Happy new year!    

I am so thankful for a wonderful finish to 2025 with over 700 people coming to our three Christmas outreach services. It was a joy to meet so many people who don’t normally go to church, but were really encouraged by God and experienced his love. Thankyou to all who were involved, and a special thanks to Dan, Isaac and Paul for sharing your testimonies of how Jesus has turned your lives around. 

Looking ahead to 2026 I wonder what God has in store and what lives will he touch and change this year? Well, it’s an encouraging start with Dan’s sister Ruth being baptized at our 5.30pm service on the first Sunday of the year. Praise God! May there be many more baptisms this year as Jesus continues to draw people to himself and transform hearts. 

For all of us who wonder what this year holds, and even if we face it with unresolved issues or uncertainty of the path, I believe we can trust God. I was reminded of this last Monday which I sense is for the church. Leanne and I drove out to Bullocky’s Rest to watch the sun set over the Dam. We sat in our chairs, thinking about the year coming to an end, and the new year about to begin, when something caught my eye. Right in front of us a Koala, with its baby on her back, climbed down a tree and up another. We sat in awe watching this rare sighting of Koalas in the golden hour light. See the photo on the front of the newsletter.  

It felt like God was speaking through his creation, and that he did this just for us…I mean our Creator is our Father after all! I felt joyful and humbled at the same time. Too often I try to make things happen and miss what God is actually doing. Yet on that afternoon, Leanne and I were sitting and watching, and by God’s grace he enabled us to capture some of his glory. The baby Koala wasn’t doing anything either, just holding onto its mother. Too often have we wearied ourselves as if God’s work was up to us, or that we could force his hand, instead of just trusting him to lead us, and as he so often does, carry us.  

Whatever this year holds, I am sure our Father wants us to behold his glory as Mel will preach on this Sunday. To notice what he is doing, and join him in his work rather than make it up ourselves. And to trust him to lead us as we follow and hold onto the one in whose arms we live. Our God is so good, and if we take time to watch and pray, to listen to him speak in his word, we will see this more and more. Prayer will be significant in 2026, so I pray that we would all find time in January to sit at Jesus feet because he has much to show us, and what he reveals will deepen our trust and open the way.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

May God bless you this year, Marty

Merry Christmas and welcome to The Grove. 

The words of the ancient prophecy in Isaiah 9:2, connect with us today. 

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; 

on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. 

We come to celebrate Christmas following a dark moment in our nation at Bondi. Because of this, the words spoken by the prophet Isaiah to the Jewish people in 732 BC, are even more significant this year. That those in our Jewish community, and those suffering as a result of this dark action, would see the true light that has come into the world. In fact, that all people walking and living through dark times, would experience the love, comfort and hope found in Jesus this Christmas.   

As we come to honour Jesus, we can know that darkness can never overcome the light that came from heaven. God himself was born into the very world he created, and the angel announced that it’s good news of great joy for all people. That in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to us, he is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-11). 

As we celebrate Jesus birth at The Grove this Christmas, let’s also pray that he would bring peace and hope through churches all across the world. While the freedom to worship has been attacked this week, we should remember that many live in places where they are not free to worship anytime. May Jesus light shine even brighter in the hardest places in 2025, and may a new story of peace begin to unfold, and of light expelling darkness as hearts are changed by God’s great love.  

While this might seem like an unlikely gift the world might receive this Christmas, let’s remember that the God we pray to is the gift of Christmas to us. The one who came as light to those living in darkness is described in Isaiah 9:6. 

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

This is the one we celebrate, pray to and trust. May he answer your prayers, and may the Lord bless you and your family this Christmas. You are also very welcome to join us in 2026 if you are looking for a spiritual home, and place to belong and explore 

faith in Jesus. 

Marty and Leanne Luke

On Wednesday I visited the Google offices in Sydney with Joel Hockey. Joel works for Google, and each year the company gives employees $400US to give to a charity, which they also triple match when donated! So Joel invited Andrew Browning to come and speak to employees about the Barbara May foundation, as an option to donate their funds to.  It was a privilege to be a guest and meet the BMF team, as The Grove has supported this incredible life saving work among African mums for three years now.  

This is such a great example of how followers of Jesus are ambassadors for the Kingdom of God in workplaces. We all have different jobs, and different opportunities to point to what Jesus is doing in the world; but we can be confident God placed us in our vocations not only to provide a service, but to be a light in the darkness.    

Last Sunday Ryan Vallee preached about praying to the Lord, asking him to send out workers into the plentiful harvest field. Ryan shared encouraging evidence of the growing harvest seen in people becoming more open to God. Church attendance in Europe has doubled in six years, and in the last week the YouVersion Bible app passed 1 billion downloads! In Australia the stories of God moving in lives are also stacking up, even in our own church. 

Then last Sunday night, Ben Daiton shared about being a light in the darkness. He finished with our church mission verse in Matthew 5:16. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish even one little light. But when we let our light shine through deeds done in Jesus name, our light overcomes darkness. Ben had the auditorium lights turned off and asked a few to shine their phone torch. Then he asked everyone to shine their torches and the result was a fully lit up room. One light is good, many lights can’t be missed. 

When two guest preachers share the actual words of Jesus about reaching others, we need to take notice that God is speaking to The Grove. Jesus own mission statement was that he came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). It’s clear that God wants us to have a laser focus on his search and find mission, in this time of incredible openness and opportunity for the gospel. 

I am so thankful for the many ambassadors shining their light in their workplaces. I am thankful for the twenty young adults shining their light as Red Frogs at schoolies. I am also thankful for the many who pray, because prayer is the hidden mission. As Ryan reminded us, much prayer much power, little prayer little power, no prayer no power. With many Christmas opportunities coming up at work, in our neighbourhoods and as a church, 

lets pray and shine light whenever we have opportunity.

God bless, Marty.

Our water pressure has always been around half of what it should be for our church property. Not anymore! Thanks to a generous donation, a booster pump was installed at the front of the property, doubling our water pressure. Now we can properly irrigate our gardens, and more importantly, fill up the baptism pool twice as fast!  

The gift of a booster pump is just one of many reasons, big and small, to be thankful to God at the end of 2025. Whenever someone shares a testimony about God’s provision, faithfulness and goodness, the result is joyful praise and growing faith in many. That’s why I would like to encourage everyone to write a note for our thanksgiving booklet to be released on thanksgiving Sunday. 

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. 

What might your thank-you note say? Maybe you are grateful God brought you back to church this year. Perhaps you are thankful for how He answered a prayer. You might like to write how your life has changed after encountering Jesus in 2025. You could be a parent who is grateful for those who taught your children, or someone thankful for those who came alongside you in a difficult trial. 

Of the many reasons I am thankful for those who serve and invest their lives at The Grove, I was reminded this week of all who follow Jesus calling to their workplaces. I heard a story of someone in our church who was working in a clients home, when tragically their clients partner passed away. They took the opportunity to pray with this person in their great need, and even passed on my name to them. Their client actually phoned me, and through tears told how the worker was sent by God to bring calm and comfort in the hardest of times.  

Most of Jesus work through his church is not seen, but happens everyday through the church living out Jesus call to go; witnessing to his grace, and taking opportunities to share his love as the Holy Spirit prompts. It makes me so thankful for the church whether gathered to worship and serve, or scattered during the week on mission in jobs. 

Whenever we write down a thanksgiving story, we bring glory to God and encourage the faith in us all. In fact, nothing releases joy among us more than thanksgiving. Like our water pressure, may the volume of joy double as we pour out many expressions of thanksgiving to God. See inside for how you can play a part. 

Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy. 

Psalms 107:22

Thankful, Marty 

As Andrew shares the final message in our Ephesians series this week, I’ve been reflecting on how much I’ve enjoyed this journey and how God has opened my eyes in new ways over the past five weeks. Last week, Warren reminded us that Jesus broke down the dividing wall of hostility that once separated people from one another and from God. In Him, we are no longer strangers or outsiders, but members of the same family, built together into a dwelling where God’s Spirit lives.

That picture of unity and reconciliation speaks deeply into how we live out our faith today. When we choose humility and love, responding to the Spirit’s promptings with open hands and generous hearts, we join in God’s work of breaking down walls and building something far more beautiful, a community shaped by love and grace.

I have been so encouraged this week! Last Sunday I received a message from someone in our church who felt God prompt them to donate $500 to the Flourish Gingerbread House event this year. Each year, this event should run at a loss, as we keep it affordable and welcoming for all ages, yet time and time again God provides exactly what is needed. It’s such a wonderful expression of His faithfulness and a reminder that when we focus on blessing others, He takes care of the rest.

Then on Thursday, Jade was at Aldi buying food to prepare a meal for the youth and young adults after this Sunday’s PM service. With her trolley full, a woman in the store asked who all the food was for. When Jade explained, the woman mentioned that her daughter had attended Smash Camp and that she’d recently dropped her off at a church called The Grove! What a coincidence! As they were talking, another shopper nearby overheard the conversation, went to the counter, purchased a $100 Aldi gift card, and handed it to Jade. She explained that she attends Bridgeman Baptist Community Church, but was so encouraged hearing Jade share about what The Grove was doing that she wanted to bless it. What an incredible reminder that God is always at work, often in the small, everyday moments. God is so good!

Philippians 2:5–11 highlights how Jesus, through His life and death, showed that God values humility. His willingness to serve, to lower Himself, and to give everything for others reveals the very heart of who God is. Humility teaches us that faith is not just something we understand in our minds but something that transforms our hearts. It calls us to live with a spirit of service, looking for ways to love and care for those around us, just as Jesus did.

These moments of generosity show us what it means to live out the heart of Christ. They turn love from an idea into something tangible and real. They remove barriers, build community, and remind us that when we listen to God’s leading, He uses us to show His love 

in the most beautiful ways.

Can I encourage you this week to stay open to the quiet nudges of the Holy 

Spirit. Sometimes His promptings come through conversation, a shared meal, 

or a small act of giving. Each one is an opportunity for God to work through us

to reveal His love to others.        

God bless, Mel