A pr il
tw
Ed
en
iti
te
on
ty
n EASTER // the day hope arrived
1
M O C L E W 2
It’s so grea t tha t you’re a par t of our Sunday cele bra tion ser vice. As we cele bra te Jesus today, we pray tha t you feel right a t home. We would lo ve for you to join us in the “Meeting Place” after our mor ning ser vice for a cuppa so we can enjo y some grea t coffee and connection!
E M
When we build houses it is essential to dig down and establish strong foundations so that what is constructed on those foundations will not crack and develop structural weaknesses. When we built Faith Centre, we constructed very de ep foundations, well tied together because underneath our building is mangrove mud and it is not the best to build on. In the ensuing 20 years of Faith Centre, we have not had a problem in the walls or flo ors because we did what the engine ers who designed the foundations said to do. In Matthew 7, Jesus tells the story of 2 people; one who built on the rock and the other on sand. When the rains came, the house on sand collapsed as the foundations were eroded. Jesus then made the observation that people who hear His Word but don’t do it are like the building on sand – they will not stand in the storms of life. When we obey Jesus’ words, we are on a very solid foundation and can expect to persevere in adversity because our lives are based on Jesus, the rock. In counselling Christians over the years, I have some people respond to the Word of the Lord and stand, but others hear the Word and don’t obey and have suffered the consequences. Our society encourages us to be ‘samplers’ of what life has to offer – try drugs, try drink, try sex or whatever else is on offer. We can take this thinking further and try Jesus, but Scripture calls for a life change through commitment and obedience to Him, not just tasting. When we do what He says, we enjoy an abundant life that He brings with joy, peace and prosperity, and these I pray for you. PAST ORS ROB AND DENISE
3
CONTENTS NEWS // p.6 p.10 p.13 p.14
Mackay Christian Care Sing with MCF Kids
FEATURE // p. EGG-STRAVAGANT LOVE
ARTICLES // p p.22 p.24
The purpose of a youth ministr y The geta way of a lifetime // Ignite Ret
FAMILY LIFE p.28 p.30 p.31
4
YUMMM - Recipe of the month MCF Calendar Jour nal Readings
.16
p.22
trea t 2010
5
> S W E N
D E N O P P O S T il fur ther unt notice... ed... t ay t u n
s
Due to the recent wea ther issues, Re v Youth will be postponing Camp Explosion to a la ter da te. If you have any queries please see Ps Tim or Ka t.
BABY (get) ON BOARD As a Church, it is our desire to be a blessing to Mackay. One way we se ek to
6
do this is by presenting baby bundles to new mums, both in our church and in our community. We are currently running low in stock on all things ‘baby’. If you have any baskets, or if you would like to buy and donate some nappies, singlets, baby lotion, baby powder, wipes, small toys or anything else to this great ministry, please see Ker ry Tysoe or
phone the Church office.
we are FASCINATING WOMEN and we’ re going to celebrate! ‘Spoilt’ girls are happy girls, so put aside the weekend of 25th – 27th June to head out to ‘Camp Kanga’ at Proserpine. Get ready to share some fascinating time with other women, learning the true value of who you are.
April
Birthdays! 02/04 – Jacques Janse-ven-Vuren, Temwani Mazaba 03/04 – Kirsty Barnett, Clarissa Fourie 06/04 – Joshua Blignaut 07/04 – Brenton Swadling 09/04 – Jamie Miltenburg 11/04 – Michael Clifford 12/04 – Bevan Little, Jael Mezieres 14/04 – Barry Smith 15/04 – Justine Frost, Simone Lodge 16/04 – Lyn O’Riely, Matthew Blignaut, Kelly Kopcheff 17/04 – Manny Vella, Chriszann Fouche
18/04 – Pieter Scho onwinkel, Jedediah Robertson 20/04 – Rowena Olive 24/04 – Dorothy Jenvey 25/04 – Nyssa Norman, Naomi Chand, James Quilliam 27/04 – Mark Swadling, Jean-Marc Mezieres 29/04 – Dallas Johnston 30/04 – Mark O’Riely
7
! s s i m t ’ n o bring D
support global mission
HOPE to someone’s world. when // Sunday 18th April
theme //
8
Bring Hope to Someone’s World. Purchase a ‘hope balloon’ to raise funds for a building project in Indonesia and to win grea t prizes. BBQ Lunch after Church $4 meal deals!
t ns.
COMING UP NEXT MONTH IN THE MAY EDITION... MCF BANK DETAILS
We’ ll meet the incredible people who will be embarking on the trip of a lifetime to Indonesia and Malaysia.
Tithes and offerings can be paid via the internet. Bank details for MCF are: Account number: 69481 8914 BSB: 084 792 Please label your transfer with the appropriate title so we can direct your money to the right area. eg. ‘tithes and offering’, ‘Leroy sponsorship’, or ‘missions’ etc. Cheques should be made payable to Mackay Christian Family.
9
SAVING [THE WORLD one person at a time. By Catherine Murison
In Matthew 22, God gives us the two g reatest commandments. The first is to love God; the second is to love people. It’s easy to love God with everything we have once we have an understanding of everything He’s done and how much He loves us. It’s when we read the second commandment, that’s we become unsure how and if it’s possible.
At Mackay Christian Family Church we are committed to love God and love people. One way we outwardly show our love for people is through ‘Mackay Christian Care’. MCC is the community arm of our church which aims to serve our community, and help carry out our
10
continued next page...
D] .
j e s u s.
mackay christian c a re
br i n g i n g J e s u s t o t h e h e a r t of o u r c o m m u n i t y.
We need you ,
church , to
par tner with us, when we go out in to the community , deter mined to make a difference, deter mined to love people,
tha t’s when we’ ll star t to see a
transformation.
church vision of Transforming Mackay. MCC has be en actively serving our Mackay community over the past few years and our events have be en very successful in loving our community in a more practical way. The Day of Hope is an event in which we want to bless our community by giving away tens of thousands of dollars in clothing, house go ods and fo od. MCC also did a “renovation rescue” on Kalyan House; crisis housing for Mackay Youth. Four units were completely refurbished, this included a complete sand down and repaint, new lighting throughout, carpet matting in bedro oms and lounge ro oms, new beds, mattresses and bedding, towels bath mats and even new toilet seats. It was a total transformation! Ps. Jill Hyatt de emed these events, “a great success and were a great way to demonstrate God’s love tangibly.” These events have radically blessed our community, but were only made possible by our wonderful volunte ers; people who gave up their own time to serve and love on our community. Mackay Christian Care gives us an opportunity to “love our neighbour” in a practical way while showing the Mackay community just a fraction of how much God actually loves them. We ne ed you, church, to partner with us, when we go out in to the community - determined to make a difference, determined to love people, that’s when we’ll start to se e a transformation. Get involved! For more information on upcoming Mackay Christian Care events email info@mcf.org.au and make the subject line “Mackay Christian Care”.
12
We can’t wait for you to join us in loving people.
sing to the king. Worship is a vital par t of our everyday Christian lives and is one of the pillars of Mackay Christian Family.
By Cam Murison
As a church, we live to worship God and we also love to give people the opportunity to use their gifts and talents to bless the house of God, our Church family, and to build the God’s Kingdom. The MCF Church Worship Team would like to invite you to be a part of our Choir. This will likely be a bi-monthly event and for special occasions at Church. Choir members, who aren’t already a part of our Worship Team, will not be required to rehearse with us on a we ekly basis, but will join us on the Thursday night before the Sunday that the Choir is rostered on. We do ask that you are a regular attender of MCF Church and that your lifestyle is honouring to God. The next Choir event is the 16th of May, so if you’d like to be a part of our Choir, adding to the life of our Church worship, we would love to hear from you. Please contact me by email at cam.murison@mccmky.qld.edu.au or phone the Church Office on 49631155.
13
Z D I K
growing up GREAT! By Cheryl Greer
It is so exciting to see our children g rowing up. Sometimes we wish they would hurry up and
sometimes we wish they would stop. These years are so precious and they disappear before we know it; this is why we ne ed to teach them in the ways of God now while they are young. It says in Pro verbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depar t from it.” This month we aim to come along side you as parents to help teach your children about the true meaning of Easter and no, it is not about chocolate! (although it is a go od excuse to eat it!!!)
On Easter Sunday, there will be NO Children’s Ministr y, but the follo wing Sunday, all the children will be in the Blue Room for an Easter program.
14
I pray you have a safe, enjoyable and restful Easter.
ROCK SOLID conference highlights...
Wow! What a g reat day we had at conference. We met new people from around the district with
the same vision and that is, ‘Reaching children for Christ.’ Ps Andrew shared with us about how important it is for us to be ‘Master Builders’ and that we are to be Strong, Courageous and do the Work. God has called everyone to GO and make disciples of ALL men. What a wonderful opportunity we have to reach the children in the scho ols because the do ors are open. I would like to say “thank you” firstly, to our Rock Solid team: Catrien, Petro and Peter, and then to the team that helped out on the day: Priscilla Lister, Shane Hosking, Paul Dixon, Spencer Radford, Matthew Spark, the amazing worship team and the wonderful Wildfire Care Cell who lo oked after the kitchen for us. It is wonderful to serve and be a part of God’s family. Thank you. Cheryl Greer
15
E R U T A E F
EGG-STRA LOVE By Mia Ellul
16
AVAGANT Easter is about so much more than hot cross buns, chocolate and a long weekend. For Christians, Easter is a time to reflect on the price paid for us at Calvary, and our Saviour’s triumph over sin and death. We are all familiar with the scripture found in John 3:16. In fact, for most of us, I am sure that this scripture has be en firmly engrained into our memories – but has it become so familiar to us that we have lost the power of its story? Let’s lo ok at it again... “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” continued next page...
17
At its very core, the Easter story is a story about love. There is no greater love story in the world than that of the cross. But what is this love? Is it weak? It is fake? Is it pansy? NO! It is the love of God; a love that is passionate, a love that pursues. His love is relentless; it is a love that never gives up. It is a ‘whatever it takes’ kind of love. It is the EXTRAVAGANT love of a Saviour that would not shy away, even when faced with the violence and brutality of the cross. This is love that not only faced death, but overcame it. In the words of John, “there is no greater love than this.” (John 15:13) And who is the benefactor of this incredible love? You are. It is easy for us to remember the ‘what’ of Easter – Jesus died on the cross, was buried and on the third day he rose again – but the harder question for us to answer is the ‘why’? Yes, Jesus’ sacrifice was made in order to pay the price required for our sins, but that sin is not the theme behind this story; love is! God loved us and desired to be in relationship with us so desperately that he was willing to do whatever was necessary and pay whatever price was required to remove anything that would ke ep us separated from him. The ‘why’ is LOVE.
love is relentl “His it is a love that ne
gives up...
18
less; ever
So what then should our response be to this love? What is it that God desires? If we tuned in to his voice, what would we hear? “Work harder? Be better? Give more? Do more? Be more?” No. The message of the cross resounds loudly and clearly across the ages. It is not, “do better,” but “I love you.” Love that endured the cross, faced pain and scorn and death, desires but one response. Love! Let your greatest gift this Easter not be the chocolate you consume, but the knowledge of God’s extravagant love towards you. As you think on this love, may your heart echo the cry of his,
“I love you.”
19
WHAT EASTER MEANS TO ME... Get together to cele bra te Jesus’ dea th and His resurrection - Piet, Age 13
Min
Easter is the most impor tant da te in our Christian calendar. It’s a time of reflecting and being gra teful for wha t Jesus has done for us while we were still sinners. It’s a grea t time to connect with famil y.
Lacey 20
When God died for me so tha t I could live eter nall y happy in the grea test place: ho w blessed am I!!!
Max
Jesus lo ves me so much; He gave His life so I could have mine as one of God’s most favourite kids!
Jesus died and rose a gain - Naomi, Age 10
Wayne Easter is a time for me to cele bra te and focus on the resurrection of Jesus. Because He lives I am free from the la w of sin and dea th. Getting ‘chocies’ - Jhai, Age 4
Jo y - Cale b, Age 9
Tabby The time when my Lord Jesus died for me on the Cross. It’s time for rene wal in ter ms of faith. It’s a time of purifying myself and reflecting on the enor mous sacrifice Jesus gave. I just find it so amazing! In Bots wana, we have a conference for the 3 days of Easter. We would camp and ea t a t Church for the entire occasion. It was a time for worshipping and praising God. Here in Australia, as well as cele bra ting the gift Jesus gave, there seems to be a real emphasis on connecting with families and sharing chocola te!
21
THE PURPOSE OF A YOUTH MINISTRY By Pastor Tim Spark
When Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 that He would build His church, He was including all generations to play a part in the church. We know this by how Jesus challenged the mindsets of His disciples who were to be the first ‘organised church leaders’.
22
Jesus, in Matthew 19:4, shapes the thinking of the 12 by correcting them, publicly, about who can come to Christ. He says, “Let the children come, the Kingdom belongs to these and those who are alike”. We know through Jesus’ rebuke that kids are essential to the church because they are essential to the Builder of the church.
Wha t about youth a ged kids? Would your thinking change if Jesus’ disciples never had beards like we se e in the pictures painted? What if Jesus’ disciples were betwe en the ages of 11 and 18? How would this change your mind on youth kids? Do your own study; se e what the Bible says about the twelve disciples. I believe that Jesus didn’t cho ose mature, sound minded, strong willed, bearded men BUT emotional, full of zeal, immature young men. It was emotions that caused them to return to fishing after Jesus’ death, the zeal of a young man caused him to dare to ask to walk on water, it was the immaturity of each of them that they would question and not understand Jesus fully. Search for yourself. The purpose of a youth ministry is not to babysit your kids on a Friday Night. The purpose is to raise up a genera tion to do
something grea t for God. The youth in our church are today’s church, not tomorro w’s....today’s. The y are the leaders of tomorro w. We disciple them NOW while they are 11 - 18 yrs old, so that they can be strong enough for Christ to build His church upon them. The purpose of Revolution Youth is to win young people for Christ, to teach and train them in the teachings of Christ, then to release them to minister for Christ. As a church, we are doing this together. It is not the youth pastors “job” to build young people; it is OUR job to build young people. It is the youth pastor’s job to follow up on the ministry, but it is OUR job to raise up the next generation. Together in unity, Christ builds His church upon us. The Youth Ministry is simply an expression of that zeal, emotion and immaturity. Zeal, emotion and immaturity are not bad things. In fact, I want to say that is a great season in the life of a young person. They have the zeal to dare to walk on water, to do the impossible for the glory of God. They have the emotion to care when times are great and when times are tough, and they have the immaturity to not care about what man thinks of their life choices. These are great times for our church at Mackay Christian Family. We have a grea t youth ministr y here in our church and we are building the youth of our church to be the minor leaders of today into the major leaders of tomorro w.
23
24
the getaway of a lifetime.
ignite retreat 2010
By Catherine Murison
Coming up in May, Ignite will be having its annual “Ignite Retreat�. The young adults of Mackay Christian Family Church come together to be encouraged, inspired and motivated in their walk with God. Last year in May, we were blessed to have Ps. Cameron and Rene e Bennett, the QLD Youth Alive directors, come and minister to us on our Ignite Retreat. It was such an awesome we ekend where we were given the opportunity to get away together and just allow God to touch and change our lives.
25
Retreat 2009 was the first of its kind, under new leadership; Ignite to ok off to Airlie Beach for some quality God time, as well as some incredibly valuable “bonding time”. It’s amazing how much God can do when we take ourselves away from our everyday pressures and give Him all of our attention, with no distractions. Our leadership team organised the retreat in such a way that it gave us quality teaching time, quality bonding time and quality time to se ek God in the secret place. Along with the amazing Word of God, we got a chance to have fun and link in with each other. We spent Saturday ocean rafting, snorkelling the Great Barrier Re ef and hanging out on Whitehaven Beach. What a way to spend a we ekend! I know for me, just having the opportunity to “retreat” away with God and friends was incredibly relaxing and really gave me an opportunity to not only hear from God, but soak in His presence, with nothing to distract me. It taught me a lot about the importance of the “secret place” and even when I came back home, I was refreshed, revitalized and energized, able to ke ep advancing and allowing God to speak into my life on a daily basis and to be obedient to His voice. God is constantly speaking to us, but sometimes we ne ed to turn down the volume of life and allow His voice to be heard. I am so excited for what’s going to happen on Ignite Retreat 2010. This year, we’re going to ‘leave it all behind’ and connect with both God and people. This year’s theme is “Catalyst” which means to change from the inside. Along with more Ocean Rafting and Airlie fun, we have our amazing new Young Adults Pastors, Pastors David and Sharryn Westbro ok bringing the Word and I know, if you give God this time, you “retreat” from life’s distraction God is going to do amazing things in your life, from the inside.
Join us in Airlie beach for “Ca tal yst” Ignite Retrea t 2010.
26
...just having the oppor tunity to “retrea t” a way with God and friends was incredibl y relaxing and reall y gave me an oppor tunity to not onl y hear from God, but soak in His presence... Testimonies from Ignite Retrea t, 2009 “Oh my go odness! Ignite Retreat was amazing! We had such a great time getting to know each other and finding common ground with the young adults of MCF. God did some amazing work of fre edom in and through each of us.” Melissa Llo yd-Jones “I so appreciate the relaxing, peaceful atmosphere of the Ignite Retreat! It is a refreshing, revitalising we ekend of fellowship and impartation and there is so much opportunity to really focus your time on hearing personally from God.” Re becca Wood wor th “Ignite Retreat is a great way to get away from the “busyness” of everyday life, where you can have a go od time with friends, but position yourself to really hear from God.” Cameron Murison
27
MEASTER M M CUPCAK U Y
GOT A YUMMY RECIPE WORTH SHARING? Send it in! Email your yummy food ideas to: info@mcf.org.au If your recipe is chosen for the month, you’ ll recieve a $20 Coffee Club voucher! This se gment is not just for the ladies, C’MON MEN! Sho w off your culinar y skills!
28
R BUNNY KES.
Hey kids! Why not go all out this Easter and have some fun making and enjoying the taste of these yummy Easter Bunny cupcakes! Ing redients A cupcake (baked from your favourite recipe) White icing Shredded coconut Pink decorators’ sugar Jelly bean nose A chewable lolly for the eyes Large marshmallow Mini marshmallows
Instr uctions Frost a cupcake (baked from your favourite recipe) with white icing and sprinkle on shredded coconut fur. Cut a large marshmallow in half widthwise. Sque eze each half slightly to give it an oval shape, then decorate the sticky side of each one with pink decorators’ sugar and set them in place for ears. Add a jelly bean nose and either jelly bean or snipped Swe et Tart eyes, and mini marshmallows for che eks. For a finishing touch, draw on decorators’ gel pupils or whiskers if you like This recipe is from: http://familyfun.go.com
29
APRIL
2nd GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE // 9:30am
4th 9th
EASTER SUNDAY SERVICE 9:30AM (no PM ser vice) REV Yr 7-12 // IGNITE 18+ 7pm // 7:30pm
11th CELEBRATION SERVICE // 9:30am & 6pm
16th
REV Yr 7-12 // IGNITE 18+ 7pm // 7:30pm
18th
cele bra tion ser vice 9:30am & 6pm 23rd REV & IGNITE // 7pm & 7:30pm
25th 30
CELEBRATION SERVICE 9:30am & 6pm
MCF Worship Team meets e ver y Thursday night @ 6:30pm in the Faith Centre Care Cells meet during the week a t various loca tions // For more info call 49631155
L A N R U O J
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT JOURNALLING OR HOW TO JOURNAL, VISIT: http://www.mcf.org.au/resources/journalling/
1
Judg 11,2; Ps 50; 2 Cor 1
2
Judg 13-16; 2 Cor 2
3
Judg 17,18; Ps 89; 2 Cor 3
4
Judg 19-21; 2 Cor 4
5
Ruth 1,2; Ps 53,61; 2 Cor 5
6
Ruth 3,4; Ps 64,65; 2 Cor 6
7
1 Sam 1,2; Ps 66; 2 Cor 7
8
1 Sam 3-5; Ps 77; 2 Cor 8
9
1 Sam 6,7; Ps 72; 2 Cor 9
10
1 Sam 8-10; 2 Cor 10
11
1 Sam 11,12; 1 Chr 1; 2 Cor 11
12
1 Sam 13; 1 Chr 2,3; 2 Cor 12
13
1 Sam 14; 1 Chr 4; 2 Cor 13
14
1 Sam 15,16; 1 Chr 5; Mt 1
15
1 Sam 17; Ps 9; Mt 2
16
1 Sam 18; 1 Chr 6; Ps 11; Mt 3
17
1 Sam 19; 1 Chr 7; Ps 59; Mt 4
18
1 Sam 20,21; Ps 34; Mt 5
19
1 Sam 22; Ps 17,35; Mt 6
20
1 Sam 23; Ps 31, 54; Mt 7
21
1 Sam 24; Ps 57,58; 1 Chr 8; Mt 8
22
1 Sam 25,26; Ps 63; Mt 9
23
1 Sam 27; Ps 141; 1 Chr 9; Mt 10
24
1 Sam 28,29; Ps 109; Mt 12
25
1 Sam 30,31; 1 Chr 10; Mt 12
26
2 Sam 1; Ps 140; Mt 13
27
2 Sam 2; 1 Chr 11; Ps 142; Mt 14
28
2 Sam 3; 1 Chr 12; Mt 15
29
2 Sam 4,5; Ps 139; Mt 16
30
2 Sam 6; 1 Chr 13; Ps 68; Mt 17
31
SkYwood
self titled EP // april 16th release
mackay christian
family church
creating hope expressing love giving life 9 Quarry Stre et, North Mackay 07 4963 1155 www.mcf.org.au
SENIOR EDITOR // Denise Booth-Jones EDITORS // Mia Ellul, Tiana Fr y SENIOR CO-ORDINATORS // Jennifer Booth-Jones, Maria Ellul, Ka tharine MacDonald CREATIVE DIRECTOR // Jennifer Booth-Jones APRIL CONTRIBUTORS // Mia Ellul, Tiana Fr y, Cameron Murison, Ca therine Murison, Tim Spark FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHY // Crea tivemyk.com, Jennifer Booth-Jones, Tiana Fr y, Re becca Wood wor th
32