“I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.” Philemon vs 4-7
This Sunday was the second Sunday for a long time, in which we have been able to enjoy a physical church gathering alongside our Zoom livestream. We had hoped to hold Church in the Bush, however, due to the early morning rain we have had to postpone until we are more confident the weather will be suitable. I know many of us were looking forward to being able to see everyone in person at Church in the Bush, and I don’t think I had realised how much I missed getting to see our church family in person until we started returning to physical gatherings. It has been really encouraging to see those who have been able to attend in person so far.
We are only a few weeks into our rostered return to physical gatherings, but so far we are yet to overflow into the morning tea room which has another 19 seats available, so please feel very welcome to come in and enjoy meeting in person with God’s people if you are able to do so. This Sunday, Fellowship Groups 5 to 8 will be invited in to worship in person. While many of us are able to enjoy this slow return to physical gatherings, there will be some who for health reasons will need to be careful about how quickly they return, and we will continue to keep those in that situation in our prayers.
We are hoping, Lord willing, to have an outdoor service on 4 October where everyone will be invited to come in and worship in person. The service will still be livestreamed via Zoom for those who aren’t able to come in, so please don’t feel any pressure to come in if you have health concerns. Sunday the 4th will be a communion Sunday, so it will be a great opportunity to celebrate the Lord’s Supper in person with an even greater number of our church family.
Now that we are starting to head into the warmer weather, we are hoping to have many more opportunities to meet together in person, including Church in the Bush some time in the next few weeks. While these opportunities are exciting for those of us who are able to attend, we must not forget our brothers and sisters in Christ who may not be able to meet with us in person for some time.
And one of the ways that we can continue to care for each other, is to partner with each other in prayer. When Paul wrote the above words to Philemon, he was encouraging Philemon to persevere in his walk with the Lord, and in the gospel, despite their physical separation. But notice that Paul’s prayer was not one sided. As Paul reminded himself of Philemon’s faithfulness to the gospel, Paul himself was encouraged and refreshed in his walk with the Lord as well.
May we, as one body united by the blood of Christ, spur each other on to love and good deeds; as we remember our church family in prayer, and as we encourage each other to be active in our walks with the Lord.
In Christ, Anthony
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