This Sunday we not only want to recognise Father’s Day but I want to talk about what it means to be a man in today’s world and how to clarify and incorporated the the values that God has in mind for us as husbands and fathers. There are so many confusing models of manhood portrayed through the media that it’s no wonder that men are often confused about what is required of them and many have abdicated their responsibilities in the home and in the church. Have you even thought about, why are there so many bored unfulfilled men who don’t enjoy their job – hanging out for retirement. Many have lost the spirit of adventure that they had as young men and they aren’t taking risks anymore. This is what will happen to us if we don’t learn to trust God with a servant heart. When you stop taking risks you begin to die because the challenge goes out of life. Every man needs a challenge and goal bigger than himself.  Being male is a matter of birth, but being a man is a matter of choice so come and test your manhood against God’s model.See you Sunday.

It hard to believe that we have reached the end of our 40 days journey! Judging from your comments its been a great blessing to many of us. This Sunday the obvious question is ‘What have we learned and how has it changed us’ – a truth learned and not put into practice soon leads to doubt or more simply put, ‘use it or lose it’. In a real sense the success of our journey will be the changes it has helped produce in our lives six months from now. We have been reminded that our life purpose is far greater than our happiness and personal fulfillment. It’s far greater than our dreams and our ambition. In fact we need to give up our small ambitions in order to embrace what God has got planned for us. “Everything got started in Him and finds purpose in Him.” Col 1:16 (Msg) This simple truth contains the potential to change us, especially our perspective and priorities. When we catch this insight we will have begun the journey that will transform our lives. Now we must encourage one another.

See You Sunday!

Once we have committed ourselves to loving God and His family, to becoming more like Christ through discipleship and using our gifts and abilities to serve God by serving others, there remains one more purpose that God has for us to fulfil. God wants us to pass on what we know to others. Jesus: “In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world (Father), I give them a mission in the world.”   John 17:18 (Mes) Jesus Christ began God’s great mission to build a family, but the most extraordinary thing is that he has chosen us to complete it, with the help of the Holy Spirit. He has no other plan. This is not ‘mission impossible’, it is ‘mission inevitable’ and this is the ultimate purpose of human history. Jesus said that “Only those who give away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.”   Mark 8:35 (LB) Together as God’s people we can achieve everything that God wants for us and live abundantly in the process.

See you Sunday!

About 390 people at St Andrews are participating in the fourty day journey of ‘Purpose Driven Life’. The subject of our fourth week, which I plan to introduce on Sunday is called, ‘Created to Become Like Christ’. This is God’s 3^rd purpose for our life; “From the beginning God decided that those who come to him – and he knew who would – should become like his Son…’(Rom 8: 29 LB) What is so helpful about this next study is the way it helps us appreciate that God is our Teacher and He has several very useful tools at His disposal. We may not always appreciate or understand the way God goes about His work but the results are indisputable. Until we understand this, God’s purpose for our life, and the things that happen to us in life won’t make much sense.

See you Sunday!

On Sunday we are going to look at the second reason God gave us life and this is to ‘learn what it means to be a part of God’s family’. Hebrews 2:10 says “God is the one who made all things, and all things are for his glory. He wanted to have many children share His glory…” Heb 2:10a NCV.The reason we are alive is because God wants a family and He wants us to be a part of it. Ephesians 1:5 says, “His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.” NLT This is one of the most amazing verses in the Bible, that God should want us to be a part of His family for eternity. In fact the whole Bible tells the story of God commitment to building a family. Although many people resist God’s plan it is the best offer we will ever receive in life and to reject it is to reject the second of God’s five great life purposes for us all. Let’s celebrate God’s wonderful gift of family.

See You Sunday!

I’m now back at my desk after three weeks home leave in New Zealand and most of you will know that this coincided with the death of my mother in law who went to be with the Lord while we were sitting with her. My wife Frances and I thank God not only for His perfect timing but the wonderful support we have received from old friends in NZ and new friends in St Andrews KL. Thank you for all your expressions of sympathy and especially for the beautiful flowers.

This Sunday we begin Rick Warrens ‘Purpose Driven Life’ which starts with a provocative and fundamental question about the meaning of life, ‘What on Earth am I Here For?’ It’s a  question that assume that we aren’t here by accident – that there is a Creator who is responsible and involved in His creation – that there is a plan, design and purpose to life. Although most of us would agree that life is too precious to waste the truth is that most people don’t think seriously enough about their life purpose. If you find yourself agreeing that this is something that you need to do then why not join the 300 others who have signed up for the full course.

See you Sunday!

Easter is all about change. God took the worst possible situation imaginable – the death of His Son – the most perfect man who ever lived and turned it around by raising him to life again. In that moment He changed the history of the world. The Bible says, “If we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son just think how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrected life.” Rom.5:10 (Mes) Easter is God’s invitation to have a changed life. Even the most contented among us would not argue with the fact that there is room for improvement in our lives. Good is the enemy of best and as good as our life may be why settle for anything less than the ‘life in all it’s fulness’ that Jesus died to win for us. Join with us as we celebrate the most remarkable reversal in human history.

See You Sunday?

On Palm Sunday Jesus was greeted with all the enthusiasm a crowd usually reserves for a conquering king. Josephus the Jewish historian estimated that over one million people would squeeze into Jerusalem for the annual Passover and most of them had undoubtedly heard about Jesus of Nazareth. What the crowd didn’t notice was that Jesus was not riding on a white stallion, the horse usually reserved for conquering kings, but a donkey. Jesus had declared many times that his ‘kingdom was not of this world’ and that the power and glory of God’s Kingdom was infinitely greater than the kingdoms of this world and that blessings of God are reserved for those who honour and worship the King. Happily this brings us to the final prayer in the prayer Jesus taught his disciples to pray – “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen”  Matthew 6:13. Every true believer seeks God’s blessing more than anything else and in Jesus final prayer we are invited to receive it.

See you Sunday!

We have just two more weeks on the Lord’s Prayer and this week our attention turns to the seventh prayer, which we can call the ‘Prayer of Protection’; “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”  William Barclay writes; ‘Temptation is not so much the penalty of being a man it’s the glory of being a man.’ The devil understands our potential as God’s children and he wants to destroy it in us just like he wanted to destroy Jesus during his forty day of temptation in the wilderness. Jesus was able to counter the wiles of the devil and so can we if we understand how God views temptation and what He has provided for us, in order to escape.

See you Sunday

This Sunday, God willing, we will continue our study of the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ on the fourth of the eight different subjects that Jesus dealt with; “Give us this day our daily bread.’ For most of us food is plentiful and inexpensive which may cause us to wonder about the relevance of this prayer to us. However Jesus prayer is much more significant than a simple request for our daily food. The very fact that God is concerned about our physical needs and not just spiritual needs reminds us of our responsibilities towards each other as well. Jesus did not teach us to pray ‘Give me’ but ‘Give us’ this day my daily bread’ , we are our brothers keeper.Those of us to whom much has been give from us much more is expected. This prayer also invites us to thank God for our daily bread. We are reminded that it is God  “who gives us the ability to earn wealth.” Deut 8:18. We also remember that Jesus is the ‘Bread of life’ and that only He can satisfy the spiritual hunger pains that are just as real as any physical pangs of hunger we may feel.

See you Sunday!