I Love New Things…

12-26pm

Don’t we all! I love new things, especially when God is doing them! This morning I got to experience a New Thing, a bit unexpectedly. I knew that Common Ground Church had started services at Sun Valley Primary School, so I thought I would go along and visit.  I got there just minutes before starting time…and joined up with all the others arriving ‘at the last minute.’  I wasn’t sure how many services they’d had there, but I was guessing a couple. “Emergency coffee” was on offer first and then the service began and to my surprise, TODAY was SERVICE NUMBER 1! Common Ground had arrived in the South Peninsula!

I saw a few people I knew, but generally the congregation were unknown to me and most of them delightfully younger than me! 🙂

Waiting to start…

There were lots of things to love. I loved that I could walk to church without crossing any major roads! I loved that I hardly knew any of the music…it was fresh and the lyrics meaningful.

The Band – loud, but not too loud!

I loved that there was not too much singing….I think about four songs, which was enough.  I loved the relaxed atmosphere. When I realised this was SERVICE NUMBER ONE, I couldn’t help myself but take photos…

Being welcomed.

Rigby speaking

I loved that Rigby Wallace, leader of the Common Ground Team, emphasized the importance of all the churches  in the area having a role to play in the deep south of Cape Town.

He also prayed for them and acknowledged that some of the visitors today (like me!) would be from other churches.

The leaders of this new church were introduced and prayed for as well.

The message this morning, delivered by Terran (red-checked shirt) was excellent. They have started a series  on How God Guides. I am sure I have mentioned on this blog before that I read through the Bible every year and have been doing so since 2007. Well all the reasons I have thought about regarding the benefits of having the Word of God rain on my head and in my heart and soak into my soul, Terren covered. It was so refreshing. He put into words all my jumbled thoughts. The part of the sermon I appreciated the most was his point on seeing Bible reading as a time of discovery and pointed out 6 things to learn as you read the Bible:

1. God’s Profile – God is interested in the world – in His Word you will discover His heart, you will feel His emotion and absorb His amazing love for you.

2. God’s Passions – God is passionate about people (I loved this) because we (people) are “His image bearers”. He made us in His image. You will discover God’s passion towards poverty (2000 Bible verses on poverty). You will read about God’s passion towards children (1500 Bible verses about children or orphans). God is passionate about the resources He gives us (many many Bible verses on money). God is passionate about how He wants us to live, for our benefit – so He gives us guidelines on forgiveness, our tongue, “how we harness our sexuality” and so many other practical areas of every day life.

3. God’s Promises – These are written throughout the Bible to guide us and give us a future and a hope  “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”. (Ephesians 2:10)

4. God’s Precepts – God’s instructions for living are in the Scriptures as well. He sets limitations for our good.

5. God’s Principles – Different to precepts in that these give understanding in the way life works. They are laws of relationships that lead  to positive living that allow us to flourish eg. you reap what you sow. Raise up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. There may be exceptions to the rule, but most times these principles work out.

6. God’s Plan – Woven throughout the Bible, you will learn about God’s plan of salvation for you. God Our Saviour Paying Everyone Life – That’s the GOSPEL message of Christ dying for each one of us.

You may not have been there this morning, but you get the message – Read the Bible! It has all the guidelines for life…

Isaiah 42:16 “Along unfamiliar paths I will guide you. I will turn darkness to light before you. I will never forsake you.” 🙂

Next week, I think I’ll go along to another ‘new thing’ in the area…my church has started a gathering in Noordhoek.  If all goes well on the home front, I’ll pop along there and have a little visit.

I’m REALLY looking forward to Rise and Shine tomorrow morning. Catch me on 107.5 CCFm if you are in the greater Cape Town area or 96.7 in the Fish Hoek Valley. www.ccfm.org.za on the world wide web. 6am to 9am!

God bless you loads.

In His Grip,

Helga xx 🙂