Thanks to so many gathering to worship God together and witness nine child dedications on Sunday!
After witnessing the joy of the dedications and meeting a number of generations (even great-grandparents!) I couldn't help but contemplate the power of what Christians call a, "godly heritage" (Psalm 127:3-4), multiple generations of people who find and follow Jesus personally.
As mentioned on Sunday, I'm strongly encouraging you all to begin reading the gospel of Luke regularly (daily if you are willing) in August. This morning, as I began to read along myself, I ran into one of my favourite Scriptures in Luke 1:16-18 where we are told that John the Baptist's was prophesied to go ahead of Jesus to, "...turn the hearts of the fathers to the children..."
While not all of us will marry or have children, we are all aware of the power of a parent whose heart is turned towards their child.
It's entirely possible to conceive and bear a child but choose not to father or mother them.
Further more, we can physically raise our children without investing into their spiritual lives. Sunday was a reminder that we have five families who are publicly acknowledging their desire and intention to have their hearts turned towards their children.
We know this isn't an impossible task, becase a number of these parents had parents, grandparents and great-grandparents in the room who had been praying for decades that this would be the case.
The presence of these faithful people reminded me that our perspective on not just family, but also church, needs to be long-term. While it's important to gather each week in loving obedience to God, the goal is that in the years and decades to come we might see the next generation finding their own unique expression of love and faith in the same wonderful God.
While every step in a journey is necessary, the goal is the destination.
Sunday was a reminder that as a church we are a bit 'wild and free'. We are like a teenager trying to find their path. Even something as simple as eating before our church gathering threw a lot of our guests out! Having kids run around worshipping with streamers isn't "normal" in most churches. Meeting inside was so good for our dedications, but I still went home looking forward to sitting on the milk crate by the beach next Sunday :)
While God has led us to a joyous simplicity, we're still figuring out what that will look like as we mature.
While we will keep actively seeking God's direction, experimenting, adventuring and learning, the truth is our church is like a teenager discovering who God has made them to be. Like any teen, we'll get a few things wrong, but this is just part of God's maturing process! Let's enjoy this beautiful season, continue to love God + others and keep our eyes open for who God has, and is, shaping us to become!
Whatever the details of this process, I believe Sunday was God's encouragement to keep our goal clear - future generations that will find and follow Jesus through our faithful love for God over the years and decades to come.
Providing we can do this, I'm believing that one day Martine and I will be sitting halfway back in a local auditorium, tent, park or (heaven forbid) virtual-reality church, watching young parents ask for God's blessing on their life and family.
Cheers, God Bless and please continue praying that God will show us his way forward,
Dan
Want to get baptised?
On Sunday 20th August we are making space for baptisms! We have one or two of our church family keen, so if you're interested let us know.
You can watch/read some basic info on baptism at www.openroad.church/baptism or call Dan and have a chat or ask some questions, 0402 301 568.
Prayer
As we shared last week, we want to be asking God to speak to us on a number of topics:
- Rhythms: how will we foster our simple rhythms (know, invite, gather)?
- Elders: how will we structure our long-term leadership and who will be on the team.
- Generosity: how would God have us become the generous individuals and church he's called us to.
- Future: how and where will we continue to gather including our location.
If you'd like to join with others in prayer, chat to Fred on Sunday about his men's prayer group that meets 6am every Friday in Dicky Beach!
If you can't find him Sunday call Fred on 0431 437 080.
Want to go camping together?!
Merrick has done some research on a big group camp at Borumba Deer Park about an hour from us. We're proposing we invite people from our church to go camping together Sat-Sun (enthusiasts can stay Friday too!) for a very relaxed weekend together potentially on Sunday 8th of October.
If you're keen, let us know by REPLYING to this email or email us!
And YES, they have cabins too :)
Coming Up
Sun 13 Aug 3pm Moffat Gathering
Sun 20 Aug Baptism
Sun 27 Aug 3pm Moffat Gathering
Getting ahead-of-the-game
Sun 03 Sep 3pm Worship + Prayer Gathering. Location TBC
Sun 17 Sep Baptism
Sun 01 Oct Worship + Prayer Gathering. Location TBC
Sun 15 Oct Baptism
Our Mission
To help people find and follow Jesus
Our Rhythms
Know Jesus: how are you getting to know Jesus this week?
Invite people into your life: who can you bless this week?
Gather and get involved: How can you connect, listen, share or pray with others this week?
Our Giving
If there is someone in need around you we'd encourage you to team up with another Christian friend and ask God to show you how to meet their need directly. You can also get started with giving to Open Road or get in touch with any questions you may have.
Last mths giving: $5,974
Last mths expenses: $7,987
Bank Balance: $20,778
"Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed." - Proverbs 19:17
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.
