Don’t you just hate…to wait…!

Don’t you just hate…to wait…!

Friday 22nd April 2022

Queue…they have a way of turning the most mature Christian into an emotionally struggling straggler looking for a short-cut to the front. We hate it don’t we! We choose our service providers based on their turnaround time in delivering on our needs. We cook our food in Microwave ovens, charge our devices with “speed chargers”, set our GPS to “fastest route” and make new “friends” with the tick of a social media prompt.

And then there’s God…who can drag out a day to a thousand years… Our inability to manipulate His speed of execution with a throttle, a lever, an upgrade or even a prayer seems to drive us up the walls. Timing is everything…not just for us…but for God as well! Listen to Marc Levy:

“If you want to know the value of one year, just ask a student who failed a course.

If you want to know the value of one month, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.

If you want to know the value of one hour, ask the lovers waiting to meet.

If you want to know the value of one minute, ask the person who just missed the bus.

If you want to know the value of one second, ask the person who just escaped death in a car accident.

And if you want to know the value of one-hundredth of a second, ask the athlete who won a silver medal in the Olympics.”

This is not a modern problem…listen to the wisest man in the Bible’s perspective:

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Eccl. 3:1-11 NIV

Contrary to belief – it was not “The Byrds” who came up with this poem in the 60’s! Here is the point of the passage: Your heart can be connected with eternity while your mind battles to understand when God will do what you ask of him…it’s the human condition. We receive visions, dreams and ideas from the God of eternity, only to battle to understand when it will come to pass! It is in this hallway, this passage between “promise” and “presentation” that we many time seems to lose the plot! It may be the promise of

  • a loved one’s salvation
  • a healing breakthrough
  • a mental health battle
  • a problem at work
  • a strained relationship
  • a financial crisis

the list can go on and on… What do you do in this “waiting period”? How do we conduct ourselves. How can we keep going?

I think of all the promises over our church and movement…especially our vision statement:

To be a movement representing Jesus Christ, transforming lives and communities through the power of the gospel.

Without hesitation I believe every word of it…and then my mind asks this question:

 

When will we see the full >>>

expression of this, Lord? >>>

Without giving away too much…this coming Sunday we will address this “hallway of holding on” as one of my family members refer to it. It will help you make sense of God’s timing while you’re in the waiting! Do not miss it…and do not miss the opportunity to invite someone who may benefit from this to join us onsite or online.

Seniors Ministry | So much fun!

Our Seniors community had an amazing time of fellowship, learning and reflection at the last Friendship Group with Pastor Ken and Pastor Monya joining us. We had lots of people come which is very encouraging to see. The Friendship Group aims to address the spiritual, social and scholastic needs of our Seniors community and to do this we welcome every person from every age group from any background just like Jesus did. Check out those lovely smiles!

Kids Church | Online

This week at Kids Church we are online at 10am to give our fantastic volunteers a break.

PREP – GRADE 2 |Jesus Appears to Thomas

Whatever happens, remember God is bigger than our doubts | John 20: 19-29

WONDERKIDS | Our friend Jesus is always with us

Breakfast on the Beach | John 21:1-14

Sunday Service | In The Waiting

Have you ever found yourself stuck between a promise or dream that God has given you and your present reality? Your reality that seemingly makes such promises feel distant and sometimes impossible? Well today we will look at what the bible has to say about the importance of such seasons of waiting and how practically, we can wait on God with complete trust in His timing for the promises over our lives.

If you can’t make it Sunday in person, join us online and watch live stream via YouTube or Facebook at 10am.

Seniors Ministry | Wednesday 27th April

Our Seniors Ministry Elsie Carter from Ayrbrae plants will speak to us about gardening through the seasons, and answer any tricky questions we may have. Please come ready to purchase plants from approx.  $5.25 -$6.

Details:

  • Time: 1.30pm – 4.00pm
  • Where: 446 Centre Road, Berwick, Vic, 3806
  • Bring: please bring a platter for everyone to share

Search To Find | Tuesday 3rd May

Is there a better option for life?
Experience connection, hope, and purpose.
Come along to an initial meal and Introductory Talk, ‘Is it True?’
You then decide if you would like to continue the search.

Book now!

Details:

  • Date: Tuesday 3rd May 2022
  • Time: 7.30pm
  • Where: 446 Centre Road, Berwick, Vic, 3806

Pastoral Care Equipping | Saturday 7th May

Caring for each other (Loving People) is an important value for us as a church. The recent COVID season has also highlighted the need for better pastoral care. As such, we plan to have a Pastoral Care Equipping Session on 7th May, Saturday starting at 9:00 am and finishing at 3:30 pm. Everyone is invited, especially if you are a caregiver, and would highly benefit to learn how to better care and Love People.

Glenise has over thirty-five years’ experience in ministry and is the Victorian State Director of Chaplaincy Australia. She travels extensively as a National Trainer for Alphacrucis College and provides many and varied workshops across the State of Victoria and Australia. Glenise specialises in Pastoral Care, Critical-incident Response, Trauma Reduction, Grief, Loss and Bereavement, and Suicide Intervention for first respondents. Having been deployed and leading teams at a state and national level during disasters, her broad experience has equipped her to speak with authority, insight, and heartfelt understanding. Click here to register. 

Details:

  • Time: 9.00am – 3.30pm
  • Date: Saturday 7th May 2022
  • Where: 446 Centre Road, Berwick, Vic, 3806
  • Cost: $10 for lunch

State Youth Games | 10th – 13th June

It is with great excitement that we can say State Youth Games is finally back! Registrations are now open so if you are a youth or young adult, book your place now! This is a weekend you will not want to miss!

Key Details:

Date: Friday 10th June – Monday 13th June
Cost: $220 – part-time options are available (includes transport, accommodation, food across the whole weekend, sport & your nightly worship rally pass)
For more information and book, head to the website.

A bit more about SYG:

SYG is an event that unites thousands of youth & young adults from across Victoria. We head down to Lardner Park for the weekend and compete against each other in sport, eat (lots), make new friends, build community and get together for night rallies, where we see young people come to Jesus.

Thank you for being His Presence in Every Place! 


BRAAM BOTHA

Senior Pastor