Glory to God!
God's Word for us this year is RECONCILE. We are excited about this journey we are on as we seek to be reconciled to God, to one another and help those who do not know the Lord to be reconciled to Him. Having received the clear mandate and vision to build a house of peace, we are learning to be zealous, intentional and practical (zip) in order to be peacemakers who live in peace with God, with one another and help the Lost find peace in Him.
Two weeks ago we had the honour and pleasure of ordaining Elizabeth Nehring as an associate leader in KLF. Apart from being a daughter of the house who carries the heart and DNA of KLF, Elizabeth demonstrates the qualities of true leadership that include inspiration (Gal 2:9), illumination (2 Cor 4:6), integrity (1 Cor 11:1), influence (1 Cor 1:26,27) and initiative (2 Cor 8:17). As our leaders seek to have the 5-fold ministry of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher operating in its team, they recognise the grace that is upon Elizabeth's life to compliment the other gifts already present (Eph 4:11). It was a very special and significant moment as our leaders prayed for and anointed Elizabeth to establish her in her new role and responsibility as a leader in KLF.
Natalie then shared a message entitled, "Reconcile yourself - and smile!" In her powerful and creative sermon, Natalie showed us that unless we learn to love, accept and forgive ourselves, we will struggle to love, accept and forgive others. We saw how loving one's neighbour as oneself hinges upon being reconciled to oneself as we believe and receive the truth of God's love, acceptance and forgiveness (see Rom 5:8; 8:28; Eph 2:10; Is 49:15,16; Ps 139:13,14). Looking at the example of king David, Natalie showed us how David received God's love, acceptance and forgiveness after he had committed adultery and murder. Just as the king "got up from the ground" and thereafter "washed, put on lotions, changed his clothes and went into the house of the Lord and worshipped," (see 2 Sam 12:20) so the believer can receive God's love, acceptance and forgiveness, and rise up, be cleansed, anointed and clothed with Christ's righteousness and be restored to intimacy with God. Hallelujah!
In response to Natalie's message, people had the opportunity to be reconciled to the Lord and to be ministered to in prayer to help them be reconciled to themselves.
After another powerful time of prayer in our pre-service prayer time and in praise and worship, Richard shared a message entitled, "Zeal for God's house." As a form of introduction to our 6-week study of Danny Silk's book entitled, "Keep your love on!" Richard spoke to us about why we are going through the book together and what we hope to see come out of getting together in small groups to share and discuss the principles presented in the book. Using the analogy of fire-fighters who not only react to fire but also respond to the reality of fire by being prepared with the necessary tools and equipment as well as creating boundaries around endangered areas, Richard showed us that the Church cannot ignore the fact that there will be conflict in relationships and that we need to be equipped and prepared to know how to handle struggles in relationships and learn how to build strong connections, improve communication and set healthy boundaries. Looking at the account of Jesus clearing the temple courts in John 2:13-17, we noted that Jesus did not avoid conflict but was ready to "set fire" to prevent "wild-fire." Richard showed us that just as Jesus dealt with those who had turned His Father's house into a den of robbers (Mk 11:17), so we must get rid of worldliness in the Church - the danger of becoming a gathering of disconnected consumers instead of being a community of connected servants! Jesus' goal is to build "a house of prayer for all nations" - to connect people to God and people to one another.
We praise God that He is building and establishing foundations in KLF so that we can grow to be the House of Peace He wants us to be! Hallelujah!
Upcoming Events
29.02: Paint and praise workshop
24.02 - 05.04: 6-week "Keep your love on" project
25.04: Seminar with Alexander Blair at Alt-Hausen 34
07.06: Baptismal service at 11:00 (location to be decided)
21.06: Joint summer celebration with CZF and Quelle des Lebens
Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash
