05 Aug And just like that…
…the rain stopped long enough with just enough sunshine & wind thrown in to make the track raceable…and race they did.
And I was privileged to pray & offer God’s eternal hope among a small-ish crowd & about 15 or so jockeys who were at the track…and had a very engaging conversation with the CEO of the Murrumbidgee Turf Club, Mr. Jason Ferrario. For my first in depth experience of that part of our city, I was very impressed & felt very welcome. I’m hopeful that something like that becomes a regular part of our ministry here in the Riverina.
It’s interesting…I was sharing my experience with a friend in town who’s part of a fairly conservative Pentecostal expression of faith in Christ & her first reaction was to suggest in no uncertain terms that I should have prayed for a complete collapse of the gambling industry as it is manifested at the race track, and for the workers to find more moral means of earning a living. Well…I guess that’s one way to approach it…I then shared that I have a ministry friend in Queensland who has a women’s group that carries on ministry with sex workers…meals a few nights each week to the brothels, literacy & job training classes for the workers, childcare at times…My point was…in 2025 there are a number of ways of earning a living that are perfectly legal, even if from a Biblical perspective they’re…“distasteful.” My take on our role as the church is to serve real needs faced by real people & trust God’s Word & his Spirit to work his will. Yes…I know the gambling industry in all its manifestations is deadly to many livelihoods & lives. (I’ve written to our State Government about the evils of pokies…my particular least favourite) But the jockeys & track workers have very real skills & very real needs…the greatest of which is to know that they are precious in God’s sight & his purposes are eternal while everything on this earth is not. I hope to point to the eternal often enough that someone turns their eyes & hearts toward the One who offers eternity as a gift. After that, maybe we talk about the way they earn a living.
BUT…Speaking of ministry in the Riverina…Have I mentioned before that this year celebrates the 100th anniversary of Lutheran worship in the Riverina?!?!?
In line with that…Claim the Date: 26th October 2025 @ 2:00 p.m. at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church on Athol Street, there will be a special celebration worship held to note that anniversary. As part of that wider celebration, Living Water has been invited to have a special section in the commemorative magazine that is being produced for the event. Philippa & I have started gathering some thoughts about how Living Water lives out being Lutheran here. It’s quite a privilege & a blessing to share our Living Water family story with a wider audience. Pray that we have the right words & the right heart for the task. And do make plans to attend the special service that afternoon…I’m betting there’ll be food!
And now for the week ahead…
- Ladies Fellowship – Thursday 7th August @ 10:00 a.m. at Pam’s home… 1 John 4:1-21
- Zoom Bible Study Catch-up
Friday 8th August 2025 @ 1:00 p.m.
Join Zoom Meeting — https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89674789066 — Meeting ID: 896 7478 9066 - LWF Prayer Morning – Saturday 16th August @ 10:00 a.m. at Paul & Philippa’s
On a personal note…but with wider implications…year 12 students are moving into the homestretch of their school careers. Trial Exams are in process across the city & more loom for next week. Final projects are due soon & then the crush of revision & other new material into the start of HSC Exams in the early weeks of Term 4. There is always more pressure involved in this process than I believe is healthy for young men & women…so please pray every day for these teens…to see their worth as something more than a score on a test & their destiny not limited by a P or F at the end of year 12. Thank you.
I’ll see you somewhere along the way…and certainly next Sunday! God give you his richest blessings until then!
John
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