coalface 31 october 2011
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From the
Coalface
31st October 2011
The NORTHLAKES Salvation Army Community Church
Our Provisional Plans
Read 1 Corinthians 16:5-9 5-9 I plan to visit you after passing through northern Greece. I won't be staying long there, but maybe I can stay awhile with you—maybe even spend the winter? Then you could give me a good send-off, wherever I may be headed next. I don't want to just drop by in between other "primary" destinations. I want a good, long, leisurely visit. If the Master agrees, we'll have it! For the present, I'm staying right here in Ephesus. A huge door of opportunity for good work has opened up here. (There is also mushrooming opposition.) (THE MESSAGE) Most of us make plans for the future. Holidays are scheduled, social gatherings are put on the calendar, conferences or concerts are put in the diary. Those who follow Jesus make such plans but need to do so understanding that they themselves do not ultimately manage their own lives. Here, Paul is telling the Corinthians of his own plans to visit them. But this long and leisurely visit didn’t materialise and he copped some flak from the Corinthians because of it. While Paul had his own good ideas, God had other ideas. All our planning is thus provisional. We can normally assume the plans will be fulfilled. But circumstances can change. Our planning was done with the best of intentions. When the plans are changed we might wonder if we have made some terrible mistake. More often than not, we haven’t. We merely have to recognise our own limitations of knowledge and use such plans changes to deepen our trust in God’s wisdom rather than our own organisational sense. So we plan, but recognise God might have his own plans. One further thing: how interesting that Paul’s increased opportunities to share his faith corresponded to increased opposition. Something else to ponder!
Page 2 Northlakes Salvation Army
Northlakes Salvos
are now on
follow us @NorthlakesSA
ONE’S TRASH ANOTHER’S TREASURE
When: 26th November
Where: 46 Reservoir Rd, Glendale
Things
required: Books, clothes. Bric-a-brac,
appliances, plants, furniture,
and what ever you have to donate.
Phone Jeff 0414 583 224 or Lisa
0488 201 227 for pick ups.
Soccer Team Presentation
The men’s and women’s soccer team present
ation will be during our church service on
Sunday 6th November.
Following this, a BYO picnic will be held at
Speers Point Park to celebrate the successes of
the season.
All players and
families are
welcome, along with
any others from our
church family.
Graeme Evans
Mental Illness - No One There To Save You The band Simple Plan has a song which reflects on life with these words: "To be on the edge of breaking down And no one's there to save you. No, you don't know what it's like Welcome to my life." This could be either teenage angst or the struggle with mental torment. ABC sports reporter, Craig Hamilton has written a book on his own struggle with mental illness called "Broken Open." In this honest and revealing story he tells of a mental breakdown in his life due to Bipolar mental illness. He writes about his experi-ences to help people understand the condition. Hamilton says that one in six Australian sufferers of Bipolar illness commit suicide and one in three never receive treatment. It’s the great unspoken illness of our society. People are afraid to ask for help so they struggle on alone. In the words of the song – "with no one there to save them." Are you struggling with depression and can’t see a way out? If so, please act. Tell a friend. See a doctor. Pray and be sure you get help.
Page 3 Northlakes Salvation Army
Editor's Note: The following is a re-
port on the practical applications
of Michael Frost & Alan
Hirsch's book, The Faith of Leap:
Embracing a Theology of Risk, Ad-
venture, and Courage, (Baker Books,
2011).
If you’re a Christian, you aren’t
meant to live a safe life. You’re
meant to live an adventurous life,
following wherever God leads you.
Anything less than that dishonours
God, blocks your ability to grow into
the person God wants you to become,
and diminishes your contributions to
the world.
The only way to truly fulfil God’s
purposes for your life is to take the
risks God calls you to take – just as
Jesus did. So the next time God calls
you to take a leap of faith, do so.
Here’s how to follow God on a great
adventure:
Stop settling for a mediocre life. A
mediocre life isn’t good enough for
you, since God intends for you to live
a great life every day that you’re
alive on Earth. Realize that by set-
tling for mediocrity, you’re missing
out on many blessings that God
wants you to enjoy and many oppor-
tunities to do work that had eternal
value.
Make Jesus your role model. Jesus’
life was a great adventure, full of
risks that demanded courage but led
to profound change for the better. As
a Christian, God wants you to live as
Jesus did, embracing adventure to the
fullest. If you shrink back from
following wherever God leads you,
you’re not honouring Him. But if you
love God and other people and make
whatever sacrifices are necessary to
fully follow where God leads you,
you’re emulating Jesus and honour-
ing God.
View life as an opportunity rather
than as a threat. Ask God to give
you a vision of specific ways that He
wants you to serve Him in this world.
Let that knowledge excite you and
motivate you to seek and fulfil God’s
purposes for your life every day, in-
stead of worrying about what trouble
might come your way each day.
Recognize that any control you may
think you have over what happens to
you is an illusion, so trying to control
your circumstances is a waste of your
time and energy. Instead, embrace
the opportunities that God gives you
each day, and make the most of them,
trusting that God will help you along
the way.
Pray for the faith you need to
overcome fear. It’s natural to feel
afraid when you encounter
challenging situations, but you never
have to give into the fear that you
feel. Pray regularly for fresh doses of
faith that will empower you to move
forward with what God wants you to
do, despite feeling afraid, because
God is with you. Read God’s
promises to you in the Bible and
decide to trust them every day. Direct
your fear toward a healthy fear of
God (a reverence for Him), since that
reverence will help humble you and
motivate you to follow God’s
guidance in your life – which is the
best way to handle life’s challenging
situations.
Remember that you play a role in
the greatest story of all, and it’s
urgent that you act. God has given
you an important part to play in the
great story of what He is doing in the
world. If you don’t take action to do
your part, the story won’t be the one
God wants to write, and our fallen
world will suffer even more. But if
you do play your part, then you can
help bring God’s redemption to
people who urgently need it. Don’t
delay; act immediately to do whatev-
er God is calling you to do.
Build a community of fellow
adventurers. Join other Christians at
your church and in your local area to
unite around common missions. In
the process, you’ll encounter God
and each other in new ways. Create a
culture of adventure in your Christian
community, encouraging each other
to take the risks necessary to serve
well. Tell each other your stories of
what God is doing through your
lives. Thank heroes in your commu-
nity for what they’re doing to honour
God and help people; study their
lives and let them inspire and moti-
vate you to serve in heroic ways
yourself. Pair people up with mentors
when possible, so they can learn from
each other and do more great work in
the world. Encourage others in your
church to be courageous in their wor-
ship, discipleship, community,
and mission pursuits, building every-
thing they do around fulfilling God’s
How to Develop a Faith of Leap
SHARE A
PRAYER
Check out our website
www.northlakessalvos.com.au
Every Sunday we have a prayer meeting 45 minutes before Church.
This is a wonderful opportunity to pray for the Sunday Celebration Service and also any urgent prayer needs.
For Our Church Family at Northlakes
Pray Sale of house and wisdom for the future.
Ryan—surgery
HSC Students exams, pray for calm and trust in
the Lord.
Year 10 students for trial exams.
For Emily Dunn as she travels to Vietnam for
Uni work.
Liz with inoperable lung cancer.
Family members who are not saved and need
God.
Our parents.
Peter Miller diagnosed with cardiomyopathy.
Barbara who has cancer.
Praise Healthy baby news for Ellen
Chris and boys new home.
Karina’s new baby Pippa Lee Troke.
Safe travel, home safely.
Northlakes Salvation Army
For the Salvo’s
Latin America North Territory —Pray for the unity of Salvationists in the 9 countries that make up this territory; for a strong Christian influence in the Army’s schools and kindergartens; and for the continued growth and development of the Army’s strong work in Cuba.
Sydney Congress Hall, NSW—Major Terry Grey & Major Lyn Edge, Captain Rhombus Ning and Captain Lai Li
Sydney East & Illawarra Chaplaincy Service, NSW—Major Judy Knight (Coordinator), Majors John & Phyllis Thorley, Major Elaine Redwood, Betty Lanham, Sharon Jory, Envoy Alan Staines (Hospital Chaplains), Major Judy Knight, Sharyn Widdowson, Major Heather Rose (Court Chaplains), Majors Lyndsay & Dawn Smith (Fire Brigade Chaplains), Captain Rhombus Ning, Captain Lai Li, Commissioner Verna Skinner, Alan Byrnes, Major Hilton Harmer, Major Cliff Randall (Airport Chaplains)
Sydney East & Illawarra Divisional Headquarters, NSW—Majors John & Narelle Rees, Majors Kelvin & Cheralynne Pethybridge, Major Paul Kinder, Major Elwyn Grigg, Major Sue Winterburn, Major Kay Clarke-Pearce, Major Diane Maxwell, Major Gweneth Woodbury, and team
Sydney Street level Mission, NSW (Including Inner City (Streetlevel) Community Welfare Centre)- Major Robin Pullen and Team
Page 4
HAPPY
BIRTHDAY
Any information regardingAny information regardingAny information regarding the newsletter / the newsletter / the newsletter /
wanting to place an add..wanting to place an add..wanting to place an add.. Contact Fiona StigContact Fiona StigContact Fiona Stig 0423 033 318 or 0423 033 318 or 0423 033 318 or
fiona.stig@spcc.nsw.edu.aufiona.stig@spcc.nsw.edu.aufiona.stig@spcc.nsw.edu.au
God’s there, listening for all who pray, for all who pray and mean it.
Psalms 145:18 The Message
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