davemc

Christmas what is it about??

2006-12-12T21:59:00.000+11:00

I recently read an article in a RD magazine titled 'Christmas Poll - What we love and hate'. I must say that I was saddened by what I read.
Readers Digest asked Australians to vote for the activities they treasure, those that have lost their shine and new traditions introduced into the annual routine.
The highest percentage of people said that at Christmas the thing they cherish most is time with family(80%), followed closely by eating(73%).
The part that saddened me most was the list titled 'Things we've abandoned' with one of the top three things being going to church; it has been classified as a time hungry activity and gets a big thumbs down.

The true meaning of Christmas has been lost. Why do we celebreate Christmas?? Isn't to celebrate the birth of Jesus; the coming of God's one and only Son, our Saviour; who would die a criminals death on the cross, so that the whole world could be in a relationship with God again?! That is what I believe Christmas is about, that is what we are meant celebrate at Christmas.
Jesus the Son of God born as a man.

If you think other wise please feel free to have your say, but do accept a response.

Joy to the world the Lord is come...

tat - two

2006-11-28T22:14:00.000+11:00

You know people say that tattoos are addictive and I am proof of that, I went under the needle again, to get Ichthus on my upper arm today.
For those who don't know Ichthus is greek for fish, it also refers to a symbol consisting of two intersecting arcs resembling the profile of a fish, used by early Christians as a secret symbol and is now known colloquially as the "Jesus fish", commonly seen on cars.
Ichthus or ΙΧΘΥΣ, is also an acrynom to "Jesus Christ God's Son is Saviour." Here ends todays lesson...

Names...

2006-10-31T16:52:00.000+11:00

How important are names?? I think that it is time to re-name my (St Matts Youth) youth group!!!
It has been called Friday Night Live (FNL said fast sounds like your are swearing) for about 12 years now, I think that it is time for a change.
If anyone has any suggestions to a name that is catchy and has some meaning please post it here...
Words in different languages, that mean youth or discipleship...Something, anything is appreciated!!

Joy in Ministry

2006-10-09T17:42:00.000+10:00

Have you ever thought about Joy in Ministry; I'm not talking about the lady named Joy who sets up morning tea every Sunday morning. What I am talking about is the joy that you can have in ministry; a sustained joy in the good and trying times of ministry.
I have recently been reminded of this Joy in ministry and I want to share with you three points that I found helpful. This reminder is found in Luke 10:17-24
1/ Remember what God has done for us already; (V20) remember the grace and mercy God has already shown you, 'rejoice that your names are written in Heaven'
2/ Know that in minisrty (and our Xn life) we have to be totally 100% dependant on God (V21), we are to be willing and humble to be involved in Jesus mission. We are to be like little children who are totally dependant on their parents who provide them with everything.
3/(V23-24) Because we live this side of the cross, we are privileged to know Jesus in a way that those in the OT could have only dreamed of. What a privilege that is, To personally know the Lord and God of this entire universe.

So how do we find Joy in Ministry, well we remember all that God has done for us and we look forward to what is ahead.

"...rejoice that your names are written in Heaven."

Psalm 100

2006-09-03T14:33:00.000+10:00

Psalm 100

Shout for joy to the Lord, all th earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Reflections...

2006-08-08T22:16:00.000+10:00

The above photos are from a mission trip that I went on to Taiwan (3 years ago). It has to have been some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. Again I pose the question how can people look at the intricacies of creation and not see the work of a loving Creator...
Romans 1:20

Its wheelie bin a while

2006-07-24T21:12:00.000+10:00

Well it has been a long time since I last posted anything on this blog, so what has been happening I hear you ask??
Well if you recall I said I was contracted to build a giant rat head for a costume, I have finished that...yay, I have put up a pic of in its foam unfinished form.
In the holidays I had the privelage of speaking on a Cru Camp called Adrenalin Action. It was an awesome week and God did great things, hearts were changed and kids came to trust in the Lord as their God and King...awesome...
Well what is next in the sometimes exciting life of Dave...I have a few things in mind... one of which is too turn 2W2L into a stop motion animation. So we shall see how that turns out...

tat

2006-06-30T18:03:00.000+10:00

Well i did it! i now have a tat.
For those who are interested here are some pics of the process.
Enjoy!

Win hearts...Not arguments!!!

2006-06-20T21:56:00.000+10:00

I have been reminded lately of the importance of speaking with gentleness and respect when sharing the Gospel with people or answering questions.
For the last few weeks i have been going through Appolagetics (not sure on spelling...was never any good at maths at school) with the group of Yr 11 guys that I co-lead on a Tuesday night. Some of them have great responses but come across way harsh when we role play answers, i found that we just had to continually remind them that we are out to win hearts for Jesus, not win arguments. This has been a great reminder for me too, so often i can get carried away in the excitement of answering a question and forget about what i am trying to do and just try to win the argument. But as 1 Peter 3:15 tells us, we are to always be prepared for questions and give answers with gentleness and respect...

tattoo

2006-06-19T17:10:00.000+10:00

well the time has come, i have finally decided what i want and what size and where it is going. this friday the 23rd of june 2006 at 10.30 in the morning i am going to a tattoo place in fairfield with a friend and i am getting a tattoo...the only thing left to do is bite the bullet and endure the pain of it...eek

mission sunday

2006-06-18T22:22:00.000+10:00

had an epic night at church tonight, it was mission sunday with a focus on South America.
i have been challenged to think about mission again, it is something that i once thought about doing, but i haven't thought about it for a long time & tonight i have been thinking about it again...
i guess that it is something that i will have to commit to God in prayer...

photos that make me smile...

2006-06-15T19:00:00.000+10:00

My Youth Minister, dancing in a conga line...

This is my nephew...he's such a champ!

My crazy mate Cj
My super attractive and super cool friends cass, nic and ed...they're soo hot right now!!!

mates

2006-06-13T22:02:00.000+10:00

what an awesome but tiring weekend!!! I had the chance to go away with some long time mates over the long weekend, these are guys that I have known for about 15 years and are also brothers in Christ.
Had a great time, lots of laughs and encouraging convo's...praise God for friends hey!!!

can you feel the love...

the true vine

2006-06-09T16:05:00.000+10:00

Jesus command from John 15:5 has really struck me recently...he tells us to "remain in Him"

As Christians we are to remain in Christ through a deepening relationship with Him; through prayer, reading and meditating on God's word, worship and the desire to grow.

Being a branch that remains in the vine means we draw out all our nourishment and life from it. And that we start to bear the characteristics of the Vine (that is Christ)

extra work...

2006-06-01T17:28:00.000+10:00

isn't it great how God is always providing for his children. The other day I was praying for extra work to help me pay bills & stuff. When i get a call and get asked to build a Rat head for a Theatre Company in the Mountains. They are doing the Princess Bride and instead of having lots of fierce rats thay want june big one.
So now it is my task to build it...

This is a crazy soft toy you can buy, hopefully mine will look similar to this

tattoo

2006-05-28T16:38:00.000+10:00

i have decided i'm going to get a tattoo, i have been thinking about it for 3yrs and I have finally decided to go ahead with it. i have decided when i'm going and where I want it...but I am having trouble narrowing down what I want to get. I have narrowed it down to 3 from a list of 7, but I want to make the right choice, considering i'll have to live with it forever...

oh what a night

2006-05-28T16:31:00.000+10:00

friday night at youth group was awesome...we had a band and a great speaker come along. And the best part is that nearly 210 kids heard the gospel taught faithfully...
We are so very blessed at our church

reflection

2006-05-26T10:38:00.000+10:00

Was doing some reflecting this morning on things

yet to come...

Heaven will pay for any loss we may have to suffer to gain it; but nothing can pay for the loss of Heaven

'When we've been there ten thousand years,

Bright shining as the sun,

We've no less days to sing God's praise

Than when we first begun'.

What a wonderful place!!!

the price of life

2006-05-25T14:06:00.000+10:00

cursed is anyone who is hung on a tree...his blood payed the
price for you and for me...

heaven...

2006-05-25T13:52:00.000+10:00

i've been thinking about heaven a bit lately...it will be the most glorious place. we will be able to sit down with Peter, and James and John and Paul, and remember their hard work in laying the foundations of the church...how awesome will that communion be!!! if now we enjoy fellowship with eachother only for a while, how great it will be to know them all, and dwell with them forever!!!

struggle street...

2006-05-25T13:29:00.000+10:00

isn't it funny how when you think that things are tough, they can only get harder...Like when you are dealing with your own struggles and you know that you have to trust God too get you through, that something bigger comes along and put everything into perspective.
But do you know what the best thing is, that God uses these times to help us grow.

Whenever I get down with sin or life's struggles one passage always comes to mind...1 Peter 5:6-7 'humble yourselfs, therefore under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you'.

2006-05-23T19:18:00.000+10:00

power of God...

2006-05-23T18:26:00.000+10:00

in matthew 8:23-27...Jesus displays his power and authority over nature in calming the storm...what a great power it is, in just speaking a word, the storm ceases...

tuesday

2006-05-23T18:16:00.000+10:00

today was another hectic day...work work what is it good for!!!
but on the other hand the mens sports dinner last night was awesome, we had almost the entire place booked out. was so encouraging to see so many christian men gathered together to learn from Gods word, and was great to see non christians come to hear the gospel too.

bernhard langer, us masters champion

"i would say that no one in this world is good enough to get to heaven by their own deeds - not one - but, no one is so bad that they couldn't be saved by Jesus Christ".

2006-05-22T17:52:00.000+10:00

from left to right...jaiken, me & pinty. leading music at our church youth camp in the easter holidays...good times

1st post

2006-05-22T17:36:00.000+10:00

today monday 22.5.06

a long day at work. started a new territory...the city is crazy, i do prefer the old west to the chaos of the city...oh well whatever pays the bills.
set up the blog page today, we will see how long is lasts at the moment i use it so i don't have to do work reporting.
this week is the 50th anniversary of our church st matt's wph, we have celebrations all week. tonight is the men's sports dinner, with special guest speaker Dr john best, former dr to the wallabies. i am looking forward to hearing his testimony.