Last Sunday, believers gathered at the Civic Park in Warragul to pray and worship together. It was a milestone event – and a hopeful glimpse into the not too distant future when we can see our normal church services begin again. It was good to see different churches represented with a crowd of around 200 gathered in small groups scattered across the park. Testimonies were shared, and a simple gospel message presented. It is good when God’s people dwell in unity, because there, God’s anointing flows, and he commands a blessing and life is the result. It has also been good to take part in worship sessions that have been available on zoom and will continue over the month of November. Churches from all over Victoria have been represented by different worship leaders who have praised and prophesied, declaring freedom, and ushering us into God’s presence, praying for an end to the pandemic, and for God’s people to rise up and churches to reopen. Those who have joined these sessions have witnessed to a real sense of unity, even though we have not been in the same location. I believe the church is gearing up for a great surge forward as the troops begin to reassemble, and I think that Gippsland and other regional areas will lead the way through prayer and worship as congregations gather once more.
I think there is a great sense of tiredness over people as this year comes to an end. I hear people sighing. I see anxiety on their faces and hear tension in their voices. It has been a long year. I believe that Jesus is calling us back into action – but not out of duty or expectation. It is more about that He is calling us to action from a place of peace, rest and safety. As we worship, pray and respond to God’s Word, together we will find that our strength returns. We will find our energy replenished, and our enthusiasm restored. He is our strength. He is our encouragement. He is our joy. That is why we must respond to Jesus’ invitation to yoke together with him and find, as it says in the Message translation of Matthew chapter 11 “you’ll recover your life”. He says he will show us how to take a real rest, and that we can learn from him “the unforced rhythms of grace.” I want to encourage you to be intentional about finding quiet moments to just sit with Jesus. Listen to His voice, be encouraged by His word. Trust and obey as my Nana used to sing. Jesus wants us to walk and work in rhythm with Him… but more about that on Sunday.
I pray that as I write this, “all is well with your soul.” We cannot always control the things that happen around us, but we can choose to breathe, to rest in Jesus, and put our trust in Him. May God bless you and give you His peace.
Getting ready for Christmas – don’t forget to start organising your Christmas display for our “Nativity” competition. Also, we need helpers to set up and pack up our Christmas service on December 20th. Please register by calling 51261569 if you are available to help put up lights, decorate Christmas trees or pack our goodie bags.
We apologise for the issues with our online service on Sunday morning. No one is sure what happened between recording and uploading, but we hope you were able to catch the replay on You Tube. Thanks to the tech team who do such a wonderful job. In short … you can’t win ’em all!!!
We are still offering to view the online service together at MNLCC on Sunday mornings. Please book ahead if you would like to be there. It is a treat to be able to worship, pray, sing and take communion together.
Glenda Noordam