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Thursday Thirteen

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Thirteen things about the Night Church Weekend Away

1. It was held at Galston Crusaders’ site.

2. The topic was “The Greatest Gift There Is: Your Role In Evangelism” (I always thought it sound grammatically nonsensical but the idea was there)

3. We heard some great talks from a guy called Sandy who’s a minister in Wollongong.

4. The first talk was about prayer – the first part of being a part a God’s will (his plan to save people from death) is praying. References were mainly from Colossians 4.

5. The second talk was about love – if you want to tell people about Jesus then in most situations you should be their friend first. Don’t just care about their standing before God, care about how they’re going in this world as well. 1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1.

6. The third talk was about sharing – don’t just think that if you’re nice and treat people well and don’t break the law that your friends will know that you’re a christian. If god is such an important part of your life you’ll talk about him, not hope that you can be a ‘silent witness’. If people don’t know you’re a christian then maybe they’ll think that because you’re so nice and stuff then it must be possible to go to heaven on your own good deeds. Colossians 4:2-6.

7. The fourth talk was on inviting – the best way to get people to come to something is to tell them about it. How many people go to an event based on advertising verses going because a friend told them it was really good? You don’t have to be a totally awesome preacher to tell people about Jesus but if you have said a bit and someone might want to know more then you can invite them to something where someone is a good speaker. Sandy also said in one of the talks that you don’t have to get defensive when people say something contrary to what you think, you can calmly just invite them to look more into it. John 1:35-51.

8. Hubby was leading a discussion group, which I was in. It was good, I think he did a really good job and I think they were good sessions to debrief what we’d just heard in the talks.

9. We also sung songs together, we often do it, we always sing at church, I think the purpose is to remind each other of things and sing praises to God. It’s great because lots of people love music but if they’re not a great singer or musician then the really only get to sing in the shower and in the car, so it’s cool to be able to sing together.

10. One of the choruses from those songs that I like says

One for many brings in rest,
one for many reigns in peace.

I long for that peace and rest in heaven!

11. Another song says

…take my life, transform renew and change me, that I might be a living sacrifice.

I like that one too.

12. Some people gave their testimonies about how God has worked in their lives, mainly how they became a Christian. One person said during theirs that God loves each person and made them, just as he made her and loves her. This was a good reminder for me because I often disconnect from people and dislike them for reasons that may not be petty but I still should just get over it.

13. During our free time on one of the days we made jewellery with beads and such. It was a bit fun. I made a bracelet out of buttons that was good fun. I liked the result, but I’m going to restring it because in one spot I used a button with three holes not four and it causes a third of the bracelet to twist around the wrong way. I might post a photo of it when I’ve done that.

Put your Thursday Thirteen link here.

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Comments

  2. sounds like you had a great retreat.

    and thanks for visiting my blog today! the design is by miss zoot at zootsdesigns.com I love it too.

  4. Yay!
    Its nice to see a church gently teaching us to live Love, not judgement. Gald you had a great time πŸ™‚

  5. I’m glad you had a great time. Love, sharing and inviting..hmmm sounds great!

    happy thursday!

  7. Boy, it sure sounds as if you had a greta time. And sharing what you learned with all of us, what a great idea! Thanks for that!

  8. Sounds like you had a great and uplifting weekend. Ususally those kind of conferences or gatherings really energize you!

  11. Your description of it all makes it sound VERY worthwhile and inspiring!!!!

    Drop by if you can and see if you can guess any of my T – 13 list!

  12. Wonderful list. I like being His witness. Great that you had the opportunity for this special weekend.

  14. One reason I like these TT lists is to be able to peek into someone else’s life a little bit. Sounds like you had a very inspiring weekend. Thanks for sharing it.

  15. Sounds like you really learned a lot in your weekend!!! Thanks for visiting mine. Oh and I like the song from #11!

  16. My favorite is #12. Sometimes it is so encouraging and renewing to hear other Christian’s stories, to see where they came from to where God has them now.

    Thanks for sharing your weekend with us!

  18. Sounds like you had a great time! πŸ™‚

    Happy Thursdayt and thanks for stopping by my blog! πŸ™‚

  26. Thanks for visiting my TT yesterday. I got sick and wasn’t able to return all my phone calls (visit those who visited me). So I’m leaving a late hello today. See you next week!