Greetings Church, 

This morning in my readings I came across this wonderful encouragement from the Apostle Paul.  

1 Corinthians 15:57 – 58  “But thanks be to God!  He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.”

Paul in the verses before this was talking about how the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality … Death has been swallowed up in victory. The significance of the cross can never be overstated or underestimated. Through Jesus' sacrifice every follower of Christ has an assurance of victory over the grave. For the early church and for Christians after, this gave them the courage they needed to face their most difficult of challenges. Some would ultimately lose their lives but there was a confidence that it would not be their end, only the beginning of a new life to come. In our lives, with all that we face both great and not so great, be encouraged that nothing you face, you face alone. Christ has made a way for you to overcome! So be determined today to live each and every day to the full. “Give yourselves fully” as the passage says. Don’t hold back. Your work for the Lord is never in vain. If Christ can conquer death, that means we, who are in Christ, can overcome anything with him!! We have the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. So be victorious today!

Reminders:

• Tonight (Monday) at 7:30pm here at church, Sue Doyle is beginning a new teaching series on Prayer, Healing, and Deliverance. If you are passionate about getting equipped in these areas, come along and be part of the ride!  There is a $30 cost to cover the purchase of the manual - spread the word!
  
• I’m excited to be speaking this Sunday on the second part of our series “Made for This” so make sure you’re there and invite friends and family - let’s try and fill the auditorium this week!

Cheering you on - Nu and Taua. 

Greetings Church;

Once again, "Happy Father’s Day" to all our Dads! I hope you were loved on by friends and family. You certainly deserve it!
This morning in my readings I came across this wonderful passage from Paul's writings to the church in Corinth.  1 Corinthians 2:4 says “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.”  It’s a great reminder that it’s not our eloquence of speech that will convince a person to follow Jesus but the heartfelt love and care we demonstrate towards them. The power of the Holy Spirit alive in us reaches out and touches the very core of every human heart as we demonstrate it in love. Like the words of a quote I heard long ago ... "No-one can argue with a transformed life.” When people see your transformed life on display it can only give praise and glory to God. So find people to love on the week. You are blessed to be a blessing!

I want to remind you that  TONIGHT (Tuesday Sept 8th) we are hosting a Tearfund event with Melinda Tankard-Reist, a Canberra author and speaker. She is well known for her work on the objectification of women and sexualisation of girls and efforts to address violence against women. It’s here at Elim Church, Tuesday 8th September, 7pm. It would be great to spread the word about this and invite people to come along.

Also this Sunday we start our new series  “Made For This”  we are looking at four aspects that we as God's people were made for. Make sure you are here for the first installment of this four part series. Don’t forget to get there 10-15 mins earlier for your free Hot Chocolate!

We are building a great church here in the city.  At our last new peoples lunch we had 39 new people attend.  I want to encourage everyone to get on board with what God is doing in our church.  New people are arriving here every week and its great when our church family are around to welcome them in.  So thank you for being here each Sunday and reaching out to our new people to make them feel comfortable and loved.  Remember it’s not in what we say but what we demonstrate.
Have a great week.  See you Sunday. 

Blessings Nu and Taua.

Hi church,
Well it’s been a rough couple of weeks for me. I got hit with the flu which meant 4 days in bed, coughing and sneezing and aching all over. I don’t do sick very well so I got a case of the man flu on top of the actual flu!
Taua and I were in Auckland this past weekend taking a baby dedication for a young couple from our church who wanted to make it a part of their wedding ceremony; it was truly a special service and great way to celebrate God's love and grace. Then on the Sunday I preached four times at Elim Christian Centre South and East. After being with the Pastors up there for the whole Sunday I don’t think I’ll ever complain again about how hard it is on a Sunday with our one service in the morning and one in the evening!
It was great to have Ps  Jasmine Robbins visit here last Sunday.  Jaz was part of the key leadership here at Elim Church Christchurch City  for a long time and I know it would’ve been really special to have her back again - have a listen to her message online if you missed Sunday.
I am excited about the next few weeks. We have some great services planned starting this Sunday with our Father’s Day service “Man Cave”.  Every father’s desire is to have that hideaway where they can do whatever they want (so I’ve been told!).  I want to encourage you to invite your father to our Sunday services. They will not be disappointed. We really want to honour all our dads for who they are and what they do. So your task this week is to make sure every Dad you know is invited!
Have a great week this week. Keep being carriers of hope wherever you go. Remember we are “A place where HOPE is received and HOPE released”.

See you this Sunday!
Nu and Taua