Greenhouse Church Long Jetty

5. DNA: Tradition & Progress (Benj Gould)

What makes Greenhouse Greenhouse-y? This is the last of our 5 value statements.

4. DNA: Arrows, Not Lines (Benj Gould)

What makes Greenhouse Greenhouse-y?

3. DNA: Open Hands (Benj Gould)

What makes Greenhouse, Greenhouse-y?

2. DNA: Down To Earth Spirituality (Benj Gould)

1.DNA: All The Jesus Stuff (Benj Gould)

What makes Greenhouse, Greenhouse? In this series we explore the core values that make up our DNA.

#1 - ALL THE JESUS STUFF

We want to follow the whole way of Jesus. We want the teachings of Jesus and the miracles of Jesus. The communal life of Jesus and the inner life of Jesus. The Fruit of the Spirit and the Gifts of the Spirit. We want to do all the Jesus stuff.

 

#2 - DOWN TO EARTH SPIRITUALITY

We believe our spirituality should not be a performance. We don’t want to wear masks* and we don’t want to take ourselves too seriously. We’re interested in an honest faith that works in real life.

 

#3 - OPEN HANDS

We stand with hands open ready to receive from God, but never clinging to what is given. We welcome new people in, and we freely send people out. We cook meals for one another, we care for those doing it tough, and we freely resource kingdom work. We are blessed to be a blessing.

 

#4 - ARROWS NOT LINES

All our actions and beliefs are arrows that direct us towards or away from Jesus, rather than boundary lines that tell us who is in and who is out. No one is too far away to turn to him. Jesus alone is the centre of our faith. All our traditions, doctrines, and practices must bend the knee to King Jesus. 

 

#5 - TRADITION AND PROGRESS

We want to translate our ancient faith into a modern world. We want to draw on the best of all streams of Christianity. We are not afraid to create and innovate, but we are also not afraid to stay within the simple bounds of tradition. We find vibrant life in the tension. 

To Be Friends With Jesus (Benj Gould)

Stages Of Faith (Benj Gould)

What Is Baptism? (Benj Gould)

A look at the sacrament of baptism. A public change of status. Feel free to reach out if you're interested in getting baptised.

2. Luke 16: Parable of Rich Man & Lazarus (Benj Gould)

LUKE 16:19-31

¹⁹ Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury. ²⁰ At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. ²¹ As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.

²² “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet.^[e] The rich man also died and was buried, ²³ and he went to the place of the dead.^[f] There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.

²⁴ “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’

²⁵ “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. ²⁶ And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’

²⁷ “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. ²⁸ For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’

²⁹ “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’

³⁰ “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’

³¹ “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

1. Luke 16: The Parable of the Shrewd Manager (Joseph Newman)

Luke 16:1-13

Jesus told this story to his disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money. ² So the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’

³ “The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg. ⁴ Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’

⁵ “So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’ ⁶ The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons.^[a]’

⁷ “‘And how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man. ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels.^[b]’

⁸ “The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light. ⁹ Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.^[c]

¹⁰ “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. ¹¹ And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? ¹² And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?

¹³ “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”