We had a possible all time high at New Years Eve, 32 people joining us for the party at our little apartment!
Some highlights:
Hearing people's best memories and looking forward to 2014 together.
Playing silly family games like pass the parcel or the chocolate game, (where you compete to dress up and stuff yourself with a huge chocolate bar)
An abundance of good food and lots of sweet kids.
Daniel has gone on a total sweets fast for 2014 (I call him the sweets scrooge),
and here are some of my own New Years thoughts:
1. more sewing
2. cleaner eating
3. better devotional life
4. Bible memorization again
And while I'm at it, this is a perfect chance to point out some of the historical theological points of interest from our neck of the woods: 1. Let's start with this statue, in memory of some of the first baptist "believer's baptisms" that took part against the law in Vallersvik (see below for more details). Imagine those first Baptists, voluntarily jumping in a VERY cold sea (late September) to be baptized, ready to count the cost....
2. Here is the site where those newly baptized went, that same day in 1848, to recieve teaching, have their first communion, and make F.O. Nilsson a deacon. Borekulla stugan was used for a long time as the place of the first Baptist church services.
The sea and beach are just to the right...
Daniel as tour guide...
And now some photos from GIBK's summer conference with Voddie Baucham. GIBK, the little church plant that would grow similarly with F.O. Nilsson in the solidly biblical Swedish Baptist church that existed back in the 1800's.
Lots of discussion...
Stuart, the expert bookseller.
Voddie's spanish came in useful in Sweden too!
A portion of the group at the conference.
Historical Details: 1.http://www.pietisten.org/xxvi/1/nilsson.html "...The following year, Nilsson invited the Danish Baptist pastor A.P. Förster to his native province of Halland, where Förster baptized Nilsson’s wife, two of his brothers, and two other men in the sea at Vallersvik on September 21, 1848. Förster quietly returned to Denmark, leaving the six Swedes to organize their country’s first Baptist congregation. Nilsson would soon make a trip to Hamburg to be formally ordained as a Baptist minister. By the spring of 1849, the little Swedish Baptist church had 35 members. The following year, Nilsson encountered the aforementioned mob and subsequently was tried and sentenced to banishment for spreading false dogma. In 1851, he applied directly to the king for mercy, but King Oscar I would not lift the sentence. Nilsson went to Copenhagen in exile. Given his numerous international connections, it is perhaps not surprising that Nilsson’s banishment received international press attention, much of it brimming with criticism of the Swedish government."
Contact us at daniel.noren@gibk.se if you would like to come as Gothenburg International Baptist Church hosts Voddie Baucham for a two day conference, July 27 - 28, 2013.
Let's take a look at another hymn from our church's songbook... do you start to see a theme here? The focus of worship should be just what the word worship implies: it's all about God, and not about us!
And even better, this is a direct citation of the Bible....Psalm 118:14, "TheLordis my strength and my song; he has become my salvation"
This is a bit of an old fashioned version of the song, but we truly enjoy having this song in our worship book!
E A
Herren är min starkhet E H E
Och min lovsång E A
Herren är min starkhet E H E
Och min lovsång E A
Han blev mig till frälsning H A E
Han blev mig till frälsning E A
Herren är min starkhet E H E
Och min lovsång.
Nu kan vi kolla på en till lovsång från våran kyrkans sånghäfte. Börja du ser ett tema här? Fokusen av lovsånger ska bli just vad ordet betyder: Det är Gud som är viktig och inte oss! Och även bättre, den sång citerar direkt från Psaltaren 118:14. Musik klippen är ett gammal version av sången, men vi gillar den lovsång i häftet!
...many people (myself included) can be attracted to something with a nice tune. But, as another blog has mentioned, "bad lyrics make bad theology!"
But isn't it the words, the things we are saying to God, that really are important?
Another comment from the same blog, "I would argue that one problem is that most church-goers do little if any thinking about the music they sing."
In terms of worship songs with good texts, it is usually the OLDIES and the CLASSICS that have sound and solid wording.
Here is a great exception. Chris Tomlin, born in 1972, published this song in 2004! New AND good!
It was translated to Swedish, and has a fantastic message. (see below).
What's so nice about this song? Total focus on God. It makes Him greater and we are truly in our rightful place, in wonder of our God and singing his praises.
The focus is not on us, but on God, where it should be.
Så stor är vår Gud
G
(capo 2)
G Em7
Vår
Konungs majestät, klädd i härlighet,
C
Må
jorden glädja sig, jorden glädja sig
G Em7
I
ljus som sveper sig, och mörkret gömmer sig
C
Och
skälver sig för Hans röst, skälver sig för Hans röst
Chorus:
G Dsus/F# Em7
Så
stor är vår Gud, sjung med mig så stor är vår Gud
Dsus/F#
C2 Dsus G
Och
alla skall se; hur stor Gud är
G Em7
I
evighet Han är, och våra liv Han bär,
C
I
sin starka hand, i sin starka hand
G Em7
Helig
treenighet, Fader, Ande, Son,
C
Stark
i ödmjukhet, stark i ödmjukhet
Bridge:
G Dsus/F#
Hans
namn står över allt,
Em7 Dsus/F#
Värdig
allt vårt lov,
C Dsus G
Vi
ropar ut vår Gud, Han är stor (2X)
G Dsus/F#
How great is our God, sing with me,
Em7
How great is our God,
Dsus/F# C2 Dsus G
All will see, How great, how great is our God.
Nu ska vi kolla lite på våran kyrkans sånghäfte.
Många, (mig inkluderat) kan lockas av en sång med en fin låt. Men, som en annan blogg sa, "dålig text gör dålig teologi!"
Är det inte texten själv, det som vi säger till Gud, som är verkligen viktigt?
En annan kommentar från samma blogg, (översatt till Svenska av mig), "Jag skulle säga att en problem som många som gå till kyrkan gör är att de tänker för liten på vad de säger när de sjunger något."
När det gäller lovsånger med bra text, så är det vanligtvis de gamla och klassiker som har bra ord or Bibelgrundat text.
MEN, här är en bra ny låt av Chris Tomlin. Han föddes 1972, och kom ut med den låt i 2004! Ny och bra!
Den har oversätts till Svenska och har en underbar budskap. (ser texten ovanpå)
Vad är så bra med just den låt? Den fokusera helt på Gud. Den gör Gud större och vi är i rätt plats, när vi står i under på Gud och hyllar honom.
Fokusen är inte på oss, utan på Gud, där det ska var.
Blogging about my kids and their funny practices is...well, fun. But I am actually living and passionate about something much more important. And I am given a gift every day, to be part of a church plant that seeks to be biblically solid.
So, it's time to start blogging a bit more about what's going on in our little church here in Gothenburg; especially regarding things that are useful for building us up as believers in Sweden and Scandinavia.
Why? Titus 1:9, "He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it." 1 Thess. 5:11, "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
A few possible points to discuss....
1. What have I been learning, from sermons, Bible studies, and other get togethers.
2. What are we singing, and why did we choose to sing that?
3. What are we women learning through our new little kids sunday school program?
4. What has happened that we can take to grow from?
5. What is significant or special about this little church, especially in a climate like Sweden?
We'll just see where this goes... Det är roligt att skriva en blogg om min barn och alla deras roligheter. Men jag brinner för något mycket mer viktigt. Jag får en gåva varje dag, att var en del av en liten ny kyrka som vill blir grundat i Bibeln.
Så, nu ska jag kanske blogga lite mer om allt som händer i våran liten kyrka här i Göteborg. Speciellt när det gäller grejer som är användbar för oss som troende i Sverige och Skandinavien. Varför? Titusbrevet 1:9, Han skall hålla sig till lärans tillförlitliga ord, så att han genom en sund undervisning kan uppmuntra andra och vederlägga motståndarna. 1 Thess 5:7, Uppmuntra därför varandra och uppbygg varandra, så som ni redan gör. Några möjliga punkter att prata om- 1. Vad lära vi från predikningar, Bibelstudier, och andra mötena. 2. Vad sjunger vi och värför sjunger vi just de låtarna. 3. Vad lära vi oss som kvinnor som ta hand om barn programmet? 4. Vad har hänt så länge som vi kan lära från? 5. Vad är speciellt med den lilla kyrka, speciellt i Sverige? Vi ska se vart den ta vägen....
Last year we had the joy of seeing our dear brother Omid get baptized...the water was frozen on the other side of the lake, lots of friends and his family were there to watch. Even if you can't understand Swedish, you can skip to the last minute or two of this film....it is moving.
A few photos from the baptism...(look at our clothes and you can see how cold it was!)
Summertime has given us an unexpected joy; having our church services out at the nearby lake!
The building we usually rent is closed all summer, so we get to bask in the beauty of God's creation and worship God.
For Lydia this is a great temptation...how can you come to such a sweet lake and not be able to play in the water the whole time?! But she sure does enjoy playing with her other little church friends there.
Ahhh, the beauty and the sweet fellowship.
Sommar ger oss en ovantad glädje, att har Gudstjänst utomhus vid sjön!
Lokalen som vi brukar hyra är stangt, så får vi njuta av Guds skapelse och lovsjunger honom dar ute istället.
Det är en stor frestelse för Lydia...hur kan man kom till en så fint sjön och inte leka i vattnet hela tiden??!
Men hon gillar verkligen att leka men hennes kyrk-kompisar.
Ahhh, vilket finhet och fina vänner.
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
Markus had a baby dedication at our church last Sunday; for some reason Lydia felt especially snuggly with her little brother throughout the prayer time, and most of the pictures came out with her holding his hand, leaning over towards him, etc. While everyone else was praying, Markus decided to raise his hands too...hallelujah! One more photo of Lydia trying to snuggle with her little brother during the dedication.
Saturday, 25 February 2012
We are in a whole new chapter of life here in Sweden, with a church plant that is just up and running! Here is Daniel, about to have a child dedication for some of our dear friends.
We are still adjusting to the details of having a church, including the fika (coffee time) aftewards, the loosely structured nursery, and so forth, but all in all it is so encouraging.
Lets just say we have a lot of wee kids, and it is both a blessing and a challenge to know what the best way of having them involved in the church service is!
We have a webpage (in Swedish) that is up and running as well, http://gibk.se and it is cool to see things progress.
Of course Daniel and I have totally different things to think about when it comes to church planting, but look for updates here about the nursery and what we do with that!
Vi börjar med ett helt nytt kapital i livet har i Sverige, med en kyrkoplanteringen som är nu aktuellt!
Har är Daniel, som ska välsigne bebisen till våran nära kompisar.
Vi måste fortfarande kolla på lite detaljer när det gäller kyrkomötet, tex fika tid, barn passning, osv, men överhuvudtaget det är jätte uppmantrasom för oss!
Vi har många piteliten barn, och det är både en gåva och en utmaning att vet vad är den bästa sätt att involvera de i kyrkan.
Vi har en hemsida som är också opp och funkar bra, gibk.se och det är kul att ser hur allt går vidare.
Själv klart, så har jag och Daniel olika grejer att tankar på när det gäller en ny kyrka, men kolla vidare för uppdatering om hur det går med barnpassning på en viss-biblisk sätt!
What's so nice about this song? Total focus on God. It makes Him greater and we are truly in our rightful place, in wonder of our God and singing his praises. 
While everyone else was praying, Markus decided to raise his hands too...hallelujah!
One more photo of Lydia trying to snuggle with her little brother during the dedication. 
Lets just say we have a lot of wee kids, and it is both a blessing and a challenge to know what the best way of having them involved in the church service is!
