The Bible mini series and related study resources

The Bible mini series is produced by Mark Burnett

 When it fist screend on the History channel over 100 million TV viewers tuned in.   The Bible — an epic 10-part miniseries retelling stories from the Scriptures for a whole new generation. Breathtaking in scope and scale, The Bible features powerful performances, exotic locales and dazzling visual effects that breathe spectacular life into the dramatic tales of faith and courage from Genesis through Revelation. This historic television event is sure to entertain and inspire the whole family.



Official web page of the bible mini series including where to biy the dvd

Wikipedia entry...which includes comparisons to the bible text

Outreach magazine resources, including using the bible mini series for outreach

Resources from lifechurch

Book: Sticky Church by Larry Osborne

In Sticky Church, author and pastor Larry Osborne makes the case that closing the back door of your church is even more important than opening the front door wider. He offers a time-tested strategy for doing so: sermon-based small groups that dig deeper into the weekend message and tightly velcro members to the ministry. It's a strategy that enabled Osborne's congregation to grow from a handful of people to one of the larger churches in the nation---without any marketing or special programming. Sticky Church tells the inspiring story of North Coast Church's phenomenal growth and offers practical tips for launching your own sermon-based small group ministry. Topics include: Why stickiness is so important Why most of our discipleship models don't work very well Why small groups always make a church more honest and transparent What makes groups grow deeper and sticker over time Sticky Church is an ideal book for church leaders who want to start or retool their small group ministry---and velcro their congregation to the Bible and each other.

Reviews available for each chapter here

Also available from Australian Church Resources 

What is common with turn around churches

Thom Rainer interviewed pastors of turnaround churches...churches that have bucked the trend of decline...and this is what he discovered:

• They led the church to become highly intentional about starting new groups. 
• They led the church to a culture of inviting people. 
• They began new member classes. 
• They began a major community ministry. 
• They began to pray for the lost and unchurched by name. 
• The leaders began to focus less on negative people and circumstances and more on God’s possibilities.

To read his article and discover more visit here

Hymn Competition: Australian Lutheran Hymn Book

New Hymn Competition Announced  closes 31 July 2013 
As part of the ongoing Together in Song project of The Australian Hymn Book Pty Ltd, an International Hymn Competition is announced. 
Entries close 5pm Australian Eastern Standard Time 31 July 2013. 
Please distribute this announcement far and wide to any people and networks you think may be interested.

CALL FOR ENTRIES
The Australian Hymn Book Pty Ltd is delighted to announce its first international hymn competition as part of its work of gathering the finest congregational songs for its growing Together in Song collection. The competition has two entry levels, either of which may be selected by an individual competitor: General and Specific.
Level 1: General
The General Level competition is seeking texts that re-imagine Pauline theological emphases / allusions / metaphors / images, expressing them as song texts that are accessible to, and understood by, twenty-first century worshippers.
[As an historical model, note how in his hymn ‘And can it be’ (#209 in Together in Song) Wesley employed the following emphases / allusions in meaningful ways for congregations of his time: Verse 1: Col 1.19-21, Eph 1.7; Verse 2: 1 Peter 1.6-12; Verse 3: Phil 2.6-8; Verse 4: Acts 12.6-11; Verse 5: Rom 8, Phil 2.9 and 3.9, Heb 4.16, and 1 Cor 9.25]
Level 2: Specific Pauline Text(s) Focus
This competition level is planned to focus on Pauline texts, which deal with Paul's notion that believers must experience a ‘crucifixion’ or ‘death’ of their old selves, before they can be fully reconciled with God. 
The aim of this part of the competition is to elicit faith-based responses to one or other of the quoted texts. Each response will form a ‘story’.
The ‘story’ should (a) ‘unpack’ the meaning of the text and (b) convey a sense of why the text is important to the author.
Texts for Consideration:
* 1 Corinthians 2.2 *Galatians 6.14 *Romans 6.6 *Colossians 3.3
[As an historical model, Charles Wesley re-imagined Colossians 3.3 in the text of his hymn "Thou Shepherd of Israel, and mine". The Appendix includes the Text.]

for more details and information visit:  http://www.togetherinsong.org/

Church to explore: Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Para Vista

Good Shepherd Para Vista Lutheran Church is one of the largest Lutheran churches in Australia.

What they say about themselves

We are a vibrant church in the north-eastern suburbs of Adelaide, Australia, passionately seeking to take the life changing news of Jesus Christ to our community, our nation, and the world.

At Para Vista we seek to enrich those who are already disciples of Jesus Christ and to walk along side those of you who are still contemplating the Christian faith and the unique claims Jesus made.

Wherever you're at, it is our deep desire to make you feel welcome here.

They have an emphasis on:
Children, Youth and Family ministry
Parenting
Youth
Young Adults
Prayer
Outreach
Primary School

They offer a number of resources including their weekly sermon

Visit their web site http://www.paravista.org.au to discover more about Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Para Vista