Mark 2:23-3:7 Keeper ?

1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us—  2 so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. –Psalm 67:1–2 (NIV) Discuss: what do you think it means for God’s face to shine on us ? Read Psalm 80 – notice the same phrase about God’s face comes up 3 times. What do you think this is saying ? Jesus Christ is God’s “Yes” to Humanity.  – Agree ? Disagree ? When we say “Yes” to one thing we are also saying “No” to others.   We see this in the 10 commandments – the first is our “Yes” to God, and the others are more of a “No” flavour. One thing…

Chase : Chasing After the heart of God

Chase: Chasing After the Heart of God God is invisible. Yet He is the only thing we can chase that won’t leave us feeling empty. God has carved out a space in each of us that only He can fill. So whether you are running from GWillod or working your tail off to please Him, David’s journey will challenge your view of God. Chase explores the events that defined David’s life and the Psalms that flowed out of those experiences. Through David’s example we’ll discover what God really wants from us. The lessons in this study are simple yet deep and very interactive, offering Bible study, stories, and projects to dig into Scripture and deeply engage the minds and hearts…

Change ? Mark 2:17-22

It’s Queens birthday and the passage is short. There are two ideas to talk about. The first has to do with marshmallows. This was about delayed gratification.  It was the practise of many in Jesus’ time to fast and pray.  Fasting is about giving something up for a period of time so that you can have something else. It’s got some similarities to saving for something. It’s a behaviour that expresses our values and even though the passage we’re reading isn’t an endorsement of the practise. I did find myself musing on when we lay something aside, or wait for something and what that says about our values. How serious are we about our faith ? Do we really want…

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…