We Don’t Live By Bread Alone
Jesus teaches us that our spiritual diet is more important than our physical diet. He describes God’s Word as more vital to us than our basic food, saying ‘Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that passes from the mouth of God’.
As with any super-profitable discipline, we are so often distracted by lessor pretenders: meetings, money, mails and malls…also TV, News, Sport, Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, Twitter, TikTok and many more. It will take careful and intentional arrangement of daily affairs in order to read God’s Word regularly.
Therefore, as you approach 2022, the very best thing you can prioritise is daily Bible reading.
Please take time before January 1st to:
- PRAY for God’s help to read His Word most effectively in 2022. This is such an exciting step because it is only God who will enable us to read and love His Word.
- Take some time to EVALUATE the various ways in which you could read His Word. Margit Landman has kindly compiled a list of Bible Plans, daily devotionals, Apps etc to help you find what would work best for you. I tend to use McCheyne’s Bible-In-1-Year plan to read 4 passages a day in 20 mins and read through the Bible each year. You can choose whatever approach you most prefer – the best plan for you is whatever will enable you to receive God’s Word daily.
- SET a time and place that you will have as a daily routine for Bible reading and prayer in 2022. For me it is generally first thing in the morning.
As you do this, you will know the joy of living by God’s Word, and River of Life Church will increasingly be founded on this rock – hearing God’s Word and doing it.
Much love,
Scott
Read more about Bible Reading Plan Resources here.
DNa Equip
The vision of ROL is to ‘Glorify God, by Extending His Kingdom, through Planting & Strengthening Churches’.
As a church we had the joy of contributing generously to The Equip Conference in Kadoma with 55 leaders from Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique to explore exactly this – the strengthening and replicating of New Testament churches.
Lasting Impressions camp site gave us a crazy-kind price for accommodation and meals. What a special place it is!
We had groups focusing on:
- church-planting
- agriculture
- education
- family
- leadership
We had 50% leaders under 35 years of age, amazing times of worship, prayer, prophecy and action planning.
Your vibrant participation within River of Life contributes in significant measure to the development of initiatives like this…with such phenomenal promise for advance of God’s kingdom and the building of his church.
Thank-you for your partnership on the gospel.
Much love,
Scott
Carols, Christmas and Calendar 22
Dear River of Lifers,
End of 2021 😳🙈
As we approach Christmas, here are three key dates to help you with planning and prayer :
1. CAROL SERVICE
Please join us for our Carols evening this Sunday, 5th Dec: CELEBRATE BETHLEHEM, CELEBRATE JESUS. 6pm to 730pm.
As part of our celebration we will be giving thanks for babies born in recent months 👶❤️
2. CHRISTMAS SERIES
Please tune in each Sunday to our Christmas series called Messiah Foretold, Messiah Found. It will be circulated on the evening before for the 12th, 19th and 25th December. The same theme will run for ROL Kids, leading up to Christmas Day.
This series will be available on Telegram and Whatsapp group platforms as well as shared via Facebook.
3. CALENDAR JAN 2022
The New Year Sundays in January are due to run as follows:
2nd Jan: How to read your Bible effectively. ROL2Home online format…via normal distribution platforms.
9th Jan: How to pray effectively. ROL2Home online format…via normal distribution platforms.
This will be the last ROL2Home electronic service! From now onwards, full in-person meetings!
16th Jan: Celebrate Children, Celebrate Jesus
Full in-person meetings
Big-Screen Movie for kids with pop-corn, hotdogs etc.
8:30am GP, 9:30am Eastlea, 6pm Eastlea.
Pm services TBA.
23rd Jan: VISION SUNDAY 2022
Full in-person meetings at GP and Eastlea.
Big-screen movie for kids with lots of fun. All adults in main meeting.
30th Jan: Letters to Timothy begins
Preaching series to accompany Vision 2022, with full Small Group participation.
Looking forward to some special times over Christmas and New Year, and then to being back in-person together in mid-January ‘22.
Much love,
Scott
ROL RAISING THE NEXT GEN
The joy and privilege of raising and releasing the next generation is a capacity that God has created each of us with.
It is in-built within us to delight in children and to see them nurtured to their full potential.
Jesus exemplified this creation blessing, to ‘be fruitful, increase, multiply and fill the earth’ as he commissioned those he had raised up to ‘go into all the earth and make disciples of all nations’.
We are so thankful, as a church, for the way that Helen and the ROLKids teams have served so faithfully over the years, and especially persevering through these crazy covid months.
Please be praying this holiday season about how you can be actively involved in raising up the next generation. We need men and women, single and married, older and younger, every River-of-Lifer, to be engaged in the place that God has designed for each.
We are coming out of lockdown and are so excited to build on this strength. ❤️🤸🏾♂️❤️☺️
Here are a couple of ways that you will be hearing about in the coming weeks:
– 5th Dec 2021
Carols evening with church-wide pledging for Michael Project 2022 as part of Celebrate Bethlehem, Celebrate Jesus.
– 16th Jan 2022
Celebrate Children, Celebrate Jesus
First full in-person Sunday Service since lockdown – given to profiling children. Sign-ups for various ways of engaging with Rock, Rockets and other contexts with next generation.
– 23rd Jan 2022
VISION SUNDAY
More opportunities for engaging with prayer, serving, teaching etc.
It is truly amazing that Jesus said, ‘What you do for the least of these you have done for me.’
It is truly a privilege and joy to raise and release the next generation – let’s go for it!
Love
Scott
The Red Frogs
Cleaning up vomit at 3am.
Handing out water with a smile.
Answering phone calls at all hours of the night.
Why does Red Frogs do it?
Because young people need a taste of genuine love.
A love that is consistent.
A love that is unconditional
A love that serves without demanding anything in return.
A sweet in the shape of a frog gives the opportunity to build relationship and share this love.
The following teams will be on-board the houseboat called Vundufull from Nov 26-28th :
Girls
Emma Hough
Jen Edwards
Amy Doorman
Aby Davy
Mupiwa Mungoni
Hannah Van Rooyen
Ceanna Ellis
Catarina Duarte-Simoes
Guys
Tyler Rowe
Farai Musimwa
Tsungi Njini
Damian Shaw
Tawana Nyabereka
Tyler Hewitt
Jared Smith
Kadin Eksteen
Please pray for :
- safety in travel and all operations
- wisdom for the teams on every situation
- friendships to form for life-long blessing in the team and with those whom the serve on the lake.
Thanks so much for your support,
Much love,
Scott
DNa Equip
I would be so grateful for your prayer for our DNa Leaders gathering coming up on Fri 26th – Sun 28th Nov. We are gathering as 50 leaders from Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique for 48 hrs at Lasting Impressions Retreat Centre in Kadoma.
We are hoping for great times of worship, prayer and prophecy. And also some great times of input, strategy and forward planning for 2022 and beyond.
We will be especially considering how we can most strongly advance in planting and strengthening churches that are:
- Full of the Word & Spirit
- Fruitfully productive & generous
- Raising & releasing the next generation
We expect that this will involve dynamic influence and initiatives in area such as:
- Church-planting
- Agriculture
- Education
- Family
- Leadership
And in all these areas, the prominence of YOUTH and NEXT GENERATION leaders in the mix and on the frontlines.
Please do pray for these three things and anything else you wish to:
- Love and Joy in The Lord. That we would know God’s love for us and for each other in fresh and invigorating ways. That the world would know we are His disciples by the love we have for one another.
- Courage in The Lord. That we would be able to consider the immensity of the challenges we face today and the far greater immensity of Christ’s glory, authority, power and kingdom. In light of this, to know His leading into areas of influence for the building of His Church and advance of His Kingdom.
- Vision & Strategy in The Lord. That we would have wisdom on how to mobilise across the breath of our DNA churches and further, to rally the church to action of eternal impact in these days. Perhaps with a view to exploring ideas for MegaVision 2022 etc.
Thank-you for your partnership in the gospel through your prayer, generosity in giving and in encouragement.
Much love and thanks,
Scott
Bible Journey
Bible Journey puts tools in your hands that you can use throughout your life-long study of Scripture.
When you read the Bible you may feel a little unfamiliar with the names and places mentioned. With regards to the Old Testament you may be uncertain about the behavior of God’s people, or unsure of how to make sense of who God is in the text. Is He really same God of the New Testament?
Similarly for the New Testament, Bible Journey takes you literally into Lazurus’ tomb as Dr Tim Laniak speaks from the steps of the sepulcher where Jesus raised him from the dead.
This certificate course is a great framework for exploring the Bible’s geographical, historical, cultural and religious context.
You will watch your own confidence and competence grow when this foundation is laid.
Action Plan for next phase :
1). Last call for anyone else wanting to sign-up.
2). Scott to confirm with all delegates, via whatsapp group, of their commitment to complete the course. The course is normally usd 150.00, but offered to us free of charge upon commitment to complete. (Monitored electronically by online progress). It requires a good internet connection and at least 2.5 to 3.5 hrs of study per week.
3). Nov 10th – all names & email addresses to Gorden-Conwell Seminary for Bible Journey access.
4). Links to be circulated to all participants by mid December for start on 1st January 2022.
5). Dr Tim Laniak and Dr Nicole Martin to join River of Life Zoom call on Monday 31st Jan for a 1st month progress check-in, to celebrate, share and pray.
There are a number of exciting options that may develop out of this and I hope that as a many as possible can be part of this journey in 2022.
The Nurture Project
Children often experience situations in which they are left without the understanding or the vocabulary to explain what they’ve experienced or how they are feeling about it.
The language of PLAY is actually a natural medium of self-expression for children and is essential for development.
The activity of play, in a safe environment, offers them a way to express themselves, understand their feelings and process their experiences in a way that makes sense to them.
Play Therapy uses this language as a tool to give children the opportunity to ‘play out’ their feelings and problems. This is especially helpful to children with social, emotional and behavioural problems as it equips them with regulating methods and techniques.
Coralie Hundermark has recently established The Nurture Project as part of River of Life Church, in close association with Helen Hobbs, the Children’s Pastor.
Spaces are limited and the cost is free at this stage. I believe this would beneficial for all ROL parents, especially with children under 12 years old. It helps the children and it helps the parents to be more in touch and connected with their kids. I would list the top 3 benefits as follows :
-Helps deal with the inevitable and varied stress of the pandemic
-Amazing outreach opportunity for the church to offer the wider community. Feel free to share with your friends beyond River of Life.
-So good for all children, and especially helpful in situations of ADHD, Anger, Attachment Issues, Behaviour Problems, Bereavement/Loss, Bullied/Bullies, Delayed Development, Family Relationship Problems, Lack of Confidence, Nightmares, Physical Disabilities, Separated/Divorced Parents, Social Exclusion, Withdrawn Personality.
For more information, please contact Coralie on the direct and confidential number : +263 785 684344
Family Vision Sunday
Please don’t miss this Sunday’s message. It will be accessible on Saturday evening and Sunday morning on all our platforms.
Half way into our Leaders On The Frontlines series and as we approach the end of the year with covid changes unfolding, we thought it would be good to preach a clear vision message to help keep us all on track with where we sense The Lord leading us.
Some very exciting developments and I am hoping that you will feel more engaged in God’s eternal purposes than ever before.
Access the message via ROL Whatsapp Groups, Telegram, Facebook or Instagram from Saturday evening.
See you there!
Much love
Scott
Bible Journey
Starting in January 2022, River of Life is able to offer the certificated Bible Survey Course from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary – free of charge.
GCTS is a well renowned Bible School, with Billy Graham as one of its founding influencers. It has four residential campuses in the US (Boston, Hamilton, Charlotte & Jacksonville) and teaches in five languages with a growing online presence.
The Seminary offers its Old Testament and New Testament Survey course ONLINE in a full multimedia portal called BIBLE JOURNEY.
This broad-sweeping course takes a thorough look at the text and the context of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation over a 1 year period with an estimated study time of 2.5 hrs per week (30 mins per work day). The use of video and travel has been strongly incorporated to enrich the learning experience.
The course is offered in 6 modules with 7 to 8 studies each, totalling 45 weeks of study in the year:
Pentateuch – 8 weeks
Jan – Feb
History & Poetry – 7 weeks
Mar – Apr
Prophecy & Restoration – 7 weeks
May – June
The Gospels – 8 weeks
July – Aug
Acts & Paul’s letters – 8 weeks
Sept – Oct
Epistles & Revelation – 7 weeks
Nov – Dec
If you have a desire to engage with scripture more deeply and have good internet connectivity this course is highly recommended for you.
The course has been made possible to us free of charge by special friend called Gary McDowell. Gary is one of the Board members of Gordon-Conwell and has a keen interest in developing church leaders in Southern Africa and has offered us 150 places fully sponsored. The only requirement from us would be full commitment to complete the course which has a tracking system online as you complete modules.
If you are interested in signing up for this course, your next steps are as follows:
OCTOBER
1) Send your name and email address to Tendai on the church number: 0783 910 799
2) Make sure you can commit to completing all the sessions by checking out the website and seeing the overview of the course. I would encourage you try out the free trial by filling out the form available on this link here.
NOVEMBER
1) During the 1st week of November, the ROL office will contact each person asking them to confirm if they will be able to do the full course starting on Jan 1st, 2022.
2) All confirmed names will be sent to Bible Journey by 10th November.
3) All Free Year Passes to be issued out before end of November.
DECEMBER
1) Final individual preparations to start the course on Jan 1st, 2022.
I hope this gives you a good overview of the opportunity and I really look forward to doing this journey with as many people as possible next year.
Many blessings,
Scott