The Puppet Shop at the Rocks,Sydney.

In 2004 we travelled to Sydney to visit our son and his wife.

We went for a walk through the famous "Rocks" of Sydney.

There were some quaint shops including this Puppet Shop which was just amazing.

I understand it closed some time ago now.

I found these pics in my archives and post them so  others who marveled at the shop and artistry there can relive their memories.

"Together with one Voice" by Geoff Thompson

This is the message I brought to the Parkrose Village congregation on 9/12/19.
The final delivery was slightly different.

Romans 15:4-13 Living Bible (TLB)

⁴ These things that were written in the Scriptures so long ago are to teach us patience and to encourage us so that we will look forward expectantly to the time when God will conquer sin and death.

⁵ May God who gives patience, steadiness, and encouragement help you to live in complete harmony with each other—each with the attitude of Christ toward the other. ⁶ And then all of us can praise the Lord together with one voice, giving glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷ So warmly welcome each other into the church, just as Christ has warmly welcomed you; then God will be glorified. ⁸ Remember that Jesus Christ came to show that God is true to his promises and to help the Jews. ⁹ And remember that he came also that the Gentiles might be saved and give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote: “I will praise you among the Gentiles and sing to your name.”

¹⁰ And in another place, “Be glad, O you Gentiles, along with his people the Jews.”

¹¹ And yet again, “Praise the Lord, O you Gentiles; let everyone praise him.”

¹² And the prophet Isaiah said, “There shall be an Heir in the house of Jesse, and he will be King over the Gentiles; they will pin their hopes on him alone.”

¹³ So I pray for you Gentiles that God who gives you hope will keep you happy and full of peace as you believe in him. I pray that God will help you overflow with hope in him through the Holy Spirit’s power within you.

Living Bible (TLB)

The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

SERMON

“Together with one Voice”

We had this from today’s reading.

⁵ May God who gives patience, steadiness, and encouragement help you to live in complete harmony with each other—each with the attitude of Christ toward the other.

⁶ And then all of us can praise the Lord together with one voice, giving glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This might not sound like a very challenging sermon title but I can assure you it is.

I hope that today we realise and we see the need to be together in one voice and to have the attitude of Jesus towards each other.

Last Friday night there was a wonderful thing happened at the Parkrose Nursing home. The management had organised a Christmas Carol night for all the residents.

Some of us helped in the music department.

It was a wonderful evening of singing and praising God and a time of goodwill amongst all who were there.

Staff, residents and volunteers. Even the CEO.

Now not everyone there would have been Christians but the Holy Spirit was definitely there in creating a wonderful time of harmony and goodwill.

During the year amongst all those people , I can guarantee, not all has been a bed of roses.

But last Friday night there was a pause in any animosity with each other.

If you don’t take home anything else from today remember how at Christmas when Jesus is given the pre eminence, goodwill prevails. This means we let Jesus rule our hearts.

The secret is we need to do this  in our lives all day long.

Have you ever heard someone say to you “we need to be together on the same page”.

That’s probably a not so subtle suggestion that says, 

“you don’t agree with me but you should!”

 “and what’s more, you are wrong!”

That flies in the face of being together with one voice doesn’t it?

What about our politicians who can’t get on with each other even in the same party?

The backstabbing, the overthrow of one Prime Minister after another.

But really most of the time we are no better than them.

Not on the world stage but in the circles of our own lives.

The universal problem of mankind is that very quickly we can disagree with others,

we can dislike them,

 we can find fault,

we can get angry.

We can be so angry that we go to war with some other country.

At its worse level anger is behind murder and crime.

Of course there are lots of people we think are just marvellous.

But sometimes it’s funny that they too

 can fall out of our favour with us,

 when we find out they are not quite what we thought they were.

We change our minds about them.

Why does his happen so often?

Why do we form opinions about people?

Why do we think “they””they” should know better?

Do we have a right to judge others?

As Christians how should we conduct ourselves in our relationships?

To our fellow Christians,

 and to those who don’t share our beliefs?

Should we be different in this regard to those who aren’t Christians?

Or should we treat everybody the same regardless of their views?

If someone treats us very shabbily, how should we react to that?

Do we turn the other cheek?

Do we confront them?

Tell them off?

Do we even give it a second thought as to what we should do as Christians?

I am raising a lot of questions here aren’t I?

A great guide for us is that well known saying

“What would Jesus do?”

When we examine what He did as told to us in the NT, there were very few times where He said anything in anger.

On the few occasions He did some would call that righteous anger!

Do we have a right to righteous anger?

We read this earlier.

⁵ May God who gives patience, steadiness, and encouragement help you to live in complete harmony with each other—each with the attitude of Christ toward the other.

Let’s look at some of those words. 4 of them.

1.  Patience. If we learn patience we can learn to be

 slow to speak,

slow to act.

Slow to react.

Patience allows time for us to think clearly what our response should be.

This surely is an antidote to a quick temper.

Sometimes of course we can have a simmering slow passive anger that can build up to make ourselves a mess.

2  Steadiness.

Here is a definition of steady.  

(of a person) sensible, reliable, and self-restrained: eg. a solid, steady young man.

 not faltering or wavering; controlled

If we are Christians we are to be filled with God’s Spirit.

To be filled with God’s Spirit really means to be controlled by the Holy Spirit.

And if we are then we will exhibit the fruits of the spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23 New International Version (NIV)

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

3     encouragement and  help

God encourages us through fellowship with other Christians, their wise counsel, and also by His Holy Spirit.

 The Helper is one of His names.

If we are Christians He will be living within our spirits and if we listen He will help and counsel us.

Of course if we have Christian friends who are letting God’s Holy Spirit control them from within they will be able to give us wise counsel.

4     the attitude of Christ toward the other

We should have the same attitude as Jesus would.

Isn’t that saying “What would Jesus do?”

Are you getting the drift of this?

Are we being drawn into answering these questions?

One of the things that has helped me the most is this simple but profound thought.

The need to give up my right to myself.

(Jesus could have struck down his tormentors but He chose to ignore the right or power to do that.)

The need to give up my right to myself.

You might say that I couldn’t do that.

I am not going to let someone walk all over me.

Actually when you do give up the right to yourself in God’s strength that won’t be your experience.

Paul says, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18).

Let’s listen to some of Oswald Chambers from “My utmost for His Highest”

Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. —Galatians 5:24

 “Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh….” The cost to your natural life is not just one or two things, but everything. Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…” (Matthew 16:24). That is, he must deny his right to himself, and he must realize who Jesus Christ is before he will bring himself to do it.

So if we do these things.

Realise we need to be looking at and willing to sacrifice our natural instincts and reactions,

our self righteousness,

that’s when we can learn to live in harmony as our passage suggests.

In harmony with those who are with us and with those who are against us.

^“6 And then all of us can praise the Lord together with one voice, giving glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We need to live in harmony with our fellow Christians and also people who aren’t Christians.

The Bible teaches us they will know we are Christians by our Love.

What is the clue, the common denominator, to being together with one voice?

Jesus!

(The truce of Christmas in 1914 war)
I spoke briefly about this. 
How Jesus brought soldiers to a truce on Christmas day 1914.

See about this here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cSrqRdlFeo&list=PLIwb3xq_rxx2pBpsKZEvr8JTPC5dW_jSh&index=3&t=180s 

Just one final word that I read some years ago that has stuck with me.

"If we see where some Christian brother or sister is failing it is not ours to criticise and condemn but to intercede on their behalf." 

So as we move through this Christmas season, let’s endeavour to bring the message of our Saviour, 
our living Saviour,

the reality of His presence
 in our daily living,

so that we can know peace and harmony with our fellow men and women.

And let’s continue to do this well beyond the Christmas season.

OOS Sunday 08/12/19  at Parkrose. 

Welcome: Geoff 

Call to Worship: Psalm 72:18-19 (KJV)

Hymn:  “O come all ye faithful”  89  4v

Announcements:

Hymn: “Never in all human story”  96  3v

Communion 

Offering 

Church Prayer

Bible Reading: Romans 15:4-13 Living Bible (TLB)

Hymn: “Kindred in Christ” 250  4v            

Sermon:  “together with one voice”

Hymn:  “Love came down at Christmas”  95  3v

Benediction

Vesper:  Now unto Him

Cuppa time

 

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More from Oswald Chambers

 

 

 

Today's devotion by Oswald Chambers from his classic My Utmost for His Highest

 

November 15

“What Is That to You?”

By Oswald Chambers

Peter…said to Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?" Jesus said to him, "…what is that to you? You follow Me." —John 21:21-22

One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people’s lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s plan for others. You see someone suffering and say, “He will not suffer, and I will make sure that he doesn’t.” You put your hand right in front of God’s permissive will to stop it, and then God says, “What is that to you?” Is there stagnation in your spiritual life? Don’t allow it to continue, but get into God’s presence and find out the reason for it. You will possibly find it is because you have been interfering in the life of another— proposing things you had no right to propose, or advising when you had no right to advise. When you do have to give advice to another person, God will advise through you with the direct understanding of His Spirit. Your part is to maintain the right relationship with God so that His discernment can come through you continually for the purpose of blessing someone else.
Most of us live only within the level of consciousness— consciously serving and consciously devoted to God. This shows immaturity and the fact that we’re not yet living the real Christian life. Maturity is produced in the life of a child of God on the unconscious level, until we become so totally surrendered to God that we are not even aware of being used by Him. When we are consciously aware of being used as broken bread and poured-out wine, we have yet another level to reach— a level where all awareness of ourselves and of what God is doing through us is completely eliminated. A saint is never consciously a saint— a saint is consciously dependent on God.

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Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

There is no allowance whatever in the New Testament for the man who says he is saved by grace but who does not produce the graceful goods. Jesus Christ by His Redemption can make our actual life in keeping with our religious profession.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount

"Facts that strengthen our Faith"

I shared these thoughts with the Parkrose Nursing Home Church congregation recently and both Renmark Uniting Churches.
This version was presented at Parkrose. It was slightly different at Renmark.
Below the sermon is the order of service and the Bible Reading.

SERMON

How are you going in the Faith department?

If you’re anything like me I often don’t have much.

I wish I could be more believing more often,

more effective as a Christian.

For some of us,

when we started our Christian life,

it was all very exciting and new.

It was for me.

God’s Holy Spirit had spoken to me about my need for salvation and need of our Saviour Jesus.

I was under conviction for 3 years before I became a Christian at 28.

 but at the time I could see how He was reaching out to me much earlier than that.

Some of us may have had a subsequent period in our lives,after we became a Christian, when we were “on fire for the Lord” as some would say.

Very involved,

attending this service and that,

this convention and that,

listening to prominent speakers,

attending Bible Studies,

sharing our faith with all who would listen,

Sometimes whether they wanted to hear us or not.

Singing in the choir,

taking up leadership roles in our Church.

And then some things might have come along to cause us to stumble a bit.

Relationship break ups,

the onset of chronic illness,

tragedies all around.

You might have worked out previously in your thinking,

like me,

 how God was going to give you a perfect life.

But like me your faith may have started to wain when challenges came.

Maybe we were  starting to become a bit sceptical and beginning to think our non Christian friends might be right.

They didn’t believe and maybe thought we were a bit delusional even though they still liked us.

They came up with questions that you didn’t always have answers for.

You were quite confident there were answers but found it hard to find them when needed.

They couldn’t see how Christians could have any fun and maybe you were starting to believe them.

Some of course who are here today have come from all sorts of Christian backgrounds.

For some our Faith is something that quietly started somewhere and then just grew over the years.

It may have been a slow and steady experience and you really just enjoyed and still do, being a Christian.

For some as we get older and come into places like this we know we are not that far off from passing to the next life.

We might ,even though we are advanced in years, still be searching for answers and assurance about what happens next.

We might be wanting a faith that works that will carry us through.

Well if what I have been describing resonates with you,

or is something you have experienced,

or even still are,

then I think today's passage can bring us some comfort.

A boost to our faith if you like.

We should always hope to leave a Church service feeling better than when we came in.

That can be if we allow God to touch us. 

My prayer is that will be our experience today,

Here are 4 things I think today's reading can help get us back on track.

1. The Fact of Jesus rising from the dead.

^1.8 Don’t ever forget the wonderful fact that Jesus Christ was a man, born into King David’s family; and that he was God, as shown by the fact that he rose again from the dead.

This passage is reminding us of the foundation of our faith which is a fact.

 A fact born about by History and Literature and the Word of God and God’s Holy Spirit.

And the testimony of those who knew Him when He physically walked this earth.

People will dispute this.

But the evidence is outstanding to those who are not prejudiced about becoming Christians.

You see many people, who are never likely to believe, are wanting to protect their right to be who they want to be.

That really means to sin without being accountable to God.

This blinds them from ever wanting to examine the evidence with an open mind.

Their minds are largely closed.

Some such people however may still be touched by God’s Holy Spirit even though it is against their wills.

After all such were some of us.

2.  We will be living in Heaven with Jesus. In a sense we are already.

¹¹ I am comforted by this truth, that when we suffer and die for Christ it only means that we will begin living with him in heaven. ¹² And if we think that our present service for him is hard, just remember that some day we are going to sit with him and rule with him.

This passage is a reminder that the best is yet to come.

That God has a purpose right now for everyone of us.

Suffering is something we are much more able to endure when we have all the promises God has for us and that He will keep.

And this following passage is a great encouragement when our faith is failing and weak.

3.God is faithful to us.

¹³ Even when we are too weak to have any faith left, he remains faithful to us and will help us, for he cannot disown us who are part of himself, and he will always carry out his promises to us.
God is aware of our human frailty.
He will and has already imparted His faith to us.
My mum used to love that little poem called footprints.
That is a very good scriptural example of what God, Jesus, is doing for us when we are that weak that our Faith is almost gone.
He will safely and faithfully escort us on through these tough times and over the hurdles we face.

One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You'd walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you."

And this last bit from today’s passage is encouraging those of us who can, to encourage one another.

4.

¹⁴ Remind your people of these great facts, and command them in the name of the Lord not to argue over unimportant things. Such arguments are confusing and useless and even harmful. ¹⁵ Work hard so God can say to you, “Well done.” Be a good workman, one who does not need to be ashamed when God examines your work. Know what his Word says and means.

 We need to keep working on our Faith,

reading the Bible when we can,

attending Church here and other activities such as the hymn singing and communion services during the week.

Talk to each other about your faith.

How you’re feeling maybe exactly how someone else is and you can work together to lighten the burden.

We are told also to avoid arguing.

It’s sad but there was for sometime, an argument going on as to who actually was the author of the poem footprints.

The simple fact is that God actually wrote it not word for word, but in truth, in His Bible

Conclusion.

So is our Faith weak?

Does our faith need to be stronger?

In simple truth it doesn’t really matter.

If you are a Christian you are God’s Child.

We have a sign on our mantelpiece.

“GOD,  I am in your Hands.

I know you won’t drop me.”

He won’t.

That’s a fact.

We will now sing our last Hymn.

Can you guess what that might be?

Parkrose service13/10/19

Welcome

Call to worship: 

Hymn: “This is my Father’s World”  4v 

Announcements:

Bible Reading: 2 Tim 2:8-15                      

Hymn: “Great is thy Faithfulness”  3v 

Communion: 

Offering: 

Church Prayer:

Hymn:  “Now I belong to Jesus”  3v

Message:  “Facts that strengthen our Faith”

Hymn: “He’s got the whole world in His hands” 5v 

Benediction and Vesper: Now unto Him 

2 Timothy 2:8-15 Living Bible (TLB)

⁸ Don’t ever forget the wonderful fact that Jesus Christ was a man, born into King David’s family; and that he was God, as shown by the fact that he rose again from the dead. ⁹ It is because I have preached these great truths that I am in trouble here and have been put in jail like a criminal. But the Word of God is not chained, even though I am. ¹⁰ I am more than willing to suffer if that will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.
¹¹ I am comforted by this truth, that when we suffer and die for Christ it only means that we will begin living with him in heaven. ¹² And if we think that our present service for him is hard, just remember that some day we are going to sit with him and rule with him. But if we give up when we suffer, and turn against Christ, then he must turn against us. ¹³ Even when we are too weak to have any faith left, he remains faithful to us and will help us, for he cannot disown us who are part of himself, and he will always carry out his promises to us.
¹⁴ Remind your people of these great facts, and command them in the name of the Lord not to argue over unimportant things. Such arguments are confusing and useless and even harmful. ¹⁵ Work hard so God can say to you, “Well done.” Be a good workman, one who does not need to be ashamed when God examines your work. Know what his Word says and means.

Living Bible (TLB)

"The Push"- by Tommy Caldwell a review.

I have just finished reading "The Push" by Tommy Caldwell.
My eldest son recently lent me this book and I have just finished it a few days ago.
My son Darren was a late comer  to rock climbing and is now working in the Rock Climbing Industry in Sweden.

Since he has been doing climbing I have gradually learned a little of the procedures and some of the terminology.

If I didn't have that experience I would have perhaps not had the interest or the perseverance to read this book.
Notwithstanding that I think that anyone reading this will be captivated.

It traces the amazing story of Tommy Caldwell and his family as they grew up in beautiful surroundings and the woods of Yosemite National Park beckoning.

In terms of achievements in his chosen sport they are monumental.

Literally.

I read the book in about 4 sessions.

Very honest,heartbreaking at times, and enthralling.

I recommend it to anyone who likes to be inspired.

You can watch Tommy giving a talk about his life and the book at the link below.

I didn't know why it was called "the Push" until towards the end of the book.

There is more than one "Push" in the book.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsV9Arv6IDw

"Faith is for weak people!" Ray Comfort Interview

I was once having a discussion with a person at an end of year function.

I was sharing how I became a Christian.

I was told that I was a weak person and all people who believed in God, Jesus were weak.

I found that a very sad statement.

Ray Comfort's new book addresses that statement and thought as does this interview

I follow Ray Comfort on his Youtube  channel.

"Living Waters".

Here he is being interviewed by Eric Metaxas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WnY6CwSo6k

Be stretched from your current thinking perhaps.

Her is a link to one of his normal programs at Living Waters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4qxWUl1HsM

Today's reading from Oswald Chambers from My Utmost for His Highest

Getting into God’s Stride

By Oswald Chambers

 

Enoch walked with God… —Genesis 5:24

The true test of a person’s spiritual life and character is not what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does during the ordinary times when there is nothing tremendous or exciting happening. A person’s worth is revealed in his attitude toward the ordinary things of life when he is not under the spotlight (see John 1:35-37 and John 3:30). It is painful work to get in step with God and to keep pace with Him— it means getting your second wind spiritually. In learning to walk with God, there is always the difficulty of getting into His stride, but once we have done so, the only characteristic that exhibits itself is the very life of God Himself. The individual person is merged into a personal oneness with God, and God’s stride and His power alone are exhibited.
It is difficult to get into stride with God, because as soon as we start walking with Him we find that His pace has surpassed us before we have even taken three steps. He has different ways of doing things, and we have to be trained and disciplined in His ways. It was said of Jesus— “He will not fail nor be discouraged…” (Isaiah 42:4) because He never worked from His own individual standpoint, but always worked from the standpoint of His Father. And we must learn to do the same. Spiritual truth is learned through the atmosphere that surrounds us, not through intellectual reasoning. It is God’s Spirit that changes the atmosphere of our way of looking at things, and then things begin to be possible which before were impossible. Getting into God’s stride means nothing less than oneness with Him. It takes a long time to get there, but keep at it. Don’t give up because the pain is intense right now— get on with it, and before long you will find that you have a new vision and a new purpose.

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Are You Going on With Jesus? from My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers

September 19 

Are You Going on With Jesus?

By Oswald Chambers

You are those who have continued with Me in My trials. —Luke 22:28

It is true that Jesus Christ is with us through our temptations, but are we going on with Him through His temptations? Many of us turn back from going on with Jesus from the very moment we have an experience of what He can do. Watch when God changes your circumstances to see whether you are going on with Jesus, or siding with the world, the flesh, and the devil. We wear His name, but are we going on with Him? “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66).
The temptations of Jesus continued throughout His earthly life, and they will continue throughout the life of the Son of God in us. Are we going on with Jesus in the life we are living right now?
We have the idea that we ought to shield ourselves from some of the things God brings around us. May it never be! It is God who engineers our circumstances, and whatever they may be we must see that we face them while continually abiding with Him in His temptations. They are His temptations, not temptations to us, but temptations to the life of the Son of God in us. Jesus Christ’s honor is at stake in our bodily lives. Are we remaining faithful to the Son of God in everything that attacks His life in us?
Are you going on with Jesus? The way goes through Gethsemane, through the city gate, and on “outside the camp” (Hebrews 13:13). The way is lonely and goes on until there is no longer even a trace of a footprint to follow— but only the voice saying, “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19).

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Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

The fiery furnaces are there by God’s direct permission. It is misleading to imagine that we are developed in spite of our circumstances; we are developed because of them. It is mastery in circumstances that is needed, not mastery over them. The Love of God—The Message of Invincible Consolation, 674 R