"To them God chose to make known...the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
Colossians 1:27
It was fantastic to meet, worship and pray together on Sunday.
If you felt God guide you in prayer for yourself or those in our church, please REPLY now and let me know!
On Sunday I heard a number of people saying how flat/tired they were feeling. Young Lachlan described it as, “Most people I talk to are totally cooked!”
I felt it too :) At this point in the year we hope to have a bit more juice in the tank.
But life has a way of surprising us with its demands. Schedules increasingly busy, a cyclone is coming and study + work demands are fully realised.
However, each of us carry our own burdens too. This month three of our church families have lost their dads. Tanya O'Sullivan's dad, Aimee Hill's dad and, on Sunday night, Ben Welsh's dad also passed.
Despite our modern protections from natural disasters, seasons like this remind us that life truly is fragile and reality can be incredibly challenging.
Please remember to consider these families and uphold them in prayer.
As I reflected on all this, Lachie's description of feeling, "cooked", made me consider where God is at work in seasons like this. From my perspective as a meat-lover, meat is at it's best when it's "cooked". From the meats perspective, the tenderisation process is brutal. From my perspective, the tenderisation process is essential. Unless the meat is "cooked", a good steak has potential, but not useful.
As I reflected on many of us feeling this way, I imagined a slow cooked stew full of tender beef, carrot, garlic, onion, potato and more. If you've ever come home to a pot full of that kind of goodness, you know how appetising it is! All the ingredients being tenderised together creates something beautiful.
This is what I hope for our church in this season - and even this week of uncertainty. Together, as we are tenderised by life, God will create something beautiful in our midst. While we may resist the challenges of life, God is using them to tenderise us. To bring us to what He considers, our greatest potential in him.
This week I was listening to Colossians and chapter 1 verse 27 stood out to me, "To them God chose to make known...the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Paul says that the great mystery of God is that Christ dwells in us.
He is in us in our moments of victory and defeat, worship and prayer, gatherings and silence, sunsets and cyclone, and yes, tragedy and heartache.
Today, take time to remind yourself that the greatest mystery and wonder of all is that Christ lives in you and I, and all of us together.
To embrace this truth tangibly, focus in on our key rhythm of, "Getting to know Jesus". You can start reading about Jesus in the gospels, ask a friend for guidance help, join us on Sundays, learn to pray or join our EHD course in Term 2 to learn how to develop deep roots with Jesus.
Cheers, God Bless and - weather permitting - we will see you Sunday!
Dan
P.S. Any last-minute changes to our gatherings will be communicated by SMS. If you would like to be included in our SMS updates, REPLY now with your phone number
Coming Up
March
Sun 09 Mar - Beach Gathering at Moffats Sun 16 Mar - Beach Gathering at Moffats - Baptism Sun 23 Mar - Beach Gathering at Moffats Sun 30 Mar - Beach Gathering at Moffats
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: $10,217
Last month's expenses: $12,340
Balance: $81,209
Giving Kitty Oct 23- Feb 25: $5,000
Giving out Oct 23-Feb 25: $8,886
"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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