We’re really amazed at how God is using RICE Regenerate to bring people together under His name & to get us all fired up & passionate to see revival in our churches & our city.

A personal testimony from someone who attended STILL: “I was reminded on the night that being still before God is to trust & rely on Him for strength & wisdom. When I get too caught up the busyness of life & especially in ministry, it is then that I rely on my own human strength & abilities. For me, being still is remembering that it is God who sustains me & reenergises me & I’m just His vessel – as if He needs me to do His work! Acknowledging this truth refocuses my heart, humbles me & helps me remember my place before Him. I was reminded at STILL how important this is if I’m going to be effective in ministry in the long run.”

We thought that while the night is still fresh in our minds that you’d love to meet again with us to mingle & chat over casual drinks & dinner at the highly anticipated Regenerate Bar Night. It would be a refreshing mid-week break away from the busyness of work & life.

DETAILS:
Slip Inn (downstairs Garden Bar)
6 May, Thursday
111 Sussex St, Sydney (map)
5.30pm-9pm (Stay as long as you like!)

Why not come along & share with us & each other what you took away from Still? – we’re sure that each one of us were moved in different ways. And if you missed out on the night, come along to find out what the buzz is about & how you can get involved with what God is doing with RICE Regenerate!

See you & your friends there!

The artist would like to share the story behind it:

“I never expected such a response towards this painting, & I’m deeply grateful that God has used me in this way to worship and glorify Him. I also want to thank Regenerate for giving me this opportunity to try something new.

I could never have created this painting without inspiration from God. For starters, ever since I was asked, I’ve been fretting about what I would draw or how I’d do it. I looked up the internet for ideas & considered just using one of them because I couldn’t come up with anything myself. I spent some time praying about it & others prayed for me as well. Up till a couple of hours before RICE Regenerate, two ideas just came to my mind within the span of 15 minutes! I was like, wow, I spent the whole week thinking about it and all of a sudden these great ideas just popped into my head! I became really excited but at the same time unsure, especially with the storm painting since I didn’t think I’d be able to paint the picture in my mind. For starters, I always spend hours, like at least 5-6 on a painting, & I’d never done speed painting before because I’m very meticulous. Secondly, I tend to use references when I paint, just cause it’s much easier & I’m not skilled enough to draw freehand. The place was pretty dark as well, and so I wasn’t sure how the colors would turn out. Last of all, I’d be painting in front of heaps of people!

But everything turned out GREAT. I had a BLAST painting & singing & worshipping, zero nervousness. It was the most fun I’d ever had painting a picture like that. When I had a chance to step back & look at my painting from a distance, it was much better than I thought. Painting up close I couldn’t really see it like that. I thought it captured the idea of being still quite nicely.

Anyways, I’m not sure if I can paint like that again. But I know that despite my doubtfulness God is great and I hope He’ll continue to use me to paint for Him because it’s something I do enjoy!”

As the artist has requested, the proceeds from this auction will go towards RICE & South Summer Youth Camp (SSYC).

If you’d like to take part in this auction, visit the Facebook event. Bidding will commence at 10am on 1st of May & end at 10am on 3rd of May. Bidding will start at $1.

Photos by Sam Koh
Music: “God of Second Chances” – Carlos Whittaker

Thank God for an amazing Spirit-filled & Word-Centered night at Still! It was wonderful to see over 300 people gathered together in Kirkplace auditorium (some sitting in seats & others on the floor) for the one purpose of praising God.

The theme rang out loud & clear throughout the night, with great music, short video clips, skit, paintings & the creative response all coming together to steer hearts toward God.  It was amazing to hear everyone sing with one voice  -

“The people behind the sound desk kept having to raise the volume of the band just to keep up with the congregation!”, commented Trevor Hodge who led the music.

Pastor Peter Ko gave a talk on Psalm 46, which challenged us to reflect on where our identities lie & what/who our idols are – whether we’re so caught up in our work or even our ministries that we’ve forgotten our place before our mighty God,  the One who can calm the fiercest storms & make wars cease. He reminded us that the only way we can be still & stop is when we remember who God is & focus our lives on the cross of Jesus. And as people responded in repentance to the message, it was so encouraging to see the creative response wall being plastered on with descriptions of who God is.

We hope that everyone who attended Still took away something from the night. It might have been an opportunity for you to refocus your life onto God. It might be that you were challenged to slow down in your work or your ministry. It might have prompted you to reflect on who/what defines you. Or you might even have responded by committing your life to God for the first time. Whatever it is that God spoke to you through the night, we hope that you would continue to talk to one another about it. We were so encouraged to see people praying together even after the formal part of the evening.

But it doesn’t just end there. Our prayer is that as we respond by aligning our hearts to God’s, that it would make an impact on every area of our lives & overflow in the way we love one another, serve in our churches & bring the wonderful news of Jesus into our city & our world.

Thank you to all who helped out in every way – it was great serving with you! But most of all, we praise our awesome & wonderful God, who so graciously put everything together & whose Spirit was at work in people’s hearts. To Him be the glory forever & ever! Amen.

In His service,

The RICE Regenerate team

If you’d like to share & encourage everyone about what you personally took away from Still, do drop us an email at regenerate@riceevent.org.au. We’d love to hear from you & may post some of your responses up on the blog (with your consent, of course)!

Due to a number of requests, we’ve posted up the songlist from Still on the ‘Songs’ tab. Enjoy!

• You can pick up your tickets at the registration desk at the Kirkplace Derby Street (map) entrance from 6:15pm. You must present your confirmation email with ticket number to collect your tickets.

• We will also be selling tickets at the registration desk from 6:15pm if people haven’t or can’t buy tickets online. The Kirkplace auditorium doors will open from 6:30pm for people to mingle, chat and find their seats, & the program will start 7:00pm sharp. So get your tickets early to avoid the last minute rush.

• If you registered at Surge conference, please wear your wristband ticket & show it to an usher on the way in. You will get to skip the queues!

Twitter & follow us on the night using #STILL2010. You can also view the lastest updates in the widget on the ‘Live Twitter’ tab.

“To him who sits on the throne & to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” Amen.

The RICE Regenerate team

Register for STILL within the next 4 days and you will be entered into the STILL promotion competition with the winner to receive a Koorong prize pack valued at over *$150!

While you’re registering online, why not check out the live video footage of “Surrender All” by Trevor Hodge recorded at Regenerate PRAISE last year?

As we get closer and closer to STILL, we hope and pray that God will use this night significantly to give us a greater view of Him, to give us comfort and assurance as His children, and above all else, to bring Him resounding praise.

* Prize pack includes Koorong Vouchers, various items from Koorong plus Trevor Hodgeʼs album, Bring You Praise. To successfully enter the competition, you will need to complete the sentence, “I am still…” on the registration page.

Competition entries close 11pm on Monday 12th April 2010. Anyone who has already registered before 9th April 2010 will automatically be entered into the competition.

Note: Transaction reference will appear as ‘Anglican Youthworks’ on your bank statement.

Contact us: riceregenerate@riceevent.org.au

How amazing that the writer of Psalm 46 can tell his hearers to “be still” in the presence of a God who can melt the earth with His voice, bring desolations upon the earth, make wars cease, break bows, shatter spears, and burn shields among many other awesome works! How is this possible?

The LORD Almighty is with them.

How much more incredible is it that we, who were once dead in our sins and destined to face the wrath of the very same God, can now stand in His presence through the blood of His Son, can now be at peace with Him, can now come before Him and be still?

Come join us as we celebrate this glorious truth with all our creative entirety, pour out our love and gratitude to Him in heartfelt praise, and take time out of our busy lives to come before Him and be still.

Online registration for Treasuring Jesus is now CLOSED. We will be selling TICKETS AT THE DOOR from 6:30pm. Get in early to avoid the rush!

Watch the highlights from last year’s RICE Regenerate night – ‘Taste and See’

RICE Regenerate 2008 Highlights from RICE Regenerate on Vimeo.

TREASURING JESUS

On the surface it’s pretty simple but for many of us these two words bring up mixed emotions. We love him, but as life unravels our lives testify that the path is hard and sometimes we need help when we stumble. Wherever you are on your journey, you are invited to spend one whole night focusing on Treasuring Jesus. It’s painfully simple but important enough to make an event of it. So come along and enjoy the soul-renewing Word of God and heartfelt worship that is on offer.

SPEAKER

AL STEWART is one of the best Bible teachers in Australia. Some of his ministry includes being pastor of University ministries and large church congregations, training ministry apprentices, being an Anglican Bishop, heading up Katoomba Christian Convention, and now directing Evangelism Ministries and starting a church planting network ‘Geneva’. Al has long been a great supporter of RICE and is passionate about Jesus and firing up our generation for Christ.

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DETAILS

Date: Saturday night, 5th December 2009

At the door tickets: Ticket sales at 6:30pm

Time: Theatre doors open at 7:00 PM (Program starts 7:30pm sharp)

Venue: Wesley Centre, 220 Pitt St Sydney

Cost: $15 (students) or $20 (standard)

This event is aimed at adults and tertiary students.

Click here to download flyer and powerpoint

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Note: If you are experiencing problems viewing the ticket page, you may be behind a corporate firewall (the problem should go away if you visit this website from home)

I Treasure Jesus more than…Competition!

Purchase your ticket before November 15 and post exactly the following text and fill in the blank on twitter or the RICE Regenerate facebook fan page (link to fan page is on ‘Stay in the Loop’ section):

@riceregenerate I Treasure Jesus more than <Blank> http://bit.ly/Y3PY8 Win Gold Class Tickets! #RRcomp

The most creative post will win 2 Gold Class movie tickets and a copy of Reason for God: Belief in the Age of Skepticism by Tim Keller. So get your entries in! We can’t wait to see who has the most creative post!

TREASURING JESUS

On the surface it’s pretty simple but for many of us these two words bring up mixed emotions. We love him, but as life unravels our lives testify that the path is hard and sometimes we need help when we stumble. Wherever you are on your journey, you are invited to spend one whole night focusing on Treasuring Jesus. It’s painfully simple but important enough to make an event of it. So come along and enjoy the soul-renewing Word of God and heartfelt worship that is on offer.

SPEAKER

AL STEWART is one of the best Bible teachers in Australia. Some of his ministry includes being pastor of University ministries and large church congregations, training ministry apprentices, being an Anglican Bishop, heading up Katoomba Christian Convention, and now directing Evangelism Ministries and starting a church planting network ‘Geneva’. Al has long been a great supporter of RICE and is passionate about Jesus and firing up our generation for Christ.

.

DETAILS

Date: Saturday night, 5th December 2009

Time: Doors open at 7:00 PM

Venue: Wesley Centre, 220 Pitt St Sydney

Cost: $15 (students) or $20 (standard)

This event is aimed at adults and tertiary students.

Click here to download flyer and powerpoint

.

Note: If you are experiencing problems viewing the ticket page, you may be behind a corporate firewall (the problem should go away if you visit this website from home)