Pastors Notes 16th October 2011
Last weekend the leaders of our church were on retreat. This retreat was not about reviewing 2011 or planning for 2012. It was about being in the Presence. Essentially this retreat was about us positioning ourselves at NBC for growth. It has been said that a church is only as strong as its leadership. On this retreat the leaders became stronger in Christ. We did this on a mountain top just north of Gympie. It was on this mountain top that we met our God and practiced being in his presence through prayer, meditation, solitude, and contemplation. Over the weekend each of us created a ‘sacred’ space where we entered into the presence of Jesus our king, and it was in that space we were transformed into the likeness of Christ by the Holy Spirit.
Did you know that we are called to grow? From the moment we are ‘born again’ we are called to grow in our salvation, our faith, our mind, the grace and knowledge of God, our holiness, our love for one another, our love for Christ, and the filling of the Spirit (Rom 6:19; Rom 8:29; Rom 12:2; 2 Cor 3:18; 2 Cor 4:16; 2 Cor 7:1; 2 Cor 10:15; Gal 4:19; Eph 3:16-19; Eph 4:15; 5:8; Phil 1:6; Phil 2:12-13; Phil 3:10-14; Col 1:10, Col 1:27-29; Col 2:6-7; 1 Thess 3:12; 2 Thess 1:3; Heb 6:1; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pte 3:17-18). All these ‘virtues’ are capable of increase.
As we draw close to Jesus and grow in his likeness, we will see change in how we live our lives and relate to others. I am convinced that those who ‘slipstream’ or ‘draft’ Jesus do the most for God and his kingdom. As we as a church respond to the call to grow we embark on the journey of becoming a ‘splendid tree’ that is God-like and God-liked. If we take this call to grow seriously at NBC, making it a priority in the life of our church, I wonder what changes we would make to the way we do church?
God bless
Pastor Phil
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