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COMPASS COURSES
FROM THE PASTOR
From Pastor Marty
Term 4 begins in a few days, and I am so faith filled about all that is ahead. Nathan Moore, from our worship ministry leadership, wrote these inspiring words to the worship team:
We are all very much looking forward to the not-so-distant future when we are able to start our services in the new building, but until that time God has a really great season for our church and for the worship team over the coming three months. There is something very meaningful happening right now and I believe if we are able to press in and allow God to use us in a new and powerful way, we will see something birthed in our Church that has not happened before! And we will be an integral part of that!
So good Nathan! God is moving and opening new doors, and the next three months is a season to not observe, but to lean in and open our lives up to Jesus. A fitness instructor once said, if you want to be where you have never been before, you need to do what you have never done before. I pray many of us would step into new practices to position ourselves for the new things God is doing among us.
One of those practices is prayer. For the final 12 weeks of 2020, we have opened a virtual prayer room. The times are in the prayer promotion, but this could be that 'something new' to embrace. You might think praying with others is a confronting thing to do. It's really the opposite. You won't get a more encouraging place to be, or more loving group to join with. Prayer is for everyone. Our virtual prayer room opens with a deep value of grace, acceptance, and there is never an expectation to pray out loud. We believe simply being there is an expression of faith that God loves to bless and work through.
So come and pray with us. There are also two gathered prayer meetings on Wednesday at 7am and Friday at 11.30am. These are both next to the church property. Finally you can download our weekly prayer guide as we follow themes across the 12 weeks. Link in newsletter.
I remember my old pastor used to quote this many times. No prayer no power, little prayer little power, much prayer much power. Lets enter 3 months of much prayer. Each week we will also make available the weekly theme and some tips for how to journal, see below for this weeks.
May God bless you today!
We are all very much looking forward to the not-so-distant future when we are able to start our services in the new building, but until that time God has a really great season for our church and for the worship team over the coming three months. There is something very meaningful happening right now and I believe if we are able to press in and allow God to use us in a new and powerful way, we will see something birthed in our Church that has not happened before! And we will be an integral part of that!
So good Nathan! God is moving and opening new doors, and the next three months is a season to not observe, but to lean in and open our lives up to Jesus. A fitness instructor once said, if you want to be where you have never been before, you need to do what you have never done before. I pray many of us would step into new practices to position ourselves for the new things God is doing among us.
One of those practices is prayer. For the final 12 weeks of 2020, we have opened a virtual prayer room. The times are in the prayer promotion, but this could be that 'something new' to embrace. You might think praying with others is a confronting thing to do. It's really the opposite. You won't get a more encouraging place to be, or more loving group to join with. Prayer is for everyone. Our virtual prayer room opens with a deep value of grace, acceptance, and there is never an expectation to pray out loud. We believe simply being there is an expression of faith that God loves to bless and work through.
So come and pray with us. There are also two gathered prayer meetings on Wednesday at 7am and Friday at 11.30am. These are both next to the church property. Finally you can download our weekly prayer guide as we follow themes across the 12 weeks. Link in newsletter.
I remember my old pastor used to quote this many times. No prayer no power, little prayer little power, much prayer much power. Lets enter 3 months of much prayer. Each week we will also make available the weekly theme and some tips for how to journal, see below for this weeks.
May God bless you today!
PRAYER NOTES - OUR VISION
Pray over the faith goals presented on Vision Sunday. A vision document will be emailed in the week following Sunday the 13th of September.
Use Habakkuk's prayer to pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our time.
Pray that the glory and name of Jesus would be made known.
Pray for the strength and power of God to enable us to tread on the heights.
Lord, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord.
Repeat them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy. (Hab 3:2)
The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights. (Hab 3:19)
PRAYER NOTES - FATHERS
MEN OF FAITH, LOVE AND PRAYER
Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.
19-20 My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God. (James 5:16-20 MSG)
- Praise God for our Heavenly Father’s great love for us, and for our Fathers and the men who have led us back towards Jesus.
- Pray God would continue to raise up men of faith, love and prayer at The Grove. May we see mighty answers to prayer from righteous men calling on the Lord.
- Pray for fathers to know God’s wisdom and strength as they lead their families. And pray for spiritual fathers to model and teach younger men to follow Jesus and fight the good fight of the faith.
- Pray that men would confess sin to one another and find forgiveness and healing through confession and humility. May God move in new ways among our men.
- Pray for fresh vision for future Men's ministry at The Grove in the new building. Pray the Holy Spirit would show us how to encourage faith, deepen relationships and lead men to salvation.
- Pray for men in their workplaces to be salt and light – pray for a bold witness.
- Pray that men would encourage each other and build each other up in Christ.
- Pray that men would discover their gifts and use them to serve Christ and fulfil their purpose.
- Pray for those men who are struggling with either health, relationships in family or work to experience God’s healing and receive a new vision for the future.
- Pray that many more men would join us and find Christ. Pray for our men to go after men wandering away and draw them back to God.
- Pray for David Brown as a dad and missionary to know God’s strength and wisdom.
PRAYER NOTES - FORGET AND PRESS ON
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14)
PRAISE AND THANKS
- Give thanks for what we have recieved because of what Christ has taken hold for us - life, salvation, heaven, the Holy Spirit, purpose, healing, life goals...whatever else comes to mind.
- Spend some time thinking about heaven and praising God
PRAYING ABOUT FORGETTING
- Commit to the Lord those things in our past that we hold onto in an unhealthy way, whether good or bad.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to give us the courage to let go like a trapeze artist, and surrender to God knowing he will catch us
- Pray for those with painful memories, that they would find healing from a new grace memory to cover over them.
- Pray for The Grove to always remember God's powerful deeds, but to let go of anything in the past that could hold us back. May we be totally open to knew things, new people, new strategies from the Lord.
- Pray for those holding onto unforgiveness, to release in thier hearts those who have wronged them. May they find healing and freedom in forgiveness.
PRAYING ABOUT PRESSING ON
- Pray that God would make the goals of our faith very clear to us. To see whats before us and run towards it.
- Pray we would not be lured by earthly goals, and find oursleves giving up on heavenly goals. Pray especially for those who started the race, but seem to have stopped running.
- Ask God to fan faith in The Grove for the next 4 months as we see the finish line of moving into the building. May we press on with great passion, giving it all we have got to take hold of the prize.
- Pray for those who have lost sight of eternity, that the amazing hope of heaven and mind blowing future, would become increasingly bright in these dark times.
- Pray for those who don't know Jesus and despair daily without purpose, to explore Christian faith through the upcoming Alpha course. Pray many would tune in next Wednesday night, and that we would send out invitations to many.
- Pray for missionaries around the world to press on and be encouraged. Remember Ian Stoodley in his work with Wycliffe Bible Translators, praying for daily encouragemnt and provision, and that the word of God would imapact widely.