Call David de Kock 0890411117 or email him at daviddekock@bigpond.com

This seven session course set in a fantastic atmosphere. You will be served with a special meal and dessert at a romantic candlelit table for two whilst listening to practical talks that are informative and fun.

There is never any group work and you will never be asked to share anything about your relationship with anyone other than your partner.

Over eight sessions you will discover practical tools to help you:

• understand each other’s needs
• communicate more effectively
• grow closer through resolving conflict
• heal the ways you’ve hurt each other
• recognise how your upbringing affects your relationship
• improve relationships with parents and in-laws
• develop greater sexual intimacy
• discover each other’s love languages and much, much more!

The movie is a very dramatic story about what happens on earth after the Rapture. The pilot of a jet airliner is “left behind” when his wife and son are taken up into heaven and he, his daughter and a journalist (Kirk Cameron) form the core of the “Tribulation Force” as they battle against the “one world faith” and “one world government” led by the Anti-Christ. It is a fictitious story but it is based on the Scriptures. All the members of the Tribulation Force were unbelievers at the time of the Rapture of the Church but they soon come to faith as the realise what it was that their raptured friends and family had.

Although its a Men’s Night, the invitation is also to the women and children who would like to attend. We start with tea at 6.30pm.

Readings:
1 Corinthians 12:12-27, John 17:20-23

I wonder how many of us actually know why it is that the movement we are a part of is called the ‘UNITING’ Church in Australia?

People often ask me WHY I have chosen to stick with the Uniting Church to go into ministry. I normally answer with a couple of things:

1. I really have no idea – ask God.
2. I’ve grown up in the Uniting Church and feel called to continue serving where I’ve come from and use my gifts to bring change and new energy in areas that are needed.
3. But also because of the strong value the Uniting Church is SUPPOSE to place on unity… We are called the ‘Uniting’ Church in Aus, not the ‘United’ Church in Australia, because the denominations who came together to form the UCA recognised that unity always needs to keep happening and so we are uniting with others always, not simply ‘united’ and that’s that.

Let’s take a quick look at something called the basis of union…. the document which was formed to describe the basis on which the 3 denominations (Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregationalist) came together. It says things like…

It believes that Christians in Australia are called to bear witness to a unity of faith and life in Christ which transcends cultural and economic, national and racial boundaries, and to this end the Uniting Church commits itself to seek special relationships with Churches in Asia and the Pacific. The Uniting Church declares its desire to enter more deeply into the faith and mission of the Church in Australia, by working together and seeking union with other Churches.

(Final clause) The Uniting Church prays that, through the gift of the Spirit, God will constantly correct that which is erroneous in its life, will bring it into deeper unity with other Churches, and will use its worship, witness and service to God’s eternal glory through Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.

Now I have no intention of presenting a lecture on the Uniting Church and the Basis of Union…

But I mention this to simply get us thinking about this concept of UNITY in the body of Christ…

We are suppose to be a movement, not a denomination, but a movement, who values and strives for unity….

But…

Are we united?

Is the church, in a worldwide, denominational, and local sense, united?

If I was to look at the short time I’ve been involved in church life both back home in Mandurah and in churches in Perth, I would have to say that most of the time, we’re not.

We, the Church, are divided

Now I understand that there are incredible things happening which attest to the unity of the church – things like Youthcare, ecumenical events and initiatives, joint efforts with disaster responses, and of course in so many country towns unity between Christians of different backgrounds is just natural because there’s only a few Christians in the town…

But because I know that we are all human beings it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the call to unity which we find in the pages of the bible is a very important message for this community, as it is for mine.

And the question I’d like us to ask today is the question of WHY. ‘Why is it so incredibly important for us as Christians to live in unity…’

Now I can’t think of anyone who explains and values unity better than the Apostle Paul.

In the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul is addressing all kinds of serious problems which are affecting the Christians in Corinth.

Corinth at the time is a seriously crazy place, kind of the sin city of the day, and some of the ungodly practices in the Corinthian culture have started to creep their way into the church. So Paul is addressing things like idol worship, sexual immorality – even between family members, misuse of spiritual gifts, various heresies, and so on. There are a variety of problems that needed to be dealt with in the church there.

However the very first thing that Paul addresses…

Is their division.

After an initial greeting in the letter he writes:

“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.” (1 Corinthians 1:10)

This is the first plea he makes, before dealing with immorality, idolatry, adultery…

He calls for unity, that there may be no divisions.

The following verses tell us why:

“My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:11-12)

Now each of these men had different strengths, different reasons why others would want to follow them. So discussions among them may have went something like this:

I like Paul – because he’s a great teach and a theologian.
I follow Apollos – because he’s a great Pastor – he listens to me!
I say we should follow Peter (Cephas) – because he was with Christ, he heard from Jesus first hand!

Today, it’s “Well I’m a Protestant” or “I’m a Catholic” or “I go to a Baptist church”, or Uniting Church, or “I follow Calvin’s teachings” or “I follow Luther’s teachings” or “Our worship style attracts new people” or “Our music is more sacred” or “Our quilting ministry has the highest attendance in the WHOLE of Merredin.”

Or what about this one… even after 34 years of the “Uniting” Church… “I’m a Methodist” or “I’m a Presbyterian”

And so Paul’s appeal to the Corinthians, to have no divisions among them and be perfectly united in mind and thought, was an incredibly important message for Paul, but I believe it is also a very important message for us today.

And it was a strong message: “be perfectly united in mind and thought”. This isn’t just “try get along and be friendly with each other.”

To the Ephesians Paul writes:
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:2-3)

Those words “Make every effort” in the original greek language is the word ‘spoudazo’

It means ‘to do something with intense effort and motivation – to work hard, to do one’s best, to endeavor.’

‘Make every effort, Spoudazo, to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace’

This is our call, to take this call to unity seriously…

For in the next verses (4-6) Paul says “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all”

I want us to think about this concept of ‘one body’ which Paul talks about back in 1 Corinthians 12.

You are, we are, the Body of Christ. And this analogy of being like a body is so simple, but incredibly profound. Every time I come back to this passage and reflect on what it means that we are Christ’s body, I’m blown away.

It shows us what unity looks like, how we live in unity, why we need to live in unity, what the implications are if we don’t, and so on.

I think it’s helpful for us to break down what Paul says about us being the body of Christ into two simple thoughts.

Firstly, to live as the body of Christ is to have:

1. 1. Diversity, but not division

The diversity of gifts and personalities in the church was incredibly important to Paul. He writes a number of times about the diversity of gifts people are given and how each one is needed and valued in the Body of Christ, just as in our physical bodies there is a diversity of different body parts with different purposes, with no part more important than the others…

In verse 21 Paul writes: “The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor.”
Then in verse 26: “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it.”

This has certainly been true for me in the last 6 months. In November of last year I injured my knee and after scans found that a tiny ligament called the ‘ACL’ was damaged. Without this ligament my knee could not bend properly or take any weight, and needed to be replaced. I never even knew there was any such thing as an ACL, yet it is so important!

This tiny little ligament, that I didn’t even know existed, had such a specific purpose, that when it was damaged, my whole body suffered. And there are tiny ligaments and bones all through our bodies that are critically important to allow our body to function properly.

The diversity of our body is ESSENTIAL. And the same is true for the Body of Christ.

I’m sure that here in this church there’s an incredibly variety of gifts that different people have, most of which are utilised without even being seen, like the ACL in someone’s knee. And without those gifts being used, the rest of the body wouldn’t function properly.

And even in a town the size of Merredin you have different churches who have different strengths, and have different styles of worship. I’ve heard that this church has a primary school aged youth group, the Church of Christ has a high school aged youth group (and maybe the Anglican church has an over 80’s youth group. Or maybe not…)

That shows the great diversity in the body of Christ in this town.

But here’s the thing. Diversity can so easily can become division.

All it takes is one ‘part’ denying the importance of another, and valuing itself over the other ‘parts’, and all of a sudden diversity becomes division.

And di-vision is exactly that: di (two) visions, multiple visions, everyone wanting to go their separate ways.

So we fight about those things I mentioned before, who does the right music and who has the most people, and he believes this and she believes that…

If you are a parent of two or more kids, I’m sure you have been on long car trips where your kids have started fighting over something in the back seat. Maybe food, maybe a video game, maybe nothing at all! And at some point, Mum or Dad looks in the rear vision mirror and says something like “don’t make me come back there”, “I’ll pull this car over if I have to!”

I wonder whether God feels like that sometimes… “Don’t make me come down there… I’ll pull this thing over if I have too!”

Because his kids… can’t even get along.

And yes, we are God’s kids, but I actually think it’s us adults who have the most problem with this.

In Mandurah, I see a big difference between ecumenical events that involve teenagers, and events that involve the whole church. The youth groups just have a great time hanging out and worshipping together, as do the adults. However after the ‘adult’ events, the complaints start…

“The music was too loud”, “the music was too soft”, “why did we have to have hymns”, “we didn’t have enough hymns”, “not many people showed up”, “there were too many people”, “the speaker went too long”, “the music went too long”, and on and on…

Yet Paul says “there should be no division in the body, but its parts should have equal concern for each other.”

Because we are called to be DIVERSE, but never divided.

Now my intention is not to be negative, and I will try and be more positive from now on, because the truth is that when the church is NOT divided, incredible things can happen. And its true that God’s blessing comes when we live in unity.

Psalm 133 is one of the shortest Psalms in the bible:

How good and pleasant it is

when God’s people live together in unity!

It is like precious oil poured on the head,

running down on the beard,

running down on Aaron’s beard,

down on the collar of his robe.

It is as if the dew of Hermon

were falling on Mount Zion.

For there the Lord bestows his blessing,

even life forevermore.

When we live in unity God’s blessing POURS DOWN.

And so my second thought about this concept of us being the Body of Christ is that we are to live in:

1. 2. Unity, but not uniformity

I think that even when we ‘make every effort’ to live in unity as one body, we still struggle because we think that unity actually means uniformity, that unity means all the same.

For example I hear some people talk as if the Uniting Church is essentially God’s next step His plan for the salvation of the world. Like we’re the only ones on the right track.

But if that’s the case then we ought to forget ecumenical endeavours and make all the other ‘wrong’ denominations more like us!  But that’s NOT the case!

I LOVE the way Eugene Peterson translates what Paul says about this in the Message translation:

A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, “I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don’t belong to this body,” would that make it so? If Ear said, “I’m not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,” would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell?

An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn’t be a body, but a monster.

Our diversity is the very thing that should lead to our unity. Unity does not in any way mean we must be uniform. If that becomes our aim, we will become a monster.

Unfortunately this happens with sects like the Jehovah’s witnesses and others who are so uniform that the proper function of a healthy body can no longer happen.

Imagine in this church, if everyone wanted to be the preacher, at the same time! We would all become so confused, and David would go nuts! It just wouldn’t work.

Or imagine if everyone wanted to bring morning tea every Sunday. We’d have so much food that we’d all get fat, there would be too much to clean up everything else would get forgotten.

Or if EVERYONE wanted to play a musical instrument. I don’t know about you but I have trouble just getting a team of 5 people to play in time together!

It’s a simple concept isn’t it, we’re called to be diverse, but not divided, and united, but not uniform.

And when we are, we truly live as the body of Christ. And of course the most important part of any, is the head. And that is Christ himself.

We can cut off just about any part we like, arm, hand, foot, liver, ear, eye, and we’ll still live. But we can’t live without the head, we can’t live without Christ.

And being connected to Christ means being connected to his people, even if at times the rest of the body IS a bit dysfunctional, we are still called be a part of it. Because it is as a part of this body, the body of Christ, that we draw our strength from him who is the head.

We are the body of Christ, diverse, but not divided, united, but not uniform.

But coming back to my original question:

Why is it so important that we live in unity as the body of Christ?

I’ve thought about this and prayed about this a lot, and although what I’m about to say might sound simple, I really believe this is why we are called to unity:

Because when we truly live and act as the Body of Christ in the world, the world will begin to see Jesus in us.

That’s it. That’s what it’s all about.

If we truly were to live and act in unity and diversity such that the Body of Christ was a healthy, functioning, moving, speaking, listening, touching body, then the world would see this Body of Christ in action, they would see Jesus, in action.

Jesus said (in John 13:34-35) “As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

I believe this with all of my heart, that we are called to complete and perfect unity, so that Christ will be seen in us.

BUT…

Not only for that reason. There’s also something Jesus said, in fact something he prayed, which makes this call we have to fight for unity so, so, SO important.

A prayer that Jesus once prayed gives us the clearest indication of the answer to WHY we should ‘make every effort’ to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

And I know I haven’t gone through the practical 1, 2, 3’s of how we live in unity and how we stop division happening, because I think we are all smart enough to seek God as to exactly how He wants you to help build unity among the church.

But this prayer, which Jesus prays in John 17, above all else, is the reason we are called to unity.

Having just prayed for his current disciples, Jesus prays:

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message (that’s us), that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (next slide) I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one….. I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

We often pray in the name of Jesus for all kinds of things. But imagine this. What if for once, we, the church, became the ANSWER to Jesus’ prayer.

“Father, I pray that they may be one, as we are one”

Because when we live in unity, not only do we show Christ to the world, we reflect God to the world – Father, Son and Spirit three in one living in complete unity before the beginning of time, in whose image we are made.

We are created to reflect the unity and diversity of God three in one.

May we all know, that there is no greater reason to work for unity, than this.

Because then, the world will know that the Father sent the Son and has loved them even as He loved Jesus.

Lent is the preparation for Easter – usually a sombre time of reflection, prayer and fasting. However, it need not be so. The word “Lent” refers to the season of Spring which is a time of new growth. Then its Easter; and the celebration of Christ’s Death (for our salvation) and Resurrection (new beginnings). Pentecost, which is a season of harvest comes next; and the focus turns to the mission of the church. The last feast day is Christ the King, when, after the church has completed its mission, we celebrate the Lordship of Christ.

I have stood on the Mount of Transfiguration in Israel (Mount Tabor) looking over the Valley of Megiddo (Armageddon). Its probably not the mountain on which the Transfiguration took place, but there is a sense of Presence there. The disappointing thing was that a church has been built there with two towers, one for Moses and one for Elijah, with the church for Jesus in between. You will remember that it was the foolish offer of Peter to put up three shelters when Jesus was transfigured before them and they saw Moses and Elijah with Him. It really is so hard for us to grasp the “otherness” of Jesus – that He is God with us. One of the joys of the celebration of the Transfiguration, is that it does give us this glimpse into this other world where human and divine, flesh and spirit, dead and living meet. The Almighty has stood upon the earth, the Creator has entered into His creation – we are on Holy Ground!

At SNAC two weeks ago we were given opportunity to write some poetry beginning with the words, “When Christ shall come …” Here are the last set of poems:

When Christ shall come

His glory will shine

His peace will reign

His work will be done

When Christ shall come

We shall be set free

We shall be made whole

We shall have come home

When Christ shall come

He’ll be seen by everyone

Shouts of joy

for every girl and boy

In His own time

Everything will be just fine

So back to the Bible

Its for your survival

What heartache as we watch and listen to the devastation throughout Queensland, especially with the desperate stories of families who have lost loved ones, alongside the loss of pets, homes, businesses, belongings and so much more.

The enormity of this situation can be overwhelming. We try to remember that God is with us in this.

Rev Bruce Johnson, the Queensland Moderator, wrote to people after the first days of the flooding saying:

I have been greatly impressed with the way people from our churches are offering their skills and leadership in their respective communities. Their actions epitomise the desire of our Church to be ‘acting with love’, ‘living with hope’ and ‘witnessing in faith’. I want to thank and congratulate all who have been working so hard to express the love of Christ in these difficult situations.

Our WA Moderator, Rev Ken Williams, while currently on leave, has been in touch with the Queensland Moderator and sent the following message on behalf of the Uniting Church people of WA:

I know from some whom I met last week at NCYC that many of your members are and will be directly affected and many more will be assisting as they are able in the rescue and later in the recovery efforts.

I am sure I speak for all members of the Uniting Church in Western Australia in saying that we hold all who are grieving, all who are in fear, all who are suffering loss and all who are working to help in our most heartfelt prayers. And I know that Western Australians will be generous in their support of the financial appeals that have been announced.

The Uniting Church Assembly, in partnership with the Queensland Synod and Lifeline Queensland, has set up a Flood Appeal. The President of the Uniting Church, Rev Alistair Macrae, has written to all presbyteries to advise of this appeal, which will run nationally. Money donated will be directed to areas of most need across the north of Australia.

While our tears flow for the people of Queensland, we are also very mindful of the people of Gascoyne River, who are also experiencing devastating floods and a lot of loss. We have been in regular contact with John Tomkins, the Uniting Church’s pastoral worker in Carnarvon, who has been heavily involved in the evacuation and recovery efforts.

North West patrol ministers Rev Judy Knowling and Rev Lesley deGrussa Macaulay are supporting John on the ground, and will be doing patrol ministry around the Gascoyne area in the first week of February. However, this is dependent on roads being passable.

John will be monitoring the needs in the local area and would be grateful of any donations of monetary support.

The UnitingCare WA Forum, on behalf of our agencies (UnitingCare West, Good Samaritan Industries, Uniting Church Homes and UnitingCare Crossroads) has been in touch with UnitingCare Queensland and those managing the response to the Carnarvon flood to offer prayerful support and assistance.

Rev John Dunn, on behalf of the Forum, has assured them that if in the recovery phase they identify a need the agencies may be able to assist with, they will do everything possible to assist in finding the appropriate resources to help. Anne Cross, chief executive officer of UnitingCare Queensland has responded, “Thanks to you all for this prayerful support. I’ll be in touch again when we are through this immediate crisis period.”

Our land throws us many challenges through the summer months. As the people of the north of Australia battle rain and flood, the south is dry and facing continued fire risk. We also hold in our prayers the people of Waroona who have been impacted by fire over the past week.

We know that this summer season is not yet over, and pray for the safety of those living in fire risk areas.

I was inspired this week by a message from Rev Denise Savage, one of our First Third ministers, who is from Queensland and currently ‘holidaying’ there. Denise spoke of how the “tears, laughter and a rising sense of common identity” is what is holding people together in their time of fear and helplessness.

Denise also gave thanks that we live in a country where emergency services are so well co-ordinated and able to respond with such skill and dedication. Even in the midst of this experience, Denise was able to be mindful of places like Pakistan, where people have suffered such devastation with far greater consequences.

As we face our own need, may we stay mindful of the needs of our neighbours overseas.

Options for Financial Giving

The Uniting Church Flood Appeal is a national appeal which is direct money to areas of greatest need. Donations over $2 are tax deductible:

Donate online at http://ucfloodappeal.gofundraise.com.au/ or by phone on (07) 3250 1840.

Cheques can be sent to:          Uniting Church Flood Appeal
C/o- Lifeline Community Care Queensland
PO Box 491
Fortitude Valley QLD 4006

Funds directed to the WA Uniting Church Disaster Relief Fund are not tax deductible. This fund will be used to meet identified needs within Western Australia, either in Carnarvon or in Waroona as we receive further information. Call the Uniting Church Centre on 9260 9800.

Cheques can be sent to:          The Disaster Relief Fund
Uniting Church Synod of WA
GPO Box M952, Perth, WA, 6843

Ideas for prayers and worship resources will be made available on the Uniting Church’s Disaster Response website,www.wa.uca.org.au/disaster-response/

Together may we offer our prayers for all those who have lost so much. May they feel God’s comfort in the days ahead.

Sincerely

Kay Dowling

General Secretary

FOR MERREDIN FOLK ESPECIALLY

Toll IPEC who are located at Ron Batemans, have kindly offered their services for anyone who would like to donate any non perishable items which must be packaged accordingly, FREIGHT FREE for the flood victims in QLD. This is a great incentive for everyone to go through and have a clean out and kindly donate all the things they no longer need!!!

My journey into the Christian Faith started late in life. I did not come from a particularly Christian home and I could probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of times we ever went to church as a family – they were usually ceremonial occasions, a wedding, a funeral, a baptism. So entering the Christian ministry at the age of 43 was a clearly conscious decision. On my journey through the hippie era I had explored Buddhism, TM, Islam and what has now come to be termed “the New Age”. Christianity did not initially feature in my explorations because it was too “establishment”.

I have however become a passionate follower of Jesus, and I am entirely convinced of the truth of His claims and of the Bible as the account of God’s dealing with humankind. Despite the fact that I am a pastor of a Christian Church, I do not believe that the church, as organized religion, is doing full justice to the message of Christ. Somewhere along the line we have become so organized that we have despatched the real message to the outer fringe of our activities as Christians. It is still there – hidden quietly in hymns and rituals but lost in the forlorn attempts of the church to “justify itself” to a rational society (by, amongst other things, turning the Bible from a Journal of Faith into a Book of Rules). However I became a minister of the Gospel because I believe the good news and believe that the church is still the means that is intended to convey the message of Christ. We’ve just got to do it better.

I have just finished reading two books on faith in Australia. The first is by Tom Frame a former Bishop to the Australian Defence Force, entitled “Losing my Religion” and subtitled “Unbelief in Australia”. The other is “Australian Soul” by Gary Bouma. And interestingly both these books challenge the view that religious and spiritual life in Australia is in decline. Both argue that the perceived lack of spirituality amongst Australians (particularly the Second Peoples) derives from the fact that Australia has a unique spiritual history and that it is a false premise to measure religious life here in terms of models elsewhere in the world. I love that. I think that the church has, probably since around 300AD when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, defined itself by the wrong means. You cannot measure spirituality by parishes, steeples and church membership – you have to understand spirituality as the measure of the heart response to God and to our fellow human beings. This is the essence of the message of Jesus, and the church is beginning to discover it again.

Brian McLaren, who articulates the message of the “emerging church” in his book “A New Kind of Christianity” uses an Australian picture to illustrate this new paradigm in the understanding of Christian life. He says that in Australia the stations are so big that it is useless to try to build fences to keep the cattle inside. It is far better to sink a well, so that the cattle stay near to the water. For too long, the church has tried to build fences around the “truth” and so to define those who are “in” and those who are “out”. Instead we should live the gospel in such a way that people are drawn to it by their own conscious decision. Then the church will be the church that Jesus intended! Interestingly, though the churches in Merredin are all different, each one is doing just that – perhaps its because out here in the country, our values are measured differently. I would encourage you to visit one of the local churches and find that out for yourself.