Despite our best desires and efforts, we humans are not very good at living up close with others.
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The blood that brings us close (Ephesians 2:11–13)
Church @ the Peak 2021 Day 8
But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
Paul preached from the Parable of the Rich Fool exhorting us in our life after COVID-19 to put our security in Jesus rather than in things that do not last. God has been kind and brought a number of people along who had been contacted through some of the mission events over the week.
- Leana had invited her friend Donna to the ‘Grill the Pastor Q&A’ last night and she really enjoyed it so came along today.
- A couple we had doorknocked during the week came along and really appreciated the sermon.
- A man and his son came through the leaflets he had received.
- A number of youths came who had been invited through the coffee cart during the week.
God has been answering our (and your) prayers so let us thank him for that. Please pray that God will continue to be at work bearing fruit at this church.
As our mission draws to a close, our team has been thankful for the opportunity to partner with brothers and sisters at Church @ the Peak. They have been energised by us being there, and we have likewise been energised to continue boldly proclaiming the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that God is doing mighty things.
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Maitland Mission 2021 Day 7
The helicopter mission. The mission with the helicopters. Mission de Chopper.
Maitland Mission 2021 has certainly been defined by Jesus and the gospel, but it’s no secret that it’s been profiled as the helicopter mission. And boy, did it live up to its reputation on Saturday.
At the MEC Men’s Event, titled Making it Count, The Moore College men really learnt what it means to suffer for the gospel. We smashed around the paddocks in an off-road buggy, soaked in the serenity of the green rolling hills, ate perfectly cooked meats and of course took a ride in a helicopter.
We had about 80 fellas in all at the event, around 30 of whom weren’t from church.
But let’s get onto Jesus. The Big Dog himself, Chase Kuhn, asked us some really big questions. What is life really about? What is your life about? Am I guilty of treating God’s property like my own property? Have I gone off-road, leaving God’s good design behind, and gotten bogged or lost? Do I need to turn back to God so that he will get me unstuck from the mud and bring me back home?
Chase hit on so many points and thoughts that resonated with the everyday bloke, and also the not-so-everyday bloke. The bloke who knows he is bogged and lost, and the bloke who thinks he has the answers. Because what is life all about? Well, we see a king in the Bible who had all the power to have whatever he wanted – laughter, properties, women. But for what? The satisfaction never lasted. Real-life, life to the full, can only be found in God and his Son, Jesus Christ.
Praise God for the good things in life. Praise God that Jesus is so much better than all the good things in life. Praise God non-Christians got to see the Christian community in action and were able to hear the gospel so clearly and relevantly. Pray for God to move all the men to take their next step with Jesus.
Liverpool South Mission 2021 Day 7
Energy levels were low for students after several long days at Moore mission. But despite (or perhaps because of?) our tiredness, God graciously chose to work all the more obvious in two examples from today.
First, although our original plan to visit the mosque in Liverpool was cancelled, we were welcomed to a private audience with the Sheikh and a number of regular members instead of today. Our hosts were kind in sharing their beliefs and answering a number of our questions. In the end, we offered the Sheikh an Arabic copy of the Bible as a small gift—a gift which he received gladly as this was exactly what he had been searching for to buy!
Second, we had invited a local man to join us at the community barbeque this afternoon while door-knocking yesterday (he had invited us in for a chat and we were able to listen and pray for him). This particular gentleman had had a rough 12 months, and we were very much hoping and praying that he would attend the barbeque. The afternoon came and as the barbeque was getting underway, we saw the man walking down the road towards the church. As he approached, we walked out to greet and welcome him. It turns out he had forgotten about the barbeque and was walking past on his way to the shops! He decided to come in and joined us for over two hours, over which time we were able to hear more of his story, share multiple testimonies, and share the good news of the gospel with him. We also invited him to join us tomorrow morning at church, so we’ll have to see what God has in store for tomorrow!
Praise be to God who powerfully works through our weakness for his glory!
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ENC Mission 2021 Day 7
Today we partnered with Living Water, an Indigenous church in Redfern. It was invaluable to hear from Rev. Neville Naden about ministry to Indigenous Australians and the complex struggles and intergenerational trauma that have resulted from colonisation and the stolen generation. We had the privilege of hearing from an Aboriginal aunty in the church about her story of being part of the stolen generation, and how God upheld her and was her strength throughout her life.
Praise God for saving her and many others to know Him. Pray that we would be better at listening to and loving Indigenous Australians in the future in light of what we learnt.
Throughout the day we met strangers in the park and in the streets, inviting them to Church in the Park in the afternoon. Praise God for the newcomers who came, and please pray they will return to church again, comprehend the gospel and respond in faith.
Church @ the Peak Day 7
Our day was broken into two parts. The first part was an extended door knocking session which began at 10 AM and ran through to 1 PM. Our whole team was involved in getting alongside some members from Church @ the Peak to invite people to Grill the Pastor later that night, as well as the Easter events coming up. Two of our team members started chatting with a Muslim couple 30 minutes in and it lasted until 1 PM; ending with the couple expressing a keen interest in hearing more about Christianity. The majority of the teams were able to meet with people who expressed a deep desire to come to an event over Easter and many more expressed a positive experience of Christianity because of Church @ the Peak’s 13 yearlong footprints in the community.
Praise God for the fruitful conversations that were had and how all involved experienced his good provision. Praise God for the way he sustained the team throughout the challenging and painful conversations where people either rejected us or expressed frustration with us. Pray that Church @ the Peak would be able to receive God’s good blessing from this faithful work long after Mission Week is over.
During the night, Erina, Paul Grimmond, and Stu Maze (pastor of Church @ the Peak) sat on a panel and were asked fundamental questions of the Gospel in a Q+A session which was titled ‘Grill the Pastor’; a night to ask any question about Christianity that you’ve always wanted to ask. Some of the questions in the night included, ‘Why is Christianity the only way?’, ‘Isn’t chaos a sign of God’s absence?’, ‘Explain the trinity’, and ‘Why are Christians hypocritical’, just to name a few. There were over 60 people who attended and more than 10 of those people were non-Christian; a few expressing that they want to keep exploring Christianity now and wanted to come to church the next day.
Praise God for the way He spoke through the three panellists and that the Gospel was clearly laid out multiple times in multiple questions. Thank God for the people who made this event possible and for the people who were able to have their questions asked in an open and honest way. Pray that this event would be the start of people’s journeys towards a saving relationship with Christ.
Things to be praying for:
- That those who expressed interest to come to an Easter event next week would still feel the desire to come when Easter arrives.
- That those who heard the Gospel for the first time at Grill the Pastor would continue searching the claims of the Gospel.
