Vibrant Discipleship

11 February, 2024 Pastor Mark Simpfendorfer

Algorithms are everywhere! From the sequential steps we follow when using a recipe, to the system we use for filing paper or files on our computer. From the sequencing of traffic lights to the scheduling of bus and train timetables. From the facial recognition behind many phone logins to the music suggested to us on music platforms, down to the ads and posts that pop up on your social media account. They even control whether you are approved for a home loan or not! Algorithms reach into every part of our lives and are simply a set of rules that are followed to produce a certain outcome.

What if there was a sequence of steps, an algorithm that we could employ that would enable us to live lives of vibrant discipleship? There is. God declares today a relationship algorithm that is vibrant, dynamic, gives focus and clarity, and will transform every circumstance. We'll explore and discover that powerful algorithm that guides our lives and lights up our world today.

#3 and final in Vision series: Vibrant

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Vibrant Relationships

4 February, 2024 Pastor Mark Schultz

Vital signs. At almost every healthcare appointment, a person's vital signs will be taken and recorded. Vital signs like:

- Body temperature

- Pulse rate

- Respiration rate (rate of breathing)

- Blood pressure

- Oxygen saturation

These vital signs are intended to give the healthcare professional a picture of the current physiological status of a patient and when measured against a baseline range, can determine the health or otherwise of an individual. Likewise in the Church, there are vital signs that measure the health of a vibrant community. A key vital sign is vibrant relationships characterised by authentic togetherness and genuine hospitality. When these two factors are a pulsating reality in our relationships, the Spirit of unity, connection, and belonging in present with life-transforming power.

God's deepest longing and joy is for us to experience a deep and vibrant relationship with him and others, so today we are going to do a spiritual check-up to make sure we can experience life in its fullness, a life that shares in vibrant relationships.

#2 in Vision series: Vibrant

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Vibrant Community

28 January, 2024 Pastor Mark Schultz

Vibrant...full of energy and life. Community - a group of people with diverse characteristics who share an identity-forming narrative. Vibrant Community - a group of people with diverse characteristics, who are full of energy and life and share an identity-forming narrative. That's the vision here at LifeWay...we are a vibrant multi-ethnic Christian church ...living fully, sharing boldly and growing purposefully in the life-transforming grace of Jesus. Jesus is calling us to have an influence and impact as a community of his people in the community in which he has placed us...it's a call to come alive and shine, not for ourselves but for one another, to highlight, illuminate and reflect the beauty and presence of God in our midst. When that happens, hope springs forth, transformation occurs, lives come alive and vibrant community is experienced.

#1 in Vision Series: VIbrant

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New WORK

21 January, 2024 Pastor Mark Schultz

“Influencers” - 'someone who is able to persuade a lot of other people to do, buy, believe, or use the same things that they do.’ The age of social media has created “influencer” as a career choice for many people young/old whether or not they actually have any experience or expertise in their chosen field of “influence.”

Pick a field…food…finance…fashion…fitness…faith? You’ll find “influencers" whether or not they actually have any experience or expertise in their chosen field.

So here's the Good news…that’s not you and Jesus does not expect that of you. Our call is and always will be “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” This means your new work is to simply engage with people and invite them into life with Jesus. And at that, you’re an expert. At that, you have expertise…experience…the authority given to you by Jesus himself to speak his word and declare his promises to restore and raise people up to a relationship with the Father.

That's the new work that goes hand in hand with the new you he has created in you and the new call he has given to you for the flourishing of his Kingdom. We'll explore that today.

#3 and final in series: New Chapter

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New CALL

14 January, 2024 Pastor Mark Simpfendorfer

Some people might call it a sea change or tree change. Others might refer to it as a "mid-life crisis". Still others may speak of an 'Aha moment' or a 'nagging feeling' they could no longer ignore where they just had to do something. Whatever you call it, these moments seem to have a common thread. They are a call to let go, leave behind, walk away and set off in a new direction. It's an invitation that comes in the ordinary routines of life to discover a deeper life, a more fulfilling life, to embark of a new journey and to grow into the person you were always meant to be, the new you in Jesus. We never get anywhere new unless we are willing to leave where we are. We can never hold anything different unless we’re willing to drop what’s already in our hands. Are you experiencing a 'follow me' moment now...a call so compelling to let go of what you are holding onto for your identity, to leave behind the comfortable and secure and to step into a new chapter of simply following Jesus, wherever he calls and wherever he leads? The new call to follow Jesus into life in the kingdom of God will upend your life...in the most dramatic and beautiful way.

#2 in series: New Chapter

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New YOU

7 January, 2024 Pastor Mark Simpfendorfer

This popped up on an internet site at the end of last year: 'Every year—this year right in front of you—can be the most important year of your life. The one where you become your best, most creative, most centered, most self-reliant and resilient self. But you have to be willing to step into difficulty. Because, like lifting weights, growth can’t happen without some resistance...You have to seek out challenges. You have to find ways to keep growing. You can’t stay the same. You can’t betray your potential. You can’t wait any longer to demand the best for yourself. Demand more of yourself in 2024.'

Are you feeling the pressure already. It's all up to you. That's what the world says. The expectation and pressure to be your best self is overwhelming. But the good news is that God is the author of your story. He takes the pressure from you by giving you a new identity, a new beginning, a transformed life in his name. The New You is only possible because of God's grace working in you and through you. It's his gift as you begin this New Year. The New You is already on display. Live it. Share it. Grow in it. This is just the beginning.

#1 in series: New Chapter

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The Advancing Advent-ure

31 December, 2023 Pastor Mark Schultz

Bucket Lists... We usually think of them as stuff we want to do before we die or “kick the bucket.” Usually, it’s things to do, places to visit, sights to see…a list of adventures to brighten an otherwise ordinary life. But what if your “list” was a “legacy” - an appointment where God set the agenda? What if your “list” was a “legacy” that meant you followed Jesus expecting him to make a difference in your life and the world around you, today?

Far from scaling Mt Everest or crossing the ocean in a row boat, God’s advancing advent-ure points to the horizon of God’s world and the work of Jesus to bring you and all people into the presence and peace of God now and for eternity.

It’s an advent-ure that calls us to live with the conviction that God is not done yet – not done with you or the world - and with a certainty that what we’ve always experienced is nothing compared to what God has in store. So step boldly and confidently into the advancing adventure of 2024 as a follower of Jesus, knowing that those who see you living with certainty and conviction will either be inspirted to join you…or kill you!

#6 and final in series: Christmas Advent-ure

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The Perilous Adventure

25 December, 2023 Pastor Mark Schultz

The King is coming! Did you hear the news? Charles & Camilla are coming to Australia! Not since the last Elvis festival in Parkes has there been this kind of royal excitement. Every regional & rural shire in the country is making a bid …sharpening their pitch for a visit. Every roadhouse dog house & outhouse beyond the capital cities is getting a fresh coat of paint & new trim on the off-chance the King will stop by for a pie & a schooner of draft.

How different from the last Kingly visit…

“He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, & even they rejected him.”

The advent-ure planned for you; to bring you into the presence & peace of God is anything but a safe trip and a confortable journey. It’s a perilous advent-ure where evil rages & death devours…where the enemies are abundant & the opposition fierce. But Jesus chooses that perilous advent-ure because it’s the only one that frees us from sin death & evil. It's the only journey that will give him what he most desires....YOU!

#5 in series: Christmas Advent-ure

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The Announced Advent-ure

24 December, 2023 Pastor Mark Schultz

CHRISTMAS EVE

Something big is coming. Check your inbox this weekend for some exciting news. We've all seen them. Teaser campaigns that use intriguing headlines and eye-catching images to generate curiosity or build hype around a product or movie before the great reveal. They are campaigns that are launched on multiple platforms to get the message out. God used no teaser campaigns. When the time was fully right, God surprised the world as heaven broke open with a public announcement on the hills outside Bethlehem that would have global impact and eternal ramifications. It's that Announced Advent-ure that we not only hear again and receive tonight but participate in. It's good news of great joy for all the world.

#4 in series: Christmas Advent-ure

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