CHONGLAND

Amongst these 13 verses, I was suprised at how many things seemed to strike me.

First off was the seraphim that stood above the Lord who is seated upon the throne. He covers himself with 4 of his 6 wings in the presence of the Lord. How often do we find ourselves coming before the Lord without the same kind of reverence or respect??

Second was what Isaiah says in the presence of the Lord. He is lost; not belonging because he has unclean lips, and so the seraphim cleanses his lips with a burning coal.
Next is the Lord‘s call and Isaiah‘s answer of Here am I! Send me. It’s such a quick response, seemingly without hesitation or thought. Something I, and indeed we, don’t do often.
Lastly is the message the Lord gives to the people, through Isaiah, that they hear but not understand, see but not perceive and have dull hearts.

This year has seen a number of changes come about in my life; a few which I will expound on at a later date, I’ve started studying at Moore College. I’m undertaking a Diploma of Bible & Ministry via part-time study which , this semester, entails 3 hours of lecture on Thursday nights at the Cathedral School.

My first unit is New Testament 1A with Peter Bolt lecturing us through the Gospel of Mark, with the view of equipping us with a foundation for New Testament study. Last week we also had Bill Sallier, as guest lecturer, jog us through the Gospel of John.
The class has roughly 20 people in it of varied experience and personalities, and it’s interesting relating to them. This is the third week, and so far it’s been quite an enjoyable time.

One of the down-sides of studying part time in this manner is that we tend to miss out a bit on the culture that Moore College offers. They definitely are inclusive of the part-timers, however work commitments tend to get in the way of involvement.

This morning I was fortunate enough to get the morning off of work as a half day RDO and head along to community chapel, joining in with the saints to sing praises to God, share in prayer, meet some international students and hear Richard Chin: Director of AFES Australia preach from Psalm 98.

Richard’s sermon highlighted some things about songs and singing that I hadn’t realized or thought about before:

1. Israel sang often as a form of rejoicing after they had been rescued by God. This ‘New Song‘ that they sung was featured 9 times in the bible, and each time was about the character of God that He reveals to us; His righteousness, His steadfast love and His faithfulness, in saving us.
2. This ‘New Song‘ was and is not limited to the saints only. ALL the peoples of the earth are to sing OUR song, that is inclusive of those that will face God’s wrath. He points out that this is a call to evangelism, to save those that will face judgement and the wrath of God. This ‘New Song‘ is to be sung by ALL CREATION. The seas roaring and all that is contained within it, the rivers clapping and mountains singing for joy.
3. This ‘New Song‘ is also about God coming to judge the earth, about His righteous judgement to come. Richard pointed to the fact that the word Hallelujah is only mentioned 4 times in the New Testament (in Revelation 19). Out of those 4 times, judgment is the context in which they are mentioned.

How many times do we sing Hallelujah in our modern day hymns and choruses?? How much more should we be singing Hallelujah about the judgement to come, and the salvation that we receive in the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Chapel ended with an old hymn by Charles Wesley; Lo, He Comes with Clouds Descending, sung to a new tune by one of the Moore College students. I’m hoping to get the music and get some congregational singing of it in action.

Last night, the 31st January 2010, we stepped into a new era as our church launched afresh as Graceat6, complete with a new website [graceat6.com].

It’s an exciting time and we had a large number of people gathered together, new and old, to mark the occasion. What is changing is the feel of the service and how we go about being a part of the body of Christ.

Our Mission statement reads:
Real with God
Real with Each Other
Real with The World

Each week we will be meeting together for a meal, reading & learning from the bible, praying and singing together.

We’ll be hearing Mike preach from Luke 19-24 as a lead up to Easter. We’ve also been given a helpful daily reading guide with questions to ponder. It’s available to view and download on the website if you’re keen to follow along as well. It’s a great tool for those that find it difficult to commit to reading, thinking, and praying through passages in the bible and will hopefully instil some great reading habits.

I’m interested to see how things pan out, how we meld together in love and service with each other, and how, if at all, the dynamics of our church change.

p.s. I had a small video cameo in the growth groups video, which you can see on the website under partners -> growth groups.