Weekly update!

20 Sep Weekly update!

Happy Wednesday afternoon y’all!

What a fabulous shift in the weather…the cooler temperatures I mean. I’m still praying for some rain.

Let’s get stuck into the coming week…a few regular items…a few reminders & then some encouragement!

1^st – Zoom Bible Study Catch-up (click that link below & you’re in!)

Friday – 22nd September 2023 @ 1:00 PM 

Join Zoom Meeting  —  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83586782734  —  Meeting ID: 835 8678 2734

 

2^nd – Wagga Lake Run -n- Ride THIS SUNDAY!

Water Station set-up @ 8:30 a.m. (the City closes the roads soon after so we need to get into the parking lot early)

The Ride part starts at 9:30 a.m. & the Run starts around 10:00 a.m.

Lunch & Bible Study/Worship together in the Guide Hall at 12:00 noon

Bring something tasty to share & your Bible & we’ll dig into God’s Word together! Always a great time!

 

3^rd – Sunday, 1^st October is another awesome worship event.

1. Giving Beyond Ourselves in memory of Tamaris Pfeiffer-Tait to the Riverina Conservatorium’s Bursary Fund
2. Morning Tea!
3. New Worship & Teaching Series from the book of Philippians…The Pandemic of Joy!

 

4^th – Annual General Meeting – Sunday, 15^th October immediately following worship…we’ll take time to get some Morning Tea into our hands before we dive into the exciting recap of the last year & look ahead the blessings in store for 2024.

 

Now some encouragement…and a bit of foreshadowing for the AGM. The Steering Team had a look at the financial statements for the past year…and saw a very large increase in giving resulting from your Spirit-driven generosity. I was blown away…it felt like Pentecost hit me full on. Thank you! As we watched interest rates rise, prices on everything skyrocket, real incomes (adjusted against inflation) fall, supply chains struggle to keep up & the various service industries falter…you, empowered by the Holy Spirit & a growing sense of mission moving into our next decade of life, were more generous than ever. I’ll save the numbers for the 15^th…but I was staggered. Thank you! Thank God!

Now for some more encouragement…I was reading Haggai this morning…about the shortest book in the Old Testament (2^nd only to Obadiah). It’s an interesting time in Israel’s life. They’ve returned from exile & started to rebuild the Temple…note that “started”. Then they got distracted & built their own homes & planted vineyards & crops and well…just got on with life. So God speaks to them through Haggai about that sort of sluggishness in their obedience. They’re reminded that as they are obedient to what God has called them to be & do, his blessings emerge in their efforts. God will lead them in their restoration as a nation as they get on with the work he assigned them to do (rebuild the Temple & the city wall around Jerusalem). As they re-establish their life under his Sovereignty, his work in & among them will become evident in the blessings that follow. They haven’t been obedient…so things aren’t going as well as they otherwise would.

But with God, life is never quid pro quo…a business transaction where we do something to get something in return. In fact…check out Hag 2:18-19 – “Think about this eighteenth day of December, the day when the foundation of the Lord’s Temple was laid. Think carefully. I am giving you a promise now while the seed is still in the barn. You have not yet harvested your grain, and your grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not yet produced their crops. But from this day onward I will bless you.”

There is no evidence the Israelites have done any more than lay the Temple’s foundation, & it’s nowhere near as glorious as the Temple built by Solomon & destroyed by Babylon…but before they’ve done anything extraordinary, God commits his grace to lead the way for their lives. Let that sit in your heart as you go through your week…you may not see anything you’re doing as noteworthy, but as you live obedient to what God has set you to do…his grace will lead the way to his blessing in your life.

Be blessed in your faithful obedience this week!

John