PRAYER NOTES – PARENTS

Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you. (Deut 5:16)

• Give thanks for our Heavenly Father and his great love and care for us. Praise him for his guidance, discipline and acceptance of us through Jesus.
• Give thanks for our parents, and especially for mums as we celebrate Mothers Day, and pray for God’s blessing on them in their current stage of life. Ask for the Lord’s provision and strength to meet present challenges. 
• Pray and give thanks for our Mother’s Day service and for Mainly Music’s Mother’s Day High Tea. May the Holy Spirit continue to move powerfully to open parent’s hearts to the gospel of grace.
• Pray for parents at The Grove, for the wisdom they need to lead their children. Ask that they would also lead by example in life and faith. Ask the Lord to refresh and encourage busy parents of young children juggling so many responsibilities. 
• Pray that children would honour their parents and submit to their leadership.
• Ask Jesus to bring back those children who have got lost in the world, and for a day of celebration for parents when they return to Christ.
• Pray for those caring for ageing parents, for wisdom and love to treat them with grace and dignity. Remember also those who have lost a parent in recent years.
• Pray for reconcilation between children and parents where there is unforgiveness and broken relationships. Pray for protection and freedom for children and spouses where there is domestic violence. 
• Pray for parents, grandparents and carer’s who are nurturing children struggling with physical, emotional or relational difficulties. Ask for the guidance they need to help them, but also for breakthrough and freedom for the children.
• Pray for the raising up of spiritual parents who would invest hope and life in young people at The Grove.
• Pray for parents and families in India, and remember the many millions who live in slums. Pray for an outpouring of generosity to meet physical needs, and that the gospel would bring hope and light in the darkness.  

Hebrews 4:16

16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

During this season we are seeing a great need in our world. In our nation, we are seeing those lost and searching for answers. In places such as India, we are seeing a whole country come to a standstill due to the COVID-19 virus. 

Whilst in times like these we can become discouraged it is important to remember to draw near to our heavenly father. He provides a firm foundation in which to trust, giving us help in times of need. When we pray this week, let's align our hearts to see peace and provision brought to those that need it most.

Prayer notes:

Praise points

• Thanking God for His constant provision in our lives, praising him for the endless grace and mercy He shows us
• Praise God for the wonderful gift we have been given in His son Jesus, that we can live life to the full in Christ alone
• Thank God for nations everywhere stepping up and sending help to India in a time of crisis

Prayer points

• For our leaders, we are called to intercede on behalf of our leaders here in our nation. Pray that God would draw near to them and give them peace as well as understanding in each and every situation they face
• For our community, that God would touch the hearts of all people in our suburbs and across Brisbane
• That we would see people who are lost and searching come into the kingdom of God
• For those in India as a nation, that God would draw near to those that have lost loved ones, those that are serving and risking their lives for others, and that in the midst of chaos and heartbreak that God would find a way to meet people where they are and touch their hearts. Providing care and comfort for all who need it

Church prayer points

• Pray for God's blessing and leading over our grand opening. Pray that God gives provision for all things to come together on the day to honour those involved with the project and to ensure guidance over all ministries that take place here at The Grove
• For God's provision in the area of finance, that we would see many others join in supporting us as a church and giving into God's community to see more people hear the good news of Jesus Christ
• For a successful grand opening of the building as we thank God for all His provision along the way, it's been a long journey and we are so thankful for God's leading and perfect timing
• Pray that we would see fruit from our fundraising for the Rise Up building fit-out appeal
• That we would see many people attending partner with us in praying and asking God to be our ultimate provider as he has done so faithfully in the past

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. (Ephesians 6:18).

Paul wrote these words to the church in Ephesus from a Roman prison. It's obvious Paul not only valued the prayers, he deeply depended on them. You can sense the urgency in his request for prayer, that it wasn't just a one off isolated request.  Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. All times, always, for all believers in all places. Has there ever been clearer teaching on the calling of prayer on the church than here? Let's pray.

PRAYER NOTES

• Give thanks for the calling, gift and power of prayer. Praise God for answered prayer. Thank him that he always hears us and remembers what we pray. 
• Pray in the Spirit by pausing and opening your heart to how the Holy Spirit is leading you to pray for someone, somewhere.
• Pray about a particular issue or circumstance on your heart. If you are with a group, share this and pray for eachother.
• Pray that God would make us aware of what is happening around us, and where he is moving in our midst. May we increase in our spiritual insight and wisdom to discern what is from God, and what is not. To know where we need to battle, and what we need to let go of and trust him for.
• Pray for our church to remain persistent in prayer. That more would come and join others to pray weekly and stand in the gap for the many who depend on the prayer of the church. Ask the Lord to reveal the truth to more Christians that without prayer we cannot bear fruit and see the breakthrough we desire. May many respond to the Holy Spirit's call for desperate and persistent prayer.  
• Pray for all believers everywhere. Think about a place in our nation or in the the world where churches and Christians need others churches to be praying today. Pray for them. Here are a few points but list others: 
  •  For the church in Myanmar, Burma, a nation in great darkness and difficulty.
  • For the church in India and Brazil as the nations hospitals are totally overwhelmed by COVID19 infection rates.
  • For the Indigenous community in Mount Isa, and the churches who seek to make a difference including Mount Isa Baptist and Isa Community Church.  
  • For followers of Jesus in the Middle East during Ramadan. Pray for Chris and Rach, and David and Karis. Pray for Christians who face pressure and persecution to be strengthened and for the light of the gospel to change many lives. 
  • For QB churches throughout our city and state. May King Jesus reign and bring wholeness, unity, a new passion for the gospel and for a fresh movement of the Holy Spirit through faith filled prayer. pray for revival. 
  • For followers of Jesus serving in the defence force. Give thanks for them and their families and the sacrifice and courage of thier calling. Pray for wisdom, and great encouragement and a powerful witness.

Baptisms

Youth and young adults

Healing service

Grand Opening 

On Easter Sunday I called my sermon 'Get used to Different', a line I stole from The Chosen series. The scene from season 1, is one of my favourites. When Jesus called Matthew the tax collector to follow him, Peter questioned Jesus' choice because tax collectors were traitors of the Jewish people. He started to say how that was different to what he imagined Jesus would do, and Jesus responded with the line, "Get used to different". 

While that phrase isn't in the gospels, it's certainly there as a dominant theme. Jesus didn't fit into cultural norms, or anyone's preferences of how he should act. Jesus came to this world to make a difference in people's lives. When Jesus calls us to follow him, he really is calling us to get used to different because we can't stay the same walking with him in life. The moment we put walls around what Jesus wants to change, is the moment we get stuck in the sameness of life and stall in our faith. But who wants the same, when Jesus wants us to be different? 

Since we opened the doors of the new building, there seems to be a new work of the Holy Spirit as Jesus makes a difference in our lives. I have had many conversations where folks have shared how things are shifting for them. A new awareness of God, a greater experience of his love, a deeper sense that something fresh is building among us. Those who share these things are not people who don't have struggles or challenges, but quite the opposite. What's happening externally is different to what's happening in the heart. It's as though many are open and inviting Jesus to make a difference in them. Well Jesus can do nothing but change hearts like that. And if more and more surrender to his work, that spreads in a church and more and more are caught up in a movement of the Holy Spirit.

As we enter Term 2, I pray that as a church we would get used to different. That each Sunday we would come to church, expectant and open to God. That we would look for different people to welcome and connect with. That we would jump into something different, that maybe we pushed back on in the past. Jesus loves us so much, and he has so much freedom and life to offer everyone. Perhaps one of these lines might be your different:

• "I am going to get into a connect group this term and engage with others around the Bible."
• "I am going to attend a prayer meeting regularly to stand in the gap for our church and community."
• "I am signing up for the baptism class to find out if Jesus is calling me." 
• "I am jumping into Alpha to explore all my questions."
• "I am going to ask for prayer after a service."
• "I am going to invite someone to church or Alpha."
• "I am going to tell my work collegue about the difference Jesus has made in my life."
• "I am going to trust God with my finances and seek to live generously."
• "I am going to find out how I can serve God in the church."
• "I am going to make an appointment with a pastor to talk about what God is doing in my life and explore his leading."
• "I am going to restart a daily habit of reading my Bible and praying."
• "I am going to forgive that person and move on in my life."
• "I am going to admit my weakness and get help to overcome my addiction."
• "I am going to repent from that idol and seek Jesus and his Kingdom first."
• "I am going to start speaking and sending notes of encouragement to build up others as the Holy Spirit prompts me."
• "I am going to show God's love and friendship to that person who is alone." 
• "I am going to help someone grow in their new faith by meeting with them and praying for them often."
• "I am going to research and take an interest about what God is doing through his church in the world"

I could keep writing sentences, but you get the drift. As term two begins, let's get used to different, be different and make a difference. Whatever Jesus is saying right now, let's say, "Yes Lord, I will follow you into different". 

God bless, 

Marty