New Life Christian Centre
Location: Morgan’s Road, Timaru
Denomination: New Life Church
Website:
www.newlifetimaru.org.nz
Church Services: 10 am, 7pm Sundays
Groups: Youth, children’s, Dynamite Team, Cell groups
My own visit
Date:5 December 2004Service: 10 am morning service
The building: The main part is a large round (actually 12-cornered) auditorium with a high dark roof in the middle crowned with a glass dome. Adjacent are an entrance lounge and ancillary rooms, such as for youth and the children’s church. The colour scheme of the buildings is kept predominately white. Roses in front of the buildings add a touch of colour.
The décor: The ceiling is supported by twelve large wooden beams converging towards the centre. White panels with wood bracings fill the spaces between the beams. The dome lets in extra light in the centre. However I noticed a raindrop coming down during the service. The walls are lined with wood. Chairs are set up in a large semi-circle several rows deep facing the platform at the northern end of the building. Preacher and worship team function from that platform. A cross on the wall behind it, reminds people what it is all about.
Smiling face at the door: Not really. But maybe I just rushed in trying to get out of the driving rain into the comfortable auditorium.
Start of service: We were welcomed and told to stand so that we could launch right into the songs. And then for the next half an hour people were happily praising the Lord.
Congregation (approx) 0-12: 25 ;13-20: 15 20-40: 30 ;40-60: 35 60+: 15
Liturgy: None really, but towards the end there was the equivalent of an altar call. Linking in with the sermon people were asked to raise their hand if they wanted to become citizens of heaven.
Music: Worship songs focusing on the individual relationship with Jesus. Some of them were directly inspired by words of the Bible. The songs were generally animated and modern, but very singable. Generally they were repeated a couple of times, but did have several verses. Nor did the repeats go into exhaustion. Nevertheless at one stage the words were switched off and people sang their own melody and words to the basic chord of the last song.
The words were displayed by powerpoint, and generally large enough for most people to read. Nevertheless the screen was a bit low so that one had difficulties when it came to words lower down the screen, as other people were in the way. With the repeats one got to know the words.
Instruments: Grand piano, keyboard, drums, three singers one of them the pianist. Some quality there and they were all quite well balanced. The keyboard player kept doodling along while all sorts of other things were happening until the pastor started with his sermon.
Children’s Talk: None. The children were asked to stand and the pastor prayed over them. They then went out to their activities (some watching a video). The younger children went out pretty early, the older ones after worship time.
Sermon:
-Length: 35 minutes + 5minutes advising on daily devotional bible study guides
-Method: very animated preacher, getting excited and loud.
Walked around the podium and front hardly referring to his notes. He used the power-point as an aid in the sermon.
-Bible reading: Matthew 6:10 was the main passage. This was one of a series of
sermons on the theme “Teach us to pray” going
through the Lord’s Prayer, phrase by phrase. Today it was “Your kingdom come”.
-Content:
We need to look at the whole of scripture to find out what these words mean.
1. What were the origins of this kingdom? John the Baptist is proclaiming that the kingdom of God has come near (Matthew 3:1-2), referring to a prophecy in Daniel 7:13-14. Daniel is talking of the reign of Christ among all people. This was written 500 years before Christ.
It goes even further back: 2. Samuel 7:8-16. As in a lot of prophecy Nathan, the prophet, is talking about the present, but also about the future. He was proclaiming the Davidic covenant. Jesus came to sit on David’s throne. Jesus descends from the house of David, as the genealogies in the gospels tell. Here we can trace the kingdom back in scripture.
Psalm 89: 29, 35-37is also referring to the Davidic covenant. This kingdom will go on forever. It was meaning more than that there would be a king and government in Jerusalem over the people of Israel. This is an eternal kingdom.
Genesis 12:1-2. This is the Abrahamic covenant. Some of us have moved to other countries not knowing why, but being called by the Lord. Some of us have been planted in this church, only knowing that God wants us here. And so Abraham did trust the Lord. God would make Abraham great. This is the origin of the kingdom of heaven.
2. What is the kingdom of God? Why is it called a kingdom? In a kingdom there’s a king, subjects and laws. Jesus is the king, those who follow him are his subjects, and his laws are all the moral principles we find in the Bible. The kingdom is not of this world, it is founded on God’s grace and is intended to be a replica of the kingdom of heaven.
3. Who belongs to the kingdom? Entrance is by repentance. It means deliverance from the power of sin to control our lives. Galatians 3:14 We receive the blessing given to Abraham. Galatians 3:26-29 You are the true children of Abraham. That’s pretty heavy stuff, that’s pretty cool. If we believe in Jesus we are God’s children.
Romans 11:17-18, 24 Gentiles also receive the blessing of Abraham. We are wild olives who were grafted in the tree. Whether you are a Jewish or a Gentile believer we are grafted into one orchard.
4. How does this kingdom come? God’s purpose is the kingdom. God’s vehicle is the church.
The kingdom of God is within you. How is it within? It is there when we put our faith in Christ and the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Then this subject should be subject to the king.
Romans 8:12-15 We are under no obligation whatsoever to do what the old kingdom told us to do. Wow, you are a child of the king of the universe. God communicates with us. I want to be able to live so that others say: “Wow, he’s one of the king’s kids.”
How do I know the difference between my own desires and God’s voice? How does a child recognise his mother’s voice? How does a brother recognise the voice of his sister? We get familiar with God, we spend time with him and get to know the king of heaven.
We are part of what God is doing cosmically. We need to get to know our king and read the book of the king. Take time to be in prayer, to read the bible, to be in fellowship.
The preacher then spoke about a few guides which might help us to study the Bible through daily devotions.
Philippians 3:17-21 The most important passport is the heavenly passport. We are citizens of heaven.
Other Highlights: Communion. We broke up into little groups of around 4 people. One then gave thanks for the bread and for what Jesus did for us. Then another person gave thanks for the juice symbolising the wine and remembered Jesus’ deed.
There were quite a few prayers for members of the congregation. A family that had returned after living in Australia for a while was prayed over. The pastor also prayed for a couple that was about to get married.
Wrap-up: The musicians came back on stage and we sang one of the songs that had already come up in the earlier worship bracket. But this time it was more animated, louder and with lots of clapping, waving of hands and a certain amount of hopping. In the background a few people swung streaming banners. The pastor then prayed and closed the service.
After the service: I spoke to the person next to me at first. Then the pastor approached me and we chatted for a while and he informed me about what’s happening at the church and gave me the mission statement. I then spoke to a few people I knew. The weather couldn’t go unmentioned on this wet weekend on which quite a bit of flooding occurred.
Quality of morning tea:Hot drinks were provided and the kids brought in some goodies.
Reflection: There was a lot of praying in this service. Certainly not a bad response to any event.
It’s good to hear a sermon that looks at an overall theme in the Bible and draws it all together. Of course many theologians would dispute the notion of prophecy that was advanced. And of course it was a very broad-brush snapshot, that disregarded many difficulties and issues. But one has to do that in a sermon, if one wants to convey a relevant message. I doubt the Jews of the first century would have seen the “kingdom of God” in this way. Nevertheless we can reflect on that concept from our position now, taking into account the whole of the history of God’s dealing with his people.
4 questions:
b. and c. with the rider that we have to accept and belief what he has done for us.
Yes, but all these are best summarised in what Jesus said: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Love you neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.
People are proposed as elders by the pastor. The group of elders considers that proposal and then goes to the whole congregation with it. They can then have an input. Appointment as an elder is considered indefinite, but people may step down from it.
Elders then appoint leaders for other areas such as youth, worship, group leaders. These leaders then can again chose their own helpers to fulfil the responsibilities.
No.