we live in relative peace. None the less, we still battle for the souls of the many people who live in the same house as us, next door, in our neighborhood or in our city. A real life and death battle. So when these heroes get down on their knees and plead for the kids that they will meet again on Sunday, when they are that familiar face that is reassuring kids of Gods great love and grace, when they show up with a friendly smile for the person who comes for the first time or if they give of their time to press some buttons or move some furniture so that those who visit will feel comfortable to come back; they are fighting a real life and death battle. These are people who have a story to tell of how they were broken and dying, but who have experienced Jesus on a personal level and have found hope and restoration for the most impossible situations plaguing their souls. These are the soldiers of God, ambassadors of the God of the impossible, and these are just a few of the 150 odd that make Southpoint irresitible.

Southpoint Heroes

James and Janet Senior

I just read an article on a blog written by one of the Media guys at a fairly large US Church in which he celebrates the work of the guys just like ours who do so much weak in and week out. I thought I would share it with you here.

If you are a volunteer (tech or otherwise) in any of our environments , go and check out the article here, he is talking about YOU.

God bless and thanks for being involved.

Thank you to ALL the organizers of the Western Volunteer Appreciation evening!!!  It was a blast, as the photo’s will show.

Everyone got in with the spirit of the evening, dressing up to compliment the décor.

Each year one area of help is highlighted, this year it was the Road Crew that were honoured.  They all received awesome T-Shirts to help them stand out and be noticed.  Well done guys on all the work that you do early on Sunday mornings while most of us still sleep.

Two other couples were also honoured for there commitment and enthusiasm first were Gary and Robyn Coleman, who from the start of the church moving to Old Mutual have been there every Sunday morning, helping iron out all the kinks to get it into the smooth running machine it is now.  Special mention went to their kids, who would tag along in the early hours of the morning, who were made honorary Road Crew members.

Another couple, Morgan and Kelly, were especially thanked as they  were a crucial element in the design and creation of InsideOut, our teen environment at The Attic (old church building).

Unfortunately, not everyone can be singled out, but everyone is appreciated for all you do.

Thank you for all your dedication and help throughout the year.

As I look back on 2009, I am amazed at the road God has brought us down. Many people gave generously to Mountain Move and we were able to create some really great and comfortable environments where MORE people were able to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Our numbers show about a 60% growth in Waumba Land, 30% growth in UpStreet, 200% growth in Inside Out since it began and a 10% growth in Adult worship attendees. We also added 11% to our community groups and have about a 30% increase in the number of giving units.

This is phenomenal growth and stands us in great stead for the Open Road in 2010.

The promise the Lord gave us from Isaiah 54:2 is still front and centre ( 2 “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back, lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.”).

The leadership is unanimous in its decision to hire Mutualpark for another year and we feel that we are now hitting the OPEN ROAD and will gather momentum. (Isaiah 57: 14 Someone says: “Build, build! Make a road! Clear the way, remove the rocks from the road my people will travel.”)

The “BOAT LOAD” of fish is coming!

John Hastings

Imagine how different your outlook on life would be if you had absolute confidence that God was with you? Imagine how differently you would respond to difficulties, temptations, and even good things if you knew with certainty that God was in all of it and was planning to leverage it for good. In other words, imagine what it would be like to have PERFECT faith.

Discussion Questions

Begin by reading the story of the Centurion with the sick servant in Matthew 8:5-10.

1. Do you know people whose faith in God is so strong that at times you would describe it as amazing? What is it about them that makes you think their confidence in God is so strong?
2. How would you describe the relationship between obedience and trust?
3. As you think back on your childhood, how was the obedience/trust relationship manifested in your home? Did you trust your parents? How did that impact your response to their authority?
4. What is more important in a relationship: trust or obedience? Answer this question within the context of several types of relationships. If you are a parent, how would you answer this question as it relates to your children? What about within the context of marriage?
5. John listed five ingredients to developing BIG faith. Which ones do you remember? Of these five, which one has made the biggest difference in your confidence in God? Why?
6. Has there ever been a time in your life when your confidence in God – your faith – hit a really low point? Would you be willing to share that story with your group? If so, describe the events surrounding your loss of faith, as well as what happened that helped you regain it.
7. Based on this discussion, what advice would you give a friend who had lost faith or who would describe his or her faith as weak?
8. Based on your personal experience, if a close friend were to share with you that he was at one time a person with great faith in God, but had lost his faith, what questions would you ask? What advice would you give?

Moving Forward

Sermons come in all shapes and sizes. But if you listen closely, you’ll hear God saying the same thing in most sermons – trust me. That’s not to say that the message in the Bible is shallow and simplistic. Rather, in all the ways that you could respond to God, the most important thing that God is asking you to do is to trust him. When things are going well, it doesn’t require a lot of faith to trust God. But when life turns messy, is your faith leading you to depend on God, or do you put your trust in something else?

In the next several weeks, we’ll discuss five catalysts that God uses to build that kind of faith. For this week, reflect on what have been the most faith-building events/relationships in your life. How have these things affected your confidence in God?

Changing Your Mind

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” Matthew 8:10

[Questions sourced from http://www.groupcurriculum.org]

We would like to thank you all for an amazing response to our Metro Kids Africa Christmas Gift project. We have managed to reach our target of 600 boxes and more.

All the extra’s will be given to Metro Kids to distribute to children in other areas.

We still need volunteers for either 7 or 14 November at 10h00. There is going to be loads of fun, serving and connecting happening. If you do come to help don’t forget to bring scissors.

If you feel like showing off your baking skills, please bring a plate of goodies to share.

Another opportunity to get involved, is the drop off days 25 and 27 November, try to take the afternoon off, it will be an experience to remember.

Please use the reply slip so we can see how many helpers we will have.

Hope to see you!!!

WOW!!! We are making progress, we have almost reached our goal of 600 boxes.  We have an amazing 574 boxes pledged so far.

But, please do not let this stop the generous hearts, if we receive more than our goal there are many children at other Metro Africa’s sites that will be happy to receive a present.

We still need lots of helpers for the 7^th and 14^th November from 10am to pack, wrap or bring something to eat.

So if you are able to help in donating a box or giving of your time on the above dates, please click here to fill in a reply slip, letting us know when and what you can help with.

Lots of fun is to be had by all.  Come guys lets make this happen, you have until the 3 November 2009.

How are we supposed to remain hopeful in a hopelessly broken world? We want to be hopeful, but when relationships sour, stock prices tumble, dreams disappear, and plans crumble, hope can be hard to come by. In a world without guarantees, hope can be a dangerous thing. But what if the tension we feel is the result of putting our hope in the wrong things? What if God has a different plan for us – a plan built on his unfailing love?

Discussion Questions

Hope can be defined as a person or thing in which our expectations are centered. With that in mind, in whom or what do you most frequently hope? In what kinds of things or people do you see your friends and family placing their expectations?

1. Share about a time when you put your hope in something or someone and came away disappointed.
2. Read Romans 8:20 . How does this verse support the idea of sin as a disease and not an event? Why does this matter in the context of finding and maintaining hope?
3. Read Romans 8:26-30 . What phrases or concepts in this passage engender hope within you?
4. Read Romans 8:33-39 . In this passage, Paul provides a long list of circumstances, culminating with “nor anything else in all creation” that shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. If you were to write your own list of circumstances, powers, or feelings that will not separate you from the love of God, what would be on that list?

Moving Forward

Hope. It only works when the object of our hope is certain, when it is consistent, when it will not fail. God has offered us such an unfailing object: his love. As evidenced in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins, God has shown that his love is truly without fail. So, although this world will remain broken due to the disease of sin, you can confidently hope without reservation – if you will transfer all of your hope onto God’s unfailing love.

Changing Your Mind

“May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you.”

Psalm 33:22

[Questions sourced from http://www.groupcurriculum.org]