Post-Preaching Pleasure - Ps Paul Grant

I was sent this poem by Ps Paul Grant this AM.

He obviously had a great time preaching yesterday AM - and came up with poem straight after.

I am feeling a little different this AM. They say for some preachers the morning after can be a bit tricky.

Anyway, over to you Paul to inspire us!

An inner incandescence
Emitting both heat and light,
Glows and grows and overflows
Bringing unique delight

Preaching under God’s anointing
Instils a special euphoria,
Unmatched by natural pleasures
It’s a kind of Divine insignia

An imprint of distinction,
Of rare and precious worth,
A sensation of elevation
To blessings beyond this earth

Disciplined preparation
Is its required collateral,
Under the Spirit’s tutoring
A process that is Scriptural

Anointed preparation and preaching
Is a route to heaven-sent bliss,
The messenger becomes the message
And the hearers receive God’s kiss

But the preacher must be alert
To the presence of a snare,
If not watchful he may assume
That preaching is a flair

That the gift is cultivated
By developing a skill,
That the blessing of anointing
Is contingent on his will

Not so! The will must surrender
To revealings of the Spirit,
To power that is beyond the range
Of any human merit

Post-preaching pleasure
Of a kind from God’s great throne
Is not a reward that we can earn
But is given by grace alone

Paul E. Grant June 2009

When God Calls - Paul Grant

Ps Paul Grant wrote this great poem and inspired us with it at today's Build our House session. It is titled, "When God Calls."

God’s call will mean the death of you
All that you have been or known,
Brought under his scrutiny and review
To be exclusively his own

Peter, in his pre-Jesus time
Did whatever he wanted[1],
When confronted by this call sublime
He renounced self-rule and yielded

Culture says, ‘Fulfil your full potential’,
But to die to one’s ambition
Is the very heart of Jesus’ Gospel
And participation in his mission

The indwelling fulness of Christ in you
Means a rendezvous with dying;
Death to who you are or want to do
God’s road to biblical living

Jesus’ demand comes with the cost
Of self-abandonment,
Therefore, drop dead, get lost!
He brings his very own management

God’s call means life through death
The Calvary code is the key,
To follow, serve and receive the breath
Of the Holy Spirit’s energy

Not my will; into your hands,
Was the life Jesus lived with the Father,
And that is the way that Jesus plans
For those who would go with him further

When God calls a man he bids him come and die[2]
Is the essence of Jesus’ demands,
Submitting to this we identify
And from there we fulfil his commands

Paul E. Grant
October 2006

[1] John 21:18
[2] Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Build Our House Reflections

We had another great Build our House session this morning. This is one of my favourite quarterly times in our church. Meeting with our faithful and dedicated "builders" is awesome.

Here is Tracy "unpacking" UNLEASHED! for us in part of session 1.

I really enjoyed the ministry of Ps Paul Grant. Powerful stuff.


Here is what one of the attendees emailed tonight:


BOH = WOW

What a fantastic day of connection & learning & leadership & pastoring today at the first "Build Our House" session for 2009.

Excellent too to see such a great role up of people willing to commit some additional time to the house & get ready for what God has in store for us in this year of "Unleashed".

We were particularly blessed to be mentored & equipped by a seasoned pastor in Ps Paul Grant & his wife Dulcie. What excellent role models of living the life you were meant to live. Ps Paul was seeping wisdom, understanding & Holy Spirit. I am sure that each person present was ministered to in some special way & especially after his address when we had a very real sense of God's presence as many were individually prayed for & blessed.

I figure that we have now caught a greater part of God's Vision for us at Westlife for 2009. However, the last word should be given by Ps Paul from his leadership notes (thanks Ps Paul):

"Once Caught, No Escape" The call and will of God insist upon unconditional surrender of the heart, will, mind and body of each believer. For those called to lead it is a sacred entrustment for which we will be accountable (1Cor 3:10-23).


As he closed he read out this poem that he had written called "When God Calls."


You can find the poem here. Inspiring stuff!

And you can download Ps Paul's leadership notes here.

Also enjoyed The 4 Wise Men - you can check them out here.

Build Our House - Leadership Notes for Download

Ps Paul Grant did us a big favour at Build our House today by giving us a set of notes about leadership, God's call etc.

If you missed the printed copy you can download a set here.

Thanks Paul!!

PS - you can email "thanks" to Paul here - pauldulcieg@powerup.com.au

Build Our House - with Paul Grant

I am really looking forward to the next Build our House.
One of the things that is happening is Ps Paul Grant will be coming for half an hour.

Paul has a real special place in my heart.
I first met him in 1988 I think. He was the new Principal at Garden City School of Ministries.

We have journeyed together since then in various capacities and relationship facets. One really special season was when I had Paul for a theology lecturer for 2 years (4 semesters, 4 subjects).

Here are some excerpts from a recent email from Paul. He did this poem called "OUR 2008 REAR-VISION MIRROR - Pondering and Wondering - Reflecting and Revising" about him and Dulcie.

.............................

Our ages at eighty two and seventy eight
Were stepping stones taking us forward,
Ageing is not a problem we choose to debate
But rather a process taking us onward

..............................

Ageing has released for me
New ways of knowing and thinking,
Two thousand and eight was a treasury
Of prayer, reading, and poetry

Perhaps our most significant item
Under God’s unfailing care,
Has been a particular gem
Joint Bible reading and prayer

Nearing fifty nine years of marriage
Each day’s devotions are a lubricant,
Sustained by hope and courage,
An ornament and testament
.......................

Wow!!

See you at 8.55am on Saturday 31 January 2009.