Tag Archives: 5:17 life - Page 4

Memorising the Scriptures #2

Posted by on October 28, 2009 2 comments
Man Uses Photographic Memory to Recite the Bible
By Jennifer Riley
Christian Post Reporter
Wed, Sep. 02 2009 01:59 PM EDT
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A man with a photographic memory has memorized most of the Bible and uses his gift to preach as a traveling evangelist.
The Jackson Sun reported that Charles Matlock, 59, is known as the “Walking Bible of West Tennessee” and can recite entire books and chapters.
Matlock said he started to memorize the Scriptures when he was 12 years old. He recalled memorizing his homework one day and thinking to himself that he could also memorize Scripture. The first passage he memorized was John 1:1-5.
But Matlock emphasized, “I want a relationship with Jesus more than just reading and memorizing verses.”
The “Walking Bible” has spent the last four decades traveling, mostly in southern United States, to preach in churches, nursing homes and on the streets.
“He could’ve made a lot more money in his life doing something else with his talents,” commented Jim Essary, owner of a car dealership whom Matlock has visited and prayed for several times, to the Jackson Sun. “He’s very humble and survives off of the donations people give him. I’m very impressed with his knowledge of the Bible. He’s got a good spirit. It makes you feel good when he’s around.”
Source: http://www.christianpost.com/article/20090902/man-uses-photographic-memory-to-preach-the-bible/index.html
Accessed: 070909Man Uses Photographic Memory to Recite the Bible

Last month I cam across the following article in the Christian Post: “Man Uses Photographic Memory to Recite the Bible”. It fits in with our Scripture memorisation plans:

The Jackson Sun reported that Charles Matlock, 59, is known as the “Walking Bible of West Tennessee” and can recite entire books and chapters.

Matlock said he started to memorize the Scriptures when he was 12 years old. He recalled memorizing his homework one day and thinking to himself that he could also memorize Scripture. The first passage he memorized was John 1:1-5. But Matlock emphasized, “I want a relationship with Jesus more than just reading and memorizing verses.”

The “Walking Bible” has spent the last four decades traveling, mostly in southern United States, to preach in churches, nursing homes and on the streets.

“He could’ve made a lot more money in his life doing something else with his talents,” commented Jim Essary, owner of a car dealership whom Matlock has visited and prayed for several times, to the Jackson Sun. “He’s very humble and survives off of the donations people give him. I’m very impressed with his knowledge of the Bible. He’s got a good spirit. It makes you feel good when he’s around.”

This is maybe something we can aim for :)

Principles for memorising Scripture

Posted by on October 28, 2009 1 comment

In last Sunday’s sermon on Ephesians 6:10-20, apart from other things, we looked at the sword of the Spirit – which is the Word of God. We found that the only weapon we have in the battle against Satan and his schemes is the Word of God. Jesus has won the victory over evil, sin, death and hell. And we need to actively live out this victory. We do this by wielding the weapon of God’s Word. One of the ways we do this is by memorising Scripture.

I’m super keen to see 5:17ers be a group of people who wield the weapon of the Word and reap the victory God promises. Thus, Scripture memorising will be on the front of our agenda for the coming weeks. We’ll start with our first memory verse this Sunday (Mark 11:22) – and below is a help from the ministry of The Navigators to aid our memorising. You’ll want to refer to these principles often in the coming weeks:

As you start to memorise a verse:

1. Read in your Bible the context of each verse you memorise.

2. Try to gain a clear understanding of what each verse actually means (you may want to read the verse in other Bible translations or paraphrases to get a better grasp of the meaning.)

3. Read the verse through several times thoughtfully, aloud or in a whisper. This will help you grasp the verse as a whole.

4. Discuss the verse with God in prayer, and continue to seek His help for success in Scripture memory.

While you are memorising Scripture:

5. Work on saying the verse aloud as much as possible.

6. If the verse has more than one phrase in it – learn the first phrase of the verse. Once you have learnt this and have repeated it several times, continue adding more phrases after you can quote correctly what you have already learned.

7. Think about how the verse applies to you and your daily circumstances.

8. Always include the Scripture reference when memorising the verse.

After you can quote correctly the reference and verse:

9. It is helpful to write the verse out. This deepens the impression in your mind.

10. Review the verse immediately after learning it, and repeat it frequently in the next few days. This is crucial for getting the verse firmly fixed in mind because of how quickly we tend to forget something recently learned.

11. Review, review, review! Repetition is the best way to engrave the verse on your memory.

(Source: The Navigators Scripture Memory Course: Topical Memory System, p15-16)

Eleasa and Kim’s medical mission to Kenya

Posted by on October 23, 2009 Comments Off

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On Sunday, we at 5:17 church had the privilege of having Eleasa share about her (and Kim’s) upcoming medical mission to Kenya (they’re leaving at 2am tomorrow!). For more info on their trip and what they’ll be doing, here’s the blog they’ve set up for their time away. They’re not sure if they’ll have regular access to the internet, but please keep checking the blog and keep them in your prayers.

What Our Mission Is Not

Posted by on October 22, 2009 Comments Off

During the week, I noticed that a number of 5:17ers had quoted the following John Piper link in their facebook/blog accounts. I had a read and agreed – it’s a wonderful statement of what we are meant to be all about. I thought I’d cut and paste it here for your edification.

What Our Mission Is Not

Our mission at Desiring God is to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ. By turning a few things around, we can also see what our mission is not – and therefore more clearly what it is.

Our mission is not to create cul-de-sacs, but to spread.

Our mission is not to spread just knowledge about God. It is to spread a passion for God. Head and heart.

Our mission is not to spread a passion for the mediocrity of God or for the overlooking of God or for the assuming of God. It is to spread a passion for the supremacy of God.

Our mission is not to spread a passion for the supremacy of human beings or Western materialism or even you. It is to spread a passion for the supremacy of God.

Our mission is not to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in just a few things, or just a few parts of your life like the time you spend at church, but in all things.

We aim to do this not simply for Americans or Western Christians but for all people groups.

We aim to do this not for the boredom or gloom or sadness of all people groups, but for the joy of all people groups. “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy” (Psalm 67:4).

And we aim to do this not through our own efforts or with an ambiguous God-is-whoever-you-think-he-is God in mind, but through Jesus Christ, who died for us on the cross 2,000 years ago, rose again, ascended into heaven, sent the Holy Spirit, and will come again.

May we at 5:17 church do likewise!

Back home!

Posted by on August 31, 2009 Comments Off

As most of you know (if you were at 5:17 church last night), after six weeks of amazing learning, seeing and doing on our overseas trip, Keiyeng and I got home late Saturday afternoon.

It was sad to leave the many people and places we came to love, but we’re also glad we’re home so that we can keep connecting with all of you, and (God willing) see 5:17 becoming more and more of a community of grace. We’ve been blessed by your prayers while we were away and your welcome home (especially the balloons and banner draped across our living room from our CG!).

Looking forward to getting back into blogging, and sharing some of the great things we learned.

Signs of grace

Posted by on June 28, 2009 Comments Off

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he (or she) is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). That’s our church’s theme verse. But what does it mean? It means:

  • anyone: our church exists for everyone everywhere
  • in Christ: we live and promote the life and hope found in a living relationship with Jesus Christ through trusting in His life, death, resurrection and present rule.
  • new creation: Jesus changes us from the inside out – He took our guilt, shame and sin on the cross, and in its place has given us a new life and purpose.

I love these great truths and what they mean for us as individuals and together as a church. I was chatting with a few of the guys from church the other day, and we agreed that 5:17 church is going pretty well so far. There’s a real closeness to our relationships, and there’s a real committment to connecting with people around us and seeking to connect them with Christ’s love.

But we also see that it’s easy to find small faults in other people and the church as a whole. ‘Church bashing’ is a popular game in some circles (I’m really thankful that it hasn’t existed in 5:17 church yet) – and it’s an easy game because there are lots of faults in us and the church. But how often do we look for and see positive changes in people and the church? It’s easy to point out other’s faults, but how long is it since you pointed out someone’s positive growth? If we as a church are all about seeing lives transformed by Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), then we should be on the lookout for this transformation in each other – and encourage each other as we see positive signs of growth.

So, here’s an exercise for us all to do. Let’s acknowledge and work on the faults in our church. But let’s also be on the lookout for ‘signs of grace’. God graciously changes us from hopelessness to hope, despair to joy etc. God graciously gifts us with talents to serve and love other people. Look out for how God has been and is bringing positive change in your own thinking and actions. Be on the lookout for the way God is changing people around you. Be on the lookout for the way God is changing the church. And then share what you see with others – for each other’s good and God’s glory!

5:17 church picnic this Saturday

Posted by on June 23, 2009 Comments Off

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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.

Refining our fellowship

Posted by on May 29, 2009 Comments Off

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!

Saturday sport

Posted by on May 13, 2009 Comments Off

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!)

cricket1

FEBC

Posted by on May 13, 2009 Comments Off

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!