We all have been around long enough to know that words both hurt and heal, however have you ever wondered how our words or more precisely – our Christian jargon – might impact or impede the Great Commission?

Recently I read an article about this very subject – how our vocabulary reveals our beliefs and it seems that Christians have, over time, moved away from words like “lost”; “unsaved”; to more palatable words like
“unchurched” or “unreached” and, so the article went on to say, this is why churches in the 21st century are in decline.

While there is obviously a lot more that could be said about this topic than this space might allow, it did cause me to stop and think about how words such as lost, unsaved or unchurched might actually sound to those
we seek to reveal the Kingdom of God.

Is the goal of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20 to make “unchurched” people “churched or is it to make fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ – in other words DISCIPLES?

If the goal is the latter then perhaps we need to choose our words carefully or is it more about the quality of the relationships we build as we connect with people and the words come much later?

Wasn’t it St. Francis of Assisi who said “Preach the Gospel and if necessary use words”?

Pastor Vince.

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However, the idea of “winding down” for those who believe in Jesus Christ might seem a bit foreign because it seems to me that you and I actually “pick up the pace” of our faith as we prepare for the birth of our Saviour.

You certainly don’t need me to tell you that shopping centres began preparing in October – some stores had tinsel, wrapping paper and cards on display – almost as if they all wanted to be first for your dollars.

The Lord, our God also had His own way of preparing the world for the birth of His Son. The nation of Israel were given the prophets to prepare them for the coming of the Messiah yet somehow the message wasn’t received by all people. Then there was some 400 years between the prophet Malachi and the birth of Jesus and still God needed to  send John the Baptist to prepare the way – and again, some heeded the message while others didn’t.

Am I “preaching to the converted” as the saying goes? Of course if I am then I can safely assume that the razzle dazzle of December hasn’t grabbed hold of you.

Or, perhaps there might be some more preparation to be done for each of us?

How do you approach this time of the year? Do you long to be able to wind down or do you pick up the pace of our faith?

Let me encourage you to reflect on the words found in Mark 1:1-4 as you and I prepare the way for the Lord.

Pastor Vince.

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This poses a problem in some ways because the image of trees and fruit is one that Jesus used on several occasions – in Matt 12:33 “A tree (read person) is recognised by its fruit”; and John 15:8 Jesus also said “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

As well as these passages the Psalmist wrote about the happiness experienced by a person when they delight themselves in the law of the Lord. Ps 1:3 tells us this person “is like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever they do prospers.”

A fledgling gardener will buy and plant trees with tags on them to tell them what type of flower or fruit it will produce. They also use them to enable easy identification as to what species they belong. However, once the trees begin to bear fruit the tags are no longer necessary because they are known by the fruit that is produced.

So it is with our own lives as we seek to follow the Word of God and the example of Jesus Christ. Those around us know what type of person we are because of the fruit we produce each day. The thing is though, we are not seasonal, we are called to bear fruit daily.

We also need to be reminded that just like trees in the garden we need to be connected to the right source of nutrients; we need to be pruned and disciplined to be fruiƞul and the reason for this is because it is God’s purpose for His children to be fruitful.

Therefore the question I put to you for reflection as we begin a new month and move closer to a new year is this…. “What kind of fruit is on your tree?”

Remember – Stay focused; Stay in fellowship and Stay fresh.

Pastor Vince.

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However, there is also another aspect of community that for me sets the foundation for our groups and for our life together as the Body of Christ and that is Relationship. The fact of the matter is that you and I can never “not” be in relationship, we are always relating in some way to someone at sometime.

In the coming weeks we will be exploring God’s Word as we look together at Godly Relationships and what it means to get the foundation right because without a proper understanding of what is involved in developing and growing Godly Relationships we may be doing more harm than good.

Perhaps you might like to look through and Pray about the “one-another” passages found in the New Testament and ask yourself the question – “How can I develop this skill of “one-anothering” in my group and within the Church?”

Let me give you a starting point – Paul talks in Romans 9:10 about being “devoted to one another in brotherly love”. How well are you doing in this area?

Happy searching.
Pastor Vince

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Second, have you noticed that property developers seem to be the group who try to capitalise on that word? They build Retirement Communities as well as “gated” communities where they offer a life of peace and tranquillity with folks of like mind and in communities where your children can grow up with life-long friends and neighbours. It’s almost like they are offering an escape from the ills of the world.

The fact is though that within true community there is security. It can be a place of acceptance, friendship and learning. It can be a place of growth where one can develop a trust that your neighbour really will be there for you when you perhaps need them the most.

Within Church life – we have these small communities within the larger community, we call them Home Groups.
They function in many different ways from deep Bible Study, to fellowship, reflection and yes, even accountability. It is in these groups that faith can grow – the thing is though – you need to belong to one to
experience community. Why? Because there simply isn’t enough time on a Sunday morning to experience true community.

Some folks find their way to Church for that very reason – to find and experience a caring community. Is there someone you know who would benefit from belonging to a caring group? Perhaps it is you?

Why not speak to the Home Group Co-Ordinator this morning?

Oh, before I forget – HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO ALL DAD’S, GRANDAD’S & GREAT-GRANDAD’S HERE TODAY.

Pastor Vince

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That got me thinking about when the work is completed. How long would it be before the view returned to “business as usual”? How long would it take to conform into just driving along a four lane carriageway and not notice anything
different?

This then took me to Paul’s letter to the Roman believers – Romans 12:2 – “Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Do you believe that your mind can be transformed or do you think that what you have now is what you’ll go out with?
To me, this passage from Paul has a number of applications – spiritual, physical, mental, emotional; relational and yes, even our Body life as we gather each week. Simply coming together week after week can put us into the “same old, same old” and the view never changes, we do what we have always done.

One thing that I do know about the human brain is that it needs new experiences to remain active and healthy otherwise nothing ever really changes.

So it is with the aspects mentioned above, for us to be renewed in each of these areas of Body life we need to have new experiences; we need to do things differently – only then, through these new experiences – will we be
transformed.

I asked some weeks back what were the things in the life of ECBC that might need to be revisited and in a way the questions are still there to be answered.

The other question that arises now though is relating to our life together each week – do we believe that what we have
now is what we will go out with or is the Holy Spirit calling you to be something more as the Body of Christ?

When the “trees” are removed what do you see?

Are you a conformer or a transformer?

Pastor Vince

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Bill Hybels calls prayer – slowing down to be with God. It is more than simply drawing up our requests and praises and presenting them in an acceptable fashion to God. It is not simply to become aware of God’s answers to our dilemmas or thinking that God expects us to pray without ceasing so He can send us the revised editions of our lives.

For me, the purpose of prayer goes much deeper. Prayer is a way to maintain constant communion with God the Father, God the Son through God the Holy Spirit. It is a way of living out a more intense relationship that Jesus describes in John 15:5-8 where Jesus talks about the vine and the branches.

Prayer is our means of remaining attached to the vine that bears eternal fruit, it is a means of having access to God so that we can know Him in a much deeper and more intimate way. Of course, each one of us will have a preferred method and time of prayer and one is not better than another.

What matters in this world of conflicting voices is that we spend time with God in prayer in some form at some part of our day, whether that is when you walk in the freshness of the morning sun, or the peace of the lunch break or the quiet of the evening or even as you marvel at the beauty of creation.

God doesn’t mind at all when and how you pray, what He wants is for us to be in prayer and Brother Lawrence reminds us that it is really all about “Practicing The Presence of God.”

Pastor Vince

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Those who attended the Sunday evening Service on the 15th May had the opportunity to experience what is like to live on $35 per year and have to make decisions that affect the whole family. We also got to hear a lot more about the needs of our local youth through Youth for Christ.

As we engaged in each of these aspects I and many others commented on the sense of unity that was evident within Erna Community Baptist Church and a sense that somehow we were drawn closer together. My thanks and appreciation go out to all who were involved during a rather busy month.

After Easter I posed the question – what next? Where does a church go from here? Well, to me the answer is found in Ephesians 4. I say this because to achieve what we did in May was the effort of every member of the body and that is no small task when there are a multitude of thoughts and ideas.

Why is this important? Because as Erina Community Baptist Church prepares for the next phase of the journey with the election of the Pastoral Search Committee we must guard the unity that is starting to develop so that the next Pastor that God is preparing will be greeted by mature believers.

Let us not forget who has called us to this unity…..“It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists and some to be pastors and teachers – why – 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 fullness of Christ.” Eph 4:11-13.

Pastor Vince

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What now though? Where does a Church go from here?

Well, just as the early believers did we too will follow on with Pentecost and begin looking at the Book of Acts and the birth of the Church as the disciples moved into being Apostles and the Mission of the Church was begun in earnest.

As well as this, we join together in Mission Month. I know this can carry an element of tradition however it is my belief that we cannot bypass the concept of mission within our churches whether it be overseas, local or the pursuit of justice for those who do not have a voice.

This month we will be focusing each of these aspects of the church’s mission; we will be recognising the work of our local missionaries when we will be ministered to by the Peter Alarcon and his team from Youth For Christ on May 15th. There will also be input from our Catalyst Team. Our Mission focus will culminate in hearing the word of God from Tobias and Heather Houston and also remembering to say thank you to those who serve us in other capacities on May 29th.

Be prepared to come with a mission mind this month as we seek to support all who are involved in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.

Pastor Vince

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It seems to me that our society is forever “on the go”, always moving – never static or stopping to catch a breath, so it’s little wonder that people feel constantly tired. I acknowledge too that some of this business is my own making so perhaps I need to instil some stronger boundaries? Do you feel this way too or is it just me?

Churches can fall into this same trap. I spoke last Sunday night about how, as recently as 10 years ago there was a plethora of conferences and programs that were designed to challenge and grow our faith. While these can be effective mechanisms for growth they can also become a distraction that takes our focus off simply being in God’s presence.

Perhaps the Psalmist was on to something when these words were penned in Ps. 46:10 – “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

As we move towards Good Friday and the celebration of Easter Sunday maybe it is time we stopped to reflect on the words the Psalmist wrote.

Pastor Vince

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