Around 50 people attended last Wednesday’s prayer and worship night. It’s hard to describe the experience, but it was like being both surrounded and immersed in God’s presence. Psalm 46, which Pastor Mel shared to focus our prayer, gives us the language we are searching for in two powerful metaphors – a refuge and a river.

REFUGE.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Ps 46:1

A refuge is a strong and secure place to run to in a storm. God is surrounding and strengthening his church in a special way in this season. I also sense that what God is doing has future implications. The Grove is called to increasingly be a place of refuge in our neighbourhood for people suffering in the storms of life. 

RIVER.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Ps 46:4-5

Wherever a river flows, there is abundant life and fruitfulness. The Holy Spirit was called a stream of living water by Jesus (Jn 7:38), flowing from within those who have put their trust in Christ. The volume and current of this river are growing in this season, and if we look downstream with the eyes of faith, we can imagine what the Lord will do. The thirsty will find fulfillment in Jesus. The fearful will find joy as the Holy Spirit renews and fills them. The spiritually dead will come to life as they confess Jesus as King and Saviour. 

A refuge and a river. These are powerful metaphors and signs of God dwelling among his people. Therefore, our call is to represent the Lord of Psalm 46 as a church in our neighbourhood. Here are some practical ways we can be like a refuge and a river:

• With more people coming, consider talking to those you haven’t met before on a Sunday, and introduce them to others as well. Connections bring security and strength for all of us. 

• Our car park is filling up, so if you are able to park next door some Sundays to make room for new people, that expresses our welcome and prepares for Jesus to bring more people home.

• Join in the prayer life of the church so we can lift people in our church and neighbourhood up to Jesus. There is no better way to bring help and peace for people in storms than a praying church.

• We are baptising people on the 27th of October at both our services. For some this is the time to be baptised. For others it’s to invite friends to come along. May the river flow deep and wide.  

• Alpha starts in November, so be praying about who you could invite. Has there ever been a better moment for this after so much prayer, and God’s Spirit powerfully at work. 

• Help strengthen The Grove by investing your life and resources in Jesus’ church

             here. May we strengthen others and be channels of blessing and love to many. 

We are surrounded by and immersed in the Lord our God. 

Marty

I am so thankful God led us to set aside thirty days to pray and worship. Our first prayer and worship night on Wednesday was like a taste of heaven as Levi, Beth and Chloe led us in worship, and Henry through prayer. Of the many things the Lord is doing in this deep season, the clearest experience is an outpouring of God’s love into our hearts and church. 

The Lord is very near to us in a special way at the moment. Especially as we gather in his place of worship. I sometimes use the term, a thin place, as though heaven and earth are in extra close proximity. It feels so safe, peaceful and comforting to be in God’s house. His love is always present of course, but it's like an immersion in love. Maybe this is like what Paul prayed for in Ephesians 3:17-19, part of the  prayer we’ve been praying for The Grove this year.

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.'

It seems this prayer is being answered, as God reveals his love and fills us up. There is actually story after story of people encountering this divine love, and opening their hearts to Jesus in new ways. Perhaps we need to make the connection to the next part of Paul’s prayer. 

God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power at work within us (v20). 

The powerful work within our lives and church, is God seeing our deep need of him and filling us with his immeasurable love, so that it pours out of us in immeasurable quantity. He placed us in a neighbourhood where love is often lost, hearts are broken and people are lonely. We are being filled up now in our loss, to love our neighbour with a love than never runs dry, that heals the broken hearted and brings the lonely and left out into God’s family. 

There are some ways to express God’s love in this season. Next Sunday we bring our shoeboxes for operation Christmas Child to share love beyond borders. During prayer last Wednesday, we sensed God leading us to schedule an Alpha course for November. We want to create a space where all who are opening their hearts to Jesus can explore the greatest love story ever told. Finally, on the last Sunday of our 30 days a baptism is being planned. With the 

pool filled up maybe there are more who are ready to testify to how God’s 

love saved them, and their love for him. Talk to a pastor if that is you. 

Love in Christ, Marty

It’s an incredibly difficult time for us as a church after Riley Mansfield went home with Jesus so young and so suddenly. Riley is loved by so many people, and no more than his beautiful family – Phill, Fiona, Chloe, Jordan and Amber. In this extremely hard season, the Lord has also been speaking very clearly through his word. Some words in particular are why we are setting apart 30 days of prayer and worship in the month of October. 

Riley’s dad Phill was journaling one very hard morning Philippians 4:6, and his phoned buzzed with the verse of the day, Philippians 4:6. 

'Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. '(Philippians 4:6-7).

Then on the day of Riley’s committal and celebration services, Phil read the final entry in Riley’s journal. Psalm 51:10, Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Again, the Bible app verse of that significant day was Psalm 51:10. 

That same day I was to lead Riley’s services, the Encounter with God reading was about the death and burial of Moses in Deuteronomy 34. The context got my attention. Naturally there are some clear differences between Riley and Moses, and historical details unique to Moses story. But what struck me is how Moses was still strong in body when he died. We don’t know how he died. We know he spoke with God face to face more than anyone else in an intimate friendship. And the commentary mentioned how Moses appeared on the mount of transfiguration, still face to face with his friend in the ultimate eternal promised land. 

Then this; the Israelites set apart 30 days to mourn before setting out to enter the Promised land. I had been seeking to discern the next season for The Grove after such a difficult loss, which is why the 30 days seemed significant.  

The celebration service for Riley was very powerful, with the love and presence of God poured out on all who attended. There were many testimonies from people including those who don’t yet know Jesus, of how they felt a love that was beyond anything they had experienced before. There was something almost transfiguration like, where Jesus was revealing his glory and grace to many people. 

In reflection on that service, I couldn’t shake this feeling that this isn’t the end, but the beginning of something. I wasn’t ready to just move on, not only because of my personal grief, but I sensed God remind me of the 30 days. In honour of Riley’s heart of worship, I believe he is calling us to make room to pray and worship for the month of October. 

This time will include space to mourn for those who are mourning. But it will also be a time for us to pray as a church for one another. To worship God in spirit and in truth, and ask Jesus to reveal his glory and grace. It will be a time for anxiety to be replaced with peace. It will be a moment where God will create a pure heart and right spirit within us as come humbly before him. We will ask for the light of Jesus to break like a morning sun on all who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to be led into peace with God.

This season is also an important time to comfort others, and to express the love of God. How beautiful it was to see the church loving all who grieve at the celebration service with practical kindness. I couldn’t be more thankful as a pastor for the family of God here. We have experienced loss before and its formed something so deep and unbreakable among us. In such times it shines again as beauty among ashes, lifting people up and bringing hope when times seem dark.

I must admit I have had some dark moments in this time, when all I could see was loss in my family and our church. Ruins, sorrow, a big hit on our worship team, and even a drop in our budget. I wanted to just wake up from this bad dream. I wondered how all these broken pieces could be put back together. Perhaps that’s how Nehemiah felt after receiving the report the walls of Jerusalem were broken down. The people were already suffering so much loss, but now they were vulnerable to even more invasion without secure walls. 

But then I discovered again, that the love of God is the greatest strength and hope in dark times. God’s love, so often expressed through his people, fills us up. Love brings incredible strength, and renews hope and builds faith in those who might otherwise despair. There is so much love in this church, and I know the Mansfields testify to how loved they have been. If not for the love of God, these things might crush us, but this 30 days is creating an opportunity for the love and power of God to be poured out in prayer, worship, and through ministering one to another. This will be a gift and safe refuge in this hard season. They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength (Isa 40:31).  

Your brother, 

Marty

In these times of uncertainty and sadness, we can rely on and remember the steadfast love and unchanging grace of God. It has been beautiful to witness the love of God pour into His people and pour out of His people this past week. It is such a blessing to be part of a church family, where we can support one another by the enduring spirit of faith that connects us all, even when we are apart.

We can take comfort in the knowledge that we are never alone. Our Heavenly Father watches over us, His love a constant source of comfort and strength. Isaiah 41:10 says, "Fear not, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." These words are a balm to our weary hearts, promising that we are held and supported, even in the midst of trials.

In moments of sadness, may we continue to hold fast to hope. Hope is the anchor of our souls, a reminder that with God, all things are possible. We have witnessed His miracles, big and small, and we know that His plans for us are for good, to give us a future filled with hope.

This Sunday, I will be reading from Psalm 34. This Psalm is a reminder that God pays attention to those who call on him. We can be certain that He always hears those who love him and seek him with all their heart and He will comfort them.

2 Corinthians 1:3-7 says, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.

As we navigate the path ahead, let us continue to do so with compassion and kindness, supporting one another in love and prayer. We will continue our prayer meetings this week to come together and pray for the Mansfield and Luke families, extended family and church family and for the services.

May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts

and minds in Christ Jesus. Be encouraged, for He has overcome the world, and 

in Him, we will find the strength to do the same.

God bless

Mel

It’s good to give thanks for our fathers today. While it’s hard to remember everything our dads did for us when we were children, we were provided for, protected, taught how to walk, ride a bike, work with our hands and use our brains. Some fathers taught us about life, others about faith and many passed on values and wisdom that have significantly shaped our lives and how we relate to others. The list of reasons might vary, but we give thanks for our dads and all we have received from them. 

Last Wednesday we held a day of prayer. Around 52 people attended the morning and evening sessions to come before our Heavenly Father. Jesus taught us to start prayer with the words, ‘our Father’. It’s the most wonderful truth that we can come to God like this. And Jesus also taught what kind of Father God is in the parable of the prodigal son. We are going to immerse in that story in a creative reading this Father’s Day. 

The story teaches that no matter how far his children have wandered from home, our Father is always ready to welcome them back, restore the relationship, and lead in a celebration that his lost child is now found. I am sure he wants everyone to know on Father’s Day, that he always loved you, has been looking for you, and waiting with open arms for you to come home to him. 

One of the reasons I love that story is because I was a prodigal, and have experienced the incredible grace of God that found me after being so lost in life. And now as a pastor of The Grove, one of my greatest desires for our church is that we would always be like the Father who welcomes people home. In fact, I see our church building more like a family home in our neighbourhood, and now the kitchen is almost complete, we can only increase our hospitality to celebrate with all the Lord welcomes home.

At our City on a Hill Day of prayer, Jacque Lippett shared some verses with me from Psalm 46, that God impressed on her heart for The Grove. 

A river brings joy to the city of our God, the sacred home of the Most High. God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed. From the very break of day, God will protect it. (Psalms 46:4-5 NLT)

These words describe the church like a city, where all who come experience the presence of God watching over his city. It’s a safe place to be, and where his love flows like a river bringing refreshment and joy to all who dwell there. 

Last Sunday I had the privilege of praying for people, couples and at one point a whole family of three generations. In each case I could see the river of God flowing, and tears of refreshment and joy revealing that this is a beautiful place for all in our families, friends and neighbourhood to come. 

Let’s reflect Jesus wonderful parable in the season ahead, and invite many more to come 

home. Let’s take every opportunity to share the Fathers welcome with all who arrive at 

The Grove week after week after week.  

Marty