WYSIWYG Followers

A Lamp on a Stand 21 He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.” 24 “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” Mark 4:21–25 (NIV) One of the criticisms of church is that we are a bunch of hypocrites (What…

Sower/Seeds/Harvest – Mark 4:1-

Sorry guys I’ve been down with a cold, and so these notes are somewhat limited. So as an experience in reading the Bible together; Part 1 Try reading Mark 4:1-9  out loud. Then stop and spend some time talking about what the story (parable) says. Look at it as if it’s a painting on the wall. What questions come to mind ? (Don’t try to answer all of them). What details do you notice ? Is it about the sower ? The Seeds ? The Harvest ? What do you think ? Part 2 Now read it again out loud – use it as a mirror to look at yourself. This time spend some time asking God what this story…

ACTIV8 Photo of the Week

As the term draws to an end we had our regular event we call…”Nothin Much”. It’s just a chance to hang out and build relationship with each other and have some simple fun. It can be anything from some good old Robo-Jam on the now ancient PS2, playing cards…or making pikelets…the whole idea is to do ‘Nothin Much’ and enjoy each others company.

Beyond Hallmark : Mark 3:31-35

Family – We all come from a family of some kind. It’s part of what has made us what we are. As kids we grow up thinking that our family is normal but the normal of families can range from brilliant to horrifying. Churches often want to talk about families like hallmark cards; Lots of lovely sentiments and cutesy slogans but the bible is nothing like as sen timental about families. In Matthew 2:19 Jesus’ family flees death squads for Egypt. Read Luke 2:41-50. Imagine your self as  either Joseph or Mary.  Would you be upset with Jesus ? Why didn’t 12 year old Jesus let them know what he was doing ? How come it took so long. Look…

ParkWHAT? – 40 Hour Famine

The Challenge was to live out of a backpack for 40 hours….what the 14 girls that came didn’t realise was that they would also walk the equivalent of a half marathon…with all their gear! This year World Vision  40 Hour Famine turned its attention to the Syrian Refugee Crisis. Our goal was to raise was to raise $2500 so that World Vision could resource an entire class room! It was ambitious and we gave it our all.  

ACTIV8 Picture of the Week

Small Group time at ACTIV8 on Friday….discussing Social Media and tips for keeping it real. Digital Technology is a reality in the lives of our young people and it was great to see ACTIV8 grappling with how to keep it positive and keeping ourselves safe.  Remember…..”I didn’t steal his shoes.”

Voices : Mark 3:20-30

Read Mark 3:20-30 VOICES – Everybody has voices, either in their head, or in their life. These voices seek to make us less than who we are. They try and tell us who we are not. It was no different for Jesus. His own family are on their way to “take charge of him” worried that his ministry is not only affecting Jesus but could also make them look bad. The Pharisees are already starting to look bad so they try and label Jesus as evil.

Dream Team : Mark 3:7-19

Read Mark 3:7-19 This week Jesus picks his dream team. Have any of you ever played a fantasy football game, or picked your unique special team ? What was it like ?  if you were picking the 15 best all blacks ever who would you choose ? Jesus – being God has the ability to pick anyone as his followers. How come he picks these guys ? Two argue some brothers, Peter who often seems like not he sharpest knife on the rack and one of them will betray him. What was Jesus thinking ? If Jesus picks people like this, he might even pick someone like me. Why do you follow Jesus ? (If you do ?) That’s really…

ACTIV8 Picture of the Week

Friday Night and the ACTIV8 youth were all dressed up in the ‘onesies’ and having a blast. There is nothing like 30+ young people making plenty of noise and having plenty of fun all dressed up in their pjs!

ACTIV8 Photo of the Week

On Friday June 10 ACTIV8 made plenty of noise in the Auditorium and looked at “How much a person is worth.” From selling a few organs to selling a person, it was all up for grabs…including 10 chocolate bars for the student who could guess the closest value. Well done Liam – don’t eat them all at once! So how much is a person worth…..the ACTIV8 youth discovered that their value is not in what they can do or who they are but that they are valuable because God made them and no one can take that value away from them!