Arboles de justicia es una congregación en Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas con una gran uncion de Dios, pero este post es para presentarles la música que tocan. Siendo unos chavos con bastante visión han estado grabando las letras que Dios les ha dado para cantar.

Esta canción se llama Rey de mis Sueños, no tengo un disco completo de ellos pero en cuanto lo tenga creo que estaré dando mas información al respecto.

Pueden encontrar mas informacion sobre la congregacion en este enlace

JVA Consulting is excited to announce that the application period for Year 3 of the Colorado Compassion Initiative (CCI) has officially begun. CCI is a capacity building program for faith-based and community organizations that provide services to people 55 and older and involve this population as leaders and volunteers. JVA first launched CCI in 2002 when it was selected as one of 21 organizations nationwide as an intermediary of the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF), which is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. Over the past seven years, JVA has provided more than 6,000 hours of technical support and/or funding to more than 500 organizations through CCI.

Successful CCI applicants will receive monetary grant awards specifically for capacity building activities and will also receive pro bono capacity building consulting services and technical assistance from JVA through the support of the CCF.

A new feature in Year 3 is the addition of specialized technical assistance tracks. While still providing broad-based technical assistance like we have provided in the past, grantees may receive technical assistance in either social enterprise strategies or health and wellness.

All organizations applying in Year 3 will be required to attend a mandatory workshop either in person in Denver at the JVA headquarters or via Webinar. This includes previous CCI grantees that are reapplying. Click here to register for a workshop.

When applying for a CCI grant, be sure to use the revised Colorado Common Grant Application (CGA). You can find the CGA at www.coloradocommongrantforms.org. All applications are due on January 6, 2010, and JVA will announce awards on January 28, 2010.

For more information about applying for a CCI grant in Year 3, click here.

“[...] diejenige Institution, die Les Immatériaux initiierte und Lyotard als Kurator anfragte, ein an einem Museum angesiedeltes, interdisziplinäres Forschungsinstitut mit schwer greifbarem Profil war: das Centre de création indurtrielle (CCI). Es wurde 1969 gegründet und 1977 in das Centre Pompidou aufgenommen. (25)”

Wunderlich, Antonia: Der Philosoph im Museum, Die Ausstellung „Les Immatériaux“ von Jean François Lyotard, transcript Kultur- und Medientheorie, transcript Verlag, Bielefeld, 2008, S.29.

(25) Seit 1995 ist es nicht mehr eigenständig, sondern Teil des Musée National d’Art Moderne. Sein offizieller Titel lautet heute: Bibliothèque Kandisnky – Centre de documentation et de recherche du Musée national d’art moderne – Centre de création industrielle.

CCI periods for 10 min chart would stay the same 26 period and 60 period. However for intraday trading I use zero line cross or 20 wma cross as my close for 1min chart. Using zero line allows for noise on lower timeframe charts. For 5min or above I open a spread bet at the same place (100 line cross) and close on the retracement of the 100 line cross or the 20wma (whichever comes first). I like to trade with the two positions so that on a slow trend where the 26 gets chopped the 60 will hold the trend. On faster trends both spread betting positions should do well but the 60 period will take profits later which may mean giving more back to the market (two moving averages would do similar) . On the initial opening of the trade I set a tight stop at 10% of the previous five days average daily range (usually 5-7 points) but will get back into the trade if it moves back to the original breakout entry point. I have never traded any time frames other than 1min, 2min, 100tick and daily.

Bientôt un an que les décrets d’application concernant le statut d’Auto-Entrepreneur sont sortis. Le statut d’auto-entrepreneur, statut élaboré par Hervé Novelli a fait depuis couler beaucoup d’encre et déchaîner les ondes. Créé dans le but de simplifier fortement le lancement mais aussi l’interruption et la cessation d’une activité à but lucratif, ce statut s’adresse à tout porteur de projet qui souhaite créer une activité complémentaire ou lancer une activité à moindre frais avant, en théorie, de basculer sur un autre régime juridique et fiscal et ainsi relancer l’économie. Aujourd’hui, quel regard porter sur ce statut ? A-t-il vraiment fait ses preuves ? Arnaque ou vrai tremplin ?

Manuel GREAU, Expert Comptable, apporte son témoignage sur les avantages et inconvénients de ce statut.

As I have to do two exams next week, I have to spend the whole next days with learning the “Technische Betriebswirtschaft” for my master degree in “Technical Management CCI”.
The examinations will be in “materials logistics” and “management and leadership“.

I also got a phone call today, that the next months after those exams I have to write my diploma thesis.
SO the Christmas holidays are saved, no boring meetings with the relatives…

ATK (Alliant Techsystems) (NYSE: ATK), the world’s largest ammo producer, manufactures CCI, Federal, and Speer ammo, plus CCI and Federal primers. ATK is also the parent company of Alliant Powder and ATK runs the Lake City Army ammunition plant. That’s why changes at ATK can affect shooters nationwide.

ATK announced that after more than six years as ATK chairman and CEO, Daniel J. Murphy will retire in March, 2010. The company’s board of directors has appointed General Ronald R. Fogleman to serve as Chairman of the board of directors. The board also elected John L. Shroyer, ATK’s current chief financial officer (CFO), to serve as interim CEO. The appointments are effective immediately.

In related news, ATK announced that second-quarter profit rose 18 percent, helped by stronger sales of ammunition for security forces in Afghanistan. The company said that demand remained strong for ATK’s commercial ammunition brands and products. “I am particularly pleased with the growth of our commercial businesses both in ammunition, aircraft structures and elsewhere across the company,” said John Shroyer, interim CEO, senior vice president and CFO.

Delegação ferreirense mostrou garra e trouxe duas medalhas

Viviane Rasi, Claury Alves da Silva (secretário estadual de Esportes) e Serginho Martins

A primeira-dama Viviane Santana Rasi e o vereador Serginho Martins (PCdoB), líder do governo na Câmara Municipal, participaram no último dia 5/11 da abertura oficial dos 13º Jogos Regionais do Idoso (Jori), em Araraquara. O evento contou também com a participação de várias primeiras-damas das cidades da região e a primeira-dama do Estado, Mônica Serra.

A abertura reuniu cerca de duas mil pessoas, entre atletas e público. Mônica Serra, presidente do Fundo Social de Solidariedade do Estado de São Paulo, elogiou o empenho dos idosos. “A competição incentiva os atletas do nosso Estado e valoriza o que produzem o ano todo. O número de participantes cresce a cada ano, motivando mais idosos a praticar esporte”, comemorou.

Quase 50 delegações, com cerca de 2,1 mil atletas, com idade mínima de 60 anos, lutaram por medalhas até o domingo, dia 8. Porto Ferreira enviou uma delegação de 35 atletas, conquistando duas medalhas na natação: prata, com Pedro Martins; e bronze, com Nilcéa Zadra Barroso Carrera, que inclusive empresta seu nome ao Centro Olímpico Municipal. Ambos garantiram a participação nos Jogos Abertos do Idoso, no dia 18 de dezembro, em Piracicaba.

“A disposição de nossos atletas foi contagiante. Eles mostraram que a prática de uma atividade física contribui para a melhoria da qualidade de vida e a idade não é uma barreira para ser feliz e ativo. Todos estão de parabéns”, comentou Viviane Rasi. Já o vereador Serginho Martins, que é professor de Educação Física, destacou a importância dos programas municipais para os idosos. “O Centro de Convivência do Idoso (CCI) mostra a preocupação da Administração Municipal com esta parcela da população, que muito contribuiu e ainda contribui para o desenvolvimento da cidade. A ela nós devotamos todo nosso respeito e admiração”, disse o vereador.

Várias atrações marcaram a abertura dos jogos. A platéia acompanhou o desfile das bandeiras dos 48 municípios participantes, a apresentação da Banda Marcial de Araraquara, o acendimento da pira olímpica e a apresentação de ginástica artística. Ao final, houve sorteios de vários brindes.

We just got news that Betsy our beloved CCI puppy that we turned in last May has been chosen for team training! This means she will be a possible match for a disabled person within the next two weeks. Wonderful! If she doesn’t get matched this time she probably will next time. We are very proud, very happy and of course very sad:( We miss her. She is a wonderful dog and she will make a great companion to someone who really needs her. Go Betsy!

Pas grand chose. En ce début novembre, la majorité d’entre vous a déjà trouvé un employeur ou s’est résigné, malheureusement. Peu d’actualités mais on pourra quand même noter deux annonces.

La première nous vient de la région parisienne, avec une solution de médiation pour les titulaires d’un contrat d’apprentissage. En effet, la Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie de Versailles Val -d’Oise – Yvelines a mis en place un dispositif de médiation entre les apprentis et les employeurs. Ce système permet de mettre en place un dialogue entre les deux parties pour parvenir à un accord lors d’un conflit.

Source: http://www.vonews.fr/article_7958

La seconde info provient d’un groupe important côté au CAC 40: Capgemini, leader dans le domaine de l’informatique en France. Le groupe confirme sa volonté d’être un acteur important dans la formation professionnelle en annonçant 1000 recrutement d’ici à la fin de l’année et 550 en 2010. Vous pouvez consulter l’espace recrutement ici pour l’instant peu fourni en offres. N’hésitez donc pas à faire des candidatures spontanées!

Source: http://www.lefigaro.fr/emploi/2009/11/02/01010-20091102ARTFIG00429-capgemini-joue-la-carte-de-l-alternance-.php

So… I had about two weeks break from painting. Not that I would leave for vacation (oh, I wished!) but some unexpected circumstances held me back from painting. I’m back now, trying to ketch up with all the delayed work, two unfinished commission paintings and another commissioned painting what was supposed to be done already. Actually all of them were supposed to be done! I’m so happy I’m getting back to my work process! One commissioned portrait was finished today

I will start to work on the third commissioned painting tomorrow. It will be oil painting of dog, for my customer who bought another painting reminding her the dog she got from CCI – Canine Companions for Independence. Thanks to my customer I learned about this non profit organization, helping people with disabilities. This theme is close to me because my uncle is blind. He does not use a dog to get around, he lives in a house with a caretakers. After reading about CCI I decided to donate them percentage from sale of some of my paintings on ebay.  Click here to see my ebay listings.

Have a beautiful life!

Noewi

As JVA prepares for Year 3 of the Colorado Compassion Initiative (CCI), it’s the perfect time to look back at some of the experiences of Year 2 grantees. Funded by the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF), CCI is a capacity building program through which JVA awarded grants to over 30 faith-based and community organizations for the 2009 grant period. Here are some of the results that Extreme Community Makeover (ECM) experienced as a Year 2 grantee of CCI.

In 2008, ECM targeted its community-building efforts at 156 homes in two neighborhoods while utilizing 1,850 volunteers. ECM—a CCI Year 2 grantee that partners with churches and businesses to assist local residents in home improvement activities—experienced a noticeable increase in its reach and impact in 2009. ECM was able to target 260 homes in four neighborhoods while utilizing 2,600 volunteers. The population ECM connects with includes all community residents, and an estimated 30 percent to 35 percent of these folks are age 55 or over.

Based on feedback given by community residents, homeowners, volunteers and others, ECM is making an impact in the Denver community. In the words of Joe, a homeowner that ECM worked with to paint his house, “I’m finding it difficult to express the extent of my appreciation. This has been really outside of my experience—really quite amazing. Very few people have ever seen me at a loss for words. For the time being, ‘thank you’ will have to suffice.”

One of the unanticipated shifts made in ECM this year relates to the language in which ECM is communicated. Last year, ECM was pitched as a way for volunteer groups to come into a neighborhood to meet the needs of the folks living there. Groups would provide all necessary tools and supplies, not asking much from the homeowners.  However, this year, more of an expectation was placed on homeowners’ involvement in the work taking place at their homes. For example, if a group was going to paint a house, the residents would be invited and expected to pitch in their time to work with the group, as well as to provide the paint, if they were able to do that. This shift in expectations put more ownership into the hands of the community.

Through CCI funding, ECM was able to attend an asset-based community development conference in Chicago. The importance of practicing asset-based rather than needs-based community development in order to see the strengths and skills within a community and build upon those was affirmed. This shift has created more of a partnership between community members and volunteers so that the ECM model is truly about working together to impact Denver neighborhoods and communities.

In the coming weeks, JVA will feature information about applying for CCI grants in Year 3 at www.jvaconsulting.com/cci. Organizations that have not previously applied for CCI funding can click here to download an eligibility quiz.

Seeds of discontent: discrepancy in water distribution

by Aziz Narejo, TX

Disparity in water distribution is a major cause of conflict in the country. It creates anger, ill-will, animosity and agitation among the people and the provinces. The government’s failure to address the issue in an appropriate, effective and impartial manner makes the matter worse.

To cite just an example, the federal minister for water and power, when pressed on this issue in the National Assembly recently, expressed the federal government’s inability to enforce the 1991 water accord and suggested that if any province had any grievances, it should go to the Council of Common Interests (CCI). He also declared that the water shortage in the country stood at 28%. Now compare it with the reports from Sindh indicating that the province faced water shortage of 40-50%. It is even worse in some areas affecting the agriculture and the livelihood of millions of people.

Would the IRSA, the federal government and related agencies explain the discrepancy in the water shortage in Sindh and the rest of the country? Would the Sindh government tell its constituents what it is doing to get fair share of water for the province and the implementation of the 1991 water accord? Would it also tell the people why it doesn’t go to CCI as the federal minister has suggested if the province was not getting its due share of water? Has the Sindh government asked for compensation for the losses the province has incurred due to the unfair share in water?

We are often asked “Can I get more velocity by switching primer types?” The answer is “maybe”. The important thing to know is that changing primer types can alter your load’s performance in many ways — velocity average, velocity variance (ES/SD), accuracy, and pressure. Because there are so many variables involved you can’t really predict whether one primer type is going to be better or worse than another. This will depend on your cartridge, your powder, your barrel, and even the mechanics of your firing pin system.

Interestingly, however, a shooter on another forum recently did a test with his .308 Win semi-auto. Using Hodgdon Varget powder and Sierra 155gr Palma MatchKing (item 2156) bullets, he found that Wolf Large Rifle primers gave slightly higher velocities than did CCI-BR2s. Interestingly, the amount of extra speed (provided by the Wolfs) increased as charge weight went up, though the middle value had the largest speed variance. The shooter observed: “The Wolf primers seemed to be obviously hotter and they had about the same or possibly better ES average.” See table:

You can’t extrapolate too much from the table above. This describes just one gun, one powder, and one bullet. Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV) as they say. However, this illustration does show that by substituting one component you may see significant changes. Provided it can be repeated in multiple chrono runs, an increase of 19 fps (with the 46.0 grain powder load) is meaningful. An extra 20 fps or so may yield a more optimal accuracy node or “sweet spot” that produces better groups. (Though faster is certainly NOT always better for accuracy — you have to test to find out.)

WARNING: When switching primers, you should exercise caution. More speed may be attractive, but you have to consider that the “speedier” primer choice may also produce more pressure. Therefore, you must carefully monitor pressure signs whenever changing ANY component in a load.

Plenty of CCI-BR2 and Wolf Large Rifle Primers in Stock
If you’re looking for either the CCI BR-2 or Wolf Large Rifle Primers, Wideners.com currently has both in stock. The CCI BR2 primers (item CCIBR2) cost $42.50 per 1000. The Wolf LR Primers (item QQQLR KVB-7) cost $29.50 per 1000 OR $142.00 per 5000.

As JVA prepares for Year 3 of the Colorado Compassion Initiative (CCI), it’s the perfect time to look back at some of the experiences of Year 2 grantees. Funded by the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF), CCI is a capacity building program through which JVA awarded grants to over 30 faith-based and community organizations for the 2009 grant period. Here are some of the results that the Women’s Resource Agency (WRA) experienced as a Year 2 grantee of CCI.

When Ginny retired three years ago as a human resources manager, she had decided she wanted to leave her professional skills behind and have fun. Soon Ginny was bored. “I kept asking myself, Why did I retire?”

Ginny attended a volunteer information session hosted by WRA—an organization that works to help women of all ages attain and maintain self-sufficiency.

“I was struck by their mission and what they were doing,” she said. When Ginny learned about WRA’s Dress for Success, a program to help women assemble outfits for job interviews, she was excited to put her fashion sense to use. Ginny laughed and shared, “I was the ‘fashionista’ at work and liked to put outfits together.” She began assisting women who were getting ready for professional careers.

Ginny’s volunteer work has expanded beyond fashion. Now Ginny makes quarterly presentations to women on how to prepare for interviews.

“I can’t believe that I found something that works so well for the organization, and me.”

Ginny is more than a volunteer; she’s an ambassador. This experience “makes me want to get the word out about WRA to the community.”

WRA understands the value of Ginny and others like her. “The women who assist with the Career Services bring their expertise of human resources and personnel management and are an integral part of our employment readiness program,” says executive director Beth Roalstad.

CCI helped WRA improve its business model by engaging boomer volunteers like Ginny. Their work is paying off: 75 percent of the board of directors is made up of boomers; six volunteer boomers participated in a strategic marketing session; and 43 percent of the regular volunteer core are of boomer age. Most importantly, says Beth, “Be flexible and never turn anyone away. The volunteers are giving their best when they are here; it’s not worth being rigid.” A long-range calendar helps manage the volunteer schedule.

In the coming weeks, JVA will feature information about applying for CCI grants in Year 3 at www.jvaconsulting.com/cci. Organizations that have not previously applied for CCI funding can click here to download an eligibility quiz.

Simple eh? Until you get there!

It looked like a short stroll using the map on their website, maybe it was the near 100% humidity and 40°C heat, but it was soon seeming like an unguided tour hiking through back streets of Kowloon in search of City Church International’s meeting place at the YWCA.

Searching for a church in York once I stopped a guy carrying a guitar to ask for directions (I know, a man asking for directions – but I was desperate). He looked like he would know since who else but a Christian carries a guitar around, and wears slightly dull semi-formal casual clothes at 9.30 on a Sunday morning? Turned out he was a Christian and although he was not going to the church we were searching for he ably guided us there. Well, we did ask a couple of people where the YWCA was but they did not know, nor had they heard of City Church International, not surprisingly. I even tried asking “You no weh fine Wa Dub You See Eh?” or “Lob Loofah?” but I just got strange looks. That Church in York and Rob Rufus’s in Hong Kong shared a similar learning need: if you meet in an unpresupposing building, in a fairly hidden part of town and you want newcomers to visit and attend your services you need to provide a) good information about transport links  – the church website map was poor on detail and did not even mention the fact that the Number 8 bus which links perfectly with the Star Ferry terminal, stops just 50 yards away! – and b) proper signage outside.  Otherwise only the really determined will come. And we were really determined.)

Eventually, overheated (it was very very hot this Sunday morning and the humidity was near 100% again) and somewhat flustered – definitely in need of grace – we found a building which looked like it was a YWCA centre. “I think this is it” I announced. I was at the head of the trail of course (which included Judith, Grace, Emily and Luise) with my trusty iPhone GPS google maps sat-nav – although between tall buildings it was not that useful for detail! We felt like we’d just walked 1000 miles, and soaked with perspiration I declared that even if this was not the right place we were going to go in and hold church there ourselves as it was at least likely to have air-conditioning and refreshment.

Thankfully it was CCI’s meeting place and once we had cooled down and glugged some water we entered the hall. In reality the building is not hard to find when you know where it is!

We were about 10 minutes early and although there were no signs outside the building, as you entered the hall there was a table with posters and some of Rob’s audio CDs. A pre-service prayer meeting had started a few minutes before at the front of the chairs around the worship band. About 30 people including the worship band, gathered around Rob and Glenda and were evidently praying for the service. There were no welcome stewards evident in the hall so we quietly found some seats in middle and sat down.

The hall has a high ceiling conference room with potential seating for perhaps a few hundred, it looked like there was a sectioned off balcony area too. Chairs for about 150 were arranged theatre-style facing the stage, and at the back behind the middle block we were sitting in there were toddlers’ toys on a mat and a 18 inch high children’s paddling pool filled with water, which at first I thought was an innovative touch – the kids could splash around during worship! (Actually it was there to be used for baptisms which occurred at the end of the service, but during our time of worship one toddler ventured towards the sides of the pool – it was not the inflatable but the ‘floppy’ type – and promptly fell in! I had moved to the back during worship to take a couple of photos and saw this happening in my camera lens. Water began to flow out in the direction of the PA and videoing equipment! I ventured towards the toddler to pick him up, but the toddler’s mum, who had been gloriously ‘lost in wonder’ somewhere while her child baptised himself, quickly came to his rescue and helped in the clean up operation which ensued as we appropriately sang a song with a line about “washing me clean”!)

We used to run a prayer time at the front of our meeting hall just before the service started. I was thinking about this as I observed theirs now from a visitor’s point of view. We moved it into a side room when someone suggested that it was not very visitor friendly as newcomers could feel awkward not knowing whether they should join in or not, whether they could talk or should sit quietly. At the time I remember responding with something dismissive like “Of course visitors are welcome to join in – it’s not exclusive!” But you get a new perspective when you’re on the receiving end, and there is a marked difference between visitors being welcome and visitors being made welcome. Actually we did feel a tad awkward and excluded as the group at the front got louder and louder in their excitement in the Spirit; and we were Christians – not sure how an unbeliever or an newcomer would feel (cf. Paul’s concern for ‘outsiders’ and the ‘uninitiated’ in 1 Cor 14:16, 23ff). There were a few other folk milling around, setting up tables for refreshments and children’s ministry stuff, but strangely no-one spoke to us until just before the band struck up when Glenda came over to say hello and introduce herself to Judith, Luise and the girls. She was warm and friendly and made us feel immediately at home.

Worshippers at City Church International

The meeting was scheduled to start at 10am, but there were plenty of empty chairs! Hmm… this reminds me of somewhere I thought. About 5 minutes later the band struck up a song and people stood to join in. The music was lively, Jesus-focused, and heart-felt. The mainly familiar songs ranged from Hillsong to Chris Tomlin. We even sang Jason Upton’s In Your Presence. As with the home-group meeting the participation in this section was all sung; prophetic songs, singing in the Spirit, sung prayers, participants were singers and those leading at the front using the mics – the music continued in the background throughout. After 20 minutes Glenda Rufus invited us to take our seats, then she welcomed newcomers and guests (including us) and shared the notices for the week. She invited a guy who had been with them for the majority of the 5 or 6 years the church has existed there to give his testimony and be prayed for because he was returning home, which I think was somewhere in South Africa. He had been initially drawn to the church because he’d heard there were South Africans there.

By now there were around 70-80 people present and Glenda announced that the children would be leaving with their leaders. There were around a dozen who left for the children’s group which was held in another room.

Rob got up to preach. I will try and give a synopsis of the notes I took because it was a timely preach for the church and also reassured me in some matters we have had to face as leaders. He based his sermon on Romans 5. He started out by saying that this had been a tough year for them as a church. They had lost a young man through suicide, but he reminded us that many have been saved from suicide by the grace of God. Nevertheless Rob had just completed a teaching series on “Dealing with Hardships” in response to the troubled times they had been through. He now wanted to return to the topic of the Grace of God, mainly he said, because it also fundamental to handling issues like this because grace is the only way God relates to us all the time. He emphasised that grace is not about living selfishly but living for the benefit of others. The Bible does not speak of cheap grace – i.e. sinning as much as we want; nor any sort of distorted grace – e.g. seeking our own pleasure at the expense of others. The issue is: the free gift of righteousness. This is not earned, it cannot be earned; it is a gift. But there are still Christians who sadly believe the opposite and this affects the way they relate to God. E.g. They think “When I sin God punishes me; when I’m good he’s gracious.” No! In fact that is the world’s way of relating to us, not God’s.

Rob read again as he had done Thursday night (see earlier post) the prophetic word he’d written out about a new season of revelation on grace and the gift of righteousness. He emphasised a section about being unchangeably, perfectly qualified to rightstanding with God… That some folk are waiting for a greater thing. But that God says “There is no greater thing I have to give you… If there is a greater thing I have to give you it is a greater REVELATION of that righteousness… So I’m inviting you to a further lifting of the veil. A supernatural grace avalanche will sweep the earth as an international tsunami of glory.” In his letters to Timothy Paul makes it clear that prior to his conversion, when he was a Jew under the Law, he was a violent man [I Tim 1:13]. Under the law you are angry, grumpy, self-righteous. Religion is satanic, it’s the same power that deceived Adam & Eve. Violence caused by religion is satanic. Jesus brought a revolution: He was not a wimp. Jesus lost his temper. He was a real man with testosterone. He got angry when it was appropriate: he got angry with religion and religious people. A revolutionary challenges the ruling legalistic Pharoahs who are controlling things for the benefit of a small elite.

Genesis chapters 1-3: In Eden (which in Hebrew means “place of pleasure”) the fruit of the Tree was the Knowledge of good & evil. The deception was about being righteous apart from God – knowing good and evil without God.  i.e. being self-righteous. They were actually already like God (imago dei – made in His image) and with God, in His presence; the Devil’s temptation was to be like God without God. He said they could know righteousness apart from God. To know how I stand with the Father I don’t look at myself I look at Jesus. I no longer have an old nature but now a new nature that wants not to sin. But even if we do sin the Holy Spirit is there to help us out of it.

He pointed out that Rom 5:12.ff makes clear that your sin did not bring sin into the world. Neither did your sin kill you or condemn you. It was through Adam that sin came into the world and condemns us. He argued from v13 that despite the fact that God does not count sin where there is no law, however death still reigned even though they didn’t sin in the same way as Adam by breaking a commandment. They sinned because in Adam all have sinned. This is so because Paul argues in vv14-19 “How much more will those who received the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.”

Rob stated that he did not hate the law of God he loved the law!  But not because it makes him more holy (Col 2 – law is cancelled to those who are in Christ) but rather the law was given to increase sin! (No one is going to stop sinning altogether until Jesus comes again.) The law actually incites us to sin. So he asked the question which sin did Jesus die for? Our sin in breaking the law, or Adam’s sin? It was Adam’s sin [N.B. actually I think it was both - i.e. all our sins, viz. those which separate us from God - our 'conditional' and 'positional' sin we are born with, as well as the sins we commit 'in the flesh' because of this condition - which we do need to continue to confess and repent of as the Spirit reveals. Cf. Isa 53:6, Heb 10:17, 1 Jn 1:9, but his point is valid in this context because it is in Adam that we inherit our enmity with God - Jon]. Because in Adam all sinned and inherited death. But no-onene was aware because we thought we were OK through self-righteousness. v21. The cure is infinitely greater than the problem. Once that problem is cured  people need to be made aware of this fact. But with our new nature we learn new joys and pleasures and we don’t desire to sin. Rob said while he knew a Christian was free to sin without condemnation, he said because of the new nature he had no desire to sin – “It’s like a third shoe” he quipped, “I don’t need it, don’t know what to do with it.”

Baptisms in the paddling pool!

The service finished with a song and then we celebrated the baptisms of three people who had recently joined the church. This is where the paddling pool came in handy although it was so shallow those getting baptised had to sit in it and were dunked backwards, just about getting totally immersed with a little effort! After the service tea, coffee, biscuits and buns were served. We stayed and chatted for a while and I talked briefly with a couple of the worship team members and with Rob and Glenda again.

Rob & Glenda Rufus

It was good to get a bit of background on this church, where they’re at and where they are currently heading. Much falls on the shoulders of Rob and Glenda who really run the place. They suffer from a transient membership which many city churches do – people come, especially ex-pats, stay for a couple of years then move on. So it is not easy to build consistently. In addition Rob and Glenda travel a lot, speaking at conferences and churches in their network New Covenant Ministries International, as well as hosting conferences themselves. Through these means they seek to get the grace message spread abroad, but it does mean that they are not always around which for the only full-time pastor/elder in the church must be tricky, especially when Glenda is basically the church administrator.

Speaking to those who attended the home group and others on the Sunday morning, the church seems to have what I have sometimes referred to as a ‘Field of Dreams‘ vision. Field of Dreams was a slightly bizarre 1989 movie about an Iowa corn farmer who has a kind of epiphany involving a dead baseball player, and hearing voices he interprets them as a command to build a baseball diamond in his fields. When he does so the Chicago Black Sox team arrive and play there. It includes (apparently) great sporting heroes like Shoeless Joe Jackson (sounds like Baseball’s equivalent of Seasick Steve!) and the immortal line whispered by The Voice “If you build it, he will come.”

In the early days of our church and my experience in what was then called the ‘Restoration movement‘ we had a Field of Dreams vision for the local church; we believed that all we needed to do was to build local church right, with the correct ingredients, Baptism in the Holy Spirit, freedom from denominational structures, New Testament teaching, apostolic and prophetic leadership and no dead religion… If your built according to this pattern then ‘He would come‘ and dwell there, and by implication ‘they would come‘, i.e. the lost would automatically start getting saved, the church would grow and revival would follow.

As a result most of the growth we had at that time was from existing Christians, disgruntled with their dead church life, leaving one church and joining ours which was marginally better. We did some occasional outreach and evangelism but we did not really engage with the culture around us, learning its language in order to communicate the Good News effectively. And so our church life did not really attract non-Christians and the few that ventured in, found it intriguing at best but confusing in the main and difficult to interpret. We were very inward focused – what we did satisfied us and other Christians who were looking for ’something deeper’ but did little to enable us to be salt and light, or to fulfill the Great Commission or impact and transform the world around us.

I was not disappointed by my visit to City Church International, for Rob and Glenda are wonderful warm people; Rob is a powerful communicator who has a gift of putting ideas into pithy little saying often using rhyme, alliteration or assonance, which make them humorous and easy to remember; they are both genuine exhorters of the flock and clearly father and mother the work – a trait which the Lord would impress upon both Judith and me over and over again in Australia; and the congregation is like an extended family, totally supportive of their ‘parents’, convinced of the doctrines of grace and living in the good of this. Nevertheless I was surprised that the church was not larger, given Rob’s inspiring zeal, and not more conscious of the need to be seeker-accessible given that it has been in existence for over 5 years and Hong Kong is a city of several millions.

But we left filled with the presence of Jesus and touched by the love of his people, and caught a passing Number 8 bus back to Central Hong Kong via the Star Ferry.