3 August 2014 - ENCS

Pastor Larry continued the series titled "Centered"

Into the third chapter of Colossians we entered

About roller coasters, he said he was often scared

They are often like our life of faith, he then shared

The downward rush of fear, the upward relief of joy

The enemy attacks us, trying our lives to destroy

Every time that he tells us to disobey and not to step out

What he is really doing is sowing more and more doubt

God has called us into a life of faith, we must remember

This is true all the time, from January through December

The tendency may be to get off the roller coaster ride

Because as it continues, we get more scared inside

But we should never give in to the "whatever" attitude

That lowers our standards and allows too much latitude

 

The title of his sermon was "The Virus Called Whatever"

In the text, the word appears many more times than never

Verse seventeen says in whatever we do, do in God's name

Verse twenty three talks of the heart and then says the same

The enemy will continually try to distract us by whatever means

Overwhelming us with challenges or boring us with routines

In return, we must do whatever it takes to do things for God

Whether or not they may appear normal or even quite odd

For as per verse one, we "have been raised with Christ"

We should set our hearts on Him, who has always sufficed

 

Pastor's first point referred to John ten and "You Have Power"

Paul encouraged us to be aware of God's strength every hour

In Colossians chapter one, he refers to "holy and faithful brothers"

If we do not see ourselves in that way, then neither will others

To do God's calling is a privilege and is why we are here on earth

We should get in the game and give excuses a very wide berth

We should be rooted and strengthened in Christ, per chapter two

Our family and friends should always challenge us better to do

But we should not get hung up on mistakes, even if they are often

For obedience comes one step at a time; the path God will soften

Pastor then pointed out that self-focus usually leads to resistance

But through it all, God provides the power for us to go the distance

 

Pastor Larry's second point was that we should "Live Higher"

Per verses five and eight, our earthly nature we should retire

And not to revert to old ways, then we must always take care

Reading the Bible every day is just as important as prayer

Like training for a marathon, we must prepare to finish strong

Per Amos, God is angered when for other things we long

By reading the Bible daily, we prepare for times of temptation

Per Colossians three verse ten, this forms a strong foundation

 

In summary, Pastor said that we should do whatever it may take

To step out in faith and overcome our fears, doing all for His sake

27 July 2014 - ENCS

Pastor Neli Atiga gave his farewell sermon at ENCS earlier today

To Every Nation Church in Brisbane he will soon be on his way

 

After we took communion and the congregation had all entered

His sermon continued the series on Colossians titled "Centered"

Our days are numbered so what we focus on really does matter

Pastor Neli laid out three ways to identify our focus on a platter

First is our passion, what we are willing to make sacrifices for

Second is our priority, in other words what we have at our core

And third is people, the ones and the values that surround us

If we are centered on Christ, everything else becomes a plus

Pastor then said that we have one job so need to get it right

The rest of his sermon thus focused on what we need to fight

 

Colossians one verses fifteen to twenty talk of Christ's pre-eminence

We were created by him and for him, his power and glory are immense

But God also dwells in him and reconciled with the world through him

If these four 'hims' were not all true, our future would look quite dim

So Jesus should be our passion and priority, who we try to emulate

By doing so, Pastor said, our walk on God's path will be kept straight

 

Colossians two refers to Laodicea, which sat on the river Meander

Jesus called them lukewarm in Revelation three with much candor

We must avoid meandering and having our faith be lukewarm

So about five potential causes of this Pastor Neli did us inform

First is our image, or how we might appear in others' eyes

If this drives us, our passion dissipates Pastor did advise

Second is trying to improve, for we should want to obey his law

This is what was written in John fourteen verse fifteen, we saw

Third is impulse, giving into the desires of former addictions

We should try to avoid temptation to adhere to our convictions

Fourth is immaturity, wanting others to feed us all the time

Instead, we should be doing things for the church in our prime

Fifth is idolatry, which Pastor Neli said is at the center of all sin

Letting other things take center stage is where problems begin

 

I note that Brisbane's big gain is of course Singapore's big loss

But either way, Neli will still be sharing the message of the cross

We will miss his musical talents, his jokes, his smile, and his size

Along with his ability to always find a way to spring a surprise

Thank Pastor Neli for all you have done for so many people

Go forth, young man, and change lives under a new steeple

20 July 2014 - King Jesus is Born

“Why do…the peoples plot in vain?” says Psalm two

The Lord and His Anointed One the leaders try to outdo

From heaven, the Lord scoffs and rebukes them all

For His King on Zion – the holy hill - God did install

“You are my Son…and I [am] your Father,” God said

God will make “the nations [His] inheritance” instead

“Therefore, you kings, be wise [and] be warned”

For they should serve the Lord they once scorned

The Lord said to Jesus, according to Psalm one hundred ten

To “sit at [His] right hand” and rule over all earthly men

For on “the day of battle”, “[His] troops will be willing”

Jesus is a “priest forever”, thus old prophecies fulfilling

God “will crush kings on the day of His wrath”

For Jesus will always be found on God’s path

There have been many priests, per Hebrews seven

But only one lives forever, He was sent from heaven

“Therefore he is able to save completely” any person

“He lives to intercede for them” before their lives worsen

The birth of Jesus is briefly written about in Luke two

Joseph went to Bethlehem, for a census all had to do

He went with Mary, his betrothed who was expecting

She gave birth to her son in a stable without objecting

There were shepherds in the nearby fields with their flock

The glory of the Lord shone, and their knees did all knock

But an angel came and told them about the good news

That in Bethlehem had been born the King of the Jews

They were told to rejoice, for they were not in any danger

They would find Jesus wrapped in clothes lying in a manger

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem,” per Matthew two

Magi from the east came, a star in the sky was the clue

The king of the Jews is who they wanted to worship

So they brought gifts with them on the very long trip

King Herod was disturbed; the Magi in secret he did call

They were to report back to him; his evil plans not to stall

The child they did find as to the star they did refer

They worshipped him with gold, incense, and myrrh

About Herod’s evil plot from a dream they did learn

So by another route to their country they did return

6 July 2014 : The Promise of Jesus' Coming

In Isaiah forty nine, his praises were very wise

For he knew that he was honored in God’s eyes

The tribes of Jacob, God promised to restore

Bringing them back to where they were before

For the Gentiles, He will also make a light

His salvation would outshine any blight

God also promised His people, in Micah five

That from Bethlehem, a ruler would come alive

Israel would be abandoned until that time

But the ruler’s powers would be sublime

The people will then be able to live securely

For all the earth will His greatness then see

The prophet had a vision one night, per Daniel seven

He saw the son of man coming down from heaven

The son of man approached The Ancient of Days

And was given all authority and therefore praise

With sovereign power, God did Him equip

All people and nations did Him then worship

His dominion is everlasting and will not pass away

His Kingdom cannot be destroyed, forever it will stay

God used to speak through prophets, per Hebrews one

But later He sent His heir, His only begotten Son

“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory…and being”

He provided purification from sin, for all so freeing

And now He sits in heaven by God’s right hand

“Superior to the angels”, we all now understand

Based on "The One Minute Bible Day by Day"

So far, the Old Testament I have tried to convey

More than two hundred stanzas are now complete

The underlying stories are of course not obsolete

But now onto the New Testament I endeavor to go

In the hope that my knowledge continues to grow

Please pray that I manage to find rhyme after rhyme

I hope that you will enjoy them, if you have the time

5 July 2014 - Malachi

The Lord God spoke through his prophet, in Malachi three

“I will send my messenger [to] prepare the way before me”

“The messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come”

But will the people standing there be happy or feel numb?

For “he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold”

And the offerings of the people will be like days of old

But “all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble”

They will be set on fire and reduced to ashes and rubble

“But for you who revere my name”, righteousness for all

“And you will go out and leap [as if] released from the stall”

3 July 2014 - Esther:Jewish Queen of Persia

King Xerxes ruled over a large area, per Esther one

After three years, a massive state banquet was begun

The king called for Queen Vashti in crown to appear

When she refused, the king’s anger was quite clear

The nobles ruled that the queen had done wrong

Her punishment – banishment - would be lifelong

They said that the king should give her position

To someone better, so they held an audition

Mordecai raised Esther, “lovely in form and feature”

She was put under Hegai’s care so he could teach her

She pleased him, won favor, and was given special food

In the best part of the harem Hegai did Esther include

About her Jewish nationality or family, she did not tell

If that was known, she would have had to say farewell

The king was attracted to her more than others he had seen

As a result, he gave her a crown and made her the queen

King Xerxes gave Haman the seat of honor highest

All other officials had to kneel down at his behest

To “kneel down or pay him honor” Mordecai did refuse

Haman then decided to kill him along with all the Jews

Into Xerxes’ ears, Haman did say many a thing

Resulting in a decree being issued from the king

For the destruction of the Jews, the decree did provide

Many tons of silver, for those who helped, were set aside

Twice did Esther invite the king and Haman to dine

On the second day, they were enjoying a nice wine

The king said he would grant anything Esther did request

She said to save her people from slaughter would be best

For the name of the man responsible, King Xerxes did ask

She pointed at Haman, whose treachery she did then unmask

The king said “hang him”; it was not a slip of the tongue

From the very tall gallows he built, Haman was then hung

29 June 2014 - Nehemiah and Ezra: Walls and Worship

Nehemiah detailed what he said and did, in chapter one

He seemed to keep his eyes focused on the long run

He asked about the remnant that survived the exile

And was told they had been in trouble for a while

They said “the wall of Jerusalem is broken down”

And “burned with fire” are the gates of the town

Nehemiah “sat down and wept” for many a day

Then to the God of heaven he did earnestly pray

God’s instructions to Moses he did then recount

That unfaithful people would be taken to account

But if the commands of God were later obeyed

He would gather up all those who had strayed

The people worked to rebuild the wall, per Nehemiah four

It reached half height, thus angering enemies even more

The enemies plotted together to stir up trouble

The people prayed and the guard did double

The approach to building, Nehemiah did then amend

Half did work while the others were armed to defend

So after fifty two days the wall was complete

Per Nehemiah six, this result was quite a feat

The surrounding nations lost their confidence

They recognized that God’s help was immense

David rejoiced, per Psalm one hundred twenty two

For Jerusalem was the house of the Lord, he knew

It is where the tribes of the Lord go to give praise

For the house of David will remain for all the days

He prayed for peace so God’s people would be secure

So “security within the citadels” would forever endure

For all believers’ sake, he also prayed for internal peace

So that Godly prosperity would continue to increase

Ezra read the Book of the Law, per Nehemiah eight

He read it aloud in the square facing the Water Gate

When Ezra opened the book, all the people stood

And everyone praised God as much as they could

They bowed down with their faces to the ground

“Do not mourn”, the Levites told everyone around

“This day is sacred to our Lord”, Nehemiah did say

“The joy of the Lord is your strength”, he did convey