“The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.”
- Psalm chapter 121, verse 8
Follow Jesus with us this week on the the Bible App; Set Open Road as 'My Church' to get updates.
Ahoy Church!
Coming out of two additional serious car accidents involving our young adults this week, we are going to remind ourselves to continue to pray for those around us.
God has been so faithful in highlighting some of these issues, calling us to pray - even in very specific ways for road safety. Praise be to God for his preservation and protection.
For those who want to gather to worship God and pray over our church, the Young Adults have invited us to join them 630pm this Saturday night! Details are below.
Why not take time today to stop and start building a new habit of praying for the Lord’s protection upon our "going out and our coming in"?
- You can pray this for yourself.
- You can pray for your housemates, friends or workmates.
- Parents can pray over their children, even anointing them with oil.
- Aunties, Uncles, Grandparents can pray for their nieces, nephews or grandchildren.
Psalm 121 is part of a “Song of Ascents” that emphasises God’s constant protection over a person’s entire life. The Hebrew idiom “going out and coming in” ("as you come and go" in plainer English) refers to our daily activities and life in general.
“The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.” - Psalms 121:8 NLT
Praying scriptures like this over ourselves and our household (the family and loved ones we are with) isn't magic. Rather, it's a declaration to the powers of who we belong to. It's an affirmation of our trust in God, his goodness, and his spiritual messengers (angels, etc) to protect us. It's a statement that we are reliant on him, not ourselves or fate, to sustain our being.
One reason some of us may hesitate to pray these promises is that we don't feel worthy of them. Our sin or doubt can falsely lead us to conclude that these prayers are for followers "better than" us. If you know God and/or have read the Bible, you'll know this is not a Christian way of thinking.
When you are stuck in sin or low faith, you may hope that all you have to do is sheepishly whisper or mumble a prayer and everything will be fine. However, God doesn't expect us to face life or opposition in shame or hiding.
In Colossians chapter 2, verses 13 to 15, the Apostle Paul is encouraging us to face the powers of darkness in the world from a place of strength, not weakness; forgiveness, not fault:
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
For those who've put their faith in Jesus, he says:
- We've been made alive in God, forgiven of our trespasses; our debts have been cancelled.
- God has disarmed the rulers and authorities.
- God's put them to shame by triumphing over those who seek to harm his people.
So, from this place of forgiveness and victory, would you begin to pray more regularly (daily!?) for those around you?
Do you have a prayer you already pray? If so, hit REPLY and let me know now.
If you want to start right now, read from Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 to 18, as a prayer:
The Whole Armor of God
"10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, - Ephesians 6:10-18
Much love, and see you Sunday,
Dan
Worship and Prayer Gathering
Join the YA's as they worship together and pray for continued protection over our church and loved ones. Sav + Maessi have set up a Spotify playlist of Battle Songs for us to be encouraged by wherever we are!
Date: Saturday 12th Sept, 2026
Time: From 630pm. Come and go as you need.
Location: Golden Beach (hit REPLY to get the address)
Coming Up
September - 9am [Home] + 3pm [Moffat]
Mondays - Young Adults - Marcello + Mariela 0428 986 423
Fridays - 6am Men's Prayer - Fred 0431 437 080
Sep 12 Worship Gathering: 630pm @ The Hills' (Golden Beach)
Sep 13 Sunday Gatherings: Home + Beach
Sep 20 Sunday Gatherings: Home + Beach
Sep 27 Sunday Gatherings: Home + Beach
October - Home + Moffat
Mondays - Young Adults - Marcello + Mariela 0428 986 423
Fridays - 6am Men's Prayer - Fred 0431 437 080
Oct 04 Home Church; Beach BBQ + Communion: BYO/Share
Oct 11 Sunday Gatherings: Home + Beach Baptisms
Oct 18 Sunday Gatherings: Home + Beach
Oct 25 Sunday Gatherings: Home + Beach
Our Mission
To help people find and follow Jesus.
Our Vision
Fully Alive through faith in Jesus. To see this vision come to life, we developed FAM, our Fully Alive Model. Ideally, you can work through FAM with someone else.
Our Rhythms
Get to Know Jesus: how are you getting to know Jesus this week?
Invite people into your life: who can you intentionally open up your life to?
Gather and get involved: who can you connect, listen, share, or pray with this weekend?
Giving Up, In, and Out
Our church encourages people to set aside money each week/month to meet the needs of our church, community and beyond. We follow the same simple pattern of giving that we encourage each other individually: UP, IN, and OUT.
Giving UP
As a church, we give 2.5% to our denomination to support what's happening in churches like ours statewide and show appreciation for all the support they provide. We encourage each follower to consider giving "up" to support their local church - in this case, ours :)
Giving IN
We encourage you to be alert for personal/family needs within our church. If you know someone with genuine needs that you can't meet yourself, please REPLY now.
Giving OUT
We encourage people to be generous not just in/around our church family, but also to those serving beyond us.
One of the groups we've known for some time is Chris and Emma Poulsen, who have planted a new church in the suburb of Walkervale, Bundaberg.
After starting a neighbourhood BBQ that grew to a packed-out, post-snag Bible Study at their house, they have settled into weekly Sunday gatherings and have seen many people loved, supported and come to faith in Jesus.
They are wonderful Jesus-people and are reaching a community that few have been able to in recent decades.
If you are able to support them financially, you can donate regularly or once-off:
Walkervale Church Ltd
BSB: 124075
ACC: 23489155
If you would like to stay up-to-date with their journey, please email Chris > updates@walkervalechurch.org
Last month's giving: $10,061
Last month's expenses: $15,288
Balance: $64,430
Giving in : Oct 23-Aug 26: $5,000
Giving out : Oct 23-Aug 26: $20,293
"Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed." - Proverbs 19:17
If you would like to support what we are doing and our giving to those in need, you can get started giving to Open Road to meet the needs of our church or get in touch with any questions you may have.
Keen to know more?
Subscribe: At the bottom of every page you can subscribe to our newsletter.
Updates: View a list of all our weekly updates.
