"The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest."
- Matthew chapter 9, verses 37-38
Follow Jesus with us on the YouVersion Bible App
Q: Do you feel called to GO?
Do you feel God's given you a specific call to mission/ministry? Whether you call it being a missionary, apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd/pastor, teacher, disciple-maker, Christian leader, chaplain, or preacher, we'd love to know.
Why? This Sunday, we want to follow Jesus' command to pray that God will raise people amongst us to take the good news of Jesus to the world around us! Jesus told us to do this, but the first Christians also took time to gather together, fast, pray, worship and lay hands on those God called out on mission (see the book of Acts).
Whether your call is new and niggling, strong and ongoing, full-time or part-time, paid or unpaid, formal or informal, if you feel it, we'd love to PRAY FOR YOU THIS SUNDAY! Just REPLY now and let me (Dan) know.
Ahoy everyone!
Join us this Sunday 3pm at City Life as we connect, share communion and worship God in song. Please aim to arrive around 3 pm so we can hang out and start relaxed by 330.
If you really want to sing without needing to read, take some time to enjoy the new songs on the Spotify playlist.
A few weeks ago, Brad noticed a lady slowly walking along the perimeter of our gathering, apparently praying satanic curses over/towards us. It was a great reminder that even when we aren't engaging with the spiritual battle around us, others are.
In recent weeks, we've seen unexpected surgery, debilitating diagnoses, multiple car crashes, ER trips, family situations and three highly frustrating foot injuries hit inside our community. Is this coincidence or a consequence of this lady's appeal to dark, ungodly and cowardly spirits destined for destruction?
Either way, this is a great week to remind ourselves to seek and walk in God's protection for ourselves and our church family. We're not primarily in a battle for comfort, or in the midst of a culture war. As Paul reminds us, the struggles of htis world often distract us from God's bigger picture:
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." - Ephesians chapter 6, verse 12
In John 17, Jesus revealed the prayer for his followers, past and present, that reminds us to pray for each other and ourselves!
"I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one." - John chapter 17, verse 15
Given that we're encouraging each other to explore fasting this term, why not pray for protection this Wednesday or Friday and fast one meal? Alongside your own protection, why not ask God to show you a specific person or family to pray for protection over?
P.R.A.Y.
If prayer is new or you've not prayed lately, read the simple guide below on fasting, and each day you can simply pray (P.R.A.Y.) with us:
P: PAUSE to be still.
R: REJOICE with a scripture/memory; REFLECT on verses from the Bible.
A: ASK God to help yourself and others. Pray we will be "kept from the evil one".
Y: Say YES to God’s ways and what He is calling you to.
To finish, you may want to read this Psalm as a promise:
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” - Psalm chapter 91 verses 1 to 2 ESV
If you want an ancient prayer to read, I have amended one of the prayers of Sta Patrick (who we still celebrate on St Patrick's day).
He is sold himself back into slavery to bring Ireland to Jesus. This bold action to rescue people living in darkness required a bold prayer of protection. This is the prayer he is said to have written and prayed on his way to evangelise a pagan king.
Prayer of St Patrick
I arise today, through
God's strength to pilot me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength,
the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
Amen
Want to listen to this in song? Check out Rend Collective's rendition:
Much love, and see you Sunday,
Dan
Simple ways to start fasting with us
Keen to fast, but haven't started yet?
August - Fasting Phase #1
Try fasting one meal, one day/wk in August.
- Choose which meal you'll fast: breakfast, lunch or dinner.
- Choose some part of your life to give to God (concern, grief, illness, etc)
- Plan the meals on either end, so you know what's coming. For example, have a decent breakfast, and prep (or plan) your evening meal if you're fasting lunch.
September - Fasting Phase #2
Choose a day each week to fast. For 2,000 years, Christians have chosen Wednesdays and Fridays for fasting. You can bring your own sacred moment or season (sickness, grief, sin or transformation) to God on those days, but Christians often remember Christ's betrayal on Wednesdays, and his sacrificial death on Fridays.
- Choose the day in advance. Wednesday or Friday if you can't decide.
- Choose some part of your life to give to God (concern, grief, illness, etc)
- Choose your fast:
- Single meal: breakfast, lunch or dinner
- 24hrs: Dinner to dinner, lunch to lunch, breakfast to breakfast.
- Other: Sunrise to sunset, evening till 3 pm the following day. Your choice!
- OPTIONAL: Ask a friend to fast with you. Encourage + pray for each other.
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 06 Monthly Gatherings: City Life
Sep 07 EHD: "Emotionally Healthy Relationships" Ends
Sep 13 Sunday Gatherings: Home + Beach
Sep 20 Sunday Gatherings: Home + Beach
Sep 27 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 follows 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 give to personal/family needs within our church from our $5,000 Giving Kitty. Please alert us if you know someone with genuine needs that you're unable to meet out of your own resources.
Giving OUT
This term, we are encouraging our church to give to the family who visit us each year from the country where they share Jesus. We'll give to them as a church, and we encourage you to give to them too.
BSB: 923100
Account #: 37443010
REF: KyleG GIFT
Last month's giving: $11,459
Last month's expenses: $10,033
Balance: $
Giving in : Oct 23-Jul 26: $5,000
Giving out : Oct 23-Jul 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.
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