5:17 Church Picnic
- Roma Street Parklands
- Saturday 27th June
- 12pm-4pm
Come along – and bring your friends!! (soccer ball included, but lolly pops and love hearts not provided!!)
We’ll ring around the 5:17ers to give more details about food and other stuff to bring.
Last night in our Central Community Group (CG), apart from eating cake, chips and weird lavendar biscuits, we had a look at Philippians 1:1-11. We covered heaps of stuff, but what stood out for me was our discussion on “partnership in the gospel” (v.5). This was really thought provoking.
Why? Because the English word partnership is a translation of the Greek (the original language of the New Testament) word koinonia. What we found interesting is that the word koinonia is more commonly translated in the New Testament as fellowship.
Koinonia can mean partnership, sharing or fellowship. It was a word that was taken from the first century business world. It conjured up the image of two or more people who are bound together to bring about a shared vision – e.g. stakeholders in a company.
What does this tell us about true (biblical) Christian fellowship? Often we think of fellowship as two or more Christians hanging out together. Often after church, we stay and chat about sport or Master Chef etc. But is this true biblical fellowship? Is this partnership in the gospel? Is this commitment to a shared vision? Hanging out as Christians, growing as friends can come under the banner of fellowship, but hanging out as Christians must be part of a bigger picture than just hanging out.
Partnership or fellowship is to partner or fellowship over something. And for Christians, the shared vision that we are stakeholders of is the gospel – the good news of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and rule (and everything this means for us and the world).
What does this mean practically for us? Last night we discussed the following: as well as hanging out and chatting about everything and anything, our conversations should be saturated with the gospel, delighting in God, sharing with one another what we’ve been learning from His Word, joining in prayer for the advance of the gospel (not least in the lives of those to whom we’ve been bearing witness), encouraging one another in obedience and maturing discipleship, bearing one another’s burdens and growing in sacrificial love for one another for Christ’s sake.
Partnership in the gospel means spending time together to bring about the same shared vision. Our fortnightly sport is an enterprise in spending time together for the purpose of growing as a group and connecting with others. So too is our Roma St BBQ’s. How else can we grow in fellowship? Let’s keep asking this question, and enjoy the results.
May we at 5:17 flourish in our fellowship as we connect with each other, and connect with others to connect them with Jesus!
I’m writing this to clear up the possible myth that our fortnightly Saturday arvo sport is just for the jocks amongst us (hrmm…). It’s actually for all of us. Of course not all of us are sporting types and that’s perfectly fine, but what Saturday arvo ‘sport’ lends itself to is us getting out and about in the local community (and specifically Perrin Park), showing our faces (and our pale skin), and hopefully meeting and hanging out with people we wouldn’t normally.
Take last Saturday for example. After some odd throwing drills and some decent batting and bowling practice, 3 of us joined in on a ‘game’ of cricket being played by a father and primary-aged son from Fiji. Growing up, I never ever came close to such a scenario, but thanks to 5:17 sport, there I was bowling full tosses and wides with the best of them! :p Pity about the dead rat lurking a metre away from the bowling crease. :S
It was lovely though to be part of the local community that gathers at Perrin Park on a Saturday afternoon, and who knows what God will bring of it through our collective investment and prayers.
(We might even get fit!)
A Chinese itinerant evangelist wrote to FEBC about a visit he made to an isolated village of a hundred people. Upon his arrival, he struck up a conversation with a local resident, and soon launched into the story of creation.
It wasn’t long before the villager said, ‘We know about Jesus. We have a radio, and we’ve been listening to Christian broadcasts for a long time. We even have a church with 35 members.’
The evangelist finished his letter, ‘Thank you for your broadcasts and the work that God is doing through your ministry. I must confess that I didn’t think God could build a church through radio but clearly He can!’
Taken from an FEBC giving / promo leaflet.
I love the work of FEBC for reasons like this story. It’s so cool to read correspondence like this and see how God is growing the mustard seed tree when no-one’s looking. And there are thousands more stories like it – some of which FEBC gets to hear about and some they don’t.
If you didn’t already know, you’ve probably gathered that FEBC does its main work of evangelism and edification by radio. They transmit Christian programs, usually by short-wave, into many countries around the world where people (missionaries) can’t get to easily (for political or other reasons), and miraculously and wonderfully, God causes people to listen and to hear and to become part of His kingdom.
We’re yet to finalise this, but FEBC will probably be one of the organisations that we support as a church this year. It’s well worth getting excited about (when was the last time you got EXCITED about converting worldly wealth into the currency of heaven?!) so do some more reading about them here!
re-visiting last Sunday’s sermon…
Jesus said: And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. (Luke 16:9)
We cannot take our possessions with us when we die. Things do not last, but people do. People go on for eternity (Ecclesiastes 3:11; Hebrews 9:27). And here in Luke 16:9, Jesus tells His followers to be money exchangers, who exchange the capital of the earth (possessions) and change it into the currency of heaven (people).
What does this mean? It means, as stewards of God’s money (Haggai 2:8), we are to be generous in providing funds for ministries that get God’s love and gospel out to the ends of the earth.
Therefore, some prayer points that might be helpful for us are:
Father, could it be that you have raised me up – with the financial assets you have entrusted to me – for such a time as this? Is it more than a coincidence that you, Lord God, have entrusted me with such resources just at the point in history when an unparalleled number of people have such great needs and there are unprecedented means and opportunities to help them?
Jesus, have I over-accumulated? Have I allowed unwise spending and the accumulating of debt to inhibit my giving? Do my spending habits mean that I don’t have enough to give?
Lord, what do I need to let go of in order to be a good manager of your resources?
Father, where in the world do you want me to go, see and participate in meeting physical and spiritual needs through Christ-centred ministries? Is it a soup kitchen? Prison ministry? Is short-term or long-term service overseas part of your exciting plan for me or my family?
(adapted from Randy Alcorn, The Treasure Principle, p 97-120)
So, some help with GIVING! Here are some great ministries who constantly need financial support:
Evangelism Ministries:
Compassion Ministries:
Persecuted Church Ministries:
And let’s not make this a taboo subject. Talk about money!! As fellow disciples, we need to ask, and let others ask us about money – how we’re going at giving it away.
From the master financial planner:
“I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”
So far this year at 5:17 church, our Sunday sermons have included an overview of the Bible (Genesis 1-Revelation 22), Easter messages and Luke 14-16. Now, starting from this coming Sunday, it’s time for us to have a look at one of the Apostle Paul’s great letters: Philippians.
The series will go for 10 weeks and is called The Rebel’s Guide to Joy. It’ll be a mixture of sermon videos from Pastor Mark Driscoll (Mars Hill Church, Seattle) and live messages from me (Steve).
These messages are aimed to challenge and shape our heads (knowledge), our hearts (character) and our hands (skills). They’ll be challenging for 5:17 members, and helpful for visitors. So invite your friends to the following Sundays!
May 10 – Acts 16, Phil 1:1a – The Rebel’s Guide to Joy
May 17 – Phil 1:1b-11 – The Rebel’s Guide to Joy in Loneliness
May 24 – Phil 1:12-18 – The Rebel’s Guide to Joy in Suffering
May 31 – Phil 1:19-30 – The Rebel’s Guide to Joy in Death
June 7 – Phil 2:1-11 – The Rebel’s Guide to Joy in Humility
June 14 – Phil 2:12-30 – The Rebel’s Guide to Joy in Temptation
June 21 – Phil 3:1-11 – The Rebel’s Guide to Joy in Conflict
June 28 – Phil 3:12-4:1 – The Rebel’s Guide to Joy in Exhaustion
July 5 – Phil 4:2-9 – The Rebel’s Guide to Joy in Anxiety
July 12 – Phil 4:10-23 – The Rebel’s Guide to Joy in Poverty
I love the following story:
During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death. The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis wandered into the room. “What’s the rumpus about?” he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.” Only Christianity dares to make God’s love unconditional.
Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace?, p 45
If grace is at the heart of Christianity, why is it that so many of us struggle with the whole concept of grace? What is grace? How do we receive it? And how do we grow in it (as 2 Peter 3:18 states)?
We’re not alone in asking these questions. Some first generation Christians misunderstood the true grace of God too. That’s why the Apostle Peter wrote two letters: the first, a brief letter of encouragement to stand firm in the true grace of God; the second, written on his death-bed, his last words to the Church.
In a couple of weeks time, there will be a free seminar, run by Queensland Theological College. Its Principal, Bruce Winter will give four talks on I and II Peter:
- Focus on the future
- Focus on doing good
- Focus on living and dying well
- Focus on the Word of God
This is a highly recommended event. It’ll be held at Creek Road Presbyterian Church, corner Creek and Fursdon Roads, Carina from 9:30am to 3:15pm. Morning tea will be provided, but BYO lunch.
It’s a free Seminar, but please register beforehand by sending the organisers an email at info@qtc.edu.au.
Join us at Roma Street Parklands, where we will celebrate the most important event in history, whilst eating good food, growing in community, and playing some sport! Come at 3pm for sport, BBQ around 5-ish. Bring your friends!
More details about food and exactly where to meet in Roma St TBC soon.
This Saturday is the first ever of our fortnightly Saturday sport afternoons – a community health service to you and any friends you want to invite. 
It’ll be 4pm at the oval next to Perrin Park – park on Josling St, Toowong and you’ll see us there. Bring water, snacks, frisbees / soccer balls / footies, rugs, towels, hats, and friends.
Come every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month; your potential atherosclerosis will thank you for it plus you get to hang out with 5:17ers.
What is it?
Introducing God is a series of talks addressing the key elements of the Christian faith. We do not force you to believe what we believe, but aim to introduce God to you with gentleness and respect.
Who’s it for?
Introducing God is for everyone – it covers the whole of the Bible (from Genesis to Revelation), helping both Christians and non-Christians to grasp the Christian worldview in its entirety. The series of talks is especially helpful for those wanting to investigate Christianity.
Where and when is it?
The talks will be given at the 5:17 church service which meets at 5 for 5:17pm at 83 Ryans Rd, St Lucia. The series goes for 7 consecutive Sundays from Feb 15 to Mar 29 – come for any or all Sundays. Anyone is welcome. We’d love you to join us!
Sessions and dates:
15/2 | Genesis 1 | God, us and the meaning of life
22/2 | Genesis 3 | Our declaration of autonomy
01/3 | Psalm 2 | What will God do about it?
08/3 | Luke 8 | God’s competent King
15/3 | Luke 23 | The death that changes everything
22/3 | Acts 2 | God made Jesus both Lord and Christ
29/3 | Revelation 21-22 | Are you thirsty?
