A fearful world needs a fearless church!
When I see the fear and uncertainty that grips mankind these days, I realize even more that a fearful world needs a fearless church. But amid all this fear I find hope in the experience of the early church: The boldness required by believers is found in the empowerment of God’s Spirit on us!
'Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. '
Acts 4:18,29-31 NIV
The importance of praying for this empowerment cannot be overstated. In the book of Acts there was only one incident where it took place without a direct reference to prayer for it (and in that one instance it can be inferred)! Let’s read the following scriptures that relates to this:
'and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. '
Acts 19:2,6 NIV
'The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” '
Acts 9:11-12,17 NIV
'When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. '
Acts 8:15-17 NIV
This coming Sunday we will pray for ourselves to be filled with the Holy Spirit so we can be His Presence in Every Place! Let’s be a fearless church in the midst of a fearful world!
On site and livestream services this weekend
Kids Church | Is back!
This term in Kids Church we are focussing on WORSHIP. Our heart is for kids to fully understand and engage in worship so that they encounter God during their time of worship in Kids Church.
We are strategically positioning children to encounter God in worship by:
- Having live worship every 2nd week in the Prep-2 and Grades 3-6 rooms
- Engaging in team training with Shane Cooke. Shane was the Children's Pastor at Faith Church for 14 years. He is a gifted teacher of children and created a wonderful culture of worship for children at Faith Christian Church in Dandenong. We are excited about what he will impart to our team this term.
- The last 5 weeks of term 3 will be dedicated purely to teaching children the importance of worship. Our team is creating 5-part series to ground children in Biblical Worship, for the purpose of empowering them to encounter God when they worship.Wonderkids Parent Helper Program
If you are a parent who has children who are under 5 years old and attend our Wonderkids Program (formerly Little Sparks and Wonderkids- now it is called Wonderkids), we require you to serve in the room 2 Sundays this year. As you enter the Wonderkids room there is a sheet of paper with all the available dates written down. Please put your name down for two dates. We thank you for contributing to this important ministry.
Parent Blog
This month we continue our parent blogs with a new theme, “Leaving a Lega200cy for our Children". We kick off the series with a Parent Blog Video that will be followed by three parent blog articles.
To access all our Parent Blog content please click on the link: Parent Blog.
High Anticipation
Our team has high anticipation for what God is going to do in our children this term. Our hope is that as kids understand worship on a deeper level they will encounter God in fresh new ways. Please join us in prayer for our children that this will become their reality this term.
Blessings,
The Kids Church Team
Fuse Youth | On holidays
Due to school holidays, Fuse Youth won't be meeting this Friday. However, we will be back on Friday the 16th of July with 'The Fuse Olympics' to kick off a massive Term 3! Make sure you are following us on both Instagram and Facebook to keep up to date with everything happening at Fuse Youth!
ABC Documentary | Cracking COVID
Deuteronomy 10:21 NIV
He is the one you praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.
We are pleased to inform you that the documentary (Cracking COVID) that Michael and the church have been a part of will be airing on the following dates and times:
- ABC 8.30pm, Tuesday 13 July
- ABC+ 9.30pm, Sunday 18 July
A trailer can also be found here. Please be aware that the content of the film is not determined by BCOC but by the owners of the program. We do, however, celebrate the opportunity to share this miracle with you.
Baptism service | July 25th 2021
If you would like to take the next step and be baptised, or know more about what is baptism, register your interest for our baptism celebration service July 25th 2021. Register here.
Food Pantry | Casey funding
Matthew 25:40 NIV
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
We are delighted to let you know that we have acquired some funding from Casey Council that would allow us to serve our community better in this season. We are so thankful to everyone who serves, supports and helps fund this essential service to the community. The Food Pantry is available on Tuesdays from 10:30 am to 2 pm. Please advise friends, family and people in need who would benefit from this community service.
Thank you for being His Presence in Every Place! 
BRAAM BOTHA
Senior Pastor
