Praise and Thanks:

Philippians 4:7
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Praise and Thanks:

• Praise God for the blessing of the Christmas season
• Praise God for his faithfulness to us this year
• Thanks for all our volunteers who give up their time and resources
• Praise God for the financial provision during this year
• Praise God for the stories coming out of Red Frogs and for the lives changed during that week
• Praise God for the peace he brings, even in the midst of chaos

Prayer Points:

• Pray for the Christmas season ahead
• Pray the peace of God will fall on all those in our community this Christmas season 
• Pray that God would bring many to the Christmas event not just for numbers, but to bring them into a relationship with Jesus
• Pray for all our volunteers serving and giving up time to come and be a part of God’s call to reach the lost in our community
• Pray for our creative team and those leading our carols service
• Pray for our event coordinators in organising volunteers and teams
• Pray for our catering team that they will be a blessing to so many on the weekend
• Ask God that his Holy Spirit will fill the church
• Ask God that during this event many would begin to open their hearts to God
• Ask God to bless those stepping foot on the property
• Pray that through all of this the name of Jesus is made known and all glory is given to God
• Pray that God moves in the hearts of the community and in our hearts as we serve him

Praise and Thanks:

Ephesians 4:29
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Praise and Thanks:

• Praise God for the blessing of grandparents
• Thanks for His continued blessing over us as a church
• Praise God for the next generation and the salvation stories we are hearing
• For God’s continued provision in the area of finance 
• For all those who volunteer and serve here at The Grove

Prayer Points:

• Pray that all grandparents would continue to be a blessing to those around them
• Pray that God’s Word rests on our hearts this week as we spend quiet time with Him
• Ask for forgiveness when we have used our tongues to tear down rather than build-up
• Pray that God would continue to give us opportunities to speak life into other people
• Pray God uses our words to encourage others and build them up
• Ask that God would raise up more leaders to come and serve in this place
• Ask that God would equip those he has called to serve here at The Grove
• Pray for the next generation, that they would hear the encouraging words God speaks over them
• Pray that all would hear God’s encouragement and voice through his Word and Spirit
• Pray that God uses all of us this week to be a blessing to others through our spoken words and actions 
   

PRAISE AND THANKS...

• Give thanks that God loves everyone. That all people are made in his image and are equal in his sight. 
• Think about worship in heaven right now from people of every nation, tribe and tongue. Praise God that we are part of a global family, saved purely by the grace of God through Christ.
• Thank God for his vision of the church to reflect the heart of Jesus to welcome all people without prejudice.  

PRAYER POINTS

• Ask forgiveness for the times we have shown favouritism to one over another because they benefit us more
• Pray for the Lord to work in all our hearts to see each person through God's eyes
• Pray that The Grove would be a safe and welcoming place for people to come from different backgrounds and cultures
• Ask the Lord to weed out any judgemental spirit within us, and fill our hearts with mercy and grace towards all
• Give us wisdom Lord to recognize the motivations of our words and actions towards others. Grow us in our love for one another, as you have loved us.
• Help us Lord to develop humilty, not by thinking less of ourselves, but thinking of ourselves less and others more. 
• Pray that many lives would be transformed by the love of Jesus in the last months of 2021. Pray that people would be awakened to truth of God's love and rescued from the lies that tell them that God has favourites. 
• Pray for the opportunity to show love to someone this week who we might avoid, find difficult or is unlikley to give us anything in return. 
• Pray for our church family to find joy in others being blessed ahead of us.  

PRAYER NOTES - LISTEN AND OBEY

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

PRAISE AND THANKS

• For the word of God that he speaks through to teach us about God's charcter, his will and about our true selves. 
• That obedience to God's word leads to freedom for us, and blessing through what we do. 
• For the scriptures that have come to mind to encourage and lead us in difficult times. 

PRAYER NOTES

• For a posture of obedience each time we come to read God's word. 
• That we would hear clearly what the Lord is saying to us individually and as a church.
• For courage to step out in obedience in all areas of our lives as God calls. 
• That we would allow the word to be a mirror, reading us as we read it. May we humbly recieve the truth.
• Forgive us for the times we have ignored God's word, and forgotten to follow through on his direction.
• May we perververe in the directions God gives us, and hold onto the promises that bring us hope. 
• For a revival of reading God's word as a practice in our church community. Pray for those who neglect the word, and pray for victory over the enemy who tempts us to be busy and distracted on other things. 
• That God would grow our confidence in the truth of scripture in a time when false messages flood the airwaves.
• For the word of God preached and taught at The Grove to cut deep into the minds and hearts of hearers and that many would respond and be saved and changed. 
• Pray for our children and teenagers to be lovers of the word, and responsive to God's call. 

I was talking about work the other day with my son, and we got onto the subject of career changes. Some people stay in the same line of work their whole working lives, while others change careers once, twice or numerous times. What's your story? Have you landed in the job that fits you? For some, your career has been a positive experience, for others it's been a frustrating journey. You might love your job, hate your job, or at the moment don't have a job. Whatever your experience has been or is right now, how has your faith played a part?  

As we focus on faith at work I thought it might be helpful to share my story. I have been working for 36 years now, 16 years in the building industry as a painter, and 20 years as a pastor. Within those two career paths, there were some changes also. In the building industry, I did a 4 year apprenticeship with the state government, I worked for private enterprise as a tradesman for 5 years, and I was self-employed for 7 years. At 33 years of age I was called into vocational ministry, first as an intern and then as an Associate Pastor at Bridgeman Baptist for 6 years. During that time I also completed a Bachelor of Ministries degree at Malyon college. Then in 2007 Leanne and I, along with a small group of people, were sent out to plant The Grove where I have been Senior Pastor for almost 15 years.   

I think that's the first time I have ever written down my career history, and it feels like I am writing a CV! But behind the statistics, like most people's working life, there have been some high points, and some difficult sections of the journey. As we start this Faith at Work series, it got me thinking about how faith has played a part in my working life. As you can imagine, there is quite a contrast between painting and pastoring. But looking back, you might be surprised to hear me say, faith has been just as important in both careers. 

The book of James is the New Testament's wisdom book. It's highly practical for engaging faith with daily life. As Jesus' brother, you can tell James was influenced by Jesus' teaching with many parallels to the Sermon on the Mount. It doesn't take long to discover that James thinks faith is fairly useless if it doesn't benefit our lives outside of Sunday. It's Monday to Friday where we need it most. Faith that works, is faith at work. 

It was during my painting career that I had a major faith renewal. I was a prodigal who came home to God after years of running away. Early in my renewal I remember one Sunday being prayed for by my Pastor about being a bold witness for Jesus at work, and something radically changed in me. I started seeing opportunities open up to have spiritual conversations. I used to hide my faith before that day, but now I was talking about it with other tradies. As a pastor I sometimes really miss being on the front line on a job site. There was something exciting and adventurous about how the Holy Spirit would create an opportunity at work. I used to feel so alive after a conversation, not because a person accepted what I said; they usually didn't. But because I saw God so involved, full of love and pursuing everyone. I'll never forget painting the back door of a client's house, and sensing the prompt to pray that Jesus would open the door for a chat about the gospel. Before I finished painting that door, the client was outside talking to me and brought up the subject of faith in God. I can't remember what was said, but I can still see that door and the backyard. Powerful experiences somehow imprint a lasting memory. I was blown away that day.  

The careers we have are a service to our community, and it's important to work hard and do our best. But as people of faith, there is a larger narrative. Our real boss is Jesus, and he has called us to our work as his witnesses. A simple prayer each day asking God to open doors of opportunity is a prayer God loves to answer. Through our lives, our actions and even our words, we bring salt and light into the front lines of our mission field. We spend most of our time at work, so it makes sense that's where we can have the most impact and influence. When we see work as a calling to a mission field, even the toughest work places can be transformed into exciting opportunities. 

As we study the book of James, we are going to learn wisdom for life in the real world. It's a world that looks nothing like what we have ever seen before. But the wisdom we learn works in every culture and circumstance, because it's God's wisdom. I pray God would bless you with fresh insight that will not only bring new joy to your daily work, but many would be blessed because you are among them, reflecting the life of Jesus.

May the Lord bless the work of your hands this week. 

Marty

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)