06 May When you’re in new territory…
I’m in Sydney as I write these weekly notes…Greetings from the front steps of grandparenthood!
Yep…this is early days…but I think I could get used to it!
As I mentioned Sunday, Charis & Aaron have graced us with our first grandchild…a lovely little lady named Abigail Louise. Born the 29th of April…so she’s still less than a week old but by the looks of things going great guns! God is good all the time! We had a few photos this week in worship & I’m sure to bore you with more…But just watching how my children are doing on this early part of the parenting journey (& the being aunties journey) has made me think about something else…
What’s the most important part of learning something new? I’d bet there’s a few answers we’d each come up with…but it seems to me that when you’re faced with a new circumstance the most important thing is the courage to actually do the new thing; and do it again if the early results don’t go your way. I don’t expect any of us entered parenthood, or marriage or a first job or a first day of school knowing all we needed to know. There’s a learning curve to everything, but if we kept at it, learning from missteps & mistakes, slip-ups & stumbles; we likely eventually got the hang of it, and maybe had some success too.
I’ve been encouraging each of us to keep working at sharing our faith with the people we know…the vast majority of whom are not active in a relationship with Jesus. It starts by talking to people & building relationships beyond our normal comfortable circle of friendships & working steadily toward an opportunity to talk about Jesus & the work he’s done in our lives, then offering that assurance & hope to the person you’re talking to. I’m encouraged that some of you are giving that faith sharing a good effort. I’m saddened that some of those efforts are being rebuffed…often with some seriousness. As I read the New Testament, Paul recounts beatings & stonings in response to his preaching about Jesus. I’m going to bet no one will do that to any of us…so keep trying, and always pray for the people you share with. It is always a work of the Holy Spirit & the power of the gospel when someone turns toward Christ in faith…our role is to witness to what Christ has done for us all & how that is working in our lives.
Even folks who grew up in or around the church; many have walked away from that. It’s a sad reality that you’re likely to meet someone who has zero spiritual memory formed inside the church. I met a very kind person like that this past week…she’d never (yes ‘never’) been in a church before & was delighted that her first experience, when she did go in, was a good one. She wanted to talk more about that & I hope to have that opportunity in the days ahead. I know someone else…I’ve been working on their family for a few years now…who’s ready to talk seriously about their history, not so great history, in the church community. I’m praying for their family every day. They’re on holidays at the moment & we’ve promised to talk when they return. Another friend in town is facing some serious health issues in their family. They know I’m praying for them…even though they asked me to “keep my fingers crossed.” I had the opportunity to explain Communion to someone the other day who’d never seen it before…just didn’t know what it is. Remember; I mostly talk about communion to folks who are familiar with the church teachings at some level & this person didn’t have the slightest idea. It really stretched me…How do you not use insider language…the church-y words we’re all accustomed to…and not make them feel like I think they’re dumb. Talk about a learning curve for me!
Paul writes in Romans 1:16-17 – “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It is the power of God saving everyone who believes – first the Jew but also the non-Jew. For the Good News declares how God makes us righteous before him…a righteousness that is from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures declare, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Don’t be ashamed of sharing God’s powerful saving love with anyone. It’s the most loving thing we can do for anyone…to offer to them the gift of a life in Christ’s house forever…loved…forgiven…freed…healed & restored. Even if they want no part of it…offer.
As we walk together into this week…here are some other offerings…
1. Ladies Fellowship is Thursday the 8th of May…10:00 a.m.
2. Zoom Bible Study Catch-up
Friday 9th May 2025 @ 1:00 p.m.
Join Zoom Meeting — https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89674789066 — Meeting ID: 896 7478 9066
3. Dinner Out with Living Water Fellowship (please touch base with Liz McConnell if you’re interested) Tuesday 13th May @ The Kooringal Hotel – 6:00 p.m.
And don’t forget…Mother’s Day is this coming Sunday, the 11th of May. Honour the special women in your life well.
I’ll be home Tuesday…See you somewhere this week perhaps & certainly on Sunday!
In the meantime…look for some new territory where you can share the good news of Jesus 😉
Peace be with you
John
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