Rounding out the Year... The End of the 2013 Preaching plan

I had been using some time while I was on holiday to do some creative thinking and planning for the year. It was going swimmingly and you can read some of the results in a post I called 'Holiday Creativity and the Preaching plan for 2013'.

The process however was put on a back burner when our house was broken into and my laptop was stolen. fortunately I had posted my posters for the different series I was going to do this year on my blog so I didn't loose everything (did I tell you my external hard drive that I had backed everything up on decided that now would be a good time to stop working!!!!).

So now I've got a new laptop and as well as getting used to the new Windows 8 environment I have finished off my preaching plan for the year.

in November I will be preaching a series called "Burning Questions and the Renewal of the Mind" which will explore four of the most often asked faith questions. The term Faith question is intentionally ambiguous because it can mean questions that Christians ask about their faith and also those asked by non Christians about our faith. I actually think that very often they are the same. I haven't narrowed down my choice of questions yet. The idea of tying this down with 'the renewal of the mind' is also because the over arching theme for this year is renewal and I am hoping that by exploring these types of questions I will invite people not only to think more deeply about the burning issues but also to develop more confidence in apologetics. Defending their faith and thinking theologically.

In December I will be doing an advent series based on the prologue to John's Gospel... 'From Eternity to Here: Cosmology and Christmas in the Prologue to John's Gospel (John 1:1-18). John does not start his exploration of Jesus origins like Luke and Matthew with the nativity narrative or with his baptism like Mark, rather he invites us to gaze off into the infinite before time and space and see that in Christ the eternal came and pitched its tent in our neighbourhood. In true sci-fi fashion this series is a prequel to the series I am doing before Easter... Refracted Glory' looking at Jesus revealed in the I am sayings in John's Gospel. I can claim some cultural precedence for that  as being a New Zealander we are home to the Hobbit trilogy of films being produced after 'The Lord of the Rings' movies.

If you are in Auckland and all this sounds like it would help you to grow in your faith or even help in your faith journey to Christ... I'd love to invite you to come and be part of things this year. If you are some where in the wide wired and weird world of cyber space I'll be posting my sermons on my blog during the year.