Friends

Through the Bible, through the year with John Stott. (via @davemiers) #BibleStott

Kirsty and I are joining a bunch of peeps who are starting this bible reading plan this week. Wanna join us? This post was stolen (borrowed) from my mate Dave.

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I’ve been doing the same bible reading plan for the last 4 years. It’s time to mix it up a bit! So starting on September 1 I am beginning a 12-month reading plan written by John Stott. John Stott, who died at the age of 90 in 2011, is one of my favourite authors. I appreciate his clear, compelling and Christ-centred writing. His commentaries in the Bible Speaks Today series have been a particular help in preaching. The new reading plan is from a book Through the Bible, Through the Year with ‘Daily Reflections from Genesis to Revelation.’ Stott is the legend flossin the blue tracksuit and bird-watching binoculars in the pic below.

Key features

  • Read through an overview of the story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation
  • Each day has a short bible reading with a short devotional comment from Stott
  • Each day has a suggestion for further reading in the Bible
  • September until Christmas, read the Old Testament story from the creation until the coming of Christ
  • January through April, read the story of Jesus in the Gospels
  • May through August, read the story of Acts through Revelation

Get the reading plan

Keen to join in?

Doing physical exercise is often easier when you do it in a group. Likewise with spiritual exercise. A number of people have already indicated they’re keen. If you want to join in, let me know in the comments below. If you’re not sure, perhaps you could do the first two weeks for free and then make a decision.

#BibleStott

If you use Twitter, Facebook or Instagram – use the #BibleStott hashtag when sharing Bible verses or reflections of what you’re learning.

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Been to #Engage? ‘Alive’ is now available!

Ephesians chapter 2 says this:

 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Inspired by this passage, among others, this week a few of my mates *finally* released a song called ‘Alive’. Alive is a great song, and if you have been to any of the Engage conferences in the past two years you have probably been looking for a way to get your hands on it so you can sing it in the car.

I was going to write some long post about it. Telling you that you should probably ‘do yourself a favour’ and go buy it. But my words couldn’t really demonstrate how good it is.

SO, just listen to it (The video below).

Then like ‘Voyage‘ (the name of the partnership) on facebook, and read more about “their desire to pair preachers with musicians in the writing of church songs”.

Then go to iTunes and buy it.

Simple.

Have Faith. An update.

One of the reasons I started this site was to keep our friends updated of how life was going while Kirsty and I go through Bible college. (Kirsty isn’t actually studying at college, but she is still heavily involved. If you catch my drift. Hence, we are both going through college)

I wanted to write an update to tell you how things have been going recently for us. So here goes. Sorry, this post is long and doesn’t have a fancy video.

College has been busy, much busier than I had thought it would be. Managing college work, seeing family, seeing friends, church work, secular holiday work, starting tyro designs and spending time together as a married couple has been a steep learning curve. I don’t pretend to have mastered this yet, but our friends are gracious when we can’t see them, and our families are even more forgiving when we seem absent or exhausted. We are extremely thankful for this.

At the same time as being busy, this year has been excellent. The stuff I have learnt this year will prove to be valuable into the future, and the friendships we have made at college have been a real encouragement to us both. Our Church this year has been a real highlight of our ministry together. Ministering to the people of St Ives Family Church has been a delight and a privilege, and we have been greatly encouraged by our brothers and sisters there.

One of the most difficult parts of this year has been the status of Kirsty’s job. Kirsty works in the public health system, where she is a Speech Pathologist, helping young kids speak. Kirsty got the job at the end of 2010, and it has been a blessing. Both financially and relationally (She is working as a locum for another speechie on maternity leave). A difficultly presented itself a few months ago when we heard the news that the woman Kirsty was replacing was returning to work. Because of this Kirsty’s job looked like it might be terminated. The prospects of this were scary. We were tentatively making arrangements to move back in with one of our parents.

In the midst of this, there was a slight prospect that her job might be extended for a period of time, but we sat in limbo for weeks. Not knowing what the outcome might be, we did what we have always done in times of uncertainty. We prayed. We prayed, and trusted that God would work the situation out in the way that he wanted. Trusting in and having faith in God is not something that is foreign to us. In faith, Kirsty and I have made all of our plans in the last few years focused on God and based on what we think God would have us do. There have been numerous times that these decisions have caused stress, mostly financial stress, but still stress. This was another period of that. God has always worked things out for us. Wether it has been where we are going to live or work, God has always provided for us.

To cut a really long story, long. Once again God has answered our prayers by once again providing Kirsty with work in the form of an extension. Her contract has been cut from 5 days to 3, but it is still some work. The health sector is a really difficult area to find work in at the moment, so we are thankful for the 3 days she has been given.

I have written this, not to make you think that we are excellent Christian people. Instead I write this so that, if you are a Christian, you might be encouraged by God’s goodness to us in a time where we had faith in him. If you are not a Christian, I would love to encourage you to check out 2 ways to live, in it you will discover that God has done so much more than just provide materially for Kirsty and I. He has done so much more than that for people who have faith in him.

 

Sorry for the long post. Thanks for reading it.

Love, Tim and Kirsty

Practising Hospitality, in style.

I don’t know about you, but my Wife and I love to have people over to our home. We often have our friends over to our house for dinner or afternoon tea. Being open and welcoming to others is something that both of our families exampled to both of us as we were growing up. So, to Kirsty and I it is just a normal thing that we do, and because we learnt heaps of stuff from our parents, we don’t find it that difficult.

You might fall into the category of not quite knowing what to do, or why you should even be hospitable to others.

If this is you, then I want to commend a great website to you. Its called Practising Hospitality, and it is run by two friends of ours, Calum and Alice Henderson. Kirsty and I met Calum and Alice a few years ago while we were all leading on Kiama Beach Mission. Ive found their website incredibly helpful in thinking about being hospitable to others. From how to cook a roast, to how you should approach food allergies, to what kind of music should you play when guests are over. (Salmon Hater might of made it into the 2002 hottest 100, but it is never a good option for dinner parties)

So check out their website, you might even enjoy it.

You can also follow them on twitter @practisinghosp

Meet Derek and Beth

One large focus of my subjects at college is the question “How can I use what I am learning to reach communities with the story of the Gospel”, meaning that just having knowledge about the gospel is useless unless it is also matched with some kind of action in sharing it with others.

I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce to you some friends of ours. Their names are Derek and Beth. I’ve been friends with Derek for a few years, we served together as leaders of a men’s Bible Study a couple of years ago.

At the end of last year Derek and Beth moved from the comfortable north shore of Sydney, to Santiago, Chile. They are doing the Chile equivalent of MTS, with a focus to UNI students in Santiago, working in a church plant and some work with kids that live in an orphanage.

Anyway, they have a blog running. If you would like to know more about what they are doing, click the image below.