Hi Church,
A long weekend has passed and a beautiful weekend it was! Lots of sunshine and festivity in Port Mac with Artwalk. It was good to see Christian Artists held in high esteem and being present. Well done Renee Trounce. The extra time allowed for family catch up and rest. I’m thankful I was able to spend time with my Son, Jared who was visiting from Melbourne.
This week we examined part two of prayer. Talking with God. The process of learning to pray starts with Talk to God and looked at pre-made prayers like that of the Lords Prayer because it gives us our relational vocabulary and the themes and language of what matters to God.
Then we take that vocabulary, and we turn it into conversation with God. We do this by starting with gratitude and thanks. It was said in the video we watched by John Mark Comer, that our ability to give thanks easily and willingly is a mark of our maturity in Christ. The closer we draw to him the easier it is to see His hand at work and His presence in every part of our life. T
Talking with God also takes us to places of Petition and Intercession. This is the ASK SEEK KNOCK of Luke 11. Again, John Mark taught us that asking is the language of the kingdom because it is in the asking, we partner with God in shaping the future. And then finally we spoke of Lament. Lament is our protest language of why the wicked seem to prosper, why is there injustice, why is there pain and suffering, and in that place, we ask God to take our lament from us and we give him our trust in the those hard times. If you’re not sure about Lament then turn to the Psalms, 60% of them are based on crying out to God for justice and intervention in hard times. If you would like to learn how to pray a Lament for your time of suffering, then please follow this link https://youtu.be/ah2bsYA5Fyg
For a copy of the teaching on talking with God by John Mark Comer, in Practicing the Way please follow this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCl1rHfGLLM
I was also very encouraged by the time I spent with my son Jared on the platform, as he shared his experiences of going deeper with God by establishing sacred rhythms in his life. He has been “practicing the way” for the last two years, he testified, it’s changed his spiritual life significantly. He now encourages other 20’s something to find their rule of life in following Christ. He believes that such practices will stop the deconstruction of faith for his generation.
So prayer is important Church, we cant live without it. So, lets dive in and delight in His presence.
What’s ahead….Family Service is next week, but Amanda and I will miss you as we attend our dear friend daughter’s wedding celebration in the Hunter Valley. But you will be well looked after by our great team. Please also remember to turn up for CityServe the following week at Tacking Point Public School Saturday 24th June from 7:50am ready to go!
Finally, family, I do want us all to pause and pray and give thanks for the life of Trish Sharpham. Trish went to be with the Lord Tuesday morning and is now fully healed and eternally alive in His presence. We now ask the Lord to surround Bob and their family with His deep love and empowering presence as they enter a new season without their beloved Trish. Please see thanksgiving service details below.
God bless
Ps Greg and Amanda
13th June 2023