28
August
2011
When the first disciples preached the good news of Christ’s resurrection, they did so not by expounding theological precepts or moral arguments but by telling the story of Israel and showing how Jesus was the culmination of that story.
This week we consider why it is important for us today to see the gospel as story and to ask the question, what story ought we to be telling as we ‘preach the good news’ today?
theupperroom 
Christian faith, Gospel, Scripture 
Comments |
21
August
2011
A striking characteristic of the early church, as described in the book of Acts, was the awareness of the first disciples of the very real guiding presence of the Holy Spirit in their midst. Time and again we see God speaking to the church and directing its earliest missional endeavours with unambiguous clarity and specificity through visions, dreams, angelic visitations and even at times with an audible voice (see Acts 9, for example).
For many followers of Jesus today, the idea that we can ‘hear’ the voice of God personally is foreign. Some Christians – particularly those who hold to the view that everything God might ever have to say to us is to be found exclusively in the pages of Scripture – regard the claim that God can speak to us in other ways with much scepticism and suspicion. And yet for many others, having a dynamic, interactive, dialogic relationship with God is the very essence of a life of faith.
This week we open up a conversation about what it means to hear (from) God and some of the ways in which the voice of God can be experienced in our lives.
theupperroom Spirituality, The Holy Spirit Comments |
14
August
2011
This week we watched a series of short films reinforcing last week’s message about discipleship as mission. The recording includes some preliminary comments followed by the audio of the films.
The first film, A Church Revolution, can be viewed online (via facebook) at https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=2045089300941&oid=194795880574178
The following links are to preview versions of two Deidox films:
Deon - http://www.worshiphousemedia.com/mini-movies/13304/Deidox--Deon
Dawn - http://www.worshiphousemedia.com/mini-movies/14928/Deidox--Dawn
theupperroom Church, Mission Comments |
7
August
2011
At the start of the 13th chapter of Acts, Barnabas and Saul, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, are sent out from Antioch on the first of the great ‘missionary journeys’ by which the gospel began to spread beyond Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria to the ‘ends of the earth’. As we read of the exploits of these pioneers of God’s kingdom, we are reminded of the fundamentally missional nature of the church.
theupperroom Christianity, The Holy Spirit, Mission Comments |
31
July
2011
In a departure from our usual format, this week’s gathering was an exploration and experience of worship. The morning consisted of a number of people bringing personal, creative expressions of worship including, dance, performance art, film, poetry and song. This was interspersed with a few people sharing some thoughts about what worship is. Our goals were to come away with a deeper and broader concept of what worship is and to have had a rich shared experience of worship via the creative gifts of some of our community.
While this podcast doesn’t fully capture that experience as such, it includes some of the elements of the morning and excerpts of what several people shared.
Link to 'Zwarte Bloem' (Black Flower) by Mirre van Dalen http://youtu.be/y4Tl-btEFT8
theupperroom Worship, The Holy Spirit Comments |
24
July
2011
A tale of two apostles – one is arrested and executed, the other is arrested and miraculously rescued by an angel. What are we to make of this?
theupperroom Christian faith, Discipleship, Mission Comments |
17
July
2011
In chapter 11 of the book of Acts, we see the gospel beginning to spread throughout the Gentile world and the establishment of a community of disciples in the major city of Antioch. We are told that it was here that followers of Christ were first called ‘Christians’…
theupperroom Christianity, Church, History of Christianity Comments |
10
July
2011
Using Colossians 1:15-20 as his text, Andrew Baartz offers some thoughtful insights into the implications of the kingship of Jesus for our lives.
theupperroom Christian faith, Discipleship Comments |
3
July
2011
In this third of three sessions on the topic of money, we look at the relationship between money and church and argue that rather than thinking in terms of “giving money to the church”, we ought to think in terms of “participating financially in a church community”. We also touch on some of the practicalities of church finances, including some thoughts on the topic of tithing.
theupperroom Spirituality, Discipleship, Kingdom Comments |
26
June
2011
Unfortunately, due a recording failure, we won’t be able to podcast last Sunday’s panel discussion on the topic of money.
theupperroom Uncategorized Comments |
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