Month: May 2016

Scruffy Hospitality

   Friendship isn’t about always being ‘excellent’ with one another. Friendship is about preparing a space for authentic conversation. And sometimes authenticity happens when everything is a bit scruffy.  What do you think ?

ACTIV8 Family Fun Night

Once every term we have a Family Fun Night. The idea is that instead of your young person coming to ACTIV8 and having a great time – they stay home, and have a great time! One of the great things about ACTIV8 is that we are family friendly. We understand that parenting is a tough job and so we want to make sure we are partnering with parents and not just offering a programme.

The Other Guys : Mark 2:13-17

The Others  When I was a student I had a student job of taking a political tolerance survey. One of the parts of the survey asked what group you most disliked (nazi’s, white power, KKK, mongrel mob, traffic warden etc..)    Then later on a question was asked if you would be happy for that group to speak (and possibly) recruit in Cathedral Square. It turned out that most of us believe in freedom of speech for the people we agree with. Discuss : What group do you dislike ?   How would you feel about them speaking in Cathedral square ? Levi is a tax collector. Native tax-collectors were despised by “upright” Jews for at least three reasons: 1)…

ACTIV8 Photo of the Week

Friday 27th May – Our Famous “Book of Records Night”. Everything from trying to throw a paper cup to munching on a dry weetbix! This week our photo is of Kaleb trying to catch a malteaser in his mouth off a tape measure! Great concentration there Kaleb.

Murray’s story & living with purpose

Today we’ll hear from Murray who is telling us of his experiences in India working with Freeset (Tranzsend).  As small groups it would be great by starting to read Acts 3:1-8 (or 3:1-10). Imagine Peter reaching down to give a hand up (not a hand out) to the beggar. How has Murray been reaching out to give a hand up ? Read more about Kerry and Annie here Read about Freeset’s story here (http://freesetglobal.com/who-we-are/our-story.html) For discussion : How do we do this ? The Sojourners website has the following story : Modern Jewish folklore tells a story about a young rabbi who was hired to work in a town in Eastern Europe. On his first day in town, a town leader…

Heart2Heart

A DVD designed to start spiritual conversations. Made in Singapore, it’s in English with some chinese and subtitles in english, Traditional Chinese and simplified. A film is a story of heart. Stories inspire us, challenge us, make us cry and makes us laugh. Stories help us understand this world we live in. They also raise questions in us;  who am I? why am I here? Is there a God? Stories help us to make sense of this journey we find ourselves in. Heart 2 Heart is a collection of seven short films – seven stories of the heart. Inside is a film guide with discussion for each film, Watch a film, have a look at the questions. do it on…

All the places you’ll go

Very rarely in the Bible does God command someone to “Stay”. He opens a door, and then he invites us to walk through it — into the unknown. And how we choose to respond will ultimately determine the life we will lead and the person we will become. In fact, to fail to embrace the open door is to miss the work God has made for us to do. In All the Places To Go… How Will You Know?, bestselling author John Ortberg opens our eyes to the countless doors God places before us every day, teaches us how to recognize them, and gives us the encouragement to step out in faith and embrace all of the extraordinary opportunities that…

Pentecost

This is a different kind of message. It’s more a set of mini-messages and biblical background to help us stay earthed in our discussions of the spirit. Biblical Pictures of the SpiritDove – (Matt 3:16) – Noahs Ark – (Peace) Fire   – (Isaiah 4:4) – Judgement and cleansing (Repentance) Wind – (John 3:8) – air in movement, breath, a certain ‘hard to contain-ness’, more felt than seen. Oil    –  (Luke 4:18-19, Acts 10:39) Linked to anointing, to smell, to holiness. Water- (Isaiah 44:3) Linked to life and renewal. We can’t live without it. Questions for Discussion : What picture stands out to you and why ? Are there other links you can see ? Thumbnail sketches of the Spirit in…

Mark 2:1-12 Carrier

Mark 2: 1-12 I was planning a completely different message, but part way through something unexpected happened.  Read the Passage and see if you can figure out what is unexpected? (Spoiler alert… if you read below here you know my answer – yours might be different). What did you expect Jesus to say to the man ? “You are healed” “Get up take your stretcher and walk” “Can’t you see I’m busy ? “ “Are you going to pay for repairing my roof ?” Jesus seems to elbowing forgiveness into front and centre.  He wants us to know that this new kingdom is not just about healing on the outside but about healing on the inside. The good news is…

Making your small group work

This is Small group material aimed helping leaders and groups create healthy small groups. There are four main sessions and bunch of clips that help address things like active listening, prayer, giving and receiving feedback, calling out the best in others and more. Session One: Getting Connected—God’s Purpose for Small Groups. Provides a foundational experience that helps group members get excited about the adventure and life-changing power of small group life. Session Two: Five Habits of Life-Changing Groups. Provides training on the five most important habits of any small group–Care, Safety, Authenticity, Growth and Help. These five habits are essential to a great small group. Session Three: Setting Ground Rules.  This session unpacks each of the five key values through…