I am very thankful to the Lord for the opportunities we had to honour Jesus to hundreds of people across our Easter services. There were a number of moments during the services that were particularly powerful for me. The first was on Good Friday, when Frank and Louis shared on Isaiah 53. It was not only the meaningful things said that were so moving, but the backstory of how Jesus brought Frank through major surgery only recently, and that Louis had written all the spoken words for his second Easter as a Christian. 

The second moment was Easter Sunday when Zoe Hanlon and Stephen Day were baptised. The Hanlon’s came to The Grove for the first time on Good Friday eleven years ago. Zoe was the last of her family to be baptised at The Grove, testifying to the one who not only changes lives but whole families. 

I only met Stephen this year, and got to know him through Alpha. Not too long ago Stephen decided to follow Jesus, and as he shared in his testimony, a significant moment was meeting a Christian librarian at a public library who not only showed him where to find a bible in the spirituality section, but where to find a church. Stephen went to church, and things started to fall into place leading to his baptism on Resurrection Sunday.  

Recalling the saving and restoring work of Jesus sets a good tone for term 2. There are so many more people in our neighbourhood and city who Jesus is pursuing with his love. There are fresh signs of a hunger in people to find what will fill the hole in their heart that nothing else does. That's why we must be ready as a church to introduce people to Jesus. I am convinced that preparing to have a conversation about God is the kind of faith action he will always honour. 

I pray many would come to Alpha Training on Tuesday night. Imagine fifty people in The Grove being Alpha ready. We are going to need this, because more are coming with questions, struggles and a deep desire to explore faith in Christ. 

The Alpha dinner is also an opportunity to grab hold of. Many have been praying for up to five friends since before Easter. Now is a great opportunity to invite someone to dinner. Perhaps this will be the moment they share in a baptism testimony, of the night they came to dinner. 

Next Sunday we are starting a short series on the life of Jonah. There is hardly a better story in the Old Testament about God’s relentless pursuit of people. He chases those running away, he rescues those sinking in despair and revives cities even as dark and racked with evil as Nineveh was. If we think certain runaways can’t be chased down, or the best we could hope for 

a city like Brisbane is the Olympics, then we need a deep dive into Jonah. 

It’s the Old Testaments gospel of amazing grace! 

God bless, Marty.