Lwcc Messages

Oreste's message on Sunday 29th April 2012 is available for download. Oreste continues to speak about the harvest field of those who have yet to enter the Kingdom of God. Having challenged disciples to engage in helping sow and reap in this harvest field, practical ways to help out are shared.  This message focuses on the things you need to know as you are out in the field helping in the harvest.

Oreste's message on Sunday 6th May 2012 is available for download. After looking at the things you need to know as you are out in the field helping in the harvest, this message focuses on the things you can do to help sow and reap.  There are a number of practical ways to help get the good news message out both as an individual and as part of the local church in the community. The practice of productively sharing your faith will depend on your priority and preparation. When these things are in place sowing and reaping will more naturally become the core work you bring into everything you put your hand to.

Oreste's message on Sunday 13th May 2012 is available for download. Having a practical working basis for sowing and reaping in the Kingdom harvest, it is important to ensure we have biblical expectations on the work Jesus has called us and commanded us to do.  Understanding these expectations in evangelism enables us to recognise what productivity in our mission really means.  Without balanced expectations we can too easily become discouraged and overwhelmed by the task. This is something Jesus never intended His followers to experience. His desire is that we should be stimulated, fulfilled and sustained by the work of sowing and reaping in the harvest. This was the experience of Jesus as He shared the good news and as His followers it is able to be and meant to be ours. Listen in and find out how it can be so.

Irene Shand-Len's message on Sunday 20th May 2012 is available for download. Irene looks at the story where Jesus says to His disciples to cross the lake to go to the other side. On the other side they meet up with a socially unacceptable demon possessed man from the Gerasenes. In this encounter with Jesus, the demon possessed man's life is transformed. In this message we are challenged to go to the other side of the places we move about in by crossing boundaries and reaching out to others in obedience, friendship, love and with the life giving good news of Jesus Christ. Jesus desires us to go to the other side and reach out to others with His purpose, power and plan.

Oreste's message on Sunday 1st July 2012 is available for download. The grace of serving is released in disciples who wholeheartedly accept that Jesus is Lord of their watch (and thus their time). In this message Oreste speaks about serving as the giving of our time to serve God and others.  Jesus gave us the example of washing the feet of His disciples and commanded us to serve in the same way He had demonstrated. Such service is to be done with an attitude of humility, where we willingly lower ourselves for the glory of God and the benefit of others. God has gifted all of us with various capacities and we are to use them for the purpose of serving others so that He may be glorified. God expects His people to serve as Jesus served. This is the grace of serving.

Oreste's message on Sunday 24th June 2012 is available for download. The grace of giving is released in disciples who wholeheartedly accept that Jesus is Lord of their wallet. In this message Oreste continues to speak about giving and looks at the qualities of the heart that are formed in the disciple who gives generously out of God's grace. The actions of giving and generosity speak volumes about the state of our heart and reflect what we value and who we serve. Our attitude to money and what we do with it provides a true assessment of where our treasure truly lies. Be encouraged and challenged to be a generous person because the Lord loves a cheerful giver.

Oreste's message on Sunday 10th June 2012 is available for download. Transformation of the faithful disciple of Jesus into His likeness will inevitably lead to that person becoming increasingly generous with their money and time. Inspired by a God-given vision of the Kingdom of God, generosity is expressed as the investment of our whole self and resources into the fulfillment of this vision for our lives and our community through the local church we are committed to. This first message looks at the grace of giving as the faithful expression of a person that has "seen" by faith and acknowledged the generosity of God in their lives. This reality is achieved by God's grace in our lives and enables us to be generous in our giving.  The grace of giving is released in disciples who wholeheartedly accept that Jesus is Lord of their wallet. Be challenged and inspired as you hear God's word in this important area of Christian growth.

Sash Stanceski's message on Sunday 17th June 2012 is available for download. How you see yourself will influence your ability to enter into the promises of God. In this message Sash will unpack this truth through the story of the twelve spies whom Moses sent to check out the promised land.  Why is it ten of them saw themselves as small and insignificant "grasshoppers" in the sight of the Canaanites that dwelt in the land God had promised the people of Israel? Today we can also fall short of entering into the things God has promised us in the new covenant in Jesus Christ. This message will inspire and challenge you to action that flows from a radical confidence in a God who will do everything He promises to do - empowerment for the impossible!

Oreste's message on Sunday 15th July 2012 is available for download. Oreste concludes this message as he explores capacity and gifting as the means through which we are to serve.  Serving involves doing things we are motivated to do and things we are less inclined to want to do.  The mundane and the menial tasks still need doing and Jesus' example of foot washing sends a clear message that we are all to share in doing the lowly tasks. In this way we are to be faithful stewards of the capacities God has given us. As we are faithful with the few things God gives us He will gladly entrust us with more so that we can serve Him in newer and more adventurous ways.

Oreste's message on Sunday 22nd July 2012 is available for download. Oreste resumes the Meet the Master series from the book of Luke and looks at the doubts that faced John the Baptist who was now in prison.  John who had been successful in serving God is now unsure if Jesus is the one and yet he so confidently declared him to be the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."  What John experienced in prison and his circumstances is something we may all face as followers of Jesus at some time or another. We have our disappointments and our doubts which in turn impair our ability to rightly discern the work of God.  But there is something more fundamental to our times of doubt that may well surprise even the most faithful of followers. That is, that the manner of Jesus in outworking the purposes of Father God in the world, may be offensive to our expectations and preferences. Let's not stumble, take offense and fall away on account of Jesus but embrace and serve him who is both Saviour a

Oreste's message on Sunday 29th July 2012 is available for download. Oreste concludes with Part 2 of this message where the issue of being offended by Jesus is uncovered as it relates to John's time of doubt in prison. Application to our lives is made where disappointment, doubt and dodgy discernment can be seen to flow from offence with Jesus.  Left unresolved our times of doubt can turn into hardness of heart. But where we confront our doubts and bring them humbly to the Lord they can be an opportunity for a greater and more robust faith.

Oreste's message on Sunday 5th August 2012 is available for download. Oreste looks at the story in the book of Luke where a sinful woman pours perfume on the feet of Jesus while He is dining at the home of a Pharisee.  Jesus, knowing that Simon the Pharisee is disgusted by what this woman did and aware of the woman's love for God , goes on to teach about forgiveness and love.  When forgiveness is open then love flows freely and lavishly.

Oreste's message on Sunday 12th August 2012 is available for download. Jesus asked His disciples a question: "Who do you say I am?" In this message we are challenged to consider our personal response to this question and to identify the true source of our response. A revelation from God about who Jesus is changes everything about our attitude to Him and all that Jesus has to say to us.  God the Father declared that Jesus is His Son whom He chose and that we are to listen to Him. Such listening demands our obedience to the way of Jesus as we follow Him as faithful disciples. There is a commitment and cost to following Jesus but the journey brings forth the greatest possible joy and fulfilment that not only changes the disciple but transforms the world into the fullest expression of God's kingdom on earth.

Sarah de Haan's message on Sunday 19th August 2012 is available for download. In this message, whoever you are and wherever you stand in relation to God, Sarah challenges you to sincerely consider the eternal choice before you to turn to God and fully embrace Him. Why? Because Father God turned His back on Jesus so He wouldn't have to turn His back on you. That choice has eternal consequences that are meant to find expression and fulfilment in the here and now of life. The choice rests on what or who you allow to shape your soul. So what or who will it be for you - the world or Jesus?

Oreste's message on Sunday 2nd September 2012 is available for download. The corresponding slide is also available. This is the first message of a three part series that delves into Revelation chapters 2-3 where Jesus is reviewing the seven churches of Asia Minor. Jesus provides commendation and correction to these churches and puts out the call for repentance in particular areas in anticipation of the day He will judge His people for their deeds of faith at His second coming. The Jesus review has implications for you and I and gives us a much needed opportunity to listen to Jesus' feedback so we can "pull our socks up" as preparation for the final review when we meet our Lord face to face.

Rob Brown's message on Sunday 9th September 2012 is available for download. Rob looks at the claims that have been made by different kinds of people and how the reality ends up failing to match the bold claims that were originally made. The test of time causes evidence to emerge that allows the rest of us to plainly see many trails of false claims. Rob applies the same test of time to the claims Jesus made about himself in the Bible to reveal a refreshing, compelling and evidence based reality about who Jesus is - the way, the truth and the life. Be challenged and comforted as you listen.

Oreste's message on Sunday 30th September 2012 is available for download. The corresponding slide is also available. This is the final message of a three part series that delves into Revelation chapters 2-3 where Jesus is reviewing the seven churches of Asia Minor. The areas of repentance that Jesus identifies in these churches have direct application for us today as Christians. The call to repentance that Jesus issued long ago to these churches is also a call for us to not forsake our first love and faithfulness to our Lord. Where we wander away from spiritual faithfulness to God, other things will enter our lives and becomes idols we need to repent of. Listen in and resolve to be obedient to the call of Jesus in our lives - let's forsake the idols in our lives and embrace the Master wholeheartedly in anticipation of His return to planet earth.

Oreste's message on Sunday 23rd September 2012 is available for download. The corresponding slide is also available. This is the second message of a three part series that delves into Revelation chapters 2-3 where Jesus is reviewing the seven churches of Asia Minor. The areas of repentance that Jesus is calling these churches to are explored. The forsaking of our first love for the Lord marks the decline and decay of a disciple's spiritual faithfulness towards God. It is the "thin edge of the wedge".

Oreste's message on Sunday 7th October 2012 is available for download. The corresponding slide is also available. Can we know what heaven is like or isn't like? Does the Bible give us clear, concrete realities about what eternity in heaven might look like? Be prepared to have your popular, media reinforced misconceptions blown to pieces. Whatever you think heaven might be like be sure to test it against the truth of God's word. Even where you have faithfully sought to do this one thing is for sure! Whatever you imagine heaven to be like, it will not be exactly like that. Why? Simply because it will be even better.

Sash Stanceski's message on Sunday 4th November 2012 is available for download. Holiness can easily be a misunderstood term. In this message Sash describes the nature of holiness and uses the story of Samson and Delilah to draw out practical lessons we can live by.