Where have all the brothers gone?

Men often value their need for and expression of independence. The Aussie male can retreat to his hobby and bury himself in his work. While there are positives with regard to expressing independence, there are also the dangerous side effects. One of these side effects is the tendency to retreat to the 'back of the cave'.


The 'back of the cave' is not so much a physical place as it is an emotional place. If it is also a lonely place, without real mates who care for you as a person, then the cave can become a deadly place. As one of a bunch of guys in the community, we want to do life better as men - not working harder but living smarter.


With this in mind, we want to meet with guys to do Men's Only Business. We invite you to join with us from Monday 9th Feb. at 7.00pm at The Vine Church, 3464 Pacific Service Rd., Springwood, Logan City, to talk and share men's stuff. Our purpose is to help one another do life better.


For more info check out www.thevine.org.au/M2m.html

The Power of Service

With increasing demands on our time, the place of regular church participation in the busy family schedule is more and more being questioned. So much so that in a recent national survey of church life in Australia, a regular church attender was defined as someone who attends church 1 per month.

Is there something more to church participation than just a sense of duty or obligation to tradition? I believe so. In face I would go as far as suggesting that there are real benefits to being part of a church community that gathers regularly. Rather than being a hinderance, church participation can actually enhance your life and the lives of others.

Following is 3 benefits of regular participation (service) in a gathered community of Christian believers (church).

1. Service in the house of God leads to worship:

In 2 Cor 9:12 Paul thanks the Corinthian church for their service of generosity, not just because it helped to provide for the needs of others but because it also caused others to give thanks to God. 

Your presence and participation in church is actually an act of worship and can cause others to give thanks and worship to God. 

2. Service in the house of God leads to stronger relationship with God, not only in us but others

The writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 10:23-25 that regular church attendance actually helps us to hold on fast to the faith we profess and also encouragers others towards acts of love and good deeds. 

Your participation in the gathered body, keeps you strong in your faith and also spurs others on 

3. Service in the house of God brings prosperity to all the other areas of your life 

Jesus taught that as we prioritising the work of the Kingdom, all the other things you seek and need will be provided. Matt 6:25-33.

Its easy to become all consumed by work and family life, and relegate church participation to the bottom of the list of priorities. Jesus encourages us that even though we might have big challenges or responsibilities, putting God and his work first will actually lead to the other concerns in your life working out with less worry. 

In 2015, I'd encourage you to evaluate your church attendance and participation. Not out of duty or compulsion but because it will bring radical positive change to your life. 

How have you found ways to balance the challenges of a busy life with regular church attendance and participation? Comment below. 

***This blog post is a summary of the full sermon  presented by Tarun Stevenson at The Vine Church on Sunday, January 25th. To listen to the entire sermon download the podcast here: http://www.thevine.org.au/teaching.html 

The Power Of Grace

We all process life events by means of our own world view. Our world view can be like wearing a pair of glasses. In order to see what God sees we need to wear prescription glasses whose lens are impregnated with His grace. His grace will completely change what we see. The apostle Paul described grace as being "exceedingly abundant with faith and love which are in Christ." (1 Tim.1:14) With the glasses of grace we will see above and beyond human failings, flaws and fragility. It is  bigger than weaknesses and even wickedness.


Paul understood the transformational power of grace as it changed him from being the persecutor of the church to becoming its greatest proponent. The grace of God has a way of transforming from the inside out. Grace glasses will reveal the Son. The more these glasses are worn the more our world view will change. Paul's worldview changed because grace was doing its work by revealing the finished work of Jesus in him and then through him. "But when it pleased God...called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me that I might preach Him among the Gentiles." (Gal.1:15-16)


Because the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is abundant, as well as transformational, the believer will grow in His strength. Paul instructed Timothy to "...be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim.2:1) This means that the believer can thrive not just survive. He can see what the Lord sees, not just what is happening around him. To quote an extreme experience, Stephen the first recorded martyr chose to see his persecutors through the eyes of grace. The external result was that Stephen saw Jesus and Saul, the persecutor was saved. Stephen was described as a man "full of faith and power". Grace will do its work in the worst of situations. In fact church history shows that the church thrives under persecution.


I have never been in a car that has done top speed as measured by its maximum on the speedometer. We are restricted by law from going as fast as the car can go and therefore we will never experience its full potential unless we are on a race track! But with grace we can test it all the way. Grace is designed to 'travel' to its full potential. Grace will swallow up the good, the bad and the downright ugly. Whatever the nature of the 'mountain' in front of you, the power of grace can reduce the mountain,. The mountain could be crippling fear, insecurity or anxiety. Zerrubbabel heard the word of the Lord "not by might nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord of hosts. Who are you O great mountain? Before Zerrubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of "grace, grace to it!"" (Zech.4:6-7) Zerrubbabel was commissioned with building the temple. Christ is our Zerrubbabel and there is nothing too hard for His grace to do. With grace 'glasses' you too can shout "grace, grace' to the mountains that you face.












This blog is adapted from a message by Ross Smith called "The Power of Grace" on 18/01/15 at The Vine Church, Logan City, Queensland, Australia. The full message can be accessed by podcast from www.thevine.org.au/teaching

The Power of Opportunity

The Holy Spirit is heaven's PR agent on earth. He communicates what Christ has done both in us and for every believer. He will 'implant' what God sees and will help the believer unpack what He sees until we see it. God will give us a view of hope and eternity in Christ. He will also give us opportunities to walk in that same destiny. Opportunities will be presented before us that will be the earthly means of fulfilling Godly destiny.


Opportunities are not just about us but are primarily for the benefit of others. For example, Queen Esther was presented with an opportunity to save her people from destruction. Mordecai said to her "...who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this." (Esther 4:14) Interestingly, opportunities are seldom opportune. Often they come in times of trouble or at times not of our choosing or convenience and yet there is always an element of surprise because of what God sees. Our challenge is to learn to see what He sees.


Opportunities are like the rungs of a ladder. They will help us walk into the dream or the vision that God has for us. In fact everything, the good , the bad and the downright ugly, can be rungs on the ladder that will help grow us into the dream and purpose that God has for our lives. Joseph received dreams as a 17year old. He then grew or matured to 'fit' the dream as he journeyed for the next 22 years from a pit, to a prison and finally to a palace. Winston Churchill became PM of Great Britain at the age of 65 on 10th May 1940. He said "I felt as if I were walking with destiny and that all my past life had been but preparation for this one hour and for this trial." (p240 Churchill: The Power of Words, Martin Gilbert, 2012)


We can always prepare ourselves to seize opportunities when they come. You may think that opportunities have passed you over. You may think that it's too late. God however, has a habit of redeeming our broken pasts including missed opportunities. Moses was 80 years of age when the Lord commissioned him to return to Egypt and to rescue Israel. Elijah was really down on himself after he was both depressed and intimidated by death threats from Queen Jezebel. He thought he alone was the only one who had not yielded to Baal but God showed him that 7000 others hadn't succumbed to idolatry either. The point being that God was giving Elijah opportunity to commission and tutor Elisha, his successor.


A surfer will prepare himself for the next set of waves. He doesn't give up because he missed a wave. There will be more waves coming. Likewise you may have missed opportunities but God will present you with new opportunities. Stay humble and teachable. Get ready to catch the next wave. You are closer to fulfilling His will than you think!










This blog is based on a message by Ross Smith, The Vine church, Logan City, Queensland, Australia on 11/01/15 called "The Power of Opportunity". The full message can be accessed by podcast from www.thevine.org.au/teaching.

The power of dreaming

Many of us may be wanting 2015 to be better than 2014. The beginning of the year can be an opportunity to both review and refocus. It can be a time to recalibrate so that we can pitch resources and effort toward the fulfilment of a Godly dream or vision. For the Christian, vision is simply seeing what God sees. If I can see what God sees He will help us do what He wants. When God is the architect of our dream, He will begin to shape us so that the dream will be fulfilled.


God Himself first dreamed of us. He knew you and I before we were formed. He had aspirations for us long before we first knew Him. If your dream is from God, you will grow into the dream. Joseph, as a 17 year lad received dreams from God. (Genesis 37) He didn't grasp the enormity or the significance of the dreams at first. In fact he interpreted the dreams in terms of his own ego. Not surprisingly his brothers who were also an integral part of the dreams that he had received, were not impressed. For the next 22 years, Joseph went through various testings that were designed to grow him so that he would "fit the dream". Sometimes there is a gap between receiving the dream and the fulfilment of the dream because God is shaping us to be carriers of what He wants.


The subject of the dream is always Him. Revelation is not about what we have done or not done. It's always about what He has done. Godly dreams will always help conform us to the image of Christ and to His finished work. On the day of Pentecost, Peter unpacked a dream that had been given to the prophet Joel some 800 years earlier. He quoted the prophet Joel saying, "...God will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophecy. Your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams..." (Acts 2:17-18) Peter interpreted what happened on the Day of Pentecost with a Jewish mindset. In Acts 10, the Lord went to extraordinary lengths to help Peter understand that the gospel of grace, the gospel that preaches the remission of sins, is actually for ALL flesh, not just for Jewish believers. In Acts 10:34,43 Peter declared "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality...While Peter was still speaking these words the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision (Jewish believers) were astonished... because the gift of the Holy Spirit has been poured out on the Gentiles also."


The dream of heaven, revealed through Joel and unpacked in part on the Day of Pentecost is still being unpacked for us today. The Holy Spirit will help us receive the fullness of heaven's dream. He will change us from the inside out. He will change mindsets so that the fullness of his dream will become our experience. Let the dream become our reality in 2015. Believe for restorations, healings, miracles and salvations. This is the believer's legacy in Christ.










This blog is based on a message entitled "The Power Of Dreaming" (04/01/15) spoken by Pst Ross Smith, The Vine Church, Logan City, Queensland, Australia. The full message can be accessed by podcast from www.thevine.org.au/teaching