NEWS 2012
ALIVE Summit '12 June 1-3 'TEN COMMANDMENTS WKD
David sighed, “Oh! How I love your Law. It is my meditation all of the day.”Psalm 119:97. These words certainly rang a chord of recognition with those attending the Alive Summit at Waitara Church over the first weekend of June 2012. From the moment you entered the sanctuary you could not have missed the focus of the meetings. The Ten Commandments were literally centre stage and flood lit.
After 4,000 years what could anyone have to say that was new or thought provoking about the Ten Commandments? Yet the words used to describe the recent Alive Summit at Waitara Church were “Unique, creative and insightful” along with “Special and original.” How come? Of course it helps if you have great speakers and with ten commandments to cover there was plenty of scope for the new, exciting and talented as well as the highly experienced and theologically sound in the personages of Pastors Matt Parra, David Down, Geoff Youlden, Stanley Togafau, Tapiwa Mutseriwa and Martin Luke along with James Standish and the ladies, Charissa Fong and Irene Kibore.
Some of the thoughts presented were - Matt Parra on the 1st commandment - Love makes relationships, whilst keeping the Law of God maintains them.
Pr Tapiwa on the 5th - Before you judge that stubborn, rebellious child allow him to give his point of view because it’s not just the boy on trial here but also his parents.
Pr Stanley on the 7th - Whilst adulterers can be forgiven, the children affected may lose their salvation because of the hurt they have been left to carry.
Charissa Fong – God given talents are not just there for our own benefit. To use them to make money alone is stealing from God.
Irene Kibore – pointed out that as a church we can covet other churches apparent success but our task as the church of prophecy is to stay true to the word of God.
These talks, covering three days, were interspersed with many beautiful, musical items from near and far culminating on Sunday with the lovely singing of the Avondale College group, The Promise. Those attending declared they had experienced a uniquely spiritually invigorating weekend.
- by Elizabeth Y.
After 4,000 years what could anyone have to say that was new or thought provoking about the Ten Commandments? Yet the words used to describe the recent Alive Summit at Waitara Church were “Unique, creative and insightful” along with “Special and original.” How come? Of course it helps if you have great speakers and with ten commandments to cover there was plenty of scope for the new, exciting and talented as well as the highly experienced and theologically sound in the personages of Pastors Matt Parra, David Down, Geoff Youlden, Stanley Togafau, Tapiwa Mutseriwa and Martin Luke along with James Standish and the ladies, Charissa Fong and Irene Kibore.
Some of the thoughts presented were - Matt Parra on the 1st commandment - Love makes relationships, whilst keeping the Law of God maintains them.
Pr Tapiwa on the 5th - Before you judge that stubborn, rebellious child allow him to give his point of view because it’s not just the boy on trial here but also his parents.
Pr Stanley on the 7th - Whilst adulterers can be forgiven, the children affected may lose their salvation because of the hurt they have been left to carry.
Charissa Fong – God given talents are not just there for our own benefit. To use them to make money alone is stealing from God.
Irene Kibore – pointed out that as a church we can covet other churches apparent success but our task as the church of prophecy is to stay true to the word of God.
These talks, covering three days, were interspersed with many beautiful, musical items from near and far culminating on Sunday with the lovely singing of the Avondale College group, The Promise. Those attending declared they had experienced a uniquely spiritually invigorating weekend.
- by Elizabeth Y.
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March 14, 2012 (Luther Night)
It's been a little while since we last reported to you from this website - our apologies about that! However, we can assure you that ALIVE is still ALIVE and busy as usual :) Last night, we continued our program with our first 'vespers' closing Sabbath event followed by a Luther social evening that was phenomenal! The social team put on a wonderful meal, and created an atmosphere that transported us all back in time to the time of Luther himself. During our closing Sabbath vespers, we sang favourite hymns, including Martin Luther's own "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." The words to this timeless hymn are a sermon in themselves. It was wonderful to reflect on our reading together also. We have now completed chapters 7-9 of the Great Controversy. They are such powerful chapters...very inspiring. James and his capable social team had us eating stew by candlelight, with freshly baked bread to go with as well! Following this wonderful experience, we then sat at watched LUTHER the movie - this too was powerful to help us grasp the incredible scenes of Luther's life and witness for the truth. Worthy of note also, is our 'Tetzel' box - reminiscent of the indulgences John Tetzel famously collected for the building of St Peter's Basilica. Though we do not condone Tetzel's method of fundraising - we took up a voluntary collection and raised over $100! Praise the Lord! This will go towards youth ministry events in the future. Till next time - keep reading and do come and join us at our next ALIVE this coming Sabbath afternoon at 2:30pm :) God is good - all the time!
February 18, 2012
ALIVE for 2012 commenced yesterday with an exciting program! Good singing, good teaching, good prayer, good music, good activity, good turn out, good outreach experience and a good social evening together. We thank God for His blessing upon us all yesterday afternoon. From start to finish - we had a quality event. Special thanks to James W. for preaching a great sermon that caused us to orientated ourselves within the context of God's great commission, challenging us to attend God's great banquet - and bring someone else with us along the way. There is no excuse that comes even remotely close to the incredible privilege of being an invited guest to this event. Thanks also to Zodwa & Sithelo for reminding to trust Jesus as we travel farther along - and also, to Keziah, Shion and Sisi for a beautiful reflective message in song, asking Jesus to fill the empty spaces of our lives. James H. delivered a highly relevant quiz on the Great Controversy - and Ryan also got the ball rolling with our memory verse feature that will take us through Revelation 12, 13, 14 by the end of the year. Kevin and Lidjia also dedicated our program in prayer and we were all blessed as we reflected on the AYC in Sydney too. Special special thanks to Greg T. for putting together such a great video of the highlights as well. Our new pastor, Pastor Tapiwa closed our afternoon in prayer and then we hit the streets doing something we've never done before - prayer walking. It was a fresh experience - but one which God will reward. We are reminded, that God is bound by certain rules within this great conflict. However, when we pray for others, we give God permission to do that which He might not otherwise have done. So prayer is powerful!
2012, with all of its hype and mystery is a year that holds great potential for us and we are excited, particularly as we begin to explore this great theme through the book, The Great Controversy, about the things God will do and teach us this year. Till our next meeting on the 3rd of March, may God especially bless you! :)
2012, with all of its hype and mystery is a year that holds great potential for us and we are excited, particularly as we begin to explore this great theme through the book, The Great Controversy, about the things God will do and teach us this year. Till our next meeting on the 3rd of March, may God especially bless you! :)
