Signed Electronically Christmas Party Invitation Made Easy

Signed electronically christmas party invitation

[Music] [Music] good morning riverbank [Music] glory [Music] washington [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] up to take the place [Music] [Music] hold oh [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] so [Music] [Music] is [Music] highest [Music] oh the sun good morning and uh welcome to riverbank thank you for joining us today and it's good to see the regulars here but if you're a first timer or you've been here a few weeks we especially welcome you if you need to use the bathrooms they are back out near the main entrance and down the hall there will be a crash available for the little ones during the sermon part of our service or alternatively there's a cry room in the back corner there also just head out to the back if you need to see someone look for someone in a black riverbank t-shirt and they'll be able to help you my name is rob letter and i'll be leading our service today later on pastor john will be preaching from god's word i guess many of us have had some sort of a christmas break and if you're here today it's probably over for another year did you make plans for 2021 do you have hopes do you have dreams maybe a successful school or uni year maybe for better health perhaps a new car or a new home maybe even getting that government incentive grant well maybe you were looking for a first job or a different or a better job or maybe even just full-time employment most of us would look forward to a better year than 2020 the year of covert 19 or maybe that jab will lose your anxiety anxiety planning and dreaming are good we need to do that it helps us to navigate this busy and complex world but as we all should know not everything works out as we plan those exam scores didn't quite match our expectations you didn't get that job you had your heart set on and when you get older health problems begin to limit the options that you have or maybe that block of land you had your eyes on was sold or it's doubled in price i don't know if you're like me i make plans sometimes without considering what god might have in those plans life just goes on things seem to go just fine but god has a way of reminding us that he is the one who is in control sometimes he will strip us down to our very core we may become sick have a car accident something happens at work or we lose a loved one yet we should stop and consider are my plans god's plans am i being realistic in my expectations am i putting all my situations before god even when they're going well or not so well we can place all our joys and grace before god and especially when things are not working out the way we have planned or things are falling apart god says lay your concerns on me trust me i loved you so much that i sent my son to die for you there is nothing that can happen that you don't know about things will not always work out as planned yet god's plan for us may be more significant than we can imagine we're now going to watch a video about charlotte elliott i think it's pretty with self-explanatory and we'll see if we can run that now [Music] charlotte elliott was born in 1789 the daughter of a silk merchant and his wife at first life was very good for her and for 30 years she was the most cheerful happy woman you'd ever know she even made part of her living as a comedy writer but shortly after her 30th birthday everything changed forever what charlotte didn't know at the time was that she would spend the next 50 years of her life as an invalid the doctors didn't know what was wrong with her every hour was filled with pain she was overpowered with weakness and there was not one day that she lived without exhaustion she blamed and hated god and cursed him for making her a prisoner to her own bed in spite of being raised in a christian home she reflected on her conflicts and doubts and was unsure of her relationship with christ one evening a few years after she got sick her father invited a minister over to their house to speak to her he talked of peace and joy and shared the word of god with her finally she couldn't take it anymore she exploded with anger and lashed out at the minister her family and god he immediately saw right through charlotte and said you have become tired of yourself you're holding on to hate and anger and becoming sour and bitter and resentful she was immediately broken and convicted by his words charlotte begged to know the peace and joy he spoke of the evangelist smiled and said come as you are to the lamb of god who takes away the sins of the world bring your fears your hate your temper and your pride and he will give you love and peace in their place that was the day charlotte claimed to go from utter despair to saving faith in jesus christ she never recovered her health and spent the rest of her life confined to her home in bed but charlotte's heart was transformed enabling her to find true joy and praise her creator despite her physical suffering charlotte began writing hymns about this wonderful love she had come to know she wrote over 150 songs later published as the invalids hymn book charlotte is best known as the writer of just as i am which she called her spiritual autobiography little did she know as she told her story in song that it would become the theme song for billy graham and be used to call millions to a saving faith in jesus christ just as i am is a declaration of joy in the midst of suffering confidence in the midst of doubt and salvation just as we are so we're now going to sing that song just as i am it's a reflective song and we're going to use it as our prayer so please stay seated as we sing [Music] jesus [Music] me [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] we are now going to take our offering as per normal we won't pass around any bags but you have an opportunity to pay put any cash in the box in the foyer as you leave or you can do it electronically in the bank details or on the slide behind me all those details are also available in the newsletter if you want to do that later the offering today is for the denominations train work group and trains mandate is to equip our church members to be disciples of christ and multiply the number of well-trained leaders ordained non-ordained full-time part-time and voluntary who are actively involved in god's mission just a few announcements um coral anne horne and alex kerr will be preparing will be professing their faith in the 11 a.m service some of you may wish to witness that as well as mentioned in the email earlier this week their baptism will be at the van b van peelen's place please note parking limitations and gathering restrictions there next sunday we'll have a barbecue at the tail race park to officially welcome reuben shan and ravi kapal and the details for that are also in the newsletter and also there's bread out in the cafe area it's all placed out there please just make a donation and take what you'd like [Music] our bible reading comes from 1 colossians 3 verses 1 to 17. since then you have been raised with christ set your hearts on things above where christ is seated at the right hand of god set your minds and things above not on earthly things for you died and your life is now hidden with christ in god when christ who is your life appears then you also will appear with him in glory put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature sexual immorality impurity lust evil desires and greed which is idolatry because of these the wrath of god is coming you used to walk in these ways in the life you once lived but now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these anger rage malice slander and filthy language from your lips do not lie to each other since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator here there is no gentile or jew circumcised or uncircumcised barbarian scifian slave or free but christ is all and is in all therefore as god's chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe yourselves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone forgive as the lord forgave you and over all these things put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity let the peace of christ rule your hearts since as members of one body you were called to peace and be thankful let the message of christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms hymns and songs from the spirit kingdom of god with gratitude in your hearts and whatever you do whether in word or deed do it all in the name for lord jesus giving thanks to god the father through him thank you rob uh i wonder if the muse have got my clicker because i will need that so i wonder if someone could just help me with that and may i as we're waiting just say good morning and welcome to one and all thanks sean do appreciate that and there it was it was my fault not the muzo's fault dear friends i'd like you as we begin this wonderful morning uh to think about a lovely scene a very very wonderful scene well this is what it is for me i liked this is what i picture when i think of a lovely scene there's a man on the beach looking out at the waves to come and i think that's great now you may have another one but what i want you to see is in our next slide what's so different all of a sudden we've got a snowman on the beach and why do i have that there only to make one point and especially for the boys and girls to pick this up that christians are different they may not look different they may not dress different but they are different why is that and what does that look like well that's what these opening verses of what we read this morning are so important because they actually put that all together in one lovely package and that's our focus for today verses one to four of colossians chapter three let's just run through it again since then you have been raised with christ set your hearts on things above where christ is seated at the right hand of god set your minds on things above not on earthly things for you died and your life is now hidden with christ in god when christ who is your life appears then you also will appear with him in glory now these verses are like a bridge before them has come chapters 1 and 2 where paul has outlined he's welcomed the church and spoken about the issue that the colossians were facing false teaching and so on and in the chapters that follow three and four he actually opens up all of this so we're standing on the bridge and what we have here is actually a bird's-eye view of the christian life it's a wonderful summary of the christian life and the most amazing thing is at least i think it's amazing and many others do too the most amazing thing in the universe is that it tells us a christian is a person who has been raised with christ and has died with him we could put that around the other way a christian is joined to jesus he joined him in his death on the cross and into the grave and he joined him in the new life that he had when he rose from the dead and that makes the christian different they didn't earn it none of us have deserved it but god in his grace has opened that to us he has opened up a whole new life and this truth of being joined to jesus is really the foundation on which these four verses sit now what we're going to do is just have a look at what that looks like because they clearly make the point that christians are different just like a snowman on the beach the first thing we see here is a christian has a heavenly focus set your hearts he says on things above where christ is seated at the right hand of god set your minds on things above not on earthly things now i want you for a moment to imagine the conversation you're at a party you're with some friends perhaps you're somewhere and one person says you're straight i'm gay what does it matter love is love you're at another party with some other people one guy says oh you're a christian i'm an atheist and my best friend's a buddhist it's just the way it is but please don't tell me that your way is the only way now why those big differences why because the people in each case look at life through a different set of glasses they have a different mindset they have a different focus and if your focus and really there are only two options as the text says it's either on earth or it's up in heaven now if it's on earth what if it's on earth people tend to think that there is no god and there is no gospel this world is all there is this life is all there is and their life shows that now other people are more spiritual they tend to think that there's more to this world than the stuff that you can touch and see and taste they know that there's something beyond it they just don't know what it is and they go on the spiritual search for that but sadly they look in the wrong place and they look the wrong way but the christian is different his focus is not on the things of this world his focus is above in heaven where christ is he has a heavenly focus the christian knows that this world and everything in it is passing away and that's why he doesn't place his eternal hope in it he knows that this life is not all there is there is an eternity beyond this life that here in this world we must prepare for the christian knows that the bible is not just an old book it's god's word and it's truth and the christian not just knows about but has experienced the grace of god in his or her life and that grace gets to work and changes us and so the christian is different it's not so much that he's like the christian with or a non-christian with the bad bits taken out no he's infused by the grace of god he's empowered by the holy spirit and he wants to think like jesus and live like jesus and love like jesus and so on and please don't think just because he's heavenly folk heavenly minded that he's of no earthly use it's quite the opposite he loves god with all his heart and because he does he wants a lo he wants to love his neighbor and if you remember the parable of the good samaritan where jesus outlined the point of that parable it's very much about being in those places of need helping the poor working for justice and also of course being active in the church that we might be light in the darkness and salt in a decaying society and please as we notice that let's also notice this is not passive you have to work at this it doesn't just happen it is the grace of god infusing us it is the holy spirit working through us so we become the mouth and the hands and the feet of jesus into a broken world literally this verse is translated keep on seeking the things above it's an ongoing action so we don't just it's like us with eating we don't just have one meal we have another and tomorrow we'll eat again we keep on eating and that's what this is we keep on seeking we set our hearts on the things above today and tomorrow and this time next year because that's where hope and glory are john piper says pursue these things seize them dig into them treasure them love god with all your heart and live for him with all your god and that's the encouragement because we have a savior who's walked the path first he's shown us the way we know that he lived in a world just like ours and how he suffered was crucified and died he experienced the horror and the agony and the forsakenness of the cross but beyond it was something greater hebrews 12 says for the joy set before him he endured the cross he scorned its shame and he sat down at the right hand of the throne of god and that savior is now saying to each of you i've paved the way i've blazed the trail to safety follow me lift your head lift your heart have this heavenly focus because you see congregation we live in a world that's exactly the opposite yes there are many blessings to enjoy but it's also a world of rebellion against god it's a world of so much tragic confusion about spiritual choices and i want to ask you what are the things that capture your heart where's your focus is it here in the things below that will ultimately pass away or is it in glory where christ is you see the christian has a heavenly focus that's what makes him different but there's something else here paul goes on to speak of a hiddenness about that he said you died and your life is hidden with christ in god now what's this about well let me just ask can you pick a muslim woman in a crowd most times you can because most muslim women are covered and it's just an absolute giveaway but can you pick a christian in a crowd and the short answer is no because there's something about the christian that's hidden and to help us grasp this i want us to think of a flower let's imagine a rose a beautiful rose and we see this rose with its wonderful petals and we even see the stem and we marvel at the beauty of that flower but what we don't see is what's under the ground the root system which absorbs the nutrients and sends that right up to that bud so the bud has become the flower and the flower is the beautiful thing that it is we see that if you like the fruit but we just don't see the root there's a hiddenness about a rose and the same is true for the christian people can't see what makes us tick people can't see that we've died with christ and risen with christ people can't see that we've been given a new heart people can't see that we have the spirit within they can see the fruit of that they can hear it on our lips but they can't see it with a naked eye that is hidden is it any wonder that people think we're different and sometimes as we rub shoulders at work or at school or at uni with those who don't share our faith we feel we are different it's not really a surprise is it because if many of you didn't have that spiritual root system would you be in church on a sunday would you give to the offerings when everybody else knows that if you took that money which you give week by week so faithfully man you could get yourself a new car you could get yourself new furniture you could get yourself well you think of it would you do that because you know that you're walking in the footsteps of the savior and you're investing in the future you know how it is when couples plan to marry why would a couple choose not to live together why would they choose to follow god's plan for marriage and sex etc when they know people will look at them as scants will think they're a little bit weird and of course they are they are different it's no wonder that people look at us funny it's good for us to know that so we can love them better but before we leave this bit i want us to see here something that many of us will have heard me speak of just a few weeks ago i won't labor the point but i can't leave it without without reminding us as we as we look at this hiddenness in christ it's talking to us about security ultimate eternal security this verse it says that our life is hidden with christ in god that's very hard to explain but i think you get the picture the point is christ has us in the grip of his grace he is in god and there is this unbreakable connection that will never be broken between us and our savior and our heavenly father and there's something glorious about that because we know if that's the case that that'll never be broken can death break that connection no it can't and jesus showed that by rising from the dead but what if we've blown it what if we've blown it badly what about those poor people and i know them who are too ashamed to come back to church how will we help them how will we help one another friend i want to say you're secure for eternity there is no such thing as a deal breaker where christ says well that's it you've gone too far this time that just won't happen and that's the glory of grace you're secure for all eternity and i ask you is there anything in this world that is more secure than having your life hidden with christ in god i don't know of anything and that's what makes the christian different so we have a heavenly focus and we have a hiddenness but now i want us to stop for a moment i want us to think about something i want each of you to answer in your own heart what's your view of the world i speak with people i see what's on the news and i know for a lot of people this world is like a car without a driver there's no plan there's no purpose things just happen that's how lots of people look at the world others don't and that's especially true of the eastern religions typically and i'm generalizing here but i think it's a fair statement they have this view of life where it's just an endless cycle like a bike wheel that just keeps going round and round the same things over and over war and peace love and hate birth and death that's the cycle and we're on it but the christian is different for him life is not like a bike wheel and life isn't just a happening and the world isn't a car without a driver because the christ who died on the cross of calvary and who rose again and who rules in heaven now is coming back and that means this world is going somewhere and that's what paul says when christ who is your life appears then you also will appear with him in glory this makes the christian different because the christian has a glorious destination i think this is wonderful have a look at that word appear you appeared in church this morning and so did i this morning the sun appeared over the horizon and one day jesus is going to appear and every eye will see him the bible says and every tongue will confess that he is lord and that says something about us it says something about christians that we're waiting and waiting just like a bride is waiting for her wedding day because then the glory will come that's the christian watching waiting getting ready and when the bridegroom jesus comes back you'll be together and it will be glorious now just imagine that for a moment we've looked at these things before i know but i think we need more of this stuff actually if i'm honest we're going to be in a glorious new world where everything that is sad and bad and sick and broken and unjust and evil it's going to be gone now try to imagine that that you are living in that world imagine the flowers imagine the scenery imagine being with jesus walking and talking with him imagine having a brand new body just like his imagine being with your loved ones who have died in the lord before you imagine being with all the lord's people this magic patchwork quilt of people from every tribe and language and nation life is going to be so full and so glorious when we live in a perfect world and if you're a christian it's yours it's coming and that is saying to all of us you have a glorious future if you have your faith in jesus whatever hardship you're going through now whatever difficulties trauma or pain you may have or are going through in the end you have a future that's bursting at the seams with wholeness and joy and hope truly it will be glorious and i want to ask dear friends do you think of this often does it come through in your conversations are your prayers laced with the hope of the glory to come not as an escape from this world god has placed us here and we have a job to do and that's glorious but are your prayers laced with the hope of the glory to come because then you will live well and then you will die well and we do need to take that into account i ask this question because we can be i can be so easily distracted i'm due to start three weeks holiday tomorrow it's easy to focus on the holiday the lovely home the career you have before you it's easy to focus on your family and all these things are good in themselves but they are never meant to be ultimate god grants us these blessings to point you forward to the ultimate blessing life with him in a new world and that's the christian he has a glorious destination so what's your destination that's a good question to ask isn't it because as we've seen if it's not heaven there's only one other option it must be hell it can't be otherwise and that's why faith in jesus is so important that we turn to him confess our need of him and receive him as our savior and lord because when we do that the most amazing thing in the universe happens we get joined to jesus we have died with him and we are raised with him to a new life and yes it will make you different sometimes as different as the snowman on the beach but it is a glorious life to which our lord and savior calls us and that's what colossians 3 is talking about we're standing on the bridge we have this bird's eye view of the christian life and christ is calling us now to follow him and let's be honest may not always be easy it may not always be fun but it will be worth it christ is calling us and today let us put our faith in jesus if we haven't done that already and if we have our faith in jesus encourage one another with these words think on the words of this sermon chew them over through the week and lace them into your prayers and your thinking and friends don't grow weary don't lose heart fix your eyes on jesus because he's coming back and it's going to be glorious amen let's pray dear lord our god and father we thank you for the glorious hope of the gospel we thank you that you are a god of undying hope and a renewal a god who renews our strengths and today we pray that you would help us as we leave here to soar on the wings like an eagle to run the race of faith and not grow weary to press on in the joy and power of your holy spirit help us to be a people who make the gospel attractive who shine like a bright light who are salty and flavoursome who are kind and gracious who love our neighbor and our enemy a people who are able to give a good account of the hope we have and as we pray for one another we want to pray for persecuted brothers and sisters in lands overseas as they struggle with the reality that faith costs and sometimes the ultimate send your angels to guide and guard us but also all your people give us the strength to resist temptation and to stand strong in the faith in the grace of god give us that heavenly mindset remind us of the hidden life and warm our hearts with the truth that we are safe and secure for eternity and to you the god who is able to keep us from falling and present us before your glorious presence without fault and with great joy to the only god our savior be glory majesty power and authority through jesus christ our lord and all god's people said amen could i invite our musos and singers back and then let's stand and we'll sing [Music] so [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] there is a voice that is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] we're going to conclude our service in a few moments don't forget to pick up your kids from crash and as for normal there'll be no refreshments served but we do encourage you to invite someone up to your place to have refreshments after the service also the offering box is at the back of the church if you wish to put cash in there also don't forget there's bread out in the back which you're welcome to take some and please make sure we exit the building by about quarter to 11 so the next service can come in our closing words come from 1 colossians 3 15 to 17. let the peace of christ rule your hearts since as members of one body you are called to peace and be thankful let the message of christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms hymns and songs from the spirit sing it to god with gratitude in your hearts and whatever you do whether in word or deed do it all in the name of the lord jesus giving thanks to god the father through him we'll now sing our concluding song i praise the name bled and died for me [Music] his feet [Music] [Music] messiah [Music] oh [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] is [Music] the blazing sun [Music] on is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] this [Music] so [Music] you