February begins with our 14th birthday, and we prayer it would end with our first service in the new building. Although, as we have communicated already, putting a firm date down is not still possible due to the approvals we are waiting for. The sewer and water are now connected, which is a wonderful milestone and praise point. However, we don't have permission to use these services for opening until the Fire Services, QUU and BCC sign off on them.    

So what do we do as a church while we wait? 

My understanding of a biblical response to waiting, is to use the time to get as ready possible, so that when God moves we move. Some examples of this:

• In the wilderness, the Lord led Israel by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When the cloud or fire stopped, they remained in camp, when it moved they moved. The key was to watch God and be ready to move with him (Numbers 9:15-23).
• When Israel were on the edge of the promised land, Joshua sent his officers through the camp with this message. “Go through the camp and tell the people to get their provisions ready. In three days you will cross the Jordan River and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you.” (Josh 1:11)
• When John the Baptist began preaching as a forerunner to Jesus arrival, he used the words of Isaiah 40:3, A voice of one calling:
  “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
• Jesus himself taught numerous parables about the need to live ready for the return of Jesus because we don't know the time or the hour (Matthew 25). 

These examples give us faith directions that we can apply spiritually in our lives, but also in practical action. Over the next two weekends we are planning a number of working bee's to prepare the building and property for opening. The tasks include moving the rest of our stored equipment from Russ Sweetman's house, unwrapping our new chairs, planting out the front garden of the property, and doing a detailed clean of the building. There will be other work to do, but these are a few of the larger jobs we need alot of help to complete.

In the newsletter under the working bee promotion, you can find out details of these opportunites to serve. But lets work and pray as we get ready to move. We have always been a people of faith at The Grove, seeking to be responsive to God rather than reactive to life. It's faith that will continue to keep us living as a ready and responsive people. I will leave you with this verse that God gave us in 2015 before we lodged the DA in 2016 from Joshua 3:5.

Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”

Amazing things indeed!

What a joy to come back to work after holidays and spend a few days in our new office this week. While we have not officially taken occupancy yet, our staff have permission to work some days in the office space as we prepare for the new year. Even though the building is brand new, sitting at my desk I have had this overwhelming sense of being home.

This is God's house, his land, the location he always wanted his church at The Grove to call home.
This is the place that in 2021 we will welcome home people from all kinds of backgrounds, cultures, ages and circumstances.
This is the fulfilment of Isaiah 54:3 given in 2007, when God called and promised, "you are going to resettle abandoned cities".
This is the year we dreamed about, prayed for, invested in and looked forward to for fourteen years. 
This is our time to shine on the hill with an invitation that reflects the heart of heaven, that the doors of the Kingdom of God are wide open for whoever would come. 

I was reminded this week of Luke 15 and the three parables Jesus told about the lost sheep, lost coin and lost son. In each story, there is great rejoicing about something lost being found. God leads the celebration for every sinner who repents, and this is particularly evident in the welcome home party the Father threw for his lost son who was found. It came afresh to me that we are going to have so many 'found parties' this year.

People who come to church after a long period away,
others coming home for the first time,
young people finding a place to call home and invite their friends to,
and people testifying to Jesus in baptism in the greatest found party on earth!

If I could borrow a lyric from a pop song, 'it's time to get the party started!' Coming up on the 7th of February is our 14th birthday. I had hoped it would be our first service in the new building, but final approvals on water and sewer are moving slower than we hoped. I guess we have learned patience after all these years, so another week or two won't dampen our spirits. Rather, let's start praising God now as a rhythm that continues all through the year.

Pastor Leigh gave us word this week, that was straight from the Lord as we get ready to celebrate our fourteenth birthday. Isaiah 40:3 but I also included the preceding verses for context. 

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
    and he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
    out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
    and steadied me as I walked along.
3 He has given me a new song to sing,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
    They will put their trust in the Lord.

We have new songs to sing this year. Songs of praise to God. Songs to celebrate being found by Jesus. Songs that reveal the glory, power and love of God. Songs that awaken our hearts to the Holy Spirit's presence. Songs to respond to God's word and call on our lives. Songs for the valley and songs for the mountian. 

I stood in the new auditorium this week also, and heard our new sound system being tested for the first time. I was overwhelmed as I imagined what it's going to be like when we are gathered together worshipping the King of Kings. I can hardly wait! We have some incredible new songs to release early this year. Songs that fit this new beginning for The Grove. 

This Sunday I am looking forward to starting a 3 week series inspired by Psalm 40, called a new song. Three Psalms that I pray will become new songs in all our hearts for 2021. 

Looking forward to singing and serving with you in 2021!

Pastor Marty

 

BUILDING CLEAN OVERVIEW

Hi everyone,

Thankyou for coming to the cleaning days. Here is an outline of what we are seeking to achieve, and the order to achieve it in. We are concentrating on cleaning this week, and moving next week.

Let me know if you are particularly keen for one of the below tasks so we can pre plan. Text Marty on 0412457287. 

OUTSIDE

Summary: Blow and high pressure hose carpark, portico, rear decks, paths and windows. Clean window and doors tracks, powercoating and glass. 

1. Blower group start at top of carpark and blow dirt and leaves off carpark working down to building and continue around the building covering all outside surfaces of the building
2. Gerni group follow behind cleaning carpark and building surrounds. 
3. Window cleaners follow Gerni group.

INSIDE

Summary: Vacuum building dust throughout building. Clean windows and door tracks, powercoating and glass. Dust and clean cabinetry, toilets and bathrooms, clean, mop and vacuum all floor surfaces. 

1. Industrial Vacuumers start early removing bulk dust from office area, stairwells, kids and youth areas, main floor. 
2. Window cleaners start in upstairs office area, then stairwells, kids areas then main level (kitchen, foyer, reception and auditorium). 
3. Bathrooms on both floors to be cleaned including all tiles, joinery, basin and toilets. 
4. Floor cleaners are last, vacuuming, soft sweeping, mopping. 

EQUIPMENT NEEDED

1. Blowers
2. Gernis/Kartchers etc...
3. Window and bathroom cleaning equipment. 
4. Buckets, mops, rags and step ladders
5. PPE - dust masks, gloves, sunsmart gear for outside workers.

FROM THE PASTOR

Home is the place we live, and the place we belong. But it’s not until our sense of home is impacted, that we realize how connected we are to it. This year ‘home’ has been in focus for a number of reasons. It's been hard for people unable to get home because of closed borders. Some have had to quarantine in hotel rooms before going home. Others have not been able to leave their home in lockdowns. For these and other reasons, our sense of home has been impacted in 2020.

Next year my daughter Christie leaves home to begin her first graduate position in Mt Isa as a Midwife. As her parents, Leanne and I will miss her dearly and our sense of home will change again. This reminded me that our sense of home is also impacted when someone leaves or is missing. As I reflected on the theme of home, I noticed the theme within the Christmas story for the first time. 

Mary and Joseph were required to return to their hometown for a nationwide census. They crossed the border and needed a place to stay. While Bethlehem was their hometown, it wasn’t their actual home. I doubt Mary would be travelling while heavily pregnant, unless her and Joseph had no choice. They would have stayed home to prepare for the birth, and remained in contact with a midwife! But instead they ended up in an animal stable, giving birth in the straw and using a feeding trough for a cot. 

The Christmas story in year 1, teaches us in the year 2020, that while home maybe a place we long to return to, or get away from, or the dynamics have changed, that it’s actually God’s presence that makes us feel at home. Sometimes it takes being unsettled to realize God is with us wherever we go, and how we can depend on his presence more than our surroundings. Our sense of home changes, but Jesus never does. Immanuel was born outside of a home, but his name means that God is with us. He is our home.     

This weekend over twenty of our teenagers are away from home on camp in Maleny. Bek Trevor couldn’t be more expectant about what God will do. Her own life changed when Jesus spoke to her on a youth camp, and she longs and prays the same will happen for our teenagers. Let’s be praying for Bek and the team, and for Pastor Dave Twigg who comes to speak. And let’s pray for all the precious young lives to encounter the presence of God with them, on this very weekend when they are away from home. 

From 2012 - 2019 The Grove were based in the house at 131, and we met in the school hall for Sunday services. It wasn’t God’s long-term plan for us, but it still felt like home. In 2020 we have been meeting in an office at Bridgeman Downs, and gathering for services in Mitchelton or watching online. Our sense of home as a church has been impacted this year, feeling more disconnected from the community we care about and are called to.   

Yet in this unsettled year, God’s presence has been with us regardless of our location. We are always the church, wherever we go. But perhaps it was important to feel more unsettled this year, to also gain a fuller appreciation of how important home is to the people we are called to reach. Our original call as a church was to resettle abandoned cities (Isa 54:3 MSG). It’s has to be God that the fulfillment of this calling and promise comes in 2021, following the year of greatest unsettling we have seen in our nation. 

131 Upper Kedron Road is the place Jesus chose to make his presence known in our community. Not because a building is able to contain God’s presence, but as a permanent home it stands as an invitation for people to come and belong. As they do come, we believe many people will discover that home isn’t a place, it’s a person, and his name is Jesus. Then they will go out knowing, that wherever life takes them, God is with them always. 

So church we have a calling to see people who feel abandoned and unsettled come home to God. In practical terms, we will use the building for that very purpose. There are many ways we can play a part in inviting people home.

• Letterbox drop a bundle or two of postcards to people’s homes, inviting them to come to Christmas Eve and the new building in 2021.  
• Come and plant trees on December 19 and sign up for the watering roster. Be part of making our spiritual home green and welcoming to everyone.
• We only need to buy another 65 chairs to reach our goal of 420! The chairs are for people to sit on and feel they have come home as they encounter God’s presence.
• Invite a family member or friend to watch or attend Christmas Eve, and to come to church next year. 
• Pray about how you can invest your time, gifts and resources for ministry in our new spiritual home in 2021. 

May you know God’s presence with you today.

Marty