Peace Apostolic Ministries

The theme from the last 2 Sundays continues in exploring what the world is, that the Bible describes and that we should not love. Philip discusses what it is we should love and how when that fills the heart of the Christian, it takes away the love of the world and does not leave room for it.

Guest speaker from Kenya, Dr David Juma addresses what the world is that scripture says we are not to love. Taking a tour of many scriptures of both Old and New Testaments, David demonstrates how there is not room in the heart to love Christ and to also fill the heart with other loves. This message with a Kenyan flavour comes from the heart of God, and will exhort you to pursue the love of Christ in all you do.

The Bible has listed the names of many heroes and villains, written down for eternity and thought about my millions of people. Among the villains like Judas, Korah, Ballam and more is Demas, who has become infamous for what many of us have also done. His sin is common and it could as easily have been you or I listed as having "loved this world." Listen to this message as we contemplate what loving the world means and how it is detrimental to being a believer and follower of Christ.

On Vision Sunday, as part of Peace Christian Communities celebrating of Epiphany, we remember the call to apostolic mission in February of 1997. God sovereignly stepped into the life of Peace as a congregation and called us to do something unique and new for us, and to do it "as a people." Listen as John Alley recounts the history of these things, and adds some insights into what it means for us today and into the future.

When Peter, James and John were on the mountain with Jesus as he was transfigured, they were terrified. They had a terrifying experience of the fear of the Lord. In this message John Alley discusses if this is good and if so what part this might play in our lives. After covering this point, he shows briefly the hugeness of promise for those who fear the Lord and the comprehensiveness of what the Bible has to say about that.

Each of us identify as citizens of Australia, India, China, or other nations. Yet the Bible says out true citizenship is in heaven. Today, guest speaker Alex Crossley talks about this citizenship, and the difference between the citizens of heaven, and those who are not. People who merely belong to this world, have its desires and perspective at heart, and they work in ways contrary to the gospel. These people are often found inside the walls of a congregation, and the "us" and "them" are found within the boundaries of christian congregations. Are you a true citizen of heaven, serving God with a heart to please Him? Or are you someone who attends church, but whose citizenship is not really in heaven? Are you someone who only lives to please your own interests? This sermon explores these concepts.

Continuing from last weeks message about the door of opportunity, John keeps discussing "doors" in the Bible. God has given different tasks to His people, and to some is give the task to "stand at the door and watch." Listen as John unpacks this and related ideas.

Today's message comes in two parts. John Alley starts out by sharing from God's promise that "he will not let your foot slip." He talks of God's protection and watch over those who are His. But for those who are not His, another verse is also promised, "their foot shall surely slip." This message is an encouragement to those in Christ especially going into a new year with new opportunities. The second part by David Alley discusses how we can glorify God with out lives. When we think of people like Mother Theresa it causes us to see how good God is, and in that same way she has glorified God with her life. How do our lives bring glory to God?

Christ gave this promise to the Laodiceans, "whosoever overcomes I will give him the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on His throne." John Alley takes up the theme of overcoming, and contemplates this scripture with its quite profound implications. Who will overcome? Will it be you?

Christ came to earth 2000 years fulfilling the plan of God since before the fall of man. God knew in advance what was required and came in the form of a man, Jesus. Advent is more than just this however, and we also look towards the coming of Christ into our own lives, and we welcome Him. When will Christ come to you? Will you welcome Him?

The way we view the world is termed our worldview. It is important that we have a biblical worldview as that equips and helps every area of our lives. For children growing up with believing parents, they spend most of their time in church, school and home. It's our endeavour to give children a godly worldview at church, and also in the school that our church runs, but its imperative that parents provide the same godly worldview in their home. This provides the best preparation for young people facing the many conflicting messages the world offers today.

Does Jesus have a facebook account? Yes He does, and it is your account. Your posts and portrayal of yourself on social media is a portrayal of Christ to the unsaved ones who know you. In this message we explore thoughts Christians should have towards the use of social media, and discuss how to represent Him in a way that glorifies God. In the second half of the message David moves on to discuss some active ways of sharing your faith online.

Our hobbies and the things we enjoy doing can consume us, even to the point of linking our identity to those things. Jonathan illustrates this point clearly with anecdotes from his own experience, but all of us can readily relate to the truth of this. It is up to us, says Jonathan, where we point our minds – and our actions will follow. Jonathan goes on to point our from Scripture that when we focus our thoughts and our attention of Jesus, we are transformed into His image. Just as a caterpillar has no idea of what it will become once transformed, so we also cannot imagine the magnitude of this transformation. And when we focus on the love of God, this in turn causes us begin to love others. We should not strive to do God’s will, but rather focus on Jesus and contemplate Him and then we are transformed. Instead of praying “Lord, show me your will”, says Jonathan, we might just as well pray “Lord, show me your glory”.

John Alley begins his message with a question – “How is my life meant to be fruitful for God?” John goes on to give some examples of matters that need to be given our attention in order to live such a life. First, we need to come to grips with God’s authority and yield completely to him. In baptism, we show outwardly that we are submitting totally to God. Forgiveness and love of enemies is another vitally important matter to which we must give our attention if we are to serve God, as is the renewing of our minds and devotion to prayer. Watchfulness and thankfulness should be marks of our lives, and a life of service to the Lord and to others is, in fact, worship, says John. John concludes with a Scripture from the book of Philippians which exhorts us to continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling…….so that we may become blameless and pure.

It is very important that the imparted word of God bring us to maturity, says John Alley. When the word of God gets deep into us and becomes part of our being, we become strong. Christians and churches are not meant to be weak, says John. We need to practice the discipline of sitting in the presence of God and of honouring God in public worship. We need the living and abiding word of God. John then goes on to speak of the Spirit of understanding, the anointing for community and the anointing by which leaders perceive community. All of these have been explored in the past, but John believes that there is yet another level to which we are meant to attain. With many Scripture references, John describes times and events where God has put on a particular person the anointing for a given task. The person who would have greater grace, says John, must give their attention to the word of God.

While Christ encourages us to have childlike faith, the Bible doesn't encourage us to stay as children, but to mature and grow. In a continuation of the Every Man Perfect series, which is for all people, not just for men, Philip Alley discusses what it means to grow and mature in Christ and faith. This is for the benefit of others, and the kingdom of God.

Mark Twain said, in a well-known quote, “Clothes make the man……naked people have little or no influence on society”. In his message, Philip Alley draws a parallel between this statement and the matter of being clothed spiritually. The Bible has much to say about what we should be spiritually clothed with, and what is to be put off and got rid of. The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, instructed the people to get rid of anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language, deception, evil desire and greed. Paul then goes on to say that we are to be clothed with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. James describes evil thoughts as showing favouritism and discriminating against others. Immature people, says Philip, react while mature persons respond. Philip then goes on to describe the spiritual armour that Paul speaks of in his letter to the Ephesians, giving detail of the attributes of each item and the purpose of each one. Philip closes with a quote from Paul. “When you have done ev

How does a congregation with a vibrant family life and many young people, go about handling some of the more sensitive areas of life. As young people grow up, they often have many questions about these areas. Listen to John Alley describe the position of Peace Christian Church and how it handles the areas of dating and alcohol in its congregational life, and with young people in particular.

John Alley commences his message with a reading from the book of Jeremiah which teaches that our lives are not our own – it is not for a man to direct his own steps. John then goes to the book of Luke, emphasizing the need for repentance. God is patient and merciful, says John, and while He gives another chance for His people to repent, there is a point where, if left too long, the person is unable to repent. John goes on to discuss the need to rebuild the Church Council. Weak leadership, says John, causes the flock to be scattered. John reads from Acts and Luke, teaching on what makes a real man. Real men, says John, are tender hearted, generous and hard working, ready to help others and full of the Holy Spirit. John concludes his message with discussion of the things with which we are meant to be clothed, never being separated from Christ our head.