The Holy Spirit and a People of God
by Casper Versluis
30 September 2016 at The Exchange
Part of the King & His Kingdom series.
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Spiritual Victories: The Sword of Truth
by Sonja Long
28 September 2016 at Key Women Bedfordview
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Breaking our socio-economic barriers, AKA: visiting vibey places in Johannesburg
At Fight Club, Phil Quinn spoke about unique places in Johannesburg CBD that are great to visit and help to break our socio-economic barriers.
Some of you have asked for the list of places he mentioned. Here are the details:
No. One Eloff Street (Joziburg lane):
(Just off the M2 Highway)
The Joziburg Lane is a hidden gem – an alleyway that runs along the side of the No. One Eloff building, lined with bespoke shops, eateries, artist spaces and culminating in the Joziburg Foodhall with its tasting bar, deli and foodstalls. See more details at joziburglane.co.za.
1Fox Precinct
1 Fox Precinct was part one of the first mining camps that sprung up at the time of the discovery of gold in the 1880s. Today, however, here you will find the Mad Giant Brewery and Urbanologi, a high-end, Asian-inspired tapas restaurant. For details check out 1fox.co.za.
City Central
City Central is in the center of Joburg (in Marshalltown at 85 Commissioner Street) and has awesome food and a bookstore called Bridge Books. For details, check out its Facebook page.
The Milk Bar (pictured above)
A really awesome restaurant/coffeeshop on Pritchard Street across from the South Gauteng High Court. It’s a favourite spot of lawyers and others working at the courts. Parking by the High Court is difficult, so it’s recommended you park somewhere else and walk to the Milk Bar. Check out its Facebook page for details.
Collector’s Treasury
If you love books, this is probably the biggest second-hand bookstore in South Africa – if not the biggest bookstore outright. It literally houses 2 million books. It’s at 244 Commissioner Street. Check out this writeup at JHBLive.com for more details.
Little Ethiopia
A bustling little gem on Jeppe street where you can find anything from clothing to fabrics to traditionally authentic Ethiopian food. “Walking down the street, one is drawn to the musical sounds of Amharic and Tigrinya, two of Ethiopia’s main languages, and the enticing rhythms of singers like Ejigayehu Shibababaw that float out of the shops and swirl casually above the traffic din.” Read more about it at joburg.org.za.
Also, read the write-up of most of these places at 2summers.net. This is a great blog to read if you also want to find other new and vibey places in Johannesburg. Pic courtesy of 2summers.net.
A Key to Spiritual Growth
Church Life
Children’s Church Reflection (18 September)
As the Children’s Ministry team, we cannot believe this term has already come to an end. We are confident in saying that this term has been an incredible one for the children and the teachers. This week we rounded off the teachings on who God is to us by concluding with the truth that my God is my life. In the previous weeks we discussed how God is so many wonderful things to us: our courage, faith, joy, hope etc. This week we concluded with how God is ultimately our life. God gives us life, He sustains our lives, He is so involved in our lives and because of this we can live our life for Him.
Our Part
We used a metaphor comparing us to a tree to try to emphasise how we find life in Jesus. We are just like a tiny seed. We may seem small but we have a lot of potential. If we are not seeking life from the right sources, well, then we will never grow and become who God created us to be. A seed will simply remain a seed. But, if we turn to God, find our life in the Gospel of Jesus (who represents the water and sunlight to the seed) we will begin to see growth. Eventually we will begin to grow to heights we never imagined and ultimately bear fruit for God.
Fruits have seeds that when dispersed allow more seeds to begin the journey of life and growth to become a tree; and so the cycle continues. Our children have such great potential. They have a journey of growth to live and great fruit to bear. But the source of life is essential and our only source is Jesus. In all that we do we should do it as for Jesus. Our children can live this way. In everything they do, wherever they are, they can do it with Jesus and for Jesus. There is no better life to live than a life in obedience to Jesus.
Your Part
As previous letters have mentioned, keep reminding your children who God is to them. This week’s lesson emphasised that Jesus is our source of life. Keep explaining this to them. Tell your children the Gospel and see how they respond. We never desire to see children forced to have faith in Jesus and we never want to take our children’s salvation for granted. Many children can talk about Jesus but are they finding their rooting in Him and their life in Him? Keep chatting to your children and let God reveal these truths more and more to your family.
We have loved this term and the wonderful truths we got to teach. We pray that you continue this journey with your children. Next term we will look at the Heart of Worship and the wonderful ways we get to glorify God in all that we do. We are looking forward to it.
– The Children’s Church team
Changed People Change People
What Needs to Be Fixed, What Needs to Be Broken
Spiritual Victories: The Shield of Faith
by Julia Taylor
14 September 2016 at Key Women Bedfordview
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Children’s Church Reflection (11 September, 2016)
One of the struggles we fight against is fear. Think of the many things that cause us to fear daily: finances, crime, health, our future, job security etc. It is not difficult to feel afraid in life. The exact same happens with our children. They too become fearful, anxious and uncertain about many things. Knowing this applies to all of us, it is so comforting to know that God says He will be our peace. When we are unsettled by whatever circumstance, God assures us that He will be our peace and help us to display such peace for others to see.
Our Part
Our desire this week was to help our children understand how God is our provider of peace. We looked at some of the things in their life that can affect their feelings; things that can cause fear, uncertainty and insecurity. Those things are real. But then we looked at what Jesus told His disciples in John 14:27. He says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Jesus promises that He will not leave us alone but will give us the Holy Spirit, and in Him we find peace.
We looked at the story in the gospels where Jesus calmed the storm. It must have been a massive storm knowing that fishermen were petrified on the boat. Yet Jesus, in one command, stops the storm and brings peace. He longs to speak such commands into our life and bring peace. Our response is that we need to turn to Him and trust Him in all circumstances.
When we live with peace we can also show it. We also encouraged the children to ask God to help them to show peace to others. Jesus says blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5). We must also learn to show peace to others.
Your Part
Once again this term we want to emphasise that the worries we face are real, but our victory in God is real too. Help your children when they are feeling insecure or fearful to remember who gives them peace. Don’t tell them that help comes from money or a good government or a safe country. Those are beneficial, but ultimate peace that weathers any storm comes from Jesus. There is such great security that our children can live in if we point to Jesus during the storms, however life-threatening they may seem.
This week, my son, Nathan went outside on his own in the dark and I heard him saying, “I’m not afraid because I have Jesus in my heart.” For some that seems menial. For him it was a massive victory. He defeated a fear because he knew Jesus was with him. There are more victories to be had for all of our children.
– Greg, Nicole and the Children’s Church team