Mission Prayer Night Recap
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We had an awesome time led by Shinoo and hosted by Marcus! It was great to hear the vision for mission for the year. Shinoo called us to focus on “going”! It’s all good to talk, think, and strategise but in the end we need to go and reach out and make connections with the lost.

The plan for the year then is to:

  • meet monthly for prayer and worship on Friday nights (breaking our fast together)

  • and then schedule two Saturday slots in a month to make intentional connections with unbelievers around a passion/hobby/sport (e.g. sport, craft, food etc)

On those Saturday slots there will be various people trying things to connect with people. For example, every second Saturday Shinoo is going out to play basketball. Other people are going to try fitness in the park and inviting friends to join. Others may pursue friends and have them over intentionally.

What might you do to reach out intentionally to the unbelievers in your life? If you are stuck for ideas, chat to Shinoo!

Riley Spring
Sunday Recap: We Are A Holy Church - 1 Peter 1:13-19
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but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15-16

On Sunday we were led by the Apostle Peter and the Prophet Isaiah to consider how we can grow to be Holy like our Lord is Holy. We looked at the passage in three points: 1) The Pursuit of Holiness (w. Isaiah 6:1-9), 2. The Practice of Holiness (renewing our minds) 3. The Opportunity of Holiness (that holiness and mission go together, 1 Peter 2:11-12).

A question to consider: is holiness, the holiness of God, your aim as a Christian? Or are you settling for a lower standard?

Riley Spring
Monthly Friday Fasting

Do you want more of God? Do you want to hunger for Him and cry out with Moses “show me your glory”?

Perhaps the reason we don’t hunger for God, or even want to, is that we are full of this world.

 John Piper:

“The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14:18–20). The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable.” (A Hunger for God)

So…if that is true: How do we grow in our dependent, devoted, hungry prayers? There are many things that help…but one key practice that I want to put to you: is the practice of prayer and fasting.

One way of defining fasting is: abstaining from something good to create a hunger for something even better.  

Note this: fasting is a practice that Jesus expected His disciples to engage in. See Matt 9:14-17

Matt. 9:14   Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

The point here is that His disciples shouldn’t fast yet because He is still there…but one day they should fast. Why? They will fast because the Bridegroom Jesus is no longer with them, and they WANT him, they LONG for His return, for his presence. They are homesick, lacking heaven, lacking eternal joy, they fast to express their longing and to fuel it.

So, if you want to grow in your hunger for God, and increase your appetite, may I commend to you, begin prayer and fasting.

My plan is to encourage us to fast as a church, once a month, in the lead up to our Mission Prayer nights! To help further educate us in this I want to promote the following resources:

1. A Great Sermon

A great sermon explaining the practice of fasting in more detail by Pastor Dave, check this one out ‘Running Dependant’ in the series: The Race of Our Lives: https://soundcloud.com/user-986589168/running-dependant?in=user-986589168/sets/the-race-of-our-lives

2. A Great Book:

Nothing has helped me with my fasting more than John Piper’s ‘A Hunger for God’ - I have ordered 3 copies of it for Sunday.

3. A Great Practice:

How do we fast?

Simply, abstain from food or other controlling appetite, for one day, once a month, and focus yourself on prayer that longs and pines for God. For example, my practice is to skip all meals on a Friday and break my fast at dinner time.

During the day I try to make plans for prayer that centre’s my heart on the Lord, crying out for more of Him and interceding for others in my life.

You don’t have to do it alone! Do it with someone, that is, plan it together, spur each other on.

Then, let’s come together for Mission Prayer and break the fast together!

Riley Spring
Mission Night This Friday!
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As Shinoo mentioned on Sunday, he is planning a Friday night Mission Prayer Meeting to gather with people for mission prayer and practice. Everyone in the church is invited! If you are scared to death of reaching out OR if it’s your favourite thing in the world to do…COME!

Plan for the night:

  • Supper

  • Worship

  • Info year ahead

  • Prayer

The first one is:

Friday, Feb 26, 7:30pm,

Location: Marcus and Baree’s place in Granville (join the whatsapp group to get all the details)

I can’t wait to go to this and see how the Lord uses us to change eternities.

Riley Spring
Sunday Recap: We Are: A Prayerful Church (Luke 11:5-13)
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On Sunday we began with these two searching quotes:

Robert Murray M’Cheyne: “What a man is alone on his knees before God, that he is, and no more”

 Quote: JI Packer: “I believe that prayer is the measure of the man, spiritually, in a way that nothing else is, so that how we pray is as important a question as we can ever face.”

What type of person are you, what type of church are we, if we are evaluated on our prayers?

We studied Luke 11:5-13 and saw that Jesus is inviting us to be dependent, devoted, and hungry prayers! Listen to the message here (or on any podcast app).

See additional blog post to explain more about fasting!

9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Riley Spring
Sunday Lunches
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One of the things we love to do as a church is eat together as a family! It’s such a great opportunity to hang out inter-generationally!

Due to COVID restrictions, we will continue with our monthly BYO Lunch (every second Sunday of the month) at a local park. By default we will keep going to ‘Philip Ruddock Water Park’ in Dundas but this may change, so stay tuned each month to the blog.

These dates are all listed in the church calendar (see blog post about how to subscribe).

Our next one is Sunday March 14!

Riley Spring
SGC Aus Leadership Bootcamp
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I am very excited to be announcing this awesome opportunity to learn about biblical leadership. That is, leadership that is fueled and formed by the realities of the gospel. I will be emailing you about this later this week to give you more details. But in short.

what: 12 month bootcamp run by Dave Taylor

when: Monthly on Friday nights

who: anyone who is keen to grow in their leadership, in both our churches, plus it is open to anyone you know who could benefit!

requirements: every month there are significant assignments to prepare you for the nights, which are more discussion based. Spots are limited and so applications will be taken (more detail later)

Riley Spring