Joomla! site syndication http://godsgap.net Sat, 04 Sep 2010 09:48:25 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://godsgap.net/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png http://godsgap.net Joomla! site syndication http://godsgap.net/content/view/1/101/ We are a Church Community made up of a collection of families; dads, mums, youth and kids with a sprinkle of granddads and grandmas. We desire not just to live life but to love life. We are very genuine in our love for Jesus Christ, for each other and for our community in the Gap. Our desire is to evidence the love of Christ both in our lives and through our lives. As a Church we do this by caring for people; we worship together every Sunday, we have life groups, life pods, youth socials, we mentor children at Hilder Road Primary School and help out with chaplaincy. Check out What's on? for more info about how we are caring for people. To find us click on Find Us. Each Sunday Message is videod so that you can listen or watch it online. There is a panel with the title Watch or Listen here , click on either MP3 Audio , Fast Broadband Video or Slow Broadbane Video to access the messages. Information - General Mon, 26 Dec 2005 18:36:06 +0100 http://godsgap.net/content/view/541/28/ My house resembles a war zone more than a home. Two of my kids in particular seem to have been in a constant shootout throughout their whole lives. Sometimes it drives me so wild that I get out my gun (which is far bigger than theirs) and shoot the blazes out of them. The result? Quiet for about 5 minutes and then bang, bang, bang. Kids are so frustrating; they don’t come with an instruction manual, a volume control or an off switch. If you have several then they seem to take driving you crazy in shifts, whether its by fighting with each other, complaining or having to be told to do everything every single time.I’ve been learning that my kids are gunslingers, not just because they were born that way, but also because their Dad is a sharp shooter himself. How will they learn to resolve their conflicts if I always pull out and use my gun? Then I asked myself how I’d come to the place where my kids had just become annoying to me, like a disturbance in my tranquillity? Do I love my own comfort more than my kids? So far I have to admit that I have failed to help them get to the heart of their conflicts, focusing only on achieving peace as quickly and as effortlessly as possible.If my kids are going to change from being gunslingers to peacemakers, then I have to change first. This involves me learning to leave my gun in its holster even when they are firing at me. My desire is to love my kids by getting to know them better. Why do they fight so much? What is it they are wanting which makes them fight? Engaging them together in safe discussions will be a good start to helping my whole family begin to change from being gunslingers to peacemakers.Listen to or watch my messages on this theme (Live the gospel) @ www.godsgap.net/identitythe Rev (Chris Perona)Life Church; The Gap Presbyterian Articles - Western Echo Articles Mon, 09 Aug 2010 13:39:41 +0100 http://godsgap.net/content/view/544/32/ Changing Masters (Western Echo Article)The worst type of slavery is one disguised as freedom. We all want to be free to pursue happiness without pausing to consider whether our pursuit of happiness is in fact a form of slavery. We study to get a good job so that we can afford happiness. We have friends to be happy, we enter into intimate relationships to be happy and some believe in God hoping that he will will bring happiness.I’ve noticed that people get very depressed about happiness. They may have most things they thought would make them happy and found that they are not. Or they feel that they will never manage to attain their goals, or they lose what had made them happy. People sometimes lose hope and their will to live because they can’t see how they can ever be happy.Being a slave to happiness can be very cruel. It can strip from you the very joy of living. It will progressively narrow what you find enjoyable until there is very little left. For example anything that requires you to be patient and faithful is hardly tolerated. We live in the NOW and expect instant and easy results. We get depressed when work and relationships require personal effort and sacrifice without giving us the results we want.Much of our pursuit of happiness makes us tired and sad. Jesus said “He who seeks to save his life will lose it.” (Mark 8:35) Changing masters might seem like going from freedom to slavery but in reality it is the reverse. Jesus said“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) the Rev Messages from God's Word - Get thinking messages Sun, 29 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0100