If you are a leader in the church, think about the individuals in your care. See their faces, hear their names, and picture their lives. Consider how God has written a different story in each of their lives, filled with varied circumstances and challenges, trials and temptations, experiences and encounters. He has sovereignly led them to the life stage and situation where they now find themselves, surrounded by people you will never meet and opportunities you will never have. And you have been called by God to serve them in the accomplishment of God’s purpose for their lives. If you’re like me, the last thing you want is to sideline them to sit during a performance while you do the work or to participate in a program you have created. Instead, you want to equip them, train them, support them, and set them free to use everything God has given them to make His glory known in ways you could never design or imagine. (page 67)

This is a good reminder of my role as your pastor. Please pray for me – to equip you, train you, support you, and set you free to love and serve the Lord Jesus at church and throughout your world. And in doing so, may we fulfill the purpose God gave us in Ephesians 4:11-16

¹¹ It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, ¹² to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ 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 the fullness of Christ.

The end result being: ¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

We’re going to try and plaster this ‘vision’ for 5:17 church everywhere – on our newsheets, on this blog, in sermons, at our Community Groups, everywhere. Why? Because we want to be intentional about church. We want to make sure that everything we do helps God receive the glory as people grow to love and follow Jesus.

So, that’s the vision. If you’re a 5:17er, please prayerfully think through how you can help us live out this vision (how you can grow as a Christian, and how you can help others grow as Christians). And if for some reason you don’t come to 5:17 church, we’d love you to come visit us.

Finally, if you pray, then please partner with us by asking God to give us humility, wisdom, grace and love – so that we live out this vision faithfully.

“Once, in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.”

And one from Martin Luther:

“No other God have I but thee, born in a manger, died on a tree”

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation (Luke 1:46-50).

Lord Jesus, I woke up today very thankful for the gift of music, especially Christmas music. Every Advent [Christmas] hymn, carol, and chorus ignites my gratitude and fuels my hope. The story and implications of your birth make this non-dancer want to dance; this vocally-deficient singer break forth in song; this inhibited introvert to do cartwheels in the square. I praise you for giving me multiplied reasons sing, and for songwriters who capture my feelings and give me a means expressing what I long to say to you. I include your mother, Mary, in that list of great songwriters.

Though her story is unique, her song really isn’t. Indeed, I can sing her song—I must sing her song, for you’ve been mindful of my humble, broken, sinful state. You are being formed in me differently, but just as surely as you entered the world through Mary’s womb. You came to me when I wasn’t seeking you. Like Mary, I was chosen before the creation of the world—singled out to know you, worship you, serve you. I have nothing to boast in but you, Lord Jesus.

How inexhaustible is the treasury of your mercies; how bottomless is the ocean of your grace, how incomparable are the wonders of your love!

I consider myself as blessed of a man as anyone in the world or in all of history, because you’ve done great things for me, and you continue to do great things for me. Holy is your name, Lord Jesus. I have no concern for what any generation may say about me. It’s enough to know what you say about me. You tell me that I’m yours, that I’m forgiven, that I’m righteous in you, and that nothing can separate me from your love.

Jesus, help me to ponder and treasure these things… like a blind man seeing for the first time, a deaf man hearing for the first time, a starving man sitting down to an endless buffet of goodness and nourishment.

Indeed, your mercy has been extended to my generation and to me personally. Therefore, my soul glorifies you, Jesus, and my spirit rejoices in you, my God and my Savior. As the gospel goes deeper into my heart, free me from all fears except the fear of the Lord. May I hate only sin and love you with a love that is a perpetual “first love”. So very Amen, I sing, dance and pray, in your most glorious and gracious name.

Jacob’s Story from Unearthed on Vimeo.

Whatever it takes, Lord, give me…

Delight in you as the greatest treasure of my heart. “Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)

Desire to know you, be with you, and seek your kingdom above all else. Again: “Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)

Discernment that comes from a renewed mind that I might know your will. “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:14)

Discipline to plan for what I discern as your will. “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16)

Diligence to do your will with all my heart. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5)

Maybe you could print the 5 “Ds” and put them in your Bible, and then pray them for yourself and 5:17 church whenever you read the Bible.

Early bird registration closes this coming Sunday. Again, whether you’re a worker or a student, if you can possibly make it we’d LOVE you to come – to get trained to read and understand God’s word, to hear excellent Bible teaching, to get to know a bunch of other Christians from around Brisbane, and to ignite 2012 with a greater love for God.

Here are the mountain of drinks we brought:

Here are some other photos from the BBQ:

After going to the Mates helping Mates BBQ for the homeless on Sunday, it made me want to do more for the least and the lost. I think 5:17 church has a real heart to love the hurting – which was seen by the generous donations to the Mates helping Mates BBQ. But so that our giving comes from the right place, here is a well-balanced and helpful word from Tim Keller in his book Ministries of Mercy (pp.62-63):

Often books and speakers tell Christians that they should help the needy because they have so much. That is, of course, quite true. Common sense tells us that, if human beings are to live together on the planet, there should be a constant sharing of resources. So when the statistics are brought out to show Americans [or Australians] how much of the world’s resources we use, it creates (rightly) a sense of concern for those with less than ourselves.

But this approach is very limited in its motivating power. Ultimately it produces guilt. It says, “How selfish you are to eat steak and drive two cars when the rest of the world is starving!” This creates great emotional conflicts in the hearts of Christians who hear such arguing. We feel guilty, but all sorts of defense mechanisms are engaged. “Can I help it if I was born in this country? How will it really help anyone if I stop driving two cars? Don’t I have a right to enjoy the fruits of my labour?” Soon, with an anxious weariness, we turn away from books or speakers who simply make us feel guilty about the needy.

The Bible does not use the guilt-producing motivation, yet it powerfully argues for the ministry of mercy. In 2 Corinthians 8:2-3, Paul tells us that the Macedonian Christians gave generously to the Jerusalem famine victims. He notes that “out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity” (v. 2). The Macedonians were not of a higher social class than the needy in Jerusalem. They apparently were going through terrible trials of their own. What, then, was the dynamic that moved them to give? “Their overflowing joy . . . “ (v. 2) and “they gave themselves first to the Lord” (v. 5). It was the Macedonian’s response to the self-emptying Lord. Their gifts were a response, not to a ratio of income levels, but to the gift of Christ!