"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done."
- Philippians 4:6
G'Day All,
Last Sunday it was so wonderful to not only take time to pray for each other (more on that later), but especially to celebrate Emerald's baptism!
If you want to hear something just as exciting, ask about the supernatural gift she received from God as she was immersed in God's great ocean! Such a beautiful story!
Embracing prayer as 'normal'
Last Sunday it was great to experiment with each of us sharing (as we felt comfortable) the needs in our life to pray for. I was thrilled to see so many sharing and praying for each other as we sat on the grass! We will do this regularly and leave more time (5 minutes?) for us to connect, share and then pray for the needs in our lives.
But...what about those of us who've never prayed before?
Or, maybe you do pray, but have never prayed out loud or with someone else?
Fortunately, prayer is something that can be learnt from those around us. Not only do we have many prayers in the Bible and church history, but as we gather on the beach, in the park or mountains, we can learn to pray by listening to others pray!
I believe that as we pray for each other, learn from each other, celebrate God's answers and enjoy his presence prayer will become increasingly normal.
Two Prayers: one for you, one for "us"
In the first week of June the group of churches we are a part of, Queensland Baptists, are encouraging each church to spend time praying for the needs in our life, community and state.
We will join this prayer project at our worship night on Sunday, June 2nd, where we'll encourage each other to pray two prayers for the week.
Firstly, we will consider one deep need in your life to request God meet. Your life matters. Your needs matter! So we will bring them before God in prayer.
Secondly, we will request that God guide us as a church as we seek to follow his lead. As we experience some limitations (hard to hear on the beach!) we want to be attentive to any change God may be leading us to.
Finally, on Tuesday, June 4th, we will pray from 7:00 to 8:00 with other QLD Baptist churches for the needs of our communities far and wide. We will also take time to pray for the needs in our personal lives!
Remember, the scripture at the top of this email, "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done." (Philippians 4:6) It's not just a suggestion, but a direction from God!
Dan
Worship, Sunday June 2nd @ Maleny
Our worship night is back on the first Sunday of next month. Join us as we share communion, worship and pray together!
As with this Sunday's experiment, we will aim to avoid printing handouts and provide a link that will load the lyrics on our phones. If this is problematic for you, let me know by hitting REPLY ASAP so that we can accommodate your needs as best we can 😄
An experiment in simplicity this Sunday
In a simple experiment, this Sunday I'd love you to bring either a Bible or your phone with a Bible App (www.bible.com is the simplest!). Last night some of us met to discuss how we can (a) minimise the midweek 'jobs' for Open Road and (b) re-affirm the importance of each of us practicing opening up our own Bibles (physical or digital). So, we will experiment and see if (a) it saves us a bit of time printing the handouts, (b) we are reminded we can easily read God's Word on the go, every day of our lives and (c) there is no significant negative impact.
Giving Kitty Update / Reminder
Please be encouraged that regularly, sometimes every week, we are meeting needs within our community. While some are in our congregation, they are almost always people in your life that God has prompted you to help.
This week we met a small medical bill for someone within our community. We were also stoked to meet a significant need for a young man in the broader community!
Please continue to seek to meet the needs of those around you, and when you do not have the resources to help, reach out to see if our Giving Kitty can help!?
Coming Up
May
Sun 26 May 3pm Moffat Gathering
June
Sun 02 June 3pm Worship Gathering - Bob's Farm, North Maleny
Sun 09 June 3pm Moffat Gathering
Sun 16 June 3pm Moffat Gathering - Jersey's baptism!
Sun 23 June 3pm Moffat Gathering
Sun 30 June 3pm Moffat Gathering
Our Mission
To help people find and follow Jesus.
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?
Our Giving
We are slowly being led to needs for our giving kitty! Please take time to ask God if there is someone in need around you whom God wants you/us to help!
Last month's giving: $16,285
Last month's expenses: $9,189
Balance: $46,824
Giving Kitty Oct-Mar: $5,000
Giving out Oct-Mar: $2,280
"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 with giving to Open Road to meet needs as a church or get in touch with any questions you may have.
BONUS: The Blood
[Sharing again, in case you missed it]
If you want to know how we get access to everything that Jesus promises, this song (recommended by Dan Hill - thanks mate!) outlines that it's only possible through the blood of Jesus Christ. It may sound archaic, unnecessary and primal, but it is the foundational message of Jesus himself.
Keen to know more?
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