Talks

Gill finishes our mini-series this week, explaining that we should never travel on the Great Adventure alone.  Jesus always intended it to be a “together” journey!  And we agree!
Gill reminds us of Jesus’ “Great adventure” – which ultimately took him to the cross. The ultimate example of sacrificial living for His Disciples to follow.
Jesus is our greatest role model – he often talked about His “togetherness” with the Father - John 17:21 says “I pray that they will be one just as you and I are one….they will be in us, so world will believe God has sent them”
In the same way, we desire the same togetherness with the Father, but also with one another.  It will even be a sign, that God has sent us!  Amazing!

Another word for “together” is unity.  Gill encourages us that she believes as a church we have a strong sense of unity - but we need to keep pressing into it more and more. Then she introduces us to her new word: ‘Oneanothering’!
The new testament uses the phrase ‘one another’ over 100 times - Gill refers to many of them! She encourages us to be deliberate in putting one another first, thinking of others before ourselves and serving one another sacrificially.

Ashwood LifeGroups are the perfect place for ‘oneanothering’, as well as Café 22, The Gathering, Women’s Gathering and Men’s Gathering too.

Gill finishes by reading to us from 1 Corinthians 12. A reminder of Paul’s image of the church as a body.  Every part different, but every part vital – the same with all of us.  Every part is dependent on the others.
Because we were made for relationships, when they go wrong, sadly, churches can be a place of offence, hurt and upset She also encourages anyone who has previously been hurt through a church to receive prayer. When we hurt together, we can heal together!

Matt follows on from last week’s talk, introducing the idea that “Following Jesus” is the greatest adventure of all! How can we experience it?
By being with Jesus! - Matt remembers a teaching series “Covered in the Dust” where we explored what it means to be as close to Jesus as a student was to their Rabbi. Matt encourages us to check out many online apps that help us follow a rhythm to spend time with Jesus in prayer and in the bible each day.
By becoming like Jesus! - Gentle - Humble - Compassionate - Kind - Focused - Present - Surrendered: what a challenge!
By behaving like Jesus! - Pete Greig says: I’m less interested in adding to my resume than in becoming a bit more like Jesus. Increasingly I’m drawn to those who are more committed to kindness than correctness, gentleness than power, humility instead of all those other, more obvious kinds of success.
Jesus is inviting us to go on this adventurous journey together with Him:
Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” – Jesus Matthew 11 Message Paraphrase

In “The Purpose Driven Life” - Rich Warren says that life is:
... a test
... a trust (makes more sense if you read the book!) and
... a temporary assignment
Matt welcomes us into the new year with the added bonus that life is also a “Great adventure!”
Adventure is defined as: an unusual, exciting, or possibly dangerous experience, journey, or series of events.
Looking at the bible, we can interpret that adventure could also be described as:
Something new or different to see or experience! - Isaiah 43:18
An element of wonder and mystery! - 1 Cor 2: 7-10
Exploration! - John 1 (Come and see!)
It’s not boring! - John 10:10
We can live this full life only by the grace of God: Grace is the free undeserved goodness and favour of God to mankind!
Even though we are and will be facing many hardships in our lives, Matt emphasises the importance to always remember that God’s grace is enough: Grace is God-given power to live differently and there is never a moment in your entire life when God’s Grace is not sufficient for you!  During the next 2 weeks Matt encourages us to pray: Heavenly Father, what do you want to show me this year? I embrace the great adventure (again) for my life today. Help me to put my trust in you each step along the way. I chose to receive the grace I need to follow you today. Amen

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