Brian

To read part one 'The Mentality of THE CROWD vs The Spirit of THE CHURCH' click here.

Moving forward from my last post, many of you know that on top of being a church leader, I am also a sports lover. What I’ve learned in my years of watching and attending countless sporting events is that the mentality of a crowd can be fickle - but the ‘crowd’ that gathers on a Sunday in church, or at a week-long conference, or in a crowded city connect group with the ‘Spirit of the Church’ has great purpose!

Hillsong Conference 2010 was just over one month ago, we have moved well into the second half of this year and I am filled with anticipation, expectation and belief that God is going to do something fresh and new in all of our lives.

Each year, our guests travel from all over the world and our selfless armies of volunteers welcome and serve thousands of people, as we once again gather to be equipped and refreshed together and move into this new decade worshipping our worthy King.

Hope For Eternity

One of God’s greatest promises of hope is found in Romans 5:2-5 (NLT):

“Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of highest privilege where

we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us – they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation.

And this expectation will not disappoint us. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

Hope in this life and beyond. A hope that never disappoints us and one that gives us access to God and to heaven through Jesus.

The Word of God is a collection of the most hope-filled passages ever to be recorded.

John 3:16 (NLT) says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

This scripture is the anchor of our hope, the basis of all that we believe. It is the reason we can look to the future without fear and uncertainty, but with promise and expectation.

Throughout the bible, all of God’s great promises give us hope: HOPE for our past, HOPE for our everyday, and HOPE for eternity.

This weekend I want to take time to honour the ANZAC's and give due weight to the unbelievable sacrifice they made for the freedom we enjoy today, and the rich heritage they have passed on to generations of Australians and New Zealanders.

The acronym ANZAC stands for Australian & New Zealand Army Corps, whose legend was forged with the landing of the Corps on the Gallipoli Peninsula at the Dardanelles on April 25th, 1915.  ANZAC has since become synonymous with the courageous spirit and legendary sacrifice of our armed forces.

Well, on Tuesday night we gathered with the heart and soul of Hillsong Church in Sydney and Brisbane at Leadership Vision Night.  The House was packed with some of the finest volunteers, leaders and pastors that a Senior Pastor could ever ask for.  Bobbie and I are so blessed by the caliber of people who consistently embody the spirit of this House, and carry the vision of this church each week with painstaking excellence.  The greatest resource the church will ever have is people, and we, at Hillsong Church are so very blessed.

Hillsong Music siempre ha sido una expresión del corazón y el alma de nuestra iglesia. Las canciones que han salido de esta iglesia y han sido cantadas por todo el mundo son testimonio de la gracia de Dios en nuestra iglesia y en las vidas de las personas que forman nuestro equipo creativo, que tanto invierten de forma personal en cada uno de los proyectos. Durante muchos años tuvimos el privilegio de trabajar con gente maravillosa, y este año marca un nuevo capítulo en el curso de Hillsong Music.

La tumba vacía es un símbolo de gran esperanza y significado para la fe cristiana. Pero es mucho más que un símbolo. La tumba vacía es el resultado de un evento que ocurrió en la historia, está registrado en la Palabra de Dios, y es esencial para todo en lo que creemos.